The Chadwick Chronicles

Today we celebrate our 4 year anniversary!  When we look back at all God has taught us and the ways in which He has done that, we are amazed!  We stand back and wonder at how God brought us, two unique individuals, together for His purposes.  We are awed and humbled by His working in our lives and are anxious to see what He has in our future. 

 To celebrate, last night we went out for a date night.  We brought Lilia along for the ride because we don’t really have a babysitting plan yet and I don’t know if we ever will due to the fact that I (who once babysat) refuse to pay a measly wage, but as an adult, really can’t afford the going rate.  On the way to dinner, the traffic was very congested and we witnessed a man run up to a car, break the window and grab a woman’s purse off her lap and run away.  It was a sick and helpless feeling and we knew it could have just as easily been us, only two cars away.  Dinner was really good and we hoped that Lilia would drift off into dreamland at her bedtime as she has before when we are out.  We decided to try a movie afterwards and she decided not to go to sleep in her carseat like she so has done so willingly in the past.  So, halfway through the movie, we gave up, and headed home only to realize that we had left the camara at the theater, we were so grateful to find the camara right where we had left it.  Lilia seemed to have a lot more fun that mom and dad did!  Three hours past her bedtime we layed her in bed, wide-eyed and sure mommy and daddy have this much fun every night without her.  Happy Anniversary.  A little unconventional, but adventurous nonetheless. 

 Here are some pics of the evening.  This is the only wedding pic I care to share as I cringe every time I see our wedding pics and see myself 30 lbs heavier!

Brrrr!!!  Bundled up for the cold, Lima winter!

After explaining Lilia’s fussiness and some other symptoms, our pediatrician told us we could try Zantac (acid reflux medication) for her and see if it made a difference.  We really didn’t want to start giving her any more medication but we were at our whit’s end with a baby who was not napping and crying almost all day long.  We filled the prescription and it has drastically changed the Chadwick household.  We still have a little catnapper on our hands, but she doesn’t cry without reason and I can’t even begin to tell you how nice that is!  I also have been reading “Secrets of the Baby Whisperer” which talks about getting your baby on an E.A.S.Y schedule.  Eat, Activity, Sleep, You (mom) time.  It seems pretty obvious, but she has a lot of good insight on babies. 

Here is a pic of one of the girls at the home with Lilia.  They just love her!  If I ever go without her, everyone is very disappointed. 

We have a team here right now which means we are eating very well!  This is ‘lomo saltado,’ one of Jon’s favorite meals.  It consists of beef, onion, aji (spicy pepper) and tomato cooked in vinager and soy sauce and served over fries and rice.  Yum, yum!

A week ago one of Kids Alive’s own got married. Our accountant, Karina, who is a national married Javier. The two met when Javier, from Columbia was visiting Peru on a missions trip. They fell in love, did long distance for a while, he moved here and the rest is history!  Since moving here, Javier has started to do Bible studies with some of the fathers of the kids at the Care Center.  It has been a blessing to have him involved in our ministry here. 

They had their wedding on Kids Alive’s property with a ‘toldo.’ A ‘toldo’ is similar to a tent, but much, much more beautiful. Most people have them set up in their yards for almost any special occassion. They put up poles and start draping cloths in beautifully artistic ways. Karina chose to add a splash of green! An added benefit is that it also wards off the cold!

The ceremony was supposed to start at 5, we arrived at 6 and it probably got started close to 6:45…true Peruvian time! All the kids from the home were there and were all dolled up. I love to see them in their fancy clothes, so we were of course snapping away!

The ceremony was beautiful and much like an American wedding except the flower girls didn’t do anything until the end of the ceremony. Huh?

After the ceremony was over, we stayed for a bit of the reception which was right there. They brought us Peruvian and Columbian delicacies—what a treat! We left a little early as our little pumpkin needed to get to bed!