Culture Shock

I am back! Back from Panama, St. Louis, and Dominican Republic. What a month it has been. I am going to try and give you an insight into what I experienced in Panama and the D.R. This will take some time as I am still experiencing some reverse culture shock and have yet to catch up on my sleep. What I can say right now is that God gave me experiences that changed me and stretched my faith. From praying in church members homes in Panama City, to worshiping with my brothers and sisters in Christ in the mountains of Sora Panama, to seeing the Panamal Canal, to leading 10 high school students and 3 adults to the D.R., to walking into an orphanage for the Developmentaly challenged where children were tied to their beds, to assisting a new church host a VBS for their community, to seeing God work in the lives of young people.....God is Good all the Time.
More to come in the next few days as I get more rest and adjust back to this culture.

setting up VBS at Willie and Santa's home...having VBS in the street under tarps! (D.R)


Some kids showing off their art work for the day. (D.R.)


A friend I made at the afternoon VBS in Santo Domingo. (D.R.)


Me at the Panama Canal. Grandpa Moss went through here 50 years ago! (Panama)


Standing at near the home of a pastor in training in Panama. You can't see the house, but it was no more than wooden posts, metal sheets and a metal roof. This puts some things into perspective! (panama)

Nick is Home!...to a home that is clean and organized...somewhat

Nick finally made it home late Sunday night. He has pretty much been sleeping for the past two days, but I am glad to have him back safe and sound. He said that this trip was a complete success as well, but I'll let him tell you all about it. I think he's long overdue for a post....what do you guys think?
I had another marathon/ productive weekend. Nick, again wasn't here to control me, and the wild hairs were running rampant. Here's what I did this past weekend:

* Laid moisture sealant and padding that goes under the wood flooring.
* Went to Lowes and found a rug for our living room, (I've been wanting one for a long time, and found one that will do), towel bar and rug for bathroom, and landscaping things.
* Came home and cleaned out our neglected flower bed, planted flowers and plants, re-mulched, and trimmed existing bushes and small palms.
* Hung towel bar in bathroom
* Painted the closet in the back bedroom before we lay the floors.
* Searched for leftover paint to touch up the marks on the wall in the bed room. Realized there wasn't any left. Grrr. Decided that I was going to have to buy paint and do the entire room. Went back to Lowes to buy paint. I decided on a light yellow. The bedding is blue an white, and I'm going to look for a couple red accents to put in the room. Hopefully it will turn out decent.....remember I'm no interior designer.
* Went to church on Sunday. Went to Target for shower curtain and new liner to hang in bathroom and some miscellaneous.
* Cleaned out our "pantry" closet. Found some things that said "best used by" a past date. Threw out all the old stuff. The worst one I found was January 2004. Yikes. It was Old Fashioned Quaker Oats that had found their way to the back of the closet and were forgotten. Reorganized the closet, and now everything fits! What do you know.
* Finished my little green sweater I've been knitting. It turned out really great.

I'm sure Nick would kill me if he really knew how hard I worked while I was gone. He can see and recognize the results, but don't think he can really understand the time, so that is probably a good thing. :)

On the job front: I began with my new team this week and so far things have been BUSY. It's always hard starting something new. I get frustrated not knowing all the processes inside and out, and starting that long path to relationship building. I feel like I am starting to be "tested" by some of the team.....much like a child testing the boundaries with their parents, so I am deciding how I need to react to that without being a Nazi tyrant or isolating myself from them. My mother gave me some good and simple advice - Be firm and be fair. Great advice that I will try to take and implement. I still haven't moved over physically to be with my team as our facilities department is still working on my desk, and the entire area, really....lots of moving around is going on lately. I hope the move happens soon. I feel isolated from them, and I really can't see or hear what is going on when I'm working two rooms over. God has been having to listen to me more frequently since I took this job. I know I can do no good thing without Him, so that is who I am continuing to run and cling to. I always have, it's just that I feel more needy at times, and this is one of those times.

On the baby front: No big revelations or developments. She continues to get stronger and bigger with her movements. I will have my next appointment on Tuesday. Then I'll move to appointments every two weeks instead of every 4 weeks. 3rd trimester here we come!

No turning back now

Well, despite not everything being finalized with salary and job description (Marriott, much like every other company with maybe the exception of the oil companies, is on "cost containment" which apparently complicates everything), the announcement was made today that I would be taking over management responsibilities of the research team. It's pretty scary, but I think (and pray) I am up for the challenge. It's a small team of 4, but they are still different people with different personalities, experiences, ideas, etc. that I will have to learn about and work with. I am meeting with each of my new team members one-on-one Monday.

Please pray for patience, stamina, and talent as I adjust to and take on this new role.

Have a great weekend everyone! Two more days until my hubby comes home. I can't wait! Continue to keep him and the rest of the Dominican Republic Mission team in your prayers as they finish their work and travel back home.

Furniture Blessing!

Well, the crib and dresser have been ordered! A HUGE thank you to Natalie's Papa and Je Je Lubke and Great Pawpaw Ray and Sue Lubke. I was slightly disappointed this week to find that the crib and dresser I originally picked out was "temporarily out of stock". However, things always work out, and I ended up finding something I liked EVEN BETTER in the same price range at JC Penney. YooHoo! Here are the pictures of the crib and dresser: (They will both be in a cherry finish.)

The crib as a crib


The crib as toddler bed with railing


A toddler bed with no railing


Converted to a full size bed


The Dresser

I can't wait to have them delivered and get them assembled. With any luck at all, hopefully mom will be able to see them when she is down in two and 1/2 weeks. Although, I won't get my hopes up too high since the crib says 4 weeks for delivery. :( A very generous co-worker gifted a his daughter's slightly used beautiful cherry finish changing table that will be able to be used as a second dresser. So Miss Natalie Shea is fixed up with all the essential furniture pieces!

Productivity! It feels so good.

With Nick off and about in the Dominican Republic for the next week, Charles (the cat) and I were left with the entire weekend to ourselves. Since we haven't gotten any rain in the last several days, it has become blazing hot and Charles opted to spend most of the day inside "helping" me. He sure is a nice companion. Saturday and Sunday I accomplished the following:
*Removed everything from the kitchen counters, cleaned and reorganized. My kitchen has never looked so good!
*Did dishes
*Removed baseboards from the final bedroom to prep for the installation of the wood floors
*Cleaned out our room and put away lots of Nick's "piles", or, as I lovingly refer to them, rat holes he likes to make in various parts of the house
*Took down, washed, and re-hung curtains in our bedroom
*Washed, dried, and put away more laundry including bedding
*Made great progress on current knitting project - a baby sweater that is my favorite thing yet! Pictures to come when it's finished.
*Watched a movie from Blockbuster
*Had a delicious snack (several times) of Rice Krispie Treats and milk I made Friday. FYI: instead of spreading the mix into a baking dish, I used muffin tins. I was able to just pop them out and store in a Tupperware without having to cut and such. Brilliant, I know. ;)
*Cleaned bathrooms
*Dusted
*Attended early (8:15) church service -this is a rare happening (not the attending church part, the attending EARLY service part....just to clarify. :))
*Went to Michael's and got frames for 5 prints I've had for years that I've never bought frames for that need to be hung in our house. Bought frames for 2 pieces of art Nick got in Panama - one for Natalie's nursery (quilted piece of a cross and baptismal shell), and one for his office, a painting on cloth. Also found INCREDIBLE deal on two art pieces that are about 2.5 ft x 2.5 ft that match our bedroom perfectly! Also got some beautiful silk flowers for a neat vase I've had for a long time for our kitchen table. The vase is dark royal blue and white glass and I got deep dark red-velvet hydrangea looking flowers and little white ones for accent.
*Came home and put all pictures in corresponding frames, hung wall art, and arranged flowers. It's amazing how much little things can make such a big difference. Too bad I'm not better at interior decorating.... :(
*Went to Target for essentials and gifts for a double baby shower I'm attending this evening. It's babypalooza around these parts.
*Wrapped shower gifts
*Went to produce stand and stocked up on fresh fruits and vegis. I LOVE our local produce stand. I have been purchasing 95% of my produce there for the past several months. Although that means an extra stop, its cheaper and much better quality than even our best grocery store. I haven't been disappointed once since I started shopping there.
*Came home and chowed down on an amazing peach! Yummy juicy goodness.
*Took an evening walk even though it was still pretty stinking hot at 8pm

I have to admit that with my focused energy, and Nick not there to distract me and/or make my cleaning attempts in vain as he comes along behind me like Pig Pen from Peanuts, I got an amazing amount of work accomplished! I can't wait to see my house once the final room is finished and all of our furniture can go back to their appropriate places. Then I can really feel a sense of satisfaction.

P.S. As if Nick and I didn't have anything else going on in our lives right now, I wanted to let everyone know that he has officially been extended a call to St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Houston, TX to be their Director of Young Adult and Youth Ministry. They have been pursuing him since April, and he visited them in May. So while this is new news for most, it's not really new for us. I knew all along they wanted him. Who wouldn't? Of course, I'm really biased. So, we are currently prayerfully considering this call. Please keep us in your prayers as we seek God's will in this.

What a Week!

Man oh man. It has been a week for the Moss'. This past weekend we traveled up to Hoyleton, IL for our good friend's, Josh, ordination. There will be more to come on that...we did take lots of pictures. It was fun, but exhausting. We are all kind of like a big family, and there are always good times and bad when it comes to family.
After our flight getting delayed and getting back home late on Monday night, it was off to work for me on Tuesday morning. When I got in, my boss called me into his office and presented me with an "opportunity". It looks like I'm going to take over a small team of 4 - the research team. I'm a little apprehensive about it, but I know that it will all work out. I need experience managing people, and this will be a nice baby step since it is such a small group. In addition, I'll still retain all of my current job responsibilities, which is a good thing. Nothing has been officially announced yet, so I'm not sure when I'll make the move, but I know it will be sometime soon. The biggest concern I have is that I'm obviously a ticking time bomb and will only have about 3 months to get my bearings before I'm out completely for 2 months and partly for 3 (I plan to come back part time my last 4 weeks of leave)! God will sustain me.
On top of this, Nick came down with some sort of bug and has been running a fever since Monday night. This usually wouldn't be a big deal, but he is supposed to be leaving for the Dominican Republic in a day and a half. As if I didn't have enough to be concerned with him going to a foreign country. My oh my. Please keep him in your prayers.
There's more you say? Of course! Last night I had my final presentation for my FINAL class!!! It's unofficially official - I've got my MBA! Praise God! It has been a long road full of sacrifices not only on my part, but Nick's as well. I had to thank him for all the support he has given me over the past three years concerning this. I truly am thankful, and hope that this all pays off in the long run. I'm am greatly looking forward to graduation on August 9th. My mom will be coming down as well as Nick's mom and dad.
I think that I'm due for a break. I guess I'll have lots of free time this coming week since Nick will be gone and the dust will have settled by then. I know I'll think of something to do!
Lastly, in baby news, Natalie the Peanut has come into her own the past week and has been very active. Nick has been able to feel her moving around, and last night we even saw my belly move! It's amazing, but it can be distracting at work. :)

Nick is back in the States

I just got a call from Nick, and they had made it safe and sound into Miami from Panama. It sounds like he had a successful trip, but I'll let him tell you all about it. He'll arrive in St. Louis tonight, and then I'll fly in tomorrow night after I get off work. Finally, I get to see him, but I'll have to share him.
I am very excited, though. We are actually ending up in a small town about an hour outside of St. Louis in southern Illinois. We, along with some of our other college friends, are coming together to celebrate the ordination of our good friend Josh. He just finished seminary in May, and is starting his first call.
Nick and I have been so blessed to have such wonderful friends. Alas, most are church-workers and thus live far away, so we aren't able to see them very often. It seems like it's that way with all the ones we love. :( We do our best to get together once a year or so, but it is an effort to do so with time, schedules, money, and now for some of us, children. Josh and his wife Rebekah are way ahead of us, though - she just found out a few weeks ago they are expecting #3! Meanwhile, I'm trying to wrap my head around 1! :) It's always worth it when we do get together, though, and we all just pick right up without skipping a beat. I suppose that's one of the qualities in a great friend. The "gang" this weekend will include: Josh & Rebekah with their little boy and little girl, Tommy and Laura from Texas, Jake & Tara with their little girl from IL, and me & Nick.
I will try to make it a point to take some pictures. I always have great intentions when it comes to picture taking, but somehow, I get caught up in all the fun and forget all about it!
Since I can't seem to make an entry without a baby update, here's something for you all. I get an email each week from the babycenter website. It tells you approximately how big your baby is and what new developments are happening that week. I have really enjoyed getting it and find it really fun to watch the growth from week to week. According to the 23 week update, Natalie the Peanut is about a foot long, and weighs almost 1 1/2 pounds. Here's the picture I got yesterday:

It's kind of pretty darn neat if you ask me. I can't WAIT to see what she will look like! I told Nick a long time ago that he better give me smart and pretty children. :) I know he will.

Registry Fun and More

It is finished! This Saturday, I spent all day registering for baby paraphernalia. A good friend from church, Jodi Tucker, sacrificed her entire Saturday to traipse around town with me as my personal consultant. :) I'm confident that without her help, I may have ended up in a puddle of goo right in the middle of Target! At the very least, I would have had to go back about 10 times since I would have left off things that are needed.
I would totally recommend any first time mom to take along someone with "experience" in recent baby things. Jodi was just fabulous with her knowledge and guidance as well as lots of fun to spend the day with! (She just had a little cutie pie, Aiden, in February. We found the most adorable little western outfit for him including a cowboy hat! He'll love those pictures when he's about 16. :))
I know that Nick will appreciate not having to go along and look at baby things for hours on end trying to make countless decisions!
I registered for about 98% of things at Target because 1) I love Target, and 2) They are all over the place and easy to get to. At Babies R Us, I basically just have furniture - crib, mattress, dresser, and glider chair - with a few odds and ends added that I couldn't find at Target.
Another wonderful thing about registering is that you have a place to keep track of the things you need (it's amazing everything that baby and mom need!), and what you like. So in 3 months, I can just pop on to purchase the rest of everything we need without having to try and remember what I did months ago - I know I would never remember! So, as Michael from The Office would say, It's a "win-win-win". :)
Thanks again, Jodi! You are the best!

Other than that, I am staying busy while Nick is gone trying to pass the time. Friday, I organized our closet which included sorting through all our shoes making a keep, donate, and throw away pile. In the evening I went to spend a delightful evening with my Aunt Elaine, Uncle Dick, cousin Krystle, and her boyfriend Alex. We went out for a nice dinner, and then watched a few fireworks that their neighbor was setting off. Saturday, as aforementioned, I spent the day shopping for Natalie the Peanut. Sunday was church (I played my trumpet - patriotic hymns - for the service), and today is back to the old grindstone. I even picked up a "part-time" job until Wednesday evening. I'm dog-sitting the pastor's pooch two times per day. They live very close to our house, and what more, they have a pool that I can exercise in in the evenings! It's been great.

I hope all of you had a blessed 4th of July and took some time to give thanks to God for the great nation we live in, the people who defend it, and the freedoms we have as citizens of the good old USofA!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

It is finally here-July. The month that I have been looking forward to since January. Tomorrow I leave for Panama with 3 college students and one other adult. This is the first "College-Age" Mission trip that St. Paul has ever had, and I am leading it! I get back from Panama on July 10 and fly into Miami, but instead of heading back to Lakeland, I am going strait to St. Louis for Josh Theilen's ordination. Candace is catching a flight up there the next day. We are really excited to see our good friends.
We get back to Lakeland on July 14 and then on July 19 I head to the Dominican Republic with 10 High School Students and 3 other adults. We are participating in a Mission Trip down there and I am really excited to lead this group!
So as you can see, it is a busy month, but it is an exciting month. Please keep our travel in your prayers and call Candace and check up on her if you can.
Here are some pictures Candace wanted me to post...Her mom has not yet seen her "pregnant belly". Here you go Janet!



(Pictures taken at approximately 21 1/2 weeks.)