I'm reading by Jolene

I am reading words on Tuesday. On my worksheet I read the words and matched them to the picture.

I'm learning to add 100's. I can skip count by 2's.

I really like school when I'm happy.

Weaning update!

I am pleased to report that although Jonas still occassionally comes to me to nurse, I have gone 3 days (I think) without nursing. I pump before bed to stay comfortable. Last night I did not bring Jonas into my bed and he didn't cry very long when he woke up during the night. I went to him, told him to lay down, stayed for a moment and went back to bed.

Sounds great, the problem I had was Jubilee had me up several times with an ear ache, so I didn't get much sleep anyway. I am looking forward to a nap when Jubilee and Jonas go down in about 20 minutes.

I am hopeful that Jonas will shortly understand that I will not be picking him up when he calls for me and just stop wasting his energy on crying and just go back to sleep. Chances are he will be doing well by the end of next week just in time to go to Grandma's for Christmas, be in a strange place and get all mixed up again! So is life with little ones. :)

This and That...

For those who care...
I finally decided with Jonas if He is going to sleep through the night I am going to have to just wean him cold turkey. He would go fine all day but then want to nurse at bed and during bed! Yesterday at 5 AM was the last time I nursed him and can you imagine he didn't starve to death!!! He put up a bit of a fuss at bedtime and 4:30 this morning but he's no worse for the crying. I am spoiling him a bit by letting him in my bed instead of making him cry it out in his own bed but he's been in my bed often enough I'm not concerned about spoiling him for a few days. I figure he can still be near me while I'm breaking him of nursing and I don't have to get out of my warm bed to comfort him every few minutes till he calms down!!! O.K. so it's more about my comfort than his. :)

Update on the crash victim (computer)...
We were unable to retrieve the memory on our own and are planning to take it in to a specialist in Peoria that claims he may also be able to save the hard drive for a mere $450.00. We should have been backing up our computer and put that money to a new computer when it crashed... UGH.

School is going well, Jared is really improving in everything but especially reading which has been the hold up since we started.

Jolene is doing well also. Chad has mentioned several times that she is always talking with her hands! If she knows a sign she will use it if not she will often make one up. She could probably pass for the fastest person to fingerspell her name ever! All day long her fingers are moving... J O L E N E, etc. etc. etc.

Javan says he would be ready to go back to Jamaica if daddy would by the tickets!

Jubilee has become great friends with Jonas. They do a good job playing together while the others are doing school. She talks so sweet... Jonas, you want to play with me? :)

Jesse likes to make jokes alot.

We are all excited to see everybody at Christmas, Plattners and Rileys!

The Crash

Statistics:

• Date: December 3
• Time of incident: approximately 3:15 PM
• Eye Witnesses: Jesse, Jonas, and Jolene
• Cause: unknown
• First Responder: Dr. Mom (received position only because of seniority)
• Head doctor on the case: Dr Dad

Details

• The crash is likely fatal.
• Brain damage is serious.
• We have hopes of retrieving the memory before disposing of the brain.
• The victim is in a coma.
• Dr Dad is consulting with local specialist to acquire the correct instruments for removal of the memory.
• We are awaiting transplant donor for a replacement brain.
• The victim will likely be transported to Dr Grandpa for transplant.
• The family and friends are hopeful for a full recovery of the memory.
• In lieu of flowers the family requests you just send us the cash!

We appreciate your thoughts during this time of the unknown. If the memory is not retrievable we will be grieved at the loss of thousands of tangible memories that will soon fade from our minds!

New Look

Thanks Andrea for the new look! I look forward to learning a few things from you at Christmas! Maybe it will become tradition and everyone will know that I have spent time with you when my blog gets a new look. :)

YS Falls by Javan

On Monday we went out to Montego Bay and on the way stopped at YS Falls.

They had a pool with rocks on the bottom and when I first came up to it I thought it looked shallow although it was pretty deep because it was really clear water and it was pretty shallow where I looked in but it was deep at one place where it was 4 feet deep.

On the way out to YS Falls we stopped by a stand and bought some fruit. Including a pineapple, a watermelon, a mango, a papaya, and some tangerines. I thought the tangerines and the pineapple were pretty good because they were fresh but I didn't really think much of the watermelon it doesn't taste as good over there as it does here in the U.S.

I guess Jolene liked the watermelon.

Some other people came over and so they were using some of the innertubes and so we didn't have enough and while I was eating Jared snuck up and took my innertube and I had to have Jolene take me out to where I wanted to be. Shortly after I got an innertube again.

For a little bit Jesse let me borrow his goggles, I thought it was pretty neat to be able to see where I was going when I was swimming under water.

Uncle Kirk didn't want to get into the water and so he used two innertubes and he took Drew on a ride and then we were trying to get Kirk wet and then we splashed him into the water and then Kirk tried getting all the innertubes but he got pretty worn out after me and Jesse splashing him into the water a few times and then we got all the inner tubes away from him.

They had some little beach chairs there at the pool and Jonas sort of liked them.

Drew has a habit of sucking his thumb and putting his hand on his head and Truitt likes to suck his thumb and put his finger on his belly button.

I just put this picture in because I thought it looked pretty.

Daddy went swimming in the falls and when we went up hiking he went on the rope swing but first he had to get someone from up at the place where we started at to spot him.

There was a video but it wouldn't upload for me.

He's got our little world in His hands!!!

We have so many things to thank the Lord for and we added another one to our list last week. Jubilee was playing by herself and we aren't exactly sure what happened but this is what we think happened. There was a small plastic stool in the living room and she must have stepped on it wrong and it flipped up in the air, she probably hit her eye on one of the legs when she landed on it. She got a small laceration right below her eye. If it was much higher it could have done serious damage to her eye and perhaps even her eyesight. If the cut was anywhere else on her body we would have just used a butterfly bandage but we didn't want a scar on her sweet face.

Chad took her into our local doctor and he gave her 6 stitches.

Jubilee was a brave little girl and only fussed a couple times through the whole doctors visit. Chad on the other hand needed as much attention as his sweet little girl. After 6 childbirths, one other stitches incident and numerous other bloody experiences he cared for at home, he passed out! The doctor consoled him that he passed out giving blood once, so I guess it happens to the best of us.

Counting our blessings ~ the Lord spared us from a worse injury, he allowed us to go to the local doctors and not to the ER, and he designed us so that our bodies have the ability to heal! These are all things that pale in comparison to His great mercy and compassion in sending Jesus to be our Savior!!! Thank You Lord!

Jesse's blog about Javan's birthday party

What is this? Jubilee wearing Jonas' clothes?Back row from left to right: Abrey, Jesse, and Tyler.

Front row from left to right: Jubilee, Jolene, Jared, Javan, Shelby, and Emily.

Happy Birthday Aunt Bethany!
The girls and Jonas singing.

Grandpa helping daddy cut wood.

Creatures we observed in Jamaica

Some are new to us, some we haven't seen, and well, in America, we usually keep our farm animals in fences. LOL We saw many goats roaming the roadsides, I saw one group hanging out on the road with one of the group laying down.

Crabs, this was the first time we saw crabs in the wild in action.

This was a real frog we saw and that is Javan's hand for size comparison. We didn't need a save the frogs campaign in Jamaica, Javan jumped when the frog jumped, we didn't have anyone interested in picking it up for us.

Lizards - Javan caught this one. We saw plenty of larger ones all over the place. Kirk and Keri's neighbor girl came over freaking out when she saw one in their apartment. Guess it was good she didn't have our room! I don't know if we had one resident that I saw multiple times or multiple residents. It left us alone and the children weren't usually around when I saw it so we left it alone too.

This is a Sea Urchin! I'm not sure how it works, but it will sting it's supposed enemy. Jesse accidentally stepped on one of these and had a pretty miserable half hour or so; it hurt pretty bad. It doesn't always sting though, Chad found this when he was snorkling and threw it out on the beach at me, I took it over to the towel for all to see. I wonder if it used up it's sting on Jesse or something because neither Chad or I got stung. Maybe it was the difference of Jesse's weight versus us holding it gently. Whatever the case, this is definitely something we have never seen before.

Does anyone see what I see? Mom if you could find a picture similar upload it to your blog so I can paste it hear so my friends can see what I'm talking about!!!

BTW, the Jamaican baby was a gift from the store owner that couldn't stand seeing a little girl not get her own way!!! Chad was torn, wanting to get the girls the baby dolls but what about the boys? $25 a piece adds up mighty quick. When he finally said no Jolene was quite emotional and the store owner gave it to her as a gift. (Kirk gives them lots of business, so it was kindof doing it for someone he knows). As a side note, the baby has caucasian (sp?) eye lids!!! LOL

Jesse's blog about Jamaica

Here we are skyping Grandpa and Grandma Plattner.

This is the work team that came while we were in Jamaica.

Here we are lined up ready to get in the van ready to go to church.


This is an airplane toy at the Deaf Church.


Here is daddy swimming in Y S falls.

Jack Sprat Beach and Restaurant

The Lord blessed us with a wonderful day to go to the beach. We started off with some family pictures (we told the children that the sooner they cooperated and we got some pictures the sooner they got in the water: it worked!). It was a small beach in front of a restaurant that was recommended to us. It worked out very well as we were able to eat right where we were without cleaning up and travelling somewhere AND the food was FANTASTIC!


We tried some individual pictures but the sun was so bright they weren't turning out so good. We might try again before we leave. Jesse had an unfortunate encounter with a sea urchin. It was a very painful experience but has added another homeschool topic to learn about. I don't think we will ever forget about sea urchins. I will give more information later when I blog about the many new creatures we have seen. (We leave soon, so pray I get it done, once we get home it's back to the grind and sporadic blogging!!!)

The sands of time are falling fast; Javan will be 9 on Sunday!

We are truly on vacation, we each got our own bottle of pop for lunch and AT A RESTAURANT even!!!

Jonas took awhile to warm up to the water, but he finally did better. At the end he sat in the water with me pretty deep and the waves were splashing on us.

Our gracious hosts! We have enjoyed our stay and wish we could visit more often!!!

Our Sweet Jubilee!

Relaxing with Aunt Keri and Truitt.

Snorkling!

My Precious Girls!!! A delightful smile on a delightful boy!

For lunch we had Shrimp, Lobster, and pizza; we sat at a table built around a tree! I tried to upload a video to share but it failed.

Two more days till take-off. I look forward to enjoying the last days but I also look forward to Home!!! There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home. :)

Another Jamaica update

These are the two houses on Mo-Bay campus. Each house has a larger apartment on one side and smaller apartments on the other.

Kirk and Keri stay in the larger apartment on the left of this building. There is a screened in porch and a car port that separates the apartments. The teachers and others that work on campus stay in these buildings.

This building houses the office, dining rooms, and an activity room (upstairs).

Jolene didn't hesitate to go sit right in the middle of all the students before they began their program. (More later)

Chad distributing Sugar Cane he cut up.

Jonas chewing on Sugar Cane!!! YUMMY, sorry we can't bring any back to share.

The children playing a game with some of the work team.

If you click on the picture to enlarge it you will see Javan is showing his sign name, a letter J drawn in front of his shoulder.

From the campus you can see a cruise ship arrived into port in the distance.

Good Camera!!! :) Thanks Honey!

This is their library. Jesse and Javan have spent some time in it reading.

Supper with the work team, off to the left is the buffet style food line.

Jubilee and Drew playing church. Sorry no picture of the preacher.

Tues. - Travel Day: October 28

Wed. - Recovery Day and Get in Order Day (Rain)

Thurs. - Partial School Day and R&R (Rain)

Fri. - Pack up and drive back to Montego Bay to the deaf school (Rain)

Power out, candle lit supper and clean up, early to bed.

Sat. - Kirk pick up work teams. Laundry and supper with work team. (Rain)

Sun. - Church and family time. (Rain)

Mon. - (Rain) Chad and Kirk, along with Erin Davis, Chad Huber, and Ron _____ (my brain is failing me on his name) visiting Schools and Infirmiries (Nursing homes) our Church supports. They were supposed to be delivering items that arrived on the Sea Container but there was a problem with paper work or something so they found another valuable use for their time while Ron is here. This was the most difficult day with the children. They did not have enough to keep them busy and they were not getting along well.

Tues. - (Rain) Chad worked around the campus here while they waited for the paper work to be completed so they could start unloading the sea container. Chad kept the children busy in the AM but they still bickered when he left in the afternoon.

Wed. - (Rain) Chad and the afore mentioned group finished the deliveries that Chad and Kirk were included in. Thank the Lord there wasn't much bickering today. Could it be that because I wasn't getting good sleep and I wasn't having my time in the Word to start my day that things weren't going as well? Wednesday I cast my cares on the Lord first thing and even though the children didn't have any more to do than the other days, the day went well.

Jolene helping with the cleanup on Friday.

Thurs.- (Rain) Are you starting to catch a pattern here? Thurs. and Fri. Chad worked around campus, I think mostly repairing things. After supper the students put on a program for us. They mostly sign to music, one class danced. It's amazing how they can perform to music that most of them can't hear. Some have minimal hearing but bad enough they could not succeed in the public schools. I wanted to blog a video of one of the students but my video is too long. We will share our videos when we are together. If you aren't family and want to see them, just let us know.

The first grade class

Fri. - (Rain) In addition to working around campus Kirk drove one of the vans taking the Hands In Praise group to the airport. They are flying to Georgia for a tour performing at least 20 times on their 17 day trip. We had hoped to go to the beach to watch the sunset and go out to eat. Due to the hurricane that is happening (not over Jamaica) they had to wait on a different flight and Kirk was not available to take us to the beach even if it wasn't RAINING!

The Hands In Praise team and the Principle (far left) and Head teacher (2nd man from left).

A Look Into The Rest of our Trip.

Saturday (tomorrow) Kirk will be driving the work team to the airport and we will be cleaning the house preparing for our departure back to Knockpatrick.

Sunday, Lord willing, we plan to go to the deaf church at the Deaf Village near the deaf school where Kirk and Keri live. Ya gotta make sure ya get plenty of sleep on Saturday nights when you attend the deaf church because you can't use the excuse "my eyes were closed but I was still listening!" HA HA After Church we would like to go to the local infirmary for a visit and then possibly spend some time with the Hubers. (Another family that came down about the same time as Kirk's family.)

I don't know from day to day beyond that but we do hope to get out to eat at a couple Jamaican restaurants and to some Falls and possibly a beach, all weather depending and Lord willing.

Thursday we fly home! I'm not eagerly anticipating it yet, put perhaps by the time it gets here I will be.

If it seems like I'm complaining about rain, I'm really not. We knew it was the rainy season when we planned our itinerary. They aren't kidding when they say rainy season. Thankfully it usually only rains for a short while and then is nice the rest of the day or at least until another shower moves through.

There are so many things I want to share but it is getting late. I will try to keep a list so I don't forget to share them later.