Today in PNG

We are having a good time here with Erin in Papua New Guinea. Today we got up and said goodbye to a surgeon and a nurse who were here for about 9 weeks the Kerrigans. We had just gotten to know them and it was sad to see them go. We then watched Luke splash in mud puddles until he took a dive and we decided to come back and have a bath.

Today is the day for the big softball game-however it rained a lot last night and some already this morning so we aren't sure what the field conditions will be. We know they weren't great to begin with, but we are all excited. After the game there is smores later on tonight with a bonfire (hope the wood stayed dry).

We are getting sad about saying goodbye to Erin as we know it may be a year or more before we see her again. We are happy we got to spend this time with her. It has been very exciting to see what God is doing with her and through her.

The pictures were just shots we took around the house, minus the one with the waterfall. Yesterday was quite an adventure at the slippery rocks (yes much like our hometown) and I am glad we all survived without any major falls. But it was beauitful to walk through the country side and see what real village life is like and the mini rainforest we walked through.

Life in PNG

We arrived in PNg on Saturday. We are doing alright with time changes, but like to sleep a lot. today was my first day at the hospital with Erin. It was quite different than what I was used to. We started in the medicine ward and saw a guy with a lumbar (low back fracture) who doesn't want to go home, yet there isn't anything else they can do for him. Then the lady next to him had HIV and pneumonia and died later on. Next was an older lady with lung problems who got to go home, next was a lady who had fever, delirium, and new onset of head twitching-we did an Lumbar puncture (erin and I after Erin dropped the needle and we had to wait for a new one), I was a little rusty as it has been over a year since I did that. Next was a guy who was treated for pneumonia and was feeling better who we also sent home. There were others in between about 12 in all, but it challenging. Next we headed to OPD-outpatient department where we saw at least 30 pts in the am and pm combined. Probably more, but I wasn't counting. Some we could help-others we couldn't. It is good to be back with Erin we often broke out in spontaneous laughter as I started to speak Spanish as they are speaking Pidgin, because I don't know Pidgin and I know they don't know English. I have learned some words today, so maybe tomorrow will be better. Here are some pictures of our day and time so far.

1 year Pictures

Mom took me to sears to get my picture taken. Everyone says I did very good. I smiled a lot, and was very cute, I even waved to the camera. I got my picture taken with Mom too, and we looked good together.

I can now tell people that I am very tall, or so big as I like to put it. I now like to demand things. I will pick up my bottle and bring it to Mom or Dad for them to give it to me, as I do not like to hold my bottle myself. I will bring them food that I am hungry for and get them to open it to feed me. I love to watch Mom or Dad cook. My favorite animal is Peanut. We have fun wrestling together. I like to tackle her and she likes to lick my face, it is a lot of fun.

I am 1 year old

I am now officially a year and no longer have to say "# months". That is pretty hard for a guy like me to say "# months" when now I can just say "one". I turned one on Thursday, the 6th, but we had a party tonight for me. Mimi came from Kansas and Grandpa and Grandma Meier were supposed to come from Bradford, but we had a really bad snow storm and they couldn't come. But we did have Aunt Erin from PNG watching on the webcam, which was cool. My big friends, the McDonalds came over as well. Mom made this cool cake in the likeness of Peanut. It was very tasty if I do say so myself. As you can see I got a cool wagon, that Peanut and Dad took a ride in. I also got a sandbox and some toys to go with it, some crayons and a coloring book, an alligator push toy, some blocks, a few neat books, and of course my drum.

TALKING!!!

We had a Luau for work on Saturday. Everyone had to dress up. Luke went as a shark, ok not really, but he looks pretty cute in the Shark!! We won the prize for best side dish---OREO DESSERT!!!! Yummy dessert if you have never had it!!

The other news is that Luke is now talking. Last week he started to say "HOT" when he was by the stove. Now everything is Hot, but he is saying it more and more. He is also saying Ball and Up, but not as frequently as Hot. We are still waiting for DAD and MOM to come out of his mouth. He does say DA when he hears Joe's truck come down the driveway and the garage door going up and we are waiting for him at the top of the steps, but not when he sees him. And well, since he is with me the most he has no need to say MOM. But someday. He is still taking 4-5 steps at a time but hasn't taken off yet. Someday soon!!!

Drum Lesson

After hearing the measuring cup bang on the large pot night after night we decided we would get Luke a drum for his birthday. I wanted one like the Fisher Price one we each had as a child, plastic with lots of other instruments-maracas, tambourine, etc with a cool strap that you can put around your neck and everything fits in the drum. I found one online, but we went to the store and were unable to locate it. So we end up in the music section and find a drum with a tambourine and maracas and everything fits inside. Only this is a real drum, with a drum key and everything. Of course it is for ages 6 and up, so we have a little prodigy on our hands. When we got home today, Joe was downstairs playing the drums and Luke couldn't get enough of the music. Joe got him to hold the sticks and he started banging all over the place. We will continue with the daily lessons and let you know when he is going to release his first album!!!

Joe's Evening

I was at work, but this is the story I got.

Joe calls me to ask if our power went out. It went out at the house and it was all black, we didn't have a flashlight handy, so Joe had problems locating Luke. Now I know you are asking, well where was he? Well he was in the living room with Joe, but he doesn't quite talk yet, so getting him to talk and not crawl away before Joe could find him was slightly challenging, but it did happen and everyone was safe when the lights came on.
In the meantime, Joe let Shadow run outside and she ended up cutting her paw. So she gets blood all over the place. Joe tries to get Luke to be quite while he can clean this up, so he gives Luke an unopened pudding container to play with. While Joe was cleaning up, the good dog, Peanut, swipes the pudding from the unsuspecting child and runs into the bedroom and breaks into it and eats all the chocolate. Very soon she walks out and vomits all over the carpet, then shortly there after, has a BM all over the carpet, jumps onto the loveseat with the new slip cover and vomits again. Now remember Joe is trying to clean up blood and entertain Luke, and now has another sick animal on his hands. The new steam cleaner came in very handy and was used a lot. Needless to say the good dog, ended up vomiting 3 x and having about 5 BM's. It was a great night for Joe and he was just happy Luke and Klondike didn't get involved in the fun!!!