So much medicine!

Two weeks ago Caden and Connor both had a pretty bad cold. Caden's cold was followed by an eye infection. Tom was convinced that it was just a virus so we decided to wait it out. Well yesterday he was still waking up with his eyes sealed shut and Connor had started to get it as well so I insisted that we go to a doctor. We found the hospital on our first try (a huge accomplishment in and of itself). The doctor said they both needed antibiotics and he prescribed a few other medications. Tom was with him as he wrote out the prescriptions so I was not able to ask what everything was for. This is what we came home with...

Does that seem like a lot of medicine to you? I was shocked! 4 medications for Connor and 5 for Caden, really? Plus, the pharmacy was doing a special. Buy one antibiotic get one free. So the next time we are sick we can just call our doctor and tell him that we already have an antibiotic. Lovely. We are definitely not in the United States anymore.

The icing on the cake was when we gave Caden all of the medicine and he promptly regurgitated. Needless to say the boys are not taking all of those medicines, it just didn't feel right. The entire Doctors visit was $80 and the medicine was $100. The good news is the boys will not be contagious when we get on an airplane in 48 hours! See ya'll soon!

The boy who lost Christmas

This is what Connor used to look like. His long, blondish hair was starting to curl and cover his ears. Tom decided to cut it...

And now he looks all grown up. I don't know why a haircut makes him seem so much older but I feel like my baby disappeared. He has also started hitting and throwing tantrums which makes him seem like a toddler (although he looks pretty darn cute in this picture).

Because I take Christmas away from Caden approximately 12 times a day I decided to make a chart to help him visualize what he might lose. I originally told him that kids who don't behave get a lump of coal, but he seemed to be ok with that alternative so now kids don't get anything if they misbehave.
The mall has bumper boats. He was all alone in the little pool going very slow and yet he still had the time of his life. Sometimes I wish I could be so content with the simple things in life.

I sent Caden to change his clothes and he came back looking like this. His own sense of style or the child of two fashion-challenged parents? You be the judge.

By the way, this time next week I will be back in Utah! I am so very excited!

A Rockin' Christmas

Today was Caden's Christmas program at school. They were performing 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' so he got to dress up as a rocker. He was pretty excited. He has some kind of infection in his eye (possibly pink eye) but we sent him to school anyway. I can't believe we are those parents...

Caden is the Rocker and Connor is handling the wardrobe malfunction. We were having a good morning for sure.
The program was pretty cool. They had their marching band play some Christmas songs as well as 'Party Rock Anthem.' There is nothing better than a bunch of awkward teenagers in band uniforms trying to dance while holding their instruments. Caden's class was super cute but the class older than him was hilarious. The girls did a little dance and they had them shimmying and shaking their bums. The boys in the class did a hip hop routine. I have not laughed that hard in a long time.


The one thing that I love the most about Hondurans is their commitment to family. When they have any kind of event their families show up. I was amazed that Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, etc... all came to this little program.



I promised the Grandmas some video of the program. This one is pretty cute. Caden is third from the left.





I will try to post another video when the Internet is working better.

Good Times and Gratitude

About two weeks ago we were invited to the home of some people in our ward(they also live in our gated community). I was a little bit nervous to have my first experience with Honduran food in front of people from our ward but it turned out to be right up my alley. It was basically scrambled eggs, beans, ham, and cream cheese that you eat in a tortilla. This is apparently a pretty typical meal. Before we ate they had their 9-year-old son(Caden's new best friend) give a fhe lesson. We started with a hymn. From a technical perspective it sounded terrible. The missionaries were there and they were way off key and the other family didn't quite know the tune of the song. Tom and I tried to help but we were unsuccessful. It was also one of the most spiritual experiences I have had down here. I was sitting in a room where I didn't understand much of what was going on but as we sang this beautiful hymn I didn't feel so alone and the spirit was very strong despite the lack of musical ability. They have become our good friends and we are excited to continue getting to know them.

We invited another family from our ward over for Thanksgiving. Tom and I have a new appreciation for our mothers and grandmothers that cook this meal every year. We are also extremely grateful for the Internet. Youtube, Skype, and various other websites got us through this meal. Tom gave us a B+ for the final meal, I think considering our lack of experience we deserve an A for effort. It is a lot of work!This is the Flores family. Nadia has been a wonderful friend to me. She speaks English and is so amazing.
Caden earned a trip to the Children's museum and we ran into Santa Claus (the Latino Santa Claus). He was so excited (even though he looks terrified in the picture). We are trying to get into the Christmas spirit but it is so hard when it is 80 degrees outside.

Connor and I have been enjoying exploring the neighborhood every morning. He has changed a lot in the last 3 months. He is such a sweet little boy but he is perfecting the art of the tantrum.
I am most thankful for these three boys. I think I can live anywhere in the world (if I have to) as long as I have my boys with me.
Caden is getting smarter and sillier every day. He is so full of curiosity and imagination-I love it!


I have to admit that Thanksgiving Day was pretty rough. I wanted to be home so badly and I got a little bit down. A few days later as I was sitting in church I realized that I have so much to be grateful for. I was sitting among devoted Saints who still use latrines and live in houses that are probably 600 square feet. If they can find joy and meaning even in poverty, then I should be able to remain grateful even if I miss one Thanksgiving.

For my Mom

This past week has been really hard. We were all hit by a little cold. When I am sick I instinctively want my mom. It is hard to be the mom when everyone is sick. When I was finally feeling better I decided to listen to some Christmas music. Bad idea. When "I'll Be Home for Christmas" started playing I literally cried. Those words have never meant so much to me. Yes, even "please have snow and mistletoe' made me wish it was snowing outside. I cannot wait to be home for Christmas!
Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. I am a little sad that I won't be there to take her to lunch and give her a hug. I often times feel like I am not a very good mother and am amazed that my mom was somehow able to be a spectacular mother to SIX children. She was so intuitive and able to spread herself in so many ways. I feel like it is hard to give your mom a gift when she has given you so much throughout your life. Nothing seems to be adequate.
Mom, I hope you know I love you. I think I miss you more than anyone else. You have been my greatest friend, cheerleader, confidant and advisor. Thank you for everything you have done. I hope you have a rockin' good time in Boston this week; you deserve it. Happy Birthday!

A trip to the zoo

I am turning into my Dad. Not literally, but anyone who knows my dad knows that he loves to make charts. I made a behavior/"bravery at school" chart for Caden. His first reward was a trip to the zoo and he achieved it quickly. Tom has gotten pretty good at navigating the city so we thought we would be able to find it. We were wrong, so very wrong. After a very frustrating hour we finally paid a taxi to show us the way. Best 5 dollars ever spent to save a marriage.Caden was terrified of the picture of a jaguar. It cost a little over a dollar to get us all into the zoo. They definitely operate this zoo on less money than good old Hogle but I actually like the ambiance of this zoo better. It seems more natural and you get a much better view of the animals.

They had a fun little playground for the kids. If you are wondering what kind of parents take their child to a zoo without shoes...the answer is Tom. He hasn't quite adapted to the reality that Connor needs to wear shoes now. Luckily we have a multitude of dirty socks now.
The monkeys were especially entertaining. There was even one monkey not in the cage. We didn't know what to do but he seemed friendly enough.

This is Connor's favorite way to travel. Thanks to their fun-loving Dad our children will never have problems with roller coasters. There was a really cool park next to the zoo. It was very similar to Millcreek Canyon. Except this park had a huge statue of Christ.
If you ever come to Tegucigalpa and want to see this statue, just look for the huge Coca-Cola sign on the mountain (similar to the famous Hollywood sign). The two things that Hondurans seem to love (in my opinion, at least) are Christ and Coke . There are signs and bumper stickers everywhere that say 'Christ gave his life for you' and it would be difficult to count the number of people I see carrying a two liter of Coke in a day. This sounds oddly similar to Mormon culture, except its diet coke of course.

It's getting hot!

We got a fun care package from grandma and it included some legos. Knight Caden was very excited to build a castle, a dragon, and a knight. (In reality mom did most of the building-which she actually finds enoyable. )
We went to the nearest tourist attraction, it is called Valle de Angeles. It is a cute little town with a lot of charm and a lot of vendors. We didn't bring a lot of money so we didn't actually buy anything this time but there will definitely be some Christmas purchases on our next trip. I love the cobblestone streets, the central plaza and of course the little church.
I don't know if I can handle 80 degree weather for the next 8 months. It is seriously getting hot. We might have to go swimming every day just to stay cool! It is rough down here people, very rough.
If you are looking for a place to go this winter, Honduras might not be a bad option. But bring a jacket because I heard it might get back into the 70's next week. Brrhh....

The reason we came...

I was pretty excited to see the Angel Moroni go up on the temple. At first Tom was not sure that we could be on site, but they broke the rules and let us in. We were able to watch from the balcony of the President's apartment which is probably 150 feet from the temple. (I was going to use the phrase "a stones throw" but I didn't want anyone to visualize me throwing rocks at the temple)
There was so much excitement when we got there. Members were lining up on hills nearby and all along the road. The workers were all taking pictures with the Angel Moroni (even though most of them are not members) but as soon as they started lifting it everything got quiet (except for my toddlers of course!). It was amazing that everyone stopped working and appreciated the solemnity of that moment. I wanted to break out into 'The Spirit of God' but I knew Tom would never take me on site again if I did.
This is from the parking lot by Tom's office. We had to walk down that little road. It was such a beautiful day for such a beautiful experience.
Caden watched it pretty intently. Tom, of course, was entranced. Connor...well, luckily there was a big puddle of water so he kept himself entertained. I snapped a million pictures. It was really cool to see it so close and to feel how important this moment was to so many people.
I seriously hope that hard hats and orange vests never become the style because I look horrible in them. Just focus on the beautiful temple behind me (Or the crane if that suits your fancy). It was an amazing experience and it helped remind us why we came on this little adventure in the first place.

Halloween in Honduras

I have a confession. Tom and I are not big fans of Halloween. We have never dressed up and usually just balk at the cost of adult costumes. (Tom is worse than I am. I would probably fold to peer pressure but he will not) Of course we want our children to enjoy Halloween but I am pretty sure Tom was pretty excited to skip it this year. Well, the Saturday before Halloween we got home late in the afternoon and there was a note on our door from our compound saying they would be trick-or-treating. I was excited because I want our kids to have fun. Tom...not so much. I begged him to drive us all the way back to Walmart (we had just come from there and traffic was really bad) to buy costumes. Luckily his heart softened and we went back. Caden has been really into knights lately (Tom tells him a story every night about a boy named Caden going on a quest) and they actually had a knight costume. Connor's options were limited-princess or dragon.

Maybe I should be more specific. A dragon in a track suit. Caden constantly asked if he could fight Connor because he was a dragon. Ah boys...
Connor only lasted for two houses. Caden and Tom went to the rest of the houses. Not everybody in the neighborhood participated but it was fun to have that American tradition anyway. Apparently everyone was very liberal with the candy.
Happy Halloween from the Heaths! Do you love our blank white walls? They are everywhere.
Connor loves to wave at people (especially the guards) and say 'hola'-it is adorable.

Where did my baby go?

Well, we did it. We signed Caden up for Preschool. It is extremely expensive and as we drove him to school this morning I had my doubts, but I think we made the right decision. He has a wonderful teacher and even though the instruction is mostly in English, I think this is the only way he will learn Spanish.
I don't know if it is the uniform, but he looks so old to me. He was so brave. On the way to school we told him the word for bathroom and I explained to him that he would need to raise his hand and tell his teacher if he needed to go. When it was finally time for us to part he turned and cuddled up with me and said, "What is the word for bathroom again?" Sweetest parting words ever.
Connor was pretty sad to see him go. Ok, he was probably just really tired because we had to wake him up early. We went home and played together and then Connor took a great nap so Mom could exercise. This might just work out perfectly!

UPDATE: Day two of preschool Caden screamed and cried. I also cried as I drove home after abandoning my poor child. Why is motherhood such an emotional, guilt-ridden roller coaster? I am now afraid that I ruined him forever and Tom and I just lost a thousand bucks.

He likes to move it move it

Today at church the youth sang "Army of Helaman." Connor stood up on the bench and started shaking his booty. It reminded me of this video. Watch out 'So You Think You Can Dance?' we have a future star on our hands!

Chiminike

We were planning to go to the Valle de Angeles (Valley of Angels) last weekend but we planned poorly and did not end up having enough time. Luckily, plan B was the Chiminike Children's Museum. It turns out it is really close to our house and our kids had a lot of fun. It is a lot like Discovery Gateway but without the millions of children that always seem to be there. Caden has been very imaginative lately. Every night Tom and I have to tell him a story and he loves stories that involve knights and magical places. He was pretty excited to take a picture as a knight in shining armor.
This was the water area. Tom was having more fun than the kids. He can't wait until our kids are older and can actually understand all of the scientific stuff he tries to explain to them. (He always gets frustrated when I make up scientific answers just to appease/quiet Caden...let's just say I never got a solid foundation in Science)
Connor mostly gets into mischief. His favorite part was running up and down the hallways between exhibits. Honduran women love Connor. They always touch his hair and play with him. I am afraid that he is going to start thinking his name is Lindo. Every single person here says "Que lindo!" to him. I think it means 'how pretty!'
We got to eat lunch in a train car. We are waving from the window.
Caden always sticks out his tongue when he is focusing. He and his dad had a lot of fun at this museum. Until he encountered a giant nose that sneezed right as he was passing by. He calls it an elephant and will be forever terrified of it. I guess we won't be going in to the cuerpo room anytime soon. We will, however, definitely be going back to this museum. It was a lot of fun.

I love my husband!

This picture has nothing to do with the title of my post, but I love this picture of Connor. I love it when I manage to capture a look or a face that my kids make frequently. This is a classic Connor face and it makes me smile every time.

My sweet husband has put up with a lot lately. More than a few times this past week I have asked him (while sobbing) to take me home. He lovingly replies that if that is what I really want we can make it work. He is also very patient with my precious three-year-old. I brought a very small, wooden cement truck for them to put together. Lets just say small wooden parts, detailed instructions and an impatient three-year-old do not always make the most pleasant family home evening. Props to Tom for never getting frustrated.
I love Tom for many reasons but here is an example of one of them. While we are very happy with our current living conditions there are a few downsides. Apparently dishwashers are not common here, so we will be enjoying the privilege of washing our dishes by hand (or purchasing large amounts of paper products) for the next year. Tom has been so nice to do the dishes often, but this just made me laugh. He managed to fit more dishes into that little thing (I don't even know what they are called-this is SO two decades ago!) than I think I could fit into a dishwasher. Thanks Tom! The adventure for you might just be putting up with an emotional wife...and keeping the dishes clean (of course).

Every Suitcase Unpacked

I never thought I would be so happy to see furniture. It turns out that it is pretty nice furniture as well. This is a view of the dining room. I really love this big table.
This is our kitchen. We have a lot of space but not a lot of storage. The storage that we do have is close to the ground. Anyone with a 15 month old knows why this is problematic.
Random picture. This is at the little playground at the mall. Caden loves to jump from high places. I feel like we have a broken limb in our future. (It might be Connor's because he often times is not careful about what he jumps on)
I had to include this picture. I love Connor's little face. It looks like pure joy. (Perhaps it is the look of liberation from a tiny apartment...yes, I have also probably made that face a few times this week) Seriously, he is so cute. He does this often and screams really loud (I have a feeling that our new neighbors are already annoyed). Our neighbors are actually Americans. I wanted to run out and hug them when I heard them speaking English.
This is our formal living room/put random stuff that has yet to find a place in the house room. The stove that came with our furniture was a gas stove and the house is hooked up for electric so we had to buy a new one. We bought it, hauled it all the way home through traffic, just to realize that it did not come with the cord to plug it in. Tom knew how desperate I was to finally be able to cook food for our family so he went all the way back and finally found one (it only took two hours). On the way back from the mall (the first time) we were stopped by the police for the second time since we have been here. I feel like we are being racially profiled and it feels very uncomfortable to be on this side of it. Luckily both times they were very nice but it still stresses me out.

Frustration, patience, and a shortened life

Frustration might be understating my current mood. Lets just say I have threatened to get on an airplane and fly home no less than 40 times today. Last Thursday we were told our house would be available and we could get the keys the following day. We were also told that the house was fully furnished (wait, we have a truckload of furniture that is supposed to be here already). Naturally, I started packing up the apartment.
*Friday-Sorry, the keys will come tomorrow and oops, it's not furnished. Oh and by the way, the furniture is still in Guatemala. (Keep in mind they have had over a month to get the furniture to Honduras) Breathe Lisa, Breathe.
*Saturday-We actually get the keys. Furniture leaves Guatemala City and if everything goes well it should be here on
*Monday. Monday-Furniture gets through customs and should arrive that evening. This is truly a miracle.
*Tuesday-Moving Day! Oh wait, apparently they have to go to another customs office in the city to pay some fee. (Apparently when they go through customs they push a button and if the light turns green they get to pass, if it turns red they have to search everything.) They get a red light and spend several hours searching but it should still arrive this evening.
*Wednesday-Moving Day! What? Are you kidding me? The truck's gas cap was stolen so it is still sitting at customs. How hard can it be to get a new gas cap!? Hours of waiting and frustration...still no furniture.
*Thursday-Moving Day! It remains to be seen, I have my doubts.


One would think that a three-year-old would be a sufficient instrument for teaching a woman patience but now I get Honduras as well. Apparently everything here is relaxed and happens when it happens. They will say that someone is coming on Tuesday to install the Internet, but they mean that someone will come sometime in the next two weeks. I will either return to the U.S. a very patient woman or a very wrinkly, gray-haired cynical woman. The jury is still out.



Although I am slightly embarassed to admit this, back in the U.S. I took Caden to McDonalds(or Dick Donalds as he calls it) on more than a few occassions. However, I never let him get french fries. It was always apples and chocolate milk. Here in Honduras there is no healthy option. All of my hard work has been erased. The only choice here is french fries and soda.(luckily they hate soda) Because we have been living in limbo for the past few days we have consumed a ridiculous amount of french fries and other unhealthy junk. I am beginning to think I will have a heart attack before this furniture is ever delivered to my house.


I apologize for the rant but that was very therapeautic.

Lesson learned

I knew when I signed on for this little adventure that there would be many things that I would need to adjust to. This is one of them. In the public restrooms (at least the ones I have been to so far) they have one toilet paper dispenser. You have to get your toilet paper before you enter the stall. The problem is that the toilet paper dispenser looks quite similar to a paper towel dispenser. This lesson was learned the hard way. Too bad I don't know how to say "CAN ANYONE GET ME SOME TOILET PAPER" in Spanish. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Things that I love about Honduras (so far)

1-Maids.
2-Normal sized mannequins (we're talking size 8!)
3-Produce. I don't know why it tastes better, but all of the fruit tastes fresher
and sweeter.
4-Maids.
5-Members of the Church. I lived in a pretty amazing ward in Utah, but I have
never felt as welcomed and loved as I did yesterday. I could not
communicate very well with them but they still found a way to make me feel
completely comfortable.
6-Kindness of strangers. We were at the mall playing in a little play area and there were several kids with balloons. Connor loves balloons and with great persistence tried to obtain one of these balloons. Of course I stopped him every time. As one little girl was leaving her mom made her give Connor her balloon. I reluctantly accepted and that poor girl cried as her mom pulled her away. I felt horrible, but I wondered if I am doing enough to teach my children to be kind and giving.
7- Have I mentioned the amazing maids? Tom and I have not decided if we are going to have a maid when we move to the house (we totally will, I just need to convince him) but the sweet maids at this apartment make my day. It may just be that I am desperate for adult conversation but I really enjoy speaking in broken Spanish to these kind women.

Beautiful City

The view from the park. I love how green it is here.