Smile!

We told Tucker we were going home to see all our family and friends.  He was really excited.

 Then we told him that it wouldn't be until July and he wasn't so thrilled.

Tucker is doing well!  It's hard to believe that we are nearing a week already.  He has been sleeping better at night, and during the day, and pretty much any time he isn't eating.  He seems to be growing already, but I am sure we will get a better report when we have a checkup with the doctor on Saturday.  I (Regg) am thankful that I don't have class again until Wednesday.  Tomorrow the elementary school is going to the Zoo in Guadalajara for a a field trip and we have Monday and Tuesday off.  So I plan to enjoy some quality time with Tucker and Bev.   I also get to go pick up Anita on Monday.   Maybe we can get some guest blogs posted in the coming month.

Tucker Dane

 I suppose this is news worthy of starting up the blog again.  Bev and I are super excited to have Tucker home with us.  It was a long day Saturday, but definitely worth it.  Tucker is a great little baby.  While I can't deny that he does cry a little, he has allowed us to get at least a little sleep (remember this is Regg talking so Bev might have a different interpretation of these facts).  He is a cute little guy and has really been pretty alert so far, which is a lot of fun.

I know that people are going to be asking about the details.  So, here are some, at least.  Things started early in the morning but proceeded slowly.  We went to the doctor here in town, Dr. Martín, who has been our doctor since January.  (We originally were seeing his wife, but she was elected mayor so her husband took over the office.) Anyway, after a quick checkup, he told us to go ahead and go to the hospital in Zamora.  So we took the 45 min drive and got to the hospital around 3:30.  Christy Stoller, currently studying in Guadalajara to be a doctor, was staying with us for the weekend and went along with us, so we had a little extra expert advice to guide us through checking in and all the fun stuff.  At about 6:25 we went into delivery and at 6:55 we were happy, grateful parents.  The hospital was a private hospital so it was a little nicer than what we would find in the other hospitals but nothing like what we have in the states.  It was still nice enough for us though.  We had our own private room with a bathroom and room for all of us to sleep.  The room and the hospital were pretty basic, but really, we had what we needed.  We had Tucker with us the whole time (no nursery) so we didn't get tons of sleep.  He was awake and wide-eyed for about two hours after birth.  He has plenty of dark hair and his eyes are currently pretty dark too (no surprises there).  He seems super tiny sometimes, but then he starts to move around and all of a sudden doesn't seem quite so small.

Anyway, we will try to keep, at the very least, some pictures coming.  And we can't wait to see a lot of you in a couple of months when we come up this summer!

So April Came and Went

Since trying to excuse my long lapses without blogging seems to be the way that I start each post, I am going to treat you all with another excuse. This time it may be relatively understood and accepted, but only by a minuscule degree (if even that).

You see, we currently have no internet. This is because we are not living in the guest house anymore. Yes, that is right. We moved. No, not to the house we are planning on ending up in, but moved none-the-less. More on the move in the next post. First…what about the month of April?

Yes, you are right to ask. April proved to be very interesting for us. We left for the states and the wedding of Abe and Julie Habegger on April 1^st. That was a Friday. We rushed to Ft. Wayne for pictures, back to Milford for the wedding and then I was on a plane at 1:00 AM Monday morning on my way back to Mexico while my beautiful wife stayed behind with her family. Yes, two whole weeks, Bev and I were separated. It was a long couple of weeks. Thankfully we have Skype and were able to talk a lot. I kept busy and the two weeks were soon over.

By the way, Abe and Julie’s wedding was great. I am honored to be Julie’s cousin and a close enough friend of Abe, an import to Milford from Bluffton, to be included in the wedding party. It was fun to see so much of the family and so many old friends. We are super excited for the great things that Abe and Julie will do as a couple and that we get to be their friends.

Anyway, the two weeks ended and I got back on a plane for Chicago. Spring Break finally came to Mexico so, naturally, we spent it in the states. Mexico always gives two weeks off for Spring Break, the weeks before and after Easter, so most of the first week we spent with Mom and Dad Beer who were watching my little cousins. So we filled the time with all kinds of exciting activities. Thursday we headed to Ohio for some Schlatter family time. To top off the day, my sister Angie had a little baby boy, Jace David, and on Friday morning we made a quick trip back to Ft. Wayne to see Mark, Angie, and little Jace.

Here are the Murray cousins. We had a lot of fun with them and they had a lot of energy.

Jace David. You really can't see him very well, but I can't wait to get back in July and get my hands on him again. I am sure he is growing fast.

That was when Spring Break really started. After seeing Jace, we made the trek up to Toledo to meet up with Kent to head down to Florida with Mark, Missy and family. We almost drove through a tornado somewhere in Kentucky, but the trip otherwise went very well and we drove out of the cold nasty Midwest weather into the warm Sunshine State. We spent a week relaxing in Orlando before catching a plane back to Mexico on April 30^th. Yep, the last day of April. That was the month of April. It was super exciting and fun. More later on the house and the last eye clinic.

Here is the spring break crew (except for Mark and Missy, of course. I don't know how they got out of getting their picture on here. Some other time, like when they come to visit us, right?).

An Update-ote

That's Spanglish for a huge update. Yeah. I wish I was self-disciplined enough to not have to start every post with some apology for not having posted.

So way back in March, yeah, March, Bryan Stoller and company were here. This included Bryan, his wife Kara and their three kids, Corey and Beth Steffen and their six kids, and Hannah Zimmerman. It was a crowd and they all stayed here in the guest house with Bev and I. It was a tight fit, but we all got on fine. Life was definitely a lot more interesting that week.

Someone turned 40 while they were here, but I won't say who....
We went out for tacos one night at a little stand on the street. Yeah, all 16 of us crowded around poor Luis and asked for 40-some tacos. He's was more than happy to serve us.

Bryan ran an eye clinic to give out eye glasses. He met with several hundred people over the four days that he worked. He was a very busy man. The girls that came down helped him out with the work that needed to be done in the clinic. That consisted of testing everyone on the wall chart and actually giving out the glasses. Everything seemed to go quite smoothly and we even were able to send over all the kids in the elementary for a quick exam. A couple of them came back proudly wearing new glasses.

This is apparently what the girls did helping Bryan all week. Looks pretty tough to me.

Oh, wait, here's the wall chart. It had pictures instead of letters for all the people who don't know how to read.

Here is the room where they gave out the glasses. You can see all the glasses around the side of the room. There are thousands of them. If anyone has used glasses that are no longer in use, you can send them to Bryan for the eye clinic here in Ixtlan. His address is in the Silver Lining.

Meanwhile, Corey set up the new computer lab for the school. The boys and I were the lucky ones to help him. We now have 15 brand new computers in the school and are thankful that we will be able to give computer classes next year as well. I won't say that the set up went without glitches, but everything is now pretty much ready to go.

Corey and Beth with the wonderful new computers. Computer classes will start next year and the kids are very excited.

I can't forget about the most valuable people of the week Kara, Beth (and sometimes my very own wife - when she wasn't helping at the clinic). They were the ones that kept us fed. Obviously the most important job of them all. We ate very well all week thanks to their work.

Here is Kara with some of the girls at the market doing her job for the week. Looks like fresh pineapple was on the menu.

Saturday we took a little break in the morning and gave the group a chance to get away for a little while. We made a quick trip to the market in Zamora and managed to get a good cultural experience in, even if we missed the ever elusive chorros. We then headed out to Lake Camecuaro for a little bit of relaxation. The lake is fed by natural springs and is crystal-clear and very cold. We snacked and walked around a bit before we headed back to Ixtlan for lunch and a little more work.

Here is a shot at the market in Zamora. That's zucchini, chayote (a type of squash) and onions in the very front.

The market isn't all fresh produce and pig heads, just ask these girls. They were taking one big whiff of the pleasant aroma before going through the fish market.

Here we are at the beautiful Lake Camecuaro.

The crew left on Monday morning, crammed into the big green van. Thankfully, Beth took a lot of pictures which we copied onto our computer before they left, so we can actually give you some good pictures this time. Thank you, Beth!!!

Pig Heads for Anita

Anita had asked that we bring her a pig head, but we got held up a little in customs coming up to the states. Something about contamination, but by the looks of their faces, I think they were just plain disgusted.

Okay. So we didn't even try, but for Anita's sake, here is another reminder of the wonderful Mexican delicacy (which I have never tried).

Guest post (a revision of ANITA, KENT AND GINA)

Written by anonymous. (Unless by sheer luck you can figure out who wrote it. I will give one clue. It starts with A and ends with an NITA.) See previous post for a picture.

It was an eventful week, to say the least. We were very fortunate to have Bev’s brother and sister, Kent and Anita, and their cousin, Gina, delight us with their presence. Our lovely visitors didn’t waste any time getting down here to the warmth, arriving in Guadalajara a little after 8 am. Bev and I decided to treat them to burritos on the drive back to Ixtlan. It’s not a bad breakfast, let me tell you. Kent was bold and tried the lengua en salsa verde (tongue in green sauce) while Gina and Anita played it safe with pollo (chicken). Anita ended up being incredibly brave as her second burrito was some funny-looking chicken that was actually tongue. “It was interesting,” she lauded when asked how it tasted. “I wouldn’t eat it every day, but it wasn’t too bad. It looks much worse than it tastes.” Once we arrived back in Ixtlan, Bev was showered with gifts from the states. The gifts included cream of chicken soup, peanut butter, chocolate chips, some personal items, yarn, and a quilt that her mom sent. Needless to say, the suitcases were much lighter on the trip home. But Bev was very appreciative of her newly-acquired wealth.

After giving the visitors a chance to unpack, freshen up and change clothes (the matching BevRegg shirts needed to go), we headed out with others from church to Samuel and Maria’s property for a true Mexican lunch. It was delicious food and a quite enjoyable afternoon. We had youth group that evening which included volleyball before the Bible study. A fun time was had by all. Many of the girls couldn’t believe how much Michael had changed since last year, as they mistook Kent for his younger brother. Kent also acquired the nickname “no puedo” from Alejandro. That one may stick around for awhile. Gina’s height was mentioned frequently as she tended to look down on everyone else. Anita was glad to be able to sing in Spanish again, but not so thrilled about volleyball bruises. All in all, it was a great first day for the visitors and just a preview of all the good times yet to come.

The most popular event of the week was evening conversations held on the kitchen counters, the most logical place to hang out. There was much laughter and good-humored teasing, or at least they tell me it is only teasing. I have learned from my short time in the Schlatter family that understanding what is going on or being said is not required, just laugh when everyone else is and don’t be afraid to dish it out. They tell me that I’m fitting in nicely.

According to the visitors, it was a very relaxing week. I still had to work all week, but it worked out well. A lot of books were read and games of pinochle played. We all learned interesting, not so accurate facts about how to treat goiters, snakebites and other infirmities. Anybody have some buzzard brains on hand? Anita made sure we went to the plaza for tacos at least once. She frequently inquires as to why we don’t go more often when the tacos are so fantastic. We were able to climb La Mula on Friday and despite continual jabs about me getting more thorns in my head, we made it up and down without any mishaps.

Saturday morning was rough, as the three visitors packed up to go home. Their flight left at noon, so we hit the road early. I personally was quite distraught at the thought of their departure. No more comments about soccer players or uncanny strength, at least not in person. Thank goodness for skype! It was hard to say goodbye, but we hope to see them all soon during my spring break in April. Thank you all for gracing us with your presence!

Anita, Kent and Gina...

I don't have to say anything else.

They were the next visitors. They came in on Saturday the 5th of March and left a week later on the 12th. So it was a busy week. It started immediately after they got here on Saturday. Samuel and Maria, an older couple in church had invited the church over to some of their property to have lunch. So a group of us, including Anita, Kent and Gina, headed over and enjoyed some good Mexican cooking. We had carne asada, tripa, nopales, chorizo, grilled onions, beans, tortillas, rice. It was some good stuff. So they started the visit off right. Later we managed to do all the normal stuff. Tacos in the evening (didn't work so hot when we went to get them on Ash Wednesday), ice cream, trips to the market (both in Ixtlan and in Zamora), and eventually even the good ol' climb up La Mula, the mountain that we always climb close by. Besides that everyone had a lovely opportunity to enjoy the warm/hot weather and relax a little bit. I (Regg) had to keep on working, but that worked out alright. Bev was able to try out Mexican driving for the first time and survived the trip to Zamora and back just fine. So, it was a very successful week. So then they left and we had some peace and quiet before the next group of visitors. The big event during that time was another school parade. I managed to get a ton of confetti dumped on me while I helped the kids. It was a little better than some of the others. It wasn't as long and the kids did pretty well. It's just hot and a lot of standing and walking around. But it was finally over and I was left picking confetti off my clothes. (Some of the colors stain, as we discovered from the last parade.) Well, I guess that is enough for this time. In the next post, the Eye Clinic.