Our First Appointment

Kurt & I tried to be secretive about our first appointment because I wasn't very far along. We set it up for the day after Thanksgiving, early in the morning. That evening, we had to be at a dinner with the team & all the Dominican employees. So, we hoped to make our appointment, get through quickly, & be back in time for the dinner. We arrived at 9:15 & put our names in. Of course, the doctor was late & he didn't start seeing people until 10. There were 6 people ahead of us; who knows how long it would take. We waited, and waited. Finally, at 11:30, we saw the doctor. He was nice & helpful. A little hard to understand, but the time spent in his office went quickly. I weighed 118 pounds & was scheduled to get blood work done & have an ultrasound. We left the hospital with the realization that it's happening - Baby Cline will be here in July :)

I'm Having A Baby!!

I finally took a test because I just couldn't wait any longer. I made sure not to peak at the results before plenty of time had passed. Once I finally looked, I was like - Oh my word, I'm pregnant! I got that silly grin on my face, & I looked at Kurt & told him. I'm not sure exactly what he was thinking, but he looked a little surprised. I knew we were both ready, but you still feel unsure about all the changes that come with having children. After I told him, I looked at the test again & said, "Wait a second. I might have read that wrong. I'm not sure if I'm actually pregnant." The stupid test was kind of confusing. It showed a solid dark line & a faded line. I read the test backwards the second time, so I thought I wasn't pregnant. But I was!! The test was positive; I'm having a baby!!

Am I Really Pregnant?

I was 4 days late for my period. Nothing too crazy to signal a red flag, but not all that normal either. I decided not to get my hopes up that I was pregnant, so I kept waiting. Another 3 days went by & no period. Here's where I finally mentioned something to Kurt. I didn't make it sound like a big deal, & I wasn't about to waste a pregnancy test. So... we continued to wait, one more week. I figured another week, & I could be sure of the results of the test.

There's no such thing as the Tooth Fairy

Just last week, one of our kindergartener's, Yafreydi, stood up & came over to me during mat time - which is when everyone should be sitting on the floor. She whispered my name & opened her hand. Laying in the middle of her palm was a tooth! Obviously, my first question was, "Is that your tooth?" She smiled & nodded her head yes. Not knowing what to say next, I said the only thing that came to me, "What do you want to do with it?" As you can probably guess, I hadn't processed the number of terrible responses she could have given. Fortunately, all she wanted to do was throw it up in the air. "The what?!" Yes, she made the motions for tossing her tooth into the air. I'm still not exactly sure what that was all about, but I gave her the go-ahead. She then proceeded to walk down the steps to go outside. I figured that would take too long, so I just told her to throw it out the window. And, she did. Bye-bye tooth. Out the window, and onto the ground.

Why Am I Sick?

I remember the first time I felt "Morning Sickness." We were with the second McGill group enjoying a nice evening at El Concon. I was about to partake in a very delicious chicken alfredo pizza when I knew there was no way that it would go down. I felt awful! I was also very disappointed because it's probably my favorite pizza here in the DR. Some of the ladies from the group jokingly said, "You must be pregnant." Of course, I replied very confidently, "No, I'm not." Obviously, I didn't get to eat my pizza that night, but I made sure to take it home & devour it the following day :)

Ministry Update

Once a week, Kurt does music with the kids. We're singing
"This Little Light of Mine" & "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."

We welcomed Mery to our team this year. She is a certified
Dominican teacher who is now employed by Freedom.

School has been outside the last 3 Fridays because the church is being used.
We've all learned to do our best with what we have, but
Please, help us build that school! :)

Forever and a Day

Wow! That's about all I can say about my ability to blog once a month. I've been awful, to say the least! I could always blame it on the crazy school schedule: 

5:00am - Get up :)

6:10am - Leave the parking lot.

7:45am - Finish the bus route & arrive at the school.

8:00am - Start class.

12:00pm - Finish class.

1:15pm - Arrive at home.

** Of course the work doesn't stop at 1:15, but it's a different type of work. I would say it's a little less exhausting :) **

However, no matter how crazy that schedule is, I wouldn't give it up! Kurt & I are currently working in the Kindergarten class with Angie (another missionary). Our job is to help the teacher and manage discipline. It may seem like a simple job, but it requires a lot of patience, energy, and love. Each day is a new experience (and not always a great one, I might add). We've enjoyed watching the kids as they continue to grow. Their understanding of English, ability to listen to directions, and acceptance of discipline has gotten so much better, even over the last 4 weeks! It's been fun to be a part of the Kindergarten class. 

Next week, we start a rotation with the Preschoolers. All I can say is that it will definitely be a change! Good thing kids are cute because otherwise... 

 Pictured above: Estefani, Chiquito, Nika, & Achuchu are coloring their morning paper.