tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-303421372024-03-07T00:44:20.540-05:00Simply SarahSarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.comBlogger320125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-10977864666657267272012-02-07T16:00:00.001-05:002012-02-07T16:00:55.971-05:00Home<br />
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We are home! We arrived home last Monday afternoon and have
been grateful for the not-so-frigid temperatures. On Tuesday it was in the 50s
and sunny and our sleep schedule was way off, so Daniel and I went to the zoo
in the afternoon. </div>
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Our trip home was very smooth. We left from Kilimanjaro
airport around 10pm and Daniel went right to sleep. Surprisingly, he slept
through the lights on, switching passengers, announcements and safety videos at
our stopover in Dar es Salaam less than an hour later. He ended up sleeping
almost all the way to Amsterdam waking up just in time for breakfast.
Unfortunately, Dave and I didn’t sleep nearly as well (I was holding Daniel for
half the night after he woke up the first time.) He got to play in the
Children’s Forest at the Amsterdam airport before boarding the flight to
Detroit. He did pretty well on the flight to Detroit, except for the last hour
or so when he kept wanting to yell (maybe “screech” would be more fitting). We
got a snack with ice cream around then, so I told him he needed to use a quiet
voice if he wanted ice cream. Worked wonders :) He didn’t have anyone
sitting in front of him, so he could put his feet up on the seat and not worry
about disturbing someone. </div>
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I think we’re finally adjusted to the time change. Daniel
seemed to do better than the rest of us! Daniel and I went to bed at 5:30pm on
Monday, which was as late as we could make it. I went to bed with him for
several days knowing I’d need to be up with him whenever he woke up – anywhere
from 4:45 on! It was nice to see Dave before he left for work at 5:30 and it’s
amazing what you can do in a morning when you’re up so early, but I think I’d
rather be sleeping. For several days, Daniel woke up between 4 and 5am, waking
me up too. He would go back to sleep, but I never did. Today, though, we slept
until 7:30! </div>
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We weren’t gone long enough to be making very many cultural
adjustments back to the States. A few things I noticed, though, were greeting
people in English rather than Swahili, not having to turn on the water heater
an hour before showering, having consistent electricity, water and internet.
Though those last two show you that we were living a pretty easy life in the
city – we HAD running, water, a way to heat it, electricity, internet access,
etc. It’s been very quiet here, especially at night (in the winter – summer in
Detroit is a whole ‘nother story!) No roosters or cows or loud diesel trucks
bumping and creaking up the hill. In other ways, Detroit is so much like an
African city - you never know what you’re going to see and nothing is really
surprising. We were on our way to a fruit market the other day and I noticed a
random abandoned boat on the side of the road in front of an old warehouse. On
the way home, I realized there were actually two abandoned boats. </div>
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After all the preparation to go to Tanzania, it seems
incredible that we’ve gone, were there for two weeks and are already home and
back into the swing of things here. Then again, I’ve never gone to Africa for
such a short time before. More to come about our experiences and where we’re
going from here.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-51565140252651803572012-01-30T02:48:00.002-05:002012-02-01T13:03:12.609-05:00Daniel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Daniel LOVES Tanzania. We’d been prepping him for weeks
about how we were going to go on an airplane to Tanzania and he was so excited.
The morning we left, he woke up and asked to go to the zoo (like he does almost
every day) and I told him that we couldn’t go to the zoo, but that it was the
day to go to the airport and go to Tanzania. His eyes got wide and he said, “Go
on an airplane to Tanzania!!”</div>
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<br /></div>
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The weather in Tanzania this time of year is hot and
sunny. Daniel loves being able to play outside and would really appreciate
living in a place where he could easily play outside all year. This is a dry
season and he found lots of dirt to play in – in the yard around the house
where we were staying, at the market and any time we walked down the road. We
had to enforce “walking time” when we were in a hurry to get somewhere and he
really couldn’t stop and play in the dirt every five feet. He was pretty
intrigued by all the noises too – “woosters” crowing, cows mooing, lorries
bumping up and down the road, pikipikis (motorbikes), music playing, the metal
cutting shop nearby. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBcUZynb90G1fOrV1TWRY5DXatHQ4Xbg8brZIzVOuFJydd1y1JcOLAH3dkUZmnIjfkqE7w6rSJ2RbTZGWmsUsr4ivc1sSNtvGUEz6Xf5ibxOspxYaVJEg4xVxZrx3y8SKqPt0/s1600/playing+in+dirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBcUZynb90G1fOrV1TWRY5DXatHQ4Xbg8brZIzVOuFJydd1y1JcOLAH3dkUZmnIjfkqE7w6rSJ2RbTZGWmsUsr4ivc1sSNtvGUEz6Xf5ibxOspxYaVJEg4xVxZrx3y8SKqPt0/s400/playing+in+dirt.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing in the dirt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbpYJXu3rsv0uqcqyd1k_F8zPNF71rzCqNAtQaLy3iizZsQUGSf9TxC0n2lzASfZkWrbHy20amedQb1Jm1TllcNAnJQ5lEpYD6ucDPkuKTJ2T0oftUcGfvW4Jge32PDHLQjPn/s1600/walking+outside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbpYJXu3rsv0uqcqyd1k_F8zPNF71rzCqNAtQaLy3iizZsQUGSf9TxC0n2lzASfZkWrbHy20amedQb1Jm1TllcNAnJQ5lEpYD6ucDPkuKTJ2T0oftUcGfvW4Jge32PDHLQjPn/s400/walking+outside.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exploring Outside</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXBcpRXfX7XCpZS8yALJVMCW8cF_yJ7hcHtI9V-_yaO9LnGxS4S1-r60PQywR_EUR3rtFZmXeL0OnEH8225VOa0XP8ZQRTzkbxnBDdiWwgm3cbgSKJaRZTLZafrrfHSa3I65G/s1600/watering+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXBcpRXfX7XCpZS8yALJVMCW8cF_yJ7hcHtI9V-_yaO9LnGxS4S1-r60PQywR_EUR3rtFZmXeL0OnEH8225VOa0XP8ZQRTzkbxnBDdiWwgm3cbgSKJaRZTLZafrrfHSa3I65G/s400/watering+garden.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helping water the garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<br />
Daniel has adjusted so well to everything – and he’s usually
a kid who takes a while to warm up and be comfortable with new things. When we
first arrived, I was asking God to give Daniel a real love for Tanzania too if
this is the place for us. Several times I asked him if he liked
Tanzania and if he thought it would be a fun place to live and he replied with
a very enthusiastic, “Yeah!!” He did really well greeting people and responding
when people greeted him, though he usually needed a prompt and for a while he
was using a very funny voice any time he was speaking Swahili. In Tanzania it
is important to greet people and be respectful towards elders, so I really
wanted him to be friendly and polite.</div>
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We had the opportunity to take a day trip to a nearby
national park and Daniel had a wonderful time driving around and seeing lots of
animals, especially twigas (giraffes) – his favorite. He associated the tarmac
road with going to see animals and any time we were on a tarmac road after that
he asked if we could go to “the zoo” to see the animals again. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzx3K9jYNqFg8F-Km1vRa54T_y110vorpqmKgC5a9BCddfPCk9kEEcz4ZA2XvZEn6pc7t31tTKuDsjDwbgrKuQu1kauXwufrh-3j13hgAhQLifnGuBf0SJh9zv4vZdVMH8MhB/s1600/looking+out+over+tarangire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzx3K9jYNqFg8F-Km1vRa54T_y110vorpqmKgC5a9BCddfPCk9kEEcz4ZA2XvZEn6pc7t31tTKuDsjDwbgrKuQu1kauXwufrh-3j13hgAhQLifnGuBf0SJh9zv4vZdVMH8MhB/s400/looking+out+over+tarangire.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKq6LugC9Of3xhi9JFjMi68cxInls81MH7YHgWT-CzJ_xydQi4OkzKIN1jK4EQ0U6TzguKVB_Quqnvdv9VNYnEMkIrqo_Pabyy1Lfq-RLqiwg3WPlM4eNTilu3c3VR0PGm6v6S/s1600/on+safari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKq6LugC9Of3xhi9JFjMi68cxInls81MH7YHgWT-CzJ_xydQi4OkzKIN1jK4EQ0U6TzguKVB_Quqnvdv9VNYnEMkIrqo_Pabyy1Lfq-RLqiwg3WPlM4eNTilu3c3VR0PGm6v6S/s400/on+safari.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<br />
We also met up with several other families with small
children so Daniel was able to play with some new friends. At one point, we had
three boys three and under rolling around on the ground at a playground –
completely covered with dirt. We found out about a lot of fun things to do with
kids around Arusha as well as various school options. </div>
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Another thing I really appreciated about having a small
child in Tanzania is that people nurse freely – there’s no shame about it and
no one is offended like in the U.S. I wasn’t sure how it would be nursing
an older toddler, since, I’ve mostly seen young babies nursing, but every time
I did, the women around were so supportive – “Just like an African!” they would
say. </div>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-60716801377546364802012-01-23T13:33:00.000-05:002012-01-23T13:33:20.767-05:00First Couple Days in Tanzania<br />
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We’ve been in Tanzania for a week now. We’re feeling pretty
comfortable. Fortunately, we have enough experience in Africa that it isn’t all
new and overwhelming and we can focus our attention on whether Arusha and the
two hospitals are a good fit for us more than on whether we could live in
Africa. </div>
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We finally have semi-reliable internet access, so we’re
starting to catch up a little on sharing about our experiences. </div>
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Our trip here was pretty smooth, except for Daniel vomiting
an hour into the trip and having a stinky car seat the rest of the way! He fell
asleep shortly after, but only slept for about 30 minutes before waking up
again. After that he was wide awake until we were just about to land in
Amsterdam. At least he was happy. I don’t mind wide awake as long as he’s not
cranky or crying. He slept for a few hours in Amsterdam and a few hours on the
flight to Tanzania. The Amsterdam airport, by the way, is fantastic, especially
for traveling with children. They have a baby care lounge that’s dark and
quiet, and there would have been room to get him a bath if he hadn’t been sound
asleep. They also have a playground where kids can run around and climb. We’re
hoping to take advantage of that on the way back. </div>
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Daniel was so excited to arrive in Tanzania, and we were
too! As soon as they opened the plane door, we could feel the warm air! We got
our visas and bags with no trouble and then met the director of the hospital
who had come to get us. He gave us a bit of geographic orientation and told us
about the things we were passing in the dark along the way. I showed Dave where
I studied Swahili back in 2006. Daniel fell asleep right away in the car and we
were hoping that would transfer into bed when we got to the guesthouse in town,
but according to his body it was just an afternoon nap. Dave stayed up with him
for a while to read and play while I went to bed. Apparently Dave fell asleep
on the couch and the next thing I knew, Daniel had climbed up into bed with me.
</div>
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Tuesday morning we went to the town hospital (Arusha
Lutheran Medical Center or ALMC) where had some orientation to the hospital and
it’s history, mission and vision. Then we met with most of the surgeons (with
chai and mandazi – yum!) and heard a little of their stories and how they got
to this hospital. We were really impressed with the surgeons. They all seem
very competent, kind and wise. They have a lot of experience and would be a
great team to work with. As we heard more about the hospital, it seems like we
share a lot of common vision and ideals. We’re finding out that some of the
things that drew us to the hospital on the surface are reflections of a deeper
philosophy that certainly resonates with us. </div>
<!--EndFragment-->Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-49172807357884083912012-01-15T15:00:00.000-05:002012-01-17T12:27:45.329-05:00Africa Update Part 4: Next Steps<style>
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This is part 4 in a series about our journey towards working
long-term in Africa. Part 1 described our decision to go back to Africa
long-term, Part 2 describes Dave’s desire to train residents. Part 3 talks
about a particular hospital in Tanzania that we are considering. </div>
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I’m writing this from the airport. We are on our way to
Tanzania to visit the hospitals, meet the team of people Dave would be working
with, see around town and generally get a feel for it all. This should give us
a sense of whether this would be a good fit for us. It is also their chance to
get to know us. We will be in Arusha for two weeks. (And yes, there is someone
staying at our house while we’re gone.) </div>
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During the time we’re gone, we will be sharing some of our
thoughts and experiences here. </div>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-1139103806631774552012-01-08T22:09:00.001-05:002012-01-08T22:11:22.107-05:00Africa Update Part 3: Tanzania<span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">Part 1: Going Back to Africa is </span><a href="http://sarahhalter.blogspot.com/2011/10/africa-update-part-1.html" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">here</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Part 2: Working with Residents is <a href="http://sarahhalter.blogspot.com/2011/10/africa-update-part-2-working-with.html">here</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This was
definitely the hardest part to write, partly because we've been so busy the
last couple months and partly because this is so much harder to describe in a
succinct way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've been
interested in Tanzania for a long time. When I was in Kenya in 2002, I went on
a retreat with the other students in East Africa and we traveled around
Tanzania for a week. I spent a summer in Tanzania studying Swahili and really
grew to love so m any things about the people, places, culture and history of
Tanzania. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once we knew
that we needed to go back to Africa (see <a href="http://sarahhalter.blogspot.com/2011/10/africa-update-part-1.html">Part 1</a>), we hoped that we would end up
in Kenya or Tanzania. We have experience in East Africa. I have a lot of time
and energy invested in learning Swahili. Most of our relationships in Africa
are in Kenya. At the same time, though, we were trying very hard to be open to
whatever God had for us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once we were
sure we wanted to pursue residency training through the Pan-African Academy of
Christian Surgeons or PAACS (see <a href="http://sarahhalter.blogspot.com/2011/10/africa-update-part-2-working-with.html">Part 2</a>), the options of where to go narrowed
to the places that either have a PAACS program or that are waiting for surgical
faculty to be able to open a program. We had several conversations with PAACS
administrators about the different places they needed people and God worked
with us to get to the point that we would be willing to go to any of them, even
the one that was the-place-I'd-always-said-I'd-NEVER-go. Still, we were most
seriously considering existing programs at two hospitals in Kenya and a program
in Tanzania that is in the planning stages. Over the course of several months,
we felt like the two programs in Kenya weren't the best fit for us long-term,
for a number of reasons. At the same time, we felt increasingly drawn to the
hospital in Tanzania. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.almc.habari.co.tz/index.htm">ArushaLutheran Medical Center</a> (ALMC) and <a href="http://selianlh.habari.co.tz/index.htm">Selian Lutheran Hospital</a> are sister
hospitals in northern Tanzania that are preparing to open a general surgery
residency program. Selian is located on the outskirts of Arusha and serves as a
referral center for the district while ALMC is a new hospital in the center of town.
Together, the two hospitals would serve as the training site for residents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are just
a few highlights of the journey and a smattering of things that draw us to this
hospital:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">- In our
first conversation with one of the PAACS leaders at the conference last year,
he mentioned that they were considering a program at a hospital in Tanzania. I
think he said that he wasn’t actually supposed to share about it yet, but knew
we would be interested. Dave and I both felt our hearts stir as he mentioned
that possibility and we were definitely interested.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">- To make a
long story short, we were fasting with our church during lent last year and
asking God for direction about our future work. Two days before we finished,
Dave got an email from the CEO of PAACS asking if he would be interested in
talking further about the possibilities for working there. We thought that the
timing was somewhat of a coincidence, but when Dave talked to him more about it
all, he said that he felt like God was telling him to contact Dave about it
just then. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">- The
hospital has several surgeons, three of whom are Tanzanian. This means that
Dave would be working alongside Tanzanian surgeons to train residents and not
just a team of westerners teaching Tanzanians. This is HUGE for us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">- Dave’s
current residency program operates across two sister hospitals. There are
unique opportunities and challenges to administering a program like this. As a
chief resident this year, Dave is getting a lot of experience with the ins and
outs of this type of program. This seems like good preparation for developing a
residency program in Arusha. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">- Tanzania is
one of the poorest countries in the world. There are currently about 150
surgeons (of any kind) for 41 million people. That’s like 35 surgeons for the
whole state of Michigan or just three surgeons for the City of Detroit. Our
calling has always been to the poor and we feel a special burden for people and
places that have been “left behind.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">- To work
effectively in Tanzania you really must learn Swahili. Hmm, sounds great to us!
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">- We really
like Tanzania and are very excited about the possibility of living there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next up will be Part 4: Next Steps, the highlight of which is that we're heading to Tanzania in a week to visit the hospitals, meet the team, see the town, evaluate whether this would be a good fit for us and see whether this is really where God is leading us. </span></div>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-31216986558839618552011-10-11T12:21:00.001-04:002012-01-08T22:13:25.362-05:00Africa Update Part 2: Working with ResidentsPart 1: Going Back to Africa is <a href="http://sarahhalter.blogspot.com/2011/10/africa-update-part-1.html">here</a><br />
Part 3: Tanzania is <a href="http://sarahhalter.blogspot.com/2012/01/africa-update-part-3-tanzania.html">here</a><br />
<br />
Once we realized we needed to go back to Africa, we had just
enough time to make plans to attend the Global Missions Health Conference in
Louisville in November 2010. We were hoping that the conference would help
confirm that this was the direction we should be going, which it did. It was
also a great time to visit with my family. My parents and brother helped with
Daniel while we were in the sessions and he had such a great time with them -
hurray for hometown conferences!!
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We ended up making some key connections at the conference
(in a very providential way, but that's a whole 'nother story) and found out
about an organization that runs general surgery residency programs in several
mission hospitals across Africa (the Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons, or <a href="http://paacs.net/">PAACS</a>). The more we considered this, the more
we were drawn to the idea of training residents. </div>
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This was a bit of a mental shift for me, because I had
always envisioned that we would be working in some remote area (ahem, westen
Kenya) where there is a significant need for doctors and not a lot of other
expats (foreigners). I thought that would be the place we'd have the biggest
impact, plus there's something really special about living in the village
(though I do recognize that I tend to romanticize village life and sometimes
have selective memory about my own experiences. That's a whole 'nother story
too, though!) But remote rural communities are not really where you find teaching
hospitals that have the capacity for advanced surgical training.</div>
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As we considered it (and as I let go of my expectations
about where we would live and work), we realized that Dave could spend the rest
of his career or even his life working in a remote hospital filling an urgent
need but that the need would still be there when he's gone. By training African
surgeons, he would be doing surgery in a way that is developmental and building
local capacity. </div>
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This was huge for us. I knew that surgery could be very
useful and good, but I had not really seen how surgery could be truly
developmental. When I thought of health and development, most of what I saw
related to primary care and public health. Surgery seemed more about meeting an
immediate need. </div>
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We also realized that teaching and mentoring residents would
be a really good fit for Dave. He’s a great teacher, able to explain
complicated medical information in a way that a lay person can easily
understand. He works best relationally in one-on-one or in small group
settings. As a senior resident, he does a lot of teaching of junior residents
and he both enjoys it and is good at it. As a chief resident this year, he’s
getting more experience with the logistics of administering a residency
program. He’s always had a long term interest in teaching, but now has a strong
desire to work specifically with residents.</div>
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Once again, more to come about where we’re thinking of
going. </div>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-8952997627754232922011-10-04T21:12:00.004-04:002012-01-08T22:12:56.300-05:00Africa Update Part 1: Going Back to Africa<div style="text-align: left;">
Part 2: Working with residents is <a href="http://sarahhalter.blogspot.com/2011/10/africa-update-part-2-working-with.html">here</a><br />
Part 3: Tanzania is <a href="http://sarahhalter.blogspot.com/2012/01/africa-update-part-3-tanzania.html">here</a><br />
<br />
Back in March, I posted that we were making plans to move to Africa after Dave finishes his residency. I’m finally making time to share more about how we got here and how our plans are shaping up.<br />
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First a little background. For those who don’t know, in college I spent 6 months living in a rural community in western Kenya, teaching in a primary school, learning about life in the village and exploring issues surrounding poverty and development. As a graduate student studying community development, I spent another 5 months in that same community studying local development efforts. I also studied Swahili, both at Michigan State and in Tanzania and Dave spent six weeks during his medical training working at a hospital in Malawi.<br />
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We always thought that we would end up in Africa eventually, probably in rural Kenya. Then we landed in Detroit and realized that this was a great place to put down some roots, build relationships, and engage in transforming our community. We had never dreamed we’d be in Detroit, but once we got connected, we were absolutely sure that God had placed us here. So we began to wonder whether we should stay here in Detroit. We knew we’d be here for a while (General Surgery residency is LONG!), but would this be the place for us long term?<br />
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We began asking God what was next. We entertained ideas of all the “fun” places we could live. We considered what life in Detroit would really look like and all the things we would miss if we were not here. We wondered about the possibilities for serving in Africa. But as Dave asked, “what’s next?” God clearly showed him: “You’re not ready yet to hear what’s next.” So we waited and wondered, prayed and pondered, all the while seeking to learn and grow.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Then one day, we both knew that we needed to go back to Africa. It was different circumstances for each of us, but on the same day, we each came home convicted that we needed to go. Our calling has never been to live in America, make a doctor salary, give away a lot of money and take short term trips overseas (the justification we used for the “live in a fun place” fantasies.) We also realized that our time in Detroit is for a season. We’ve learned so much while we’ve been here and have grown in so many ways. But this is not the place for us to stay.<br />
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More to come...</div>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-68897497014907708272011-10-04T10:51:00.002-04:002011-10-04T10:53:57.833-04:00Quote of the DayMe: (After a bath) Let's dry off your back, your side, your arm<br />Daniel: Other side, other arm.<br />Me: left leg, left foot<br />Daniel: other left footSarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-39192471134932291252011-09-13T19:56:00.003-04:002011-09-13T20:12:11.157-04:00A few DanielismsThe other night, Dave was singing Daniel a bedtime song and Daniel said, "No. ABCDEFG" asking for him to sing the alphabet song instead.<br /><br />Today Daniel and I were playing at the playground and he wanted me to go down the big slide. Then he said "Catch you!" ran down the stairs and around to catch me at the bottom of the slide. When I got to the bottom, he clapped!<br /><br />On the way up for a nap today, I had Daniel say night-night to all the things downstairs since he was feeling a little reluctant to go upstairs. He got pretty into it and we said goodnight to about 20 things in the kitchen, his toy train, several things in the dining room, his toy train, things in the living room and entryway, and then to his train a couple more times on the way up the stairs. I suggested a few things to say night night to in the bathroom and then he just kept going: "Night night sink. Night-night lights. Night-night tub..." It was really fun to hear the things he noticed to say goodnight to.<br /><br />Daniel has been learning to count for several months now. At first he counted "one, two, one, two, two, one, two." Then the next thing I knew, he counted, "one, two, three, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven." At first, I was excited he got three and then he rattled off all the way to eleven. Now he can count to nineteen: "One, two three, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, eighteen, nineteen" is about how it goes. Someday we'll get four and five :) To me, it shows just how much kids pick up just from listening and engaging in what's going on around them. I didn't try to teach him to count that far. He just did.Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-47412990403078786052011-08-22T20:23:00.003-04:002011-08-22T20:27:40.376-04:00Trying on Glasses with Grandma<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2KM7vEd2fhlVM_n0-7AuM_YYXCaAsSSFzIO_tsT5rnuvr3Dn4z395X1I_A2-IgGUSacLgx9eeycuZJQSpJLle4YKu0UlTtLyA_vxLGSLkgDBFgBZ2NZ4C5MreRdlXL4zLi7l/s1600/DSC_4603.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2KM7vEd2fhlVM_n0-7AuM_YYXCaAsSSFzIO_tsT5rnuvr3Dn4z395X1I_A2-IgGUSacLgx9eeycuZJQSpJLle4YKu0UlTtLyA_vxLGSLkgDBFgBZ2NZ4C5MreRdlXL4zLi7l/s400/DSC_4603.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643840855892748130" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs84Q1Mlg6StAptyGcAMT93DmYN9QKRRbSzdrtgKicSTN5l-bEHWUalmWipOYn-CmQu31ppJjsHlLkdUvxXafKOFWHXpNyF80PvAkO6d_3liuTaJGWiV-wAycLzioMxoU-w3vs/s1600/DSC_4604.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs84Q1Mlg6StAptyGcAMT93DmYN9QKRRbSzdrtgKicSTN5l-bEHWUalmWipOYn-CmQu31ppJjsHlLkdUvxXafKOFWHXpNyF80PvAkO6d_3liuTaJGWiV-wAycLzioMxoU-w3vs/s400/DSC_4604.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643840849535374242" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACfUWP2NUeLNwQUHNbF9huuA2p1zKcDlXkPsnW4Dg6YZH-oyqJRC9Srj4KMrfJA78R-xAkzVq10EZ0rxGZbSk0J5uf-dA0Nd-aXX2HMmA1xsX8tq-pRbwDy_jZ_n22I0NNEuC/s1600/DSC_4605.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACfUWP2NUeLNwQUHNbF9huuA2p1zKcDlXkPsnW4Dg6YZH-oyqJRC9Srj4KMrfJA78R-xAkzVq10EZ0rxGZbSk0J5uf-dA0Nd-aXX2HMmA1xsX8tq-pRbwDy_jZ_n22I0NNEuC/s400/DSC_4605.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643840843815248066" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXSXlvkda08ogI-ifGpATTu4VqMXs5u5ZKPd8Wl4w5NZy6XYzcnfNvrnK86X93MgIzEd4yYwDVmQUpIPRCUezfUQk_wHun09Za0mOeonbQTr3IRJQGkbtD-_0BUKhQoLNo0De/s1600/DSC_4607.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXSXlvkda08ogI-ifGpATTu4VqMXs5u5ZKPd8Wl4w5NZy6XYzcnfNvrnK86X93MgIzEd4yYwDVmQUpIPRCUezfUQk_wHun09Za0mOeonbQTr3IRJQGkbtD-_0BUKhQoLNo0De/s400/DSC_4607.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643840834026685538" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-8o3hc8JcOq2QkGazmD2_oFcrP8DWIkDNEGN44LnOS-UICVsMgX3ApYf95dU2rMMoGFiAiomJRT0OuiTArEhVK2WT08Qo62I3pjyQkRELIp3J0FStRFys0rNzdZKJa0EiZoU/s1600/DSC_4609.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-8o3hc8JcOq2QkGazmD2_oFcrP8DWIkDNEGN44LnOS-UICVsMgX3ApYf95dU2rMMoGFiAiomJRT0OuiTArEhVK2WT08Qo62I3pjyQkRELIp3J0FStRFys0rNzdZKJa0EiZoU/s400/DSC_4609.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5643840825379376962" border="0" /></a>
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<br />Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-39118413058042065922011-08-11T21:53:00.010-04:002011-08-11T22:57:39.302-04:00Two years old!My baby is two years old today. We're at our annual family reunion/vacation so he's had quite a fun day! We rode bikes along Lake Michigan, watched boats in the harbor, played in the fountain, went for a wagon ride, played with cousins, touched a fish, pushed a baby in a stroller and had fifty-some people sing him happy birthday!
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqYYhpMdKssjETcpDjSvwW_HIvE9CJacpxm6KpSBW4akRy7-INJ6BC-p7rJMJxkk7lfRBF0-IDnuiW6To9NP-W1bSTshHcpEj_ySfhF-4t7vLaOdHUdZtX16zrRuUNdBC4tm_/s1600/DSC_4715.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqYYhpMdKssjETcpDjSvwW_HIvE9CJacpxm6KpSBW4akRy7-INJ6BC-p7rJMJxkk7lfRBF0-IDnuiW6To9NP-W1bSTshHcpEj_ySfhF-4t7vLaOdHUdZtX16zrRuUNdBC4tm_/s400/DSC_4715.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639787032838121698" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjekZpA7EfpnktLpYsBP-uIeS7t0RpWkwMKV3I6mXOAs9gDi0mrWEoI2wWP7BD6fNeKNRXYQRCYaJfiorkBPEuAFUQFxkB2WnS0UkKiDIq9PMCiDMq35J_YBi7BkUhUVUh6Oyu5/s1600/DSC_4669.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjekZpA7EfpnktLpYsBP-uIeS7t0RpWkwMKV3I6mXOAs9gDi0mrWEoI2wWP7BD6fNeKNRXYQRCYaJfiorkBPEuAFUQFxkB2WnS0UkKiDIq9PMCiDMq35J_YBi7BkUhUVUh6Oyu5/s400/DSC_4669.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639787036421671362" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-y9iLhufB7L19h-AAN9YsoG5XCb_49NbbFU79GVhzIteULPtS5Pa_zNseVJEQjAyAFNN4zKxM-sWp9qfQj7RJFSfowC0DCdMpA-VK5JOfOU2KAHA5iDl79fvsGuXiymlEPFM/s1600/DSC_4741.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-y9iLhufB7L19h-AAN9YsoG5XCb_49NbbFU79GVhzIteULPtS5Pa_zNseVJEQjAyAFNN4zKxM-sWp9qfQj7RJFSfowC0DCdMpA-VK5JOfOU2KAHA5iDl79fvsGuXiymlEPFM/s400/DSC_4741.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639787028063876546" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPP2s0PqlDwG1hwyxTquP2hTcln3ObBnaH6bFfnVwwuK1h30bPqvcZFYDcKynPk4EFU38cii44KvIN9_ou9yupTlrjmYfrydwMPi5nEpT949lwnIEb7XXByq884h3cQwq9OLV/s1600/DSC_4745.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPP2s0PqlDwG1hwyxTquP2hTcln3ObBnaH6bFfnVwwuK1h30bPqvcZFYDcKynPk4EFU38cii44KvIN9_ou9yupTlrjmYfrydwMPi5nEpT949lwnIEb7XXByq884h3cQwq9OLV/s400/DSC_4745.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639787017003899794" border="0" /></a>
<br />Daniel's favorite trick lately is to hiccup. He says "hippup!" and then makes a hiccuping sound, complete with shoulder jumps. He's talking all the time these days and repeats everything we say. It's really fun to hear him say big words in his little voice and for him to be able to communicate with us so much more easily. Except for the times when I have absolutely no idea what he's trying to say!
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<br />He's very good at jumping and gets a kick out of walking backwards. He's quite a climber and he loves to run. The other night, he went out on the deck and ran circles around the table. He'd stop and sit for a few seconds on the step and then take off running again. He ran for almost half an hour straight!
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX030-4voHcgucKHW2MfT7Bz5ktoWggG2YMc124hyLrfrEq0goYfSnrjYK3VAgB0VbhspQgdtUYK3lkVL3NvBtwGD_3LhK9HKk8JwVylPuZcWp4esh60rr_JIlaAnS_OHEdgbF/s1600/running+on+deck.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX030-4voHcgucKHW2MfT7Bz5ktoWggG2YMc124hyLrfrEq0goYfSnrjYK3VAgB0VbhspQgdtUYK3lkVL3NvBtwGD_3LhK9HKk8JwVylPuZcWp4esh60rr_JIlaAnS_OHEdgbF/s400/running+on+deck.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639789061759494434" border="0" /></a>
<br />He has favorite books that he asks for by name and can finish some of the sentences. He has several favorite songs too. He can sing a lot of the ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Jesus Loves Me. Recently we were driving in the car and I heard him in the back seat singing "double, x, y, z... now know ... sing me."
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<br />He likes to share things with people and is a great little helper. He loves trains and trucks and playing in sand and water. His fine motor skills are pretty good and he enjoys building things. He's also loved cutting things lately. We had watermelon last week and he very intently cut it up into very small pieces. He might have eaten one! He's tends to be pretty focused and notices the details.
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;">(helping daddy fix the dishwasher)
<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsIMzU5wz9SR0Wfme1VvIxJU0_c8XxVf5Z5e3JkZttxXenBNmSEFuN2IXBcer_eLGkoHXg1MF4IU_pbQwB5VIcUHOSa_Hp8XnP-r-mT0D8YMLk1yMjVRtfA8Cwnh8b71IgOmQ/s1600/fixing+dishwasher.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsIMzU5wz9SR0Wfme1VvIxJU0_c8XxVf5Z5e3JkZttxXenBNmSEFuN2IXBcer_eLGkoHXg1MF4IU_pbQwB5VIcUHOSa_Hp8XnP-r-mT0D8YMLk1yMjVRtfA8Cwnh8b71IgOmQ/s400/fixing+dishwasher.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639795093409865010" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZoJD-k2RHQbd5tLP2DGuRudLZvk6ZLzWzD96uGWXR5EEJV3RB5cwkzyvLxuYTZyN25Q7GKllDVkWnrWCQaPWSue6CZohaMlZg_WWk2CyJ5FAF68u8IHAs9WF3fYmSYcueFIy0/s1600/trucks+in+sand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZoJD-k2RHQbd5tLP2DGuRudLZvk6ZLzWzD96uGWXR5EEJV3RB5cwkzyvLxuYTZyN25Q7GKllDVkWnrWCQaPWSue6CZohaMlZg_WWk2CyJ5FAF68u8IHAs9WF3fYmSYcueFIy0/s400/trucks+in+sand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639795112935325266" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFcPGXO5P61MSe2qU0uLnuz14XuKZYAL1FVtrVJ6Q7801KOF_uXLSCtLZAqk-0_VIWsKf6p3Gb5hs3DEbPfJrv80MRLZ1MI09gjdhyphenhyphenssMpC1lPy7BfqWjleh5zPesOvn_gV8c/s1600/pouring+sand.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFcPGXO5P61MSe2qU0uLnuz14XuKZYAL1FVtrVJ6Q7801KOF_uXLSCtLZAqk-0_VIWsKf6p3Gb5hs3DEbPfJrv80MRLZ1MI09gjdhyphenhyphenssMpC1lPy7BfqWjleh5zPesOvn_gV8c/s400/pouring+sand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639795103506399170" border="0" /></a>
<br />He really enjoys being around people, though it takes him a little while to warm up to someone. He's having so much fun this week with all his aunts and uncles and cousins. And he's still enough of a snuggle bug to make mama happy :) I love this little boy so much and am having a whole lotta fun being his mama. He's pretty special and we're really proud of him! Happy Birthday Daniel!
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrpF95F3FCfG_Sw6a5NFnTRAsR1cGjycPN5CLVouSY7RXADaJk1nMkWaef1TYUuFsTl6OZ3ak2u5xnEkxAVWt5BLAiokT7ti8c15osWsHpxc3JapeBUDNGQ8zylyb_qhJg32s/s1600/sitting+with+mama.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrpF95F3FCfG_Sw6a5NFnTRAsR1cGjycPN5CLVouSY7RXADaJk1nMkWaef1TYUuFsTl6OZ3ak2u5xnEkxAVWt5BLAiokT7ti8c15osWsHpxc3JapeBUDNGQ8zylyb_qhJg32s/s400/sitting+with+mama.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639796415139602258" border="0" /></a>
<br />Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-36597455856878096842011-06-27T21:00:00.000-04:002011-06-27T21:00:00.240-04:00Daniel's First HaircutDaniel had his first hair cut a few weeks ago. Incidentally, he also had his first sunburn the same day. It's taken me a while to go through the pictures and post them and I think it's about time for another haircut already. I tried to keep it fairly long, mostly because I like it that way, but also partly because I wanted to leave room for someone else to fix it if I really messed it up!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Before (Notice the wings. They used to curl up and be cute):<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXMRIbjaZQHQLgDrWo9SchwyJJuxBhPAbAI0Y_td1hUjAIctyPimTyYlLvHv65t80xU_XWnMnebNRAi0W2QQJqP9Tk94LV8TREBGcdif_JwL6wwr8TWsG8GGMAM19gaqmHOmA/s1600/DSC_4244.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXMRIbjaZQHQLgDrWo9SchwyJJuxBhPAbAI0Y_td1hUjAIctyPimTyYlLvHv65t80xU_XWnMnebNRAi0W2QQJqP9Tk94LV8TREBGcdif_JwL6wwr8TWsG8GGMAM19gaqmHOmA/s400/DSC_4244.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622721452319854818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7NGogcxktp_JzQ9OgF9-hZRPGnUsH7QiYa9PD1r1NZr5R_l9glPL3b4uSSTHo9H4FMufbjk0l9LTnKd7OObQAPzdsO38WbPR3sGverE6sMexa4xqfiR-BWMbUqEO4jtr95XK/s1600/DSC_4256.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7NGogcxktp_JzQ9OgF9-hZRPGnUsH7QiYa9PD1r1NZr5R_l9glPL3b4uSSTHo9H4FMufbjk0l9LTnKd7OObQAPzdsO38WbPR3sGverE6sMexa4xqfiR-BWMbUqEO4jtr95XK/s400/DSC_4256.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622721443270265826" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Ready or not, here we go!<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgj2dB6UJ2b5PGgv1sztDU4bHm6Am78r-3m23JAzQUJ99Lo2_anHNAYtgjTX7z1MkOAm7sEJJa2sZnHnQJ-LfILUAPBWI_IFhzFvcfutv637TESRFxqm6lNuJqsoFW0V-5ZvCv/s1600/DSC_4259.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgj2dB6UJ2b5PGgv1sztDU4bHm6Am78r-3m23JAzQUJ99Lo2_anHNAYtgjTX7z1MkOAm7sEJJa2sZnHnQJ-LfILUAPBWI_IFhzFvcfutv637TESRFxqm6lNuJqsoFW0V-5ZvCv/s400/DSC_4259.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622721435884423682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFAksVAE6Z2MzxOF8R4_ETpToPLwN2Kh-TquOnet-X8hJB87i2cHlpc2QIHlubvMvPLaG9FceuoN0c06KCBBcURDaDh5-1RT7JzEYcMy5I-hRjNu-wiIhTLUfeUQQxomA2pY2/s1600/DSC_4260.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFAksVAE6Z2MzxOF8R4_ETpToPLwN2Kh-TquOnet-X8hJB87i2cHlpc2QIHlubvMvPLaG9FceuoN0c06KCBBcURDaDh5-1RT7JzEYcMy5I-hRjNu-wiIhTLUfeUQQxomA2pY2/s400/DSC_4260.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622721428867871506" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjTuWvzJrzO6d-PITx8YmHM_0LvQ6Y4MfBM95uyTWxgieNk_iIwqhuNfuiyGEBSXkHrC9vYHbjy363WD8-hg-B_6c2JTWEVOCcNx4lNBqSnTlk2FQkb6qzR3Oi9lKai-A6k2e/s1600/DSC_4267.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 330px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjTuWvzJrzO6d-PITx8YmHM_0LvQ6Y4MfBM95uyTWxgieNk_iIwqhuNfuiyGEBSXkHrC9vYHbjy363WD8-hg-B_6c2JTWEVOCcNx4lNBqSnTlk2FQkb6qzR3Oi9lKai-A6k2e/s400/DSC_4267.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622721426032970610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pWMJilbaV-hDU8Rf7_fFkaLvhREmr1o5lzkgYOF0kulpl7h15ziw8R8tRNbiGuT62Q1_4QyA6jo8WTzq7pa5kZbjALdM8wyPYphsh7ytBfkOiiVZIF9UGRZq3rAe6gVKoGU3/s1600/DSC_4276.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pWMJilbaV-hDU8Rf7_fFkaLvhREmr1o5lzkgYOF0kulpl7h15ziw8R8tRNbiGuT62Q1_4QyA6jo8WTzq7pa5kZbjALdM8wyPYphsh7ytBfkOiiVZIF9UGRZq3rAe6gVKoGU3/s400/DSC_4276.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622721270134609426" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I read a suggestion online to put them in front of a video to keep them occupied and still. The spray bottle definitely kept him occupied, though not necessarily so still :)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfDtvn0t544rD9c9NEVviwzGLAhZY6ARYtiRAhlcF9c6qqdc1EO57Ww6-tFVDm3zatcZHt5RBzccxGH8IZ_sqTbrLd-WYSqGyn1TccE01nq6cWMpvnL3sQJru7LvETkiYVTWcW/s1600/DSC_4277.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfDtvn0t544rD9c9NEVviwzGLAhZY6ARYtiRAhlcF9c6qqdc1EO57Ww6-tFVDm3zatcZHt5RBzccxGH8IZ_sqTbrLd-WYSqGyn1TccE01nq6cWMpvnL3sQJru7LvETkiYVTWcW/s400/DSC_4277.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622721265110258658" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">After (not bad for my first try!):<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFI84PZVQEnFeb9ffPjSiGxiM3Y-00LDjtGXsvSWn7Snst9DIsE_xm-nPurcShBhp7H5nF2oaB-EBx8O3ATeIKm-FHtHvbtyFzbQkKobiWCWpl1aXpIW-8MdedvQ9NiMXdUXbl/s1600/DSC_4286.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFI84PZVQEnFeb9ffPjSiGxiM3Y-00LDjtGXsvSWn7Snst9DIsE_xm-nPurcShBhp7H5nF2oaB-EBx8O3ATeIKm-FHtHvbtyFzbQkKobiWCWpl1aXpIW-8MdedvQ9NiMXdUXbl/s400/DSC_4286.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622721255197842546" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72WVxY0T15mVvN9Kbka6DcimjiUT-4ifnJ3t7MZATrmoEGN5Z1WUxl9zm4pAE1FrW7ljXrR5DfDmNOT8N7JaZMopr2zqIFGb8EujCUyXQ-qLaOD77QDeJxpNsMzf_L0Q9J6tb/s1600/DSC_4288.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72WVxY0T15mVvN9Kbka6DcimjiUT-4ifnJ3t7MZATrmoEGN5Z1WUxl9zm4pAE1FrW7ljXrR5DfDmNOT8N7JaZMopr2zqIFGb8EujCUyXQ-qLaOD77QDeJxpNsMzf_L0Q9J6tb/s400/DSC_4288.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622721246616147954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQYW_2WoJUiTaK6stPWMl2d-Tzq0KWH_tF_xjT3iaiSSg2LpEKlnh0mermFDL42liXiREWNBpht5gAqJWl0Xzdqt-eyWcD34Qqa-aHB11oHMo5XYXATsXKo2ngD-FWCsvZ9kB/s1600/DSC_4289.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQYW_2WoJUiTaK6stPWMl2d-Tzq0KWH_tF_xjT3iaiSSg2LpEKlnh0mermFDL42liXiREWNBpht5gAqJWl0Xzdqt-eyWcD34Qqa-aHB11oHMo5XYXATsXKo2ngD-FWCsvZ9kB/s400/DSC_4289.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622721242248357154" border="0" /></a>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-77641893815821947342011-06-26T21:44:00.007-04:002011-06-26T22:23:34.777-04:00Summer FunWe've had a really great summer so far - and it's only June! No scrambling to get in all the things I wanted to do but never got a chance to do! It certainly helps that Dave has been on a light rotation this month and has been off 3.5 out of 4 weekends. Unheard of! Plus, I don't think he's worked more than 60 hrs a week all month. It almost feels like we're a normal family.<br /><br />I really wanted to enjoy this summer with Daniel. We've been hiking, biking, swimming and strawberry picking. We gone to the zoo, the library, museums and a concert. We've played at the playground, in the sandbox and with the ball in the yard. We've gone for walks in the wagon and walks by the river.<br /><br />I don't have very many good pictures so far, but here are a few from our hike in the woods today:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1eWIvoKZf0rgOOLMx-VaxwwsrFltcl9MzAasf9oXTXWrpFgyUu8DIuW_Hs3d98aK8YnhRp_Ok9JL52DxS61apVX59NyJ98M4fIpVPg_N7wQL7FnJiqqKY0usG25_4gnZ0SCk/s1600/DSC_4360.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib1eWIvoKZf0rgOOLMx-VaxwwsrFltcl9MzAasf9oXTXWrpFgyUu8DIuW_Hs3d98aK8YnhRp_Ok9JL52DxS61apVX59NyJ98M4fIpVPg_N7wQL7FnJiqqKY0usG25_4gnZ0SCk/s400/DSC_4360.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622719082420886082" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcclRze3thh2-ibroEFomJ9FhNsiMxxz-v4LTsdf1DEKea1kGuNb-eI9bntV7368aLPT6MSiw0dLt85Y8sPj3daZWTYddhcw8RnpLGldqj1dW6JcwyyAKE06qmzVPf8BEzMkNM/s1600/DSC_4381.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcclRze3thh2-ibroEFomJ9FhNsiMxxz-v4LTsdf1DEKea1kGuNb-eI9bntV7368aLPT6MSiw0dLt85Y8sPj3daZWTYddhcw8RnpLGldqj1dW6JcwyyAKE06qmzVPf8BEzMkNM/s400/DSC_4381.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622719076519383890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwh6s3AgMjIC_p7t-6RyJ-C_xH_hAx2IClUwWpcdnz8FhyoTmnohdFiovw7X_8VAulSbSmmqCLFqb-akdFM5_0dio5UCXMwQrl7YZ028leeCvOsNFOVNmLynrIzKSvERB_SDI/s1600/DSC_4384.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwh6s3AgMjIC_p7t-6RyJ-C_xH_hAx2IClUwWpcdnz8FhyoTmnohdFiovw7X_8VAulSbSmmqCLFqb-akdFM5_0dio5UCXMwQrl7YZ028leeCvOsNFOVNmLynrIzKSvERB_SDI/s400/DSC_4384.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622719062436611954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFE9EuejFrKxGZxwGx5hI4Z5xY3ALT0J1Aepkt7MNclKcVDk-bwEh4Ey2K7q0HyEZd3HedtfD0pu0GE5heXqjp1T6UeRZdxahwG2s0r-uablCe9_s6FmD9yLWaCn_yaXImYHd6/s1600/DSC_4394.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFE9EuejFrKxGZxwGx5hI4Z5xY3ALT0J1Aepkt7MNclKcVDk-bwEh4Ey2K7q0HyEZd3HedtfD0pu0GE5heXqjp1T6UeRZdxahwG2s0r-uablCe9_s6FmD9yLWaCn_yaXImYHd6/s400/DSC_4394.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622719059827252322" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYiYNV-DVIOQgGVTw7fMZwe0kVFTZTBQCxIZE-eJtlcXT7ALE77w7I_b3AlWCWigFsdP44LO91b71oXAd1DiuP-Mxzg9JPBry15qb3rFqEaRM-hJeqmlgxXhG3GUsI1NlJSMA/s1600/DSC_4403.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYiYNV-DVIOQgGVTw7fMZwe0kVFTZTBQCxIZE-eJtlcXT7ALE77w7I_b3AlWCWigFsdP44LO91b71oXAd1DiuP-Mxzg9JPBry15qb3rFqEaRM-hJeqmlgxXhG3GUsI1NlJSMA/s400/DSC_4403.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622718904385567346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGfvIWT-IX2ECekNOip683g2wMbeBT35xiUgL9IpRiFmLvv0fsXkk0W0XDLgRCvVR-xFgDNSTKY41ifDgC5ZVFJG5EEtFy6YVzt8OFm6CmdRaQ3ALiOXtmxQTGt-bcq3bAWqO/s1600/DSC_4405.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGfvIWT-IX2ECekNOip683g2wMbeBT35xiUgL9IpRiFmLvv0fsXkk0W0XDLgRCvVR-xFgDNSTKY41ifDgC5ZVFJG5EEtFy6YVzt8OFm6CmdRaQ3ALiOXtmxQTGt-bcq3bAWqO/s400/DSC_4405.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622718893561930434" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfJmzCKt5bDBSwWNfQU9tFJWmfRph55VyY1h9ZABCFSCIl6m6rKyPXo71vnNSrhN13LdM1WkdHYKf70ffVotcwcDu9hv8F5hyISJ3fDOyiutdCZSMhyphenhyphenCdcDh1wnYlDOk01rDl/s1600/DSC_4409.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfJmzCKt5bDBSwWNfQU9tFJWmfRph55VyY1h9ZABCFSCIl6m6rKyPXo71vnNSrhN13LdM1WkdHYKf70ffVotcwcDu9hv8F5hyISJ3fDOyiutdCZSMhyphenhyphenCdcDh1wnYlDOk01rDl/s400/DSC_4409.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622718892574751922" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWykLeqN3OGshrQ6CTrYlvy4ZFszSFApd_sUJMvbdzo-7BG57BnUjR3zgJsMRmEdd8GTPxjVR5aHbiuzsSS7yjqZdhrpt14xkxNUoDguIOAWPcditr5AT7Z5ok2p150z5I4oN/s1600/DSC_4429.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWykLeqN3OGshrQ6CTrYlvy4ZFszSFApd_sUJMvbdzo-7BG57BnUjR3zgJsMRmEdd8GTPxjVR5aHbiuzsSS7yjqZdhrpt14xkxNUoDguIOAWPcditr5AT7Z5ok2p150z5I4oN/s400/DSC_4429.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622718886897481426" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFk2CnLeSI_vsOBK46xAAmt-xzysv_lQHGP6o6lRqHQcCxj1tc52-Uykr7Ne7pVC8sUmthCCg0AmJMidbsFmOa91FTsN-AUsGz8VdppdsNCtX-V3yK3P673tsU3Lpo4nC0rzg/s1600/DSC_4437.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFk2CnLeSI_vsOBK46xAAmt-xzysv_lQHGP6o6lRqHQcCxj1tc52-Uykr7Ne7pVC8sUmthCCg0AmJMidbsFmOa91FTsN-AUsGz8VdppdsNCtX-V3yK3P673tsU3Lpo4nC0rzg/s400/DSC_4437.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622718881067379346" border="0" /></a>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-25076509288010098492011-06-20T21:43:00.003-04:002011-06-20T22:42:33.114-04:00Helicopter!Living around the corner from a major hospital has several, um, advantages, especially when you're a little boy who's almost two. We hear ambulance sirens and helicopters flying over multiple times a day. I wonder how many other toddlers can distinguish between a helicopter and an airplane just by listening. Daniel loves to watch the helicopters go by and we knew he would love to see one up close.<br /><br />Having a little experience with such things, Dave informed me that unloading a helicopter takes a while. If we saw one flying in to the hospital, we should have plenty of time to walk over and see it before it took off again.We've been saying for a while that we should take Daniel over to the hospital to see one. So on Saturday, when we heard a helicopter flying over just after dinner, we decided it would be a beautiful evening for a walk.<br /><br />Daniel enjoyed seeing the helicopter. I think he would have really enjoyed watching it land or take off. Maybe another day. We think the crew was probably taking a dinner break.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhw5mgV4gPuCrMeRuODwa0CB09R59n2HdUrmCIM1csQFDbat5sq7R0hEsomQ71Hb9MZLypczusRFDMUNgB9xqM-o-LzE7vZwgYWTjq8MyN9TzYMvBBa3qq1fIW3lY7u4AYB6dQ/s1600/Helicopter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhw5mgV4gPuCrMeRuODwa0CB09R59n2HdUrmCIM1csQFDbat5sq7R0hEsomQ71Hb9MZLypczusRFDMUNgB9xqM-o-LzE7vZwgYWTjq8MyN9TzYMvBBa3qq1fIW3lY7u4AYB6dQ/s400/Helicopter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620496628564206530" border="0" /></a><br />After we saw the helicopter, Daniel pulled the wagon all the way home, pretty much by himself.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitW7QAvtArARWQtCpwHOFoimJ72XiHvU9-Ygw-dEa6COhS5YcH9HvJ9Jg74HfJI5M6vmWbXnrIvaYjEne-7_ZTEmhP2I2NGJEKEgoc0TJ251vi74g-1uw3vWkB-3I0fQigawOb/s1600/pulling+wagon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitW7QAvtArARWQtCpwHOFoimJ72XiHvU9-Ygw-dEa6COhS5YcH9HvJ9Jg74HfJI5M6vmWbXnrIvaYjEne-7_ZTEmhP2I2NGJEKEgoc0TJ251vi74g-1uw3vWkB-3I0fQigawOb/s400/pulling+wagon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620496634319282434" border="0" /></a>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-54450503996955610772011-03-14T21:57:00.002-04:002011-03-14T22:13:15.343-04:00I turned 30 and I won't be blogging for a whileI turned 30 on Saturday. Funny how 30 seems pretty young these days! My parents came for the weekend to help celebrate (This makes 30 years that my mom's been a mother too!) They <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">toopk</span> Daniel to play on Saturday afternoon/evening and Dave and I went out for dinner and coffee.<br /><br />Now that I'm 30, I can't blog anymore. Just kidding. Actually, during lent we are fasting from certain things as a church community and one of them is media and electronic devices. Therefore I will not be blogging for the next six weeks. I'm hoping to have some time to write and process and some of it may find it's way here after a while.<br /><br />During this time, we are especially asking God for direction as it relates to our post-residency plans (Dave finishes his general surgery residency in June 2012). As of now, we are making plans to move to East Africa where Dave will hopefully be able to work with a residency program training African surgeons. I've been wanting to write more about this, and I will when I start blogging again, but I mention it now to ask you to pray as you think of us in the next six weeks - that we would continue to grow and press into God, that we would trust in His provisions, and that He would lead us, guide us and make the next steps clear.Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-43246843221954319612011-02-26T13:03:00.004-05:002011-02-26T14:05:48.325-05:00Enjoying the flowers, the warmth and the lightLast week we went to the <a href="http://www.bibsociety.org/">conservatory at Belle Isle</a>. It's a beautiful place any time of year, but it's an especially nice place to be when it's cold outside. The lighting also makes it a great place to take pictures. I'm glad I grabbed my camera on the way out the door!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOX4f8dl_fRfxnrLlcFGd91rWH6SFPQEV6F1313DdBfNLI1yYHatwf5xt8P-G4L6sgQt9ZkLmtf0FcHYWfmiYvSX08hwlGMkS8PFIGYIP9Ln7-VH7_xWACltTsBtvw6v21YTX/s1600/DSC_3587.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOX4f8dl_fRfxnrLlcFGd91rWH6SFPQEV6F1313DdBfNLI1yYHatwf5xt8P-G4L6sgQt9ZkLmtf0FcHYWfmiYvSX08hwlGMkS8PFIGYIP9Ln7-VH7_xWACltTsBtvw6v21YTX/s400/DSC_3587.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578074528426833570" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1TDKOtow80YiCCPxZqX7BJm9NZjin9Jwrfh6qLj2xK0dXDhjvttoRc-BN_h_5TaXCxTB1oopZH2bps-spV3cigcY17NFMpZH9E9LQytJoddbEms-IZHXVl3Trsg14s6MG-rz/s1600/DSC_3595.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1TDKOtow80YiCCPxZqX7BJm9NZjin9Jwrfh6qLj2xK0dXDhjvttoRc-BN_h_5TaXCxTB1oopZH2bps-spV3cigcY17NFMpZH9E9LQytJoddbEms-IZHXVl3Trsg14s6MG-rz/s400/DSC_3595.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578074526754654082" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBdzOA-QkBMKPrunDt8nvpFxSrF_G7z44g2WQlsS-YnPdd-sQ-BTmR1wcAAIhhi7obngY-PdEyWVyZyKjd3FaXbGIheAvyysYNzQfAQQy9R-UnUiMLeEjIvWd9mI5dcI6jYLO/s1600/DSC_3608.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBdzOA-QkBMKPrunDt8nvpFxSrF_G7z44g2WQlsS-YnPdd-sQ-BTmR1wcAAIhhi7obngY-PdEyWVyZyKjd3FaXbGIheAvyysYNzQfAQQy9R-UnUiMLeEjIvWd9mI5dcI6jYLO/s400/DSC_3608.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578061595310934434" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2S_SZHFOXRF2TWGvrPAnikhDque6nYotD-Yx1a0IbJaVa2HfazCoosKvBwf729saVHn7FtWVpWEUv9idx_-ahsAQXFxeX-aCftbizqueFurc3trS5BWRofKUrxD4b62km0_pL/s1600/DSC_3616.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2S_SZHFOXRF2TWGvrPAnikhDque6nYotD-Yx1a0IbJaVa2HfazCoosKvBwf729saVHn7FtWVpWEUv9idx_-ahsAQXFxeX-aCftbizqueFurc3trS5BWRofKUrxD4b62km0_pL/s400/DSC_3616.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578061590957852690" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Tvrp5fls20Or771Iygvzyxv9-T00cTiw096CyCj0ovaSsapU4if242XN4gWZmEWDu0v2hIyG4KwL9rjRDZF_T1KQsna_-jUhu_XsDqLAOTWKfTDbXJn1no6-CHBaKs8ATgnk/s1600/DSC_3617.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Tvrp5fls20Or771Iygvzyxv9-T00cTiw096CyCj0ovaSsapU4if242XN4gWZmEWDu0v2hIyG4KwL9rjRDZF_T1KQsna_-jUhu_XsDqLAOTWKfTDbXJn1no6-CHBaKs8ATgnk/s400/DSC_3617.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578061585504744530" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Daniel reaching for the camera, which is what most of my pictures are lately! (I do let him have a turn too.)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzL4lNnUsy2kR8v4wMQLNTU4SKu6s1rbEToys3Ne0utWKzdQ_30oy74MzNcRJtRH3N4nWcIOlVX6JFnwQZZSQomRboz1mNtBsOe96y3o_pH_mCl1FL8pcf0UH8cWJNzGGFUp1A/s1600/DSC_3625.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzL4lNnUsy2kR8v4wMQLNTU4SKu6s1rbEToys3Ne0utWKzdQ_30oy74MzNcRJtRH3N4nWcIOlVX6JFnwQZZSQomRboz1mNtBsOe96y3o_pH_mCl1FL8pcf0UH8cWJNzGGFUp1A/s400/DSC_3625.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578061582980613058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtheLXzdjo9Ud97NALgrrlYhB2iPEbU21NpQspLii9VWUoQIwJc2PBANhsBWlR122b-Xt_fyKSZQERlwKpCBEHU28_Is_dArjSWPZpC0Yc1h8zeg9Yntp_D0Tq_NmBu63Rntx/s1600/DSC_3654.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtheLXzdjo9Ud97NALgrrlYhB2iPEbU21NpQspLii9VWUoQIwJc2PBANhsBWlR122b-Xt_fyKSZQERlwKpCBEHU28_Is_dArjSWPZpC0Yc1h8zeg9Yntp_D0Tq_NmBu63Rntx/s400/DSC_3654.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578061581758714530" border="0" /></a>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-45085020728665471462011-02-22T14:46:00.005-05:002011-02-22T15:20:47.335-05:00Snow Day!We had the unthinkable happen yesterday. Dave had a snow day. Let me repeat - Dave had a snow day. This does NOT happen. Ever. Residents (and any health professionals, really) do NOT get snow days. But the other senior resident who's on the same service with Dave was on call yesterday so he had to be there and had to stay all night. After looking at the number of patients they had Sunday night he called Dave and told him not to worry about trying to get in to the hospital on Monday. What an amazing blessing for our family.<br /><br />Dave worked a 30 hr shift Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon. We works another one today and another on Thursday. Plus he needed to prepare two lectures to give on Thursday. This was going to be a really challenging week, for all three of us. I was praying that the Lord would strengthen us and see us through. But he was so gracious and gave Dave a snow day. He was able to sleep until almost 8:00!! He got to spend some time with Daniel and with me. He shoveled almost all of the driveway and sidewalk (though Daniel and I did help). Despite all that he was able to work quite a few hours on his presentations. And I spent the day overwhelmed with gratitude for this blessing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKs0r3_VWOJDHJ682vjT3Q7xrU7h0SoUkyTeIIYoy2pWNGy7HzMTrcMPxOAJNRWh2Nj8MZZBtwLmZfKi4Nj-0VKLYWy9AHinXkeH60-bhtZbveMdM1DUNdlh7EeZ0DOSF8lpG/s1600/DSC_3674.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKs0r3_VWOJDHJ682vjT3Q7xrU7h0SoUkyTeIIYoy2pWNGy7HzMTrcMPxOAJNRWh2Nj8MZZBtwLmZfKi4Nj-0VKLYWy9AHinXkeH60-bhtZbveMdM1DUNdlh7EeZ0DOSF8lpG/s400/DSC_3674.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576610224630316818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0ubziL0XkVnArSVKbb38nYUeELx8tWIkyACmLh7Ro7KmvuOngBIKgkVp7LvWJLPC_NYm8fjnnkMxL6yUa3zjQYYpAZuU_fa_wKAlkhZN0eUbwlNwC2DsnzOvB1ARgrekCgPQ/s1600/DSC_3676.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0ubziL0XkVnArSVKbb38nYUeELx8tWIkyACmLh7Ro7KmvuOngBIKgkVp7LvWJLPC_NYm8fjnnkMxL6yUa3zjQYYpAZuU_fa_wKAlkhZN0eUbwlNwC2DsnzOvB1ARgrekCgPQ/s400/DSC_3676.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576610214999623058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94B-UXWu8D19vtNiO2iDss3Iz1cGDcWXFGI-FOXp_izf7auWWibRvXrB0Z_mx7v9m6Hh29ADq3w4JsxY3YubmWRz31a7TwJ_B4aYKbQDYHRV2X3oEAYF3Ta8oiIFRiv7kMdhE/s1600/DSC_3677.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94B-UXWu8D19vtNiO2iDss3Iz1cGDcWXFGI-FOXp_izf7auWWibRvXrB0Z_mx7v9m6Hh29ADq3w4JsxY3YubmWRz31a7TwJ_B4aYKbQDYHRV2X3oEAYF3Ta8oiIFRiv7kMdhE/s400/DSC_3677.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576610202155864386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rQqeZkrBimPdWWi2vke0MPccQhoPtOy5dAGSWG0AWsUjsCoGm3e80uvHoXiS7JlNOlvCvP16u4vJE2YYoHJ0KU2q06mS9ro_deId6D2Rn79GEsDPevmqM8ZRFlKwUtMY-Rdm/s1600/DSC00435.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_rQqeZkrBimPdWWi2vke0MPccQhoPtOy5dAGSWG0AWsUjsCoGm3e80uvHoXiS7JlNOlvCvP16u4vJE2YYoHJ0KU2q06mS9ro_deId6D2Rn79GEsDPevmqM8ZRFlKwUtMY-Rdm/s400/DSC00435.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576610184335306834" border="0" /></a><br />(You probably noticed that Daniel is not wearing his mittens. If he has on mittens, he cannot hold shovels and snow brushes and do what mom and dad are doing, so he takes them off. Any ideas for how to let him use his hands while still keeping them warm?)Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-23154259811744953182011-02-21T10:53:00.002-05:002011-02-21T10:56:25.147-05:00Painting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nGBOyYtXOoTFsd4IPQJH0RvW6fdwrhWCiFlVY22wORwLs2uoG1WX9-fizJ2IdNlnUc5VANijEpGrpA4Xf0ocJ01GL4Yp9Cq2GdUknQtpPpWyoCd6QEx6V0EdGS5Ws3zGSHvg/s1600/finger+painting.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nGBOyYtXOoTFsd4IPQJH0RvW6fdwrhWCiFlVY22wORwLs2uoG1WX9-fizJ2IdNlnUc5VANijEpGrpA4Xf0ocJ01GL4Yp9Cq2GdUknQtpPpWyoCd6QEx6V0EdGS5Ws3zGSHvg/s400/finger+painting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576172071678575938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYM8wGTPxE6_u9PVtEgt3r-NiKtdtCuN7M2wbYv5DrIgpAuBW0rXiL-gjRCK-y6ENtWl9kUVoQ3MFdBX-CbHSGskKPBIsnuOVpnOGHSrgmZ1YT8iEBjNGfgXXO9BJStMwNghC/s1600/stirring.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYM8wGTPxE6_u9PVtEgt3r-NiKtdtCuN7M2wbYv5DrIgpAuBW0rXiL-gjRCK-y6ENtWl9kUVoQ3MFdBX-CbHSGskKPBIsnuOVpnOGHSrgmZ1YT8iEBjNGfgXXO9BJStMwNghC/s400/stirring.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576172060976784658" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNohLDY05uf1J2mkG1E_M5GO337HNTOVVWmoLL1q6SOta7iHZU_2qN1jrmpKjtQgneVDRH-s4XJo5Cw7a7ZB8Zg9DDdzWbVbILYOpX7yNPrgmBszwdYNSxSM9uCvhoOk2sFek/s1600/painting.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilNohLDY05uf1J2mkG1E_M5GO337HNTOVVWmoLL1q6SOta7iHZU_2qN1jrmpKjtQgneVDRH-s4XJo5Cw7a7ZB8Zg9DDdzWbVbILYOpX7yNPrgmBszwdYNSxSM9uCvhoOk2sFek/s400/painting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576172057304968946" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjs4WmFY6aPOkCgSDcCZQVA7gPVdc9VP4pJ46yOe-TrGf9focvndNWNvI_yS1LNRm15Ji1YoGFIC-jFM1FLM943mhpFPZclfm3el-2tIeaRXW-SqsKkdwqpsTzcWB8tNt83Qxp/s1600/tasting.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjs4WmFY6aPOkCgSDcCZQVA7gPVdc9VP4pJ46yOe-TrGf9focvndNWNvI_yS1LNRm15Ji1YoGFIC-jFM1FLM943mhpFPZclfm3el-2tIeaRXW-SqsKkdwqpsTzcWB8tNt83Qxp/s400/tasting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576172029869222834" border="0" /></a>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-14924118514331028222011-02-16T21:02:00.011-05:002011-02-28T15:05:40.765-05:0018 monthsDaniel is a year and a half old. I often think he's older than that, maybe because he's so tall. At his 18mo well visit, he was 34in and 26 lbs. Or so. Neither measurement was all that exact because Daniel was not so interested in being measured :)<br /><br />Daniel's phrase of the month is: "Oh no!" Dave read him a story that said "Oh no!" several times and Daniel picked right up on it, even imitating Dave's inflection. It was so cute to hear him emphatically saying, "Oh no!" in his sweet little baby voice. We could tell at first that he didn't quite understand what it meant. We laughed when he said it randomly and so it became the-words-that-make-mom-and-dad-laugh. He knew uh-oh, so I started saying oh no in place of uh-oh and he got the meaning pretty quickly. Other new words include: broom, bubble, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">beh</span>-bah (belly button), <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">choo</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">choo</span>, boom, eye and pop. He's been saying a lot of new words but I don't always remember long enough to write them down. He also makes a lot of sound effects, making me realize how many silly sounds and sound effects I make throughout the day. Since I started writing this (almost 2 weeks ago!) he's added sharp, hop, green, blue and shoe. He's also started signing light, again and more and shakes his head "no."<br /><br />Daniel loves to run and to be chased around the house. He also loves climbing on the couch and then jumping off into or arms or jumping from one couch to the other. He's turning into quite the climber and I'm trying to give him enough places where he can climb.<br /><br />Daniel has a pretty good memory and knows where things are. One day I went to change his diaper and the wipe solution bottle wasn't on the shelf. I asked Daniel where it was (he had been playing with one of them earlier) and he pointed behind the changing table. Sure enough, both the bottle I knew he was playing with and the one I was looking for were under the changing table. I can usually ask him where he put something and he'll run off to get it and bring it back.<br /><br />Daniel has figured out how to pull the trigger on the spray bottle. At first he could only push it when he was pointing the bottle towards him. He alternately shot water over his shoulder and into his face, squealing and laughing as he did.<br /><br />Daniel pulled the vacuum out of the closet the other night, unwound the cord and brought it over to me to plug in for him. I plugged it in, finished a couple things and then we vacuumed. I went to unplug the vacuum when we were done and it was plugged in to a totally different outlet than I had plugged it into! I don't think the cat switched it, so it must have been Daniel!<br /><br />One of our favorite games this month has been the "run to mama" game. I sit on the floor with my arms out and say, "Run to mama!" Daniel comes running to me and gives me a big bear hug. Then he'll run giggling to the other room or to dad, stop a a minute, then run back to me again for another hug.Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-14550092719356867292011-02-05T20:57:00.003-05:002011-02-05T21:30:21.326-05:00This and That- We've had the sickies visiting us the last 2 weeks, with a stomach bug and then a nasty cold. Fortunately, the stomach bug is long gone, the cold is on it's way out and we're able to get out of the house again - woo hoo! We were also very fortunate that Dave's mom was able to come for several days to help with all the fallout. Did I mention that we started moving furniture a few hours before Daniel and I got sick? We spent several days with the couch in the middle of the room blocking the bookshelf and random books and tables strewn about until we could get it all back under control.<br /><br />- Daniel was pulling baking pans out of the drawer under the oven when I noticed that it was pretty dirty. I figured I might as well wipe it out while it was already half-empty. I pulled out the drawer and I was so shocked to see everything that had accumulated under the stove that I had to write it down: 5 letter magnets, spatula, pen, battery, lid from an olive oil jar, cat medicine syringe, crayon, cheerios, popcorn, twist ties, goldfish, leaf, raisins, dust bunnies, spaghetti noodles, cat food and a peanut.<br /><br />- Aside from under the oven, my house stays so much cleaner now that Daniel loves to vacuum. Seriously, when I was making a list Tuesday night of fun things we could do to keep Daniel busy while we were snowbound, I wrote down "vacuum."Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-9643058428220582132011-01-17T21:02:00.004-05:002011-01-17T21:42:06.972-05:00Honoring a heroToday is a day set aside to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest heroes of our nation.<br /><br />Daniel and I were planning to go to the Museum of African American History here in Detroit today for the special events they were holding, but some things came up and we weren't able to go. Instead we watched Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington online. I don't know how much Daniel understood, but I did tell him who he was watching and why he was so important.<br /><br />We also listened to his speech from the Great March on Detroit a few months earlier on the radio. This speech had the first version of the famous "I Have a Dream" section. I didn't know that until today. That speech was particularly inspiring to me today (you can see the text <a href="http://www.mlkonline.net/detroit.html">here</a>), especially hearing his challenges directly to the people of Detroit. In our city and in our country, we have come a long ways, but we still have so far left to go.<br /><br />I don't have any insightful commentary to share, just my desire to see justice in our land. Please don't be complacent. So many people see a black president and think that everything is okay now. It is not. The longer I live as a white woman in this predominantly African-American community, the more I see lingering injustice, pervasive racism and realize just how deep the wounds go. And I can only see and understand a tiny bit of it. I've been confronted with my own prejudices that I didn't know were still there. But day by day, I seek to grow in truth and grace, to be transformed in my mind and heart.<br /><br />Sometimes it's hard as a white person to know what to do, to know how to change yourself and this society. But I just want to encourage you today to do something. Talk to your children about the legacy of Dr. King. Help them to see where racism and injustice persist. Help them find ways to build bridges. Examine yourself, your thoughts and your interactions. What are you modeling for your children and others around you? What messages do you give them through your words and actions? What are you doing to overcome racism and injustice?Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-78111236310371986262011-01-14T20:50:00.010-05:002011-01-14T21:42:47.486-05:0017 monthsThe months just keep flying by and Daniel is 17 months old now. Before I know it, he'll be 17 and I'll be wondering where the years went.<br /><br />His favorite word lately is "hot." If the water he's playing in or the food he's eating is too warm, he'll tell me that it's hot. He even told me that when his bowl was a little warm. He likes to help blow off his food when it's still warm.<br /><br />Daniel loves to play in the water. We pull up a chair and he "helps" me wash dishes. Usually that means he plays in the water, though sometimes it means he takes dishes from the drainer to scrub them himself with the soapy sponge. We've been changing his shirt several times a day lately since he keeps getting soaked! He also loves to help me cook. His favorite things are scooping out flour and stirring anything. He gets pretty indignant when I'm stirring something and don't let him have a turn.<br /><br />About a month ago, Daniel went from being terrified of the vacuum to loving it. Now he wants to help vacuum all the time. Yesterday I was working in the kitchen and heard a noise. I poked my head around the corner and saw this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEght3Qq2ZdrnExYiutDFNLRBv2LISGsqGPCTT1TEsvtP9VPaPi14fgMDWjxxu0dhC_mamw0SNKEYQpTWV5iVwIQBlL-Y2rH3v_bBKIsNvLYZmDCTvHQwZEGXuLDCX73zutJv5VO/s1600/DSC00419.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEght3Qq2ZdrnExYiutDFNLRBv2LISGsqGPCTT1TEsvtP9VPaPi14fgMDWjxxu0dhC_mamw0SNKEYQpTWV5iVwIQBlL-Y2rH3v_bBKIsNvLYZmDCTvHQwZEGXuLDCX73zutJv5VO/s400/DSC00419.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562230950195185746" border="0" /></a>Daniel had pulled the vacuum out of the closet and was all ready to go!<br /><br />He loves to do whatever we're doing, whether it's drinking tea or coffee from a mug, wiping things up or spraying off diapers. I've learned that it's better to just find a way that he can help. He's been helping carry dishes from the table to the dishwasher. He's also started opening books and "reading" them out loud.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqqlAVqxoMg5XnahQbfa5ICH8-S2JYcfUW1zb1qDZwIfm36-vsqtm5JjwpDOOxRd3R5vMCC5huXTl8K5FvMkT7LxLt9yr5LjjQXS4uAJXBicM6aME2Xg_C9BW0Gyg0FK33z4cG/s1600/DSC00412.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqqlAVqxoMg5XnahQbfa5ICH8-S2JYcfUW1zb1qDZwIfm36-vsqtm5JjwpDOOxRd3R5vMCC5huXTl8K5FvMkT7LxLt9yr5LjjQXS4uAJXBicM6aME2Xg_C9BW0Gyg0FK33z4cG/s400/DSC00412.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562231267501354178" border="0" /></a><br />He's been enjoying playing in the snow this week. Dave's parents gave him a little sled for Christmas and he loves being pulled up and down the sidewalk in it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtPWOUfQG47KEp5K94c7rzMf65svrkzSU8Syj7uXpFciTRgNcdMlhWxt1Hf00KeLEnRT93pbYW2_dxKWrqPTEunn14EFZ15ON8MRhmJWQucoqaxa_hcwa4kjAKV4cP2iY-DnH/s1600/DSC00416.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtPWOUfQG47KEp5K94c7rzMf65svrkzSU8Syj7uXpFciTRgNcdMlhWxt1Hf00KeLEnRT93pbYW2_dxKWrqPTEunn14EFZ15ON8MRhmJWQucoqaxa_hcwa4kjAKV4cP2iY-DnH/s400/DSC00416.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562230945998689186" border="0" /></a><br />Daniel can show us his belly button, hands, feet, nose, eyes and mouth. It's amazing to see all the things he understands! It's fun to see how proud he is of all the things he can do. It's also been interesting to see how much he's developing a mind of his own. He certainly knows what he wants.<br /><br />Daniel is still very sweet and cuddly. He loves to laugh and play and has such a sweet giggle. It is an amazing journey and I'm still so glad I'm his mom and that I get to spend my days with him.Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-51695323635493785082010-12-13T20:56:00.004-05:002010-12-14T08:05:18.127-05:00What a difference a week makesA week ago, I was going crazy. Daniel was not feeling well and was having a very cranky day. We were all tired and exhausted, coming off of two 90-100 hr work weeks for Dave (and for me!). But this past week, Dave only worked 55 hours! In case you don't know, that is <span style="font-style: italic;">unbelievable</span> for a resident. He was home before 6:00 FOUR nights out of five. Plus he had the whole weekend off. I can't believe what a difference it made to have a husband and dad for the weekend. A friend took Daniel for a couple hours and we had a date Saturday morning. We got a Christmas tree. We went to church. Daniel got to play with his Daddy. Dave and I got to interact like normal people and talk and laugh together. I started the week more refreshed and not so far behind. Is this what life is really like for normal people with normal jobs?<br /><br />Today I had three goals: do laundry, play outside in the snow, and go to the produce market. And if we were really doing well, maybe clean the bathroom too. Three loads of laundry are washed, dried and put away. We spent 10 minutes getting all dressed to go play in the snow, 10 minutes playing in the snow (it was really cold!) and another 5 minutes getting out of our snow clothes. We cleaned the bathroom. We went to the produce market (had I known how bad the roads were, I probably would have skipped it!). Plus I kept all the dishes washed as we used them. Daniel helped me with most of those things, so I didn't feel like I did them at the expense of focusing on him. Then after dinner, I could just relax and play with Daniel without worrying about anything else I needed to get done. It feels so good and empowering to have had such a good day, and it's a wonderful blessing after the last few weeks of craziness.Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-72471461264293251442010-12-02T20:26:00.012-05:002010-12-02T22:02:20.633-05:0015 monthsDaniel is 15 months old and he won't be for much longer, so I'd better go ahead and write about it. I'm writing instead of doing dishes, cleaning up, returning phone calls and doing several other things I should probably be doing, but if I don't, I won't have anything to remember these precious days!<br /><br />He's 33 inches tall and weighs about 25 pounds. Yes, that is very tall. He is as tall as or taller than most of his friends who are several (or many!) months older than him. Sometimes I wonder why he isn't doing some of the things they're doing and then I remember that he isn't as old as they are and he's doing just fine.<br /><br />Daniel jabbers a lot, with animated expressions and lots of pointing. It all sounds very interesting, but we can't understand a word of it. He has said a few words, though he doesn't use many of them consistently: mama, dada, uh-oh, bye-bye, kit (kitty) and chs (cheese). He signs "all done" regularly, "milk" sometimes (the kind from mama, not from a cow), and his new favorite is "please." He finally got that a few weeks ago and a whole new world has opened up to him now that he can tell us that he wants something. The other day, he was pointing to something on the table and signed please. I didn't have a clue what he wanted (usually I know), so I asked him what he wanted and he very <span style="font-style: italic;">emphatically</span> signed please. Hmm. Two days ago, he signed banana (more or less) and cheese.<br /><br />Daniel loves turning the lights on and off, so I've been holding him up and letting him do it as we go in and out of rooms. He also loves standing on the stool at the bathroom sink playing in the water. He likes to wet his toothbrush and suck the water off. I give him a toothbrush to chew on and I hold a second one to brush his teeth. Often he brushes my teeth while I do his. Whatever works, right? Speaking of teeth, he has 16 of them. We should have a break for at least a couple months before his 2yr molars come in.<br /><br />Daniel loves to be outside. He enjoyed playing in the leaves during the fall and watching the snowflakes coming down yesterday. Hopefully mama can stay motivated to get him outside to play even when it's cold out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhol8rGH5LLYG-rNOZsQ3GVxJlPPNRXBKrPyXGysJf74q7iI3PxmwLpssyIvssCxruxHLHWo0aQrlNVCcHPSSo6WKtjzChUJjMDunEmONKwGHVIxjXTrJaeTOBrg1F0FvOskdmd/s1600/DSC_3401.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhol8rGH5LLYG-rNOZsQ3GVxJlPPNRXBKrPyXGysJf74q7iI3PxmwLpssyIvssCxruxHLHWo0aQrlNVCcHPSSo6WKtjzChUJjMDunEmONKwGHVIxjXTrJaeTOBrg1F0FvOskdmd/s320/DSC_3401.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546279186978106514" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgxxi18C8KiN_pOC4Q92kUHQQ1nlEamQTXZ378vqxzNuAx_pOvAE1Rra51uzWBLBvugAu5IMlHNjGRGpwDFQ5qiRLS4GDdIAPpbrMhYlMb9JKirXHmCrHHPWG10P6VOpUX70Q/s1600/DSC_0374.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgxxi18C8KiN_pOC4Q92kUHQQ1nlEamQTXZ378vqxzNuAx_pOvAE1Rra51uzWBLBvugAu5IMlHNjGRGpwDFQ5qiRLS4GDdIAPpbrMhYlMb9JKirXHmCrHHPWG10P6VOpUX70Q/s320/DSC_0374.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546279176042682498" border="0" /></a><br />Daniel is a climber. The other day I turned around and he was standing on the coffee table. He can easily go up and down the stairs and get up and down on the chairs and couch. He's getting pretty good at sliding down from our bed too. It's been really fun to watch him playing at the playground lately, now that he's getting so much better at doing things himself. He runs now too and gets such a thrill out of being chased. We can chase him around and around the loop in our house. It's pretty good exercise for me too, especially if I pick up things off the floor and put them away as we go between all the rooms. He likes music and dances decently to it, though his favorite is to dance around the room with me while I hold him.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVlqqutnlreHYpqRHSBXDDDPVzpROATp7VuTp8t6SpCEWn5MeUr0S5WYXwiu7QXk8TF-cfQhs_dGLhw8nj0VA4RP4wSeaAuIKQfcYzx5V8NAE44mb-hnKvJJDSQYTogy-3jKIN/s1600/DSC_3415.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVlqqutnlreHYpqRHSBXDDDPVzpROATp7VuTp8t6SpCEWn5MeUr0S5WYXwiu7QXk8TF-cfQhs_dGLhw8nj0VA4RP4wSeaAuIKQfcYzx5V8NAE44mb-hnKvJJDSQYTogy-3jKIN/s320/DSC_3415.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546279190268563170" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCbODXAQqOcYviF8Rd-IhEKvwxdXmcIa-4qeQ7n2KhHjGohk4FcIxwMQ3LFR11phhHUqYpN83F7epRclHYXt3iKaAZWefI6CDch1Z0fyZDVeSMI6xsRQ2GDpC04gDGyA3NdLG/s1600/DSC03579.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCbODXAQqOcYviF8Rd-IhEKvwxdXmcIa-4qeQ7n2KhHjGohk4FcIxwMQ3LFR11phhHUqYpN83F7epRclHYXt3iKaAZWefI6CDch1Z0fyZDVeSMI6xsRQ2GDpC04gDGyA3NdLG/s320/DSC03579.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546279195161299010" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSba_3kPqGdoG5dWPu79XcUrmevAUtzWFxurVnC9psgrEmK4VddNiNwkSwFCABBnsJtE0C9DoJWUPQtrsNouska1cZl8jWCYhMqfSd-P71-quRrJKzaaO8cO6GUyyTHPMHTPcO/s1600/DSC_0372.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSba_3kPqGdoG5dWPu79XcUrmevAUtzWFxurVnC9psgrEmK4VddNiNwkSwFCABBnsJtE0C9DoJWUPQtrsNouska1cZl8jWCYhMqfSd-P71-quRrJKzaaO8cO6GUyyTHPMHTPcO/s320/DSC_0372.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546279170596324706" border="0" /></a><br />Daniel is still a good eater. He likes his food well seasoned (no bland food around here!) and he feeds himself pretty well with a fork and spoon. He wants to hold the bowl himself, thank you very much, and wants to drink out of a real cup, although he might be content with mama's water bottle.<br /><br />Speaking of water bottles, one of his favorite things to do lately is screw and unscrew caps on and off of bottles, jars or anything similar. He likes to fill them up with toys and stir with a spoon. He opens up all the drawers and pulls things out. He likes to knock down block towers. He can stack the blocks too, but knowing them down is so much more fun. I try to see how many I can get on top of each other before he knocks them down. He likes to color/write, but only with a pen. With crayons, he's more interested in putting them in the box or eating them than he is in coloring with them. He also enjoys typing at the computer and can even climb up in the chair himself.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOC8hUzBH9gM_rmOIl6zC6y1AujPjxcUt_XZ89Mve8rCliIZs6zDlYAOcTrE_lytzg4XJYDtreQJUIMShJ-iOueujO-_zY2AgUts7QYnCRdB8K183odxlATvVAgM-ufMmpIlsI/s1600/DSC03581.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOC8hUzBH9gM_rmOIl6zC6y1AujPjxcUt_XZ89Mve8rCliIZs6zDlYAOcTrE_lytzg4XJYDtreQJUIMShJ-iOueujO-_zY2AgUts7QYnCRdB8K183odxlATvVAgM-ufMmpIlsI/s320/DSC03581.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546279523998915042" border="0" /></a><br />Daniel is very busy, but very fun. It's wonderful to watch him explore the world and I'm so glad I get to be his mom and spend all my days with him.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AgBuWIcAaXFu3a_HnEAq8LUjmqLK1Y1VItsys-JgROzphM1xrQIucCB8QsLovPI1VwYY3J3ssT8upTEfzl3enIjuMQpfO_pzEqSBbQ-Gr9g8HZOkaOirC2QI3qoVOdEVUWTb/s1600/DSC03631.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7AgBuWIcAaXFu3a_HnEAq8LUjmqLK1Y1VItsys-JgROzphM1xrQIucCB8QsLovPI1VwYY3J3ssT8upTEfzl3enIjuMQpfO_pzEqSBbQ-Gr9g8HZOkaOirC2QI3qoVOdEVUWTb/s320/DSC03631.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546285226509286402" border="0" /></a>Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30342137.post-34829845351300584362010-11-23T15:12:00.007-05:002010-11-23T22:08:27.146-05:00On Snot Snatching and Suturing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg_LV-q_bHTxwyp-x8siMvt-gmr-EbvpXZJK7wvDrObmFELVsBknODVxrmsiA161XMk5wEVDwoqdljoJF920b3wH6c9trt8Te9jjqkCw2vjF1lRCvEHYuIR5cz2B0oyJn93iy/s1600/nasal+aspirator.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg_LV-q_bHTxwyp-x8siMvt-gmr-EbvpXZJK7wvDrObmFELVsBknODVxrmsiA161XMk5wEVDwoqdljoJF920b3wH6c9trt8Te9jjqkCw2vjF1lRCvEHYuIR5cz2B0oyJn93iy/s320/nasal+aspirator.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542842902203818914" border="0" /></a>A while ago, our beloved hospital grade nasal aspirator (aka a snot-snatcher!) burst at the seam (literally) and we no longer had a good way to clean out Daniel's nose. I browsed online and found some but Daniel got over the bad cold he had and I never did order one. We tried gorilla gluing it and it held for a whopping 5 seconds! Dave mentioned off-hand that we could try suturing it if the glue didn't work, but it started it's second life as a chew toy instead.<br /><br />Fast forward a few weeks and Daniel has another bad cold. The same one that Dave had all last week and this week too. The one that I hope doesn't mess up our Thanksgiving plans. So when Daniel pulled out a random pack of suture from the bedside table today - and no, I don't know how it got <span style="font-style: italic;">there</span> - I decided to try my hand at that most essential surgical skill. It takes a little practice to get used to the curved needle. I could see why people accidentally poke themselves with it, at least until Dave came home and reminded me that you're supposed to hold it with another instrument and not just your fingers. I tried out the aspirator and it still leaked a little air, so Dave added a second layer of suture to fill in some of the gaps, then went over the needle holes with a layer of glue. It worked pretty well on Daniel tonight, but he still couldn't breathe when we put him to bed. :(<br /><br />I was going to say that this was my first experience with suture, but then I remembered that wasn't true. I used suture last year to string up parsley stalks to dry. It worked very well and was much easier than tying them. Now when we go to Africa, I can be Dave's surgical assistant! (Totally kidding - about being his assistant, that is)Sarah Halterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06300670655882950476noreply@blogger.com0