bambino: week 8

Week 8 (Sunday, May 6, 2012)

It’s 5:15 PM and I just woke up from a nap… which lasted pretty much all day. I’ve been having a hard time sleeping through the night lately. I have to go the bathroom often, I feel nauseous most of the time, and I’m still feeling just so excited. Needless to say, sleep has been harder to come by. Not true today, though! I slept in until after 10 AM, enjoyed a delicious breakfast in bed, thanks to Jason, and then napped most of the day away. Now, I am trying to be productive in the few hours before bed. We are getting more and more excited each day to return home and tell our families our news! 26 more days from today and our families will be meeting us at the airport, only to be met by the surprising news that Bambino is coming! I can’t imagine the joy our parents will experience knowing they will soon become first-time grandparents. Liz, Ashley and Caleb should be there, too. The newest aunties and uncles in our family! We’re still not sure how to tell Missy and Brian, since they’ll still be in Virginia at that point…but I have some ideas ☺ After the airport, we hope to enjoy some celebrating with our families before bed time. I have to take a teaching licensure test the next day. Then, the plan is off to Mama’s to share the news once again with the Csukor clan! I can hardly believe this is happening! The news is definitely sinking in, though. We are just so overjoyed to be able to love you, Bambino. We are working hard to prepare for your arrival. It’s still far off, but we know your birth date will sneak up upon us quicker than we thought. Love you!

Cambios y Noticias:

Week 8

You are the size of a raspberry (.63 inches, .04 oz)

Your head is proportionally MUCH larger than the rest of your body. Alien baby anyone?

You are developing: fingers, toes, wrists and elbows.

Your heart is beating about 150 times each minute…some even equate you to a little “Mexican jumping bean”. You’re moving around like crazy in there, just can’t feel you yet.

I am feeling pretty tired most of the time…except for the middle of the night and early in the mornings. Convenient ;)

I am feeling nauseous (one week and counting) most days and most times during the day. “Morning sickness” is definitely mis-leading.

So far, I really only crave/feel like eating crunchy foods. Soft foods, like avocados and yogurt make me gag, a lot.

I had very weird demands for plums and asparagus this week. Hmm. Odd.

I am trying to drink as much water as your dad ☺, so have taken many more trips to the bathroom lately.

My stomach has blown up pretty big, almost bump like, mostly at night. From what I am reading, it’s mostly gas and bloating…not the pressure of my growing uterus (which is the size of a grapefruit now) yikes!

Jason has been incredible. No surprises there. He makes countless trips up and down the stairs for me: water, food, water, vitamins, more food, even more water, 7 up. He’s already a super-star dad! I am so grateful for his support. Now, if he can only stay patient with me for the next 32 weeks, we’re good ☺

Hondurans have been VERY excited to celebrate with us. They are extremely conservative when it comes to pregnancy. So much so that I was asked to stop swimming laps at the pool since I was “turning my baby up and down and making it dizzy”. Umm…not sure what to say in response to that. Oh, and I have to sign a waiver at school for the third trimester that I won’t climb stairs at work. Sure, I “won’t” climb stairs at work, but I’ll definitely keep climbing stairs at the gym ☺

We are still SO excited to share the news with our family and friends at home in 26 days. We have kept the secret safe and sound, barely. We’re kind of avoiding Skype calls and such…not sure how much you can see yet, but I definitely can’t keep my cool when talking to our family. There was even a moment when Jason was demonstrating a paintball move via Skype and picked up our “What to Expect” book to use as a shield. Guh! Don’t think anyone noticed. But for goodness sake, please stop asking “What’s new?” NOTHING! ☺

We are VERY excited for our first doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Praying and hoping all is healthy and strong. Also, for our little jumping bean to show off his/her heartbeat for us!



our first doctor's appointment with dr. bueso and so excited to see bambino for the first time!


there he/she is! oh, and we got to hear the heartbeat. there are no words. incredible.

bambino: week 6

Week 6 (Sunday, April 22, 2012)

It’s 10:30 PM (Honduras’ time) and I can’t sleep. Is it because I napped most of the afternoon after a long, exhausting morning at church? Is it because my mind is racing with the countless lists I have running through my head: boy names (HARD!), girl names (easy), doctor’s appointments, legal paperwork for delivering in Honduras, how to tell our families, what we need to buy, changes in our relationship, how to manage working/parenting, or just simply wondering what you’re going to be like. Or, is it because I can feel slight changes in my body, the signs of early pregnancy as my abdomen shifts and moves giving you space to grow? Or, is it a little of everything? Probably.

We have been thinking of you a lot, our little “Bambino”. Sometimes we forget you’re even real still, but then one of breaks out into the largest grin, reminding each of us how our little family is growing. It seems odd to say, but at the same time, it’s the most natural and genuine emotion we are experiencing right now. We love you. We love you already. Our hearts are overflowing with love and commitment to you our sweet Bambino. We can’t understand why God has chosen us to be yours, but we are. We are yours, forever. We are taking this new responsibility so very seriously. We are reading about how to best take care of you, even now as you are developing. We are praying for your safety and health. We are working hard at loving each other so that you will always know the security of two parents that are devoted to each other. And we are fighting each and every day for our faith. Living in Honduras has challenged us in many new ways, especially in our relationships with God. We are working out our faith each day, often with fear and trembling. All of this because He first loved us, so now we can love you.

Cambios y Noticias:

Week 6

You are the size of a lentil bean (1/4 of an inch long)

Your nose, mouth and ears are starting to develop. Can’t wait to smooch ‘em!

Your heart is beating about 100-160 times each minute. Wow! No wonder I’m tired ☺

I am feeling pretty tired most of the time…except for the middle of the night and early in the mornings. Convenient ;)

I am hungry a lot, but feel full very quickly. This leads me to a constant state of wanting to eat.

I am trying to drink as much water as your dad ☺, so have taken many more trips to the bathroom lately.

I feel my stomach cramping every once in a while. Strange, but cool. It reminds me that something is actually going on down there.

We are SO excited to share the news with our parents, siblings, family and friends. Hope we can hold out until June, when we’re home. It’s hard to carry around such a life-changing secret.

We are planning to be surprised about whether or not you’re a “BambinO” or a “BambinA”. Life allows us so few surprises, and we’d like this to one of them. I do have my own prediction, though, call it “female intuition” or “mommy knows best”… but we’ll have to wait and see…

bambino: our initial thoughts

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Re-wind…flashback…sweet, sweet memories… here we go!

Thursday night, April 19, 2012

Sarah is bored…an oxymoron of sorts. The attention span of a child, combined with the productivity of a small army should never lead to boredom. But alas, Thursday night it did. So, she did what any average, 29 year old bored woman (trapped in her house) might do. Sarah peed on a “stick”.

Let’s back up for just a minute. She had been feeling extra-strange that week. Cramping. Fatigue. Moody. When in isolation these symptoms wouldn’t alert Sarah to anything abnormal; however, paired with her non-existent, let’s call it “friend”, her imagination went wild!

So, back to Thursday night.

Boredom + Wild Imagination = pee on a stick.

And guess what?! You’ve probably figured out by now, but everyone’s enjoys a little suspense, right?

TWO PINK LINES! In Spanish that means “embarazada”. I think you know what it means in English ☺

JAAAASOOOOOONNN!!!



Enter Jason. He sprinted to the rescue, from downstairs on the couch watching “Firefly”. Pause the DVD. Run through the living room, dining room, hammock room, foyer… up a flight of stairs, through the “nothing-yet” room, into the bedroom and finally to the bathroom. Ready on the attack to kill any sort of creature Sarah had stumbled upon this time.

Jason was not expecting to see Sarah, tears spilling down her cheek, dancing up and down, and holding a white, plastic stick. It took him a few seconds for the reality of the moment to register. Sarah peed on a stick and the result was pregnant!

Could it really be?! Were the doctors mistaken? They hadn’t even been “trying” this last month? Of course, they had been (in secret) the previous four months…but nothing. So, they decided after a few months of expectancy and then disappointment, to take a break. Ha. Isn’t that always the way.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9)

Well, they weren’t fully convinced, so Jason took off, sprinting, to the closet Pharmacy (a mile away) and picked up another brand of the good ole’, tried and true, home pregnancy test. The directions, in Spanish of course, were much more complicated this time. The kit included an eye- dropper, white contraption with an open box, and a couple different windows to read from. Very stressful to navigate considering the circumstances ☺. Well, they took their best shot at understanding the directions… and waited… three minutes, which felt like three days. But, at the other end of the waiting appeared TWO MORE PINK LINES! Goodness. Could it really be?!

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17)

Thursday night was incredible. Relishing in the news together. Crying. Laughing. Praying. Smiling (a lot!) Caressing the belly that was being transformed into a safe home for their little one. They decided that evening, after wise counsel from Sarah’s “external conscious” ☺, to see a doctor to confirm the news they were hoping was true. Great advice. But for that evening, they were able to rest in the Hope of God hearing and responding to their prayers.

here's a glimpse of just a few of our emotions...






Friday, April 20, 2012

Waking up with a smile from ear to ear, Sarah and Jason readied for school, hoping the hours would pass quickly so they could know without a doubt the truth of their secret. Sarah carried around the plastic evidence in a bag all day. It comforted her to have the reminder close.

They decided to share the news with their administrators that morning, since they needed some helping knowing what to do next. Also, they were bursting with joy from the news and just had to tell someone ☺ Both principals took one glance at the pregnancy tests, and jumped out of their seats for joy. Their joyful response only filled Sarah and Jason with more excitement, as they counted the minutes until 2:00.

True to all things Honduran, the doctor’s appointment turned into quite the adventure. With the advice from school, Sarah went to the Elementary School doctor for an order (stamped and all!) for blood-work regarding her hypo-thyroidism. Then, the school called the local free clinic to confirm they did blood draws. With the doctor’s order, phone number, address and name of the clinic, Sarah and Jason departed for Caribe clinic. Basically running through the front door, smiles plastered across their faces, they were met with the news that Caribe does not have a lab, and therefore could not process a blood work order. What?! Isn’t that why they called ahead, had confirmation from the doctor and health insurance specialist at the school?! To make the situation even more “Honduran”, the receptionists were giving advice about where to go that just sounded like “blah… blah… blah… and some more blahs...” Thank goodness for the English speaking patients in the waiting room that directed them to walk about a half of a mile to the nearest lab/clinic/hospital. After a chorus of “thank-you’s”, they were off, again.

The next hospital was clean, bright, quiet and very easy to navigate. Thank you God. Within thirty minutes of the walking in the front door, Sarah and Jason had registered at the lab, walked to the “cajero” to pay, met the nurse who would perform the blood draw, Sarah had her blood drawn, and they were told to wait 20 minutes for the results. They thyroid results would take about a week, but of course, they weren’t as concerned with that news at this point ☺

While drawing Sarah’s blood, the nurse reminded Sarah of how in control God is all of the time and the importance for us to live with faith of that truth. What a blessing her words, kind and calming presence, and brilliant smile were during that moment of expectation. The 20 minutes passed slowly, but each moment was worth it when they watched Sarah’s nurse walk through the doors to the waiting room, holding a slip of paper and beaming from ear to ear. The results were POSITIVE! All Sarah can remember from that moment were the soft words of her nurse, “respire”, “respire”, “respire”. Breath… breath… breath. She and Jason met in an ecstatic embrace and sobbed for joy in each other’s arms. This must be what pure elation feels like.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

So back to today. How are we feeling? Nothing short of amazing. ☺ We can’t stop smiling, crying, praying, singing, dancing, giggling. Jason said the other day, “it’s the closest thing to a miracle we’ve ever personally experience”. It’s unfathomable how God has chosen for life to continue. From the love of a man and woman, new life is born. Because of the love of our Savior, we walk in newness of life each and every day. Always faithful, all-knowing, unconditionally loving God…we adore You and offer You the highest praise in these moments of pure joy!

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning…new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness oh Lord… Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations _

happy anniversary #3

the old adage is so true. time flies when you're having fun

marriage has been a lot of things for me this year, and especially recently, it's been so much fun. my husband has always been the person who enters a room and the energy just sort of naturally picks up. he is the one whose laugh can spread like wildfire until all of a sudden you find yourself laughing alongside him and you're not even sure why. jason has turned the mundane life tasks, like grocery shopping, which i've always struggled to find joy in, to an adventure of finding the best deals, racing to finish my part of the list faster than him, and stolen glances of adoration across the aisle. of course not all the time, we're not living a movie here, but fun most definitely.

living internationally has challenged and broadened what our definition of fun is, for sure. is it fun to come to a colony of cockroaches infesting your home? of course not. but with jason by my side, his peaceful presence and positive assurance can turn any desperate situation into just another patience-building hurdle to cross. do i fight that approach initially? absolutely. all of my insides scream, panic! but, in the end, we remember the fun of experiencing it together.

in many ways three years has felt like a lifetime. we often say it's hard to remember life before each other. but we know, the fun has hardly even begun. we prayerfully and joyfully look forward to the many years God chooses to bless us with and remain devoted and committed to working together on our relationship and our faith in the midst of this journey.

happy anniversary jason. you are and always will be the beat to my heart, the laugh to my joke and the love of my life. i am having so much fun with you!

remember this day? you were waiting so calmly for our life together to finally begin.

and then, more scared than i have ever been, i walked that long aisle. so uncertain as to what i was actually doing, until our eyes met, just when i turned the corner. when i saw you, jason, my fears evaporated and my steps became sure. i knew without a shadow of a doubt i was walking towards the best earthly treasure i will ever find. you, my love, you.

and don't forget the fun. i know wherever you are, there will always be fun to be had. thank you for that. i love you!

2 weeks and counting...

as our first year living abroad comes to a close, jason and i are wrecked with emotion. lots of them actually. we are very grateful for this opportunity to have lived abroad, worked with such incredible international educators, developed our communication skills in Spanish and learned to appreciate and rely on each other more. we are also feeling slightly unsettled in some of our goals in moving here, which has led to us to give this experience another year. god placed some specific goals and ideas on our minds and hearts in coming here and we know He's not quite done with us here, yet. we are hopeful that we can return with more realistic expectations, a renewed vision for our time here and passion to stay the course. mostly though, we are feeling the joy of knowing we are returning soon to friends, family and familiar places that have been "home" to us for so many years. the excitement that is building up in us is about to its boiling point. we are going to be home late friday night, june 1st, so that i can take a licensure exam the next morning. then, after my test we are looking forward to days upon endless days with friends and family...just being together! we can't wait to hear and share countless stories of how we have all changed this year and the ways in which we have seen god working in our lives. reminiscing is sweet. friendships stretched over the constraints of time and space have given us the greatest challenges in adjusting and investing into life in honduras, so we are especially looking forward to the simple yet magical times we will get to spend with those we love so dearly in a just a few more days. come quickly june 1st, come quickly. but, don't miss the moments in between, sarah... don't miss the moments. like i tell my students, you only get may 17, 2012 once, so live it and make the most of it! it's going to be gone before you know it. our time here (honduras, home, the earth...) is short, so we move and breath and live each moment to the fullest and rely on our faith to carry us through the days and weeks and months yet to come. june 1st will arrive in a blink of an eye.

semana santa en guatemala con mi hermana

liz came for semana santa this year! she loved it so much that she's already planning semana santa en panama (2013). success! here's a quick run down:

friday, march 30th: liz arrived about noon. we met her at house, showered, changed, opened up our gifts from the states and our easter baskets, re-packed and then left for the bus terminal. 4 hours later we arrived in lovely Copan Ruinas and trekked to our bed and breakfast, Casa de Cafe. Howard is incredible, and since the b&b was vacant, split us up into two beautiful rooms. we loved starting off our back-packing adventure in luxury! after settling in, we walked through the peaceful, cobblestone streets to dinner at Mary's Comedor for pupusas. Delicious lorroco and ayote pupusas!

saturday, march 31st: canopy tour...the new one! happy hour dinner at Twisted Tanya's. Drinks at the German bar. Liz met a "friend", well he though he as a "friend", at least. That means that the rest of our time in Copan was spent as a (much chattier and active) foursome. We missed our trio a little bit :) Slept at Iguana Azul hostel.

sunday, april 1: the shuttle to guatemala was booked, so we stayed in copan one extra day. not such a bad thing, just sad to miss Monterrico's black-sand beach and turtle hatchery. the mayan ruins. Sunset dinner at a new rooftop terrace restaurant. Slept at Iguana Azul hostel.

monday, april 2: 5 am shuttle to Guatemala City. drama at the border, the honduran side of course. money troubles..we weren't able to use our debit/credit cards anywhere (banks included). we didn't have any cash, so we had to beg a very nice taxi driver to escort us around the city as we searched for an ATM that would accept Honduran or US cards. we are definitely still in Central America. goodness. backpacking is not backpacking without a little adventure, right? well our very long travel day ended us in Zona 10 (business class) and the Real Intercontinental hotel. needless to say, we received quite a few stares as the three of us: dusty, windblown, sweaty, tired, and carrying very large backpacks entered the revolving front doors and took our first few steps across marble floors to the granite reception desk. not exactly what anyone was expecting that monday evening. well, the very ritzy first-class hotel did indeed have an international atm, so we could pay our taxi driver for our 4 hour run with him. we decided quickly to stay at this hotel. perks: no more traveling, comfortable, bed, Jacuzzi tub, steam shower, rooftop pool, complimentary breakfast, within walking distance of anything we'd want out of a capital city in Central America. cons: ? can't remember. after we cleaned up A LOT, we embarked out for a night on the town and found a delicious Mayan restaurant. the ambiance was the best we experienced the entire trip and the food and wine were delicious. thanks Liz for treating us to a night of luxury.

tuesday, april 3: chicken bus to lake atitlan, about a 4 hour trip. Guatemalan chicken busses are much roomier, cleaner and efficient than in honduras. thanks for that! we arrived in "pana", the hippest, most happening town on the lakeside. we ate a quick dinner at a mayan family's house/restaurant and then took a tuk-tuk to the marina, where we caught an hour long "lancha" or rickety, old fishing boat, to the opposite side of the lake, San Pedro de la Laguna. we found our hotel, "Mikaso", pretty easily, and after switching rooms to one that didn't smell so strongly of sewer water, enjoyed a dinner on their rooftop restaurant. the rooftop bar/restaurant was what sold us on this hotel. very peaceful and wonderful views of the surrounding volcanoes, lake, and mountainside villages.

wednesday, april 4-friday, april 6: fun at the lake! shopping, walking, horseback riding, reading, lazy days, sleeping in, delicious meals...awesome!

friday, april 6: supposed 2 hour shuttle to antigua. well, our shuttle which was supposed to leave at 2 pm was about an hour late (bummer), empty (AWESOME), and unable to navigate good friday traffic once we reached antigua (major bummer). we heard that one million people were migrating to antigua for the holiday, we were only 3. we were definitely at a disadvantage :) the details of that night are pretty fuzzy now. there was darkness, good friday processional, thousands if not millions of people-everywhere!, a lot of walking back and forth looking (unsuccessfully) for our hostel, plenty of annoyed guatemalans as we had to politely but forcefully move our way through the crowds, "con permiso"....good news? we found our hostel (eventually...by 10 pm that night). bad news? it was pretty nasty, not what the website promised at all, dark and loud. since we were crabby and exhausted we decided not to do anything about it, just complained about the rate having doubled since we reserved. not much we can do on friday night, good friday at 10 PM. oh well. backpacking adventures continue...

saturday, april 7: rooftop breakfast with a view of volcanoes: pacaya, agua and something else very hard to remember. day of shopping, roaming the city, lunch at Epicure (delicious, thanks Howard!) and finding some Trader Joe's goodies...seriously. Jason and I had a romantic dinner at a mountain top restaurant at sunset...well romantic until the food poisoning set in and i was throwing up outside in the beautiful gardens. gross. backpacking adventures continue...

sunday, april 8: EARLY morning volcano hike of Pacaya...peaceful drive back to Antigua, chocolate making tour at the Choco Museum (the same one from Granda, Nicaragua), more shopping, taking pictures, and dinner (with another of Liz's friends... this time a local, much better!) at a super tiny and agin, delicious guatemalan restaurant. howard gives the BEST recommendations!

monday, april 9: 3 AM scare... none of us woke up to our 3 alarms set. we woke up at 3:10. our first-class bus "left" at 3 AM. i went into comando mode instantly: jason...throw on some shorts! run down the streets! yell for "Hedman Alas"! Keep running until you find the bus! liz: pack the bags! carry them down the stairs and stack them outside! sarah: find the tickets! pay! turn in the key! pack the bags! mentally devise three alternate emergency plans for us to make it home today, in time for work and liz's flight home tuesday! meet liz and (hopefully jason with the bus) outside!....3:20ish...the most incredible site we could imagine...jason pulling up in a shuttle bus, marked "Hedman Alas". thanks to God, they were running late, and circling the city looking for us. panting and relieved, we piled into the shuttle for the one hour drive to Guatemala City where we would transfer to the larger first-class bus to San Pedro Sula. my legs didn't stop shaking, nor eyes stop twitching until we were on that first-class bus headed for home. backing packing adventures continue.... :)

monday, april 9: the afternoon. we made it home by 2 PM and liz and i walked the city a bit and headed for Guamalito so she could pick up some last minute Central American treasures. Jason walked and picked us up our favorite last minute dinner, Chicky's Mex. yum!

tuesday, april 10: a VERY TIRED first day back of teaching. liz met us at school to give us a (tear-filled) hug goodbye, and then off she went. the time went much too quickly. i love you larm...i'm sooooo blessed you can now picture us in honduras, and that you loved it! only wish you and Elo could join us next year :), but we'll take another trip to Panama. one more year of this and we're reunited again sister! love you more than the sun!

and now... the pics. you deserve it if you've made it all the way through this long blog post :) https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/107299224727339466941/albums/5731287845121668689

roatan march 2012

thanks only to wells and austin... jason and i were able to enjoy a "pre-spring break" trip to paradise! roatan, the bay islands, honduras. look it up! it may be the most beautiful place on earth!

we had the best time celebrating our friendship and enjoying our friends company at the beach. here's a quick peek at our very first couple's vacation:

highlights: (in no particular order)
- kisses from dolphins
- seeing your best friends walk through San Pedro Sula's airport terminal, and no. it wasn't a dream!
- oceanview, double suite with balcony overlooking the infinity pool
- delicious food...breakfast, lunch and dinner
- margaritas, cuba libres, pina colada's and anything else you can think of from a swim up bar, Caribbean side
- sun set walks along the beach
- constant, friendship deepening conversations
- laughing together...especially with austin!
- perfectly refreshing crystal clear water to swim in
- warm sun to bask in
- fish tacos...with real fish
- sleeping in and waking up to the sound of ocean breezes
- watching austin eat more meat than i previously thought humanly possible
- performing CPR on the beach, and knowing you helped to save a life "salva vida!"
- showing your friends a little window in your world, living in honduras
- feeling the love, support and understanding from friends... we have certainly missed that these past several months


here are a few shots to document our time... thanks to Wells and Austy for the sacrifice of time, resources, and getting our of their comfort zone just to be with us! we'll never forget our time together! we love you both more than words can say!!

flying to paradise

leaving the mainland

the view from our balcony

our beautiful caribbean sea

getting ready to swim with dolphins

getting suited up

mr. french (i think) showing off

anthony's key

all smiles after swimming with dolphins

sunset, seaside walk to a delicious dinner

caribbean photo shoot

infinity bay resort

infinity pool + ocean view = INCREDIBLE!

the smallest plane we've ever flown on

sorry jas...i just think the hat is so darn cute on you

wells' photographic masterpiece. adios roatan!