Pictures from my Birthday!!

OOhhh, la la!! Need I say more? :)
I really don't know why I look confused.....I don't think that I was but this was towards the end of my huge self-portrait session so maybe I was just annoyed, with myself, that I wasn't just putting the dang camera down!! :)
There ya go! I look happy now! :) Look at the lovely rocks! It kinda looks like I'm there size!
Gotta love the Copper Canyon! Although, I must say, it looks much more coppery in the evening light (which this time we didn't get). oh, well. Still awesome!!

Beautiful views on my 27th!!

Hey everyone! We just got home(about an hour 1/2 ago) from a great or "lovely" (as the English would say it) day out!! I must say this day turned out MUCH better than I expected! I don't normally enjoy my birthdays much at all, but I've been trying to be better about it. This morning I thought it was going to be quite hard to have this birthday away (even though I always say how I enjoy "traveling" for my birthday) but it turned out quite nice! We had the bible study this morning like normal but no one showed up, which I think was a blessing from God to ME because then that meant that we could leave earlier and therefore do more fun stuff TODAY for my birthday (instead of tomorrow like it was going to be)! So, we first went to Creel (a nearby town, about 30 minutes away, that is a little touristy town- but probably not touristy in the sense you would think normal for a touristy town in the US- but anyways) to eat lunch! YUMMY! It was good and I had a hamburger and fries (I've been craving some good ol' fashion junk food for 3 1/2 weeks now!)! :) Then after that we drove about an hour further to Divisedero (the Copper Canyon)! I've been there before but it never gets old! It's gorgeous!!! I mean GORGEOUS!! And of course, once again, the pictures do it no justice, although I did try! I downloaded my pictures onto the computer when we got home and was somewhat surprised to find that I had taken 100 pictures this afternoon (plus almost a whole role on my cannon)! I mean, I know that I'm a picture takin fool but Geesh! :) Anyways, I had a really good birthday and I felt really good, health wise, all day!! Praise the Lord I think I'm finally feeling back to my ol' self again! My OLD ol' self! 27! Man o' man! I know it isn't old but it does feel, more so to me than normal, that it is OLD! :) But oh, well, onward we go! :)

Okay, I have many stories, from the past two "sick" weeks that I have yet to tell you, so I will try to be better at posting one every day! I'll try. :) I hope you all are doing great!! Later!

More random pictures

This was that first Sunday when we took a "Sunday drive". Aren't they so cute? I didn't even make them pose like that! It was natural! :)
This is the road to the Bornman's house. It's a very very bumpy one! I feel sorry for Iris when she comes home from having the baby because when I was at my sickest this road only made me sicker!!! :(
Here's another picture (from before I got sick) where I was trying to do some "different" shots!
Ahhh, and here I am before I came to Mexico, with nice clothes on, makeup on, and my hair done, driving in my nice lil' car! I just needed to remind myself that I don't ALWAYS look like I have been looking these past 3 weeks! ha! (I was again trying one of those self-poses) :)

Granny, git ur pen!

Grandma, that's right! I'm talkin to you! :) I have been thinking a lot about cooking as I've been here with the Bornman's. I've been doing most of the cooking here (except when I have been sick) and it proves my point that, I can cook as long as I have a recipe (and even some without) but that it's THE recipe that makes all the difference! I've been making some dishes that I'm sure would be similar to something you would make yet I don't know how you would season it. YOU ARE THE BEST COOK I KNOW (with Mom being a second close)! :) But you can't let it stop there! :) I want to know how you make things. When I call them recipes you say "I don't follow a recipe, I just make it to how I like it." And that's when I say, "EXACTLY! That's why you NEED to write down the way YOU make things so that I have a "recipe" to follow!" :) I want to be able to make food like you do, soooooo good! And sure, maybe I won't/don't use it now but who knows how soon I will have a family to cook for and will need to know how to make things yummy! And seeing as how you have SO many "recipes" to write down for me you had better get goin! I've been asking you for years, yup years, and you must think I'm just jokin or whatever but this is not a laughing matter, Gramms! :) And now that I'm not at home for 5 more weeks, what better time to get out your pen and start a writing?! No better time than the present! :) So, I know that you are reading this blog, faithfully and so what better way to reiterate what I want from you! :) I mean, you've already given me so much by being the best Gramms there is to have, but all I'm asking for is this one more little thing! :) hehe! And I'm gonna take it one step further........I don't know how many other people are actually reading this (as I have a few friends *cough cough* who only look at the pictures and skim the writing) but if you are a "reader" of this blog, I'm asking you to help me out. If you read this and agree that Grandmas should definitely pass down there "personal" recipes to their grandchildren then make a comment on here! If you don't know how to do it, it's not too hard. :) Just click on "post comment" at the end of this post (and a separate little box will pop up) and then type your little note in the box and check the box "other" and put your name in "name" and click on the button "publish comment". See, it's not so hard! :) So, if you want to help me out in this thing that would make me the HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD, then please show my Grandma that she should do this, by leaving a comment saying so. :) I would really appreciate it! This is an important matter and I just can't let it drag on any longer! :) I know we all realize that I am going to need to actually cook once I'm married with kids (I mean, until kids come along, is there REALLY a NEED for cooking?) and if I'm going to have to cook, I'd like to do it in the BEST way possible.....Grandma style! :) Thanks so much to y'all and especially to you Gramms! :) I love you so much!!

A beautiful.............mess?

I love the beautiful mountains!!



And once we were out of the mountains it was still just as gorgeous, in it's own way! This picture does it NO justice!




In driving to the Doctor's yesterday I was just in such awe at how gorgeous this area is! The mountains, the streams, the goldenrod, the openness of it all, it's just so gorgeous! Except when you look closer there is so much trash, everywhere! It's sad really and I'm not sure of the exact reasons but trash is everywhere you go! No kiddin! You couldn't walk through the woods without finding tons of "stuff" at your feet....well maybe you could in the really really unpopulated places but I haven't been there. But I must say that despite all the litter, this is a gorgeous place! And you know how they always say "One man's junk is another man's treasure!" ? Well, it's true at least for the kids! Samuel and Hannah find so many little "treasures" everywhere they go (a lot of times even just around their "yard") that it's amazing to me! They are always so thrilled by what they find too! So, I guess all that stuff laying around that to me seems like trash, is really an everyday treasure FIND (not even a hunt) for the kids! So is the trash really a bad thing, after all? Hmmmm....something to think about I guess. :)

And the Doctor said.................

Here's the clinic that we went to in Cuetemache(the more correct spelling, I think). It was just my color! PINK! lol!
This is where we ate that I really enjoyed.....until later! :) Tacos y Salsas. YUM!
When we got into Cuetemache, on our way to the Doctor's, we passed this guy along side of the road selling aloe vera plants out of the back of his truck. So, for $2 Andrew decided he could use one!






(And The Doctor said)................."Well, everyone who has this sickness, dies." It's true, he said it! He was talking about how everyone of us will die, one day, of course! :) This doctor was such a jokster, he cracked me up! :) I really just need to get more brave with taking pictures cause I wish I would have taken one of him, to remember him. He was such a kind and lovable grandpa type and yet he really knew what he was doing/talking about! He said that I do have an infection (no blood work needed) and so he gave me an antibiotic to clear it up. I only need to take it for 5 days (possibly because I already took that horrible other stuff for 3 days) and he also gave me some nausea pills, to take morning and night, just in case this stuff does the same to me. But so far, so good, as far as nausea goes! He also said (amidst all his teasing of me) that this would go away on it's own, without an antibiotic, but that it would take much longer. You would want to do it that way if you were moving to Mexico, for good, or for at least longer than 2 months. So, I didn't have a need to suffer through it alone. This medicine seems to be my friend. :) Although, I must say that food is not! Earl Robinson has been known to say, "The sun is my ENEMY!" when the sun is really bothering him! Well, I now declare that "Food is my ENEMY!" Yesterday, I kept my stomach pretty empty, all day, so that I would hopefully feel okay until we figured out what I had. I had some gateorade and a very small amount of plain corn flakes and that was it all day, until after the Doctor's appointment. Well, then I was still feeling pretty good and was actually hungry so when we stopped to eat (Andrew, Josiah and myself) at a yummy restaurant (very much like Tacos Chihu- my favorite place in Chihuahua City to eat) I did decide to eat some. I did hold back though and kept myself from eating very much. And so it begun......as we went to a few grocery stores before heading home my stomach began to feel a bit more frustrated. Not too bad though. But then, towards the end of our 1 1/2 hour drive home, it got worse and worse! And let me tell you something (without too many gory details) we didn't make it home a minute TOO SOON!!! WOAH! The rest of the night was not so pleasant for me, in my making QUICK-RUNNING trips to the bathroom! So, therefore I now, at least for the next couple of days, declare food my enemy!! But don't worry, I am drinking plenty of water now because I don't have the nausea, like I did. :)

The Doctor said that this infection I have is just very common for traveling to a different country. He said that he would get the same thing too if he went to the states because all the bacteria's are just different: in the air, in the food, in the water....it's just different bacteria that our bodies aren't accustomed to! And I guess this is the longest time that I've been in Mexico therefore the reason, maybe, that I never really got sick on my other trips...I wasn't here long enough to be "exposed" enough. Anyways, no worries, I am on the mend and thank you so much for all the prayin! Our God is good! So Good!

Well, I think that's all for now but I will be back with more! Until then!

Hmmm.........the FREE hospital?

Here's the view I had of the entrance of the lab as I waited for Suelle to do her tests.
San Juanito has some interesting ways of advertising, I've noticed. Here are 2 pictures from the hospital that are to encourage breastfeeding. (This one was a large painting covering an entire wall that was in the passageway into the Hospital!)
The other picture......it's just so different to what I'm used to. Don't worry, there will be more examples from around town, soon enough. :)
Just for a cute pic, here's the new dog that's been hangin around the Bornman residence. The kids named her Pepimento (sp?) which is spanish for Pepper. The kids call her color, gray, but us adults aren't quite sure if she's "gray" because of how dirty she is or if that truly is her coloring. Who knows??? :) She is pretty cute though and I like her better now that Andrew gave her (and the other dogs) the flea/worms/everything shot! Yay for shots! :)




So, today I'm waiting to go to the Dr. in a city that's an hour and a half drive away. It's a long story as to why I'm going there but just know, we prayed about where to go and that the right Doctor would have wisdom as to what my problem is. :) Well, Andrew and I drove around San Juanito this morning and none of the "respectable" doctors were at home. And Andrew just didn't get a good feeling about going to the Free government hospital to see the doctor there. So, we are now going to a highly recommended doctor in Quetemache(sp?). My appointment is at 6:30pm this evening, which is a weird time for a doctor's appointment, but hey, I won't complain cause I want this thing taken care of, for once and for all! As you recall the test they did earlier this week (at the gov. hospital) showed no more amoeba or giardia. But this evening, we're gonna have them do a blood test and figure it out, for sure. So you can pray if you want that the Doctor will have Godly wisdom to know what it is and how to best treat it.

So let me share a bit more about my two trips to this Free hospital in town. :) It's an interesting place, that's for sure. When we took Josiah's stool sample in last Tuesday(the day I started to get sick) it was just so strange. We walked in, because we said we were there to talk to Suelle, Andrew and Iris's friend who works in the lab. And we went back to the lab, found Suelle, and she took the sample back into the lab to test. Not only that, she took us ALL back with her. The kids even got to look in the microscope! It didn't seem too high tech or extremely clean (which is what I think of when I think of a hospital) and it was just crazy that we were back there with her. Something that would never be allowed in the states....at least not as far as I'm aware of. And I didn't see her even wearing gloves or anything! :) Just seems so crazy to me! When we went in with my "sample" this past Monday, we weren't allowed to go back into the lab because there were other of her co-workers working there and I guess it normally wouldn't be done. So, even though it wasn't necessarily the norm that we went back into the hospital lab, it still was strange! On that Tuesday when we went for Josiah, Suelle figured out what he had, giardia, and then went and talked to the doctor who was there and figured out what meds he needed. So, then we walked over to the pharmacy window (in the hospital) and showed them what we needed and they handed it right over! No money, no questions asked!! WOW! Just such a foreign (ha, get it?) thing to me! But I guess when you live in San Juanito and you have no money and so therefore no other choices, you take what you can get. Iris and Andrew say that this hospital is low on the list as far as the nurses and doctors that they get. They get the people that were on the low end of the totem pole in their schooling and therefore, it's a bit scary who may be working on ya when you go there. :) Thankfully, Suelle is a friend of the family and can be trusted! She's such a lovely lady to come in, on her day off, and go through someones po po (what they call it) when she wouldn't have too! I know that wouldn't be my favorite thing to do on my time off from work! Yikes! But then again I don't know if I'd want to do that when I was AT work! :) I'll stick with people's hair, thank you very much! :)

Icky!

Yah, I look bad and that's just how bad I felt! And that's the horrible medicine!

What a weekend!

Well, the weekend has passed and boy what a weekend it was! Not one that I'd readily choose to, as we used to say in elementary school when we thought the results weren't fair, 'do over'!!! I have been sick since Tuesday the 14th and just now am beginning to feel myself again. Phewhoo! (In case you didn't get that, that was a sigh of relief.) :) They do still think that I had some sort of bug like giardia since that's what Josiah had and I'd been changing his diapers and all for 2 weeks. But today when the lady tested my "specimen" she said there were NO signs of amoebas or giardia or anything of the sort. (She did say that I should rest for 3 days and hopefully by then it'll be better. She said if it's not then we can take a blood sample. I'm sure I'll be fine but as of right now, I would greatly appreciate the 3 days of rest seeing as how I'm still not feeling 100%. My stomach pains come and go but aren't nearly as bad as they had been and the nausea is almost completely gone.) She said that the medicine I had been taking was "muy fuerte!" meaning very strong and probably just wiped it all out of me in the 4 days that I'd taken it. I actually only had the equivalent of 3 days worth but it was just over a 4 day span due to the fact that I only had 2 of the 3 doses on the first day. And boy let me tell you! Not only did that medicine wipe out any bug that was in me, it also KICKED MY BUTT!!! That stuff is vicious and geesh I hope I never have to take it again!! It made me so sick to my stomach that by the last two days of taking it I couldn't really eat or drink much at all! (and we all know that that is sooo not like Karisa!) :) It also gave me headaches and made me want to sleep or at least lay down ALL THE TIME and it leaves a horrible taste in my mouth that made me even sicker than I already was. That taste is still there a little too. It made so anytime I tried to drink, especially water, I couldn't because of the taste it gave me. So, all that to say, FLAGYL is VERY STRONG and is not something that I hope to ever need again!

So this morning I actually woke up feeling quite well! I know that God has healed and is healing me and I'm so thankful to Him! I realized, through a dream I had and talking with some peeps of mine that this was more than just a physical sickness. This was an attack of the enemy, I know it! And the dream I had made me believe it was more an attack on Andrew and Iris and their ministry than it was directly me. I just happened to be "included" in on it because I'm here and helping. So all that to say, OUR GOD HAS THE VICTORY!! He is way bigger than Satan and he is in control! God has our backs.....he has His children's backs and to know that is so helpful! It didn't make the actual sickness any easier to take but it does make me feel better and safe knowing that my God is bigger and is in control! This was just another lesson for me that I need to continue to claim His victory over my life and over situations, like this, that arise in life! One thing that I once heard, that I will never forget, is the fact that Satan cannot hear our every thought. Sure he can put thoughts into our mind but that doesn't mean he can hear every thought that we think. So, when we are rebuking him and telling him that his place is beneath us we CANNOT just think it in our minds! We have to speak it out in order for him to hear us! When we speak the name Jesus Christ to him, he trembles and WILL fall away! He doesn't have the victory but we know who does! And we need to tell him that. We need to make him know that WE know who has the victory, Jesus Christ!

So, enough with my "preaching". :) I just wanted to share with you what I've been reminded of through these last days. I need to be prepared for these attacks, but even when I am caught off guard, I need to be ready in the knowledge of who I am and who God is and who I am IN HIM! I'm so thankful that God gives me time and time again to practice what He has continually been teaching me! Thank you Jesus!...........but that also doesn't mean that I want to have this bout of sickness again, anytime soon, or EVER!

You can help me pray, if you'd like, that I would stay completely healthy for the rest of my time here, so that I can best serve the Bornman's and that I wouldn't worry about things that I could possibly be "picking up", health wise. Worry has become more in the forefront for me in these weeks............but that's another blog that I already have in my mind...........you'll just have to wait until tomorrow. I know you're excited!!!! :) Until then.

Pictures that I took awhile ago but you haven't yet seen.

I forgot to show a few pictures from last week when I cut everyone's hair (except for Iris'). I had an audience of neighborhood kids the whole time! :)
Sorry, I must be out of it because I forgot to rotate this picture before it was on the page and I'm too tired to go back and do it again. So for now this will have to do. This is Negro, the dog that loves to be all up on me even though I don't so much love it. So I decided I that two could play at this game. I called him over to take a picture and then wanted to take another but he would have none of it. I got him to stay away from me, for that day anyways.
Ahh the beautiful clouds!

Dreary Days.

So I thought I should post a little update on here so that you know what's going on. Yesterday, once again, I spent most of the day in bed and feeling miserable. I don't have so much of the stomach stuff anymore (although I do have it a bit) but it's now more just total weakness and headaches and slight fevers and stuff. I'm not sure what exactly that's all about except for the fact that my body is just fighting like the dickens to get rid of this yuk stuff! I am taking medicine now that will knock out giardia (if that's what I have) and will also take care of any ameoba I might have. So either way I'm covered. Now lets just hope it's not something other than those two things. :) So, I just wanted you to know that I am feeling better than I was but still not 100%. I know that God is healing me and thank you for helping me pray...but I am still not over it completely, so anytime you think about it and would pray that would be awesome!! I appreciate it so much! It's definitely not fun being away from home when you're sick. Well it's definitely not fun being sick, no matter where you are, but away from home (and in Mexico) is even more so not fun! I started to do the dishes today (for the first time since Tuesday morning) and I wasn't even able to finish them because I was so weak that I thought I might pass out. So instead, I took a 2 hour nap (and that was after I had just awoken from a 12 hour, or so, nights sleep)! Jesus help me because I will never make it through the rest of my time here if I continue to feel like this. And I won't be much help to the Bornman's either, which is the reason I came.

So, no fun pictures of anything new that we did, I'm sorry. But hopefully soon. On Wednesday (when I thought I was feeling better) we were at the lake, just past Creel, and I didn't even take out my camera when I was there. It was so gorgeous but that's just how crappy I felt. So unfortunately I don't even have any pictures of that...but I know Andrew took a few so maybe I can scrounge some up one of these days. We'll see.......

Talk to you later,
Karisa

Better, but please still pray.

Hey guys, I just wanted to write and let you know that I woke up this morning feeling SOOOO much better! It was truly amazing and could only be accredited to God and your prayers! I did sleep on the couch all night so I didn't have to do stairs running to the bathroom all night long so I was achy from that because it's not a very comfy couch for sleeping. And I was also feeling weak but not much bad. But as the day has progressed I am again running for the bathroom and having mild stomach cramps. Definitely not as gut wrenching as last night....I felt like I would rather die at some points last night. But like I said, God definitely is healing me because it's not nearly as bad. So, if you could just continue to pray for our health (the whole family's) and that Iris and the baby continue to do good as well. Iris' blood pressure dropped really really low again a few days ago but since then she's been fine. And obviously Josiah is still battling his bout with that bug juardia (sp?) or whatever it's called. They say that if that is what I have that I don't NEED medicine to get over it and I would rather not take antibiotics if I don't NEED them so we'll see. If this continues much longer though I just may give in.....especially if I have any more nights like last night. Can I just say this: I would much rather be battling this crap at home in the comfort of my own bed (and bathroom) than here, in Mexico, where things aren't quite like I'm accustomed to and where I don't have much privacy when it comes to being sick. It's things like this that really make me want to go home but I know that I am here for a reason, and that God's not finished with those reasons (the main one being the Bornman baby isn't born yet). So if you could really help me in praying against the enemy and that God would strengthen me to complete what he's called me to do, that would be awesome!! I know that God is in this, very much so, but that doesn't always make it any easier. Grandma and Mom, don't worry. I am okay and feel much better than I did and will continue to feel even better. I would call you tonight but the connection has been HORRIBLE today so it would be of no use anyways. Just know that I'm okay and God is with me and it's not the end of the world. :) I love you very much!

Karisa