4 month pic

Asher turned 4 months old on Nov.23 - HE weighs 17 lbs and is 25 1/2 inches. We go to the doctor today to get more accurate stats.

Thanksgiving Week 2009

We had great fun with the L family and the F family that came to visit us on the island. The house was filled with 6 children under 4, 2 pregnant women, 1 nursing mother, and 3 great dads. The turkey was brought to us as carry on luggage by friends from the capital city a few days earlier. It was yummy. We had all the trimmings.
Turkey and dressing
mashed potatoes
corn casserole
green bean casserole
carrot souffle
cranberry salad
pumpkin casserole (in place of sweet potatoes)
macaroni casserole
Pumpkin rolls

Then for dessert: Key Lime pie, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie - but we were all so stuffed that we didn't even touch the desserts that evening.




The kids showing off their creation - turkey centerpiece made from a melon, grapes, pears, and cheese (brought to BB by a special friend - thanks JT and CT)

Just Cuteness!

Happy Birthday Caleb!

Caleb turned 33 on Nov.15. We celebrated with a cheesecake and a special coffee called "Kopi luwak - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak. It was no small endeavor because I had saved the cream cheese and raspberries from April. That is one of the trickiest parts about living on the island is that you have to plan ahead- way ahead sometimes.

Alethia and I decorated the house while Caleb was away on a trip and when he came home it was all decorated (And still is at the moment). We also made our own birthday hats. Alethia had fun cutting up bits of paper and putting them on her hat. She reminded me that Asher needed one as well- so we made him one of a different variety. Here are some birthday poses.

3 month stats

Asher weighed in at 15lbs and 25 inches - (keep in mind we were weighing him at home)
For his 2 month stats he was 14lbs and 24 inches. We love our chunky monkey.

Love My Little Broder

Alethia loves her little brother.. She now calls him her best friends. precious

Party Time

My close friend here in town got married last week and here are a few shots of the wedding and reception. Only close friends go to the wedding but everyone and their brother goes to the reception. No matter where you go the same exact food is always served. Sometimes if we are lucky we get to eat chocolate/durian ice cream. Alethia is wearing the traditional dress that Kim's mom made for her a while back.

Fake Fall

When the weather where you are is nothing even remotely close to fall (The only leaves we have that change color go from green to dead brown because of the heat.) at least I can still bake as if it were fall. I made these yummy pumpkin muffins the other day. I don't know why buy there were so so yummy. I ate two almost immediately. I may even go an have another one right now. I used peanut butter chips instead of butterscotch because that is what I had on hand. For the pumpkin I had some left over in the freezer from where I had baked a whole pumpkin in the oven and then just mashed it with a fork. I got the recipe of another bloggers site - (sorry I can't remember where). Let me know if you try it.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. unbleached white flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus (or 1 tsp. cinnamon plush 1/2 tsp. ginger and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 c. melted butter
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. butterscotch chips
In a medium bowl, stir together flours, sugars, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, butter, and pumpkin. Stir into dry mixture. Stir in butterscotch chips. Pour into greased or lined muffin tins. Bake at 350° for 17 to 20 minutes.

Meeting the Princess

We got to meet the regional representative for the Miss Indo pageant the other day. We told Alethia she was a princess but she wasn't buying it because the girl didn't have a crown or a princess dress. Asher was happy to have his picture made with her and then Alethia eventually warmed up to the idea after we had been traveling with them on the plane for about 3 hours.

Welcome Asher

Our Australian friends on the island gave Asher a welcome to to the world party. Ez who is 6 I think (maybe 7) did all the planning, decorations, games, and most of the food by himself. He made a great host. Asher has a hard time showing appropriate appreciation for anything but breast milk at the moment. Alethia played musical chairs for the first time and was not happy that she didn't win. She got better on the balloon races. Wearing her party dress excited her the most!

A First

A got here first partial black eye from her little brother's right hook. Not really. She fell coming up the steps into the kitchen and hit the fan. It is a floor fan and she managed to hit her face on the part that holds the two metal pieces together that has a sharp handle. Ouch... Ouch.. I was expecting her eye to be damaged severely but it looks like it will be okay. She didn't cry that much and held an ice pack on it while she watched "A Bug's LIfe".



A was having a good sleep today so I thought I would snap the cutey while he was asleep. He hasn't been asleep this soundly in about three days so that was a good first for him too. He is not in his bed because the ants decided they wanted to sleep there too.

Our 6th Year Anniversary

Caleb and I celebrated our 6th year anniversary on June 28th. As you can see I was greatly pregnant at the time and the coffee cup is sitting on my belly not levitating.







A good friend was in town and kept Alethia all day while we took a lunch date that turned into evening by the time we got back. The restaurant was "The Oasis" and has served the likes of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary, Margaret Thatcher, and a host of other dignitaries. They are famous for their "rice table display" which is at dinner time a 12-dish meal. Similar to a personal buffet but is specially displayed and served with various attendants. It is a great way to sample some of this countries best dishes. We had the scaled down version at lunch but still had a lovely time.

The funny thing was we started writing a list of how we had celebrated each year - and the verdict is ... We need to keep a written record because we couldn't remember each year's celebration. So either we need to celebrate bigger or at least write it down.

She loves to Dress Up!

Alethia loves to dress up! Little brother gave her a mermaid costume in the hospital too.

Sweet Dreams!

Here is Asher having a sweet 8 day old dream!

Caution: Labor and Delivery Story

Here is a run down of my labor and delivery with Asher as best as I can remember it. - This is long and detailed.

We were at a friend’s house (The T’s) on Thursday, July 23, having lunch. The power was out for all of lunch and then we went up stairs to chat a bit and then the power came back. So we decided to try out their Wii. This was the 2nd time that I had played. I had read the night before on my brother-in-law’s facebook that he was playing Wii Fit to loose his belly. I had wondered at the time if it would help me go into labor too – (aka –loose my belly). So maybe that was already on my mind. Anyway, Caleb and I played a little tennis and did some bowling. Then Caleb headed off to the gym to workout. I stayed at their house and did the Wii fit. Well besides my Wii Fit age being absurdly old and them calling me overweight I enjoyed the experience and I was beginning to get good at the Hula-hoop. That is going in the clockwise direction. I will never know about counter clockwise because after I hit 300 twirls we started laughing and I had to make a b-line for the bathroom. Well, I realized then that my water had just broken. The time was 5:30 pm. Thanks, Wii Fit-otherwise my doctor was going to break it the next Wednesday.

Our friends drove me and A back to the guesthouse and I put the finishing touches on all of our packing but was not in too much of a rush because I hadn’t really felt a contraction yet. Then Charlie went to get Caleb because he was in the middle of a work out and didn’t have his phone with him. I took a shower and that was the first time I felt something that I thought might be contractions. We got some grilled chicken and rice for dinner and left about 6:30. By this time I really didn’t want to eat but thought it might help me to have some strength for the long night ahead. I also brought an apple along and that was what I really wanted to eat. We thankfully got to the hospital within an hour, which was a blessing because the traffic could have been much worse. I was feeling contractions in the car on a regular basis (3-6min) apart but was still able to talk. I was checked into the labor room by 7:45 and by then was 4cm dilated. My friend Stephanie came around 8:15 complete with some Ipod Christian tunes, which was perfect time because Caleb was help up in Admissions for 45 minutes. During that time the contractions were getting stronger and we got to see the chicken and rice for the 2nd time. Dr. Gozali got there at 8:30 and asked if I was handling the pain. I think all I could do was mutter a shy “yes”. 8:30-9:30 was the by far the hardest time with Stephanie counting the length of the contractions, me trying to breath and remain calm, and Caleb trying to comfort me by allowing me to clutch/pinch his hand until he lost all feeling I am sure. I was up trying to walk around, squat, sway, etc….. Then one of the later contractions totally exhausted me so I got in the bed to “rest” a little. Then I could focus and breath better because the contractions were not so excruciating. The doc came in at 9:30 and said I was fully dilated but the baby was not totally engaged. He said it would be about an hour before I was pushing. I could feel a strange pain in my lower back and in my lower hips. I felt like the baby was just stuck there. I didn’t want to move but knew I had to do something to get this baby down. However, every time I moved the pain got worse and I wanted to push. With C and S help I got up and stood on the floor and tried to rock. Well, I got things rocking and wanted to push – but just a little bit. So I got back on the bed this time on my hands and knees trying to relieve the pressure off of my back. Thankfully, it worked. There was this 3 min sense of calmness and I asked S why I hadn’t had a contractions. It was the calm before the storm. There is a special name for this breathing period before you are getting ready to push. Dr. Gozali was in the room given me reminders on how and when to push. I was trying to listen in between contractions and then they were shouting. “We see his head.” I was exhausted so I lay down on my side. I thought I had kept it all together until this point. But it was as if I went to another world. I knew I was holding on for dear life on the nurse’s shirt – partly because I didn’t want to fall out of the bed ☺. I could hear them saying things like, “Oh, we see his head, he’s got hair, you can do it, and just a little bit more.” But their voices were in the distance. Then, I felt Asher come all the way out and it was heaven on earth. Of course, being able to hold him and see him healthy was a great joy too. He came out very purple but after a minute of cuddles with mom he was given some oxygen and quickly gained his color.

I could not believe how incredibly smooth everything went. I was so afraid, nervous and scared about delivering in a developing country. Especially, knowing the nurses do not like to deviate from their norm and wondering if the baby was going to be healthy. But God’s word says that perfect love casts out all fear. I was relying on His care for me and remembering a verse that one of my teammates from WFRMS told me when I was getting ready to deliver Alethia.
CSB 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.
God provided just what I needed right when it was needed most!!!!

We praise Him that we had a healthy baby boy born at 10:45pm that night. Only 5 hours from when my water broke and without any complications. He was so faithful to see us through and give us a 9lb and 20 inch long super cute little man or “baby bruder” as Alethia likes to say.

He is Here!

Asher Raymond Coppenger made his appearance on July 23, 2009. He weighed 9lbs and was 20 inches long. I will post more labor details later but here are some of the pictures.

Still pregnant

As of Sunday, July 19 at 10:15pm - I am still pregnant and 2 days past my due date. We may go to the zoo tomorrow to do some walking. I am also getting a pretty bad cough and cold - not a good combo for a pregnant lady. I have to post this pic of Alethia since all my facebook friends liked it.

Also - A just got a dress up outfit from some sweet folks who are in America at the moment. It is a Fancy Nancy dress and she loves it. I think she has worn it for the last 4 days. Her friend Jess, in the big city, let her borrow a book about Fancy Nancy. She just informed Caleb that she is going to do the cha-cha with Grandma Gladys when she gets back to America. Grandma, I hope you are ready.

Happy Birthday Gagee!

Gagee,
We were really hoping Baby Asher would come on your birthday but it does not look like that will happen only 1 hour and 15 minutes until this day is over on our side of the world. Gagee we wish you a Happy Birthday and hope to give you another great grandchild within the next few days. We love you and miss you!

Who are my friends?

Alethia loves having friends to play with. There is usually someone new staying here everyday. So she asks in the morning "Mommy, who are my friends today?" Here are some of her friends.

From our time with the Webels in their city

We can Post Again.

We are now in the big city - awaiting the birth of our little boy. His due date is July 18th. I think he may be a view days early - but hopefully not too early. We still have some things to do. Just got a recent diaper grant from cottonbabies.com. Thank you all so much. They are going to be wonderful - 12 free Bum Genius cloth diapers. The new baby will not have to use Alethia's old nasty ones nor use the ones that are purple and hot pink. He should feel blessed.

We are staying in a nice place - sort of like a guest house. We have our own sleeping quarters and bathroom with microwave and fridge. Then there is this community area for cooking with great cooking facilities and even hot water for washing dishes. The whole place is air conditioned so I am not even sweating that much inside.

There is a pool we can use but it has a habit of turning my hair green. Not cool. Alethia is enjoying seeing so many folks and having "friends" to play with. She loves blowing bubbles and running around kicking the soccer ball. We often find her in the common area sitting amongst a big pile of books that she is "reading". She is also a big fan of puzzles and can do some pretty difficult ones with the help of mommy or daddy. She is convinced that we are having a boy and a girl - then she proceeds to count to 10 - as if her parents are planning on having that many children. I will leave that to the other J.Coppenger family and to the Lanfords. Will try to post some pics.

Alethia's 3 Year Old Photos

Hope you enjoy these photos of our 3 year old! No one would ever guess she was in tears about 15 minutes before hand.  

Alethia's 3 Year Old PIctures

You can double click on the one that is a single pic to get to the album if you would like to print.

Our Trip to Myanmar in Feb

Here is the link to the pictures from our Trip

Myanmar

A's 3rd Birthday Party

We had a great time celebrating A's birthday party at the beach with about 50 other folks. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand and the waves. I think they even liked the fish cupcakes. Alethia was to content to eat cake and play in the sand. She didn't even open presents until we were back home - and just one family was with us. It is tradition here to not open presents in front of your guest. Check out the link. Enjoy....

From Alethia's 3rd Birthday

I felt the earth move....

under my skin - actually it was just like little butterflies - but I felt the baby move for the first time yesterday at 15 weeks. How fun - what a sensation! Either the baby likes manicotti or it was telling me he/she didn't like it.

Finally some Christmas Pictures

I just got to the capital city and can upload photos now - So here are the ones from Christmas. We had some good friends come and see us and bring us another turkey. How amazing two turkeys in one year --- Man, we are living high on the hog- or high on the turkey..... Hope you enjoy the photos finally.But who knows when more will happen --- Our camera bit the dust when we were having our community Christmas party - so only borrowed photos at the moment.

Christmas 2009

All Alone

Alethia and Caleb are back in BB and I am here in the capital city for a meeting. I have already gone to Outback, and I am getting ready to drink some fresh milk - WOW! Tomorrow I go to the doctor for a baby check up and then to have my teeth cleaned. It is fun being here but since Alethia and Caleb aren't here - I am missing something. They help keep things lively. Also, thanks goes to my mom who did a great job going through my maternity clothes and sending some to a friend. Thanks to Katie who brought them out. I guess it was mom who washed my clothes - but they had such a good smell of America. It made me homesick!! Miss you all.