Valentines, Birthday, Plus.....

Starting with the pictures on the bottom....

We had a great Valentine's Day. I found a can of pillsbury cinnamon rolls at a store. Something they do not sell here. So I bought a can for a special surprise on Valentine's Morning. All for Andy,, who was clearly not awake. But he procedeed to eat his cinnamon roll in his sleep, I took this picture which is so funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next came my b-day. Some of the other missionaries here surprised me with a massage at the spa. So that is us and me in my rockin robe.. Getting ready for a prenatal massage.... Yeah.

That is a picture of the beautiful ice cream cake that Andy surprised me with. He also surprised me with a surprise party.. It was a wonderful birthday.

The first pictures are of baby Henry at 24 weeks he is kicking lots and doing well...

Anyway this is all from our week full of love.........

I will end it with a beautiful quote:

Duty can pack an adequate sack lunch, but love may decide to enclose a little love note inside.....

Obligation sends the children to bed on time, but love tucks the covers in around their necks and passes out kisses and hugs (even to teenagers!)........ Duty gets offended quickly if it isn't appreciated, but love learns to laugh a lot and to work for the sheer joy of doing it. Obligation can pour a glass of milk, but quite often, love adds a little chocolate.

Baby update

Just wanted to say that Henry is doing well.
He is 24 weeks now..
Kicking lots in the morning.

I feel like I have been worried about him, that all is well inside and nothing is wrong.
The doctor says all is well, I still have been feeling anxious though..

Today I found this verse in the Bible, and it has given me lots of comfort..

Isaiah 46:3

I created you and have cared for you since before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime--until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.........

Just thought I would share.

LOVE

I read about this little girl on a friend's blog, a couple of weeks ago and it has just touched my heart so much. Her name was Tuesday and she died on January 30th of a neuroblastoma... Which breaks my heart.

Anyway, I have been reading her blogs and they are so inspiring. Nothing but LOVE ooozes from their family, at such a horrible time.......

And I feel really that it has made me love my baby who only is inside of me right now,,so much more. Love you lots little HENRY.

I just wanted you all to meet Tuesday and maybe she will remind all of you how precious life is and how we should all try to be more about LOVE and less about other things... Also lift up a prayer for Tuesday's family, becuase I can only imagine what they are going through right now.

Raspberry Shortcake

Just wanted to post a few pictures.

Last week we had the super bowl over here at our house with all the Engage Students. I made some mean chilli and cornbread and we watched the Cardinals die..........

The week before we headed for a group meeting in a city about 45 minutes from here. It is called Chapala. They have a huge colony of Americans and Canadians who are all retired and live there. Sort of weird??? But anyway, they also have a huge amount of raspberries they grow. So we bought about 20 lbs of raspberries for 30 U.S. dollars.. Pretty darn cheap..........

We are about to open the Youth Center this week. Tuesday is the grand opening. I will post pictures of it soon..

Everything else has been good. The weather is great, and they opened a Krispy Kreme about 20 minutes from our house...

Have a great day..

Irrational Fears

I decided to sit down and write one of my irrational fears..... No, it is not YOGURT.

I need to explain a little bit first....

I live in a gated community or as the refer to here...Coto...

It is very safe, few people other than residents are allowed to come into this neighborhood. This is just where we are renting this house for now.. I really like it, it has a little park for children and outside of the Coto is a huge public park..REALLY nice..

So, saying all that, I need to explain that many residents here buy YOGURT from this really nice lady who sells YOGURT from the back of here really nice SUV.

She came up to my house like 3 months ago asking if I would like some of her homemade YOGURT. I happen to love YOGURT so I thought I would give it a try..Foolishly thinking that it would be similar to my all time favorite YOGURT Anderson and Erickson........

Well, it is not similar.. It is not even good at all..I know big surprise since she sells it out of her trunk...........It is well packaged and put in coolers with tons of Ice packs, and it is cheap.. I must add..

Anyway,,now here is the part of my irrational fear.

She told me she comes once a month, well that was a lie..I find myself buying this sick YOGURT every 2 weeks..I not only buy one pint of this stuff,,,I add in another just because I can't say NO..................................................

So,,I now have a paranoia that she is coming to the house on certain days and I keep the curtains closed. One time, she came and I did not even answer the door..I am such a wussy.
The last time she came, Andy was here Thank God, and told her we did not want any YOGURT..

But Believe ME,, SHE WILL BE BACK...

I have had dreams of this lady, my dream is that Andy tells her we HATE the YOGURT and that she cries and goes away...

It is Psycho.......

I do know that really I should be honest and just tell her that I don't want any YOGURT, but I don't know..I really don't like hurting people's feelings and I for whatever reason think that I would..

Anyway, just thought I would give you all a glimpse in my crazy mind..

P.S. She owns this really nice white SUV, and I have looked for it about 10 times today..AGGGGGGGGGGGGGH

Pajama Party....

I really think there are few things nicer than getting into pajamas after a long day.. And I just thought I would blog and let you know that if I could.....I would wear Pajamas all day long.. My sister got me a brand new pair of pink pajamas for Christmas and I LOVE THEM.....

Maybe that is the real reason I became a Nurse,, just so I could wear comfy clothes all day long..HA

So that is all for now, just wanted to let you know...

21 weeks Update

Well, 21 weeks and doing well..

Baby Henry is kicking around. I feel him most at night before going to bed. I do think I might be going a little crazy, I now would like to feel him move 24/7.. Just so I know he is doing well.

I know, I know just wait and he will be kicking up a storm.

We are getting really excited to see him. My book "What to expect when you are expecting" says that this week you should be talking to your baby..So Andy and I sing to little Henry lots and lots.

That is all from Chelsea and Baby Henry

Christmas Photos

Well, here we go with Christmas pictures.. My sweet mom sent our camera to us and now I have put some pictures up. Yeah, we had a wonderful christmas .

In a nutshell

1.We took a road trip to Kansas City to visit my cousins for Christmas

2. Spent lots of time playing many board games including: Monopoly, Clue, Sequence, many times

3. Opened presents on Christmas Eve at my parents house like always...Always a wonderful memory

4. Christmas Days spent at both parents house

5. Saw my grandparents and Andys grandma Maggie

6. Melanie got engaged on New Year's Eve...Yeah

7. Celebrated Andy's 26th Birthday with a yummy dinner at Famous Dave's.

Not to mention just a lot of Love going on......

It is so true that Christmas is not about the presents it is about Jesus coming into this world. And truly I see everyday how blessed I am by him to be in the family I am in and to see all the Love we have for one another...

Question of the day.

I am just throwing the question to all who read in the blogosphere...

I am a little overwhelmed by the 5,000 different types of cribs out there and thought some motherly advice would be nice. If you have written back, thanks for all the info..I am taking it all in to the descion..

So,,, My question is:

What kind of crib do you prefer? Where did you get it? Do you have any experiences that you would mind sharing on the best and worsts of cribs? Anything you know is new to me,, thanks for all the help.

Have a great day...
Chelsea

Lucy

The saddest news to report..

My parents dog, the dog that I choose as a Senior in Highschool...

Lucy Jo Hanson

died on Saturday night..

I thought I would blog on the sweetest dog known to man. Maybe my way of saying Good-bye.

Lucy was a golden retriever and we think she had a little Irish Setter in her.

She was so happy with life. Her favorite things to do were to go on walks, sniff in ditches, and jump into lakes, ride in the car, and be with her FAMILY.

She was sort of a wimp, she never really liked leaving my parents house.

She had 4 tricks that she could preform including: SIT, SHAKE, HIGH 5, and DOWN.

She loved to lay right next to you and she had the softest, prettiest hair.

Writing this blog is a lot harder than I thought,, I am crying right now......

Lucy was a dream dog, she loved people and she will always have a place in my heart.

It is hard to see the FAMILY DOG die. She was a part of our family and can never be replaced.

I love you lots Lucy.

The worst part is I feel sad I really did not get to say good-bye.

On Saturday, she had been acting weird and so my Dad and sister took her to the vet.

He said that she had grown a tumor and it was near her heart and made it really hard to breathe. This I guess is very common in Golden retrievers. During the day she had done nothing but lay the whole time.

My dad and sister had to put her to sleep..

I cried and cried, but I know that she is in Dog Heaven..Maybe making friends with all our past dogs and Andy's old dog Pepper..

The saddest part is that it is like she knew, while she was laying she kept putting her paw over my sister Melissa, like she was saying Good-bye..

Anyway,,, Love you lots Lucy.. Miss you even more.

Some day Andy and I plan on getting another Golden Retriever for our kids to grow up with.. They are the most loyal and loving..

Hey Baby

Finally I am back.. First of all, Andy and I are in Guadalajara again. We arrived back on Monday of last week. We did however forget to bring our camera with us, so I will be posting Christmas pictures just not that soon.. Due to the camera being in Iowa.......

I am glad to be back, although I will admit each time it is very hard to say goodbye to family...

We are excited for the next couple of months here. Lots of things are coming down the tube.. But I will let you know more later.

Pregnancy update.. Baby Henry,, which is what we are calling him.. Yes it is a boy.. Henry is doing well, growing weekly. Shock of the week is my doctor here telling me that i gained a WHOPPING 8 POUNDS IN ONE MONTH. Yes, I was in shock... i thought wow i knew i would gain weight.. But 8 lbs. in one month.. HELLO.. Anyway,, other than him telling me i am a chubbette, things are good.I have not felt him move yet. But I know he is.

Andy are I are getting so excited for baby Henry. I already feel so in love with him and he is just in my tummy. The ultrasound doctor gave us a c.d. of his ultrasound and it is about 10 minutes long.. And i think I have watched it about 13 times.. It is such a miracle... Amazing........ Words don't describe.........................................................................................................................................

I keep thinking 40 weeks and then you are a parent forever, i read this book that says you are really only a parent for about 25 years.. And I thought,, umm no. NOt in my family.. Youa are a parent forever.. And that makes me both scared and excited..

Anyway, that is about all for now..

Have a great day....

Better to give then to recieve...

This last week, another missionary here named Julie and I made and handed out around 150 presents to children in an area of Guadalajara called El Colli.. This has been one of the most exciting things I helped with. Because it just more and more reinforces how BLESSED that I am and how I should never complain about any of my living situations...EVER..

We litterally are giving the probably only gift these kids are going to receive for Christmas. Just think about that.. The two pictures above are some pictures of those kids.

Next, for an early Christmas present, Andy gave me Celine Dion tickets. She is one of my favorite singers, too Andy...not so much.. But we went and enjoyed the craziness of going to see a concert here in Mexico.. Little known fact, Celine Dion has tons of Mexican fans. There are some pictures of the fun event and some with Flat Stanley who is a big big fan of Celine..If you did not know.

We are here for a couple more days and then it is off to DES MOINES to spend Christmas and New Years with the family......YEAH!

Flat Stanley

Well, here we go.... We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Mexico, the top two pictures are of T-giving. On top is the house where we did Thanksgiving... All of the chairs are representative of how many students and other missionaries were eating. Lots of Mouths. And that is Andy and I in the backyard. Check it out and you can see poinsettas growing in the back yard.

Ok, next picture I was debating to put the next picture up or not. For those who know me,,I am a little on the modest side and don't usually show my tummy.. But, I first of all need to take pictures every month for the American Consulate. And second of all, I think me being pregnant is a beautiful thing to show the baby some day. ( These are pictures of Mommy holding you.......) So I added it. I am 13 weeks and showing just a little bit.. Or I might be feeling bloated, can't really tell at this point.

Next picture is of Flat Stanley, my cousin Kellie's daughter Belle, sent me a little man named Flat Stanley. He is based on a book of a little man who travels all around and people take pictures with him and send him back in a couple weeks to his owner. After he returns home with all his pictures his owner shows him as show-in-tell in class. So,, Andy and I have been having a blast with Flat Stanley. Taking a million pictures of Flat Stanley just hangin around Guadalajara..

And lastly, in our neighborhood, is this house. And it has been decked out for Christmas for about a month now. This house is massive and has a huge palm tree decked out with lights. Just thought I would put up some pics of Christmas down under...

Hello Christmas!!!

Just thought I would put up some pictures of our Christmas tree. We put it up last week.. And actually we are a little behind according to the rest of Guadalajara.. Starbucks for example has been playing non stop Christmas music and had Christmas type coffee since the day after Halloween..It took about 3 hours to put the tree up.. Yes, 3 joyous hours.. Lets just sum it up to lots of holes in the container that held the water and many more pleasures with the water bucket............ But it is up and very lovely. I thought I would add a picture of Andy since he is looking really good.

Let's see we have been busy doing different kind of work. We recently found a building that we plan to rent out and start some sort of youth style ministry there. Which we are excited to start up.

I am about 12 weeks along and the baby is the size of a FRESH PLUM.. Feeling good, and starting to not fit in my clothes. I will take a picture soon enough.

We are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with all the students who we are working with and the other missionaries.. I am so pumped to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and see the Rockettes and to EAT.. I think I have never been so excited to eat as I am this year.

I actually remembering skipping out on Turkey one year,, and that just seems crazy this year.. So hope you all have a great holiday.. And that you all remember to state something that you are thankful for this year.

My list can go on and on... Just to name a few....The Lord in my life, My Family, and for our baby who is on the way...
Have a great Turkey Day!

Baby Update

I am now 10 weeks along. Feeling great.. Not really been sick at all. Just a little nauseous at night. And the baby is around the size of a prune.

All is going well, and I see the doctor again on the beginning week of December.

Just wanted to send along an update.

Chao for now from Chelsea and Prune baby :)

This is one Awesome Video

Some students here at the school showed me this video on Youtube. It is a human video, for those who don't know what Human Videos are.. They are songs that usually youth groups or churchs put actions to and preform. I have done a whole bunch of them, and this by far is one of the top 5 human videos I have seen... It is really shows how awesome Jesus is, and what he went through for us...

I don't know how to put videos on here so just click on the link....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEUVSbD9NF8

Life is good

Well, i finally remembered the stupid password for this blog, after quite a while searching through papers. I had to change it last time, so since I have about 50 things I need a password for. I forget this one..

Anyway, (Side Note)

I just saw a preview for the new movie "The Boy in the Stripped Pajama", and it looks really good. I really want to see it.

Ok, what has been going on. The bottom pictures show that Andy and I are voting by Absentee Ballot for the next President of the U.S.A. This I may add was a pain in the butt!!! It took forever and I really doubt that our picks were counted..

Next picture is of Panda, aka: The Dream Dog. She is going in for eye surgery tommorow, and this is added to the one week stay in the vet/ hospital, and the slight seizure she had. Yes,, fun times. But she is now doing quite well, and is doing dog things.. Which were not happening.

Lastly, the top pictures are of a small class of Mexican women who work in a Women's Shelter, we teach English to them every Thursday. The mountain is in there backyard. I thought that was a lovely picture to finish off.

Baby update: Baby is at 8.5 weeks and doing well. Had another Ultrasound and all looked well with a heart rate of 172 beats per minute. Which is great. I am feeling good, not thrown up at all yet. Just a little nauseous at night. And Andy and I had a little stent of diarrhea, but that is expected here in The land of germs..