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..

Its a baby!!

Well, i thought i would blog and let you all know about the crazy last week...

Andy and I drove with another Missionary from Guadalajara to Dallas Texas, this last weekend.. Yes that is right we drove, a total 40 hours in a van. YEAH We are INSANE.. We drove to Dallas to attend a Mexico Missionary Retreat. While in Dallas we had plans on buying a dog. Something I have been wanting for the last 3 years..So last Saturday we bought precious little PANDA.. She is a Boston Terrior and a puppy. That same day we took a pregnancy test and found out that I was indeed Pregnant. Which was sort of a surprise because I had managed to take 4 pregnancies test prior to this one and they were all negative. SO i was like this is CRAZY, so i then took 2 more just to be sure.. Please don't add the cost in your head, i already know how much it is!

Anyway, suffice it to say, we are really pumped. The baby is due in June and i will see a doctor here in Guadalajara on Monday..But the sad news is that we might give Panda away to some other friends here, because I don't know how much I am looking forward to taking care of 2 babies. We are not heartless, but at this time we just feel like it is not the right time for a pet. This has been a real learning experience..But know that Panda is going to a happy family with lots of people who will love holding her 24/7.

So that is the big news for us, and I would just ask all you readers out there to pray for the baby. I feel as though I am having crazy fears that something will happen or just crazy stuff. Which I have talked to some pregnant friends of mine, or those who have had children and this is all quite normal.. Also seeing the doctors here is another crazy fear.. It is hard when I have worked in an amazing hospital, and know I just don't know.... One of my friends who is a nurse from Washington is going to go with me to my appointment, so no worries..

Yesterday i thought of the verse in the Bible::: Caste your cares upon the Lord because he cares for you .. And it was calming to me.

Well that is all for now, We will keep you posted..

Questions and Answers

Well, I thought I would do a Question and Answer for all those who read my blog out there ( which is probably like 2 people including my MOM), about Guadalajara..

What is the weather like?
Well, having been here only a week I would say NICE. It is the rainy season here right now, but compared to the MONSOONS of Costa Rica, it is small. Only like 2-3 hours a day does it rain, and even then it is not the whole time.

This is my new friend Angie, she is from Oklahoma. She showed us around today.
And NO, I am not pregnant. It is the style of shirt! For all those wondering. I know you were!
Next question
What thing do you miss the most, excluding the obvious answer FAMILY?
Mostly food, and the organization of the United States, I feel pretty safe in Guadalajara. Were we live is in a gated community, which means lots of Guards. So that is nice. For example, while driving today on the streets, I was using a map, but there was a lack of street signs. So I am like?? What the heck, how is anyone suppossed to know? I have decided that if I were to be the ruler/ president of a land. I would make so many street signs it would be very difficult for a vistor to get lost!.. Other than that, it would be the complete understanding of what people are saying.. It is something I will not take for granted from now on... My answers are probably different than my husbands..

Can you understand and speak Spanish completely fluently?

NO WAY! But I am able to communicate and get around easily. I have decided there is no possible way. But I am becoming more patient with myself, I believe it takes years until someone is completely fluent. And the key age to learn a language is when you are a child. You just soak it up like a sponge. I think people who are bilingual have more brain cells than I. I have so much respect for them...

This is a Cathedral down town.

What are you doing in Mexico?

Well, right now we are just getting connected with different people here who are doing different ministrys with Mexican people. I plan on using my nursing skills in some way, but we are trying to find in what way and where I can use them. We are working with ENGAGE, a college, that has many young adults from the United States and some from Mexico. These students take classes during the day and then go out on most afternoons and do ministry work with different organizations. For example there is a boys orphanage near here, that we work with. And a lot of really big colleges that we do work with as of now. We are helping ENGAGE as of now. Which is really cool to Andy and I. We like working with young adults.

Is it hard for you to be away from the United States?

Of course my answer is YES. But it has been a great time for Andy and I. We have really grown a lot as a couple and have seen many things that have made us so thankful for all of our blessings. It is a good thing to see people who have nothing, and they are HAPPY. It shows you what the important things in life are. And they are most definitely not MATERIAL.. It really broadens your horizons to live outside the U.S.A. I think this is going to be a great year for us. I am so thankful that God has given us the oppurtunity.

Well, I guess that is all for Question and Answer time. If you have any other questions write a comment to me and I will try to answer. And to all you who read, remember the blessings in your life today and realize how precious they are. Also, how precious it is for you to be breathing right now.

Okay that last part sounds like a wierd quote or something. I know my sister is thinking that at least.

P.S. we are looking into getting a schnauzer down here. And i will keep you posted on that.

Guadalajara

Well we have finally landed on Mexican soil.

We are now living in Guadalajara, Mexico. We arrived on Sept. 16th and have already started going...

These are just a couple pictures of our last week.

We are all settled into our house and are really enjoying it along with the truck we have been using. We are located right next to the largest park in the city. Which is nice, it has lots of room including huge trampolines which they rent out for kids to jump on. Which i thought was a great idea... Lets see, the two pictures from the top are from one of the other towns we visited right outside the city. The top left one is of a park where we go every Saturday morning. It is in a really poor area and we just go and play with kids and teach some Bible stories.. It was lots of fun, I am actually sitting in the crowd. It is just hard to see me.

The next one is of one of the roads getting there. IT was CRAZY, took a little while. The roads near our house are all normal and then you go outside the city and you see this..

And then I thought I would add this tree, it is at a restaurant in our city and those are Corona buckets. I just thought it looked interesting. Add i need to add that we have been eating lots of TACOS... But in our city they have a Chiles, Applebees, Outback Steakhouse and many other American Comforts.. I am thankful, and i need to add. I have lots of friends who are all over the world and do not have these blessed restaurants and i feel lucky.. So say a little pray for them..

Because sometimes all you want is a nice Cheeseburger.. It is so nice i have that option.

So not much, but we are starting to meet lots of people and do lots of things. And we are so happy to be here. Thankful for all of God's blessings in our life..

I will keep you informed.

Guadalajara, Mexico

Andy and I are now in Mexico. We arrived on Tuesday the 16th. Their Independence day.
We have already eaten lots of spicy food in the last 2 days. And we are loving it.
We are still moving in. But pictures will be on the way soon.

These are the pictures from the Airplane..
Chao for now.

Last Month

Well, Andy and I are now in Guadalajara, Mexico. I have not posted for quite a while because we spent the last month home in Iowa spending time with family.
These are some of the pictures from the last Month.

It flew by quite to quickly. But we had a blast.

I am going to try to wrap up everything we did.

Celebrated 3 family members birthdays:"Melanie Reed" my sister in law, "Greg Hanson" my dad and "Joe Hanson" my brother, he turned 16..

Got to see my sister Melissa's new classroom for Ames Middle School. She is the 6th grade teacher.. And we got to see Katie" sis-in-law" her new classroom at Clay Elementary, She is the kindergarten teacher.

Had a baby shower for my pal Katie Wheeler who then had a baby while I was home on September 2nd, to the cutest healthy, baby girl. Brooke Lynn Wheeler.. Yeah.

Went to the zoo with my two cute nephews Jaden and Ethan Hansen. Of course i forgot my camera this day. I also got to go eat lunch with my nephew Jaden at his school. He showed me around after lunch. One of the pictures is from that day.

We had a water balloon fight at Andy's parents house. Lots of fun.

Went to Oxnard, California for a church service and then spent a day in Los Angeles, California. Those are where the star pictures come into play. I had my picture taken by Julie Andrews feet, and the star walk way picture is of Chuck Norris' star????? We also visited a church in New Sharon, Iowa. One of our favorites with Awesome Pastors, and my parents Church. And Andy got the oppurtunity to preach at Berean Assembly of God a couple times. Which was really great.

Andy went to a Cubs game and Iowa hawkeye game with his Dad. He loved it, and now has the most hillarious story of some guy dancing to the "Go Cubs Go" song.

We got to see Joe play in some football games on the sophomore team for SouthEast Polk. He even caught his first touch down pass.

We ate out lots of times, I got to eat out with my Mom a lot and with my mother in law Norma. And we ate with both my grandma's and grandpa.

Lastly we got to spend lots of quality time with our family. We love them so much.

Three clicks to the ruby slippers and i am HOME

Just wanted to say Hey!

We are spending a great month with our family. SO i am probably not going to blog again untill we get to Mexico.

You can pray for us, we leave for Guadalajara, Mexico on September 16th.
So I will have tons of pictures after that.

Enjoy the last days of Summer

Chao for Now!

I can tell that we are going to be friends.

Andy and I had the opportunity to visit a school this last weekend. We went with a group called Piedad. Piedad is a group that works with schools in latin America. It helps sponser children who are very poor to be able to attend school. People sponser the children and then Piedad sends the sponsers updates and report cards..

We went with this group to do an outreach for the kids.. We had so much fun, the 3 girls in the top picture, I met when we first arrived. I could understand alot of what they were saying and that was a blessing to me.. Andy brought his football and played catch with a lot of the boys. That is a picture of them in the area where they have recess..

On Sunday we went out for a farewell dinner with our LandLords. They took us to a fancy restaurant about an hour out of town. The pictures on the left are of the area. Andy and I are standing in a little hallway of Passion Fruit. And the bottom left picture is of coffee fields and a small town next to it.

We have about 2 weeks more here in Costa Rica. And I am so happy that we got a chance to go to this school, at the school, many kids prayed with us and we became friends with alot of them..

It was a great experience and we got to use a lot of our Spanish.

Have a great day.

My List!

Okay,,, what I should be doing now is studying Spanish... What am I doing, everything but that..

It is now 42 days until Andy and I arrive back in Iowa. We will spend about 4 weeks with our family,and then we pack and are off to Guadalajara, Mexico...

Besides spending tons of time our families and friends, and getting my hair done by someone who speaks English...THANK YOU LORD!! I have a list of things I would like to do while I am home.

3 things on my list:

1. BUY A DOG... I have been wanting a dog for the last 3 years, and no we are able to get one. And I am psyched!!!!!!!!

2. FINISH THE LEMONY SNICKETS BOOKS: They were a present I received at Christmas, from my Mother in Law.. And I am now on #10 of 13.. I found that I really enjoy reading..

3. GO FISHING: I want to do this, I do not have a license. And i really do not know why I have the urge. But I am going to do this.. And i want to do it at Yellow Banks Park, with my brother. He knows nothing of this plan. But he will go... I just know it..

Well this is my list and I am sticking to it.

Stars And Stripes

We had a great 4th of July.. Just chillin with our homies at School.. As you can see I made 2 American Flag Fruit Pizza's.... We watched some fireworks out in the street... and then came home and watched the Macy's Fireworks Display.. Which was okay... all in all it was great day....

Hope you had a great Day!!!