Story of Claudia Angeline Elkins' Birth

On April 11, 2012 I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Claudia Angeline Elkins.
I personally picked the name Claudia Angeline about two weeks before I gave birth. We had been thinking about using the name Claudia, Angelina, Gabriella, Charlotte, Clarissa months prior but I like Claudia as first name the most. For the middle name, I wanted to use Angel as part of her name, as well, because I want Claudia to have an Angel-like personality: kind, generous, loving, most lovable, adorable, caring, etc.  So I chose the middle name of Angeline.  Combined with the name Claudia, I simply love it.  The name Claudia is a Latin name, and derives from the same Latin word as cloud.  If you believe the internet, every baby name site out there will have you believe it just means "lame."  However, the origin of the word some say it means perseverance or persevering, and also has the same root of the word cloud, and can also mean to encompass, safety or haven.  Of course I would like to associate her name to perseverance and these other positive words.

1 Corinthians 1:27 and 2:5 God gives a promise, "...but God Has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. So that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God! Claudias' persevere in the right direction...

What a great person to have perseverance along with a loving and caring personality.

Adam really liked the name "Charlotte".  I love the name Charlotte too, but Claudia sounds better with her big sister's name "Chloe" and it seems to be more unique in the US while it is still easy for people to spell without guessing, so we also considered these practical things when picking out her name.

Birth Story:

Early in the morning on April 10, 2012 I worked from home and started to feel cramping around 8 AM.  The bloody show had started the day before, right visiting to my OBGYN doctor for an exam. It is usual to have the bloody show after that. I didn't associate the cramping to "potential" labor but continuously monitoring for pattern. At 9:30 AM I took Chloe to her new daycare for observation day from 10 to Noon. I noticed the cramping happened almost every hour or two. Some are lighter than others but definitely noticable. I remember feeling uncomfortable sitting on a small toddler chair in Chloe's class room which I sat on the day before just fine. After lunch I took Chloe home and had a conference call related to projects I had at work. Back to back meeting from 1:30 PM till about 3:30 PM. During that time Adam called to ask me to do a TCPA Dialer (Interactive Intelligence product) test and I told him about the cramping while still telling him that I needed to go back to my other call with a coworker and assisting Adam with the Dialer test calls. I was heavily multitasking on my computer, my phone with two lines and having cramping every half hour on and off at that point. At this point I was still doubting that I was having a labor. I told Adam so but Adam who was a good labor support person and a great husband took the initiative to start telling Debbie, Erin, Amy and Sue (our neighbor who was our backup to take care of Chloe). I was expecting a callback from my OBGYN nurse at this point but our Doula Julie Pichon called at the right time. She asked me how I was doing and I told her about the cramping. The OBGYN nurse, Julie and myself were thinking that the cramping and the bloody show could most likely be caused by the previous day's exam but they both wanted me to still watch for the pattern and time the cramping just in case it is labor. The cramping interval period got closer but not close enough to be considered labor like the one I had last time with Chloe. It jumped from half hour back to one hour and then down to 15 minutes and half hour until it was more consistent every half hour and then every 15 minutes. When it got to consistently 20-30 minutes Adam was already home and started getting ready. We both finished all the things we have postponed like finishing assembling baby swings, car seat, re-adjusted baby bed and Adam finally packed clothes (which I had been reminding for a couple of weeks). Right when I thought we were ready, Amy and Chris came. I was lying on the bed trying to rest but the cramping became stronger. I started thinking this is definitely labor but when should we go to the hospital? Debbie came not long after that and I think she could tell that I was focused and she thought I was ready to go to the hospital. Julie has been checking regularly at this point and she told me I had to follow my motherly instinct regardless of anybody else says including Julie herself. She was right. I went to the bathroom not long after the call with Julie around 11 PM. I heard Adam talking to Julie while I was having a very strong cramping or contraction. I told Julie the intensity of the cramping convinced me of this being labor and I told Adam that we now had to head out to the hospital.
We got to the hospital at exactly midnight. There was no one at the receptionist table and the security guard could tell I was in labor as I had to put my head down the desk and wait to talk. Julie came not long after.
........
Adam, Julie and I were taken to the initial examination room. I was asked to change to the hospital gown but Julie reminded me that I didn't need to change to the hospital gown if I feel more comfortable in my dress.
I was wearing my long black dress that is really comfy so I decided not to change to the hospital gown.
We waited for a good 40 minutes before the nurse came back to do the examination. Before that I had to give my driver license, insurance card, answer some questions, gave urine sample and signed a hospital form. There was also an intern asking some questions which at that point was not an additional thing that I wanted to do in pain. Finally the nurse told me that I was 7 cm dilated. Julie reminded me how such good news that was and we got there at the perfect time. The nurse took us to the delivery room. More questions were asked right after I got in to the room and right away I gave the hand gesture and leaned forward on the bed showing that I was experiencing strong contraction and couldn't answer. I remember Adam trying to remember the pediatrician name. No matter how hard I wanted to answer I just couldn't. Julie put up the exercise ball on the bed and asked if I wanted and could kneel and lean forward on the ball. I thought I should try anything else other than standing at that point and I quickly climbed on to the bed without assistance and quickly followed Julie's direction to rest on the exercise ball. It helped but the contraction got stronger and stronger. Julie gave me some ice water because she saw my lips became dryer. The nurse put an IV heplock and started an antibiotic for strep B. I started to vocalize with every breathing (every time I breath out). At some point the grunt became the sound of pushing. This is when my experience giving birth the first time helped. I knew exactly that I needed to push. The resident doctor came and asked if she could help check the baby position and dilation again. I exclaimed "Yes". The doctor gave recommendation to change my pushing position right away. She said the baby wouldn't come out easily with the kneeling position. I followed the instructions to lay down on my left side and hold up my right knee with Julie on left side and Adam on the other side. I pushed two times (long pushes) and the baby came out.  It was a very quick birth.  We were in the triage room checking the dilation for about one hour from 12:00 AM to 1:00 AM, when we moved to the delivery room.  Claudia was born at 1:42 AM, which was so fast that they had not finished administering the strep B antibiotic, which is a typical procedure, but it goes to show how fast Claudia came.  She weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz, and was 21 inches, although Adam suspects that there was an error in measurement because she seemed shorter than Chloe.  At her first Pediatrician appointment less than a week later she measured 19.75 inches.

I held baby Claudia right away and put her close to my chest. However due to her low temperature she needed to be warmed up and taken from me right away as well. Not long after that she came back though and I nursed her on my left side. Julie assisted. The baby sucked but didn't latch too well. The nurse came and suggested to try the other side. Claudia latched on better on the right side. After about 10 minutes the baby let go and I tried the left side again. It was a little bit better. I continued nursing until I came home from the hospital. Although I didn't really want to use pacifier, there were times we used pacifier at night/early morning.

One the way home from the hospital we stopped by CVS and I didn't try to wake Claudia up right after we got back home. I gave pacifier when Joe, Mamaw and Erin visited and skipped a feeding when the baby fell asleep after the visit. What a big mistake. My milk came in that night and my breasts were engorged. I felt I just had breast augmentation with a very unexpected super large result and I felt like carrying heavy bricks on my chest. I tried warm shower, cold compress, pumping, nursing and Adam helped with Reverse Pressure Softening, (Adam's Commentary:  This could also be described as "Boob Pushing."  Now you know.).  The latter was not a good idea... extremely painful and the nipple ring was back to its swollen state right away. My milk didn't come out when I pumped and the baby refused to nurse which I think is because of the hard and swollen nipple and breast. I know being a Mom is not easy but this engorgement period is one big struggle. Mom goes through a lot of pain and this is one of them after birth.  I later read online that the addition of an IV, which we used during this birth, can contribute to this engorgement.   I finally called Julie and she suggested to take Ibuprofen. The next morning I felt better.

Claudia seemed to cluster fed from 10 PM to 2-3 AM for the first three weeks. The first two nights at home we had to give formula to Claudia but the next day Julie reminded me to not give formula and pacifier. Even when the pediatrician told me to supplement every other feeding due to potential jaundice on the one week visit, Julie again reminded me that I could go back to the old habit of supplementing if I do that. As long as I breast feed continuously and sufficiently it should help with jaundice she said. I really took in this suggestion and for the next couple of nights I persisted on nursing even with one eye open and baby on my chest and lap almost 24x7. Of course I carefully laid the baby and woke up periodically which also meant I didn't get enough sleep for three weeks. However, right after the first week and a half I felt very comfortable nursing already regardless of my lack of sleep.

Right on the start of week three of Claudia's life, she slept longer at night giving me good 3-4 hour of sleep at one time, nursed for half to one hour and sleep for another 3-4 hour the next. What a relief.

Some things that helped in breast feeding Claudia:
1. Cross hold
2. Skin to skin and touch the back of her head directly on her neck skin. Don't cover the back of her neck with blanket.
3. Massage or express milk before nursing.
4. Nose aligns with the nipple and let her open her mouth wide. Sometimes letting her cry first and right after she opens her mouth wide push her mouth right on to the nipple until she latches on.
5. massage the breast close to the underarm right after the latch to force her to open her mouth wide and re-adjust the latch when the milk is coming in faster.
6. When she is sucking, continuously in one stroke massage/gently put pressure on the breast close to the underarm and let go every time she stops sucking. Also put a gently pressure on the neck behind her ear/massage her hand/touch her chin to remind her to keep sucking especially when she is falling asleep.
7. Align her body horizontally facing me (make sure she is not falling on one the bottom side).
8. Sometimes I have to let her start sucking even with small mouth opening and let her re-adjust after one or two sucking motions.
9. Start using nipple lotion from the start of nursing at the hospital until the nipple is soft and the latch is good. Continue applying in between feeding.
10. Burp in between before offering more
11. Sometimes massaging or expressing milk caused the milk to come faster than the baby can handle so expect the baby to let go and burp first before offering more. But offer right away before the baby falls asleep.

One new thing that happened at the hospital this time was one of the nurses told us that I was Hep B positive. Actually I was Hep B Antibody positive which would be expected, because I got this antibody from Hep B vaccine during the Green Card process.  However, the nurse apparently incorrectly told the pediatrician and didn't get the feedback from the OBGYN in time. To be safe, Adam and I decided to follow the suggestion to provide the Hep B vaccine to Claudia and administered the booster to help fight the Hep B virus, if that was the case.  (Adam's Commentary:  Oh by the way, we were also freaking out about having Hep B.  Thanks nurse.  Fortunately, using the powers of deduction, we had figured out by nights end that there must have been some confusion, however, it wasn't until the next day when the doctor came in and explained the mistake and that there wasn't anything to worry about that we felt 100% better.)  We didn't want to give the Hep B vaccine right away, similar to how we did a delayed vaccine schedule with Chloe, but this event forced us to give this to Claudia right away. According to Dr. Gates (my OB) and the hospital Pediatrician, the booster wouldn't do any harm. What a headache due to a nurse not knowing what the antibody means.

Claudia continues to grow, and I have been nursing her and we have only used about three bottles worth of supplementary formula.  Her weight dipped as normal, and she reached her birth weight about a week after her birth.  She is very attentive, and looks around all the time.  Her cheeks are getting chubbier now, and she's very cute.  She looks like a little version of Adam.  Chloe is thrilled with her, and has adjusted splendidly.  She talks about seeing Claudia when she comes home from daycare, and she says, "Claudia kisses" when she wants to give her kisses, which is all the time!

Story of Chloe Grace Elkins' Birth

We are very excited about Chloe Grace Elkins, born on February 16, 2010. I know, it has been two weeks and we still hadn't announced it on the blog. That's right, we're just now getting to it. Don't worry, I still remember the story and I will tell you now.

Natalia and I went to work that Monday morning, the 15th, just like any other day, the only difference being, Natalia's due date had been the day before, so we were wondering when this baby would get here. Natalia called me at about 10:00 in the morning and told me that she was having back cramps. I didn't think too much of it until she told me they were about 45 seconds long and about 10 minutes apart. Then I got real interested. I had noticed that morning that she was up and alert very early, at around 7:00 in the morning, and she said that's about when she had noticed something different, like a small discomfort in her back. Later she said that morning she had asked the baby, "Baby, would you please come out today?"

So Natalia and I were at work, and Natalia started timing these cramps to see if they were consistent, and she found that they were always from 8 to 10 minutes apart, and were about 30-45 seconds long. We were pretty sure they were contractions, but Natalia says she wasn't sure if the were Braxton-Hicks contractions, which are false contractions within a week or so before labor truly sets in, or if they were real contractions.

Natalia kept timing, and I kept working, but we kept in touch via IM. I went downstairs before lunch and we talked about what to do. I had called Mom and my Sister Erin by this time, and they both agreed they were definitely contractions, and we should probably think about heading home. The weather was very snowy that day, and Amy was on her way home because her school was sent home early to avoid the worsening weather. So, at that point I decided to run and get us something to eat from the deli at Marsh, and I met Tom Fisher, Abi Chandra, and Dave Paine for lunch. I told the boys, "I think this is it."

Once I got back from lunch, Natalia told me she had noticed the bloody show, which means this was definitely the early stages of labor. By about 2:30, Natalia and I decided to go home and let things progress further before going to the hospital. Once we got home, Natalia relaxed and walked around, because that was the most comfortable thing to do. During the contractions, Natalia could still walk around at this point, and contractions were staying at the same intensity, which was just slightly uncomfortable. My Sister Amy had come over and met us when we got home, and she helped out with a few things, like organizing the stuff we had packed to take to the hospital. Amy then left to go to her house to meet Mom, who was on her way down to Indianapolis from Bluffton.

Natalia continued to walk around, and I video taped her and took some pictures. Natalia then took a shower, and then we made some food. By this time it was about 6:00 and we were starting to think about heading in to the hospital. I was letting Natalia make the call on that one. We didn't want to go in too early, but we also didn't want the weather to get too bad before we left. According to our Bradley class, we wanted to wait until the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and about a minute long. At this point they were about 6-7 minutes apart, and were about a minute long.

At about 8:00, Natalia was definitely progressing, and contractions were still about 6-7 minutes apart, but occasionally only about 4 minutes apart, and still about a minute long. They were definitely stepping up in intensity, to where she would have to stop walking, and I remember she was doing dishes and she would have to stop what she was doing. We decided this would be a good time to head to St. Vincent Women's Hospital.

We got to the hospital about 9:00, because we had stopped to get some granola bars and fruit juice to sneak in to the hospital, because we knew they would not allow any food. Natalia didn't end up eating any of them at the hospital, by the way, but I was glad to have them. It took about 20 minutes to do the paperwork at the front desk, and then they sent us to the triage room. In the triage room they asked Natalia questions, monitored the baby's heartbeat and contractions, and checked Natalia's dialation. The came back and reporte she was at 6 cm, and this was good for Natalia to hear because they were admitting us, but also because she knew she was making progress with all these contractions. They let Natalia change into a hospital gown, and during this time the contractions intensified, to the point where she would need to lean on me during contractions. She started feeling like she needed massages on her lower back in the sacrum area during contractions.

They admitted us to the delivery room on the 3rd floor at about 10:00 and Natalia continued to labor there. Natalia felt like standing still, and really needed lots of pressure on her sacrum during contractions. I was helping to massage her, but she was massaging with her own hands as well. I felt like I was digging into her with my fingers, but she wanted more pressure. She said it really helped. This was definitely back labor, and the fact that the baby was posterior may have contributed to that. This means the baby was facing towards back, which can put extra pressure on the sacrum area. I kept coaching Natalia, and helping her with massage and letting her lean her head against me and hugging me during contractions.

At about 12:00 Natalia went to the bathroom, and she felt better, but she felt shivery and started feeling weak. She said she didn't feel like she could do this for much longer, and that rang a bell with me because I knew this was a sign of transition, between first stage labor and second stage labor. This was the one time I consulted with the Bradley book because I wanted to confirm that shivering was also a sign of transition, and sure enough it was. Natalia felt most comfortably laying on her left side by this time, and I continued with massages, and reassuring her that this was transition, and it would soon be time to push. I asked the nurse if this shivering and weakness was indeed transition, and she said she didn't know because 99% of the time they saw this after the Epidural, so she didn't have any frame of reference. Wow.

Natalia's water broke at a little after 12:00 and they checked her dialation once again and she was at about 8 cm. They said the last few centimeters would go quickly and she continued with contractions, without pushing, although it wasn't long after this she felt the urge to push. At about 12:30, Natalia said that she needed to push, they checked her dialation and she was at 10 cm, and she was definitely entering 2nd stage labor. the nurse immediately called for the doctor. There was an Ob-Gyn in the room, but it was obvious she was only there to make sure a doctor was there in case the baby came out quick, and she didn't really want to deliver the baby. That was ok with me as long as the real doctor got there in time. They had me wondering for a few minutes. During this time, Mom got down beside Natalia and had her focus on breathing. This was different than what we had learned in Bradley class, in that they recommend abdominal breathing, but no other focus on breathing. Mom had Natalia try breathing through the nose and out through the mouth, and having her focus on that, and also on Mom, and Natalia immediately took to this, and grabbed out and latched on to Mom's arm without saying anything, but it was obvious she wanted her to stay put and keep doing what she was doing. I was standing on the other side of the bed, and it was pretty dramatic from my perspective.

By about 12:40, Dr. Deborah Ronco had arrived, and she sat down on the bottom of the bed and had Natalia start pushing during contractions. Here's where things got really exciting. Natalia would push 2 or 3 times each contraction. At first she would try to breathe 3 times and then push, but after about 30 minutes of that she just started pushing when she had a contraction. It was really amazing, and you could start to see the baby's head, and it was 2 steps forward 1 step back for what felt like a long time. In hindsight it went really fast, but during that time, it felt very suspenseful, and climactic, exciting with lots of anticipation. I had so many questions running through my head, like, "Is this what is supposed to happen?" and "Should this happen faster or slower?" and "What if the baby comes out with a really small head?" because it looked like that at first, but the doctor told me it was perfectly normal, because during birth, skin on the baby's head bunches up, and that was what I was seeing. During this time, I kept my mouth shut, except for saying, "You are doing perfect, honey!" and, "This baby is going to be here very soon!" and, "Isn't she doing great?" to which all of the nurses and doctors would say, "Oh, she's doing great!" There were about 8 or 9 medical folks in the room at the time, a combination of nurses and student doctors. I am pretty sure they were interested in the process of natural childbirth, because they don't get to see it very often. I don't blame them, because it was really an amazing thing to watch. Natalia was a trouper!

By 2:25, we were very close, and the doctor had Natalia push, and the baby started to come out. At this point, the baby's head was sticking out, but that's it. They started cleaning out the baby's nose and mouth to make sure she could start to breath once she was out. They had Natalia push one more time, and the baby came out completely. What an experience! We were Mommy and Daddy to a brand new little girl! Once she started crying she went straight to her Mommy's chest and we got to see her. She was just beautiful! She looked a lot like Natalia to me. I was as happy as ever. Natalia said, "I can't believe you are here!" She looked exhausted and happy. The doctor had me cut the cord. Mom and Amy had witnessed the birth, and I asked Natalia to tell them the baby's name, which we had decided on, but I wanted Natalia to be the first to tell them. She said, "Her name is Chloe Grace." Everyone was excited to meet little Chloe.

We couldn't wait until the morning, and we started calling family members, and everyone was very excited for the news. I was especially excited to call Mamaw and tell her Chloe's name, because this is where she got her name--Mamaw's full name is Marilyn Chloe Bell. At first, Mamaw was so excited to hear about the birth that she forgot to ask about her name. I finally said, "Well, don't you want to hear the name, Mamaw?" and she said, "Ohh, yes!" I told her her name was Chloe and Mamaw just about went through the roof. She was so excited, and she kept thinking of it and getting thrilled by it over and over during the conversation. It was a very special conversation I will never forget.

We have been very excited to have little Chloe around, and we are loving being parents. Thanks to everybody for everything, and we are excited for you to meet her if you haven't already.

This is a big blog entry, and I'm planning on catching you up on the last two weeks, as well as adding more pictures. In the meantime, I'll add a picture or two here, and you can check on facebook where we have many more pictures.

Love,
Adam, Natalia, and Chloe

About 3 Weeks Until the Due Date!

Hello again everybody! It's January 22, 2010, a Friday night, and Natalia and I decided to spend a little time this evening doing some blogging. Natalia is now 37 weeks pregnant, still doing great, and is getting even bigger, as you can see from the latest pic.

Natalia says that the baby is still kicking a lot, but she feels like the baby has less space to punch and kick, and the baby's movement feels less like a "poking" feeling and now is softer and more deliberate as the baby gets bigger. The baby is definitely on the right side of her belly, facing the left, with the head low and the feet up towards Natalia's rib cage. This is a good position, and at this point it is likely the baby will stay there.

Natalia last went to the doctor about a week and a half ago, and she had gained 31 pounds, which would be right on track to gain about 35 pounds by the due date, and that's right where she should be. Natalia is definitely feeling more out of breath, and has had more trouble finding comfortable positions to sit and sleep in. She's still getting at least 5 hours of sleep at night before she first wakes up, so it's not too bad.

We've got the nursery well on it's way now. The latest thing we got was the travel system, which consists of a baby carrier that hooks into both a car seat base and stroller, for the non-baby experts out there. We were excited because once we had the car seat base in it's place we could envision carrying the baby out of the hospital and putting her in the car. We went ahead and left it in the car because it won't be long before we will need it! Very exciting!

Natalia has been swimming lately, a few times a week to stay active and she finds it enjoyable and relaxing. I haven't jumped in with her yet, but I probably will sometime this week. Last week I couldn't because I came down with a nasty cold and I was just not up to it. I'm pretty well recovered now, so I will probably swim next time.

We finished our Bradley class last Tuesday, and we are feeling very prepared. We're both determined to make this a natural birth. Natalia will do her best to stay relaxed during the birth and I'll do my best to keep her relaxed and make sure they don't start pumping Pitocin and other drugs into her, so that Natalia's body can do what it is supposed to. We've shown the birth plan to the doctors, and they were obliging. We've got things pretty well packed, and we're going to stay at home for as long as we can, until Natalia says, "This is it, let's go!" and then we'll be off to St. Vincent Women's Hospital to have this baby!

By the way, we've pretty much decided on the name, but we're still not telling anybody until she's born. We will say, it's not Borbanog, and it's not Klondike Mush.

Don't forget to hit up http://elkinsbaby.babypool.com if you want to be really cool!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everybody! We are back at Mom and Dad's for the holidays, and enjoying seeing everybody and looking forward to Christmas day. Natalia is still looking good, and feeling good. The baby is definitely growing, and the last time she was weighed by the doctor she had gained 28 pounds. That was Dec. 10, so she's right on track to gain about 35 pounds, which is the average, according to our Bradley class.

Natalia says that the baby has definitely grown, and she feels like it is taking up all the space in her tummy, and we've still got about seven weeks to go. We're starting to get very excited! The baby has also moved up in her tummy, and seems to be kicking in the upper right "corner" close to Natalia's rib cage on the right.

Other changes since the last update are, Natalia has felt like she's had to sleep on her side because the baby is getting really heavy, and she feels like its easier for her to get out of breath, and definitely more weight on the bottom of her stomach. The baby is still very active, but doesn't have as much space to rear back and really kick. It's been more nudging lately, as the baby has less and less space. Natalia still feels like the baby does shift around some, and we're going to ask Lee, our Brother in Law to see if he can feel what her position is. Natalia has felt cramps in her legs at night, but the last few nights that has gotten better.

We've been enjoying the Bradley class, and we're really starting to get into the heart of it. We are learning lots. This next week we are putting together a birth plan, which we will discuss beforehand with the doctors and the birth team. It's one of the most important parts of what we have learned so far, because it lets everybody know how we would like the birth to go. We want to have a completely natural childbirth, and want to try and avoid any drugs and/or procedural interventions which hospitals tend to present as conveniences which are "all part of the experience" but may actually harm the mother and/or baby. Yes, we would like to avoid that.

We had a hospital visit at St. Vincents Womens Hospital where we plan to have the birth take place, and we were very pleased with the visit, and happy with how open they were to a natural childbirth, and with their responses to our questions. They were very nonchalant when talking about a Cesarean section, but they have to make it sound routine for all the people who are half expecting or fully expecting that to be part of the procedure. The birthing room was very nice, as it had a shower, which Natalia expects she will want to use during labor, and they have beds which can be moved into different positions, and have a birthing bar for Natalia to hold onto during contractions. So in that, they seemed very open to the mom being in different positions for birth. Also, they stressed that during the birth, when the baby came out, it would immediately go on the mother's chest. That allowed us to check off some big items, and we're expecting the birthing plan discussion will check off the rest.

We have the nursery furniture in place and we're ready to start putting more clothes and things in it. Erin, my sister, gave us some of Kai's old clothes, so we've already some ready to go. We're planning on having the baby shower sometime in January, maybe towards the end, and my sister, Amy, is planning on hosting.

We want to mention the baby pool again, at http://elkinsbaby.babypool.com. It's getting close, and the prime slots are going fast, so get them while you can!

In this Holiday season we feel very blessed and thankful to have such great family and friends, and we are excited to bring another life into this world very soon! Merry Christmas to all! Love, Adam and Natalia.

More Baby News

The Baby is definitely growing! Natalia has gained 16 pounds total so far. I believe it is normal to gain 25-30 pounds during pregnancy. Natalia says the doctor wanted her to gain 35 pounds. What? That's like 1/3 of her normal weight. Natalia x 1.333 repeating. Ha!

The baby is very active, and is kicking a lot. It's really cool to feel the baby kicking, and I can talk to the baby and I'm pretty sure she responds because she recognizes her daddy. Natalia said that she felt the baby shift last Sunday when she woke up, and then Tuesday after that. Natalia said she thought the baby had definitely moved. It seemed like weight moved from the bottom of her stomach to the right side. The doctor said this was normal.

We started taking Bradley classes two weeks ago and those are going well. It's a method of natural childbirth which focuses on relaxation. We're taking them from Amy Ferris, who is the wife of Jeremy Ferris, one of my chiropractors. My sister Erin teaches Bradley courses, and had originally trained Amy.

We're watching Natalia's belly moving right now. It looks like Jello moving on it's own.

Natalia says she is feeling healthy. She's had more trouble finding a comfortable position to sleep as she's gotten bigger, and she's also had leg cramps on occasion. She's also felt like she's had hot flashes, all of which I'm pretty sure are normal for a pregnant woman.

Here is a picture of Natalia. If you compare it to the previous picture, you can definitely see a difference!

Starting Preparations for the Baby

This past weekend we started the baby registry at Babies R Us. Our registry number is 44542971 in case you want to check it out. We went there both Saturday and Sunday, and we still have things we need to pick out.

We're not only shopping for the baby, but we are also preparing the room. The nursery will be in the bedroom next to the master bedroom, and we've got it completely cleared out except for the bed, which we are going to get rid of soon. We're planning on painting, at the very least (VOC free paint, of course), and perhaps adding a chair rail, and maybe some sort of surface below the chair rail.

We started walking yesterday, because we want to make sure Natalia's got the endurance to have a baby. We're going to try to get out and walk 2 or 3 times a week from now on, as long as Natalia feels comfortable doing so.

Don't forget to place your bets at http://elkinsbaby.babypool.com.

As promised, here is a picture of Natalia today, at 23 weeks and 5 days.

Adam and Natalia at Doug and Christina Husemans' Wedding

Baby Time!!!!!

Hi there everybody. Natalia and Adam here. We're having a baby!!!!!! Yay! Natalia says that I am the writer, so it is my responsibility to get some words on this page about the little baby that is on the way. It's been a while since we've written, and we haven't even finished the full honeymoon story, yes we got to Bali and we didn't remember what a computer was. We'll finish that later. First, let's talk about this little baby.

The baby's name is--just kidding, we don't even know that yet, and we wouldn't say because that would ruin the fun of the baby pool, which we have started at http://elkinsbaby.babypool.com. At this site, you can bet some money on the baby's name, weight at birth, etc. You can win 20% of the pool, and the rest goes to the baby's college fund. :)

We've already found out the gender of the baby--it's a girl! I think she's going to be a soccer player. She just kicked and I'm pretty sure I saw Natalia's stomach bounce out of the corner of my eye. Natalia definitely felt it.

Natalia is, as of this date 22 weeks and 6 days along, according to the fact that we had the ultrasound where we found out the baby is a girl last Tuesday, and it was 22 weeks and 5 days at that point. 8 day's later, and I think we've got it worked out correctly based off of that.

Natalia is feeling good. She had morning sickness for the first 3 months, but that has subsided for the most part. Now she is feeling fine, she has a good appetite, and she has gained 12 lbs, and is looking bigger. I'll post some pictures soon. Her bellybutton is starting to look pretty stretched, and her belly looks good overall. Very smooth and round, like she ate a watermelon whole. Maybe not quite that big yet, but you get the idea. She doesn't like it when I poke her bellybutton with my finger.

Natalia went to the grocery store and walked around there for 3 hours trying to find stuff for different recipes, and she felt like that was the most exercise she had gotten in a while. Thus we decided we are going to try and walk two or three times a week, but nothing to over-exerting. Erin, my sister, said this would be a good idea.

Speaking of food, Natalia has had a few cravings, such as pickles, and Nutella on toast. To be clear, not pickles with Nutella on toast, but who knows that might be good. Amy and Christopher had brought up some jelly and honey from their trip to the Smokey Mountains a few months ago, and sometimes Natalia will have that on toast. I've noticed she's definitely eating more carbohydrate laden foods during the pregnancy, and I think I have too. I've maybe put on one or three pounds myself. Ha!

Hmm, what else? That's all we can think of right now, but please respond with any questions you might have, and don't forget to check out http://elkinsbaby.babypool.com.

Talk to you soon. We'll keep you posted.

Adam and Natalia

Wedding Pictures!!!

Here's all the pictures Shelly took at our wedding. If you want the full size pictures let me know and we will mail you copies!

Wedding Day - Getting Ready

Wedding Day - Adam and Natalia

Wedding Day - Wedding Party

Wedding Day - Family Portraits

Wedding Day - Ceremony

Wedding Day - Reception

Taman Mini

The day after Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee arrived was also the day before the reception in Indonesia, and so we decided to spend this day at Taman Mini, which is a theme park that is very close to Grace and Berthus' house. Taman Mini means Miniature Park. It is named as such because the park contains a large pool with miniature islands that represent the islands of Indonesia.

We picked up Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee at the hotel and then we went to the park. We were suprised when we arrived that there was hardly anybody at the park. This was likely because of Ramadan, and Natalia said it was normally more crowded. Not that we were complaining--it made it very easy to get around and see all the sights.

The first place we visited was the aviary. This was really neat because we saw all sorts of exotic birds, all of which were native to Indonesia. The aviary consisted of several large domes, which were split into two areas. The first area contained birds from Eastern Indonesia, and the second area contained birds from Western Indonesia. The zookeeper said every month they would open up the doors so they could visit each other. Just kidding about that part.

The aviary was really cool, and we saw many different birds. Mom and I talked to a Macaw for about 5 minutes, and we got it all on tape. I was taping for most of the time, but I did get a picture in front of the peacock cage. Don't worry, the pictures get more exciting later on...
After the aviary, which all of us really enjoyed, Dad and I especially, we got on the skyway, which was a cable car that was carried across the entire park. From the cable car we got a birds eye view of the park, and could see the miniature Indonesia islands very well. Here's a picture of the islands.
We actually got two rides across the skyway because we got to the landing area on the opposite side of the park, and the attendant just sort of waved us through! We got a chance to pass everybody, which was sort of fun, and back at the first landing area there was sort of a bump when you landed, and since Natalia and I landed first we got to see everybody react to this, which was pretty funny, let me tell you.

After we rode the skyway we checked out a few of the other sites, which included different churches of the area, which were true churches, and we were able to take a walk through an Islamic mosque. Very interesting.

Another part of the park contained the houses of Indonesia, which you could walk through and look at the architecture of all the different types of houses built in different parts of Indonesia. We only walked through one house, which was very much like a barn. It was interesting because it was built on stilts and you had to walk up two very steep flights of stairs to get to the living area. The upper living space was a very large room that was considered a common living area. It had ventilation on each end, which also made it very barn-like, and then it had smaller rooms all along the sides of the room, and each of these smaller rooms would house a family.

Once we got done checking out the house examples, we went to check out the lizards and snakes. I'm not sure what they call this place. They call big bird houses aviary. What a great name. I guess lizards are too ugly to have a name for where they live. Anyway, we went to where the lizards and snakes live, and we saw many snakes, including the Indonesian Spitting Cobra, and a Monitor Lizard, which is about two feet long. Natalia said this was the same lizard that was stealing the fish out of the Koi pond in her parents' garden! We then went back to the main attraction in the snake-and-lizard-iary, which was a Komodo Dragon. We actually got to walk up and touch the Komodo Dragon, which was pretty cool. Here's the picture of Natalia and I with the Komodo Dragon. It was pretty docile, but I was half expecting it to go, "RAAHHHHHH," and then go after my arm. Fortunately that didn't happen.
So that was pretty cool, and if we hadn't gotten enough of touching scaly animals, they had another feature close to this with a very large python. They let us go up and hold the python, which was really cool. I went first, and here's the picture. You can really feel how powerful the snake is. It's not slimy at all, but I could tell the snake was like, "You know what, this guy thinks he can keep a hold of me, but I could just squirm right out of his hands and coil around him if I felt like it. Well, I just ate that chicken yesterday so I think I'll just play along for now." Ok, so the snake didn't actually say that, but it did squirm around quite a bit. It was interesting because you could feel the scales of the snake sort of bristle out in a wavelike manner, which made it harder to hold onto, and would allow it to back right out of your hands if it really felt like it.
I thought I was really brave to go up, until my nieces went up and held the snake. There was also a little turtle walking around the snake area, and we got a really cute picture of Catherine and Celine.
We all had a really fun day, and it was nice to have a fun outing with Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee on their first full day in Indonesia.

Next up...the big reception!

Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee's Arrival

On the 19th of September Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee arrived. Aldo, Berthus and I woke up and got ready that morning, and we left at about 11:00 to head to the airport. We needed to be at the airport by 1:15 to meet the group when they arrived. We got there just at 1:15 and were at the arrival gate by 1:25 or so. So we had gotten there a little late, and in addition we had no way to call Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee to try and figure out where they were. We waited and waited, and waited for about two hours, and we finally got a hold of them at their hotel. As it turns out, they were taken to the hotel by a shuttle service. As I had experienced when you walk out of the arrival gate, there is a mad rush of transportation service people who will very aggressively try to sell you their services. When Natalia and I had arrived, Aldo and Natalia handled it like old pros. Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee ran into the same taxi service solicitation, but fortunately were greeted by a man who worked for the shuttle service of "The Sultan" which was the hotel where they were staying. This man helped them get out of the madness and got their luggage in the car. The only downside to this was they couldn't contact us until they got to their hotel. As Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee were happily on their way to the hotel, Berthus, Aldo, and I were at the airport growing more and more concerned, yet also bored. There was one spell of excitement when Gunawan, a movie star in Indonesia, got off the plane. Apparently he was on his way back from Mecca. I acted like I was from the American press, "Yes, we American photo journalists use point-and-shoot cameras," and I was able to snap this picture: As you can see, not just anybody could have gotten that shot, but since I towered over everybody else it made it easy. I guess I could always be a photographer in an Asian country, if I ever felt like it. At the time I took the picture, I had no idea who this guy was, only that everybody was snapping pictures and crowding around him. I showed Natalia and Jane this picture later and they could barely contain their excitement.

So afterwards, we went to The Sultan where everybody was staying and met up with Mom and Dad. Erin and Lee were tuckered out, and had already gone to bed. Mom and Dad were troupers, and were up for dinner.

It was about 6:00 or so, and we got in the car and went to a great little restaurant where they served Indonesian food. They had very good Gado Gado, which is like potato salad with lettuce, and peanut sauce, and chicken satay, which, if you're not familiar with it, is grilled meat on a stick, served with hot sauce. Both were very good. Here is a picture of Mom and Dad at the restaurant. Both are looking a little tired!
We had fun and it was good to see Mom and Dad. We took them back so they could rest for the next day.

Back to the Blog

Hey all. I've got no other plans today but to take a marathon run at this blog. Let's see if I can get in all the remaining stories I mentioned, and maybe even some pictures!

Back home now! Still catching up on the blog

Hey All,

We got back home yesterday, and we are still catching up on the blog.

Yep, after Mom and Dad arrived we were busy from then on. We had the reception, which was amazing, then flew to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where we visited several temples, including the Borobudur Temple, which is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. We then traveled to Bali, where we stayed at the Hyatt resort for five days. Let me tell you, it was rough, especially the constant pampering, delicious food, and countless fun things to do.

Of course, you know this means many more stories and pictures, which I haven't had a chance to post yet. Now that we are back home again in Indiana, I do believe I should have a chance to add new stories from the last part of our Honeymoon.

Stay tuned!

Trip to Surabaya

Hey all, I wanted to jump on here and give you an update of our weekend excursion to Surabaya. One legend states the city is named after a shark (sura) and a crocodile (baya), which fought for the title of "World's Toughest Animal." I'm not sure how they forgot to include the tiger in this contest, because I think the tiger could take out either a shark or a crocodile, assuming a neutral start, where neither animal had an advantage. The toughest part would be deciding how to start the fight. In a high school wrestling match they have that slightly awkward starting point where one wrestler sort of mounts the other. Well, what we need is something like this for a land based mammal that attacks with its claws versus an amphibious reptile that attacks with its teeth. Maybe start them off in an open field with no grass, but then the tiger gets a slight advantage because of it's ability to run. Then again, if you have water involved you give a huge advantage to the crocodile, who can just sink below the surface and set up a surprise attack. It's a difficult scenario to work out, and believe me, I have though about it for quite some time. This was a big topic of discussion in the bachelor pad of '05, with Ted, Doug, and I, and the discussion continues on today, unresolved, even after video proof on YouTube that the Tiger handily dispatches of the crocodile in an open field fight. Sorry Doug, but the crocodile just doesn't have what it takes to match up to the unstoppable force of the tiger.

Back in the bachelor pad, we never broached the subject of crocodile versus shark, as the city of Surabaya has. Though now that I think about it, it would be an interesting fight. At least in croc vs. shark, the obvious neutral starting point would be a water based fight. I'd put my money on the shark, but if the crocodile was able to clamp down and put the shark into a vicious death roll, that could turn the tables quickly. Also remember, the shark needs to keep swimming to keep the flow water moving through it's gills. If the crocodile was able to figure this out, it could just grab hold of the shark's tail and stop it from moving. However, I don't know if the crocodile could figure this out with it's walnut sized brain. I'm sure the tiger, with it's larger brain, and natural superior cunning and intellect, could likely figure this out in a jiffy, if it didn't decide to simply annihilate the shark with brute force.

Needless to say, this type of legendary background instantly qualifies the city of Surabaya for high marks in my book. But look! In all this prattling on, I haven't even told you a single thing about our trip! Silly me! Let's take you back to the story.

When we left off, we technically had not even started, and thus we resume at the very beginning of the story. Grace, Natalia and I flew into Surabaya on Saturday morning on Garuda Airlines. Jane, Natalia's sister and her husband Heromin picked us up, along with their little girls, Catherine and Celine. The ride back was fun because I got a chance to meet my new nieces and brother in law, and was good to see Jane once again. Catherine and Celine were singing, so I joined in for a few rounds of ABC's, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and a few other childrens' songs. I thought I could maybe teach them a few, but they seemed to know all of them already. They tried to get me to sing the Barney song, but I refused, but I sang every other song with them, and they knew all the words.

We arrived at Jane and Heromin's house and got the grand tour. Similar to Grace and Berthus' house, Jane and Heromin's house also functions as a business. They do gift box construction, calendar printing and binding, and book binding. There were about 50 workers there, and they had several assembly lines with conveyor belts that were being used at the time to construct boxes. There were many young workers folding boxes and placing them on the assembly line, with one "efficiency expert" at the end, overseeing everything. I thought it would be cool to tape the assembly in action, so I went up and got my video camera. I must not have heard the lunch whistle because once I got back with my camera many people were resting, some were sleeping, and things were not nearly as exciting. I taped the equipment anyway, and the people resting. I could tell that some people were happy to be taped, and others were not. I told Heromin later that I didn't mean to embarrass anybody if I did. He said, "What, are you afraid they are going to sue you?" :)

Heromin and I had a very interesting conversation about his business. I asked him if he ever considered exporting his products to the US or elsewhere. He said he had thought about it, but the problem is the Indonesian exporting "standards" are sometimes known to change. It seemed to me, as Heromin described it, this would make the export process unreliable. One shipment may be approved, and the the next shipment, produced exactly the same, might not be approved. The other option would be to import the raw materials from the country you eventually wanted to export the final product. Apparently the export authority in Indonesia takes into consideration the fact that the destination of the final product is the same as where the raw material came in from. Basically, if we get the raw materials from the US, then they should have no problem importing the final products. The only problem with this option is that the extra cost of shipping in these raw materials would decrease the profit margin enough that it wouldn't make it worth the while to do this, according to Heromin.

Once we went back up to the house the girls were ready to perform. Catherine played the piano impeccably, while Celine dance beside her. I also got this on tape. I realized later that while I was taping everything, I wasn't doing a good job of taking pictures. However, I did end up with some good pictures later on in the trip, which I will share with you.

Jane and Heromin had a full day planned out for us, and we started off by heading to the mall. The first stop was the hair salon, where Natalia, Jane and Grace got the full treatment. I call it a hair salon, but it was really more like a massage parlor. Natalia pointed out that I could stick around for a hair cream bath, which would help to fortify and strengthen the roots of my hair. I thought, "Wow, sounds great!" This was before I knew you could get a full back, foot, and arm massage at this place. When I found that out, I asked Natalia how much this cost. She told me 65,000 rupias, which sounds expensive, right? Well, it's actually about $6.50. For the foot massage, they focus on the pressure points on your foot, which there seem to be several right behind the ball of your foot, and some right on the front of your heel, and some on the ends of your toes. Those were the ones I noticed mostly, at least, because you can definitely feel it when they apply pressure. I told Jane the girl had "thumbs of steel." I thought the massage was pretty good, but wait until we get to day 2, and I'll tell you about the other massage place we visited....Hey now, don't get the wrong idea!

That evening we ate at a Korean restaurant where we sat on the floor, with a gas stove built into the table. We ordered a "family style" meal (I'm sure there's a name for it, but I don't know what it is), and they brought all types of food, and a soup that they cooked on the burner in front of us. The soup was my favorite, and it tasted like some sort of delicious cabbage stew. Hey, what can I say, I've got Scotch-Irish blood, I like the cabbage.

Here's Natalia, Catherine, Celine, and I after we ate. Aren't they so cute?

That evening we stayed at a resort hotel, which was very nice. I woke up in the morning to sounds of Catherine and Celine playing outside the door, asking when "Paman Adam" was going to wake up. This means "Uncle" in Indonesian.

Here's a view of the pool from our room. There were about 3 or 4 different sections to the pool. I was still in "taping mode" so I didn't get any pictures of the pool or resort up close. You'll have to see the tape later.


We went outside and enjoyed the pool for a while. It was about 7:30 in the morning but it already felt like it was about 80 degrees. The pool felt great, and then Natalia and I hit the sauna. What a morning. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we walked into the lobby for the free breakfast. This was the continental breakfast to end all continental breakfasts. There were about 7 different tables, including the main table with a standard Indonesian breakfast with rice and vegetables, and various meats. On the other side of this table was a more American style buffet. The side tables included a full milk and juice bar (not just O.J and grapefruit. I'm talking Mango, Papaya, Pineapple, among a few others). They had an omelette station, and beside it they had a pastry table. I can't remember what all they had. I think they even had a smoothie station. I taped it all, being the good tourist, so I'll have to review it and then give you the full list. It was really above and beyond what I would have expected, and I guess what I have come to expect in general.

Here goes my take on the difference in what to expect as far as service between the US and Indonesia. In Indonesia, you can't always expect the same level of amenities, i.e. the hotel rooms might not have a t.v., the bathrooms might not be as nice, it might be hot as heck because there is no A/C in some places, but I can almost guarantee the employees will fall over themselves to try and better your experience, which to me seems quite rare in the US. This might be because many of these types of jobs in the US are held by employees who might be working towards bigger and better things. College students, and the like, who maybe do like their job at the mall, but it's not their life. In Indonesia, the same mall or waiter job might be the only job some folks can aspire to. They care about the job more deeply, and this really shows in their actions at work I realize there is likely a flipside to the coin that deals with the social and economic status of many folks in Indonesia--many are poor. Instead of veering further off course, I'm going to get back to the story of our trip to Surabaya, with the promise that I am going to try to find what all contributes to these differences in service I see between Indonesia and US.

After the exceptional breakfast we checked out and headed to another mall. Little did I know we were headed towards another foot massage. This was a reflexology place where all the masseuses were from China. There were two to a room, and I was in the same room as Heromin. This massage started with a foot bath, and they dried your feet and wrapped the one they weren't working on at the time with a towel. They also focused on the pressure points like the place from the day before, only they did it with even more pressure. It was about an hour long, and it was excruciating. It felt like they were taking scoops of flesh out of the bottom of your foot whenever they poked the knuckle of their pointer finger into it. It hurt like heck, but then they would give you a break for a while and rub your feet. I came in feeling kind of drowsy, and this really woke me up. I looked over at Heromin and he seemed to be falling asleep while getting the same foot treatment. What a pro. I tried to remain stoic during this intense session, but the masseuse detected a few times, through either my flared nostrils or the my raised eyebrows, that I was suffering. I wanted to get the full effect of the massage, so I didn't want her to back off. Heromin told me how to say, "More pressure" in Chinese, and I didn't bother learning how to say "Less pressure," I just told them I would emit a loud scream if it got too intense, so they should just listen for that. At the end of the massage, my feet felt sore in some spots, but felt great overall. I'm pretty sure this type of foot massage is intended for long term benefits rather than any sort of instant pleasure. Five days later my feet still feel great. I can't really describe it, they are just sort of loose and comfortable now, and I feel like they could handle lots of walking. I would definitely recommend this type of Reflexologie massage. 120,000 rupias ($12).

After this visit, we looked around the mall for a while and then visited the food court, which was in the shape of a big circle (wow, different!), only this food court had kiosks that were themed after different areas in Indonesia, so you could get food from virtually any area of Indonesia. There were many, probably close to 50 different food kiosks. I thought this was pretty cool, but I was unfortunately not hungry enough to try all of them.

We headed out to the airport and took Lion Airlines back to Jakarta. It was a great trip, and we all really enjoyed it. Thanks for your hospitality Heromin and Jane, and I loved meeting you Catherine and Celine. I can't wait to see you again.

Pictures!!!

Here is Natalia at home, behind the Cong Klak board, which is very similar to Mankala. David, you would like this game a lot.

Here's a picture of Natalia and I at the restaurant where we ate in Bandung with Grace's sister and family.

Here's one of the professional pictures taken of Natalia and I at the tiki hut place.

Here's a shot of Natalia and I in the rowboat also at the tiki hut place.
Here's Natalia and I eating in one of the tiki huts once we were done with pictures.

Here's one of the professional shots at the volcano. You can see the lake and the rim of the volcano in the background.

Here's another shot at the volcano, after it got all cloudy and misty.
Here's a cool shot I got of one of the marketplaces from the car on the way back from Bandung.
Here's a shot of a typical street scene in Bandung.
Here is a shot of one of the tea fields outside of Bandung.
Here's Aldo in front of a lake we stopped by on the way back from Bandung.Here's another shot of a village I got from the car on the way back from Bandung.

Trip to Bandung Part 2: The Volcano

When we left off last time, Natalia, Grace, Aldo, and I were at the hotel, and we were preparing for another day of shooting pictures. Once Natalia was ready we took a few pictures at the hotel and the restaurant beside it. Like I said, both were very picturesque. We then got in the car and took off to our next destination, which was the volcano Kawah Putih. It took about an hour to get there from where we were staying, and we drove through more villages to get there, and up a winding road towards the top of the mountain. There was a small village at the top of the hill where we parked, before walking up a cobblestone pathway that went up a ridge, and then back down towards the volcano itself. When we got down the ridge we could see what we came for. The basin was completely surrounded by tall mountains, most of which had trees and vegetation, however the far side was a vertical cliff. In the center, there was a very large lake that was bright greenish blue color, colored that way, I assume, by the minerals coming from the volcano. There were several jets of steam billowing from the lake. The ground was mostly rock and sand, but along the edge of the lake there was a greenish foam from the minerals in the water. There was one island in the lake that was actually a peninsula, so you could walk out on it and feel surrounded by the lake.

It was very sunny at first, and the photographers were disappointed because the conditions weren't what they wanted for taking pictures. Nonetheless, we started taking pictures right away. After about an hour of shooting, we took a break and ate lunch. It started getting cloudy and looked like it was going to rain. It only sprinkled a little, but it got cooler and suddenly there were very low hanging clouds that concealed the tops of the mountains, and there was a mist that formed over the top of the lake. The photographers were excited because these were the conditions they were after. We took another round of pictures and then finished up.

We then went back to Bandung and met with Grace's Sister's family again and then spent the rest of Tuesday night driving home. It was an exciting trip!


Just to get you caught up on what has happened since the Bandung trip, on Wednesday we met with the vendors, which was not too exciting for me, because I don't understand the Indonesian language well enough to follow along or participate in a conversation. I sat there and listened as well as I could. From what I could tell, they talked about the arrangement of the ballroom, which I think I mentioned is gigantic, the music, the flowers, the photography and the slideshow. The meeting with the caterer had been earlier in the week. During the meeting there was a prayer group of about 50 Muslims that used the other end of the ballroom to pray, which I watched, and found to be very interesting.

After the meeting we ate at Mbok Berek, which is a place where you eat with your hands. They serve fried chicken, so the eating with your hands part wasn't so bad. It got interesting with the remaining dishes, which were, rice, kangkung, which is like green beans, gudeg, which is a mix of cow skin, jack fruit meat, and boiled eggs. This was all served with sambal, which is a hot sauce. You would take a clump of rice between your fingers and mix it with chicken or vegetables or whatever you were eating and then dip it in sambal. It was fun to eat there, and got about as messy as it gets when you eat barbecue ribs. They didn't have wet-naps, but instead they serve the meal with a dish of water you can use to rinse your hands off at the end of the meal.

After the meal we went to Tanah Abang which is a wholesale shopping center. It was a very crowded area and didn't seem to be the best area, but the prices are supposed to be great. Grace wanted to buy new curtains for the room Natalia and I are staying in. This is part of the tradition of fixing up the bride and groom's bedroom for their wedding night. Mom and Grace already fixed up our room at home, but Grace is also fixing up the room here. The visit was very short and they picked out the curtains and then we left. I had meant to look at the prices, but because of the rush the only price I saw was a very expensive looking dress for 75,000 Rupiahs, which is about $7.50. However, it wasn't my color, so I passed on it.

Later on we went to Pondok Indah Mall, which was very nice. Grace bought some towels and we ate at a Thai restaurant, which was good, but probably didn't help the stomach situation. It sounds like a really dumb move on my part, but my thoughts at the time were that I could eat Thai or Indonesian, both of which tend to be spicy and can get to your stomach, so why not have some Tom Yam.

So, that was Wednesday, and then Thursday I wrote about already with my stomach problems and Natalia's Visa. Later in the day we met with the photographers and got the pictures back, which turned out great, as you can see from the postings. We then went straight to bed and woke up this morning at 6:00.

One thing I can't remember if I have mentioned or not is that Indonesia is very Islamic. It is visible in the architecture and in the way people dress, and in what you hear. Specifically, you hear prayer over loudspeakers from whatever Mosques are nearby. Since there are about five Mosques near Natalia's house, you hear prayer over loudspeakers from each. This would be fine, except for the fact that not all of the singers can sing very well. It is really sort of a chant sound, and doesn't really sound like it has words. It's really more of an "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHAAHAHHAAAAHHHHHHH" sound than anything. Think Dahler Mendhi, the beginning of "Tunak Tunak" (you can look this up on YouTube if you haven't seen it), though Dahler Mendhi is Hindu and not Muslim, so my statement is not entirely accurate. There are two problems that I can see with this system. First, they put the bad singer in the Mosque closest to Natalia's house. This means that you can hear the good singers off in the distance, and you start to listen to the subtleties of the music, and it's not half bad. Then all of a sudden you will hear the local guy bust in and just totally overpower the other singers. This guy sounds like Darth Vader after smoking about 20 cigars in a row, and Darth can't hold a tune. "HRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHAAARRRAAAAAAAAAAAA" Don't they have tryouts for this job?

The other problem is that all the different Mosques sing in different keys. No matter how nice each singer sounds by themselves (aside from our local boy, of course), when you combine it sounds like a bunch of alley cats. This is especially a problem since each Mosque. jacks up the volume like they are trying to compete with each another. Couldn't they have picked one key, like they did with the slot machines in Vegas?

Nonetheless, I do get a charge out of the chants every time I hear them, because its like nothing I've ever heard before. They pray 5 times a day. This is a month of fasting for Muslims, which means they do not eat after 4 AM and before 6PM. So for this month, there is an early wake up call, again by a guy who gets on the mic and yells, "SAHUR, SAHUR, SAHUR!" Which apparently means, "Muslims, it's 3:00. Get up and eat before 4:00. Non-Muslims, see if you can sleep with this megaphone blaring." This has woken me up a couple times, but last night it didn't, so hopefully that continues.

That should bring you up to speed. I'm still planning on taking pictures of the house so you can see it. Tomorrow we are flying to Surabaya to visit Jane, and we are going to stay there until Monday.