Maria & Daniela

     On September 14, two babies arrived at Grace Babies’ Home. Their names are Maria and Daniela, and they are both 8 months old.
     Daniela has a huge personality. She always wants to be the center of attention. If you stop looking at her, she screams and cries. I wonder if maybe she was just starved for attention, and now that she gets it she loves it. When she first came to us, she could not sit up by herself or stand on her legs and bounce. After the first two weeks she was here, she was doing both of these. She is also in a stage of copying our facial expressions and sounds that we make. You can see these in the pictures below. We are pretty close to getting her to say “uh-oh”.
     Maria was a little more behind than Daniela when she came to us. She was also sick. She had a very bad cold for the first week and a half. Her cold is gone and she now can sit up by herself for the most part, and entertains herself with the toys she grabs. Maria has more of a “there you are” verses a “here I am” personality. She doesn’t scream or cry like Daniela does when you put her down on the ground or stop looking at her. She is always content. She likes it when you lift and hold her up in the air. My dad is really good at doing this.
      Grace Babies’ Home is a two-story building with our house on the second floor and the home for babies is on the first floor. My mom and I have been sleeping downstairs with the babies since they arrived. We get up with them in the night (or hopefully the morning), change them, feed them, and then play with them until their morning nap. Even though I have to do school, I try to help out with them as often as I can during the day.
     Before these two babies arrived at GBH, I was feeling kind of depressed. I kept thinking about the fact that I didn’t really have any friends to hang out with and that I was not really doing anything besides school and swimming. My life seemed really uneventful. When Daniela and Maria arrived, I felt I had a job to do and that I was needed. It really feels good to be needed. Whenever I start to think about the friend situation, I realize that I don’t really have time to hang out right now. I have a job to do that God gave me. I think he brought Maria and Daniela at the perfect time.

First Week in High School

Last week was my first week doing online High School. I took the orientation class on the first day and then started my real schoolwork the next day. The classes I am taking are: Bible, Physical Science, English, Math, Health, and French. My teacher’s name is Mrs. Russell.

Every morning I have to log on and read a devotional. After I read the devotion I have to post a comment or respond to another student’s comment about the devotion. This is how they take attendance every day.

In all of my subjects I have a Discussion Forum. This is where all of the kids in my class post comments about a question. For example, in Physical Science one of the questions was, “When doing an investigation, if you made a mistake, what would you do?” All of the students post what they would do and can also respond to other student's posts. The format for discussion is much like the devotional.

We were recently asked to define Christianity in our Bible Discussion Forum. After reading everyone's lengthy definitions I was hesitant to answer, but this is what I wrote: “John 3:16 says, ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.’ That only son is Jesus Christ. Christianity is believing in Jesus Christ and having a personal relationship with Him.”

My favorite part of this program is that I can work at my own pace. I am the kind of person who would rather finish it fast and get it over with, instead of waiting until that last minute to do it. Once a week I have a meeting with my teacher in an online classroom that works like a chat room. In the classroom we can hear each other talk, and even see each other if we choose to turn on the video. I can work fast and finish my school work whenever, as long as I finish before the meeting.

I am very thankful that I can do this online High School. I think it is going to be a good school year.

Funny Thoughts & Feelings

        I am always thinking of funny things. The other day I was wondering what would happen if our dirty, old, green minivan - Sally, met a bright, red Ferrari? What would they talk about? Would they discuss the different things they see while driving? Would they compare how different the conversations are that they hear from their passengers? Would they talk about the different roads they drive and things they see while on those roads? 
        Sally would probably tell the Ferrari that she lives in Mexico, but in her lifetime she has seen just about everything - the beach, the mountains, the desert, and the snow. Now the Ferrari would probably tell our minivan that the only places it’s ever been are expensive cities and neighborhoods. Then Sally would talk about all the music it plays, such as Jana Alyra or Rob Biagi. She has heard our family talks and arguments, and little kids screaming and crying. Sally would explain how she has basically raised our family, getting us from place to place. 
        The Ferrari would tell the minivan that it has listened to every type of music except the music the minivan has heard. The conversations the Ferrari has heard have always been business conversations or boring adult conversations. The Ferrari has no idea about families and the things that happen in them. He has no idea what life looks like from Mexican roads. He maybe starts to feel like he’s missing out. 
        Then I started to think what our shiny, new Honda Odyssey – Jazz, and our old, green minivan – Sally, talk about now (they are parked next to each other). Does Sally say, “You are going to love the Struttons!” Does she say, “Mexico is the best place to be!” I wonder if Jazz will even like it here, or will she miss her old family, the old roads, and her old life? Does Sally feel rejected by our family? Or does she understand she still has an important job – serving babies at Grace Babies’ Home. 
        When I think about all these silly car conversations, I remember my feelings when we visited an outdoor market while on vacation last weekend. I walked around all the little shops, but as I kept looking around at all the girls my age I felt like our old, green minivan on a highway of Ferraris. I knew that on the outside I didn’t look much different, but I could feel something different on the inside. We had a meeting spot where my dad was hanging out in case someone got lost. So after walking for a little bit, I went back to the meeting spot and hung out with my dad. I didn’t really have the nerve to tell him then the reason why I didn’t want to keep shopping. So when he asked, “Couldn’t find anything you can’t live without?” I shook my head and said, “Nope, not really”. 
        The Bible says that our home is in heaven and until we get there we are not going to feel like we belong. I don’t know about you guys, but I know that I really need to remember that. God put me here in Mexico for a reason, and I sure am glad He did!

Major Award!

           I started swimming in August of 2010 and ever since then I have loved everything about it. Practice starts at 5:00pm and goes until 7:00pm, 5 days a week. We run for 40 minutes before we get into the pool. I swim all four strokes, but my favorites are breast and fly.

            This past week I didn’t go to practice because my friend from Encinitas was staying with me. My coach found out that the Rosarito Chamber of Commerce wanted to give me an award. After trying all week, he finally got a hold of me yesterday to tell me about it. When he first told me I thought he was joking because he said that I was the only one on the whole team who was going, then I realized he was serious! I told my dad about it and he said he would go with me.

            We met my coach at the pool and followed him to where the ceremony took place; it was called Plaza Festival. From the front, it had a huge joker. It looked like a place I would NOT want to go into. When we got to the top of the stairs, we entered a room with fancy tables and chairs. We sat down at a table towards the front of the room. At the very front was a long table for the important people (this is how most events are organized here in Mexico). From the time we sat down to the time the event started, an hour passed (this is also normal for where I live). Finally all the important people showed up and sat down at their table.

            They started off by saying a few words, and then gave out the awards. This is when I learned that I was receiving an award for being the athlete of the month for all sports for all of Rosarito. When they called my name I went up and shook hands with all the important people, got my picture taken with some important guy and then walked back to our table.

            As I was walking back and examining my plaque, I realized how lucky I am to have parents that will pay and drive me every day to the pool and to my meets. Swimming is definitely my sport and I love it. That ceremony encouraged me to try harder and train harder. Thanks God for this sport.

            PS – Those of you who love the movie “A Christmas Story” will understand my title;)

Important Guy & Me

My Awesome Coaches & Me