Christmas Letter Links

Hospitals we're looking at-

• Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh
• Diopsi-Suyana in Peru
• Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons at Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon

Things we read-

• World Magazine
• First Things

Nathan’s favorite YouTube video search-
John Deere tractors

Websites/ Ministries we participate in-

• Samaritan's Purse
• Stand to Reason
• Portland Pregnancy Resource Center
• Global Health Missions Conference

Audio favorites-

• Charles Garland sermons
• anything from Stand to Reason
• Our interview on CMDA Life Support :-) --We were asked to do an interview about finding your mate for a CMDA audio publication called Life Support. We taped this in the fall of 2005 at 5am one morning before Jason went to work!

Kid gear we depend on-

• Double BOB stroller
• Kelty kid backback
• Kiddopotamus Bibs

Christmas Letter

“Da-da RUN!!” On any given day around the Lattin home, we feel like we’re running even when we’re not. But now, we are literally running most evenings. Our living room easily lends itself to being a small racetrack, and Nathan takes extraordinary glee in pounding out laps especially when he can “chase Dad!” Noelle enjoys it too, either as she bounces along with one of us or from a spot on the floor where she giggles when we run by and make funny faces at her. As Nathan nears two and a half, he’s becoming much more verbal… Included are some familiar phrases around our house.

“Hold me! Hold meee!” I no longer have to imagine what life would be like fifty pounds heavier. No, that’s not how much weight I gained while pregnant with Noelle. But it is the combined weight of Nathan and Noelle, both of whom like to be held and frequently at the same time. I now have shirts I can’t wear because the arms are too tight…

“No-Weeeellllll… Nooo-Weeeelllll….Noelle-wEEEEE!!” Our precious daughter, born January 20th, has been a delightful addition to our family. Her smile is radiant and the surprise kisses and hugs that she gives are truly treasures. Noelle adores Jason and jumps up and down when she gets to see him at the end of the day. There is something magical in the unfettered excitement of a child.

“Da-da tie-tihhd.” (Read- Dad’s tired.) Almost half way through his fifth year of general surgery residency, Jason still puts in really long days and some long nights too. He sees some pretty crazy stuff – snake bite to the tongue, … We have seven months left until Jason completes his residency. A graduation party is planned for July 12^th at Jason’s parents in Portland. Please mark your calendars; we would love to have each one of you here to celebrate with us.

“Meh-ki-co?” With Jason graduating, the big question is what next? We’re excited to share that we have been accepted with World Medical Mission, a branch of Samaritan’s Purse, for a two year term abroad. After many years of hoping and dreaming of international medical work, the time draws near. We are considering hospitals in Peru, Bangladesh and a couple of African countries. The process of actually “picking” where we’d like to go is difficult, and we’d really appreciate your prayers as we seek to find the “right” place. (Nathan always asks us if we’re going to Mexico where the Thomas cousins live.)

“Abby girl, Pa-pa, Gran-ma, Blake, Ellanie, Aye-uhn, Bala, Sha-on…” Nathan is a people lover. He has an uncanny memory for names and often surprises us by talking about people we spent time with months ago. During a typical week, we walk with Sarah and Abby, Nathan spends a day with Grandpa and Grandma, Blake comes to play, we catch up with Aaron and Amanda, and our small group meets at our house on Sunday night (every other week). We have been blessed with special relationships in our church and community. Additionally, I have been able to volunteer on our church nursery committee and complete the training necessary to perform limited ultrasounds for the local pregnancy resource center.

“May-ee, Jo-phehff, Baby Jeeesus” Our hearts are full of joy and thanksgiving in this Advent season as we anticipate the coming of Christmas – celebrating Jesus Christ and the first Noel. We are grateful for the gift that each of you are to us and pray your heart and homes will be filled with the knowledge of Him, God’s greatest Gift.

Our love and joy and God’s blessings to each of you.

Jason, Anna, Nathan and Noelle

Getting big

Just thought I'd share a couple of major milestones that have come in the Lattin household. Noelle is crawling and Nathan is now sleeping in a "big" bed. Noelle still prefers the "army crawl" but she is getting up on her knees some. And Nathan has only woken up on the floor a couple of times though we've found him in every position imaginable on the bed. They are getting big so quickly. We're enjoying every minute (and love the two of them being so close in age).

199 to go!

Today is a big day in the Lattin household... We officially have only 199 days to go before Jason finishes his surgery residency. Yea!!

Though the schedule is still rough and many frustrations are still the same, there are a few bright lights that peak through. Like yesterday...

Jason is now on surgical oncology. The surgeons he operates with are sought out by folks with cancer from all over the state (and sometimes outside the state). Their names are well-known in the medical community. But yesterday, while Jason was busy in clinic, he looked at who his next patient was... Mrs. D., a former patient from Grants Pass! Jason had operated with one of the surgeons there for Mrs. D. when she had colon cancer. Unfortunately, her course was complicated and she had a couple re-operations as well. Now she has metastatic disease to the liver. She had to come to Portland for further treatment.

Mrs. D. was elated to see Jason. She had asked her surgeon in Grants Pass to get in touch with him since she was going to be in Portland, but that wasn't accomplished. Nevertheless as the Lord would have it, Jason will be operating with another surgeon for her hepatic resection (today). So during her pre-op appointment...

"Oh please don't take any offense Dr. Billingsley, but I am just so relieved that Dr. Lattin will be part of my operation. I was so worried. This is such a big operation. But Dr. Lattin is such a good doctor and I really feel much better now..."

And with those words, she has probably paid Jason one of the biggest compliments of his entire residency. Our hope is that she would see her care not merely in the hands of her physicians but the Great Physician.

Nathan-isms

I am fascinated to observe how Nathan is slowly developing his language skills. With plans to move to a different country soon (still not sure where), I'm keenly aware of the upcoming challenge of learning a new language (or two or three!). Here's some Nathan-isms from the last couple months and a few cute conversations too.

- P-p-pew = computer
- Mu-mu-mow = tomorrow
- As we head upstairs to get Noelle from her naps, he yells, "I come-come Missy!"
- Sitting on the couch the other morning on a classic overcast NW morning, Nathan and I were talking about the clouds. I asked him, "Nathan, where is the sun?" He said, "Sun westing." (That's resting.)
- Today it's bright and sunny, so he said "Clouds westing."
- One of his favorite foods right now is a "hot god".
- The first national chain that he recognizes is "Stah-bucks." Why you might wonder. Grandpa (Lattin) has initiated a ritual of getting him a hot chocolate when they're together which he calls a "Nathan latte".
- When asked what to say after he gets his "latte", he answered, "thank you... MORE!"
- And now with Thanksgiving and Christmas goodies upon us, Nathan has developed quite a taste for ice cream. He announced in the kitchen the other day, "get more ice cream."
- When he knows his sister has a dirty diaper, Nathan announces "Missy Po-Po."
- And when asked who taught him to pick his nose, he'll answer "Mom" and then..."Dad"and then..."Mom"and then..."Dad". We're still not sure where he picked up the habit.
- In the midst of potty training, he's learned a whole host of new words like "disgusting", "nasty", "ridiculous", "awful"...
- But Jason and I both just melt to hear "I love you." And each morning when he wakes up, he shares who he dreamed about the night before. Mom has a lot of "points" but Dad has some too and just the other day he said Missy.

Who could imagine the joy!?!

Special Visitors

This entry got lost in our "draft box". In October, we enjoyed spending more time with Ben, Libby and Shane - sweet friends who are now working with the Dalits in India. And also with my grandmother, Grammy, from Texas. She made a special trip out to see us and we enjoyed five great days of play and fun. Noelle enjoyed reading books with Grammy and Nathan was excited to have a friend to ride the escalator with.

Lap, Lap!!

As Noelle gets bigger, she and Nathan are starting to "play" more. This is one of their many games. Nathan sits on the couch and says, "Lap, lap!". I set Noelle on his lap and then he tips her off onto a pillow or blanket. As you can see, she finds it pretty amusing. (She does have a very easy going temperament...) Of course, adult supervision is required but it sure is fun to see them start to find their own unique ways of interacting.

Snapshots of October

With the rainy season looming, we acquired a new play structure (for a steal off craigslist) that is housed on our covered porch. Great for rainy days.







Our dear friends Ben, Libby and Shane Spotts have been in town, and we got to enjoy a fun play date one afternoon with them. Noelle enjoyed sharing her enthusiasm for dump trucks with Shane.






Nathan has a new phrase, "I laundry!"













And it runs in the family to be well attuned to the computer. Nathan already loves watching videos on YouTube, mostly of tractors, trash trucks, excavators, airplanes... And he's quickly passing on the passion to Noelle. He's such an adoring big brother.

Fall is Here

And before October is over, I wanted to make sure that we didn't miss a whole month of blogging. Though excuses are never adequate, our upstairs (home of our computer - key to the whole blogging operation) has been continually occupied by sleepers this month. Jason has been working nights and sleeping there during the daytime. And Noelle has made it her room during the night hours. Thus, I have been kept at bay from getting many updates posted. More to come soon though I suppose that is a bit of a snapshot into what we've been up to.

Enjoy the leaves! Ours are quickly disappearing...

Of late...

This month has been a very full one for us.

- Noelle and I went to Tennessee for the CMDA Board meeting (Christian Medical and Dental Associations). Serving on the board is a unique and special experience. My mom came to watch Noelle during the meetings and we had a wonderful time. (Noelle's first tooth came in on my mom's birthday.) :-) Then we took one extra day to visit our dear friends Kyle and Alison Mezger in Winston-Salem. What fun! We're looking forward to the arrival of their little one in October!

- Noelle has been making a valiant effort to increase the variety of foods she will eat. So far rice, pureed prunes, and rye crackers are the favorites.

- Nathan has been improving his vocabulary daily. It's amazing to listen to him. He was gazing out our kitchen window the other night and saw the beautiful almost-full moon and said, "I like the moon!". His first sentence.

- Jason continues to work hard taking care of all the "trauma" folks. Nathan is beginning to understand what Dad does.

"Ambulance. Sick people. Hospital. Dad work."
"Right, Nathan. The ambulance takes sick people to the hospital and Dad works to help them get better."
"Help better."
"Right."

- I have been working with several other moms at church to make some much needed improvements in our nursery. In the process, we have found a wonderful children's curriculum by Great Commission publications. I'm excited to get it to use at home too!

- After struggling to be a part of the home group ministry at our church (due to difficulty finding a good time/ place/ day/ etc.), we have joined several other couples to start a new group which we are super excited about. And not surprisingly, each couple has some connection to a hospital. Also, tonight is the launch of a new CMDA year for the students - lots to look forward to.

Good News!

We received our acceptance with World Medical Misson last week! (I would have shared the news sooner but we've been sick, sick, sick.)

World Medical Mission is a ministry through Samaritan's Purse which focuses on mostly short-term medical mission trips. They have a unique program that places residents who have just graduated on the mission field for a two-year term and that covers the associated costs of the physician. Our responsibility is to raise support for me (right, I'm a physician too but I'm not committing to full-time at the hospital) and the kids. After two years, we will choose a different sending agency and raise all our support, but this will equip us with two years of field training (and proof of commitment) before taking on that extra responsibility.

After being accepted, WMM surveys the hospitals that they networks with (about 35 around the world) to see who has a need for our specialty and where might be a good fit. Then, they will suggest 3-4 places that they want us to prayerfully consider. Wow, I can hardly believe that we're really finally at this point. Thank you all for your prayers and support thus far. The best is yet to come!

If you'd like to find out more about Samaritan's Purse and World Medical Mission, please visit-

Samaritan's Purse

World Medical Mission


(And if you have the opportunity to participate in Operation Christmas Child, don't miss it! It's a wonderful way to celebrate Christ at Christmas.)

ps- Thank you Ellen for the excellent technical support! :-)

Family Reunion

Early in August, we had the pleasure of being with the extended Dodds family (Jason's mom's side) for a big reunion. About 60 family members of which 49 were able to attend. That is four siblings and all their families. It was great fun and a real gift. I have not felt so encouraged in a long time. We fellowshipped in every sense of the word. Ate together, shared living spaces (and bathrooms), sang hymns for hours one night, played outside, ate some more, took naps, looked at pictures, laughed and worshiped. A tiny glimpse of how God works in and through families. And what a GIFT! children are from the Lord.

Life on Trauma

Rarely do I get to blog about Jason, but his trauma rotations always give us more than enough to talk about.

Last week, a gentleman arrived in the ED with a tongue so swollen he could hardly breathe... Shortly before, the aforementioned had been at his home showing off his newly captured rattlesnake to his girlfriend. (For those of you wondering where he caught a rattlesnake in our parts, it was in the eastern part of the state.) Perhaps trying to be macho or in a moment of insanity or something (one just never knows), this gentleman decided to kiss the rattlesnake. At the opportune time, the rattlesnake retaliated and bit the macho/crazy/ or otherwise gentleman on the tongue.

Fortunately for the gentleman, he was able to make it to the ED before completely losing his airway. And fortunately again, there was a trauma surgeon in the ED who did an emergency "cric" (said - krike like strike, short for cricothyroidotomy). Unfortunately, the aforementioned trauma surgeon was not Jason... but he did assume care for this particular fellow the following morning. And unfortunately for the snake, the first thing the gentleman wrote was "kill the snake".

Cousins

The kids and I enjoyed a second trip to the zoo this summer with the Thomas cousins and Lattin grandparents. A few more pictures...
(Click on the picture to view a larger image.)

Cozy Coupe

We now have a third vehicle in the family. The Cozy Coupe. Need I say more?? Nathan's favorite co-pilot frequently gets to ride with him. They love it!





Thank you Dad! :-)

Birthday

Nathan's birthday was almost a month ago! Yikes. We had a great afternoon at the farm with the Thomas cousins, Lattin grandparents and the Wonnacotts. We picked blackberries (from the scoop on the tractor), rode four wheelers, ate pizza and cake, and opened gifts (a few of them until the birthday boy was too tired for any more fun). It was a special day and a wonderful celebration of two years (since birth that is).

Travelers

So we recently made a trip to Pennsylvania for a family reunion. We got a picture of Noelle sitting in the seat all by herself. It reminded us of another trip we took when Nathan was about the same age. :-) They are both about 6 months in these pictures.

Donkey

Nathan has a new Bible insight he'd like to share with our blog-reading family and friends. Though many of the passages in the Bible focus on people, there is an equally important Biblical figure - the donkey.

Pictured prominently in our illustrated children's Bible, "don-dey" takes people to and fro. He spans many generations. He is a part of both Old and New Testaments. He is sometimes sitting, sometimes carrying, sometimes watching, but always integral to the best stories. Nathan will flip through page after page looking for "don-dey" and smiling with glee when he finds him on yet another adventure. Jason has had to ad lib the Bible text a bit to include the important plot elements centering around "don-dey". (As you would suspect, Elijah traveled often with a "don-dey" and Joseph and Mary and "don-dey" had to go back to the temple to find Jesus...)

Sometimes it takes a child to open our eyes to a different world. I imagine God looks at our lives through very different eyes than our own too. I hope that I may see as He sees.

Workout Wonderland

I’ve been saving a list of blog titles the last couple weeks, knowing I was falling behind on all the fun things I’d like to be sharing with everyone. And so now I’m trying to capture in as few words as possible what we’ve been up to.

Jason and Aaron (of Aaron and Amanda, who live in our basement apt.) have discovered a new use for an old, poorly maintained greenhouse. Empty it out and turn it into a new house for the workout bench. With a couple afternoons of hard labor, we now have an exercise facility on the premises. And as you can see, Nathan was very helpful in the whole endeavor. (The guys even fumigated the place with a bug bomb. Hopefully the critters will leave it alone.)

Fire Truck

We've added a new truck to Nathan's list of favorites - the fire truck. They're big and red and shiny and loud! And when we were out at Grandpa and Grandma's the other day, one came to visit. We hear lots of fire trucks (and quite a few ambulances) from our house near downtown. We read about fire trucks in lots of Nathan's books. We watch for them as we drive around town. And just today, Nathan's cousin Josiah passed down a red windbreaker with a fire truck on it. It was immediately donned and worn with pride even on a hot July evening.

A big thank you to all who are serving our country - to our military friends, civil service friends and especially to all you firefighters. :-)

Sea Lions

Hands and face pressed firmly against the glass wall, Nathan's face lights up with glee as the enormous sea otter ascends in the midst of a flip turn. Wa-wa??!! he exclaims.

We joined the "mom group" at church for a trip to the Portland Zoo on Tuesday. Our first stop was the large pool where the sea lions live. Nathan was enthralled. We probably should have just parked there for the rest of our time though he did enjoy the bears and elephants too. But the massive yet graceful swimming mammal was his favorite.

Our hope is to spend a little time in Alaska next summer, so we'll hope to show Nathan sea lions in the wild. Magnificent.

Kisses

Noelle has started giving kisses. How to put it in words?? It's adorable. It's sweet. It's fascinating. It's heart-melting.

The open mouth and tender smile aimed right at you. And then she kind of giggles. We love our little Missy.

She just had her six month check-up this week too. 17lbs 12 oz. Dr. Crawford says nursing agrees with her. :-) Yeah, that's the 80th percentile for weight (and hardly any solids so far). And about 26 inches long, very average. Nathan was 26 inches at about four months and had already outgrown the carseat Noelle is in by six months. Amazing to see the differences.

Noelle's other new experience lately has been riding in the sling. She can now sit at my side and seems to really enjoy that. I was inspired (thanks Libby!) to pull it out last weekend when the two of us went for an Italian cooking lesson. She even took a little nap on the go.

We love Missy Na-Now.

Two Peas in a Pod

In an incredulous kind of way, you can't imagine what having two is like when you just have one. And then when two comes, you can't imagine having just one (or even only wanting to have one). Ours are "two peas in a pod". No, I'm not talking about their personalities. They're quite different. But they would literally like to be two peas in a pod.

Upon awakening every morning, Nathan will be found in his pack'n'play pointing at Noelle's crib. "Noh??" he says, wondering where she is. She will have long since awakened, had her first feeding, and gone back to sleep in our room - so we don't wake up Nathan.

Then with her first squeak alerting us that she is up, Nathan will run to our room and try to hoist himself onto the bed. He gets down on his hands and knees, placing his face right up next to hers and says, "Hi Noh-Noh, Hi Noh-Noh". Her face lights up in utter glee. They enjoy a few moments smiling and chatting back and forth at each other. (After mid-morning nap, he enjoys climbing up in her crib with her too!)

I have a new found freedom as well. In our fenced-in play area, Nathan is now content to play for long enough for me to shower when accompanied by his beloved sister. They're not yet playing together much, but he loves her company.

And at bedtime, we put Noelle to bed before Nathan. He likes to check on her in her crib and blow her kisses before closing his eyes on the day. We were skeptical about having the two share a room, but they've done well. After all, they're two peas in a pod.

For me and Jason, parenting has been a marvelous, even though oftentimes challenging, incredible journey. Our love has grown for our little ones and each other. And our vision for our family has started to blossom. God's design for life is truly amazing and inspiring. What a joy!

What Next?

349 days and counting. And the question that everyone is asking us these days is "what next?" We're not entirely certain but here's our latest plan.

June 30, 2008 will be Jason's last day of general surgery residency. A BIG party (probably July 11th or 12th) is already in the works and of course we would love for you to come! Then hopefully we'll be able to get away for a few days - just the two of us. :-) After that we hope to spend some time (perhaps a couple months) as a family playing a lot and working a little. We're looking for somewhere fun - like Alaska! And then we will commence with trying to find a location abroad where we'd like to settle and work at a mission hospital. One of the spots that has caught our eye is Diopsi Suyana in the highlands of Peru. You can find out more about the hospital and ministry at -

http://www.diospi-suyana.de/index.php?id=29&L=1

Our expectation is that we'll be visiting a few different mission hospitals and trying to find one that is a good fit for us. Lord willing, we hope to be headed to wherever that is in summer 2009. (Or as it may be - language school, Bible classes, or something in the direction of establishing ourselves abroad.)

We covet your prayers as we look for a mission hospital and would enjoy any thoughts you'd like to share as well.

Beach

Knowing we could spend all our time off working at the house, we decided to take a few days off and head to the spectacular Oregon coast. We had a great time. It was the first time in a year that we've had a vacation with "just us". Noelle surprised us by rolling over (back to front) as soon as we arrived and Nathan took great delight standing in the surf and digging in the sand. Our sweet friends Aaron and Amanda joined us for a couple nights as well. They got crushed in Acquire, but I think the hotdog cookout ala sand will bring them back again. :-) We enjoyed looking back (a great year in Grants Pass), looking forward (the last year of surgery residency and beyond), and soaking in the moment. A very blessed time.