Sweet Times

One of the most exciting things that has happened around here lately is Cruz losing his first tooth.  He will turn eight in a few weeks.  It was about time.  This was technically his second tooth to lose if you count the one he knocked out at two years old.  I guess you could say that this was his first tooth to lose naturally.

It had been loose for a while but he would not do anything to help it come out.  Then one night he got up to go to the bathroom and said it just fell out in his hand.  He could not believe how easy and painless it was.   He asked for Q7 and a Hot Wheel as his gift.  I ended up giving him Q10 (which is a little over a dollar) and a Hot Wheel.   He was so proud of it that he slipped into my bedroom the next morning while I cooked breakfast and made my bed as a thank you.  That boy can melt my heart at times!

In school news one of the curriculums we use for reading is Sing Spell Read and Write Level 2. (We also do Sonlight for reading).  We did Sing Spell Read and Write for kindergarten and first grade.  I have enjoyed this program very much for phonics and reading.  I especially have enjoyed the level 2 reading.  Our readers are taking us on a trip around the United States.  We began covering the Southern border and are now making our way up the Eastern border.  It is also teaching him U.S. geography as well.  It has given us a lot of good conversations about the places we would like to visit someday.  We are both enjoying it and learning a lot about the States.  On our recent study of North Carolina one of the suggestions was to make a sweet potato pie.  When we finished the school week he got to help me bake it.  Both of my boys love to help me in the kitchen.

Cruz mashing the sweet potatoes for our pie.  Excuse the shirtless photo.  It is miserably hot where we live and Cruz never wants to wear a shirt.

our finished sweet potato pie

time to eat!

I think I am finally finished getting their dinosaur themed bedroom decorated.  We only lacked having a shelf built and it was ready for pick up last week.  I love how this focal wall turned out.  They are really loving their new bedroom.

We have had consistent Bible studies on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  Each of these are going well. 

Here is David preaching on a recent Sunday morning in Nearar.  He is currently going through the book of Ruth.  I took three pictures of him and all three were blurry.  He cannot be still when teaching.

This service was the day before Ben's birthday.  He took sweet bread to pass out to everyone after the service ended.

I have done two studies with the children in Muyurco so far.  It is mostly a group of boys and it is fun.  I definitely have my hands full though.  In our school Spanish curriculum the boys are learning a Bible verse, Bible song, and Bible truth each month in Spanish.  My plan is to teach those same ones in the village each month.  I am doing the one from the previous month because the boys know it well and they can help me teach it to the kids.  Cruz is especially enjoying getting to help me teach/ lead this part of our study each week.

Cruz with some of the boys in Muyurco last Thursday afternoon. 

The coffee plants were in full bloom there last Thursday.  We enjoyed the sweet smell of them as we sat around outside having our Bible study.  The plants bloom beautiful white flowers right before they start to produce the coffee beans.  It is one of my favorite sights here.

This past Sunday we began a separate Bible study for the kids in Nearar during the preaching time.  Luz and I will be teaching it together.  The first week went well.  I plan to teach the same verse and song there each month as in Muyurco along with a weekly Bible story.  Pray for these two children's Bible study times and for the precious children that I get to teach each week.

This past Saturday was my first free Saturday in a while.  I spent it catching up on some baking.  My boys love my homemade cinnamon rolls.  I did not make them a single time while in the States.  It was too easy to buy them there.  Since we have returned to Guatemala they have asked me over and over again to make them some.  I finally had time to do that this past weekend.  I made twelve pans.  I also baked two loaves of chocolate chip banana bread.  My freezer is now stocked and we will have plenty to eat on over the next several weeks.  In addition to that I made David and I a coconut custard pie.  It is one of our favorites.   I also made a batch of frozen chocolate covered bananas.  They are popular here and the locals call them chocobananos.  They are a very refreshing treat on these hot afternoons.

Ben helping me mix my pie ingredients. 

Another new addition to our home are those two wall shelves in the background of the above photo that we had built for our dining room wall.  I am still trying to decide what I want to display on them but I love how they turned out.  Needless to say we are becoming good friends with a local carpenter.  We have also had to have him make another bookshelf for our school room since returning from the States.  

 This is definitely true in our home thanks to homeschool.

my bread and pie

fresh out of the oven

I use the Pioneer Woman's recipe to make my cinnamon rolls.

It is exam week at Cruz's music school.  Today was his day to perform.  Each student has to choose a song to learn and play.  He did a great job and we were very proud of him.   

Cruz with his piano teacher

We are having a short school week because we will be taking a few days off to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  This Friday (the 27th) will be our 22nd anniversary.  

Time flies when you're having fun!

Our anniversary is one of my favorite days of the year.  I am excited about the memories that we will be making as we celebrate another year together.