Life Lately September 2026

 Here are a few highlights from the month of September. 

 

David began the month with a work trip to Mexico to visit some of our IMB families.  He took very few photos but did snap this one of the Popocatépetl volcano as he was leaving Puebla one morning. While there he was able to visit with five full time families and four short term singles.  Overall, he had a great trip and was able to be an encouragement to each of these he saw.

 

 

While he was gone, I attended a baby shower for a sweet girl who is having a boy in January.  Because I am a boy mom, I was asked to share what it's like raising boys.  I really enjoyed getting to do that! 

 

 

me sharing with the group about raising boys 

 

 

On the 15th, we celebrated Guatemala's Independence Day.  We went into town for lunch at Pollo Campero. 

 

 

We also saw a few parades while there. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

The Guatemalan flag flying over our central park. 

 

I made these flag jello jigglers for the boys. 

 

We also enjoyed the Guatemala themed cupcakes from a local bakery. 

 

And, one an earlier day we enjoyed this flag themed cheese cake from a local coffee shop. 

 

 

We were excited for college football to kick off.  For the first Saturday I made this football cake to eat on while watching the games.  

 

Our favorite game of the month was on the 19th when Ole Miss beat LSU.  

 

 

The Ole Miss vs LSU game is called the Magnolia Bowl so for our football dessert that weekend I made a banana pudding.  I thought it was a perfect Southern dessert for that game day.  

 

 

David spent a day in Guatemala City doing some translating for a team from Alabama.  

 

David with Mary Kay

We first met her years ago when we first arrived in Guatemala.  She has been a faithful volunteer team member for many many years. 

 

 

The following week he met up with this team in the Zacapa area.  Here he is with some of the team members meeting with a local pastor there. 

 

 

While in the area he met up with Miguel for a meal.  He was our faithful ministry partner for years when we lived in the Chiquimula area. 

 

 

Ben enjoyed going to the movies with his friend Josue. He also attended his birthday party earlier in the month. 

 

School is going great, most days.  We have done several science experiments. Below are photos from a few of them.

 

 

Cruz did this one during his study of bones.  He used celery to learn about different types of bone breaks. 

 

During Cruz's study of skeletal muscles, he made this bone and muscle model. He used it to see how certain muscles and joints move and connect. 

 

 

I've had beans sprouting in my window seal for a few weeks for one of Ben's experiments.

 

Ben's International cooking class has been a highlight of the semester.  He has made some delicious recipes over the past month. This class coincides with a geography class he is also taking.

 

 

 While studying about France, he made crepes. 

 

 

For Cambodia he made Lok Lak lettuce wraps.  We liked this recipe so much he made it twice during the month of September.

 

 

For Mexico he made Pan de Elote (corn bread) and horchata, which is a typical drink made from rice. 

 

 

For Australia he made Lamingtons.  

 

 

He finished the month studying Argentina and made beef empanadas.  

We have all enjoyed this class! 

Life Lately August 2026

 August flew by!  Here is a look at some of our activities over the past few weeks. 

 

We started the month celebrating David's birthday. 

 

 

The following day we started back to school.  

Cruz is in the 11th grade, and Ben is in the 9th. 

 

 

Ben had a sleepover with his friend Joshua, and we made him an early birthday pancake breakfast. 

 

Cruz spent time with his friend, Malachi, while he was in country visiting family.  Here they are at a local Antigua soccer game. 

  

 

On another evening Ben was invited to a soccer game with his friend Josue. 

 

 

David attended a kid's ministry event with a new local partner in Alotenango. 

 

 

He also attended a regional pastor's meeting.  Here are some of the leaders from our part of the country.  

 

He joined Pastor Apolinario and his church for a baptismal service. 

 

 

There were four people baptized that day. 

 

 

The boys have enjoyed getting back to their youth group after missing about seven weeks during the summer.  We enjoy weekly date nights while they are there.  Here we are at Del Griego in Guatemala City.  We love gyros!

 

 

Cruz has been driving more and more.  Here he is on his first time driving into Guatemala City. He was going to a high school worship night with some friends. That first time about sent me over the edge, but now that he has done it several more times, it is getting easier to tolerate.   He's a great driver.  I just worry about all the other driver's around us.  

 

 

I spent a Saturday morning baking.  My freezer is empty, and I need to get it restocked with baked goods.  On this day I made chocolate chip banana bread.  I plan to continue in the coming weeks with zucchini bread and pumpkin bread.   

 

 

I know it was only August, but I was very eager to decorate the house for fall.  I love fall decor!  The colors just give me a warm, cozy feeling.  My stuff is a mixture of pumpkins and football, which are two of my favorite things.

 

 

Here's a little glimpse of my house.

 

 

The outside is looking good also.  Here's a few things that are currently blooming in my yard.  

 

 

It has been a while since we used our fire pit.  On a recent Saturday night, we built a fire and cooked hot dogs.  I love sitting out by the fire.    

 

 

Our homeschool year is off to a great start!  Ben is taking Biology this year.  He is excited to get to use the microscope. 

 

Ben doing a science experiment. He was testing different antacids to see which one was more effective at neutralizing acid.  Both boys have already had several fun experiments.  Experiments have always been one of my favorite parts of homeschool.

 

 

Ben is taking a geography course this semester.  For an elective credit, I am paring food and recipes with the countries he is studying and calling it an International Cooking class.  It has been very interesting so far.  He just completed his fourth week and here are the recipes he made.  For Germany he made Spatzle.  For Bahamas he made jerk chicken with beans and rice.  For Japan he made ramen, and David took him out to eat sushi.  For Bolivia he made pique macho.  He is a picky eater, and I love seeing him try new things.  His favorite so far has been ramen.  He has made that recipe several more times since his class.

 

 

Ben enjoying a sushi lunch date with his dad. 

 

 

I posted about his study and love of Japan.  A Facebook friend who lives here wrote me and offered to gift Ben some things from there.  Just days before she had returned from a two week trip vacation to Japan.  She gave him a newspaper, some receipts showing Japanese writing, a deck of cards, some coins, several varieties of chocolate, and some stickers.  It was very kind and generous of her!

 

Ben's gifts.

Did you know Kit Kat is popular there?  He got several different flavors to try like matcha, cherry blossom, banana, and blueberry cheesecake.

 

 

We ended the month with a Saturday day trip to our favorite mall in Guatemala City, Miraflores. We spent the day walking around, picking up a few things, and having lunch at the food court.  

 

We were surprised to see these beautiful balloons on display at the outside grassy area of the mall.  They do not go up in the air but were actually a dining experience where you can reserve a balloon and have a meal at the table inside the baskets. 

 

There were eight balloons and each represented a different country. They were so pretty to see!

 

Well, August is slipping away, and it's time to welcome September.  I'm excited mostly because it means college football season will be here.  It's my favorite season of all!   

 

 

And, to show my excitement, I'm using it as my theme for our September classroom wall decoration. 

 

Hello September!