Around Here Lately

Here are some photos of our life lately-

We often hear lots of cute giggles coming from the boys room when we put them to bed at night.  Often times Cruz will crawl into Ben's bed and they will play until we finally go in and separate them.  Sometimes, though, it gets quiet and we go in and find them like this.  This is an overhead view of Ben's crib.  It doesn't matter how hard the days can be, when I go in my boys room at night and watch them sleeping it just erases all the tough memories of the day.  There is no sweeter sight than a sleeping child!

Last week Cruz had exams in school.  Yes, he is only in 3 year old preschool, but here they have exams in every grade.  He was sent home an exam schedule with what to expect on each test.  Here he is "practicing" for his math test.  I try to make it all fun and games for him so he likes it.

Last Tuesday night we had our friends Josh and Jessica over for dinner.  They were about to leave for a 2 month stay in the States and we wanted to get one last visit with them before they left.  Cruz LOVES Mr. Josh.  I waited until late in the afternoon to tell him he was coming so he wouldn't drive me crazy asking when he was going to arrive.  He opened our gate many times and looked out for him.  He would also sit on our step and listen for his truck to pull up.  He was excited!

Cruz waiting on "Mista Josh" to arrive

Cruz with Josh and Jessica

We had a good visit with them.  For our meal I cooked poppy seed chicken, homemade macaroni and cheese, carrot souffle, English peas, and a chocolate chess pie.  We already miss them being here and are looking forward to their return to Guatemala.

Our Friday family outing was to Pollo Campero.  Here are me and Ben with our hats on.

On Saturday morning we headed up the mountain to the village of Lagunetas to do Bible study.  I had the kids down on the soccer field.  We usually just find a shady spot and sit down on the ground.  I've been singing a few songs with them before we get started.  I then share a Bible story.  We review.  I attempt to teach a memory verse and we repeat it many, many times.  At the end I usually have a color sheet that goes with the story for them to color as a time filler while I wait on David to finish with the adults.   Our time together is very simple, and I love it that way.

coloring

my color box- an empty butter tub

Cruz with his color sheet.  

On our way home from the village we decided to visit the coffee shop in Jocotan for a late breakfast/ early lunch.  We knew both boys were tired and we were hoping that if we stopped to eat that they would both be ready to lay down once we got back home.  Thankfully it worked and we were all four able to take a much needed nap that afternoon.

Cruz, Ben, and David at the coffee shop

We see this sign everyday when we take Cruz to school and say often that we need to stop and eat.  It just seemed like a good day to try it out.  The sign is advertising a typical breakfast for around $2.00.  It includes two eggs, black beans, fried plantains, cream/ cheese, tortillas, and coffee.  That's a good deal.

our brunch

And lastly, on a recent trip to eat at the mall food court in Chiquimula we saw "the silver man" as Cruz calls him.  It's a man dressed up and painted silver who poses like a mannequin.  When you drop a tip in his bucket he comes to life and does a little dance.  It's really cute and Cruz was fascinated by him.  He was also quite impressed with his big tool.

Cruz with the silver man