Snapshots Of Our Week

Remember that green pumpkin that we got in the village recently? 

Well I baked it, pureed it, and have used it this week to make some delicious treats.

We have had pumpkin pancakes twice already.  They are my favorite!  I just add 1/2 cup of pureed pumpkin, some cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and a pinch of sugar to my regular pancake batter. Yummy!  Add a little whipped cream on top and it's perfection.

I baked three loaves of pumpkin bread with chocolate chips and walnuts.  We love it!  I had enough puree left over to make a pie but I ran out of time so I put it in the freezer for another day. 

On Wednesday Cruz had a field trip with his school.  It was a long day and will require a separate post.  I'll try to get around to that next week. Here he is with some schoolmates at Domino's Pizza in Chiquimula.  It was a fun day!

Thursday was his last day of school so I made pumpkin pancakes again.  One of his favorite foods is pancakes.  I shaped his like a monster face.  He loved it!

Cruz on his last morning of school

Here's Ben wanting me to take his picture too

Because it was his last day of school I let him wear whatever he wanted.  Lightning McQueen was dirty so instead he chose his soccer jersey and as always "long blue pants".  He loves those black tennis shoes and he insisted on wearing a pair of pirate knee socks that he got while in the States.  The only problem was he wanted to wear his socks over his jeans.  Much to my dislike he won out and I let him go like that.  It's not that big of a deal, right?  He said, "mama, my friends will think I look cool".  I sure hope they did. ha

When school ended we picked him up and drove into Chiquimula.  We stopped there for lunch on our way to Guatemala City. 

my boys playing at McDonald's in Chiquimula  (look at those socks!!!!!)

 

We arrived late in the afternoon just in time to unpack and get settled in before our colleagues David and Glynis Miller arrived to join us for supper.  They brought food to us and we ate at the mission house together.  Afterwards we had a little team meeting to discuss work.  I didn't get a picture with them but we had a great time together.

Despite going to bed much later than normal Cruz was up at 5:15 on Friday morning.  The sun was not even up yet!  It gave us plenty of time to eat, get dressed, and head out the door for the morning.  Our first stop was at the dentist for him to get a filling.  It was his first time to have to get a shot and as you can imagine it was not a very pleasant experience- for any of us. 

Here he is getting loved on by his little brother after seeing the dentist. 

 

So, you can imagine his response after we left the dentist and he asks "where are we going now" and we have to tell him "back to another clinic to get a flu shot".   Yes, let's just have a moment of silence to make up for the lack of silence that I was hearing from our car at that time.  ha  It was not pretty. 

David and Ben at the clinic getting ready to get a flu shot.

Me getting my flu shot (and trying to look brave for Cruz).  I do not like shots!

And here's Cruz having to be restrained by David to get his.  He fought with all he had to keep from getting his shot.  Those little feet you see up in the air- they were kicking all over the place.  He survived, but I think we were all a little stressed out by the process. 

We stopped for an early lunch and let them play a while before heading back for naps.  We were all needing one.

We took this family photo that afternoon at the mission house before heading out again.

Just look at that sweet smile.  He's a mess y'all!

 

We made a run to Pricesmart to pick up some supplies.  We take our boys with us everywhere we go.  When there's no one to leave them with that's just what you have to do.  But, if I've ever made it look easy let me just assure you IT'S NOT!  There are days when I feel that my stress level just can't get any higher.  One of those days was yesterday.

They're smiling and having fun and I'm doing all I can to get finished so I can get them strapped back in the car.  ha

After shopping we stopped by TGI Friday's for supper.  It was kind of a little celebration for us.  Yesterday was our 8 year anniversary of working with the IMB.  We celebrate that every year and this year we just happened to be in the Capital and chose to eat there because it has always been one of our favorite places.  It has been an awesome 8 years and we love looking back at how God has worked in our lives and the lives of those around us.  We pray that He allows us many more years to serve him together as a couple and as a family.

I'll end this long post with this picture of my little pumpkin before bed time on Friday night. 
He is becoming such a big boy! 

It's now Saturday morning and we are getting ready to pick up a mission team from FBC Mt. Pleasant, SC that will be arriving shortly.  We are looking forward to a week of serving together with them.  We covet your prayers for us over the next few days as we share Christ in the village of Chanco.  Thanks!