Summer Snippets

This post will cover a little of our lives over the past two weeks.  After our team flew back to the States we spent some extra time in Guatemala City.  I had a follow-up doctor appointment on Monday and then we returned back home.  We enjoyed the cooler weather there and getting to visit some of our favorite places.  We attended church on Sunday morning at Union Church.  They were baptizing someone that day so during the children's time down front the pastor, Bro. John, taught the kids about baptism.  He walked them all over to the baptismal pool and let each kid have a turn reaching in and feeling the water.  It was a great lesson for the boys and a good visual too (all in English).  While there back on Mother's Day Bro. John had announced his resignation and plans to return to the States.  They now have a pastor's search committee put together to start taking resumes to fill that position.  Pray for the church during this transition time and that God would send them just the right person to pastor them.

While visiting one of the malls in Guatemala City the boys enjoyed some time playing on one of the exhibits they had on display.  The malls there always have something fun and different going on for the kids to do.  I can't remember what it was called but they had an endless supply of some type of bendable tubes and numerous stations for the kids to build with them.  My boys love building and thought this was the coolest thing.  

While they played David and I enjoyed a few moments to quietly sit still while we watched them.

Since returning home my days have been filled with cleaning out the house, packing, and storing away.  I have gone room to room going through each cabinet, dresser, and drawer pulling things out to give away, putting things aside to pack, and deciding how to store what is left.  It seems endless and is just as tiring mentally as it is physically. 

Just a few of the bags we have given away over the past two weeks.  

It is rainy season and we are getting rains almost daily.  I think this is one of the wettest rainy seasons I can remember since moving to this part of Guatemala.  The mountain roads are in terrible shape (not that they were great to begin with).  Landslides are everywhere and it just makes for dangerous travel.  Getting back and forth to our Thursday afternoon Bible study is a chore.  We have had thunderstorms for the past seven Thursdays straight.

I took this photo week before last on our drive to Muyurco.  Thankfully some locals had moved the rocks out of the road so we could continue on.  There are several spots like this along the way.  The locals do a good job of getting the road cleared so that helps.

The boys at a recent Thursday Bible study.  Rain jackets are a staple on our trips to the mountains these days.

McDonald's is offering limited edition bacon cheddar fries.  French fries are one of my favorite foods so I was eager to try these.  They are just as good as they look.

Speaking of McDonald's, here is a recent conversation I had with Cruz-
Cruz:  "Mama, will there be a Taco Bell in the States?"
Me:  "Yes"
Cruz:  "What about McDonald's?"
Me:  "Yes"
Cruz:  "Burger King and Wendy's?"
Me:  "Yes, a lot of them"
Cruz:  "Oh boy!  I'm going to love it there!"
He made me laugh.  I guess that since he eats at those places here he assumes that they are Guatemalan restaurants.  Oh, that boy has a lot to learn.

The new movie Cars 3 is playing at our local theater so we took the boys to see it last Saturday. 

It was Ben's first movie to see in 3D.  He was not a big fan of the glasses.  They only came in adult sizes and did not fit his little head very well.  When he said his bedtime prayers that night he thanked God that he got to go to the movies but he wished that he didn't have to wear those glasses to see it.  It was all I could do to not start laughing.

Cruz doing a little summer reading.  It makes my back hurt just to look at him sitting like that.

We got a lot of excitement out of watching a frog that was climbing our back window one evening.  The boys were fascinated by it.  I get tickled every time I listen to Ben say "I never seen a frog like that" on the video below.  

In addition to the packing that is going on our house is a literal mess these days.  Because of all the rains the water is seeping into our walls (because our roof is not properly sealed) and causing all of the paint to flake off and fall everywhere.  We are constantly sweeping and dusting it  up.  It is just a mess and something else to cause me stress these days.  I have already added "paint the house" to my list of things to do when we get back from Stateside.  Yes, I am making lists for the States but I am already making lists for our return too.  I am a little crazy about planning ahead.   I have my whole grocery list already wrote out and broken down into the three main stores where we shop.  Once we return from the States I'll know just what we need to get our house restocked.  Call me crazy but it keeps me sane.

The wall in our kitchen.  The rains come in the late afternoons/ evenings.  The walls dry in the mornings when it's sunny and then get all wet again at night.

some of the spots in the living room

Here are some photos of the boys playing one night.  They were pretending to be fighting bulls but needed some horns.  They took a baseball helmet and taped some train tracks to it to make it look like horns.  I love their creativity!

We have spent several days this past week making house visits in different villages.  Some were follow-up from our team and some were just to say good-bye.  Below are a few photos taken on a visit to Chanco.

There is a house down below that hill that we were calling to to see if anyone was home before we hiked down. 

Ben on another trail to make a visit.  He splashed in every mud puddle he passed and loved it.

There is a plant that grows here that my boys love.  I don't know what the name of it is but when you touch it it will shrivel up.  They call it the magic plant.  They are always looking for it when out in the villages.  They love to show it to the teams.

Before leaving the village we let them walk down to the creek and play around.

they love exploring!

A recent visit to the coffee shop in town for lunch.  Of course the boys wanted typical plates (eggs, black beans, plantanos, tortillas, and cream).  It is Cruz's favorite meal to order.

Our microwave has not been working well lately.  It started messing up back in December.  It works a while and then quits a while.  It finally quit working for good a few weeks ago.  I didn't realize how much I use it until I have had to go without it for a few weeks!  We had held on to it just in case it might start working again but decided to put it out with the garbage at the end of the week.  The boys had fun playing with it while we waited on the garbage truck to come.  The garbage man was happy to take it and will probably see if he can get it back going.  I, on the other hand, added "buy a new microwave" to my return list. 

In my pre-planning for our return I have also started getting our school room ready to jump back in to.   Getting settled back into our school routine will be a top priority for me after Stateside.  It makes me laugh to look up and see January on my bulletin board but I'll be glad to be a few steps ahead when I return.

I'm tired y'all.  I am ready to just sit down on the plane and breath for a while.  It will be a short break though because I know that once our feet hit U.S. soil they won't be still for long.  Maybe I can ask the pilot to fly slow.  :-)