Bahia de Kino & Lots of Sand

One example of the festive artwork left in the sand...
Everyone getting brave enough to step into the water...
"Will you bury me?"
More artwork...
The 3 Amigos... scowling mightily...
We brought back a bucket-and-a-half of gorgeous beach shells...
Plenty of good photo opportunities...
Daniel kept getting stuck... thankfully Jeff got him out... before the pantalones made a final descent... =)
Pretty much we all looked this cool... but Bill might win the beauty contest prize...!
Katie & I made a stash of "sandballs" instead of "snowballs"... this is how you celebrate December on the beach!

Thursday we took a trip to Bahia de Kino - a present the kids had received for Christmas, which included a bus ticket (on our super-duper yellow school bus) and a coupon for a Happy Meal at McDonald's. Let me say before I even begin this post that I am grateful to those individuals who let me use their pictures... they (fortunately) did not "lose" their camera (meaning it was stuck between my bed and the wall) and have to forego the pleasure of happily snapping photos right and left... entonces, gracias!

So... we arrived at the beach after a 3-hour drive which included a LifeSaver contest (with some of the contestants managing to keep their LifeSaver alive for longer than an hour... it was truly amazing), a creative fuzzy wire contest (some of these creations were definitely magical), kids praise songs (once again creatively embarked upon, and embellished by the front half of the bus being three measures ahead of the back of the bus), and snacks (of course "snacks"... we're AC's!!!).

The water was beautiful, the sand was gorgeous, the sun was shining... but we all about froze after plunging into the icy water. I've never seen shivering like I saw that day (kids and adults both), and the subsequent trips back into the water even when your lips are completely purple, goosebumps look like goose eggs, and suddenly your eyelashes seem to be shedding frozen shards. But really... it's the beach... it's not like you're not going to go in for a brief swim... or two, or three, or...

The kids played in the water, helped Brian Ricketts build a gi-normous sand castle, went on a walk, changed clothes three or four times (since they kept getting their "dry" clothes wet again), and found great amusement in throwing food up into the air for the birds (until we warned them that great flocks of birds circling overhead was likely to result in those same birds haciendo popo - you know what this means... lol - on someone's head).

Speaking of birds, I was drying off on the sand at one point, eyes closed, when I heard the muffled, treacherous sounds of fifty-some birds surrounding me, beady eyes surveying my ten little toes as a potential food source (they weren't saying "mine, mine, mine" like in Finding Nemo, but I think they might have been saying it in Spanish). Not wanting to share with them (since I am, admittedly, partial to keeping all ten of those little toes), I sat up, glared ferociously at all of them, and yelled "Birma!" at the top of my voice (if you aren't a Monty Python fan, let me just explain that this is a quote from one of their penguin-on-the-telly skits). This at least seemed to startle them away, and I happily laid back down, dug my toes into the sand (covered at least), and waited for the next potential threat to come...

All in all it was a beautiful day, and I believe the kids (and adults) had a great time... despite the fact that everyone has the potential of sneezing and snuffling right through the New Year! Maybe we'll go back when it's just a little bit warmer next time...!

p.s. (CVE has no connection to the Internet right now because of an accident which took out the main pole... which also means phone lines aren't working. Hopefully all will be back to normal in a week or so. We'll keep in better touch then!!!)

Have a "bite" of cake...

Amy couldn't find "23" so I actually turned "94" yesterday...

I was told that I was aging rather well... =)

The kids getting ready (they kindly removed my glasses) for the "mordita" (bite) of cake. It's usually customary to resist for a little bit... and so my neck muscles are killing me this morning...
In the action of smashing me, myself, and I's face into the cake...
The grand finale...

Yesterday was my birthday... a day that should be filled with fun, delight, humor, etc. A day where your close friends gather 'round, showing their love and appreciation for your presence in their midst. A day when no one would wish you ill or hope that your face would get shoved into a chocolate cake, liberally decorated with whipped cream, until you realize that there is a reason you can't breathe... the pastel (cake) up your nose.

No one here would think of doing such a thing.

It just wouldn't be done.

Yeah, right.

It is a tradition in Mexico for the "mordita" to take place... the birthday girl/boy gets her/his face shoved into their birthday cake, and then has to eat the part that gets touched. So in a roundabout way it's a good thing... the bigger the face-shove, the more cake you get to eat!

Let me just insert here that I didn't finish my piece of cake since it didn't really exist after the face-plant... lol. But... it was certainly a good time, and other than cleaning out cake and whipped cream from nose, mouth, and eyes... it was a fun birthday present... =)

I would also like to send a brief shout-out to my friend Amy... who bought the candles (94), made the cake (I think), cut my "face plant" piece, and (lovingly) added a 3-inch thick helping of whipped topping to my piece of cake, which she didn't give to anyone else... I wonder why???

In honor of her help, well-wishes, and dedication, I would like to post this picture of another "Merry Christmas" surprise administered to her the other day... it was beautiful... =)

Merry Christmas!

Andres, modeling a hat and scarf sent down by a group of church ladies... all the kids in Sunday school received a hat and scarf as well as "dulces" (candy) after the program...
Armando as the burro for Mary and Joseph in the Christmas play performed by the oldest Sunday school class... it was especially exciting when his saddle kept slipping off during the walk to Bethlehem!!!
Michelle in her angel outfit... several of the children's families helped make the costumes for the play.
Serving a Mexican Christmas meal! Carne asada (grilled beef) with tortillas, guacamole, beans, lettuce, a tomato-chili-onion mix (which has a name, but I obviously don't know it... lol), and every type of cookie imaginable...
After opening presents... Federico, Michelle, and Laura take time out from playing games to pose on one of the tables for a picture. The boys and girls all received fleece PJ's for Christmas, which was fun snuggling up to for all of the adults!
Gabriel and Andres "play" some Christmas tunes while parking their new "carritos" (little cars) behind the hymn books...
Paola (as Santa Claus with a bagful of brightly colored trash and the most innovative beard I've seen) holds Yanelli on her lap, telling her she's been a good girl this year and therefore can have a present... what would she like? "Lots of candy!" is the not-so-surprising reply...!!! But maybe her two front teeth would come in more handy??? =)

*A very Merry Christmas to my family and friends wherever you may be! I am so thankful for each of you in my life, and pray that God will direct your paths and footsteps until we meet again! Thanks for reading along on this journey... te quiero mucho, y Feliz Navidad! *

Mopping in the AM

The problem.

The area.

The result.

The remains.

So we had just returned home from a long day at the orphanage and were getting ready to settle into our cozy, pre-heated, comfy beds when...

"Ah. Ahhhh. AHHHHHHHH!!!" emanated from the other room, followed by a loud crash and more yelps of panic.

"Ummm... Carissa? Everything okay?"

"Well..."

Rounding the corner from my room, I watched in awe as Carissa frantically tried to stem the flowing tide of water from our 5 gallon (yeah right... more like 20 gallon) jug, and then raced to find containers to fit the remaining 2 cuarts of our precious agua in while the other 19 gallons and 2 cuarts gently seeped across the tile floor, filling crevices, depressions, and holes with a half-inch to an inch of water.

"Okay, okay... ahhh... how 'bout... the mop!"

"Towels!"

"Both!"

Pushing the water across the floor while we tried to sop it up and then dumping it into our little red bucket, we quickly realized that a five-inch square mop was no match for the water covering an area of about 20 feet... time for desperate measures.

Ripping off my socks, grabbing the mop handle, and sliding into place, I began shimmying the water (I don't know if that is a verb... give me a break... you know what I mean) across the floor, around the corner, and out the front door. Carissa followed behind... swiping, dabbing, and wringing out sopping towels...

"How did this happen?"

"Well... I don't remember if I usually take the lid off before I lift the water bottle upside down or not... but it... well, I just dropped it and it split. That thick of plastic isn't supposed to break that easily is it?"

Deciding that the plastic obviously should not break that easily (even when dropped from a 3 foot height, full of water), that it must have hit a direct pressure point (of course), and that it was (in all honesty) a pretty darn impressive rip up the side, we terminated our sloshing efforts, left the rest of the floor to dry, and headed to the fridge for rejuvenation...

...where Carissa opened the door, grabbed a bottle of yogurt which flew out of her hand and clattered to the ground, while I slipped on a remaining trickle of water, slammed the refrigerator door (which then shed its papers and magnets onto the ground in a heap), and then shouted,

"Carissa is throwing yogurt, I'm knocking papers on the ground..."

"AND OUR PETS' HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!" cried Carissa.

We are just hoping it doesn't freeze tonight, because that is going to be one nasty surprise to forget about and then slip on in the morning...

What a night... ;)

A Small Tribute...

(My camera case which I recently realized is a "Samsonite")

Harry: What's her last name? I'll look it up.

Lloyd: You know, I don't really recall. Starts with an S! Let's see. Swim? Swammi? Slippy? Slappy? Swenson? Swanson?

Harry: Maybe it's on the briefcase.

Lloyd: Oh, yeah! It's right here.

[He reads the manufacturer's name, which is Samsonite.]

Lloyd: Samsonite! I was way off! I knew it started with an S, though.

(You see... every day small things can bring joy... lol)

It Was A Starry Night...

It doesn't get much "cooler" than this outfit... that's right... =)

Alas... hot chocolate, not coffee this time...

The meteor-gazing troupe... blankets wrapped, hot chocolate ready...

Trying to use the telescope that didn't work (even after Jeff pointed it in the right direction - i.e. not at the ground)... =)

Trying to get a better view... Jeff climbed aboard the CVE school bus...

... when the meteor shower slammed into Earth, killing thousands of people, spreading chaos across the globe and a shivering fear of the unknown into the hearts of the bravest. There were only four people who could handle this job, and it was time to head into the "great beyond" of outer-space to drill a hole into one of the largest meteors in the history of humankind, detonating a bomb deep inside to break apart the meteor so that the pieces could avoid crashing into Earth's...

wait. wrong story. wrong setting. must have seen that in the gas station. rewind, start again.

... when Carissa, Jeff, Joel and I headed out into the "great beyond" - which amazingly enough is out back of the kitchen, next to the corn field (who knew?) - to watch the meteor shower on Thursday night... and incidentally to freeze to death.

Dressed in at least four layers (if you were smart and a woman), or only one layer (if you were not so smart and a man), the four of us bundled our chairs, blankets, hot chocolate, pretzels, and coffee mugs (please notice we have all the essentials here) outside to sit under a dazzling display, watching the "shooting stars" fill the night sky, and chatting about casual topics such as... dying from being hit by a meteor.

"What would you do if one of those was headed toward you?"
"Run."
"Would you run? Or just sit there and let it come... since odds are that you would be killed anyway?"
"I feel like... I would probably run."

Having bragged that I was nice and toasty warm in my four layers of clothing, it was rather dismaying to find that suddenly I could not feel my feet. Or the tip of my nose. Or my hands. Or my...

Definitely time for a warm-up. Carissa had filled one of the gallon containers with hot chocolate, and as we sipped (our chocolate cooling very, very quickly in the chilly air) from our mugs, listening to the shush of tires on the highway's pavement back behind the orphanage grounds, feeling the wind wrap its icy fingers across your ears and lips, breathing in the warm breath of chocolate steam, and watching the fiery tails of burning stars drift across the sky... who could help waxing philosophical?

"It makes you feel really small, doesn't it?" asked Joel.

Indeed. Small and tiny and ever-so-thankful that there is Someone else in total control. Here we sit beneath a sky filled with light... millions and millions of stars and particles that we haven't even discovered, and yet our Father in heaven knows every one.

Cool.

Which it literally was... and as we finally headed inside after braving the cold air for almost two hours, I felt so happy. This is the same sky that my family and friends look up at in Kansas, that my friend sees stretching across the horizon in Slovakia, and that my Grandpa looks down on from up above.

Small, insignificant, and yet connected in some indefinable way with every other person who can sit outside and wish upon a falling star...

Coffee Part Two: My First Recruit

Slightly apprehensive...

Gettin' to the good stuff...

Lovin' it...!!!

(Notice Recruit #2 almost convinced on the right... lol)

Coffee is probably the greatest love of my life...

I mean no offense to the other loves of my life with this statement (i.e. water, air, food, and those great little yogurt thingies from Morelia)... but really... I can't imagine life without it.

Perhaps this is the problem.

You see... we had a staff meeting the other day. As usual a "pot" (the quotation marks are used to exemplify that "pot" here is equivalent to when Grandma M. says, "light snack" = "full course meal"... lol) of coffee was brought to the room. As isn't usual, only two cups of coffee were served. This equals... oh, I don't know... 14, maybe 15, cups of coffee left in the container, if not more.

What to do? Surely we shouldn't waste it?!?

Well, friends... addiction stepped to the fore, said "me, me, me!!!" loaded up the container, and hauled it to my "office." At its new location, the coffee was put into prime position, given two (not one, but TWO) cups to fill at half-hour intervals, and severely depleted (here I am trying to tactfully say... "there was barely a drop left") by early afternoon.

I would like to pretend that this addiction is something new, something unexpected... a change from the status quo... a race into unexplored waters, a challenge to "being stuck in a rut!" I would like to pretend that "let's go have coffee" wasn't said more than five or six times per day when I was in school... or that I wasn't seriously, seriously worried about the tiny 4-cup coffee-maker that Tif's roommate left behind for me to use over the summer (since my, ahem... 12-cup coffee-maker bit the dust... yes, it was a struggle not to cry)... or that the choice between having enough money to buy coffee or supper has been a weighty decision I have dealt with more than once...

But alas... it's pretty much the story of my life.

So... we have decided that I have a serious drinking problem.

This can only be remedied by one thing, I believe...

That's right, my thoughts exactly: constant exposure in the hopes that it will grow old.

It's bound to work, don't you think???

I am going to train my coffee-drinking abilities to "go the distance" through marathon-chugging of two or three "pots" of coffee a day. Henceforth, I shall have this "pot" of coffee on my desk every day (if I can sneak it past Joe and Jeff), will faithfully drink from its aromatic ambrosia, and will convince as many people as possible to join me in this vitally important endeavor of life and love...

If you wish to join this movement, come to "Steph's office," located in the back of "Jenna's house," right beside the "Adult Library Closet/Jenna's Sewing Room," underneath the single bulb that about fell out of the ceiling the other day (not, of course, because I tugged too hard on its string), and behind the coolest L-shaped desk you've ever seen in your life...

And there we shall be. My love and I... =)

Just A Candle in the Window

My Aunt Paula sent me this awesome Northern Woodland Nativity set, and even though I don't think Baby Jesus had woodland pinecones for his manger, it certainly brings back sights and smells of Christmas for me... I love it... thank you AP!

I don't think I ever said to myself, "Hey, Steph, you're moving to Mexico and you should probably take along your woolen coat, scarves, mittens, heavy socks, and heating blanket." But I have needed them all in the past few weeks... multiple times... crazy, huh?

Above, Eli... wearing one of her winter getups during church on Sunday.

The other night we had movie-watching (The Polar Express), popcorn-chewing (more ended up on the floor than anywhere else and Zion - the dog - had to clean up), and hot-chocolate-drinking time at the Schick's house... it was wonderful, and as we all snuggled on the couch (above, Yanelli and I about half way through the film) I drifted back to my precious Christmas memories....

Dad, Mom, Tif, Chel and I sitting around the living room with no lights on, watching the "first fire" (woodstove) of the season, drinking Mom's homemade hot chocolate that has been ladled out of the green soup bowl on the stove... lying on my stomach in front of the stereo listening to the Christmas music of Alabama, Glen Campbell, The Lettermen, and Montovani's Orchestra float through the room... getting annoyed with the tinny music from the blinking Christmas lights (that blinked in rhythm with the music, I might add) on the windows and tree... waking up in my room upstairs and seeing my breath white in the predawn light spilling through the northern windows... watching the little kids at church perform their Christmas program, and then rushing to the fellowship hall for exchanges, games, cider, and caramel-coated popcorn... caroling to all the dear faces of our Kiowa congregation, fingertips and nose turning bright red as you ride through the crisp air on a trailer with hay bales, holding squirming kidlets on your lap... singing "The Night that Love was Born in a Manger," and "Stille Nacht" fifty million times (I know you love them Mom...! =P)... reading the Christmas story from St. Luke with the whole family gathered in Grandma Mildred's front room, and then the "Christmas story" afterward from Guideposts that always, always, always makes Mom, Grandma M., and I cry... watching It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas with my college buddies every year as we drink coffee and snack on leftovers from the "open houses" at Bethany... walking through the fields at Grandma and Grandpa Rudy's house for our "Christmas walk"... and of course stepping out into the crisp, winter air of a still, Kansas night while you breathe in snowflake particles, Christmas hymns drift through your mind, and you look into the vast blue-black blanket of sky crocheted with stars, and think... "We are so blessed... thank you, Lord."

Yes, I will miss being home this Christmas... but I would miss being here, too. And I think... no, I know... that letting these kids experience Christmas with all the love we have in our hearts and that we've tucked away from our years at home is incredibly important. So as the holiday keeps getting closer, I am rejoicing... rejoicing that we can be here to love, to sing, and to praise the birth of Your son, Father... and to let these kids rejoice as well!

"A Candle in the Window" - performed by Alabama.

There’s a road that I remember leading to a special place
Where the door was always open to a smiling face
There’s a picture on the mantle of a boy that looks like me
It’s always the same, there’s a stocking with my name

And a candle in the window, a flame against the night
There’s a candle in the window, it’s like God’s perfect light
It don’t take a lot of money to know what riches are
Just a candle in the window

Maybe it’s just wishful thinking
I can hear the sleigh bells ring
Almost taste the pie mama’s baking,
it’s Christmas Eve

Wherever the years may take me, no matter how far I go
There’s going to be a candle burning, it’s always nice to know
It don’t take a lot of money to know what riches are
Just a candle in the window and Christmas in your heart

500 Diapers... almost literally...

Right before someone got beaned in the head with the "window baton," and then there was a dirty diaper...

Right before the toys were thrown into the furnace, and three dirty diapers magically appeared in less than five minutes...

Right before touching the ornaments on the Christmas tree yet AGAIN (10th time, maybe), and getting smacked on the fingers, and finding yet another surprise in someone's diaper...

Right before the piano lid crashed down on little fingers, the piano books slid off onto a little head, and someone turned to run away, slipped, and crashed into the piano bench... and then... you guessed it... we had dirty diapers...

Monday morning witnessed the departure of the beloved Jenna to Tucson for some much-needed R&R, while her little joys (Andres, Gabriel, Timi, and Moises) were left in the charge of me, myself, and I for a day and a half. I soon discovered, however, that "I" had made a serious miscalculation... and "me" and "myself" weren't far behind.

You see... it had been... well... probably seven or eight years since I last changed a diaper. And I certainly hadn't done it while trying to explain (in Spanish) why the horses on the ceiling (drawings) were there, why the pink lotion couldn't be squirted down one's pants, why my glasses didn't belong in the diaper container, why it was not a good thing to roll off the changing table, why the diaper couldn't go on one's head, and why my hair wasn't edible.

It was even more fun to hear, "Donde esta Jenna? Cuando va a regresar? Si? Si? Si?" ["Where is Jenna? When is she going to come back? Yes? Yes? Yes?"] Jenna, my friend... you are loved. I was only asked where you were, why you were there, and when you were coming back every... oh, I don't know... ten minutes or so.

So to recount... three of my favorite moments ("favorite" being a relative term here because I am glad nothing bad happened, and I can laugh now):

1. We were painting watercolors in the morning (countdown: 7 diapers down, 100 more to go... before noon), and Timi was having some issues whining. So... we went outside to "talk about our feelings," and when we came back I saw that Moises had this beautiful cerulean blue color coating his cheeks, chin, tongue, and teeth. Oh... what a little cutie. A little cutie who had just imbibed his entire cup of water... that's right... the water for his paintbrush... chock-full of blue, green, brown, and purple paint. Yummmm. So, like any mom, I prayed that the watercolors weren't toxic, made him spit, wiped his tongue off, tried to get him to drink more water (which he poured all over himself), gave him a little paddle on his butt, and sent him off to eat dirt... which he does regularly, and seems to digest well.

2. Nighttime. Almost asleep. The boys have been showered, put to bed with hugs, kisses, prayers, and songs, and I am about to drift into oblivion. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! shrieks an alarm from somewhere in Jenna's room, and in my sleep-hazed panic I figure that a child is being murdered, and I have been sleeping on the job... so I jump up, catch my toe on the rug, stumble head-first into the wall, jump around on one foot while massaging my banged cranium, finally locate the direction the terrible noise is emanating from... and find a watch that has no band, no light, but the loudest alarm I have ever heard in my life. Pushing buttons I finally get the noise to stop, and crawl gratefully back into bed. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! once again, and rushing this time to stop the noise I peer closely at its darkened face, until I can make out the button "RESET," which I do push, and then doubt will work... so I carry the watch into the bathroom (this is the rational part), stuff it between the folds of a towel back in a corner, and close the door on it. Ha... that's right watch. Can't get the best of me. Stupid alarms.

3. "Effany! Effany! Phny! Phny! Eph! Eph! Pthhhhh! Pthhhh!" These are my new names, christened by the four little balls of dynamite listed above. These are also the names yelled every time I needed to watch someone jump off the top step, look at the giant Santa Claus in the neighbor's yard, acknowledge that I heard the train too, and yes, I think that is an airplane in the sky, read a story, sing "Deep and Wide" five times in a row, play dead on the floor while clambered on top of by four squirming little bodies, push the swing faster, or remember to kiss the "me duele" [I hurt] spots...

What a joy!

What a ton of work...

What a lot of respect I have (yet again) for my co-worker.

What a bunch of really, really smelly diapers... ;)

Good Times, Great Groupies

Wow... what a week... but definitely a cool bunch of people! However, I am tired so I am going to let the pictures mostly speak for themselves on this post!

The Denver/Altadena work team was here, and... the "mystery guest" - a.k.a my dad! (Even though the "mystery guest" part didn't really work out that well... lol) While the work team painted rooms, moved furniture and tools, put in a sprinkling system for the grounds, and did odd jobs, the CVE staff and children got the benefit of their company and conversation... which was, of course, fabulously stimulating. =)

Dad stayed with me in the casita (little house) in town, and every morning we headed out to eat breakfast with the work team (yes... at 7:30... a.m.... every morning... I know I am a wimp compared to the rest of my co-workers, but I was definitely dragging...).

Most of the team left yesterday, Saturday, but some stayed for the testimony and subsequent baptism of our dear sister in Christ, Ruth... and what a blessed couple of days it was! I am so thankful that we have Ruth here, and that we were able to hear her version of the changes in her life... even though Dad had just a little difficulty since it was all in espanol!!!

It was wonderful to have Dad here, too... sometimes I think we don't realize how much we miss talking face to face with our family until we see them again... and then it hits you that that person has known you all your life. With them, you can sit in the kitchen and cry for 30 minutes when you are so full of emotion that tears are the only outlet, and they won't care... or lose your car keys three times in two days, and they won't be surprised... or sit on the bed looking up Loreena McKennitt music for forty minutes, and they won't be bored... or sit at a table throwing verbal punches back and forth, laughing your head off, and know that that person will laugh right along with you.

Thanks for coming, Dad...

Amy, Carissa, and Jeff all arrive back at CVE on Tuesday and it will be good to see everyone. In the meantime, hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I promise to post again soon...!