Magdalena Vignettes

The rainy season has started early here in Sonora [I have been told, but we'll see!], and so we have recently had a couple of short downpours... which, of course, means lots of wet clothing, tracked mud, and happy kids... :)

A week or so ago, this was the group of mud-puppies (above) after the afternoon showers...

Mario was so excited to be the muddiest of the entire group!

And actually... when I was washing them all off with the hose, the mud had actually stained his skin... :)

At the moment, we have three or four containers of "dress-up" clothes -- which is great fun for the kids, and supremely entertaining for the adults...

Yaneli and Tania helped the younger kids (Ram, Aaron, Diego, and Nere) get all costumed-up. And then they came up to the porch to get their pictures taken... of course!

(Left) I love this picture of Ramses -- he does look like a thug... but one with a really soft heart; or maybe just a good sense of humor!

(Right) Aaron in go-go boots... and a purse. Note to all: I was not responsible for this outfit! This time anyway... ;)

Nereida came and knocked on the door the other afternoon and told me she had my birthday cake ready... and here it was!

It was symmetrically beautiful (tasted kinda funny, though, if you can imagine).

Isn't she beautiful?

With summer come fun colors... and fun peppers that the kids were super-hesitant about trying. But they lived, and I got to enjoy cutting up so many beautiful colors all together!

All these colors, shapes, and forms that God has given us to enjoy... it can be overwhelming and awe-inspiring -- His perfection even in the smallest details!

The cat had kittens the other day -- and all the kids sat on the porch to watch! I remember watching our cat give birth to kittens when I was a little girl -- and it was the coolest thing ever. I think these kids were feeling something of the same... :)

There was even stadium-seating!!!

The kids gathered around the box of kittens the following day... please notice Aaron's shirt-covered nose. Apparently he was slightly grossed out by the entire thing, because it really didn't smell that bad... :)

The Friday night before last, we had supper with our entire house -- Jenna and her kids, Bere and Gloria, and my kids and me. Before supper had commenced, Jenna got all the older kids together to play "Around the World" with Bible Story questions... it was a lot of fun to just listen!

The eleven older kids at our picnic table out back of the house -- now that the nights are nice, it's enjoyable to have supper on the back porch... even when it's a tight squeeze for everyone!

After supper that night, the Zobrist family had invited us over for a movie with popcorn and smoothies. The kids loved it, and I have a feeling they'll be asking for that treat again... :)

The Zobrists also have a couple hammocks in their yard... Candi (left) loved them. And proceeded to almost fall out of them forty times [that's an exaggeration... but there were quite a few close calls!].

Jenna (right) liked them, too -- for sleeping, I think... ;)

For some reason, she didn't want me to take her picture! hmmm...

And I just love this photo. Diego and Aaron have gotten into the habit of asking to wear the exact same outfits to church on Wednesday nights. In fact, they get annoyed if I would even think of having them wear something else... ;)