Grandma's in the House...

... making cookies, kissing "ouchies," and doing a little bit (just a tiny bit) of spoiling... ;)

Mom came down this past extended weekend, and the kids and I thoroughly enjoyed her presence! It was just a little bit weird hearing her called "Nana" or "Abuela" ("grandma") the whole time, though... lol. Definitely one of those, "How old am I again?" life check moments... ;)

(Left) Candi and Mom as we did a morning walking tour through the church building. (Right) Diego checks out the horned toad we found... he named it Jorgina (lots of guttural "h" sound in that when pronounced in Spanish... lol), and it quickly became the house pet. The house pet, in turn, quickly "escaped" - maybe with just a little bit of help - since it was being "petted" right into an early grave... :)

Mom slathers lotion on Diego during the night routine...

(Left) Mom reads to Candi from the new books she brought down, and (at right) displays one of her birthday gifts from the kids... I think she maybe got a few less than fifty-million colored pictures to take home... ;)

Finally... some RED in the house... ;)
Mom and Dad gifted the kidlets with some CaseIH tractors, which have been a huge hit... I think Jenean really likes them a lot, too... lol.

Mom and I in the church building...

And, of course... we had a birthday cake face-smashing!

The kids were really gentle, and even wanted to rub noses with Mom after the mordita. She must be extra special or something... ;)

Sunday Slip 'n Slide...

Sunday afternoon I was sitting in my room reading and suddenly heard a frenzied pounding on the door... opening it quickly, I encountered Poncho (breathless with excitement) who begged, begged, begged me to let him get wet.

"What?" I asked him [Okay... obviously not in English], and allowed myself to be drug outside the front door where I heard shrieks and laughter coming from the side of the house. Rounding the corner, I saw several of the kids and the Ringleader Big Kid (David)hosing down two tarps with water and soap to make a waterslide... and immediately went for my camera... lol.

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?!? :)

At left, Tania and Angel and Daniel have a "crash" moment... these were not infrequent, nor far between... is that using the "double negative" a little too much??? ;)

At right, Aaron "tests" the slightly chilly water from the hose...

The girls form a chain to get pushed down the hill while the boys grapple in "mock-wrestling" and Poncho stands on the side trying to warm up a little bit...

At left, Yaneli and Blanca smile for the camera, and - at right - David splashes (crashes?) to a finale... everyone knew when they heard "AQUI VENGO!" ["Here I come!"] that it was the Big Kid's turn, and that they should get out of the way... ;)

A Photo Album

Sometimes I look back through my pictures and realize how many different "little" things have happened that would be so great to share... bits and pieces of our lives that make an incredible memory album. And then I realize that if someone were taking snapshots of every day of our lives, and writing down the little memorable things that have happened, all the sidenotes, the twists, the turns, the challenges, the changes... we would never be able to get it all down. It would never fit in volumes of books, let alone on a blog... :)

Pages and photographs cannot contain a life lived.

But... they can bring us joy, sadness, laughter, tears... they can bring us additions to our memories. Here are a few pictures that I found in my latest "look-back" session for the past three months, and I hope you enjoy...

"To everything there is a season, and time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace...

He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end...

I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anthing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him."

- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11, and 14

It was time for a White Wedding...

This past weekend Jon & Amy Gerst came for their Mexican reception here in Magdalena. It was a joyful time, and I am so thankful that the kids were able to participate in some of the "wedding" excitement (Diego and Poncho must have asked me at least ten times the week prior to their coming why it was that Amy needed to get married... somehow the fact that she was already married just didn't manage to sink in... lol). Above, Amy and Jon pose with all the girls and the "wedding cake." The girls all got to dress up, sit at the head table, and decorate the cake and the dining room for the reception. They did an awesome job...

Jon & Amy's plane ended up getting in relatively late to Tucson, so we viejitas decided that waiting up was not really an option. Instead... we made a sign. Obviously CVE staff have something about decorating with spray paint and extra sheets... ;)

At top, Jenna decorates... in the bottom pic, Jenna gets decorated by the mud on the way back from draping the sheet down at the dorms. It was a very, very graceful descent into that mud, though... lol.

At the reception: The girls, Amy, and Jon at the head table.

At left, Carissa and Gloria pause for a minute during decorating time to take a photo. At right, Uriel looked quite suave in his polo and tie... the gorilla that whistles was just an extra special touch... ;)

Top, Jenean and her father, Tom, sit in the kitchen during the reception. The Schambachs have been visiting this past week (doing amazing work in the field with Jenean and in the kitchen... thanks for the rolls, Connie!). Bottom, some CVE staffers wait for their turn to pass through the reception's food line: (l-r) Juan-ton (is this how we're spelling it?), Seth, Bere, and Gloria.

The tulle and streamers that were used for the reception were then utilized over and over again by the kids... we had wedding all day long. Oh yes, indeed, dear friends. Top left, Poncho told me he was "flying." Top right, Candi is... well, adorable. Bottom left, Ezequiel stands to military attention. And bottom right, Diego let me wrap him like a present.

Amy and Jon walked down the dirt path next to the fields to get back for the "second reception," which was just for the CVE family. Here, Jon helps her with her heels, which - for some odd reason - were slightly difficult with the rocky terrain... ;)

The girls were all lined up on the cancha, waiting for Amy and Jon to get back. They are amazingly beautiful...

At the end of the "second reception," Jon and Amy sang "Con que Pagaremos" together. It was a nice touch to end the wedding festivities... :)

Mom, this pic is for you... I hadn't posted one yet of my roommate, Bere... sheesh, what a jerk I am... ;)

Bere is going to be helping out with Jenna's kids these next few weeks while Jenna is in Indiana (for which I might possibly forever be indebted to her... lol), and I know we've all been grateful for her work in the schoolroom and with Blanca and Michel... she is amazingly, amazingly patient... ;)