And now for something completely different...

... back to school! The kids started classes yesterday, and there was quite the hustle and bustle as everyone put on their uniforms, checked to make sure everything was in their backpack ten, eleven, twelve, twenty times... finally gobbled down enough breakfast so they wouldn't starve, and crashed out the door to catch the van to school. It was a little hectic, but fun... ;)

I remember my mom taking back-to-school photos... which I liked when I was young, and then hated when I was older. And I totally made the kids take back-to-school photos... lol. At least they're young enough that they don't resent it too much...

And I'm sure, Mom, that somewhere deep inside of me there really is joy for that photo of me with big hair, a flowered vest, and cowboy boots... I probably just need to look harder to find it... ;)

Heading out the front: Jenna and I's kids that are in grade school all headed out the door at the same time... while Jenna and I snapped photos! All of her kids are in grade school this year, and three of mine.

Nereida, Ponch, and Aaron... waiting patiently (or not so much) for their picture time!

Yaneli came over during the photo shoot, so I made her pose, too! I hear it's a crime to look this cute in some countries, and I wonder if that's why all my school pictures look dumb, and these kids look adorable... lol.

Braving the morning sun: We even had to do the counting game... "Okay, close your eyes... open them on the count of three; one, two, thr-- no, Aaron! On three, not on two! Okay, again... no, no, Ponch, you can't have your hand up over your face, because I can't see you... try again... Nereida! Please... please stay in one place!" And so it went... and by the fiftieth picture, we had an acceptable one... ;)

All the kids got new backpacks... that are pretty huge for the younger ones... ;)

But... it made for fun pictures, since over half their bodies are covered by their backpacks in this shot... lol.

Diego and José started Kindergarten this year, and thankfully both got into the same school! Praise the Lord! That makes it a lot easier as far as going to parent-teacher conferences, events, etc. Diego will attend this school for two years, and José will go to grade school next year, Lord willing...

Waiting at the gate for their caretaker to stop taking pictures... but how can you resist with two Spiderman backpacks, and two of the cutest kids ever???

One of the puppies on campus right now... her name is Lluvia ("rain" in Spanish), and Candi especially likes hauling them around like they are her baby dolls. Candi is already missing her older siblings, though... since apparently I just do not understand how she wants to rearrange the entire pots and pans cabinet, put pigtails (a.k.a. knots) in my hair, or eat whatever she can find on the floor...

Adults are just no fun sometimes... ;)

Before We Get Back to School...

... a few pictures from this summer! I know that my posting has been sporadic, but it seems like that's life nowadays... ;)

So... an end of summer photo album for you all:

(above) The kids found great joy in climbing the young tree in our front yard... and here is Aaron - little monkey that he is - perched and posed. That was great until they started breaking all the branches, and then we had to have a serious talk about treating our tree friends a little more kindly... ;)

Jenean decided to pull the kids' shirts over their heads one day... and they looked like a squadron of... well, I don't know... a squadron of something... lol.

A drill was donated to CVE, and here are all the kids posing on it... :)

As you might notice, Candi was nada feliz to have to sit on the bottom row... she wanted to climb up in the driver's seat and I wouldn't let her... lol. All the kids: (back) Michel and Ramses, (middle) Blanca, Magda, Ponch, Nere, Yaneli, Jose Mediano, (front) Aaron, Jose Chico, Candi, and Diego.

I call this photo: "Ultimate Satisfaction" - for me, not for Diego... lol.

He has the fluffiest hair, and I love waiting until the last possible second to cut it... because then I get the pleasure of "mowing" down the center. It - sadly - makes my entire day happy... lol.

We had ears of corn to shuck this summer [sidenote: it took me forever to think of the word "shucking" in English... the closest translation in my mind got to "making the corn bald"... lol]. The kids "helped" by making every worm we found their new pet!

Above, the worm-caretakers (Candi, Diego, Aaron, and Julissa) even made a home for the worms...

... and it consisted of the magnetic fishing game you got them, Mom! Did you ever think it would be used for this purpose?!?

Jenean has graciously invited us over to she and Carissa's casita several times, and this was the photo of the last time we ate at her house. Sometimes I think the cleanup after having six children between 2 and 8 is more work than preparing the meal... ;)

The picture on the left: Just helping Candi think more eco-friendly... ;)

And on the right: Safety measures in Mexico... lol. Jose Grande was cutting down some of the limbs from the tree close to the girls' dorm. I took this picture right after the big branch had fallen, but he was hanging over (on his stomach) the branch he's sitting on, balanced without hands or feet touching, using a chainsaw to cut the branch below.

Incredible... that he didn't fall and kill himself, like I surely would have done...!

The other night, the six kids and I went for ice cream, because they helped pull up weeds in the backyard. A lady who was standing there looked at me like I was crazy, and then (as though talking to someone in a mental hospital) kindly asked me whether they were all mine? I laughed and told her that I cared for them, but they weren't "mine." She just shook her head... :)

(L-R) Jose, Nereida, Poncho, Aaron, Diego, and Candi (in front).

Ice Cream continued: (left) Diego made this amazing face, and I wanted to share it! (right) And Ponch has a great smile... this was mid-laugh... :)

"See how he uses a spanner to tighten that nut!"

If you're a Monty Python fan, you're smiling right now, and if not... go check out the Monty Python "bicycle repairman" skit on Youtube. Go. Do it. Right now.

It will make your day happy as well... ;)

Above: All the boys on campus went through this phase of "fixing" the bikes... which involved taking them apart, and putting them back together with all the wrong parts... ;) They actually had a great time doing it, and I was impressed with their ingenuity! The morning I took this photo, Armando was up at 5:45 a.m. to get started with his "work-load."

Thankfully, I had the opportunity to go to Minnesota for Meg and Dale Koch's wedding in late July/early August. While there, my aunt had a houseguest from Guadalajara, who had been Meg's housemother while she studied in Mexico. Blanca didn't speak very much English, so it ended up being a good thing that I could stay with my aunt and help translate... although I'm sure they would have gotten along fine without me!!!

Above, my Aunt Paula and Blanca at my aunt's house in Minneapolis.

I couldn't get this picture of Candi and little Gloria to load correctly, but it was pretty cute, so I used it anyway... and it does make me laugh to think of every person that reads this turning their head sideways to see it better... :)

The Dog Days of Summer...

... culminate in the CVE Family Vacation - Rancho Betania! It does seem like it's a lot of "work" for two days, but the joy that the kids have, the memories, the photos, etc... all combine to make it well worth it in my opinion. Praise the Lord that we were able to go this year, and that He kept everyone safe... :)

Above: The kids (each with their backpacks) ready to head out on Thursday morning.

A front shot...

The two baby girls (Gloria and Kaleigh) were pretty cute in their little swimsuits - above (left) with the "mothers," Bere and Emily. At right, Candi and Nereida after the afternoon swim, and then the afternoon rain... it got a little chilly, so we pulled out the sweater jackets. Nereida was wearing one of Candi's hoodies, and it was just a little too small... ;)

The kids love to take our cameras and capture weird photos. Nereida managed to get this one of Jo-el, which (in my opinion) perfectly sums up his personality... ;)

We brought some twine to hang up clothes, strung it between the tress, and it managed to make the dorm area quite festive!

Diego had this tube almost the entire swim-time one day, and would get an adult to blow it up, and then ten seconds later it would be flat again. Amazingly enough, he went to different adults every time... I think because he recognized that it was a bad idea to annoy one person too much... lol.
Smart kid... :)

The kids also enjoy listening to our iPods. Fede's favorite song is "He's in Love with the Girl" by Trisha Yearwood, and I translated the lyrics for him. So now he just listens to it over and over again, and tells anyone else who is listening what the song means... he's got the melody and chorus down pretty good "singing-wise"... :)

We had a fogata (campfire) on Thursday night, and sang praise songs while David played guitar and Limón "tocared the tambor" (played the drum).

Seated above on the older kids' bench: (l-r) Karla, Michelle, Lili, Lupita, and Fede.

Also at the fogata: Ezequiel, Bere, and Poncho

Pool-Time: David and Jo-el spent some time again this year tossing kids high into the air to do flips, jumps, etc. This is always a fun time for the kids, and makes for some great photos for the rest of us... ;)

Top left: Frankie gets flipped... he was amazing, by the way!

Top right: Magda makes amazing expressions every time she flies into the air... lol.

I just think this photo of little Gloria is great... she's starting to really follow things with her eyes, and she makes some great expressions with her eyebrows. She also has beautiful eyelashes...

Below are a couple videos that I hope you enjoy. The first is David and the kids singing "The Tiburon Song" and the second is Candi with the frog that the kids found. Amazingly, the kids have picked up on my love (okay, the Bahr-girl love) of toads and frogs, and we have a constant supply of "prospective pets" brought for inspection. Candi and Diego really wanted to have this one sleep in their beds in the dorm... ;)

As Far as Numbers Go...

... there's something a little different in the casa... :)

Pictured below: The newest additions to the entourage... José and Nereida!

José is 4 (we think) and Nereida is 6 (we think). They arrived a few weeks ago with the rest of their siblings (five in total), and have quickly become part of the CVE family.

Fun facts about José:

He is obsessed with music... with any and all types, he has his ear pressed to the speakers, completely mesmerized! He also is obsessed with bathing... whether it's washing his hands, his dishes, or himself he somehow manages to take five times as long as the other kids... he's very particular about getting every single spot of dirt removed... ;) And finally... he has the most beautiful little smile. It is absolutely breathtaking, and though he insisted upon making faces for the camera, I hope to catch him with that smile one day... just so all of you can see its beauty... :)

Fun facts about Nereida:

I'm finally learning to pronounce her name better (she gave me permission to say "Nere" instead as a nickname, praise the Lord!), and have learned quickly that this little girl has spirit! She and Aaron make a good pair, because they both have a way of digesting and retaining all kinds of information... even when you'd rather that they forget... ;) She is a master hair-stylist for her dolls, and great fun for Candi, who thinks she is just the coolest big sister ever... lol.

As we begin this new epoch in our "family," I just ask that you would all pray for both Nereida and José that they would feel security and love here, and that - more importantly - they would learn every day how much their Father in Heaven loves them. And for wisdom for all the caretakers, that we would bring them up to know and have a relationship with The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

(Above) José, Poncho, Nereida (back row), Diego, Aaron, and Candi pose before heading off for Vacation Bible School last week.

"Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 19:13-14.

"Pero Jesús dijo: Dejad a los niños venir a mí, y no se lo impidáis; porque de los tales es el reino de los cielos." - San Mateo 19:14