Hey Gramps!

Atrociously Overdue.

I should have used that as the name of this post, but... [cough] since I imagine it's already flitting through the minds of every single one of you... I won't worry too much about it... :)

Dad made his annual visit to Magdalena the week of Thanksgiving, and it was amazing. The kids (especially Candi) kept calling him "Papa" - stemming, I believe, from the fact that it's a whole lot easier to say "papa" than use the American pronunciation for "J" in Jeff - and it made my heart very full to see how wonderfully they respond to positive male interaction.

Even when there's a "language barrier" -- which is truly no barrier at all. :)

Above... Dad and the surrogate "grandkids" on Sunday morning before church.

My Dad is a big man -- these children are relatively small. Hence, the beauty of this photo! Just to see Aaron and Dad's smiles gives me warm fuzzies... :)

Dad was a trooper. He heard me wake up every morning at 5, and then the kids stomped into the living room at 5:50 a.m. to get ready to go to school. They tried to be really, really quiet (even while tip-toeing around the front of the couch to see if the giant beast was really, truly asleep), which lasted for about 10 seconds, and then a yell, a sneeze, or somebody slamming the bathroom door would inevitably happen... and Papa Bahr's morning had begun... lol.
This picture was taken Sunday morning after the kids "slept in" and then wanted to snuggle under the blanket with Dad on the couch. Awwwwwwwww... :)

Something I can clearly see, and freely admit is that these kids (especially the boys) do not get all the male interaction they need -- someone to go out in the barn and work on machinery with while getting covered in dirt and grease, someone to wrestle with, someone to... [okay, brain lapse... I'm sure there are lots of manly things they could and should be doing... like eating nails with bloody cow-burgers after hunting all day using a big stick as a massive killing device and then sleeping on the ground with nothing but the dew as a blanket... but I'm coming up short. Maybe because I'm not a man... ;) ]

*Warning -- there could be facetiousness in the above statements.*

However, it was neat to watch how avidly the kids wanted to be a part of whatever projects Dad could find to do (no... he doesn't "sit" very well... lol) -- and I will never forget the sight of all six kids holding hands with one another and Dad and heading across campus... ready to conquer the world. :)

Every morning after Dad left to go eat breakfast with the team in the dining hall, Candi would ask, "Papa... trabajar?" - "Dad... to work?" It made me smile remembering a certain quote from my sister on the home-made (and relatively private... you have to be a really good friend to listen to those babies... lol) recordings my mom made when we were little...

"Where's your Dad, Tifani?"
"He's workin' -- bery, BERY hard!"

Candi liked to equip Dad with his yearly supply of chapstick before he headed out -- which usually involved (at least) 10 coats... :)

See the video below...

Dad also did "reading time" with the kids... and even though it was in English, they just ate it up... :)


The last morning of his visit, Dad and I took a picture outside of the house. I remember taking a picture in front of the volunteer dorms two years ago the afternoon he was heading out from his first visit to Magdalena -- incredible how quickly time can pass... and yet how so much can sometimes stay the same.

Thanks for coming, Dad... [in Bahr lingo] "good times"... :)
I love you.

Tif flew into Tucson the last day of Dad's visit, so we drove up earlier than the bus to pick her up, and then got to spend several (okay... like 9... lol) hours together.
Good times... though a relatively long one... ;)

More on Tif's visit in the next post!!!