Car Conversation

Here is a portion of a conversation in our car the other day on the way to school...

Chris: Do you guys know that you can never hide from God?

Johnny: Well, sometimes I forget about God.

Chris: Me too, Johnny. I try to do things through the day to help me remember Him like thank Him for the good things or ask Him to help me when I need it.

Johnny: Yeah, I'm going to ask Him to make the days til we go home go fast. At least the last 8 days have gone fast.

And then, a little bit later...

Johnny: When I grow up, I want to have a bunch of dogs that are good. And if they're lost, I'll take them. I'll have about 15. Then I'll start with cats who like dogs. And I'd like to have a calm wife who will probably be grumpy when she doesn't sleep enough. We'll have zero girls and two or three boys.

Hmmm.

ELEVEN

David turns 11 tomorrow. I'm not sure where the time has gone.

He is one of my favorite people and I am so thankful for the privilege to be his mom.

He's helpful and funny and a really good soccer player.


He's curious and creative.


He loves making up games, obstacle courses, and directing his brothers.

He's smart and encouraging and responsible.
Today he said, "I didn't like doing my math, but I liked getting it done."
(He has been working through the Spanish Math book that his school uses and has almost completed the entire year in one month.)

I am continually amazed at his willingness to go into new situations that he realizes are necessary but I know he despises. He does it without complaining and sets a good example for his brothers.

He has developed a new desire to travel the world and learn more languages. After Spanish, he intends to learn Portugese, French and then German. And I have no doubt he'll do it. We got him a world map for his birthday along with some money from Brazil and Uruguay. He's already begun saving for his world travels.
(He's standing in front of the Panama Canal in the above photo.)

I'm not sure how come I got such a great kiddo. Must be his dad's genes...

Happy Birthday, David.

I love you to the sky a google times... and back.

A Boy's Best Friend

Andrew + Buddy.

New Friends & Field Trips

We found some new friends! It's a bit of a long story, but suffice it to say that each day I am reminded that God will provide. Sometimes it's just enough to get us through that particular day. Last Wednesday, His provision came when I was feeling very lonely. I met a family from Australia who has been in Argentina for the past 3 years ministering to many of the University students here.

(Did you know there are close to 150,000 of these students in the city?)

In about a week, they are returning to Australia for a time, but we are thankful to begin a friendship with them. They have 4 kids who are 12, 10, 8, & 6. We're missing their oldest son and Andrew in the picture above which was taken at Jacob's 6th birthday party on Friday.

David, Andrew & Johnny had a great time playing with some new friends who could speak English. It was a natural connection. I loved being able to communicate well with other little ones... sometimes I speak my worst Spanish with the kiddos here. I'm not sure why.

Feliz Cumpleaños Jacob!

On another note...

So, I've done a lot of really hard things these past 3 months.

One of the hardest was letting Andrew go on an e i g h t hour field trip. He was so excited to go and there was not a legitimate reason for me to say no.

Friday morning, they loaded up the buses and went across town to Parque San Martin and had a day of games, fútbol, and hang outs. Not one other person spoke English.

And this is Andrew getting off the bus...

He was totally bummed about the green apron thing, but thrilled to be able to wear his own clothes (he had the faux-hawk going on this morning).

He painted his lips with a red lollipop and only ate one alfajor (cookie sandwich).

When we went around the table talking about our highs and lows of the day,

he did say the best part of his day was coming home.

Makes a mom happy.

HE'S HOME!!!

Typical Day

Quite a number of people have asked me, "What does a typical day look like for you?" With the rather large exception that Chris wasn't here all week, we've had pretty regular days. This is what they look like during this season of our life.

~

5:15 am - Buddy barks because he's thirsty, he heard another dog barking, or he wants to play. I get up to let him out and then try to go back to sleep while begging God to give me a good attitude/perspective/vision for the day. It helps when I remember to do this.
~

6:30 am - The boys wake up and begin their day playing with Legos. We eat breakfast together and read 2 Psalms. We all have our own way of getting ready - some take m u c h longer than others (johnny).

~

8:45 am - The boys pile in the car while I unbarricade the 7 locks in our garage doors in order to get the car out. I back out of the garage, park on the driveway, get out, rebarricade the 7 locks. Then we begin the 25 minute commute to their school - how I miss the 3 minute walk to Peabody!

~

9:10 am - We arrive at Haroldo Andenmatten during their first break and Andrew and David go off to meet their friends. Johnny and I wait for 20 minutes until his jardin starts.
~

9:30 am - I give Johnny a big hug and kiss and say "Chau, te amo mucho" and watch him walk down the hall to his aula.

9:31 am - I flag down a taxi to take me to el centro in order to get to my class at the University on time. It costs 26 pesos for the round trip taxi. It costs 24 pesos for parking + gas + stress to drive our own car there. So, obvio, I take the taxi.
~

9:50 am - I arrive at the Facultad de Lengua ready for my lesson with Hugo, the best profe in the Uni.

12:25 pm - Hugo and I damos un beso, say nos vemos mañana, and I walk, rather quickly, to the next block and pay the lady on the corner with the orange vest to flag me a taxi.
~
12:30 pm - I get in the taxi, say "derecho hasta Pedro Zanni" and enjoy the 80s pop music.
~

12:50 pm - 5 minutes late, I arrive at the door of Johnny's jardin and greet him with a big hug. We then wait an hour for his brothers to get out of school.

~

1:45 pm - David and Andrew come out of their classrooms and we all re-pile in the car and make the 25 minute drive home.

~

2:15 pm - We shed our backpacks, wash our hands, sit down, and eat lunch.

Each afternoon looks different, but they are all filled with studying and playing. And a selection of cleaning, grocery shopping, figuring out the next meal, emails, making new friends, meetings, and exercise. I wish they were filled with siestas, because I am tired.

~

6:00 pm - Merienda, the pre-dinner snack, involves bread, jam, yogurt, and/or peanuts.

~

8:00 pm - Dinner

~

8:30 pm - Showers for the boys

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9:00 pm - Bedtime routine. We're reading The Jungle Book right now.

~

I'm thrilled to have Chris come home (early Sunday morning). I have missed him terribly. I'm also looking forward to being re-inspired about why we are here. He has gotten some great training, come up with some exciting new ideas, and made many new collegues and friends.

~

Meanwhile, his b e s t friend is here, waiting...not so patiently.

Parque Sarmiento

I've neglected to inform you that we, down here in the Southern Hemisphere, have welcomed Spring. We officially live in a place that has unique seasons. As you folks up North embrace Fall and all things pumpkin, we're celebrating Spring. This includes flowers, peaches, and heat.

Saturday it was 101.3 degrees.

Our house stays remarkable cool, but we ventured out to Parque Sarmiento for some scooter rides around the lake. It was interesting to see people spread out on blankets in the shade drinking hot mate. No gracias por mi.

I threw the pelota for Buddy. People keep telling me he's gordo. I think that's rude.

Even after I put ice in his water bowl, he's panting at my feet. Tomorrow he is off to the Peluqueria for a much needed hair cut and bath. He wreaks.

After peeing on a tree (some things never change), Johnny was ready for a rest in the shade with Buddy and me.

This is a sign I thought was funny and I'm pretty sure Paul will too. I was tempted to photograph the people playing soccer a little behind the sign, but I resisted.

Happy Fall to most of you... enjoy some pumpkin bread for me.

Toys, New Family Member, Visitors, Guatemala, and a 69th Birthday!

We got a fun package in the mail this week that included, "Vines" a stuffed monkey for Johnny, a Hero Factory Lego dude for David, and a 3 in 1 Lego creation set for Andrew. These are very loved boys.

The package also included Tom's deoderant for Chris (thank you from all of us), Trader Joe's lip balm for me, and coffee and cilantro seeds for La Familia.

I'm looking forward to making some picante salsa.

The boys also discovered a new toy to collect here called "GoGos".

They are mini-figures that have a sticker book with all the guys in it, along with games and comics. It's been a fun way for them to spend their time together

(and their own pesos).

It was no small task to procure this newest member of our family.

It's a 1995 VW Quantam and it's easy to drive, although the streets here make any driving difficult. We're excited to explore and discover new parts of our new city.

We had our first set of visitors this week! Who's next?

~~

María Ogenia and Valdir Franca from Latin America Mission came for a 3 day visit. María Ogenia is from Argentina and Valdir is from Brazil.

They both speak 3 languages (nice) and are experts in multi-cultural relations.

We felt affirmed, encouraged, and challenged by their visit and we miss them already!

[Dang, I need to paint those pink walls!]

As I write, Chris is on his way to a week long conference in Guatemala about implementing microfinance programs with local churches (exactly what we hope to do here). Here's a link to what he'll be learning: Course Descriptions « CEDI Guatemala Conference

~~

It was a tearful good-bye, but I know Chris will be inspired and will come home

with great ideas and a renewed passion of being in Córdoba Capital.

~~

Of course, we got lost on the way home from the airport.

(Can I blame my getting lost on the lack of coffee I had in my system at such a God-forsaken hour?)

But, never fear, my fearless 10-year-old navigator got us back on the freeway.

We got home, ate breakfast, and Andrew disappeared into another room.

When he came out he showed me the above Lego creation he made for his dad.

(It says, "I Love You".)



And of course, I saved the best for last...

~~

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

We love you and we miss you.

We've all grown up a bit since this fun time in Arizona (especially you)

and we like remembering our special times together.

Have a great day, eat some chocolate, and laugh a lot!