Fun Photos from Norm

It's nice to have really good friends who are also really good photographers. 

Norm took some great photos of our time together

and you can access them here and from Norm's photo blog.

And the download info from Norm:

"Anyone can download the photos FOR FREE simply by mousing over the photo they want--- a drop-down menu opens, and at the bottom is a little folder symbol with an arrow that allows you to download the photo to your computer."  Here's the link again: Norm's Great Photos

Have a great weekend!

Presupuestos y Finanzas en el Campamento

Our workshop ended up being a lot of fun – can you believe it?  The attendees were very gracious with our level of Spanish and they were very interactive and participatory.  Basically, the 120 people attending the conference are people who give Christian camps to kids, pre-adolescents, adolescents, jovenes (young people 18 – 30 years old), adults, and people with special needs.  They do things like we’ve experienced at Forest Home or Hume Lake.

Here are some of our take-aways for next time:

If we don’t have Dan Michaelson here, we should probably try to get someone to hang out with the kiddos. They were great sports, but it was a long time to wait. There was a basketball court that they played on for about an hour, but it got too cold to play outside.

Definitely make cookies. It was a great idea and I think it helped with our evaluations.

On the aforementioned evaluations, the main feedback on ways to improve was to have more time. The seminar was 2.5 hours. We will need to learn how to make the best use of the time given. I could not bear to give a seminar for longer than 2.5 hours.

We made some new friends as seen above and are thankful for the opportunity (now that it's over).

¡Feliz Día de la Bandera!

(Day of the Flag – it’s another holiday today!)

A Few Things

It’s been a full week.

It seems like David has become a pre-adolescent overnight. Hasn’t he grown up?

Andrew got very sick on Sunday night (he’s much better now) and was home from school, doctor’s orders, all week.  He slept in our room a couple of nights and here is his faithful friend wishing he could be right next to him.  Buddy would not leave the door knowing that Andrew was on the other side.

We’ve been working on our “Budgeting and Finances for Camps” presentation all week and it’s been painful. We’ll be giving it at the Argentina National Conference for Christian Camping International tomorrow. I baked some cookies in an attempt to get the attendees to like us in spite of the topic of our seminar.

We welcomed Dan Michealson to Córdoba on Friday morning. It’s been great to have him here with us.

Out on Friday night at the Bicentennial Plaza.
Look at Chris's new jacket - Thank you Dixons!

Playing Uno Spin - you'll have to ask Dan who won
and what he thinks of Johnny

 Chris and Dan are on their way to pick up the President of CCI at the airport and deliver him to the conference in Bialet Massé.  It's their 2nd trip out there today since the poor guy missed his connecting flight in Chile. 

The adventure continues. 

As a family, we'll go back out tomorrow, after church, to give our wonderful part of the conference.  And Michaelson family, thanks for sharing your dad with us!  Ahnika, you were right about the wine.  He's very easy to please.

Happy Father's Day to you great dads out there! 

Her (a post by Chris)

Krista blogged about our 17 year anniversary the other day. On that day, I thought a lot about her. We met almost 19 years ago. It’s been a privilege to be her best friend and companion over these years. We have both grown in so many different ways as we have experienced life together. There have been highs and lows and lots of time in between.

In the midst of our process of deciding to come here to Argentina, selling most of our stuff, moving here and adjusting to a new life in a different culture we have faced new challenges and also experienced new joys. We are both organized, planner-types and so learning to deal with constantly changing plans and seemingly insurmountable challenges has tested us.  We've had to depend on each other in serious ways.  I am happy to say that I believe that in the big scope of things, God is changing us for the better and we have grown closer together than ever before. 

Through this whole experience, my appreciation, love and respect for Krista has continued to grow. There are not many moms I know who would have even been open to the possibility of moving overseas with our three young boys. We had a good, comfortable life in Santa Barbara and she was willing to leave it for a time. Since we have been here, I’ve been able to witness Krista’s perseverance in improving in her Spanish despite her feelings of discouragement. I’ve watched her handle some incredibly difficult and uncomfortable situations. I’ve seen her sadness at missing all of our friends and family. I’ve seen her make our house here a home and gently guide each one of our boys through the adaptation process. She's encouraged me in my low times.  Through it all, she has continued to be a godly woman, a wonderful mom to our boys, a great wife to me, and one of the funniest people I know. I love watching her interact with her new friends here and seeing how she encourages them and blesses them by being the person that God has made her to be.

I am so thankful to God that He has given me the privilege of sharing my life with Krista, my beautiful wife. I love her strength, compassion for others, love for Jesus, intelligence, heart for the poor, determination, sense of humor, and her ability to be “real”.

At our wedding, we played the James Taylor song, “My Only One”. Krista will always be my only one. God has blessed me abundantly with her.

Seventeen

June 11 marked 17 years of marital bliss for Chris and me. 

"Bliss" is obviously overstating it, but I am very thankful to be married to my best friend and someone who knows me and yet still loves me very well.  These past 10 months living together in another culture have brought us closer and reminded us that we make a good team.

 (We're also in the process of working through all the yucky parts that being married brings out, but that's another post.) 

There really isn't anyone else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with, and I'm thankful he feels the same about me.

Devin came over to hang out with the kiddos so Chris and I could go out. 

When they boys heard this, they literally cheered.  He is like a big brother buddy to them and he fits into our family really well.  They had a dance off to U2 music and Devin brought them more Copa America stickers for their albums.  They ate breakfast for dinner and the kitchen was clean when we got home.  I know, nice.

Chris and I went out to Peruvian food and very much enjoyed the different flavors that Peru offered.

After dinner, we went to ice cream and Chris got a Pinito. 

Look how happy he is.  I know just what you're thinking too. 

Happy Sunday!

Chunder

Johnny's home today with the barfs. 

Yesterday, he had to decline the honor of being the bandadero (the flag taker-downer) because, as he told his seño, "No me siento bien. Creo que voy a vomitar." (I don't feel good.  I think I'm going to vomit.)  He ended up yakking in the bushes right before we picked him up.  Needless to say, he skipped out on basketball practice last night and informed me very calmly each time he needed to throw-up. 

He's very non-chalant about it... it's almost weird.

This morning he's had a few more puking episodes and just said to me,

"Mommy, I'd like to cuddle you and watch a movie." 

I like him.  A lot.

PS Do you like how many different words I used to describe the regurgitation process?  I left out a few like up-chuck, hurl, ralf, heave, and praying to the porcelain god.

Sports, Conferences, and Dinner & Dog-dates

We have had a good last few weeks.  The kids are loving their new life here and that makes everything rosy.  A few weeks ago, there was a race at Instituto Niños Argentinos in order to have fun, raise money, and have time together as a school community.  Every grade ran and the top 3 runners of each got medals.  Johnny and Andrew got fourth place and truly enjoyed themselves.  Here is David in his victory stance for placing third. 

In the girls’ race, his friend Sofia also got third and I’m not sure they were too happy about me taking this photo.  I like her and wish that the whole boy/girl thing wasn’t so awkward at this age so she could come over for a play date.  I’m sure someday soon, I’ll be wishing the opposite.

Andrew and Johnny have started playing basketball at our neighborhood club, EPEC.  They are so fun to watch.  Johnny loves running up and down the court.  Andrew loves dribbling and shooting baskets.  Chris and I love watching them and hearing their teammates yell their names.

Chris went to a week long course on Transformational Integral Ministry (using the global CHE network method) at Asociación Campos Blancos.  It was very informative and he made some great new friends.  There were some people there from the northern, poorer province of Chaco and Chris was able to talk with them about the solar powered Unite to Light.  He gave some of the lights we had ordered so they could share them in their communities that do not have reliable electricity. 

And finally, here’s a photo of our most recent dinner with the Sanchez family and Devin, the Fulbright Scholar who has become such a good friend.  When the Sanchez’s asked what they could bring, I asked them to bring una botella de vino.  They brought two: one from Argentina and one from California.  The Argentine Malbec will always win, in my humble opinion.  I also asked them to bring their dog, Camilo, who the boys are enchanted with.  Buddy enjoyed some special dog time.

 It is good to share life together. 

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