This afternoon I told Ezra "It's almost time for a nap" and he resounded promptly with a very loud, clear "NO" after which he threw the toy in his hand across the room and sat down on the ground and curled up into a little ball....
Oh, the fun begins again.
****
I will post pictures soon of Caleb's birthday and any decent Thanksgiving ones I can find (we had a great Thanksgiving, but the pics didn't turn out great). I tried posting a really fun video of Caleb singing Happy Birthday to himself... but after 4 hours and not even half-way done uploading the video, I gave up. Sorry to all the grandmas out there... the rest of you probably don't care. :)
In other big news, we found pomegranates at the store today!!!!!!! I'm telling you, grocery shopping is like a treasure hunt here. You never known what will be at the store. I bought one and we all split it tonight. Was definitely not the best pomegranate I have ever had, but it was pretty good, and the boys loved it. The trick with buying really fun, unusual stuf like that is that you don't know if you should buy lots because the chances are good you'll never see it again, or save your money as it won't be good to begin with... Last summer we found real American peaches... I bought two and they were to die for - really good - not just "because we live in a third world country" good. :) A few months after that I found some again (granted, not from America) and bought 5 and we threw every single one of them away - were so nasty and green inside you couldn't even cut them. So, we were content with our one pomegranate and know it might be another year and a half before we have another one!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thankful
Things I am thankful for this year....
That we can afford medicine for our kids when they're sick; that we can afford to eat meat everyday and that we have a well with clean water... living in our new neighborhood with the harsh poverty all around us has made me realize how many "necessities" we have which are really "luxuries" that our neighbors can't afford.
That the boys are growing bigger... life is getting a tad bit easier as they get more independent and it's so much fun to see their little personalities coming out.
That I am not pregnant or nursing a baby for the first Thanksgiving in 6 years!!!
For air conditioning in our bedroom! I love all the windows and how breezy and cool our house stays even in the heat, but nothing beats AC in the afternoons when I can get the boys down for a nap and I can have a cool place to read my Bible, write letters, and fold laundry.
For Ezra and his red hair. I love his red hair. I also love how he is learning to talk and how he blows me kisses and says "bye ma" whenever he leaves my sight.
For Helen - LIFESAVER! Helen is a national lady who comes every Wednesday and mops the floors, washes sheets and towels, cuts the pineapples, and gives me one day a week where I don't have to do dishes!
For Rachel - Rachel is my friend I home school with; she and her husband are with a different organization than we are and do totally different type of work. She is my first "friend" that I've had outside our organization in the last 3+ years we have been here, and it's such a blessing to have a friend.
For Caleb and his brown eyes. My only little boy with brown eyes and they just sparkle when he's telling me a "joke" or when he gets excited about something. I also love how he asks me to rock him in the rocking chair when he's having a rough day and just leans back on my shoulder and sucks his thumb.
For the Internet! I am so thankful for how easy it is to stay in touch with our family and friends back in the States. Not sure I could have survived 50 years ago where the only communication was by letter. Also really thankful I can check Black Friday ads, read friends' blogs and just keep up on American life and culture a bit.
For our new house in America! Can't wait to see it... someday. :) Also thankful for my dad and my brother's roles in the whole house buying process... couldn't have gotten the house without their help.
For Elijah and his sharp mind. I love the millions of questions he asks each day. I love how he is so eager to please us and how (most times!) he is so gentle and careful with his little brothers.
For tickets to go on vacation in less than 3 weeks!!!!!!!!! So ready for a break and a chance to see some civilization. It's been over a year and a half not leaving the island; no break of any kind... so very ready!
For the sometimes difficult and frustrating things that we experience as a result of living over here - has given me a chance to see God's grace and His gentleness in such a deep way that I never saw before. So thankful for all the Lord has, and is, teaching me.
For my sweet husband... I am so blessed to have him. In the past week, he has called when he was out working to tell me that a chip seller was headed down our road, so that I could buy really yummy homemade chips; he has let me sleep in when I have had a rough night; and he got up early on Thanksgiving morning to find the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (from last year) on YouTube and downloaded it so we could all watch the parade this morning!
That we can afford medicine for our kids when they're sick; that we can afford to eat meat everyday and that we have a well with clean water... living in our new neighborhood with the harsh poverty all around us has made me realize how many "necessities" we have which are really "luxuries" that our neighbors can't afford.
That the boys are growing bigger... life is getting a tad bit easier as they get more independent and it's so much fun to see their little personalities coming out.
That I am not pregnant or nursing a baby for the first Thanksgiving in 6 years!!!
For air conditioning in our bedroom! I love all the windows and how breezy and cool our house stays even in the heat, but nothing beats AC in the afternoons when I can get the boys down for a nap and I can have a cool place to read my Bible, write letters, and fold laundry.
For Ezra and his red hair. I love his red hair. I also love how he is learning to talk and how he blows me kisses and says "bye ma" whenever he leaves my sight.
For Helen - LIFESAVER! Helen is a national lady who comes every Wednesday and mops the floors, washes sheets and towels, cuts the pineapples, and gives me one day a week where I don't have to do dishes!
For Rachel - Rachel is my friend I home school with; she and her husband are with a different organization than we are and do totally different type of work. She is my first "friend" that I've had outside our organization in the last 3+ years we have been here, and it's such a blessing to have a friend.
For Caleb and his brown eyes. My only little boy with brown eyes and they just sparkle when he's telling me a "joke" or when he gets excited about something. I also love how he asks me to rock him in the rocking chair when he's having a rough day and just leans back on my shoulder and sucks his thumb.
For the Internet! I am so thankful for how easy it is to stay in touch with our family and friends back in the States. Not sure I could have survived 50 years ago where the only communication was by letter. Also really thankful I can check Black Friday ads, read friends' blogs and just keep up on American life and culture a bit.
For our new house in America! Can't wait to see it... someday. :) Also thankful for my dad and my brother's roles in the whole house buying process... couldn't have gotten the house without their help.
For Elijah and his sharp mind. I love the millions of questions he asks each day. I love how he is so eager to please us and how (most times!) he is so gentle and careful with his little brothers.
For tickets to go on vacation in less than 3 weeks!!!!!!!!! So ready for a break and a chance to see some civilization. It's been over a year and a half not leaving the island; no break of any kind... so very ready!
For the sometimes difficult and frustrating things that we experience as a result of living over here - has given me a chance to see God's grace and His gentleness in such a deep way that I never saw before. So thankful for all the Lord has, and is, teaching me.
For my sweet husband... I am so blessed to have him. In the past week, he has called when he was out working to tell me that a chip seller was headed down our road, so that I could buy really yummy homemade chips; he has let me sleep in when I have had a rough night; and he got up early on Thanksgiving morning to find the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (from last year) on YouTube and downloaded it so we could all watch the parade this morning!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Kite flying
These are pretty old, but we just downloaded them off the big camera. We took the boys up the hill a couple months ago (maybe September?) to fly their kites.
Elijah did really well and managed to get his off the ground a couple times.
Gotta love the band-aid. The kid goes through band-aids like water.
Caleb gave up pretty quickly and found a much more interesting stick.
Pre-walking Ezra... just watching all the action.
We were up on top of the hill where the international school is. It's a great place to walk; has a beautiful view of the whole town.
Elijah did really well and managed to get his off the ground a couple times.
Gotta love the band-aid. The kid goes through band-aids like water.
Caleb gave up pretty quickly and found a much more interesting stick.
Pre-walking Ezra... just watching all the action.
We were up on top of the hill where the international school is. It's a great place to walk; has a beautiful view of the whole town.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
The boys only party
Sorry these are late in getting posted. We were so swamped in September and October and have spent the last two weeks trying to catch up on all the life stuff that didn't happen during those two months. Brant's actually had several orders these past few days, so he's been busier than we thought he would be.... anyways, slowly getting back to a normal speed of life.
So, Elijah's birthday fell during our conference; I knew we would be wiped out after, so we went for a real simple birthday party this year... for lack of a better theme we made it a "Boys Only" party. :) He had a couple friends over, we played a few games and then they all watched old Tom and Jerry cartoons (which our boys LOVE) and had smoothies, popcorn and cupcakes. Then we sent them home. :) Very easy. Happy 6 year old little boy. :)
For the cupcakes, months ago, Elijah saw a picture in one of my fancy home decorating magazines of cupcakes with huge globs of white frosting with a single candy corn on top... and he HAD to have cupcakes like that. Thankfully Nanny sent candy corn in a recent package so we were all set. Then I saw a post on my favorite recipe blog for "candy corn" cupcakes where you actually dye the cake batter. I got a GREAT white cake recipe off the website (my b-day cake was only so-so, so was on the hunt for a new basic cake recipe) After making the batter, we separated it into 3 bowls and used the food dye (the kind in the little tubs, not your basic food coloring) and dyed the batter. Then you just layer the colors - they don't mix or anything - and bake. The result was pretty cool!
One of the boys' favorite "games" is pretending to be dogs or cats and eating their snack on the floor. :) So we had a "dog race" where the boys raced across the floor and had to finish their "dog food" (peanuts, raisins and marshmallows - thanks, Grandma!) Ezra even joined in, though he just sat there and stuffed it in with his fat grubby hands. :) We can't get marshmallows here and it was so funny to see the boys with the marshmallows - they didn't know what they were and Ezra wouldn't touch them!
Then we watched the movie and ate!
We do smoothies every Saturday night... basic recipe - 2 whole pineapple, cut up and frozen; 6-7 bananas; half a liter of guava juice. Simple, but tastes really good. :) Ezra is a huge smoothie fan.
So, Elijah's birthday fell during our conference; I knew we would be wiped out after, so we went for a real simple birthday party this year... for lack of a better theme we made it a "Boys Only" party. :) He had a couple friends over, we played a few games and then they all watched old Tom and Jerry cartoons (which our boys LOVE) and had smoothies, popcorn and cupcakes. Then we sent them home. :) Very easy. Happy 6 year old little boy. :)
For the cupcakes, months ago, Elijah saw a picture in one of my fancy home decorating magazines of cupcakes with huge globs of white frosting with a single candy corn on top... and he HAD to have cupcakes like that. Thankfully Nanny sent candy corn in a recent package so we were all set. Then I saw a post on my favorite recipe blog for "candy corn" cupcakes where you actually dye the cake batter. I got a GREAT white cake recipe off the website (my b-day cake was only so-so, so was on the hunt for a new basic cake recipe) After making the batter, we separated it into 3 bowls and used the food dye (the kind in the little tubs, not your basic food coloring) and dyed the batter. Then you just layer the colors - they don't mix or anything - and bake. The result was pretty cool!
One of the boys' favorite "games" is pretending to be dogs or cats and eating their snack on the floor. :) So we had a "dog race" where the boys raced across the floor and had to finish their "dog food" (peanuts, raisins and marshmallows - thanks, Grandma!) Ezra even joined in, though he just sat there and stuffed it in with his fat grubby hands. :) We can't get marshmallows here and it was so funny to see the boys with the marshmallows - they didn't know what they were and Ezra wouldn't touch them!
Then we watched the movie and ate!
We do smoothies every Saturday night... basic recipe - 2 whole pineapple, cut up and frozen; 6-7 bananas; half a liter of guava juice. Simple, but tastes really good. :) Ezra is a huge smoothie fan.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Chocolate fun
This afternoon it was cool and rainy - *almost* felt like Austin in the winter. The boys were pretty grumpy though, and I was too, so I decided to forget my to-do list and pull out one of those "been wanting to do forever but never have the time" type of projects... making dark chocolate covered coffee beans.
I am very much a dark chocolate person and my stash has been a tad low lately, so I pulled out my prized dark chocolate baking bar from a package... from a LONG time ago and found Brant's stash of unground coffee beans. Coffee grows here like weeds, so nice coffee beans are cheap and easy to find.
The whole process was a lot of fun - you just melt the chocolate in a double boiler, stir in the beans, and then lay them out to dry... except that at room temperature here chocolate only exsists in liquid form :) so we put them straight into the freezer. They turned out pretty good, though I admit they don't taste quite as good as the ones you get from the store. But I'll take what I can get. :)
I let the boys lick the pan. I'm pretty paranoid about letting them lick any kind of batter with eggs in it here in the land of bird flu, so it's a rare treat for them, and I figured dark chocolate is *supposed* to be healthy. :) They had a ball. I don't have any pictures of Ezra, but I dipped my fingers in the chocolate and then let him lick them... except he didn't quite get the concept and bit them. :)
The only downside to the whole process was that I sampled way more than I should have and it looks like I'm going to be awake for a LONG time tonight!
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