We're in full on party prep mode here. (Tomorrow's the big day - pray it doesn't rain!) So after plastering all week, it was finally the day to paint the pinata! Brant spray painted the body black this morning and then we were going to hand paint in the Batman logo.
So this afternoon Brant was painting when I walked in...
"Hey, Em, how old is this black paint?"
"Couple years old, probably, why?"
"It's going on really goopy and thick. And it doesn't seem to be drying very well."
I had tested the paint this morning, so wasn't sure what was up. So at this point I walk out on the porch....
He was using the black food dye to paint the pinata.
The food dye that I had borrowed from my friend, promising to use only the *smallest* bit. The food dye that came from America and was expensive. The food dye that now had dirty paint brushes shoved in it.
The food dye that we will be replacing. :)
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Calm Before the Storm
These last couple weeks have been mercifully quiet and normal. I've so enjoyed it - nothing to think about or deal with other than schooling the little boys and trying to get dinner on the table. :) The biggest excitement was that I celebrated my birthday - I guess I could post about it, but it would look exactly like last year's celebration - lunch at Pizza Hut with obscene amounts of ice cream and toppings following. :):)
But life is about to get exciting again....
My baby is about to be 7. Next week, in fact. So the preparations have begun in earnest for "THE BATMAN PARTY."
Elijah making invitations....
I am not quite sure why he decided on a Batman theme. Elijah has no idea who Batman is or what he does and I'm not in any particular hurry to clue him in. :) I think he heard somewhere that all 7 year old little boys are supposed to think Batman is cool. He got a Batman toy last year from a family from our church in San Diego and he saw a Batman cake at the grocery store in the big city. I think the cake is what did it. :) It was a COOL cake. :)
Anyways, today we stuffed goody bags. There are many, MANY drawbacks to trying to throw a COOL birthday party in a 3rd world country, but the goody bags are not one of them. :) Because people cannot afford much here, ALL snacks are packaged in individual servings - small amounts, small price = more sales. (It also ensures that the contents are eaten so they won't be spoiled by the humidity or bugs.) But it makes it so easy to buy stuff for goody bags and stuff is way cheap! So we went down the snack aisle at the grocery store and let Elijah pick out snacks for the bags. Then we had a fun mess trying to get all the bags filled this afternoon.
Notice the pack of tissues... all 3 boys are sick with nasty colds. :(
The finished product with the VERY excited little boy. :) Party pictures next week. :) Although maybe I will do a post on the PINATA making that we are going to attempt this weekend. :)
Caleb's birthday quickly follows Elijah's; which is backed up by Thanksgiving, Christmas, Ezra's birthday and then our return to America. I think the next few months are going to fly. (At least Caleb hopes so, as he's already asking when it's time to stuff goody bags for his party!)
But life is about to get exciting again....
My baby is about to be 7. Next week, in fact. So the preparations have begun in earnest for "THE BATMAN PARTY."
Elijah making invitations....
I am not quite sure why he decided on a Batman theme. Elijah has no idea who Batman is or what he does and I'm not in any particular hurry to clue him in. :) I think he heard somewhere that all 7 year old little boys are supposed to think Batman is cool. He got a Batman toy last year from a family from our church in San Diego and he saw a Batman cake at the grocery store in the big city. I think the cake is what did it. :) It was a COOL cake. :)
Anyways, today we stuffed goody bags. There are many, MANY drawbacks to trying to throw a COOL birthday party in a 3rd world country, but the goody bags are not one of them. :) Because people cannot afford much here, ALL snacks are packaged in individual servings - small amounts, small price = more sales. (It also ensures that the contents are eaten so they won't be spoiled by the humidity or bugs.) But it makes it so easy to buy stuff for goody bags and stuff is way cheap! So we went down the snack aisle at the grocery store and let Elijah pick out snacks for the bags. Then we had a fun mess trying to get all the bags filled this afternoon.
Notice the pack of tissues... all 3 boys are sick with nasty colds. :(
The finished product with the VERY excited little boy. :) Party pictures next week. :) Although maybe I will do a post on the PINATA making that we are going to attempt this weekend. :)
Caleb's birthday quickly follows Elijah's; which is backed up by Thanksgiving, Christmas, Ezra's birthday and then our return to America. I think the next few months are going to fly. (At least Caleb hopes so, as he's already asking when it's time to stuff goody bags for his party!)
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
No one dies early
Two weeks ago we had the funeral for our friend who died when the plane he was piloting went down in the mountains. Really, really hard days. There are no funeral homes here; no events coordinators; not even a pastor at the missionary community church we attend. Thus, the task of arranging the countless details of everything from preparing the body and having a casket built to renting chairs for the memorial service fell to his grieving friends and co-workers. Because most of the pilots and higher ups in the aviation missions were busy with government investigations and insurance paperwork and all the stickiness with Embassies that comes when an American dies overseas, the details of setting up 800 chairs and arranging the obligatory funeral meal for 1200 fell to people like Brant. Needless to say, by the end, we were totally exhausted, mentally and physically.
The funeral itself was amazing and it's kinda hard to put into words. It was not joyful or a great tribute to his life and no one laughed. There were lots and lots of tears, but it was full of hope. Hope so real and tangible it enveloped the auditorium. Hope in God's goodness and His sovereignty over every detail over our lives - including clouds and mountain peaks and plane engines that stall and take a friend's life. The funeral was not a chance to remember a friend as much as it was to remind us, the living and crying, that God is good and He is in control. We say that often as Christians. Here, we either live it or we give up and go home. We cannot say it and not fully commit our lives to the Truth. So to live in God's sovereignty is to not question His decisions, but to accept them and then to ask His help to bear the pain that sometimes comes when His plans are not our plans. Sharing that with hundreds of other missionaries was amazing and when we sang "Blessed be the Name of the Lord" our friend on the other side of town watching the boys said she could hear us and got goose-bumps.
While our friend was sharing during the sermon, he said "No one dies early." Maybe I've been in the dark all my life, but that was a new concept to me. Me, the American who has been taught that good eating habits, enough exercise and proper health care keeps you alive longer. I know I thought that this summer when Penny died - that her death was wrong and a direct result of her poverty and citizenship in a 3rd world country. I thought Paul's death was due to an error, bad weather, you name it....
Wrong.
We all die. God has given us a day to be born (and I had a great day celebrating mine this past weekend!) and a day to die. There are no accidents, tragedies or mistakes and *oops* someone dies. God ordains the number of days we each have and when they're up, they're up. He might choose to use some horrific circumstances to take us out of this world, but in reality, the circumstances didn't end our lives - He did.
Very powerful stuff for me. God will end my life (and the lives of those I love) when it's time. My job is to accept His timing as perfect and to trust His goodness, even when I hurt. And my job is to enjoy each day I have with my family and friends, knowing they are gifts from God and knowing that He doesn't give us tomorrow, only today.
After the funeral and all the whirlwind of preparations, we just took a few days to rest and recover and process... and to enjoy the little boys and the life we have today.
We built forts....
We did school.... these are Caleb's Doggie ears (for D day!) He wore them NON-stop for 3 days, taking them off only for showers and to sleep. :) It was a nice comic relief for everyone here in town (because, yes, he wore them whenever he left the house!) :):)
We blew bubbles with the suds from the washing machine...
We celebrated one of the boys' friend's birthdays. When you're two, is there anything more fun than a new balloon?
Thankful for the little boys and the life the Lord has given us and for another day to enjoy it all. Thankful that God is in control.
The funeral itself was amazing and it's kinda hard to put into words. It was not joyful or a great tribute to his life and no one laughed. There were lots and lots of tears, but it was full of hope. Hope so real and tangible it enveloped the auditorium. Hope in God's goodness and His sovereignty over every detail over our lives - including clouds and mountain peaks and plane engines that stall and take a friend's life. The funeral was not a chance to remember a friend as much as it was to remind us, the living and crying, that God is good and He is in control. We say that often as Christians. Here, we either live it or we give up and go home. We cannot say it and not fully commit our lives to the Truth. So to live in God's sovereignty is to not question His decisions, but to accept them and then to ask His help to bear the pain that sometimes comes when His plans are not our plans. Sharing that with hundreds of other missionaries was amazing and when we sang "Blessed be the Name of the Lord" our friend on the other side of town watching the boys said she could hear us and got goose-bumps.
While our friend was sharing during the sermon, he said "No one dies early." Maybe I've been in the dark all my life, but that was a new concept to me. Me, the American who has been taught that good eating habits, enough exercise and proper health care keeps you alive longer. I know I thought that this summer when Penny died - that her death was wrong and a direct result of her poverty and citizenship in a 3rd world country. I thought Paul's death was due to an error, bad weather, you name it....
Wrong.
We all die. God has given us a day to be born (and I had a great day celebrating mine this past weekend!) and a day to die. There are no accidents, tragedies or mistakes and *oops* someone dies. God ordains the number of days we each have and when they're up, they're up. He might choose to use some horrific circumstances to take us out of this world, but in reality, the circumstances didn't end our lives - He did.
Very powerful stuff for me. God will end my life (and the lives of those I love) when it's time. My job is to accept His timing as perfect and to trust His goodness, even when I hurt. And my job is to enjoy each day I have with my family and friends, knowing they are gifts from God and knowing that He doesn't give us tomorrow, only today.
After the funeral and all the whirlwind of preparations, we just took a few days to rest and recover and process... and to enjoy the little boys and the life we have today.
We built forts....
We did school.... these are Caleb's Doggie ears (for D day!) He wore them NON-stop for 3 days, taking them off only for showers and to sleep. :) It was a nice comic relief for everyone here in town (because, yes, he wore them whenever he left the house!) :):)
We blew bubbles with the suds from the washing machine...
We celebrated one of the boys' friend's birthdays. When you're two, is there anything more fun than a new balloon?
Thankful for the little boys and the life the Lord has given us and for another day to enjoy it all. Thankful that God is in control.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)