Avocados and God's Provisions

On an update note:

It seems that you can obtain a "permit" to barricade a public road.  Good to know, anyway the gate is back.  As they were re-erecting it, we stopped by to ask the guard how long this one would be up, he got a kick out of that.  Sometimes dealing with paperwork is so frustrating here, so glad for a little comic relief.  But seriously, it wouldn't be so funny if you just built a church building and someone comes in and tells you don't have a certain "permit" you need (when you are certain you had already jumped through all the right hoops) and they confiscating all you building supplies until you obtain it.  Not that I've heard of this happening, but it's very possible.  Fun times, thankful we have God on our side, very important not to do things here without first making sure God is in it!

Avocados:
We had a strange and unusual wind storm today, it even knocked the power out for awhile.  It also knocked all kinds of fruit off of the trees, mainly oranges and avocado.  Actually a boatload of avocado, which my kids promptly gathered up.  They even found some mangos, which I thought must have blown in from another yard, but no it was from ours, who knew!  And Samuel had just ask me what a mango tree looked like!

On a more spiritual note:
We had cake and coffee this afternoon after school, which reminded me of all the afternoons I spent at my dear friend Manuela's house.  She is German and cake and coffee in the afternoon is a very good habit they often keep.  One that she shared with me often when we lived in Lawton, OK.  Our kids are close to the same age with Samuel and T being only about a week apart.  Her L and Hannah were incredibly close and it was so hard on Hannah when we moved.  Our new church did not have any girls Hannah's age, then we were an deputation for a year, and then we moved to Mexico.  So, since I was reminded of Manuela we gave her a call and the whole family chatted with our wonderful friends.  What a blessing Skype is!  Manuela and I are always able to pick right up and talk and talk as if we have never been apart.
Then we gave the girls a chance to chat.  As I worked in the kitchen, I could here Hannah and L, talking and talking and talking.  They even read a little from their favorite books to each other.  I suddenly realized how much Hannah needed to talk with a friend her own age, that loves God, that shares some of her passions and interest, and that speaks English.  God was taking care of my little girls needs, all the way down here on the mission field, and he used a piece of cake to do it!

God Bless All.

So Here's a Funny One For You

I do not have any homework tonight and while I should use the time to study, I thought I would sign in a do a quick blog.  We moved to Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico for language school the first days of Jan.  We must have eaten something with some bad stuff in it, because several of the kids and I became quite ill.  I had the worst case lasting 9 full days.  Welcome the Cuernavaca, City of Eternal Spring, please use caution when eating at the taco stands or "in the streets"!  Yes, I have returned to the same street vender, it's all good.
We knew it was important for me to attend language school also, but we had not found anyone to stay with the kids.  The kids and I began homeschooling and had a lovely first week, then enough money came in for two weeks of language school for the whole family!  So we went, then enough can in for 2 more MONTHS!  Praise the Lord!  Everyone is doing well.  The kids have separate classes from us, geared towards children and we see then every hour during our ten minute break.  I could not be happier with the care the teachers take.  It is a university with Mexican students also and everyone adores little Haden.  And I couldn't be prouder of our children's tactful yet persistent witnessing efforts as both their teachers are not born again Christians.

But here's the funny part....
Through some amazing events, I could not even describe if I tried, we ended up with this beautiful little condo at a very reasonable price.  It even has a pool, fruit trees and a small soccer field and play ground in a communal backyard.  It's communal, but most of the time we are the only ones here, because most of the other owners live in Mexico City and only come occasionally on the weekends!  It's just incredible, especially since we could only make a 6 month commitment and many of the homes want a year lease or cater to the language school students coming for a few weeks to a few months and they charge an arm and a leg.  Absolutely amazing provision of God.
OK, but what's so funny.  Well, to top off the list of great things about our house, we have some missionary friends that live only 300 meters up the hill from us!  They have children our children's age and we are able to play and visit often.  Their house is down a dead end street, tucked behind and in the midst of a number of condo complexes that are apparently owned by the same person or group of people.  So, these owners apparently felt it would make their already gated condos more appealing to have yet another gate.  They erected a quite impressive, large and tall gate across the entire road leading towards the end of the dead end.  Along with the rather massive gate they constructed a small guard shack atop the sidewalk that was manned 24 hours a day!  But it gets even better!  LOL!  After construction was complete they sent our friends, remember their house is located among the condos, a letter stating their share of the construction cost and the monthly fee for the gate guards!  This is the first our friends had heard about the gate. I didn't mind the gate.  I could watch the kids walk up to the gate and once they were through I knew the guard would watch them get to our friends house, but I didn't have to pay the bill.  We just gave the guards homemade chocolate chip cookies every once in a while.
Oh!  But it gets even better!  As if your mouth is not already wide in disbelief.  Today, approximately 7 weeks after it's erection we glanced over on our way home from school and Sam says, "LOOOK!!!!  The gate is gone!"  And there stood a pitiful looking gate guard with no gate and no guard shack, only a desk and a clip board!  Apparently, even in Mexico, you need a permit to fully obstruct a public road.  Even if it takes them 7 weeks the city will without warning or notification come and cut down your massive gate and haul it and the guard shack away!!!

Breaking Out the Big Guns

I had meant for this to be a holiday post.  We have had such a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Just recently three children from the same family were added to the Children's Home.  They are so sweet and so attention deprived.  Little five year old Immanuel loves getting hugs and that is an understatement.  I think seeing him get a gift at Christmas was one of my favorite things about yesterday.  I almost cried, he was so excited, he didn't even know what to think.  I'm fairly sure getting a present was a new thing for him.  I'll blog more about our festivities later.  Thank you to all who prayed for us, we have had a lovely Thanksgiving and December.

Last week we got home from the Children's Home Sunday afternoon and I felt a little tired and really pretty bad the next day.  I bounced back pretty quick, but then the kids started getting it.  It was awful, I can't remember a sickness that ALL five of the children have gotten and I can't remember anyone being sick for over 24 hours.  I have to admit we hadn't been eating super healthy, not terrible, but not great and definently more sugar and white flour than normal.  Anyway, as my case had been light, I wasn't real proactive when the first child got sick.  Plus, my herniated disc was hurting especially at night, between my back and getting up with sick kids, I wasn't on top of my game.  Christmas day, six days into it, I thought everyone was feeling better, but they had all started coughing, Haden came and sat on my lap and clearly had a fever again, and I found Hannah just sitting because she felt tired.  All of the sudden I had a moment of clarity, it was time for the big guns.

The next day I mixed up a batch of the awful, terible, no-good, get-well-recipe.  It consist of two heads of garlic (that's not bulbs, that's HEADS), a serrano pepper, and cover it with coconut oil, plus a little and blend in the blender.  Everyone took about 5 doses of one teaspoon each yesterday and 3 doses today.  Also I went to the store and bought out the produce section.

Yesterday's menu was:
Green Smoothie
Carrot, Orange, Apple, Celery, and Cucumber Juice
Homemade Chicken Broth
Apples, Watermelon, and Almonds for snacks

Today's menu was:
Green Smoothie
Large Salad, Raw Gazpacho Soup, and tamales (given to us by a friend)
Beef and veggies in clear broth (cooked in the crock pot all day) with homemade wheat rolls
Watermelon, almonds, celery, and guacamole for snacks

Hardly any coughing and no more fevers!  Hope you are staying healthy as we wrap up this year and start a new one.

I Have to Use the Mushrooms

The Children's Home schedule has gone something like this, we take over sometime shortly after 5:00 PM on Thursday night and stay until after church on Saturday night. For a long time it was, we took over after church on Sunday morning and stayed until shortly after 5:00 PM on Tuesday night. Numerous times we stayed a week or more out at Casa Betania. My point being, essentially we live in two different places, all in one week.  I haven't seen a children's home with house parents, so I don't know what that would look like, but I like Casa Betania's hands on approach.
However, this makes grocery shopping tricky, so even on a week when I had carefully planned, one Thursday morning I woke up and looked in the fridge. And there stared up at me two large packages of mushrooms that had not been turned into soup, plainly stating that when I returned Saturday night they would be less than prime.
This is what followed. I said to myself, "Self, you don't have a lot to do today, it won't take that long to make mushroom barley soup, then you can stick it in the freezer and it will be ready for next week." Now whose the smartie pants, thank you very much. Down came one of my favorite cook books, Soup Bowl.  This is my recipe finding process, especially when I am familiar with the recipe.  Instead of going to the index, I begin flipping through the book to find the picture of mushroom barley soup.  I know it seems counter productive, but sometimes you thumb past recipes you might not have notice otherwise and so really it is an exercise in inspiration.  So the first recipe that caught my eye was Mushroom & Sherry Soup.  I had all the ingredients, but the sherry, which I omit anyway.  Hmmm....marked page and moved on.  Next I noticed Bacon & Lentil Soup.  Hmmm....actually I need to use up that package of bacon also and I have lentils that have been waiting to be used for several weeks, marked and moved on.  The picture of the Curried Chicken Soup looked so warm and yummy and it called for turnips, which I have in the garden, all other ingredients accounted for, marked it too.  Then the Garlic and Chicken Soup jumped right out at me and reminded me I had a little bit of leftover cooked chicken and garbonzo beans, marked and moved on.  Finally I made it to the Mushroom and Barley Soup, it was at the beginning of the book and I had started at the back, who knew.
Next I photo copied all five soup recipes, laid them out on the counter and got all the ingredients, only to discover I was about 15 carrots and 5 onions short.  Not to worry, because the little tienda down the street had both and the walk felt good!  With all the ingredients laid out and a little strategical planning I began chopping, stirring, and simmering.  Three hours later I had five yummy meals stashed away in the freezer and was ready to head out the door to Casa. 
I know what your thinking, boy that was random!  That is exactly what I was thinking as I looked at my jars of soup, but whatever it was a nice day.  Well the day before Thanksgiving, my back started hurting really bad, we had guest and by evening I was glad to get into bed.  I though I was mending, but a stupid move on Sunday brought me to tears.  We had planned a trip up to the States for Sam's annual VA check up and he made sure I made it to a chiropractor, the diagnoses was a herniated disc!  If I want to get well I can't lift, bend, strain, you get the idea.  Anyway, yesterday Sam was able to pull mashed potatoes and Chicken Curry Soap out of the freezer for dinner, so even with a herniated disc, my family still ate well.  Maybe it wasn't so random after all!

Meme and Papa Mike's Visit...2 months later

 Papa Mike took this, I guess Heidi was ready to go home!

We, Papa Mike and I took so many pictures during their visit, and then there is this easy share option with memory sticks....zoom and all the pictures are on my computer.  I got a little overwhelmed, add to that the fact that we packed SO much into the 10 days they were here.  A lot of ministry work out at the Children's Home, a little sight seeing, time at our house and we finished it all off by heading back to Guadalajara a day early, so we could visit the zoo and spend their last night relaxing by the pool at a gorgeous little hotel with even more gorgeous views.  I slept in the next morning and when I woke and started poking around, I found Sam and his mother sitting at table on the roof enjoying the view and some conversation.  The only way it would have been any better is if Sam would have had some coffee. 

 On the drive to Guadalajara.

 Haden really enjoyed the zoo.

 We all enjoyed the time together.

 Love this one, wish I would have been able to enter it in the "one third rule" photo contest.

 These guys were gorgeous.

 We got to feed the giraffe on the safari ride!

 Views from our hotel.

 Haden getting a much needed hair cut.

 Of course we took Meme and Papa Mike to our favorite chicken taco stand.

 At the butcher getting meat for our meals out at the Children's home.

 Our sunsets are always so beautiful, it's hard to resist snapping pics of them.

 Meme and Wendi making biscuits.

 Face painting.

 Papa Mike took pictures of things we take for granted.  I love this picture.

 Balloon art!

 On our way to church.

 Altogether...Awwwww!

 We did let them rest some.

 Boys helping with the bunk beds.

 Teaching the kids to juggle....yes, I'm for real!

 Three sets of complete bunks, with closets ready to be attached.

 That's Josiah!

 Last night. :(

 Saying goodbye at church.

Sam and his mom enjoying some time together on the roof top.

Meme also brought gifts for all of us, where she put everything I'll never know, I do know they went back with some empty suitcases.  She brought some beautiful yarn for me, but I think the best gifts were plush blankets for each of the kids.  She said they could curl up in their blankets when they missed her and needed a hug.  We were all very encouraged by their visit, enjoyed every minute of it and are looking forward to more visitors.  It's so exciting to be able to share with people first hand what God is doing here in Mexico.