Posted in Grandparents Corner
The past couple of weeks have been full for us. Last week one of our co-workers, Kathy, had to spend most of the week in the hospital with heart problems. Her three kids and their dog came to stay with us and we got to experience life with 5 kids! What fun! Actually it really was good to have them here. Anna was on cloud nine most of the time having someone there to play with all day. The animals all got along pretty well. Claudia freaked out a little having a new puppy around and she stayed hidden most of the time. We were thankful to God that He took care of Kathy and her family.
Anna's good buddy Kaylea celebrated her birthday recently. To celebrate she and Anna went to a beauty salon for a total salon treatment. They got their hair done and got manicures and pedicures. I didn't see her until later in the evening after she had gotten caught in the rain so I never got to see her with her hair done. She really had fun with that.
Last week our friend Jewel came to school to talk about the country she served in as a missionary for 10 years. She helped to make a snack local to her country which we all enjoyed eating.
The next day six of our homeschooling families here went to Dominoes Pizza for a "field trip." I actually enjoyed seeing how everything was done. They are the number one pizza place in the country for a reason. It was very clean and the food well prepared. They handed out certificates to everyone that allow you to come to the back to make your own pizza when you buy one. So on Saturday I took Anna and she got to make a pizza.
I finally got some pictures downloaded and decided to post them for relatives. Josh is going through a "refuse to get his picture taken" phase or something and so I'm not going to post all of the pictures I've taken of his back and his face covered with something! Enjoy!
Anna and Kaylea getting their hair washed.
Anna getting a pedicure.
Kaylea soaking her feet.
Our co-worker Kathy with her daughter Sara.
Jewel helping Sara dress in a sari.
Anna and Daniel during grammar class.
Making Pizza
Posted in Grandparents Corner
Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!
(Anna's wreath is on the bottom row to the right.)
Posted in Grandparents Corner
I have had a lot of fun this afternoon hunting for backgrounds and graphics to update my blog. I hope you like what I chose! I have a really hard time making decisions on what to choose because there are so many good things to pick from.
This weekend was spent celebrating Anna's 12th birthday. She is quickly leaving her childhood behind. Her birthday was Saturday but we celebrated on Friday instead. Our homeschooling companions stayed over for lunch and the miss'y coworkers, the Brooms, came over for lunch. It's always a bit of a circus with 9 kids running around the house (don't know what it must be like in homes with that many kids all the time!) but I confess I kinda like it when there is a celebration at hand. Afterwards Anna had two girlfriends for a sleepover. Friday was also Guy's and my 28th wedding anniversary. That sorta got lost in all the other activity and was celebrated with naught but a wish and a kiss.
Several weeks ago as I was talking to my homeschool coworker, Nicia, we were talking food and she asked me if Chicken Fried Steak was chicken or steak. I was stunned that she didn't know what it was! I decided then and there that she and her family really needed to experience it first hand; so for Anna's birthday lunch on Friday we had homemade, from scratch, chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans (fresh, cooked with bacon, not canned), and "that good salad." It turned out as perfect as can be and everyone really enjoyed it (really, who wouldn't enjoy that meal!). Even the gravy turned out exactly as it should made with all those good drippings. It wasn't a low calorie meal, but it sure was good!
Most of the pictures were taken on Guy's camera so the only picture I have of the event was Saturday morning breakfast. I made homemade waffles with a waffle stick machine so the kids could dip their waffle sticks in syrup to eat. They also turned out good (thanks Richelle for selling me your waffle stick waffler!).
From the left are Daniel, Anna, Kaylea, and Iliana. Daniel spent the night because Kaylea wouldn't stay without one of her brothers there. He slept in Joshua's room, but I probably don't need to tell you that!
Posted in Grandparents Corner
This post is for family but you are all welcome to see our pictures. They are mostly of Christmas.
Anna found my camera and she and friend Kaylea had some fun with it.
We made this nativity in school.
On the day of our Christmas Party we made these really nice snowflakes. It was an easy project and the results were nice. From the left: Nathan and Rob Broom, Anna, Kaylea and Daniel Irwin.
Playing games at our school Christmas Party.
Anna with her new pet birds, Ruby (yellow) and Hotshot (green).
Guy with his new book, the extended version of David McCullough's 1776. (I guess books are following in the footsteps of movies with their extended versions!)
Anna loves making "to do" lists when there is something special going on. This is her Christmas "to do" list that she posted on her wall by the door.
Josh and cousin Luke
Posted in Grandparents Corner
Most of my time for the past month has been spent with school. We are having a great time this year. We have joined forces with another missionary family. They have four kids and so our kids have friends over everyday! They really like that. And I love having the companionship of another teacher as well! We are sharing responsibilities and so it's a lot more fun. These are photos of all the kids and some of the things we have done.
Our new school chums.
Nicia
Andrew
Joshua
Daniel
Kaylea
Anna and Daniel
Working on a science project
Our Science project- growing beans and corn
In History this year we are studying world cultures, starting in Oceania. As part of our studies we had a South Pacific Dinner. We decorated the table, made grass skirts and leis and ate a meal of pulled pork, tropical fruits, rice, and fruit juice. We invited the fathers to join us and enjoyed ourselves immensely!
From the South Pacific we next went to Australia and New Zealand in our studies. We were really missing our NZ friends the Webbs during this time. It would have been so much fun to have done this with them. The kids made posters and we finished up our time painting our faces like the NZ Maoris and doing the Maori warrior stance "Ha-ka."
Kaylea, Daniel, and Anna working on posters of New Zealand.
Anna's poster
Maori "tatoos"
The "Ha-ka"
Posted in Grandparents Corner
We've had a lot of things going on the past few weeks. I only have pictures of a few of them, but here they are. Enjoy!
Guy had his birthday recently and we celebrated with some newly made friends. They are missionaries from England with four young children. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them and look forward to their moving close by.
Guy (still handsome as ever!)
Our new friends, Peter and Vicki.
Peter and Vicki's daughter Charis came to sleep over the following week. She and Anna had fun together and climbed really high up the tree in the back yard. In the background is the second story of a house. That's how high they were!
Our son Josh went to the States this past summer for two months and worked. Some of the new toys he brought back include the XBOX and the HDTV that he paid for himself. His Uncle Tom gave him an electric guitar which he has been good to practice. We don't have an amplifier for it yet, but I'm not in a rush to get it!
Recently, one of our house churches celebrated their first anniversary as a church. Guy and Josh went to celebrate with them and these are some of the pictures. This house church is in Balerio Estacio and you can read more about it on my husband's blog (link in sidebar). The writing on the cake says "My first year with Christ Jesus."
Our very own princesses, Kaylea and Anna.
Posted in Grandparents Corner
I have finally been able to get a cable that will allow me to put my pictures onto my computer. I still can't put my cell phone pictures on, but maybe one day I'll get to Guy's computer when he's not using it to do just that.
I didn't mean to quit blogging. Life has a way, sometimes, of getting in the way! I've got lots of pictures to post - mostly for family. I decided to do it in three separate posts to spread them out just a bit. This first post is for pictures that are from earlier this summer or that don't fit into the other two categories. Enjoy!
Joshua has been using Guy's camera for some school projects and is fast becoming the family photographer. Our pets are a favorite subject of his and this is our favorite picture of Taffy.
And don't forget Claudia!
This is Anna with her friend Sydney (MK from Venezuela) at Annual Meeting last June.
This was the view from our hotel window at Annual Meeting last June. I can't remember the name of the snow capped peak, but I enjoyed looking at it every morning!
Guy's sister Gail and her husband, Edwin. They are missionaries in Quito where our Annual Meeting was held last June.
