International Day

Yesterday Nate Saint Memorial School (where the boys and Doug go to school) hosted an international day in which the kids presented all that they had learned about a country that that had had a month to research.  Their research was to include a poster, a costume, a presentation, and a some item of cuisine.  All the kids presented to their homeroom class and then they displayed their findings for the rest of the students and parents to see.  Sethy chose to research the United Arab Emirates where Doug and I lived for four years.

Doesn't he look cute in his white robe?  We used a pillow case for his hat and kept it on with a swim goggles band.  His poster took DAYS to complete.  Needless to say, we were all relieved when this day came to a close.  For his food item we made hummus in our blender and used tortillas as the pita bread.  It turned out fairly okay.  His other two friends shown here studied South Sudan and Papua New Guinea.

 

Jacobey chose Canada.  That was a bit easier to pull off.  I bought a hat at a friend's garage sale and he used a sweatshirt that we brought with us.  Jacobey served a cabbage, carrot, onion soup which was absolutely great.  His other friends here studied Brazil and Denmark. 

Darius' nation was Norway which is where Grandpa was from.  He asked Grandma and Aunt Dawn for a Norwegian prayer which he said in class. His poster turned out absolutely beautiful and for food her prepared pannekeuken (which I've forgotten how to spell; but it's a pancake) for his assignment. He spread mora berries and cream cheese on each of them and then rolled them up.  It was a nice flavor.  His costume was quite funny since he tried dying his reddish brown hair blond. 

The girls he's with did India and Cambodia.  I have to throw in this picture of the two sweet girls that did North Korea as their project.  Are they just the cutest?

Here's the group in all their attire.  We even had a boy who was born and raised here in Ecuador choose to do the USA.  He's the one in the cowboy hat and boots.  His food that he prepared was hamburgers and Coke.  My personal favorite was the boy who did Mexico.  He's standing next to Darius on the far right.   

All in all it was a great day and we all slept in this morning. 

Thanks for reading,

Blessings,

kim

 

 

 

Thankfulness

Yesterday we got up early and started moving in the kitchen and bathrooms. After my shower, out of sheer curiosity, I pulled out the tiny-tooth comb from one of our many lice kits and drug it through my wet long, curly hair.  Within a few short seconds I witnessed the horror of horrors.  A fully mature louse on the comb.  I eventually found two others and a few miniscule ones.  AHHHHHHH!  Three lice kits, two mayonnaise treatments, tea tree oil daily in our shampoo, Ivermectin pills, and one Robicomb later, and I still have lice. 

No rest for the weary though since I had to be at Casa de Fe early.  Our teacher in the three-year-old
room, Nelly, was going to be out today and would need me to hang around for the full four hours rather than just my usual two.  Selah and I left the house just after 7:30 and started on our mile trek in the drizzle.  When we arrived we found all 70+ kids in the big house attending their early morning assembly.  Upon the conclusion we followed them to a long bathroom break and then it was off to our classroom.  Nelly had hired a substitute teacher for the day so she and I introduced ourselves and we debriefed about the plans for our time together. 

Within a few minutes we began our art project--putting red paint on a picture of flower petals which were covered with bowtie pasta.  I pulled out the paint, put a dab on each dish, distributed the pictures and gave some simple instructions.  The kids, who were supposed to only use one finger to do the painting with, were eventually wearing red on their clothes, faces, and hands.  That's when it occurred to me to put their painting shirts on to protect their clothes.  Too late!  Our tia (helper assigned to the classroom for the morning) took one child to the bathroom in the big house while we tried cleaning up the hands of all the others in a bucket of water. After she returned, one of the women in charge of the orphanage came to our little classroom because she had seen the red-covered school uniform scurry past her.  When she opened our door and saw a sea of red, I think she actually 'saw red', if you catch my drift.  She was very disappointed and shook her head lots.  I apologized profusely and told her the fault completely rested on my shoulders.  She was fairly kind about it, but I think it was too late for our sweet little sub.  We both felt terrible but knew there wasn't much we could do to change it now.  We carried on with our day as best we could. 

Well, after many rough spots with kids hitting each other, crying uncontrollably, wondering out the door in the rain, standing on the table, pulling things off of the shelf, licking the container of red glitter, stealing toys from one another, spreading red paint on the walls, pulling out the blue paint and spreading that around, and many other things that escape me now, we three adults with our mere seven kids were overwhelmed.  Did we miss Nelly!  We decided to take the kids outside as it was no longer raining and we simply needed a change of scenery.  We joined the class of four year olds and walked all sixteen kids down the big hill to the outdoor concha.  Two other ladies visiting from Minnesota (we bonded on some things) joined us on our walk.  So, with six adults and sixteen kids, what could possibly go wrong?  Never underestimate the power of these crafty kiddos. 

We made it down the hill well and onto the concha where the kids ran and climbed and laughed.  It was a joy to see and a huge relief.  Yet, we still had the cloud over our heads as every time you looked at one of the precious kids you saw their red-stained shirts.  We ran and chased and corralled them from 'hither and yon' and then headed back up the hill.  Three meandered into a tiny spot protected by barbed wire and too tight for any adult to enter.  We coaxed and coaxed with little success; it was the words of our threatening tia that finally did the trick but not before these guys had put their mouths on every dirt-covered bottle and piece of trash they could find.  One of our poor guys had smudged his whole face with dirt and was quite the site.  Once they came free from their spot, we trudged up the hill and back to our classroom for the final fifteen minutes of class before the kids ate lunch.   

A few minutes later Selah and I departed after my giving lots of kisses goodbye and commiserating with our sweet substitute who by this point was obviously distraught about the shirts and the challenge of the day.  We told one another that all would be well and that the paint would come out. 
During our mile trek home, "I need a nap" is the only thing that kept circling around in my head.  I was beyond discouraged.

Yet, just when it's darkest, there is always a ray of light that comes shining through.  A friend called on my cell phone to let me know that she'd been to the post office and had discovered two packages for our family in their postal box.  Oh my.  What preciously perfect timing!  I personally believe it is God's timing that just as we get the most discouraged, he plans those perfect things to let us know that He cares.  We met Doug and the boys for lunch (a whopping $12 for the six of us at a place we'd never been to before), and then the rest of my family went off to school.  I walked the rest of the way home stopping quickly by our friends' apartment to retrieve the two packages. 

I ripped into them faster than lightening as I walked the last block home.  What an amazing thing to be feeling so incredibly low and uncertain of oneself one moment and then to feel so very loved and appreciated the next!  The first, smaller package came from Heather and James and their kids--it contained an American lice treatment kit!  Praise God for their timing.  I just had to laugh at how it was the very thing that I needed.  The second package came from Beth and Kurt and their four girls (they just delivered girl number five since the package was sent) filled with candy and sweet homemade cards.  Between the two, it was more than I could take.  Sending us sweets to the tune of $31 just melted my heart and made me ever so appreciative--I started to cry.  (Please note, this is not to encourage any of the rest of you to spend that kind of outrageous money to send us a package! Praying for us, emailing us, or calling us to chat are all great gifts as well--cheaper too.)

Oh how I needed that blessing at that moment.  It was perfectly timed.  When I arrived home I had to get going on my planning for the lesson that I'd be teaching at Bible Club (Sharon was going to be gone again) three hours later, all in Spanish.  If that doesn't make me think and hit the books, I don't know what does.  PTL I had a quiet house, a wonderful cup of Earl Gray Tea, and time to pour over the story of Abigail in the Bible.  Suffice it to say that in my preparing a lesson on "Thankfulness" (it is November, you know) in which I report that thankful Abigail is blessed by God's hand while ungrateful Nabal, her husband, is cursed and struck dead my God, I remembered that I too should be thankful even in the midst of challenge.  I even said in my lesson a short three hours later that God expects a grateful heart. Hmmmmmm.  Not sure what the kids got out of it.  Probably talked to myself the most.

Thanks for reading,
Blessings,
kim

Bugs and more

Three more short bug stories for you.  First, when I was preparing some potatoes for dinner the other day, I set them aside after washing them.  I then started chopping them into smaller chunks and before I could make it to one of the potatoes, a little worm popped out of it and began wriggling around on the counter.  Since this is the second time this has happened--the first time was weeks ago with an eggplant--I didn't jump out of my skin like I did then.  I guess I'm showing some maturity even if it's just a slight bit.

Second, last night Doug discovered a centipede in our bathroom just minding his own business.  I was so grateful that it was Doug that did the discovering and that it was found before we went to bed (otherwise, I may have discovered him in the middle of the night on accident).

And third, on Saturday I sent Selah to the neighbor's house to return a dollar that was owed them.  She went but came running home about one minute later sobbing.  She said that something bit her and I immediately thought it might have been their dog.  Much to my surprise, it was not the dog but some bug she said that had crawled on her leg and got her through the little black pants she was wearing. Looking under the pants at her thigh we couldn't see broken skin but we could tell that she was developing a bruise in that spot.  Interesting.  I called my pickle-canning friend Susan and told her the situation since she is also a trained nurse.  Since she was not in Shell at the time, she suggested that I contact our mutual friend who also is a nurse and lives just up the road from us.  So, we called April and asked if we could meet up with her in front of a third friend's house where we could find some more wisdom from Melanie who has lived here in Ecuador her whole life.  Between the three of us, maybe we could discern what this mystery bug was. 

So, Selah and I headed out the door and within five minutes we were in the street, in a huddle over my girl assessing the damage and brainstorming possibilities.  Birgit, another friend who saw us outside her window joined our group and between the four of us, we decided that it was not overly concerning--we didn't know if it was an ant, a spider, or a wasp, but we did notice that Selah was quite content eating a pear and seemed to not be in much pain.  In the end, they suggested I walk over to a local doctor's house (who I had never met previously) and ask him his thoughts.  I did and he was kind enough to give his diagnosis.  He believed that was not a worrisome situation and that she'd be just fine.  Today, now three days later, all has healed and she doesn't even remember it since she's had other scrapes and bruises since then that have captured her attention. 

So, though bug #1,000,000 (or so it seems) has left his mark on us, we're going to prevail and carry on anyway.  I have to tell you though that as someone at the market today was chatting with me I had to smile.  He's here visiting from the States and asked how I was managing with the relocating to Ecuador.  I reported having a hard time with bugs.  He smiled and reminded me that I live in the jungle.  I smiled back.  Oh, yeah.  Did I expect anything different?  I forget that I'm the invader, not them.  May I have more patience (and be able to keep the most incredible bug collection as I capture them all!)

thanks for reading,
Blessings,
kim

Talents

This week I had the privledge of substitute teaching for the 3rd/4th grade teacher who is in New York City for her best friend's wedding.  What a wonderful experience getting to welcome kids into the classroom each morning, showing them how to graph numbers, write creatively, grow in their vocabulary, enjoy a good piece of literature, understand the causes of the Civil War and the systems of the human body, and encourage one another in their routine tasks.  Every day I was all smiles and loved every minute.  Not one since discipline problem or child that needed even the slightest correction.  They were so pleasant and I was so pleased.  I didn't mind grading a single thing or staying after to complete the tasks that needed to be done the following day. 

It's in the middle of these sorts of experiences when I consider the reason for my being created.  Ever do that?  Ever wonder why you specifically were put on the Earth?  This week I thought about it a lot since I noticed that as I taught, I got more and more excited about the days that loomed ahead.  I didn't wear down at all.  That's where I sat all week, thinking:  I was created to teach--to see the light bulb go on in the mind of the learner.  It's almost like as I pour myself and my mind and my encouragement into these kids, God is pouring Himself and His wisdom and His encouragement into me.  What a great feeling to be put to good use and to know that I have an unlimited amount of reserve.  I can give freely knowing that I won't run out.

I think we quite often live with the opposite mindset.  We give or teach or share or work or whatever with the attitude that we must reserve some of this for ourselves for a rainy day.  Our money or time or energy or resources may run out if we give all we've got.  Yet, if we are doing what God has called us to do (not simply what we want to do or what we have to do), we're letting a lie direct our steps.  We're believing that His resources are limited.  But NO>  God's resources are infinite.  They have no limit.  So, we have to first discern what God has called us to:  are we supposed to be doing the thing we spend hours and hours doing, or are we in it for some other reason?  Then we have to listen to our own thinking about His resources.  Are we holding things back or are we giving all we've got to the things to which we've been called?

The question is, What are we holding back for?  In the Bible, Jesus shares a parable about talents.  You may be already very familiar with it. For those who are not, I'll just say that three people were given talents (money) to invest while their master or employer was gone on a trip.  Two of the three men invested their money wisely while the last one did not. He hid his money away.  When the master returned he questioned the three about how their investments turned out.  He praised the first two for their talents had grown. However, he rebuked the third because this man and his things had been of no use to anyone while the master was away. 

Jesus shared this parable for a reason.  God Himself is the Master and we are those to whom He's given talents.  Are we using them or are we hiding them away?  Are we spending our time blessing others with what we've been given, or are we locking our things and money and skills away for our own sake?  Don't we know that our God, our Master, has an unlimited supply of resources, and that as we give away of ourselves, He'll simply resupply our needs?  He wishes us to live extravagantly and to give generously of ourselves.  He so wants us to consider very well what it is that we've each been entrusted with--knowledge of a certain topic, skills in a certain area, wisdom in how to do something, time or resources, etc--and then decide how we can share that with others. 

I think of those who have adopted, who have volunteered their time, who have served in shelters, who have tutored, who have driven when others needed a lift, who have opened their house up to visitors, who have delivered a meal, who have babysat, who have given their things away to those who had little, and many more things.  Let's all challenge ourselves to consider well how we can bless others.  If you don't know, ask Him.  He knows.  He gave you the talent for a reason. And, he knows just who's out there that needs what you have.  Just ask Him what He wants you to do with it.  Try to give it all way.  I'll bet you can't.  He'll just keep giving you more and more.  Know for sure though you aren't supposed to hide it way. I'm certain it's so you can share it somehow.  And, when you do, you'll be enormously blessed and refilled to overflowing.  That's the way He works.  He's infinite and wonderful. 

Thanks for reading,
blessings, kim

Success

Well, since our last entry (Mayonnaise), we've had some real reasons to praise God.  First off, a friend invited me over last week and taught me how to make pickles.  Selah and Susan and I made about twelve jars of pickles one morning.  It was a good experience since we can't usually get dill pickles here.  This is Susan and Selah holding the 'after' product. 

Second, I've not seen any of those pesky little bugs in our hair since last week.  That may mean that they're gone, or it may mean that I've got a lot fewer of them to battle.  Regardless, a sweet friend in Minnesota (Sheri, you rock, my dear) sent a package including a Robicomb which zaps those little bugs as you comb through your hair. Allows me to have my vengeance.....

Not only did I get my package from Sheri, I also got one from my pal Heather in Katy (equally rockin' gal) who sent, among other things that I love and really need, my garlic press from home.  Now you might be saying to yourself, "A garlic press?!"  Yes, it's a wonderful tool from my kitchen in Katy which I used frequently to keep my fingers from smelling like that most wonderful (aka stinky) seasoning.  When I unwrapped it out of the tissue paper she sent it in, it was so like Christmas. 

And speaking of which, I got to go to Latacunga yesterday and shop at the mall there.  When I looked up, it was like I was in the States.  I saw hanging from the rafters little hot air balloons decorated with Christmas presents and mini Santa Clauses.  Since they have no "American Thanksgiving" here to fend off the Christmas decorations, they drag them out of storage once the month of November hits the calendar.  Sometimes earlier even.  As a matter of fact, when I was shopping in MegaMaxi a few weeks ago, I saw an Ecuadorian replica of the manger scene.  Mary looked like a native Ecuadorian 'Maria' fully dressed in something like a bright colored poncho, while Joseph resembled a "Jose" dressed in similar fare.  I should have bought it since the next time I get to go to that store may be months from now and the Christmas things will be put away (at least in theory).

Though this mall didn't have the Target-like MegaMaxi, it did have a SuperMaxi which still contained way more groceries than I can typically find anywhere near Shell.  I only had $78 so I couldn't pick up everything I wanted--one of the drawbacks of a cash-only society--but I did find several things that I previously had not encountered in other places.  I discovered a shaker of onion powder, a jar of organic tomato sauce, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, dried parsley, couscous, Special K cereal, and a few other terrific things.  Sadly, they didn't sell feta cheese, spicy bar-b-q sauce, or pitted black olives, but maybe I'll find them someplace else in the coming months.  Regardless, it was a wonderful outing and ended way way way too soon.  (I caught myself getting downright giddy walking up and down the aisles humming to the American 80s music that was being piped in over the speaker system while I was locating a plethora of favorite foods.)  Below is a picture of what $73.60 paid for. 

Crazy, isn't it?

The reason I was able to go to Latacunga in the first place was because a couple of friends and I went to a ladies' retreat over the weekend.  It was four hours away in a very small town called Papallacta (pa-pa-yak-tah) where we stayed in a large guest house that sleeps 28--we only had 13 so it was very pleasant.  Over the weekend I took my scrapbooking materials and was able to complete 54 pages in our family album.  I stayed up late and got up early and made myself work almost continuously.  We did take a short break on Saturday so we could go to the hot springs and warm up our toes.  It was wonderful--I even got a sunburn on my shoulders because we were on the equator and as high up as 10,200 feet in the mountains.  The sun in very intense there.  This is a picture of the hot springs--it actually looks like a resort!

This is Papallacta.

This is our small road trip group.  Russ drove us there, Kyleen is his wife, Ruth is another of our friends, and then there's me looking a bit red after the stint in the sun.  We're all smiles because we so enjoyed the time away.

Finally, today began my week of substituting in Sethy's 3rd/4th grade classroom.  His teacher is currently in the States for a wedding and I am joyfully serving in her place.  I went in this morning just a little uncertain of how things would go--it's been a while since I taught all day long to a classroom of students--I'm more used to teaching my own kids at home all day.  Well, it was glorious.  The kids were so well behaved, curious, helpful, respectful, and downright easy.  I loved it so much that when I got home and Doug asked me if I was worn out from the long day, I told him that that couldn't be further from the truth.  I was pumped.  I couldn't wait to go back tomorrow. 

So, though we still have termite wings all throughout the house, and our toilet seat keeps coming off, and we got soaked in the rain coming home for lunch, and I couldn't find sour cream in Shell so that I can make Ranch dressing from the packets my friends sent, I'm praising God for the good that has happened as of late.  May I have a good attitude regardless of the circumstances. 

thanks for reading, blessings, kim

Mayonnaise

On Friday night we had dinner, cleaned up, and prepped the kitchen for the great mayonnaise slathering.  It was just before 7 pm.  We had decided to get rid of the pesky lice once and for all.  It would require drastic measures so we bought the monster sized container of mayonnaise and one by one beaconed our children into the kitchen.  Darius was the first subject.  I poured approximately half a cup of the white goopy liquid onto his thick mane and began massaging it into his scalp.  He tolerated only so much rubbing before he slithered out of the kitchen from under my fingertips.  Calling after him, I let him know that he would need to return in an hour or so. 

Next came Jacobey who scrunched up his face at the feel of cold, wet mayo all over his head.  I poured it on, spread it around, then had some fun with his hair style. We talked about how mayo would be, in theory, the best thing to use on Crazy Hair Day, because you could really get your hair to stick up well.  After a quick glance in the mirror, he approved and headed off.

Selah with a bit longer hair required more than a mere half cup.  I could really go to town with her hair style as I worked my substance throughout her golden locks.  After having played a bit, we put it up in a bun so as to not bother her face.

Sethy, like the others, commented on the feel of such a strange substance and wondered aloud if this would actually do the trick.  I had to confess that I hoped so but didn't know for sure.  Since it had been recommended by a few different friends, I though it was worth a try. Just like the others, he went off to play someplace in our small home. 

Doug and I used the remaining amount on our scalps--Me more (way more) and him less.  To me he looked like he'd simply used too much hair gel.  Me, not so much.  It took close to a full cup of mayo to slather my whole head since I have such a mop of hair. Up it all went into a bun and then I busied myself with other tasks. 

Well, if I thought that I was going to do this deed without the neighbors knowing, I was dead wrong.  Normally when dinner ends, we hang out inside our house not seeing anyone else for the remainder of the evening.  Of course, that is except for this night. The kids in the next houses showed up at our door alerting us that there was a huge game of Sardines going on outside (a favorite of our guys) and they were being summonsed.  With an expectant expression Darius asked permission to bolt out the door and I knew he was speaking for the other three.  Well, what does one say to her mayo-laden children?  "No" to preserve our pride and self-respect?  Or "Yes" to throw caution to the wind, hope the dark is dark enough, and let the kids play with the accumulated mob building?

Well, depending upon who you are, you'll be proud of me.  At a moment's notice I knew I had to live my life not worrying about what people think.  I said, "Sure, go have fun" and they all flew out the door not even concerned that they might be found out.  That was only me, but not for long. For the next hour plus I busied myself again with other physical tasks, all the while mentally considering how much I worry about what other people think.  I say that I don't but I'm certain that's not true.  I sometimes allow others' opinions to determine whether I wear make-up, what I bring to ladies' functions, how I pray, how we wear our hair, the way I dress, whether I ride the little bike Doug bought for me or not, how I discipline my kids, and the list goes on.  That's not how I want to live my life.  I don't want to go with how the crowd thinks--crowds are too fickle for one, and sometimes they don't make wise choices for two.  If I'm going to make choices based one something, I'd better chose something more than just the opinions of other humans like me who are flawed like me.  This turned out to be another plug by God to get me to consult Him instead and worry only with what He thinks.  (His standards are higher anyway--though sometimes He does come up with some crazy things--build an Ark, did you say!!??)

So.....a lot later the kids came in, worn from their play and ready to be minus their cool hairdos.  Darius reported that he and Cobey had been asked why they smelled of mayo.  Of course he said, "Cause we have lice!" which cemented my desire to not care what others thought.  I'd made my bed and now I was surely going to lie in it. I had to laugh. 

Doug and I spent the next near hour combing out the younger three's hair and then washing their scalp at the kitchen sink.  Many of the tiny villians were dead or at least gave the impression that they'd overdosed on mayo and therefore combed out easily.  Interestingly we found an oversized ant and a termite in Sethy's hair as well.  Where had he been all night?!  Then we ushered them into the shower so they could wash in an attempt to remove all traces of the smelly, warm condiment that had for the past three hours run down my neck and the side of my face.

We allowed Darius to continue reading his book while Doug and I began raking through our own hair.  It took a very long time to get all the tangles out of mine--Doug, not so much--and then I made a move toward the shower.  I was very ready to be done with the stench as well.  Just as I turned on the shower faucet, and Doug turned on the kitchen one, we both discovered the same thing:  we had no more running water.  In disbelief we turned the knobs on and off a few times before the full weight of reality finally hit.  We had no running water.  I began to pace and start to assess whether this was time to panic.  Darius, Doug and I all had mayo still in our hair and desperately needed a shower, much less an opportunity to simply rinse the oily stuff out.  How were we going to sleep with a head full of the foulest, runniest stuff we'd ever lathered our scalp with?!  AARRHHHHHHH!

Talk about frustrated!  Then I started to pray.  I was casting out all sorts of evil from my kitchen:  satan, demons, whoever else dared to stop our water and mess with my life.  Will these frustrations never end?  Did I mention that in the midst of that we had to kill a roach in our kitchen and then another one in Darius' and Jacobey's room?  Sometimes I feel near my breaking point with the little things (BUGS) that can overwhelm one in the midst.  It took a concerted effort to not get mad or go mad.

Praise God that we had a near-full tank of drinking water sitting in the laundry room.  So....we filled up the teapot and took turns pouring fresh drinking water over one another's shampooed scalp in the kitchen sink.  We had enough to make it to all three of our heads and then we slowly meandered toward bed.  It was after 10:45 and we'd been at it for nearly four hours.  Just as we were turning out lights I decided to check the faucet one last time.  Out trickled the most wonderful sight.  I called to Doug letting him know that we'd been blessed and that I was hopping into the shower.  I took a good and hot one and felt that sometimes persistence and prayer are all one can do. 

So, for an update here on Sunday night, we've seen only a few live lice, most are still either dead or extremely small.  Between yesterday and today I painstakingly picked out over 100 of the near microscopic critters from one child's head.  The others had some too.  I'm not sure if any of these things are still living but I do know that we'll have to do the mayo thing again in a manner of days--one evening this week.  I think we've all decided that once the mayo does it's thing and the lice are finally gone--soon we hope--we'll all be enjoying mustard on our sandwiches instead. 

Meanwhile I sit here on the bed with the laptop on my legs which are covered in red, hot, welted bug bites that I got today while outside.  Ice packs help with the heat and swelling.  I'm trying to keep a sense of humor and find some joy in it all. 
Pray.....
Blessings, kim  ; )

Bugs

Our most recent bug infestations--we have four going at the moment--are the sugar ants that somehow find our kitchen counter the best place imaginable, the fruit flies that we have tried to trap with not much success, the termites that no longer are okay with just nibbling on our doors and have begun to leave their wings on our kitchen counter, and the lice that we somehow cannot find the end to--we're just about ready to shave everyone's head; mine included!

Below you'll see our most glamorous addition to the bug collection.  The kids ooooohhhh-ed and aaaahhhhhh-ed over it.  Doug thought it was huge and hairy.  I simply said, "Get the camera and snap a picture of it!" A friend here said that these tarantulas are not poisonous.  Like their much smaller cousins, they're actually our friends in that they eat the more pesky creatures around (like roaches, YUCK!).  So we caught a glimpse of her and let her be on her merry way.  Notice how big she is by comparing her size to the chain link fence just above her.  She's crawling up the side of our bodega (storage building).

A couple of nights before, we saw this friend here making his way through the grass.  We find him fascinating and have seen much smaller snails like him.  Since he's not the biting kind, we have never felt threatened by his family making their home in our yard.  Well, that is till yesterday when we found out that snails carry disease and are bad to have around.  So.......we're having to rework our assumptions about creatures.  We apparently have a lot of wrong notions about things.  That's Sethy's hand above it to make a comparison.

We've also seen hummingbirds, more moths and butterflies than you could ever count, geckos, and scores and scores of the most interesting bugs.  Jacobey just commented yesterday that he needs to get a bug collection going.  Amen!  With what he finds here, he could win the Science Fair every year henceforth, hands down.  For example, Selah and I caught this great guy at Casa de Fe.  We saw him hanging on a wall there and had to take him home so we could capture him on film.

(Can you tell that Selah cut her own bangs?)

On another note, we hosted our first bonfire the other night at the end of our driveway.  Since we live off of a dirt road, we were able to pile up our sticks right on the road itself.  We did find it a challenge coming up with enough dry sticks and logs to make this happen though. Since it rains nearly every day, most wood is damp and unusable.  One friend joked that ours was not a bonfire but a woefully small campfire. True but fun nonetheless.

Thankfully friends helped us with finding a larger, dry log to get things going.  And, we all pitched in together to come up with elements for s'mores.  One family contributed the sticks for roasting, then we were able to produce two different packages of marshmallows, some semi-sweet chocolate, and lacking graham crackers, we used little round shortbread cookies.  These are friends from three different families that live near us.

So though we live among the bugs, we are grateful to live among nice humans too. 
Blessings, kim