Just this week we received a new family here into Shell which excited us to no end. They've come for the year (or more) and are to take on a few roles which may bless us immensely. The head of the family will be doing so much of the maintenance work that is sorely needed around our small community, his wife will teach our school kids art and music, and their daughters will attend the school for at least a little bit of the time. However, this is not what we're most excited about. They've come with a deep sense of love for God and a great desire to bless those around them. They want to connect, to learn, to grow deeper. What a humble family they already appear to be. We had lunch with them today and they were simply so grateful for the food, atmosphere, and camaraderie. We were grateful too.
We truly are blessed because we as a community get to know entire families well. That, I don't think, is very much the norm anymore these days in the US. There, we usually meet one family member--at the gym, in the office, at school, or in any number of other places--but then we never encounter the rest of their household. We never see family dynamics in play or watch couples interact and operate as a duo.
Where we live in Ecuador, we get to know the family as a cohesive entity and we can learn from and enjoy them as a whole. We are privy to the interplay between husband and wife, father and children, mothers and kids. Here we've gotten to know a number of singles, couples, or families on a fairly intimate basis and have come to really learn greatly from those around us. In fact, we've enjoyed a meal with more people over the past two months than we normally would in an entire school year. We have averaged about four or five meals a week with others.
There is one particular couple that stands out from the others. About seven weeks ago we received an invitation from them to go out for pizza. They collected us in their car built for four comfortably and without batting an eye we rode off to a brick oven pizza place six miles down the road in Puyo. After a great deal of food, laughter, and fruity soda, they then dropped Doug and I off at the "big" grocery store while they took our kids out for ice cream. By the time we arrived home, we thought we'd died and gone to heaven: full tummies, happy kids, and a chance to buy groceries all while being schlepped around by our very generous friends. They wouldn't even let us pay for our fair share of ice cream or gas money.
Well, we're pleased to report that that little tradition continues to this day. Faithfully once a week we do dinner out or at one of our houses with these sweet friends (who by the way had raised six kids of their own here in Ecuador). And with our encouragement, they have given us parenting advice, been our biggest cheerleaders, prayed faithfully for us, and have shared any number of stories about their lives and their kids' growing up years that we feel very fortunate to have this surrogate older, wiser brother & sister.
I guess the point that I'm getting to is that though eating alone at home is normally easier, quicker, and allows you to get to bed earlier, it's not always the best option if you want to grow, learn, laugh, or feel like you've connected in a meaningful way. I can say for sure that this time around, the investment that we're making in others and they in us is leading to a much more fulfilling experience and is teaching us more about heart issues and life in general. It's enabling us to make sure that the first-year teacher living next door has a home-cooked meal weekly, the visiting missionaries from the US feel welcomed to Shell, the single mom has a night off from cooking, the family that moved away to another city have a place to stay when they come around for a visit, and, it makes sure that we're being looked after too. We're living this adventure together.
If eating with others is out of your comfort zone, I challenge you to give it a whirl. You may be surprised at what you get out of it.....
Thanks for reading,
Blessings, kim
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Role Models
Recently I've begun to take an interest in how one family in particular has met the unique challenges of Shell head-on. This family arrived here in the summer time having just as many, if not more, disadvantages as the rest of us. They didn't have any language skills to speak of, they were lacking in funding, and they didn't have a large mission organization working in their corner. What they did have was the vision from the Lord to go into the Ecuadorian interior to share their love for people and for their Maker. So, boldly and confidently they came.
When they arrived, they were greeted by a house in need of some repair due to an unexpected leak, boxes of supplies needing reorganization and distribution to others, Spanish language spoken everywhere with no family member able to translate, need for transportation to purchase all the supplies they would require, spotty internet connections, and a much smaller missionary populace in Shell due to the summer travel and eventual movement of some to other Ecuadorian cities. This could have been enough to really stop them in their tracks or at least give them a less than positive disposition. Yet it did not.
When we came to Shell about six weeks after their arrival, they really should have been in the throws of culture shock--they should have completely moved out of the honeymoon stage and begun to find the hurdles greatly annoying and overwhelming. Oddly, they were no worse for the wear. Instead, they were enjoying their new adventure, getting the most out of their experiences, and finding each challenge to be something to be expected. In fact, they weren't surprised at their troubles nor did they complain about them. They met them head on and sorted them out.
Almost immediately after our arrival this family invited us over to dinner. We couldn't believe it. They had just met us and yet wished to spend time getting to know us already. What generosity! When we joined them for dinner they were so disarming and easy to chat with. No pretense. What you see is what you get. Our kids loved the massive quantities of food, the spice that accompanied it, and the kid-friendly movie they showed for their entertainment. Even though their kids who are older than ours (their son is two years older than our oldest son, and their daughters are four years older than our daughter) could have shrugged off the visit or interests of our four, they welcomed them in warmly and brought out things that our kiddos would enjoy. Super.
Not only that, this family has volunteered their expertise in martial arts for the community of missionaries. They have shared their skills in PE class at school and have held early evening classes for those who either wish more instruction or are not part of the PE class. They are there to serve us and teach us AND they're there to share with the local Ecuadorian people.
The thing though that really stood out to me was the fact that when one of their daughters celebrated her birthday recently, they sent out a community-wide email inviting all missionary kids in the community--boys and girls, little kids and big, parents, anyone. No one would be excluded. Wow.
Now as one who has been subject to many of these same struggles, and who has had to decide how to maneuver through the challenges, I am so sad to report that I have found myself too often in one of two positions: I've either been too concerned about how things here are done and so I've not done anything, or, I've complained about how things are done and have been in a crummy mood over it. Neither of these is exactly Christ-like nor loving toward others.
You know, it's one thing to be frustrated by things and know that you're up against some challenges, it's another to go with the flow and to do things the 'right way' anyway. I could be fairly okay with how I've interpreted and lived this missionary experience until I witnessed someone who truly came in with the love of Christ and kept their eyes focused on the goal and not on their own issues or troubles. Now I'm confronted with the reality of my less-than-Christ-like response to things.
I love this lesson though. It reminds me that my standard is NOT other people or even other missionaries. It is Christ Himself. I have to do what He would do and not worry about what others would do or even how they would respond. He only cared about the goal, the prize, the reason He came. He only cared to do the 'right thing' and rarely did He ever speak out of frustration. He's the standard.
So much to learn....
So little time.....
Thanks for reading.
Blessings, kim
When they arrived, they were greeted by a house in need of some repair due to an unexpected leak, boxes of supplies needing reorganization and distribution to others, Spanish language spoken everywhere with no family member able to translate, need for transportation to purchase all the supplies they would require, spotty internet connections, and a much smaller missionary populace in Shell due to the summer travel and eventual movement of some to other Ecuadorian cities. This could have been enough to really stop them in their tracks or at least give them a less than positive disposition. Yet it did not.
When we came to Shell about six weeks after their arrival, they really should have been in the throws of culture shock--they should have completely moved out of the honeymoon stage and begun to find the hurdles greatly annoying and overwhelming. Oddly, they were no worse for the wear. Instead, they were enjoying their new adventure, getting the most out of their experiences, and finding each challenge to be something to be expected. In fact, they weren't surprised at their troubles nor did they complain about them. They met them head on and sorted them out.
Almost immediately after our arrival this family invited us over to dinner. We couldn't believe it. They had just met us and yet wished to spend time getting to know us already. What generosity! When we joined them for dinner they were so disarming and easy to chat with. No pretense. What you see is what you get. Our kids loved the massive quantities of food, the spice that accompanied it, and the kid-friendly movie they showed for their entertainment. Even though their kids who are older than ours (their son is two years older than our oldest son, and their daughters are four years older than our daughter) could have shrugged off the visit or interests of our four, they welcomed them in warmly and brought out things that our kiddos would enjoy. Super.
Not only that, this family has volunteered their expertise in martial arts for the community of missionaries. They have shared their skills in PE class at school and have held early evening classes for those who either wish more instruction or are not part of the PE class. They are there to serve us and teach us AND they're there to share with the local Ecuadorian people.
The thing though that really stood out to me was the fact that when one of their daughters celebrated her birthday recently, they sent out a community-wide email inviting all missionary kids in the community--boys and girls, little kids and big, parents, anyone. No one would be excluded. Wow.
Now as one who has been subject to many of these same struggles, and who has had to decide how to maneuver through the challenges, I am so sad to report that I have found myself too often in one of two positions: I've either been too concerned about how things here are done and so I've not done anything, or, I've complained about how things are done and have been in a crummy mood over it. Neither of these is exactly Christ-like nor loving toward others.
You know, it's one thing to be frustrated by things and know that you're up against some challenges, it's another to go with the flow and to do things the 'right way' anyway. I could be fairly okay with how I've interpreted and lived this missionary experience until I witnessed someone who truly came in with the love of Christ and kept their eyes focused on the goal and not on their own issues or troubles. Now I'm confronted with the reality of my less-than-Christ-like response to things.
I love this lesson though. It reminds me that my standard is NOT other people or even other missionaries. It is Christ Himself. I have to do what He would do and not worry about what others would do or even how they would respond. He only cared about the goal, the prize, the reason He came. He only cared to do the 'right thing' and rarely did He ever speak out of frustration. He's the standard.
So much to learn....
So little time.....
Thanks for reading.
Blessings, kim
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Parenting
This is by far the hardest thing we do. Can I get an 'Amen'?
These little people that we nurture and pour into and sacrifice for and love on....
Who just take and take and take and take....
Who make us laugh and make us cry and make us feel just about every emotion in between....
They are such a handful!
And yet I love them dearly.
We really have had a rough go of it, and after our circling the house in prayer, we had about a week's worth of peace. At the conclusion of that week we visited a counselor friend that lives across the street and she passed on some great wisdom. We had been praying for wisdom, so when she chatted with me and gave me words of advice, I knew we'd gotten our answer to prayer.
She started with, "Welcome of adolescence!", and then quickly recounted the time when she ushered her sixteen year old son into her husband's office and said, "Here's your son. You can do what you want with him. I am finished!"
Then she told us that though our children may say all sorts of things that don't make sense or hurt us or sound rude to us, we shouldn't take it personally or get totally wrapped up in the words. The emotion behind them should not be met with our emotional response. Instead we should let the words slide off of us taking note of the child's heart. The last thing we need is to fight fire with fire.
She told us to save important conversations--ones where we find out the meaning behind the words harshly spoken--for a later time. Take the child for a walk or a meal or on an errand where you can talk without the emotion or the confrontation. Just ask questions and give the child an opportunity to be heard.
In essence, allow the child to stretch his wings, express his thoughts, say his peace. We want to hear our kids--instead of silence them or ignore them--and we wish to respond to the thoughts they have without getting distracted by the emotion.
She also reminded me that giving kids options and not commands is a wise thing. For example, asking them if they'd like to shower before dinner or if they'd like to shower after dinner is a way to insist upon a shower for the evening without being demanding. I like the, "Would you like to dry the dishes or put them away?" option.
One of my friend's main points was that we as parents cannot appear to be making this up as we go along. We must lead with a calm assurance that we know how to parent and are ready to take on such a role. If they shake us up and make us an emotional wreck or seemingly unable to parent, then it becomes more scary for them. They need to know, and feel most secure in our home, when they are certain that we are able to take care of them. They need to know that we know what we're doing. Most importantly we must present a unified front in our home--pitting mom against dad can be a child's greatest weapon--and thankfully on this point Doug and I can claim victory. We do stand together.
Finally, she let me know that we should parent with some levity; we should see parenting and our relationship with our kids as a source of joy. We need to put humor and laughter into our day so laughing with our kids is a must. Games, jokes, and lighthearted conversations should be a part of our regular home life. Life need not be so serious. In other words, love your kids and enjoy them immensely.
Amen. I'm happy to report that since we've been reminded of these key points, our life here in the Thompson house is so much better. We've been cooking together, shooting hoops together, having great lunch and dinner discussions, and gone for a few walks to chat about what's going on. Emotions have not run high and everyone feels more heard. We even had our toughest kid walk into our room tonight, lay down on our bed, and have a half hour long conversation with us about things on his mind. He wanted to know what his future options would be for schooling when we returned to the States, wanted to put in his two cents about things, and generally wanted to pass his aspirations by us. We laughed together and were even visited by the little sister in the next room who told us to keep it down because she was trying to sleep. : )
Parenting.
Enough said.
Blessings,
kim
These little people that we nurture and pour into and sacrifice for and love on....
Who just take and take and take and take....
Who make us laugh and make us cry and make us feel just about every emotion in between....
They are such a handful!
And yet I love them dearly.
We really have had a rough go of it, and after our circling the house in prayer, we had about a week's worth of peace. At the conclusion of that week we visited a counselor friend that lives across the street and she passed on some great wisdom. We had been praying for wisdom, so when she chatted with me and gave me words of advice, I knew we'd gotten our answer to prayer.
She started with, "Welcome of adolescence!", and then quickly recounted the time when she ushered her sixteen year old son into her husband's office and said, "Here's your son. You can do what you want with him. I am finished!"
Then she told us that though our children may say all sorts of things that don't make sense or hurt us or sound rude to us, we shouldn't take it personally or get totally wrapped up in the words. The emotion behind them should not be met with our emotional response. Instead we should let the words slide off of us taking note of the child's heart. The last thing we need is to fight fire with fire.
She told us to save important conversations--ones where we find out the meaning behind the words harshly spoken--for a later time. Take the child for a walk or a meal or on an errand where you can talk without the emotion or the confrontation. Just ask questions and give the child an opportunity to be heard.
In essence, allow the child to stretch his wings, express his thoughts, say his peace. We want to hear our kids--instead of silence them or ignore them--and we wish to respond to the thoughts they have without getting distracted by the emotion.
She also reminded me that giving kids options and not commands is a wise thing. For example, asking them if they'd like to shower before dinner or if they'd like to shower after dinner is a way to insist upon a shower for the evening without being demanding. I like the, "Would you like to dry the dishes or put them away?" option.
One of my friend's main points was that we as parents cannot appear to be making this up as we go along. We must lead with a calm assurance that we know how to parent and are ready to take on such a role. If they shake us up and make us an emotional wreck or seemingly unable to parent, then it becomes more scary for them. They need to know, and feel most secure in our home, when they are certain that we are able to take care of them. They need to know that we know what we're doing. Most importantly we must present a unified front in our home--pitting mom against dad can be a child's greatest weapon--and thankfully on this point Doug and I can claim victory. We do stand together.
Finally, she let me know that we should parent with some levity; we should see parenting and our relationship with our kids as a source of joy. We need to put humor and laughter into our day so laughing with our kids is a must. Games, jokes, and lighthearted conversations should be a part of our regular home life. Life need not be so serious. In other words, love your kids and enjoy them immensely.
Amen. I'm happy to report that since we've been reminded of these key points, our life here in the Thompson house is so much better. We've been cooking together, shooting hoops together, having great lunch and dinner discussions, and gone for a few walks to chat about what's going on. Emotions have not run high and everyone feels more heard. We even had our toughest kid walk into our room tonight, lay down on our bed, and have a half hour long conversation with us about things on his mind. He wanted to know what his future options would be for schooling when we returned to the States, wanted to put in his two cents about things, and generally wanted to pass his aspirations by us. We laughed together and were even visited by the little sister in the next room who told us to keep it down because she was trying to sleep. : )
Parenting.
Enough said.
Blessings,
kim
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Ouch
So over these past few weeks Doug and I have struggled in our parenting more than we have in a long while. We seem to be hitting that time in the kids' lives when they wish to exert more of their independence and opinions than previously, and it's coming out in ways that are simply not pleasing to us: rebellion, disrespect, anger, frustration. Let's just say, the house has not been as peaceful as it has been in the past.
Last week we had two of our worst days--ever--and we were ready to throw in the towel. (I'm not really sure what that means, but it certainly felt like something that would apply right about then.) We had been praying tons and had been asking the Lord to show us what to do. We'd also been asking for copious amounts of wisdom, patience, and persistence since we knew that this was not going to get resolved in a day. On the morning of the third day, I woke up truly frustrated and unsure as to what to do. I began with prayer and really felt like the Lord wanted us to pray over the house in a more significant way.
So, I gently woke Doug up and asked him to join me outside to pray for the house and kids. Well, as we prayed, we circled the house seven times and claimed that little plot of land for the Kingdom of God and for His purposes. We prayed for wisdom, faith, protection, strength, and many, many other things. As we walked I thought about the Battle of Jericho from the Bible and how God's instructions to Joshua were simply to walk around the city. It was that simple. Circle the city and it becomes yours; you win the battle. So, if it can work for Joshua, it can work for us. So, we circled the house and we believe it will be ours; we'll win the battle.
When we were done with our prayer walk, we then went inside and Doug proceeded to pray over every room in the house as we stood at every doorframe. We claimed every room for the purposes of God and His kingdom. Then we together fixed breakfast.
Well, about half an hour later, or less, our troops arose one by one. Would you believe they were all in a good mood? Would you believe on that day (our day we spent in Banos) we got along so well and not once did we deal with issues in parenting? It was so glorious.
Now, fast forward to today--one week later. We've had a terrific week but starting yesterday I saw some of those ugly behaviors once again begin to rear their heads. I started to address some of them at school yesterday, and then this morning I had to address them further here at home. It's not been necessarily with one kid; it's been with multiple ones.
I can tell you that I'm about ready to take a hike around the house again since I know this battle can only be won with prayer. I've been praying hard and always with Doug in the morning. I've been praying all day too since I need wisdom constantly. Here's the kicker though. As I'm reading this parenting book given to us by Nathan and Jennifer Warren from church in Texas, I'm today reading these words: "If you sow love and respect into your child, you will reap the harvest of a teenager who wants to show you love and respect.....(I)n the families I have observed whose parents showed their children love and respect, I witness the older children giving it back to the parents." Ouch.
I know that I have not constantly shown my kids respect or shown them love in the way that they individually need it. I've been assuming that my title alone is cause enough for them to honor me. Yet, I've forgotten that to show respect to another, that person needs to know what respect looks like. I'm not sure that I'm the best role model for giving respect. Uhhh.
Now my prayer is not just, "Give me wisdom and patience," but it's "show me how best to respect my children and give me patience as I sow these seeds into them." Can I just tell you that Parenting Is Hard? It is so hard, and yet sometimes it's as simple as 1) pray, 2) love, 3) respect. I do hope to learn this lesson; my grandkids' lives are on the line.....
Thanks for reading.
Blessings, kim
PS. If you'd like to pray with us too, please feel free to do so. We'd be ever so grateful!
Last week we had two of our worst days--ever--and we were ready to throw in the towel. (I'm not really sure what that means, but it certainly felt like something that would apply right about then.) We had been praying tons and had been asking the Lord to show us what to do. We'd also been asking for copious amounts of wisdom, patience, and persistence since we knew that this was not going to get resolved in a day. On the morning of the third day, I woke up truly frustrated and unsure as to what to do. I began with prayer and really felt like the Lord wanted us to pray over the house in a more significant way.
So, I gently woke Doug up and asked him to join me outside to pray for the house and kids. Well, as we prayed, we circled the house seven times and claimed that little plot of land for the Kingdom of God and for His purposes. We prayed for wisdom, faith, protection, strength, and many, many other things. As we walked I thought about the Battle of Jericho from the Bible and how God's instructions to Joshua were simply to walk around the city. It was that simple. Circle the city and it becomes yours; you win the battle. So, if it can work for Joshua, it can work for us. So, we circled the house and we believe it will be ours; we'll win the battle.
When we were done with our prayer walk, we then went inside and Doug proceeded to pray over every room in the house as we stood at every doorframe. We claimed every room for the purposes of God and His kingdom. Then we together fixed breakfast.
Well, about half an hour later, or less, our troops arose one by one. Would you believe they were all in a good mood? Would you believe on that day (our day we spent in Banos) we got along so well and not once did we deal with issues in parenting? It was so glorious.
Now, fast forward to today--one week later. We've had a terrific week but starting yesterday I saw some of those ugly behaviors once again begin to rear their heads. I started to address some of them at school yesterday, and then this morning I had to address them further here at home. It's not been necessarily with one kid; it's been with multiple ones.
I can tell you that I'm about ready to take a hike around the house again since I know this battle can only be won with prayer. I've been praying hard and always with Doug in the morning. I've been praying all day too since I need wisdom constantly. Here's the kicker though. As I'm reading this parenting book given to us by Nathan and Jennifer Warren from church in Texas, I'm today reading these words: "If you sow love and respect into your child, you will reap the harvest of a teenager who wants to show you love and respect.....(I)n the families I have observed whose parents showed their children love and respect, I witness the older children giving it back to the parents." Ouch.
I know that I have not constantly shown my kids respect or shown them love in the way that they individually need it. I've been assuming that my title alone is cause enough for them to honor me. Yet, I've forgotten that to show respect to another, that person needs to know what respect looks like. I'm not sure that I'm the best role model for giving respect. Uhhh.
Now my prayer is not just, "Give me wisdom and patience," but it's "show me how best to respect my children and give me patience as I sow these seeds into them." Can I just tell you that Parenting Is Hard? It is so hard, and yet sometimes it's as simple as 1) pray, 2) love, 3) respect. I do hope to learn this lesson; my grandkids' lives are on the line.....
Thanks for reading.
Blessings, kim
PS. If you'd like to pray with us too, please feel free to do so. We'd be ever so grateful!
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
A borrowed car
We started the day at a family park that was recently created just on the outskirts of the city. There we saw cages filled with rabbits and with guinea pigs. They were even kind enough to post among the general information on each animal their nutritional values (ie. rabbit meat is low in cholesterol and is good for those who suffer from high blood pressure)! Just in case you were curious. We also saw fish ponds full of tilapia, carp, turtles, and sardines.
Then we played in the city park where we hopped on the seasaw, went down the slides, and just had a bunch of fun. Sadly it's at this point that I lost my cell phone. Once I noticed that it had come out of my pocket so I picked it up and put it back. Shortly thereafter I discovered it missing when I went to check the time. So sad.
It was at this point that my mood began to change. I started to worry about the loss of my phone and I could sense my stress level increasing. Jacobey started asking me questions and I was a bit short with him when I answered. Then as we crossed the street and I noticed my kids not being mindful of the danger, I became cross with them. That's when I knew I needed to make a choice. We'd had such a wonderful day thus far and I could choose to be bent out of shape about the loss and ruin the day or I could move on and choose to enjoy the rest of our day and worry about the phone later. Then Proverb 14:1 came to mind: The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Hmmmmm.
I chose to deal with the phone loss later. So we next took the car and drove fairly high up on the side of the mountain (Tungurahua Volcano) to visit this tiny little house called the Casa de Arbol which boasts that it's at nearly 9,000 feet. At this point, we're way above the city of Banos far below.
And, Doug and Selah took the short climb up into the little house. I remained on the ground taking pictures.
Finally, I got by buddy Carlos, the security guard, to pose for a picture with me. If you read this blog last year, you may remember that he's the one who had lived a life of crime, had gone to prison, had accepted Christ as his Savior, and who has a wildly different life than the one he once had. Carlos tells me that now on his one day off each week, he's traveling an hour to take Seminary classes. This guy is amazing and his smile is genuine.
All in all, it was the one of the most wonderful days we've ever had in Ecuador. It is no understatement that our lives are very different with a car than they are without. Never take your car for granted. It affords you the opportunity to do so much.
I also have to say that this small act of kindness by our friends--this loaning us their car--was huge. That's what kindness is. It's sometimes just meeting someone in their specific need when they need it. Powerful.
Thanks for reading. Blessings, kim
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Simple things
I cannot begin to tell you how different this year is from how things went last year. It's such a contrast from what we experienced previously.
As I write this we have a well-stocked pantry full of American favorites (though we just ate the last of our Giardettos snacks--spelling?), such as Ranch dip and dressing packets, Cream of Wheat, Special K cereal, almond slices, Craisins, marshmellow cream, Andes mints, flavored oatmeal packets, liquid smoke, a monster bottle of Tabasco, black pepper, Italian seasoning, Kosher salt, Earl Gray tea, and three pounds of coffee among other things. We knew what to stock up on to bring along.
In our fridge are the tale tale signs of a megastore visit while we were in Quito. We have huge blocks of Cheddar, Brie, Ricotta, sour cream, cream cheese, and jalapenos; in the freezer were shrimp (we had Jambalaya the other day), cinnamon rolls, and frozen fruit juice for making smoothies. I hate it that food is such a priority, but it's the simple truth.
The rain has been far less than it was in the spring of last year. We've only had one really hard rain since we got here (a hard rain would amount to four or five inches in a few hours) and I've yet to get caught in it once. That's amazing.
Since we already own bikes, we've not had to spend tons of time this year looking for some second-hand ones which would get us from A to B. Thus far we've been able to get around really well and have not needed to walk as much as we did when we first arrived.
We don't have lice, the termites are only showing up in one of our doors, no big bugs have made their way into our house (though Darius spotted the largest caterpillar ever--the length of his hand!--outside on the driveway), and we've yet to see a snake, whether inside or outside the house.
Our kids have reconnected with friends here and seem to be included on the vast majority of events. They've taken journeys into the jungle and down by the stream, to the town park and have even gone today to play soccer at the local town sport complex with a huge group of kids. Everyone seems to feel a part of something. It's wonderful.
Doug and I have begun to work together again in a professional setting. When we first met eighteen years ago I was his direct supervisor. Today he's mine. It's going well and I try not to flirt with him too much. : )
I joke, but the funny thing is that we see very little of each other. When he goes in early, I stay back with the kids and vise versa. When I stay late, he comes home with the kids and vice versa. And while at work we really don't interact very much unless it's at recess time when we share a snack and engage in small talk with the kids while keeping our eye on the soccer game they strike up every single day.
We've been invited to dinner with friends four times in less than four weeks since we arrived, and we've hosted our new single neighbor next door about three times as well. We discovered a pizza place in nearby Puyo (half hour bus ride away) that sells pizzas 2 for 1 on Monday nights--this one thing has made my sweet husband more excited than anything else I've encountered here in Ecuador. It took him a full 24 hours to get over the elation--the cheap price combined with the good taste was more than he could take.
I think the most fabulous thing we've had happen thus far is when our new German family neighbors let us know yesterday that we could borrow their car any time we needed it. Can you believe? That was so kind and aware of them. It would be wonderful to be able to go on some of the amazing hikes that are close by but have never been able to since the bus route doesn't take us near them and we can get there no other easy way. We may even find ourselves being more touristy in the coming months.
It really is the simple things in life that make the difference--especially when luxury is not an option. One is willing to be thrilled with so much less......
Thanks for reading.
Blessings, kim
As I write this we have a well-stocked pantry full of American favorites (though we just ate the last of our Giardettos snacks--spelling?), such as Ranch dip and dressing packets, Cream of Wheat, Special K cereal, almond slices, Craisins, marshmellow cream, Andes mints, flavored oatmeal packets, liquid smoke, a monster bottle of Tabasco, black pepper, Italian seasoning, Kosher salt, Earl Gray tea, and three pounds of coffee among other things. We knew what to stock up on to bring along.
In our fridge are the tale tale signs of a megastore visit while we were in Quito. We have huge blocks of Cheddar, Brie, Ricotta, sour cream, cream cheese, and jalapenos; in the freezer were shrimp (we had Jambalaya the other day), cinnamon rolls, and frozen fruit juice for making smoothies. I hate it that food is such a priority, but it's the simple truth.
The rain has been far less than it was in the spring of last year. We've only had one really hard rain since we got here (a hard rain would amount to four or five inches in a few hours) and I've yet to get caught in it once. That's amazing.
Since we already own bikes, we've not had to spend tons of time this year looking for some second-hand ones which would get us from A to B. Thus far we've been able to get around really well and have not needed to walk as much as we did when we first arrived.
We don't have lice, the termites are only showing up in one of our doors, no big bugs have made their way into our house (though Darius spotted the largest caterpillar ever--the length of his hand!--outside on the driveway), and we've yet to see a snake, whether inside or outside the house.
Our kids have reconnected with friends here and seem to be included on the vast majority of events. They've taken journeys into the jungle and down by the stream, to the town park and have even gone today to play soccer at the local town sport complex with a huge group of kids. Everyone seems to feel a part of something. It's wonderful.
Doug and I have begun to work together again in a professional setting. When we first met eighteen years ago I was his direct supervisor. Today he's mine. It's going well and I try not to flirt with him too much. : )
I joke, but the funny thing is that we see very little of each other. When he goes in early, I stay back with the kids and vise versa. When I stay late, he comes home with the kids and vice versa. And while at work we really don't interact very much unless it's at recess time when we share a snack and engage in small talk with the kids while keeping our eye on the soccer game they strike up every single day.
We've been invited to dinner with friends four times in less than four weeks since we arrived, and we've hosted our new single neighbor next door about three times as well. We discovered a pizza place in nearby Puyo (half hour bus ride away) that sells pizzas 2 for 1 on Monday nights--this one thing has made my sweet husband more excited than anything else I've encountered here in Ecuador. It took him a full 24 hours to get over the elation--the cheap price combined with the good taste was more than he could take.
I think the most fabulous thing we've had happen thus far is when our new German family neighbors let us know yesterday that we could borrow their car any time we needed it. Can you believe? That was so kind and aware of them. It would be wonderful to be able to go on some of the amazing hikes that are close by but have never been able to since the bus route doesn't take us near them and we can get there no other easy way. We may even find ourselves being more touristy in the coming months.
It really is the simple things in life that make the difference--especially when luxury is not an option. One is willing to be thrilled with so much less......
Thanks for reading.
Blessings, kim
Monday, September 1, 2014
Quito Part II
Our time in Quito about two weeks ago went so well. These are some more pictures of that couple of days. I had mentioned before that we toured the big cathedral located in the old part of Quito.
From the top of the cathedral we could look out in one direction to see this slight mountain with a statue posed on top. When we finally climbed down from the steeple on the one side of the church, we then walked in the space between the ceiling and the roof. Here is the little catwalk that takes you from the one side to the other. The walkway is mounted on top of the ceiling but is under the A-frame roof. Walking across the walkway was not the hard part.
Going up the very skinny ladder in a near-vertical fashion, and then up another three ladders on the outside of the building which were just as vertical and skinny, was the hard part.
Afterward we celebrated a successful assent and descent by having lunch in this neat courtyard. We had some pretty good Ecuadorian food and great conversation.
One of the other eating highlights of the day was when our friend Rebekah bought some treats from the street vendors and shared them with us. The kids loved--and I'm not exaggerating--the boiled lima beans with potatoes. They were really pretty good. Afterward they asked me if I could sometime make this very dish. Made me smile.
Thanks for reading,
Blessings, kim
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