A special day

Last week we celebrated  my birthday--I only tell you because I wanted to share some pictures from the day.  They show just how kind everyone here has been.  Selah and I walked to Casa de Fe and on our way we got caught in a huge downpour.  So, for this little surprise celebration, she and I we're soaked but well loved.  Aren't the kids just precious?  Not everyone could fit in the photo so we took a ton.  I'll only share a handful.

I had to laugh when after I blew out the candle I noticed that the candle was in the shape of a question mark.  (?)  I therefore asked the kids how old they thought I was.  One guess was "three".  Surely not!  : )  Nelly and Marjori, the teachers, thought I was turning about 30!  Ha!  I laughed at that too.  I then informed them that I was old enough to be the mom of everyone in the room including the two of them!

When we cut the cake, there were no plates and no silverware, just some flimsy napkins.  So....you can imagine how messy we were by the end.  Some of the kids chose to eat with their faces.  Too bad we didn't snap a few of those pictures.

Later in the day we took a bus ride to Puyo and ate dinner at the nicest restaurant we know of.  We've never tried it before but have heard from everyone that it is a must for a special occasion.  I almost told Doug that we shouldn't go there--maybe we could save it for a special date night instead. But after considering that the kids would be equally blessed by a terrific American meal out, we decided that we should all go.  So, we ordered five meals between the six of us and shared steak, shrimp, fish, pork chops, and a veggie casserole.  It cost us $62 and was truly the best meal we've had since our arrival. 

We ate at a table inside of a little hut.  Other than swatting the occasional moth, it was really quite nice.  Sethy took this picture of Doug and I in front of a Chrismas tree.  Other than our tree in our house, this is only the sixth tree we've seen. 

A special day merely because of the people who helped make it that way.  Isn't that the way it should be?

Blessings, kim