Steve Y went to the hospital for some tests and found out that he needs heart bypass surgery.
(He has 50% blockage in one side, and almost all the way blockage in the other. They've tried medication to be non invasive, but it hasn't helped.)
and also he needs to get a biopsy of a lump in his prostate.
Anyways. This is all kind of a shock. To me he "looks" fairly healthy, he's not overweight, doesn't get sick a lot.
They think maybe this happened slowly over time, b/c it seems that his heart has "adapted" to the blockage.
We love him and his wife, and it's been tough not having them here while they deal with this.
anyways. that's all.
.
.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Who I was...
It hasn't been ridiculously hot here like I've always imagined it to be. Maybe consistent 80s with no humidity and lots of wind/breeze. It is always very wet in the morning (recently) and sometimes foggy.
This is pretty sweet. Man Made islands shaped like the world.
http://www.theworld.ae/
(That was one of the reasons I had been thinking of going to the UAE.)
One of my girls, I always thought she walked slow. Turns out, she doesn't like to walk home from church WITH people. Why it took her 7 months to tell me, or rather, for me to listen, I don't know.
Today I was complaining about how the girls sometimes ask me questions they already know the answer to...like
"J is gone? She left?" or "Where were you?" I look at them like they are crazy for asking me a question they already know the answer to.
But I realized today that when I want to talk to someone, but I don't know how to start a conversation I say something we both already know, ALL THE TIME.
I've read twice in one week (two different sources) about how your job- "the way you think is closely connected to the job you do"- from Sophie's World, and also (loosely paraphrased) "your mind and habits become molded with your job and reflect it even when not at work". So maybe there is some/a lot of truth here.
I think figuring out who I am is pretty much impossible, but I definitely am learning who I was.
I don't know what I'm doing after I leave Mexico, but I'm trying to start thinking about that right now. I have ideas, they just need refinement and direction.
This is pretty sweet. Man Made islands shaped like the world.
http://www.theworld.ae/
(That was one of the reasons I had been thinking of going to the UAE.)
One of my girls, I always thought she walked slow. Turns out, she doesn't like to walk home from church WITH people. Why it took her 7 months to tell me, or rather, for me to listen, I don't know.
Today I was complaining about how the girls sometimes ask me questions they already know the answer to...like
"J is gone? She left?" or "Where were you?" I look at them like they are crazy for asking me a question they already know the answer to.
But I realized today that when I want to talk to someone, but I don't know how to start a conversation I say something we both already know, ALL THE TIME.
I've read twice in one week (two different sources) about how your job- "the way you think is closely connected to the job you do"- from Sophie's World, and also (loosely paraphrased) "your mind and habits become molded with your job and reflect it even when not at work". So maybe there is some/a lot of truth here.
I think figuring out who I am is pretty much impossible, but I definitely am learning who I was.
I don't know what I'm doing after I leave Mexico, but I'm trying to start thinking about that right now. I have ideas, they just need refinement and direction.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Imagine leaving your 15th birthday...
to ride a bus for 3 days straight, with relatives you don’t get along with, to make it home to your Mom.
J—left today.
I thought she was going to leave 3 weeks ago. So she wasn’t packed when they came for her today. I wasn’t ready either. I found out about 30 minutes before they got here. She had a premonition that she was leaving today, so she made us a special breakfast. Chocolate rice?! That’s her “birthday breakfast” she said. It was sooo sweet, M kept telling me that J hadn’t added any sugar, like I’d believe that when our sugar jar is completely empty. Before she left she made me a clay sign, that I’ll post a picture of, and she hung the picture frame I hadn’t gotten around to hanging.
The worst part is she left without her diploma/grades/other official paperwork. Her school hadn’t given them to us yet. They had run out of the good paper to print it on or something. Her mom found her a job, and she isn’t continuing in school (a shame, I think) so it won’t be that important.
Two cute things she did a while ago:
A strap on my tank top broke, and I asked if she had a safety pin. She said, actually, you can borrow my tank top that I have. She left my room with my tank, and came back with a tank that worked, but that had the same tags, stains, etc. She had quickly gotten out needle and thread and fixed it for me! But she pretended that it was hers and she was loaning to me….”You don’t have to wash it before you give it back. I’ll throw it in with my clothes.”
I asked her if she’d seen my tweezers. She said no, but that I could borrow hers, and brought them down. They were my tweezers and she winked.
I LOVE YOU
The 2 year old I watched has learned to say “I You.” This means I love you. But I think she might know the right times to use it, besides just parroting it, even though she has only lived with English speakers for a few months. I was pushing her on the swings, and she was LOVING it. She kept giggling, and then said “I You” At the very least, she associates “I love you” with happy things. But it warmed my heart that she seemed to say it in reaction to the pure enjoyment she was having.
HER? She? HIM? He?
Another language thing: I know this 9 year old that has been exposed to English all her life, and has probably been living with an English speaking family for several years. Her has VERY good English, but her says “Him, Her, Their” when her’s supposed to say “He, She, They.” Him also mixes up gender often. I don’t know why Her talks like that.
Pride goeth before a fall- video game style!
or
Jennifer as Tim the Toolman Taylor
That’s the truth. One of the girls has a gameboy, and I’ve seen her play it a lot, but never had gotten the chance. Last night I was telling them how good I am (was) at video games, and that I love playing them, and that as a child I beat Super Mario Brothers and Link billions of times. So they said, “oh would you get me through this world. It has flying fish” I said, “No problem, the expert is here, you’re gonna see what excellence is” haha….
…5 or 6 dead Marios later, I apologized and gave it back to B. It was world 7-2 which is considerably harder than the levels in world 3, which is where I thought she was. The worst part, is I don’t have much of a relationship with B, since she isn’t directly mine, and I was hoping that winning the world for her would give me some credibility.
One other nice thing that happened:
I helped do school/spent the day with 8 Mexican kids the last 10 days or so. Two Canadian girls came down and spent the everyday/night at the house, and did the cooking and things while the parents were gone. (I could have offered to cook, but we all know how that would have turned out!) I let the two girls do some tourist shopping one afternoon, while I had all the kids. After they left, I was thinking about how I’ve always wanted a cowry shell necklace, but that I’ve never bought one. They came home and Janet told me she’d bought me something, but that she didn’t know if I would even like it, and that I should be honest. It was a cowry shell necklace!!!!! I hadn’t even told anyone. I could say that it was a gift from Janet, or that it was a gift that God provided. Either way it fits into my worldview.
..."I cast all my worries to the sky"
Currently Listening: Poughkeepsie by Over the Rhine
J—left today.
I thought she was going to leave 3 weeks ago. So she wasn’t packed when they came for her today. I wasn’t ready either. I found out about 30 minutes before they got here. She had a premonition that she was leaving today, so she made us a special breakfast. Chocolate rice?! That’s her “birthday breakfast” she said. It was sooo sweet, M kept telling me that J hadn’t added any sugar, like I’d believe that when our sugar jar is completely empty. Before she left she made me a clay sign, that I’ll post a picture of, and she hung the picture frame I hadn’t gotten around to hanging.
The worst part is she left without her diploma/grades/other official paperwork. Her school hadn’t given them to us yet. They had run out of the good paper to print it on or something. Her mom found her a job, and she isn’t continuing in school (a shame, I think) so it won’t be that important.
Two cute things she did a while ago:
A strap on my tank top broke, and I asked if she had a safety pin. She said, actually, you can borrow my tank top that I have. She left my room with my tank, and came back with a tank that worked, but that had the same tags, stains, etc. She had quickly gotten out needle and thread and fixed it for me! But she pretended that it was hers and she was loaning to me….”You don’t have to wash it before you give it back. I’ll throw it in with my clothes.”
I asked her if she’d seen my tweezers. She said no, but that I could borrow hers, and brought them down. They were my tweezers and she winked.
I LOVE YOU
The 2 year old I watched has learned to say “I You.” This means I love you. But I think she might know the right times to use it, besides just parroting it, even though she has only lived with English speakers for a few months. I was pushing her on the swings, and she was LOVING it. She kept giggling, and then said “I You” At the very least, she associates “I love you” with happy things. But it warmed my heart that she seemed to say it in reaction to the pure enjoyment she was having.
HER? She? HIM? He?
Another language thing: I know this 9 year old that has been exposed to English all her life, and has probably been living with an English speaking family for several years. Her has VERY good English, but her says “Him, Her, Their” when her’s supposed to say “He, She, They.” Him also mixes up gender often. I don’t know why Her talks like that.
Pride goeth before a fall- video game style!
or
Jennifer as Tim the Toolman Taylor
That’s the truth. One of the girls has a gameboy, and I’ve seen her play it a lot, but never had gotten the chance. Last night I was telling them how good I am (was) at video games, and that I love playing them, and that as a child I beat Super Mario Brothers and Link billions of times. So they said, “oh would you get me through this world. It has flying fish” I said, “No problem, the expert is here, you’re gonna see what excellence is” haha….
…5 or 6 dead Marios later, I apologized and gave it back to B. It was world 7-2 which is considerably harder than the levels in world 3, which is where I thought she was. The worst part, is I don’t have much of a relationship with B, since she isn’t directly mine, and I was hoping that winning the world for her would give me some credibility.
One other nice thing that happened:
I helped do school/spent the day with 8 Mexican kids the last 10 days or so. Two Canadian girls came down and spent the everyday/night at the house, and did the cooking and things while the parents were gone. (I could have offered to cook, but we all know how that would have turned out!) I let the two girls do some tourist shopping one afternoon, while I had all the kids. After they left, I was thinking about how I’ve always wanted a cowry shell necklace, but that I’ve never bought one. They came home and Janet told me she’d bought me something, but that she didn’t know if I would even like it, and that I should be honest. It was a cowry shell necklace!!!!! I hadn’t even told anyone. I could say that it was a gift from Janet, or that it was a gift that God provided. Either way it fits into my worldview.
..."I cast all my worries to the sky"
Currently Listening: Poughkeepsie by Over the Rhine
Friday, July 18, 2008
You speak pretty good English!
on the beach the other day...
random atv-er, obviously vacationing and driving up the beach-
He stops and says- "Restaurant-O Gaston-O?"
Me- "It's right there" (Pointing to the only building within sight, maybe 100 feet away)
Him- "You speak pretty good English! Thanks"
atvs away
(I was with 8 very Mexican looking children. on a beach full of Mexican people, maybe he really thought I was Mexican!)
I learned that fire burns better in the wind, but that it's also harder to start. We ate roasted hot dogs to our hearts content with the kids that day, but not before someone else on the beach helped us to start the fire :)
that whole thing about killing the ants with my bare hands...
It's more like whack-a-mole with my index finger.
You wipe them out of the cupboard onto the counter and then poke them until they are all dead.
My sister is so grown up. :)
Happy Friday!
(oh, my other creature stories that I had forgotten...)
Fish:
We went to the beach where you can buy fish. It has a nice parking lot and play ground. We didn't go there to buy fish, we went there to swim and let the kids play. While the kids were swimming a fisherman came to shore with a manta ray in the bottom of his boat, a blood red fish (it's natural coloring, the eyes were red too!), a giganto fish that was probably 4 feet, and various other fishes. We let the kids stand there while he cut the intestines out of some of them and threw them to the sea gulls. It was pretty sweet. Some of the internal organs he saved.
Goats:
"Back on up!" That's what one of my friends said to the goat at the house when it looked like he was getting confrontational. What made me laugh is that she would even think the goat would understand her! (The Ungers have a goat partly because one of the kids is allergic to cow milk.) We had the pleasure of putting the goat back in the pen for the night when none of us had EVER DONE IT BEFORE. And this goat is a sorta mean goat. If we had video of this, it would belong on America's Funniest Videos, or maybe Mexico's Funniest Videos. I grabbed it by it's horns, tried to pass it off to Angela to grab it's collar, while Janet was ready to shut the door on the pen! There was much shouting, chaos, jumping quickly over the fence made out of used wooden pallets, loosing sandals in the goat pen and the like. It was EXCITING!
ok. Happy Friday for real now.
random atv-er, obviously vacationing and driving up the beach-
He stops and says- "Restaurant-O Gaston-O?"
Me- "It's right there" (Pointing to the only building within sight, maybe 100 feet away)
Him- "You speak pretty good English! Thanks"
atvs away
(I was with 8 very Mexican looking children. on a beach full of Mexican people, maybe he really thought I was Mexican!)
I learned that fire burns better in the wind, but that it's also harder to start. We ate roasted hot dogs to our hearts content with the kids that day, but not before someone else on the beach helped us to start the fire :)
that whole thing about killing the ants with my bare hands...
It's more like whack-a-mole with my index finger.
You wipe them out of the cupboard onto the counter and then poke them until they are all dead.
My sister is so grown up. :)
Happy Friday!
(oh, my other creature stories that I had forgotten...)
Fish:
We went to the beach where you can buy fish. It has a nice parking lot and play ground. We didn't go there to buy fish, we went there to swim and let the kids play. While the kids were swimming a fisherman came to shore with a manta ray in the bottom of his boat, a blood red fish (it's natural coloring, the eyes were red too!), a giganto fish that was probably 4 feet, and various other fishes. We let the kids stand there while he cut the intestines out of some of them and threw them to the sea gulls. It was pretty sweet. Some of the internal organs he saved.
Goats:
"Back on up!" That's what one of my friends said to the goat at the house when it looked like he was getting confrontational. What made me laugh is that she would even think the goat would understand her! (The Ungers have a goat partly because one of the kids is allergic to cow milk.) We had the pleasure of putting the goat back in the pen for the night when none of us had EVER DONE IT BEFORE. And this goat is a sorta mean goat. If we had video of this, it would belong on America's Funniest Videos, or maybe Mexico's Funniest Videos. I grabbed it by it's horns, tried to pass it off to Angela to grab it's collar, while Janet was ready to shut the door on the pen! There was much shouting, chaos, jumping quickly over the fence made out of used wooden pallets, loosing sandals in the goat pen and the like. It was EXCITING!
ok. Happy Friday for real now.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Creatures that I live with:
And no, I’m not talking about the 6 teenagers. ☺
At the Unger’s house they have a tarantula. While I was sweeping the other day I found a dead cricket, so I threw it in the cage.
(btw, summer schooling 7 children, and having a two year old in the home... I don’t know how ANYONE does it. Right now I’m really enjoying how they are different than my girls, I haven’t heard them say “I’m bored” yet, the grass is always greener on the other side, but I know that long term I’d much rather be with my teenagers. The little ones won’t be a billion times smarter when their mom comes home, but at least they’ll still be in the routine of doing school)
We have a lot of crickets right now, although I don’t know that they are crickets. These look like crickets but with wings. Maybe they are locusts? I don’t really know. I think they are scary.
The horse in the field next to us has a baby horse. I tried to feed them carrots, but the adult kept taking them from me. I pushed it away so the baby would have a chance, but it would just lick the carrot. Maybe it’s not ready for hard foods yet, or just scared of the unknown.
The ants.
God bless the ants.
We always have a few explorer ants in our house. I kill one a day in the kitchen, and a few a day in my room. The moment we leave food out they attack, by telling all their friends. I ate some cereal in my room Sunday, and knew this was a problem. So I LICKED the bag out, in order that there would be no crumbs for them to find. I meant to throw the bag in the trash can too, but somehow I left it on my bed. When I came back to my room, 2 hours later, somehow I had missed 1 crumb, and there were like 40 ants on it. I killed them all with my bare hands. I felt like a meenie. (this ant saga continues...I could write paragraphs about it. Recently there were billions in my kitchen, but the only things they had discovered were the creamer and clean dishes. I've ran out of ant spray, and have tried lysol, as well as killing them with my bare hands.)
If I were to have kids, I would want them to be aware of all the truth and beauty in the world. I think it's a full moon tomorrow night.
I've been really nostalgic this week about my own idyllic childhood. When I was young I had no idea where life would take me. I see them boogie boarding in the ocean and sigh.
Books I’m enjoying: Sophie's World - about the history of philosophy "Life is both sad and solemn. We are let into a wonderful world, we meet one another here, greet each other- and wander together for a brief moment. Then we lose each other and disappear as suddenly and unreasonably as we arrived." Breaking OUT of Beginner's Spanish by Keenan- it has really helped me understand real life usage and the "shades" of certain words.
(Cande is turning my office chair back and forth right now, and making me dizzy!- while I type. When she sits next to me, she talks the whole time. She's asking me all sorts of questions about what I'm typing, but if I took the time to explain to her, I wouldn't get anything done! I'm giving her gum to see if she stops talking. One of her questions: "Why is my name there???")
One of the products in my bathroom is distributed from Ohio! That gave me a little smile the other day. Also, I was reading to the kids this week, and there was the same book we read about the Underground Railroad in my elementary school. So I found all the pages that mentioned Ohio. :)
I have become that Mom that gives gifts to change children. One of my girls turned 19 this week, M, and I gave her a REALLY cute purse (that she probably won't like- she prefers bookbags) and clear lip gloss (she doesn't enjoy putting on makeup.) Oh man. I'd realized what I had done after I'd wrapped it. oh well. This same child smelled after showing the other day, I asked if she'd put on deodorant, and she had, but then I went to her bathroom to check "what kind" she is using (really to see if she owns deodorant) and it was all the way gone, but she was still wiping the plastic against her skin apparently. I reminded her that if she needs things, she has to tell me, and gave her a new deodorant. I'm not sure why they don't tell me when they need stuff.
Somedays, they are mature, and somedays they aren't. I've realized that I can't judge them, or rather that I shouldn't judge them, as I'm a human too. Somedays, I'm mature, and somedays I'm not. I don't know what's in their heart/motives. I only can see their actions.
Act Justly, Walk Humbly and Love Mercy
:)
(oh! Please keep praying for Steve (not mine, the other one) They are going to put him on medicine to unblock his heart, and monitor that for the next couple weeks. Apparently that's the least invasive, and his heart had made a new pathway anyways. But now they have found a lump in his prostate. So that's a little bit scary.)
and Cande starting speech therapy with a lady that volunteers in our organization. She came home and said "my mouth hurts!" It was really cute.
At the Unger’s house they have a tarantula. While I was sweeping the other day I found a dead cricket, so I threw it in the cage.
(btw, summer schooling 7 children, and having a two year old in the home... I don’t know how ANYONE does it. Right now I’m really enjoying how they are different than my girls, I haven’t heard them say “I’m bored” yet, the grass is always greener on the other side, but I know that long term I’d much rather be with my teenagers. The little ones won’t be a billion times smarter when their mom comes home, but at least they’ll still be in the routine of doing school)
We have a lot of crickets right now, although I don’t know that they are crickets. These look like crickets but with wings. Maybe they are locusts? I don’t really know. I think they are scary.
The horse in the field next to us has a baby horse. I tried to feed them carrots, but the adult kept taking them from me. I pushed it away so the baby would have a chance, but it would just lick the carrot. Maybe it’s not ready for hard foods yet, or just scared of the unknown.
The ants.
God bless the ants.
We always have a few explorer ants in our house. I kill one a day in the kitchen, and a few a day in my room. The moment we leave food out they attack, by telling all their friends. I ate some cereal in my room Sunday, and knew this was a problem. So I LICKED the bag out, in order that there would be no crumbs for them to find. I meant to throw the bag in the trash can too, but somehow I left it on my bed. When I came back to my room, 2 hours later, somehow I had missed 1 crumb, and there were like 40 ants on it. I killed them all with my bare hands. I felt like a meenie. (this ant saga continues...I could write paragraphs about it. Recently there were billions in my kitchen, but the only things they had discovered were the creamer and clean dishes. I've ran out of ant spray, and have tried lysol, as well as killing them with my bare hands.)
If I were to have kids, I would want them to be aware of all the truth and beauty in the world. I think it's a full moon tomorrow night.
I've been really nostalgic this week about my own idyllic childhood. When I was young I had no idea where life would take me. I see them boogie boarding in the ocean and sigh.
Books I’m enjoying: Sophie's World - about the history of philosophy "Life is both sad and solemn. We are let into a wonderful world, we meet one another here, greet each other- and wander together for a brief moment. Then we lose each other and disappear as suddenly and unreasonably as we arrived." Breaking OUT of Beginner's Spanish by Keenan- it has really helped me understand real life usage and the "shades" of certain words.
(Cande is turning my office chair back and forth right now, and making me dizzy!- while I type. When she sits next to me, she talks the whole time. She's asking me all sorts of questions about what I'm typing, but if I took the time to explain to her, I wouldn't get anything done! I'm giving her gum to see if she stops talking. One of her questions: "Why is my name there???")
One of the products in my bathroom is distributed from Ohio! That gave me a little smile the other day. Also, I was reading to the kids this week, and there was the same book we read about the Underground Railroad in my elementary school. So I found all the pages that mentioned Ohio. :)
I have become that Mom that gives gifts to change children. One of my girls turned 19 this week, M, and I gave her a REALLY cute purse (that she probably won't like- she prefers bookbags) and clear lip gloss (she doesn't enjoy putting on makeup.) Oh man. I'd realized what I had done after I'd wrapped it. oh well. This same child smelled after showing the other day, I asked if she'd put on deodorant, and she had, but then I went to her bathroom to check "what kind" she is using (really to see if she owns deodorant) and it was all the way gone, but she was still wiping the plastic against her skin apparently. I reminded her that if she needs things, she has to tell me, and gave her a new deodorant. I'm not sure why they don't tell me when they need stuff.
Somedays, they are mature, and somedays they aren't. I've realized that I can't judge them, or rather that I shouldn't judge them, as I'm a human too. Somedays, I'm mature, and somedays I'm not. I don't know what's in their heart/motives. I only can see their actions.
Act Justly, Walk Humbly and Love Mercy
:)
(oh! Please keep praying for Steve (not mine, the other one) They are going to put him on medicine to unblock his heart, and monitor that for the next couple weeks. Apparently that's the least invasive, and his heart had made a new pathway anyways. But now they have found a lump in his prostate. So that's a little bit scary.)
and Cande starting speech therapy with a lady that volunteers in our organization. She came home and said "my mouth hurts!" It was really cute.
Friday, July 11, 2008
it's late...
It's way past my bed time, but I got home late from helping out with the other family only to be greeted by a semi-serious discussion regarding a behavioral thing that happened today while the head house mom was caring for my children.
It ended up (according to my daughter) that I "tell lies" about her to other people (other caregivers, social service office). I tried to explain to her, that I've only ever told people things she has told me. So if I've lied, it's because it was her fault in not telling me the truth. Somehow we finished the conversation with her convinced that it was my fault, not only that I told Children's services a lie about her,but that she also later corroborated the lie by telling them the same thing in a private one-on-one meeting.
btw. it's much more imaginative in Spanish. it's "throw/toss lies" not "tell lies"
The 8 kids I'm helping for the next ten days are super cute. Now if I can just figure out how to get the 7 year old to pronounce his words right, he may think it's cute to baby talk, but I don't....
(plus i don't know how you spell a word, if when you say it you don't pronounce all the sounds.)
oh, and it rained really hard for ten minutes on Monday. Sprinkled a little today, and we have a threat of a bad thunderstorm tomorrow. This is super strange weather for us! We've been in a drought for 14 years. and usually when it does rain, it rains in the winter months. One of the kids heard about the thunderstorm and asked me if she should be scared! I told her, probably not.
It ended up (according to my daughter) that I "tell lies" about her to other people (other caregivers, social service office). I tried to explain to her, that I've only ever told people things she has told me. So if I've lied, it's because it was her fault in not telling me the truth. Somehow we finished the conversation with her convinced that it was my fault, not only that I told Children's services a lie about her,but that she also later corroborated the lie by telling them the same thing in a private one-on-one meeting.
btw. it's much more imaginative in Spanish. it's "throw/toss lies" not "tell lies"
The 8 kids I'm helping for the next ten days are super cute. Now if I can just figure out how to get the 7 year old to pronounce his words right, he may think it's cute to baby talk, but I don't....
(plus i don't know how you spell a word, if when you say it you don't pronounce all the sounds.)
oh, and it rained really hard for ten minutes on Monday. Sprinkled a little today, and we have a threat of a bad thunderstorm tomorrow. This is super strange weather for us! We've been in a drought for 14 years. and usually when it does rain, it rains in the winter months. One of the kids heard about the thunderstorm and asked me if she should be scared! I told her, probably not.
Monday, July 7, 2008
"May God's love be with you...
...always."
One of my favorite things about our town is the announcements.
"Mrs. So and So, you have a phone call"
You can hear the store that announces this from a half mile away, and everyone knows your business.
Well, not MY business, since I don't receive phone calls there.
It was a long week last week. and I began to act selfishly. I feel like a lot of people would think I'm doing a very "selfless thing", by moving down here. And while it's easy to do big gestures of selfless things, like go feed the homeless once a year, or help someone you don't know move, it's hard to do little selfless things every day. I didn't want to get to know new people, I didn't want to be last in the dinner line, I didn't want to stay out late so my girls could hang out with the young people, I didn't want to enforce the "you must have your chores done before you do anything fun" rule. I didn't want to wish them goodnight when I got tired, I just snuck right into bed.
anyways. it has since bit me in the butt. Today I'm fighting with C to get all her clothes washed. It wouldn't be a fight if I had some immediate incentive before her. She probably has like 4 laundry loads of dirty clothes! This is what happens...
Me: Why is your whole bathroom full of dirty laundry?
J and R: It's not ours!
C:It's not mine.
I look through it and notice they are the clothes C wears most often
Me: well, if it's nobodies I'm going to give it all away. C, would you check and see if you have a shirt or two in there?
C: It's not mine.
Me: ok I'm going to give it all away I start to put it in a giveaway bag
C: that's mine, that's mine..she grabs the clothes out of the giveaway bag, eventually ending up with almost all of it and then we wash it all
another conversation that probably happened before this is
C: I don't have pants.
Me: You don't have clean pants, or you don't have ANY pants?
C: I don't have ANY pants.
The funny thing is that we've done this twice now, and she still hasn't figured it out. I don't think I like teaching the same lesson over and over again. Although, to get her to wash her own laundry all I have to do is ask her and then follow her around while she does it. It's harder to expect my kids to get things done sometimes, when I realize what an inconvenience it is. This morning, for example, she had to use the hose in the washer b/c it wasn't drawing water.
(C is talking to me right now, and I'm having trouble thinking! I keep telling her that I'm writing, but she loves me. what can I do!)
Saturday night I went to a real Quinceanera (15th birthday party). This one was as elaborate as a wedding, as most are. It had a DJ, a Quintet (with an upright bass), dinner, planned dances, beautiful dress, 14 boys in white shirts and black pants, a giganto cake (with a white figurine), roses, floral arrangements, and more than 20 tables. I didn't know the birthday girl, but I went with someone who knew the "best girl/dance coordinator." As it turned out, I recognized a couple parents from the parent meetings, and even a couple missionaries that I work with. It was kinda fun being able to walk to a party, to dance "with" that many Mexicans. We danced b/c these two grandmas pulled us out on the dance floor, but in a big group of people, not partner danced as no boys asked us to dance! The party started at 5:30. We got there at 8, they were still serving dinner. When we left at 11, they hadn't cut the cake yet! Some of the people at the party were polygamists, and I started thinking, how does that work, do you take all your wives to the party? Do you marry one b/c she's a good dancer, and another b/c she's a good cook? There were a lot of "American" looking Mexicans there. Apparently, it's normal for a lot of these families to either live in America and visit this town a lot, or to live in this town and visit America a lot. A lot of people are from the state of Chihuahua as well. The way they pay for these parties is you have padrinos, or God parents. Someone buys the cake, someone pays to rent the tables, someone buys the dress, someone buys the flowers, etc. You get a LOT less presents this way, but a GIGANTO party sort of IS the present. AND if you are a padrino, you get a guaranteed dance with the birthday girl!
Starting today, I'm going to be helping out a family that has 8 Mexican children from age 2-12. They need to make a passport/visa run, and will be leaving the 10th and the mom is coming back the 19th hopefully. They have two Canadian women coming to help out, but I don't think they speak Spanish, so I'll be there part time as well. I plan to take one of my big girls with me at a time to read to the kids, play with them, be my helper, etc. I hope that goes well, b/c these kids could really use some individual academic attention, and that is hard to get in a big family. If it does go well, that will be a service project my girls will continue over the summer.
I covet your prayer's this week! Hope you had a safe 4th of July :)
One of my favorite things about our town is the announcements.
"Mrs. So and So, you have a phone call"
You can hear the store that announces this from a half mile away, and everyone knows your business.
Well, not MY business, since I don't receive phone calls there.
It was a long week last week. and I began to act selfishly. I feel like a lot of people would think I'm doing a very "selfless thing", by moving down here. And while it's easy to do big gestures of selfless things, like go feed the homeless once a year, or help someone you don't know move, it's hard to do little selfless things every day. I didn't want to get to know new people, I didn't want to be last in the dinner line, I didn't want to stay out late so my girls could hang out with the young people, I didn't want to enforce the "you must have your chores done before you do anything fun" rule. I didn't want to wish them goodnight when I got tired, I just snuck right into bed.
anyways. it has since bit me in the butt. Today I'm fighting with C to get all her clothes washed. It wouldn't be a fight if I had some immediate incentive before her. She probably has like 4 laundry loads of dirty clothes! This is what happens...
Me: Why is your whole bathroom full of dirty laundry?
J and R: It's not ours!
C:It's not mine.
I look through it and notice they are the clothes C wears most often
Me: well, if it's nobodies I'm going to give it all away. C, would you check and see if you have a shirt or two in there?
C: It's not mine.
Me: ok I'm going to give it all away I start to put it in a giveaway bag
C: that's mine, that's mine..she grabs the clothes out of the giveaway bag, eventually ending up with almost all of it and then we wash it all
another conversation that probably happened before this is
C: I don't have pants.
Me: You don't have clean pants, or you don't have ANY pants?
C: I don't have ANY pants.
The funny thing is that we've done this twice now, and she still hasn't figured it out. I don't think I like teaching the same lesson over and over again. Although, to get her to wash her own laundry all I have to do is ask her and then follow her around while she does it. It's harder to expect my kids to get things done sometimes, when I realize what an inconvenience it is. This morning, for example, she had to use the hose in the washer b/c it wasn't drawing water.
(C is talking to me right now, and I'm having trouble thinking! I keep telling her that I'm writing, but she loves me. what can I do!)
Saturday night I went to a real Quinceanera (15th birthday party). This one was as elaborate as a wedding, as most are. It had a DJ, a Quintet (with an upright bass), dinner, planned dances, beautiful dress, 14 boys in white shirts and black pants, a giganto cake (with a white figurine), roses, floral arrangements, and more than 20 tables. I didn't know the birthday girl, but I went with someone who knew the "best girl/dance coordinator." As it turned out, I recognized a couple parents from the parent meetings, and even a couple missionaries that I work with. It was kinda fun being able to walk to a party, to dance "with" that many Mexicans. We danced b/c these two grandmas pulled us out on the dance floor, but in a big group of people, not partner danced as no boys asked us to dance! The party started at 5:30. We got there at 8, they were still serving dinner. When we left at 11, they hadn't cut the cake yet! Some of the people at the party were polygamists, and I started thinking, how does that work, do you take all your wives to the party? Do you marry one b/c she's a good dancer, and another b/c she's a good cook? There were a lot of "American" looking Mexicans there. Apparently, it's normal for a lot of these families to either live in America and visit this town a lot, or to live in this town and visit America a lot. A lot of people are from the state of Chihuahua as well. The way they pay for these parties is you have padrinos, or God parents. Someone buys the cake, someone pays to rent the tables, someone buys the dress, someone buys the flowers, etc. You get a LOT less presents this way, but a GIGANTO party sort of IS the present. AND if you are a padrino, you get a guaranteed dance with the birthday girl!
Starting today, I'm going to be helping out a family that has 8 Mexican children from age 2-12. They need to make a passport/visa run, and will be leaving the 10th and the mom is coming back the 19th hopefully. They have two Canadian women coming to help out, but I don't think they speak Spanish, so I'll be there part time as well. I plan to take one of my big girls with me at a time to read to the kids, play with them, be my helper, etc. I hope that goes well, b/c these kids could really use some individual academic attention, and that is hard to get in a big family. If it does go well, that will be a service project my girls will continue over the summer.
I covet your prayer's this week! Hope you had a safe 4th of July :)
quick update!
Right now our assistant pastor Steve is in surgery for an angiogram and possible angioplasty. If you pray, would you pray for him and his wife Kathy today?
I'm a little tired and starting to get sick. I let my girls stay out late at the beach several nights last week with the group, but I still had to get up early. I'm trying really hard not to be grouchy, but it's a big fight.
more of an update later, I just wanted to bring the first thing to your attention.
I'm a little tired and starting to get sick. I let my girls stay out late at the beach several nights last week with the group, but I still had to get up early. I'm trying really hard not to be grouchy, but it's a big fight.
more of an update later, I just wanted to bring the first thing to your attention.
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