VACATION!!!

October 10-14, 2011

Day #1 memories:

Beginning our vacation by celebrating Tyler’s 7^th birthday with team mates

Touring a Jesuit ruin San Cosme y Damian

Visiting a small planetarium and learning the Guarani names for different constellations Looking at the moon through their telescope

Sleeping 8 in a tiny 3 bed hotel room

Day #2 – My children have inherited my love for the beach and talk about wanting to go all the time.  Since we live in a land-locked country, that request is tough.  So when we saw pictures of an island with sand dunes, we knew had to check it out.  The outing did not disappoint.  We all loved the relaxing hour long boat ride to sand dunes.  Julia was mesmerized by the lulling of the waves. 

The island was wonderful!  The kids ran up, played in and slid/summersaulted/rolled/fell down the huge dunes.  They splashed in the water, explored the beach, played tennis and catch, and built sand castles.

 

This was Julia’s first time in sand and she loved it.  Apparently it tasted pretty good by the fistfull.

  

I took 200 pictures of my beautiful children. 

After we pried ourselves off the dunes, we heading into town and set up camp.  New flashlights, stomp rockets, yummy grilled pork, s’mores and then off to bed.

Setting up the tent 

Beautiful sunset

Julia LOVED her first marshmellow

At 2AM Jeff and I awoke to strong winds, loud thunder, and bright lightening.  A huge storm was rolling in and we did not want to be caught in a tent in it (nor have to pack up a wet tent in the morning).  Jeff made an executive call to pack up camp.  Our kids were such good sports lending a sleepy hand.  We got it all picked up and thrown inside the care just before torrential rains poured.  Luckily, my family had rented a room for the night, so we all crashed with them.

Day #3 memories:

Rain

Hotel with trampoline, pool table, ping-pong and foosball table

Peacocks, iguana, alligator, dogs, horses, sheep

Cat in the Hat movie

Day #4 memories:

Horseback riding

Shopping for hammocks and aopo’i

Hotel Independencia

New swimming pool

Skip-Bo

HAPPY 7th BRTHDAY TYLER!

October 10, 2011

Tyler’s transformer birthday fell on the first day of our vacation with my family which worked out really nice because he was able to celebrate in Yuty with two other missionary families. 

NOVEBER NEWSLETTER

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KIDS' CLUB, YOUTH GROUP and CABURE

October 8, 2011 

After a major storm, God allowed the sun to shine so the 2 Saturday events I was looking forward to wouldn't be cancelled - our 2nd kids' club and youth group. 

We had a great kids’ club with new faces.  Praise God for the two women who are heading this up and for David who is willing to lead the kids with music.

After kids’ club, my friend, Nilsa came over to make cabure dough.  When the youth came over later that evening, we wrapped the dough on broom sticks and cooked them over hot coals.

 Liz shared with the youth about running the Christian race. 

Then we shared s’more fixin’s that my family brought from the US.  Since we cannot get any of the ingredients in country, it was the youths’ first.  They loved them.

Cabure

10 eggs

3/4K cornmeal

1K starch

Milk

lard

Mix together and form into large balls

SOPA PARAGUAYA

A friend of mine gifted me some homemade cheese so my family could try sopa Paraguaya (a very typical dish here).  Sopa Paraguaya reminds me a bit of corn bread, but it is denser and with sautéed onions.

Like most typical dishes in Paraguay, it calls for cornmeal.  Cornmeal is in abundance because almost everyone grows and grinds their own corn.  Since I don’t have a field, I always have to ask different friends if I could help them pick, shuck or grind corn in exchange for a kilo or two.      

This time, we were given corn kernels.  After it was boiled and dried, Liz and I went to a friend’s house to grind and sift it.  It took so much arm and shoulder strength that I was very thankful my friend and her kids were all willing to take turns.

Sopa Paraguay

4 eggs

2K cornmeal

3Tbs starch

4 onions

Salt to taste

1 ½ C lard

milk

Cook onion with lard and salt

Mix cornmeal, starch, onion mixture and enough milk until soft

Pour in a 9x13 dish, bake at 350 for 45 minutes

MANDIO PASTEL

October 4, 2011 is the patron saint of our town’s day. My neighbor came over and taught me to make pastel mandio – a typical food for holidays. We made dough out of 1/2 kilo ground mandioca, 4 eggs, 1/4C oil, and ½ kilo flour. Next, we took small portions of the dough and shaped it into a 3 inch disk. In the center we put a mixture of ground meat, sautéed green onions and parsley. We closed the dough around the meat mixture (like an egg roll) and fried it. Yum.

On October 1st, Paraguayans eat a special meal for lunch called "Jopara" to ward off "Mr. October," a legendary personification of poverty. October is the hardest month for the families of subsistence farmers, as it's the only month all year that their fields don't produce something for them to eat. Pray for God to provide for the many Paraguayans who live hand-to-mouth, especially during this difficult month.

SOCCER WOES

Saturday, September 10, 1011

Yesterday Ryan’s coach said to be at the field at 8:00 to practice because 9:00 will start the game.  At 9:00 Ryan came back.  Coach said they were playing at 1:00.  At 11:00 2 of his team mates came by the house and said they were playing right then.  Ryan got on his bike and we followed shortly after in the car.  Ryan got there for the 2^nd half.  There was speculation that perhaps there’s be a second game, but in the end Ryan’s coach said no.  We left.  Ryan left a bit later and when he got home, he said that the coach said that there was a 2^nd game in 30 minutes.  Ryan quickly ate and headed back to the field only to return 20 minutes later saying, “No game.”  Man, this cross-communication stuff is tough!   

FRIEND or FOE?

LAUNDRY DAY

AND THEY CALL IT PUPPY LOVE

This is our new puppy Comet (Micah calls her sonic). She is a 6 week old Golden Retriever. The kids have done a great job caring for her and cleaning up after her. She’s been a pretty good little puppy and hasn’t chewed anything of consequence yet.

MICAH'S 5th BIRTHDAY!

September 29, 2011 Micah celebrated turning 5 with a dinosaur birthday. Thanks to both sets of grandparents (who provided themed cups, plates, a table cloth and napkins, gift bags, and gifts) the party was great. Over an empanada dinner, we told dinosaur jokes and took a dinosaur quiz. Next we ate a dinosaur cake (Which, if I am allowed to brag, turned out pretty cute) and dinosaur cookies. After Micah opened his gifts, the kids participated in a relay race by wearing dinosaur feet and balancing a dinosaur egg on a spoon. Next the kids made dinosaur fossils (man, how many times has “dinosaur” been written in this post?). It was especially fun because it was the first birthday of Micah’s that the grandparents were able to be here for.

Blowing out the candles

Dinosaur cookies

Walk like a dinosaur while carrying a dinosaur egg

Walking like a dinosaur