We had a full week of school this week! Well, a full week except for Thursday which was Kid's Day again, so public school was cancelled, but we talked the kids into having English and computer classes with us anyway. (Truthfully, if we hadn't included computer class in the mix, we may have lost the battle. However, either way, it was a good week.)
We also made a trip back to Concordia so Omar could have his urine analysis analyzed. (I'm tempted to say something negative about socialized medicine... so I won't say anything at all). While waiting, we walked to our favorite park and the men were still painting polls from the prior week when we were here. They were even more daring this week in their attempt to get the high parts.
What would OSHA say?
We wanted to buy some groceries, but all the stores were closed during siesta. However, this lady was willing to "keep her store closed" and help us out all at the same time. We simply passed our purchases back and forth through her locked door.
However, just as we finished and headed back to the hospital, we saw another tienda that was open for real. We bought a few more items just because we could.
Another bizarre thing we saw were these cars boxed in so tightly as to prevent any comings or goings.
There was a whole string of them thus there must be a story behind it. We'll keep you posted if we ever learn the reason for this strange activity.
Los Perales:
Vanessa finished her husband's vest and is now working on a cute jean shirt without sleeves that she could wear in the summer.
With summer just around the corner, Amy helped her make the pattern.
The kids are still diligently involved in whatever activity Gregg can come up with.
On the way to and from Los Perales, we dropped off Vale and her family in Federal. Vale's new doll reminds us of the dolls our mother's used to carry. Does the dolly bring back memories anyone?
Later in the week, the cows were let loose to find whatever clippings the lawn men missed. We'd never seen the calves quite this close to our front door before. Perhaps, we are now part of their world rather than the feared new comers.
Tiago's grandpa was visiting the family when we dropped Tiago off at his home. Horses are used for getting around the ranch more than vehicles. The horse below is grandpa's horse thus cluing Tiago into his fun filled afternoon with his jovial relative.
Below is a chunk of meat curing. The kids noticed it and nonchalantly said, "Oh look, meat." Can't say that it is what we're accustomed to spotting on a trip around the block.
The bridge by the school is falling apart again, only this time we have to cross over the gaps.
Vale is scared of crossing the bridge in the truck, so, she and Amy walk across together. Vale's teacher learned of how we were dealing with the problem and asked us to treat Vale like a big girl and not let her get her way. She doesn't look that big to me, and we think it was a very clever way of Vale to deal with a scary bad road. What do you think? However, Vale respects her teacher's advise, so we do too.
Nothing is done small scale around here. These rigs were too big for us to go around so we had to take a different route to our ranch house. With 12-15 thousand cows to feed, there's no dinking around with small stuff.
We had to take a few pictures of these beautiful creatures that grace the landscape.
Spring is here and trees are blooming everywhere.
Happy Birthday, Gregg!
For his Birthday, Gregg received his favorite cookies: Oatmeal Krispies with the added ingredients of raisins, coconut, walnuts and chocolate chips.
Food for thought from Amy:
At times, as a foreigner, there comes a deep sense of loneliness. This week as I was studying the lesson for Sunday School (in Spanish so the process was very slow giving time for deep pondering), I had a strong impression that without the sealing keys that Elijah brought back to earth of which I was studying about, the terrible loneliness that I was then feeling would extend into the eternities.
Christ says that without Elijah's keys of turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers and binding us together, the coming of the Savior would be wasted. I imagined a loving Savior having gone into the depths of despair for us and bringing about the resurrection only to have us then be miserable--alone and loveless. Wouldn't want to live forever in loneliness, would you?
I also imagined the living with a parade of ancestors watching us struggle, cheering us on, and caring deeply for whatever pain we were experiencing. I imagined a reunion with these great people (that would inevitably come one day) connected to peace and deep abiding love. With that understanding, breaking the bands of death can be a joyous event indeed.
I invite you to learn about your ancestors. Let them into your heart and thus allow the spirit of Elijah to add dimension to your otherwise empty future.
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