What!!!

I'm really feeling like a mom of a toddler right now! I read other blogs of mothers writing about these exciting or adventurous (NOT ALLOWED) activities. I have recently, (proudly) patted myself on the back thinking, my two year old never did that! But...I knew it was coming...and if it doesn't happen now it will when they are teens...so maybe it's better to get it over with now.
Here's my story.
I quickly put Edson down for a nap since I was invited over to my friend's house this afternoon to bake bread in a wood-burning oven. I was excited. Less gas. No heating up the kitchen. Wow! I started mixing up the recipe and things were going wonderful. I kneaded it, placed it in an oiled tupperware container to rise for a while, and thought I heard a noise. The thought popped into my head that Edson could have gotten out of bed and...
What??? (Sorry, no picture...Oscar has the camera in Chaco, Argentina...but, I will try to describe this scene as good as I can...) Edson looked up at me with a smile and said..."bibos" (books). All I saw was shreds and shreds of something, everywhere, all over. I ran over to the box of books to see how many he shredded, and thankfully, it was not shredded books, but shredded toilet paper. I started repeating over and over what we use toilet paper for and he did not use it right. He was also very disobedient because he got out of bed instead of taking a nap. He also needed a diaper change right then so I used the toilet paper to make my point explaining once again what we use this for. He covered his hands with his face and then peeked through his hands and said...wahhh (spanish game of peek-a-boo). Like my sister always says...I wanted to laugh, but I also wanted to cry. After a little more scolding, I told him he was not allowed out of bed anymore until he takes a nap. He obediently covered his face with a book, grabbed a stuffed animal and slept.
Then, I walked into the bathroom and saw the rest of the toilet paper job! This part was not yet shredded, so I folded it up into smaller usable amounts that will eventually be taken care of.
So...one of my first "disasters" oops, I mean "adventures" just took place. Edson is just a normal toddler. I wonder what it'll be tomorrow?
Well, I just checked my bread dough...it looks great! As soon as little Edson gets up...were off to bake the bread!

RAIN, RAIN, RAIN...a typical summer day in Paraguay.

Two blogs in one day! WOW!
This week's weather forcast...

Mon Jan 26
Chance of thunder- showers
High 32°C(89°F)Low 26°C(78°F)

Tue Jan 27
Chance of thunder- showers
High 34°C(93°F)Low 27°C(80°F)

Wed Jan 28
Chance of thunder- showers
High 32°C(89°F)Low 26°C(78°F)

Thu Jan 29
Chance of thunder- showers
High 32°C(89°F)Low 26°C(78°F)

Fri Jan 30
Cloudy periods
High 33°C(91°F)Low 25°C(77°F)

Nighttime Beauty

On our way home the other night we stopped to look at this cactus' flower. The neighbors probably thought we were crazy. We all got out of the car to take pictures and marvel at this huge nighttime flower. It is about the size of my hand. They only bloom at night, and I believe, just one night! A picture is never as beautiful as the real thing. It looks so perfect, lacy, and delicate. God shows his beauty even in the darkest night!

Before and After

Oscar loves to give Edson a cut twice a year...a buzz cut! It's been pretty hot lately so we thought he needed to be cooled off. One of Edson's favorite activities is sticking stickers on his face. That's why you see a yellow sticker that says JESUS LOVES ME on his cheek. These pictures were taken in the same place just about two days apart.

Cheese Time...Answers

I was waiting for some more guesses or comments before I answered the last cheese post.

There are 88.2 pounds - 40 kilos of CHEESE!

So, the winner is...heidiannie who guessed the closest. Congratulations...you finally won a guessing game. (Let me work out how I am going to get this fresh cheese with absolutely NO chemicals, additives, preservatives, etc. to you...some day!)

Oscar's neice makes about 4 kilos fresh each day and keeps it in the refrigerator. She uses a natural rennet that she actually makes herself. If you want to know what this is you can look it up here...http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Rennet/rennet_preparation.html . She did try out liquid rennet drops (already prepared enzymes or bacterias needed for the cheese) but people didn't like it. She sends us a big Rubbermaid bin full about every two weeks. I usually weigh it and cut it up in 1 kilo blocks and then stick it in the freezer. I have a sign out front that says HAY QUESO PARAGUAY. (It says...there's paraguayan cheese, but it means that we sell paraguayan cheese.)

My kids don't like to eat it plain, but they love it in baked goods...especially chipa (cheese bread).

Such Interesting Flowers

These are such interesting flowers. I have always loved them. They are about 1 foot long and sometimes grow even longer. The plant they come from looks similar to a banana plant. This plant is useless, it's a bother to many gardeners. It grows wild. But, look at its uniqueness. Look at its colors. Why did God create this strange, good-for-nothing flower that looks so amazing?...probably just so that I could stand here and marvel at His creations...and Him.

Edson's weakness

One thing this kid loves is a good, cool watermelon. If he sees anyone, anywhere, eating watermelon he will ask for it. This will become his breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack or whatever...whenever. He can't say what it is yet, so he says..."Este" meaning "this" while pointing and insisting.
He loves watermelon and he loves raw peanuts right out of the shells.

Cheese Time!

Can you guess how many kilos (or pounds) this is? If you guess right should I send you some? It might be roquefort by the time it gets to you! Some Canadians know how THAT smells!

Ummm! A typical Paraguayan will use this cheese on bread with jelly, cut up in chunks floating in molasses, make batter with bits of cheese and fry it...here that is called tortilla. They will pinch it in tiny bits for cornbread (sopa paraguaya) or corn sufflé (chipa guazú). They will make cheese bread (chipa), stir it in rice or noodles, mix it in with vegtable soups, make cornmeal and cheese dumplings, pizza, and so much more. It is $3.00 a kilo...fresh from San Pedro!

Bright Colors of Paraguay

I love the bright colors of Paraguay. Whole trees in bloom just lift my spirits. How can a whole tree have so many flowers? I wish I could have every tree in Paraguay that blooms in different shades of purple, pink, red, orange, white and yellow. I love it when the flowers fall on the ground and you have to sweep up colorful flowers. I love it when they blow across the street with the wind. I saw a little street-boy in town the other day pick up a handfull of flowers from the ground that fell off the tree. He threw them up in the air while he stood underneath. He seemed so happy. (Oscar reached out and gave him a quarter...then he was even happier!) These beautiful, earthly colors are just a reminder of the beautiful, heavenly colors we will soon see!

My Little Christmas Angel

I just got these pictures from Ben and Vivi. I didn't take my camera the night we had our Christmas program at church. The teachers had all the little kids dress up as angels. All of them had on wings, except Edson. He would NOT put them on. He did go forward to sing and then found a microphone to show off with a bit.

Summer Days...

I have a bad cold in the middle of summer! I think it may be getting better, but I'm still very congested. I couldn't even drink cold water or terere. Can you imagine drinking hot tea on a hot afternoon break? I still toss and turn at night. My nose is stuffed up. I have a little cough and fans seem to make things worse. But...I'll get better. I'm sure of it! You know, moms can't stay sick for too long!
We went to San Pedro last week...that's why I was so silent for a couple of days. Weekends are so full of activities that I usually don't do computer stuff. Yesterday I took my little friend to the mall for her birthday. We had fun looking at everything and then we even stopped at McDonalds for a hamburger. It looked like it was going to rain all day and finally did at night...all night. (I left the computer unplugged all day long.) There was still rain, thunder and lightning this morning when we woke up.
Right now things are cool, calm and quiet.
These are my summer days.

Some of our visitors this past month...December

Nightmare!

Psalm 4:8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (NIV)
There is a beautiful, peaceful song in spanish by Daniel Calveti that reminds me of this very important verse. I love to go to sleep at night without worrying. I love to give myself over to the Lord at night and know that he is keeping not only me, but my whole family safe. What peace! What confidence!
Well, my peaceful night ended abruptly this morning with a piercing, unending sound that seemed to jab into my brain. My peaceful dreams turned into a horror story. I tried to cover my head with my pillow, but I couldn't breathe. That piercing noise just wouldn't let up. I looked at the clock it was 4:45 am. On a regular school day, this would have been a great alarm, but today is summer vacation. Today I get to rest. I struggled back and forth trying to cover up the sound with my pillow, with prayer...but, nothing worked! This was not peaceful! This was a nightmare.
(The cricket continued singing his praises to the Lord!)
Finally, annoyed and frustrated, I jumped out of bed and went to sleep in Edson's room. I tried to remember my sweet dreams, but could still only hear that loud "beep, beep" of the cricket ringing in my head.
Since I couldn't sleep anymore, and the birds were all up anyway, I decided to get up and write this blog. It was definitly a nightmare-ish end to a peaceful sleep, but I DO thank the Lord for a refreshing, peaceful night before the little cricket's song started.

Some New Year's Fun...

Little imitator!

I usually take Edson home on my lap when we are coming home from Church. We have others in the car, and he is usually sleepy so he gets to sit on my lap. Don't worry, we are not "breaking" the law since he is not in a baby seat. The policemen are only out at Christmas time when they can fine you enough to buy their Christmas meal and New Year's bash.
Anyway, last night we got in the car with Edson once again on my lap. He looked at me and said "AHHH, ahhh" with his mouth wide open. I looked at him kind of strange and said, "What are you doing?" He just smiled and said, "mamá". Then he opened his mouth real wide again and looked in the side view mirror to see himself.
After doing it several times, I finally understood! He saw me yawning with my big mouth open real wide and thought that was the thing you do when you get in the car at night (after church). I said..."you little copy-cat...I'm tired!" The whole way home that was our playfull joke...who could "yawn" the biggest.

Happy Birthday...Dad!

This is my dad! Dad is quiet, but usually knows a little bit of everything, especially cars and computers. He has patience to tell you all about it, too. He is usually a very happy guy...except that time we ripped up his grass with Dianne's baby-bathtub. (But, ohhh that mud-slide was sooooo fun. We got a lickin' with a 2x4 that time!)
Well, we all know that you are on the computer more than all of us...you just don't comment on any of our blogs, but I am sure you'll be reading this so...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
We all love you lots!!!!!

This is an interesting short movie I found. Watch it and tell me what you think.
http://www.appreciationmovie.com/