Down the Memory Path

Today I was travelling back through time. I got out some foto albums to scan. (Yeah, like I have time for this...) Here are some of the photos I found!

BRANDON

SEE...He's always been so cute!

Field Trip...Itaipu Dam and...McDONALDS!

Here are some facts about the Itaipu Dam. McDonalds...just like the states! Can you imagine a bus load of 60 people at once arriving at a McDonalds?

Field Trip...Jesuit Ruins

Check out this site for more info...Jesuit Ruins in Paraguay.

Adonai Student Sponsorship

I am adding a link to our newest update about student sponsorship for Colegio Privado Adonai.

We are currently ENDING this year's school year (February-November) and we are preparing for next year's challenges!

Click HERE to find out more about sponsoring a student in 2010.

High School Field Trip...The Museum at Yacyreta

Pages from an old book on display.

These are some of the animals from around this area of Paraguay.

Pictures of Our Field Trip

The Sand Dunes near Yacyreta Dam.

Hopping on the bus.

A Link to Jason's Blog

I just read Jason's Blog and thought you might like to know a little bit about our trip...from HIS perspective, of course.
I am in the process of writing...I was at school most of the day. There are too many decisions to make! End of the year preparations and next year's schedules, tuition fees, teachers, etc.

We're Back...Safely Back

pOur field trip was amazing. Once again, we got to see so many different things in this small country of ours. We spent 3 out of the 4 nights on a bus and three days of sight seeing and investigating our country. The kids are required to do a final exam speech about an area that we visited and what they learned about it including pictures, information handed them, a power point, etc.
We left on Tuesday night...or Wednesday morning at 12:30 am. We left Edson at Tía Marlene's house. (He loves it there!) He didn't even miss us when we took off with Brandon and Gaby. It rained for THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS! The weather was BAD, but the adventure was great! I'm sooooo glad a little-almost-three year old was not with us!
(I will be posting pictures, but I have some other computers using the connection as well and I can't download stuff right now.)
If you look at this map of Paraguay, you will see where we went...a triangle trip down south, then up north, then back to Asuncion.
1. Asunción
2. Paraguari (Ayolas - Hydroelectric plant -Yacereta, museum)
3. Sand Dunes of San Rafael
4. Coronel Bogado (Chipa!)
5. San Ignacio (Trinidad y Jesús - Jesuit Ruins)
6. Encarnación (Soccer game at Super 6! Paraguay-Colombia...0-2)
7. Ciudad del Este (Monday Falls, Hydroelectric plant- Itaipu, Museum, Zoo
8. Acaray - camp grounds, waterpark
9. Downtown -Ciudad del Este, Light show at Itaipu
10. Home!

chapter 4

Wow! Four posts in a day!
That'll make up for the rest of the week.
Tonight we are leaving on our High School Field Trip. I won't be home til Saturday.
See you then...

Chapter Three...Saturday's Wedding

Our friends were married on Saturday. It was such a beautiful, simple wedding. They had both been searching for answers. Before and after her pregnancy, she was always very angry. Her sister and sister-in-law are both Christians. She would often come to church, but she never really opened-up to anyone. Her boyfriend wanted to get married and they were already living together, but she didn't. They fought all the time and finally, her dad told her to either separate or get married, and change her attitude about everything.

The following weekend at church she was a transformed person and was making plans for her wedding! She talks about how blessed she is. She sees beauty in everything. She laughs. She's content!

She is enjoying her "first love" in Christ.

What an incredible, life-changing miracle! Praise God!

Another Chapter Today...My computer

I figured out my computer's problem! It's a suspicion, but it seems to be repeating itself.
When the electricity goes off, that somehow messes up something in the back and my computer won't recognize any USB ports. So, yesterday, I wanted to post my pictures of the wedding and the storm and couldn't get the drives to work...it just won't recognize ANY, ZERO, NOTHING! I have talked to the BEST computer guys I know and no one can explain my computer's glich.
Then it hit me that every time the computer goes on batter-power, when the electricity goes off, I have this problem.
So, last night I left everything unplugged. Today, I plugged it all in...started all new, and WhaaaLaaa...It worked! I downloaded all my pictures and...everything seems fine!

Sunday's Storm

Sunday was extremely hot and humid all day long. In our neighborhood, there was a problem with the electricity and we had "low tension" (it would be "baja tensión" in spanish...not sure how to say that in English. I mean that the lights were only half bright and other electrical appliances were not working to their full potential.) So, we had an extra-hot afternoon until a nice, cool thunderstorm came through. That cooled things down tremendously and then the sun came out! Later on that evening, another storm was brewing and we walked outside to see hailstones as big as marbles!

OUCH!

A strange thing happened today. I was ready to walk out the door at 6:00 am with the kids to take them to school and Gaby came out to the kitchen and said..."mom, do you have anything for a head ache?" I looked over at him and saw he had a bloody nose and he was holding his head. "What???" Then, he told me his story...
You know how teens kinda like new clothes, new hairstyles, new music and...muscles, right? Well, this kid from school loaned our kids an elastic-type contraption for your biceps. Things were going good until Gaby pulled a muscle in his back last week. Still convinced that this thing might work, he was pulling on it this morning while laying on his bed...with his foot and hand. After a strong pull, it slipped off his foot...his slipery sock, and the handle wacked his eye/nose area so very hard that it almost knocked HIM out.

(He is demonstrating in the pictures.)

He has a good attitude about it because he even let me take pictures of it while he was explaining it all to us. He has a very bruised face, but recognizes the miracle that it didn't hit his eye.

P.S. He told me I could write this.

What's happening here...

I was thinking that my blog would be kind of dull with no picture, but anyway, I couldn't find the one I wanted...so I am just checking in to say...
Edson is growing up so fast. He is starting to say sentences, get into stuff a lot more, and has a little bit of a cold. Gaby is enjoying his own cell phone privilege. Brandon is saving up money for his Field Trip next week. There are stories of "good deals" in Ciudad del Este.
Oscar and I are busy with...the end of school activities as well as the plans for next year's schedule at Adonai.

Partying San Pedro Way

This weekend we were in San Pedro for my mother-in-law's memorial-birthday gathering. The family made it a point to invite as many of her friends possible. We had a HUGE cook-out. There was spaghetti, Paraguayan cornbread, chipa, mandioca and asado all cooked with an open fire and in this huge brick oven. The slow-cooked asado was super-delicious. They call it asado a la estaca...barbecued beef on roasted poles or sticks cooked over firewood - a very Paraguayan-style barbecue. It has more of a smoked taste after it's cooked.

We had a wonderful, family time.

My Big Brothers!!!

These are the kind of things my big brothers do to me. They made me put in these false teeth that my grandma sent THEM. Then they made me stand there while they took a picture of me while everyone was laughing...at me! At first I thought it was fun...ny, too, but then...I just wanted them to STOP!
This picture is kind of funny. Now I can look at this and laugh...but, only with my mom. If my big brothers think that I THINK this is funny, then they'll do it to me again. Ahhhh! Big brother torture!
This picture is kind of cute, though, isn't it?

The Heart of a Teacher by Paula Fox

I thought that this was so good. I want to dedicate it to all of us...teachers, mothers or fathers, or whoever works with kids.

Excerpt from: The Heart of a Teacher by Paula Fox

The child arrives like a mystery box...
with puzzle pieces inside
some of the pieces are broken or missing...
and others just seem to hide

But the HEART of a teacher can sort them out...
and help the child to see
the potential for greatness he has within...
a picture of what he can be

Her goal isn't just to teach knowledge...
by filling the box with more parts
it's putting the pieces together...
and creating a work of art

The process is painfully slow at times...
some need more help than others
each child is a work in progress...
with assorted shapes and colors

First she creates a classroom...
where the child can feel safe in school
where he never feels threatened or afraid to try...
and kindness is always the rule

She knows that a child can achieve much more
when he feels secure inside
when he's valued and loved... and believes in himself...
and he has a sense of pride

She models and teaches good character...
and respect for one another
how to focus on strengths...not weaknesses
and how to encourage each other

She gives the child the freedom he needs...
to make choices on his own
so he learns to become more responsible...
and is able to stand alone

He's taught to be strong and think for himself...
as his soul and spirit heal
and the puzzle that's taking shape inside...
has a much more positive feel

The child discovers the joy that comes...
from learning something new...
and his vision grows as he begins to see
all the things that he can do

A picture is formed as more pieces fit...
an image of the child within
with greater strength and confidence...
and a belief that he can win!

All because a hero was there...
in the HEART of a teacher who cared
enabling the child to become much more...
than he ever imagined...or dared

A teacher with a HEART for her children...
knows what teaching is all about
she may not have all the answers...
but on this...she has no doubt

When asked which subjects she loved to teach,
she answered this way and smiled...
"It's not the subjects that matter...
It's all about teaching the CHILD."