Adventures!

I guess most people know by now that on Saturdays and Sundays we EAT at 12:00 noon…to the dot…no exceptions!
Well, this past Saturday we had visitors, Ellen, Peter and Larissa Sabo, and Jason Steidl. My boys had just come home from an all week school camp, had no homework and were ready for an ADVENTURE with these older and wiser visitors.
Brandon wanted to show Peter the river so they sat around waiting for a while for Ellen and Larissa to come, but they never did. So, the boys went anyway. Brandon’s last instructions were…Mom, tell Ellen that we will be in the same place we always go. Fine!
Ellen and Larissa came and I gave them the message. They took off right away.
I was fixing stroganoff. Everything was perfect and timed well. It was 12:10, they guys weren’t back so Oscar and I stalled for time drinking the wonderful social drink…terere. It was 12:20. I fed Edson. It was 12:30 and still no kids back from the river. I wasn’t really worried about my kids because 4 people over 22 were with them. Well, Oscar and I became very hungry and started preparing our plates when Ellen came running in the house…all by herself!
Karen…you won’t BELIEVE what is happening. I’m soooo sorry we’re not back for lunch, I KNOW we are supposed to eat at noon, but Peter, Larissa and Brandon are out in a boat and they are caught in the current!!!! They CAN’T get back and there are about 25 fishermen on the shore laughing at them. Jason, Ellen and Gaby did get back to shore. Ellen jumped out of the boat, ran through knee high water, and came home to tell me.
I started laughing and she said…Aren’t you mad, or worried? And I calmly said…Not really (even though I did realize that there was a little bit of danger) I said…They are all in the same boat (ha ha) they are all in the same problem. I doubted that Peter or Larissa would leave Brandon stranded in the middle of the Paraguay River. She got washed up and we sat down to eat.
About 1:00 pm they all came home with their stories. Here are some of the details (that I think I understood), but not in order.
Gaby was in the boat with Peter and Larissa.
Their boat was leaking and water was pouring in. Gaby was trying to scoop the water out with a little box of worms that he found at the back of the boat…but at the same time…save the worms for future fishing. Larissa grabbed for the little box and started scooping harder, telling Gaby that they weren’t going fishing anymore and to forget the worms.
They wanted to go around the island, but the current was too strong.
Brandon and Gaby traded boats. Peter needed more muscle in rowing against the current. Brandon and Peter got two meters ahead and when they rested for a second, went three meters back. All the while the boat was sinking.
The fishermen were enjoying the show!
Finally a motorboat went by and Peter shouted for help…no help came. A little boy and an old man came by to save the day, towing them in.
Larissa, happy to set foot on land, stepped in knee-high black mud, screaming and trying to get to harder ground. As she took each step, mud would be flying through the air. Larissa and Peter assured the fisherman that they were just tourist…as if they couldn’t tell! Brandon and Gaby assured ME that because of the embarrassment, they were never going back.
For Brandon and Gaby, I know this was the ADVENTURE of their lifetime. All for just a $2.00 boat ride!
…I still am laughing as I write this, remembering those ADVENTUROUS days back at the lake on that rickety raft, the huge spider, falling in, running through muck to get to the shore, ripping frogs apart for bait and using homemade fishing poles with safety pins, etc.
Thanks, God, for taking care of us in ALL our ADVENTURES!

The Lord God Almighty is his name

Last night I had an amazing time of peace and quiet!
Brandon and Gabriel were in preparation for their school camp and slept at 7:30, believe it or not. Oscar was at church for one more service. Edson was quietly playing with anything he could find on the kitchen floor, and I sat down to “rest” and read the scriptures.
When I have one of these “free” moments, I like to just leaf through and remember key verses that I marked years ago. Sometimes remembering the situation I was going through and sometimes wondering how I ever came across that verse.
Anyway, I found Amos 4:13 marked…He who forms the mountains, creates the wind and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness and treads the high places of the earth – the Lord God Almighty is his name…I spent the next few minutes in awe of this Almighty who is also my Father and Friend.
This is a recent picture of Oscar and Dan Munther at the Iguazu Falls.

Grandpa

For some reason, being so far away, when I hear about someone dying, it just doesn't seem real. It seems as if next time I go to the states, he/she will be there to greet me and spend some time together. The memories live on...so...the people must! Memories of Grandpa and Grandma seem as fresh to me as yesterday. I have a picture of them and Aunt Janet on the refrigerator at home. I know they are no longer with us, but the happy moments I spent with them are the happy memories that make them alive in my heart. I am thankful for the beautiful examples they gave me. When he was in Paraguay he told everyone that I was the eighth generation in his family who was a believer. We can be just as proud of being God's children as he was. I am thankful that he could visit us so many times (once with Uncle Al, once with Dean Yovichin, once with George Bodjanac, and once with the Marang's). He was always so supportive of Paraguay Missions. We will miss his funny stories! By the way...sisters...I never remember the knuckle finger getting me!

July 4th, 2007

Grandpa and Edson! Edson looks like he wants that cane pretty bad.

The longer you wait, the harder it gets!

I started an exercise program! Finally, after years of indecision, I am forced to work on those muscles! It hasn’t been easy, it’s actually a pain…it’s a 24/7 plan. It includes constant movement; stretching, weightlifting, waist trimmers, knee bends, steps, etc. While I am cooking I have to do leg lifts to close and hold tight the cupboards that Edson wants so desperately to open, all the while I am balancing on one leg trying to cut onions in an even way. Edson’s bedroom is upstairs so we do the steps while lifting weights (him) many, many, many times a day…up – down, up – down. I do the waist and knee bends while picking up the toys from the floor that come out of no where. You have to do that one about 50 times a day until your knees hurt real bad! More waist trimmers come from sweeping and mopping the floor continually so the crawler won’t get at the crumbs or leftovers on the floor. Then, there’s the back breakers (I don’t think that’s actually what you call it, but they are real killers!). It’s when you have to stretch your back leg muscles, buttocks, and your whole spine to lift your kid into or out of the car seats and stroller, pick him up off the floor to be changed, put him in his high chair, etc. Oh, and, the night time quickies where you dart out of bed, run across the house thinking you heard something and find only the sleeping cutie.
The list of exercises goes on and on…
All I can say is…start early, girls, the longer you wait, the harder it gets!

Thanks for praying!

Both Friday night and Saturday night it finally rained and drizzled. At least the smoky city is some what cleared, but there is still a lot of pollution. The weather cooled to sweater weather for two days. The plants already look a little greener.
Thanks for your prayers!

Brandon's birthday

Kathy, Bianca, Brandon, Kathy, Elysha