Last week was a rainy week. According to Oscar, rainy and cold means FALL/WINTER weather. It got down to 57 F. That’s pretty cold for a sub-tropical climate. During winter, though, we may reach 41F or even 32F. Anyway, it rained so much last Wednesday that a small portion of our yard was filled with water. I faithful packed Edson into the car and off we went to a meeting at school. The whole ride was on the exciting side while I tried to stay on the part of the road that was clear of rushing water. Heading toward Vera Cruz we have to pass through a low spot between two hills. The water covered more than half of the tires and I started to think that I probably shouldn’t have gone out. Well, with the Lord as our guide, we continued on; went to the meeting and came home to a soaked, but beautiful yard.
I walked into the house to wash my hands and start cooking for lunch and realized that there was no water coming out of the faucet. This happens often in our neighborhood. Once we didn’t have water for a week and the firemen came to fill our community’s tank. Four hundred families were affected, and our neighborhood in San Antonio even made primetime news. Well, I didn’t worry about too much this time and just started cooking with the 3 gallon jug we usually have filled up for reserve. After cooking, doing some cleaning, filling a pitcher for the kids to wash hands with, drinking terere, etc. We were down to just a couple quarts…but, the water didn’t come. We went to church that night (with no showers) hoping that when we get back we will all shower. We got back and there was still no water. Now, every precious drop was like GOLD. I even put some buckets under the rain spout for bathroom uses (but by then it had stopped raining). All night long there was still no water. The kids got ready for school the next day…still no water…and no showers! Finally at 7:15am the water came. I frantically started washing dishes, clothes, the bathroom, the floors…everything that could get wet, I washed.
Today, Wednesday, it started raining again! Hopefully, the water on the inside won't stop!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Family Life
Well, we finally got the grade cards! We were sweating through the last weeks of the third quarter. After changing to Asuncion Christian Academy one and a half years both Brandon and Gabriel were lower than average in school. Spanish to English and memorization to critical thinking were very high hurdles to cross. They were on academic probation for two quarters. The letters mentioned that if they did not improve they could be dismissed from ACA. We prayed. They studied. We cut out extra activities, made study rules at home, and left them with only one privilege…going to church and church activities. They came home with their grade cards and one could feel their excitement as they commented on their achievements. They are at a C average, but considering the mental transition they went through I think it is a wonderful improvement! This week is spirit week and on Friday it’s field day (school Olympics). They have to dress up as “bad hair day”, “twin day”, “dress up day”, and “Bible character day”. Praise God along with us!
Another chapter in our lives is Edson! He is such a happy, fun baby. Of course, he is spoiled by everyone at home and at church. Someone even said to me that he was cuter than the other baby at church, and of course that made my day! Every mom wants her baby to be the cutest. Edson is very strong. He pushes himself out of his baby seat and moves across the room flipping one way and then another. He is usually extremely active. Well, yesterday he got his 4 month vaccination (yes, one month late) and has turned into a very weepy, weak baby. His leg is sore. He has a fever. He can’t keep the fever-reliever medicine down and just seem miserable. If he is placed in his baby seat he just sits there moaning a little. If he is laid on a blanket, he doesn’t try to move, he just quietly lays there with a toy. Hopefully by tomorrow all this will wear off and he will be our active little Edson again.
Oscar is doing fine. He is enjoying the comments of his “youthful look” since he shaved his beard last week. People say he took 10 years off his “look”. That is something impressive since he’s almost 40…next month. Today he’s off to the prison to take Panorama Cristiana (a free Christian newspaper) to the inmates. This weekend he’ll take the evangelistic team to Ocampos…the banana island.
Another chapter in our lives is Edson! He is such a happy, fun baby. Of course, he is spoiled by everyone at home and at church. Someone even said to me that he was cuter than the other baby at church, and of course that made my day! Every mom wants her baby to be the cutest. Edson is very strong. He pushes himself out of his baby seat and moves across the room flipping one way and then another. He is usually extremely active. Well, yesterday he got his 4 month vaccination (yes, one month late) and has turned into a very weepy, weak baby. His leg is sore. He has a fever. He can’t keep the fever-reliever medicine down and just seem miserable. If he is placed in his baby seat he just sits there moaning a little. If he is laid on a blanket, he doesn’t try to move, he just quietly lays there with a toy. Hopefully by tomorrow all this will wear off and he will be our active little Edson again.
Oscar is doing fine. He is enjoying the comments of his “youthful look” since he shaved his beard last week. People say he took 10 years off his “look”. That is something impressive since he’s almost 40…next month. Today he’s off to the prison to take Panorama Cristiana (a free Christian newspaper) to the inmates. This weekend he’ll take the evangelistic team to Ocampos…the banana island.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Lemons, lemons, lemons
I’ll never forget the day my sister excitedly showed me a new kitchen utensil from Pampered Chef. She was so excited about it and continued to explain to me how it works. It was a lemon stopper. It’s kind of like a cork-screw type contraption that screws into the lemon, you squeeze the juice out and then you stop it up again. That way the lemon could be saved in the refrigerator for several weeks. She explained it all to me with her eyes wide in amazement and then even asked me if I wanted one. I flatly said no and I think that hurt her feelings. She asked, “why not?” I said that during lemon season here, in Paraguay, there are so many lemons that we would actually PAY someone to take them off our trees.
Well, it’s lemon season, now. We just cut down one of our 4 lemon trees. It may have had 1000 or more fruits on it. I DID freeze some for rice and potato salad during the winter months. Mom and grandma taught me to do stuff like that. We squeeze them on food and salads and throw the rest away knowing that there are thousands more outside. We drink them in juice and terere. We make lemon squares, lemon meringue pie, lemon cake, lemon bread, etc. We dip Paraguayan tortillas in pure lemon juice and salt. We drink it straight for colds or add it to a cup of tea. We use them to clean off the barbecue grill. Some spray it into their dark hair thinking it’ll become blond. Some people use them for burns and others even dare to use lemons as deodorant.
Now, almost every time I go out to pick lemons, I think of my sister. I wish I could send some of these beautiful lemons to her…anyone want some fresh lemonade?
Well, it’s lemon season, now. We just cut down one of our 4 lemon trees. It may have had 1000 or more fruits on it. I DID freeze some for rice and potato salad during the winter months. Mom and grandma taught me to do stuff like that. We squeeze them on food and salads and throw the rest away knowing that there are thousands more outside. We drink them in juice and terere. We make lemon squares, lemon meringue pie, lemon cake, lemon bread, etc. We dip Paraguayan tortillas in pure lemon juice and salt. We drink it straight for colds or add it to a cup of tea. We use them to clean off the barbecue grill. Some spray it into their dark hair thinking it’ll become blond. Some people use them for burns and others even dare to use lemons as deodorant.
Now, almost every time I go out to pick lemons, I think of my sister. I wish I could send some of these beautiful lemons to her…anyone want some fresh lemonade?
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Ants!!!!
I can usually deal with most bugs, lizards and mosquitoes, but ANTS drive me crazy. They appear out of no where and can completely devour your fresh baked bread literally in minutes. Tiny red ants that can barely be seen can get into your favorite crackers or cookies and ruin the whole batch. Overnight they can raid your trash can and practically eliminate it (a little bit of exaggeration added). One afternoon we took Edson to his bed and almost laid him on thousands of tiny little ants…prepared to feast on him, I think.
Worse of all…they EAT CLOTHES! This is no exaggeration! Sweaty clothes, under clothes, and baby clothes seem to be the tastiest. Brandon left the empty wrappings of saltine crackers in his sock drawer and woke up one morning to find more ants than socks. Well, anyway, I didn’t wash clothes on Sunday because it’s the Sabbath. I was taught not to work on Sunday. Mom always told us that our pastor’s wife sewed up her finger just because she was sewing on a Sunday morning before church. So, I always wanted to please God and not do unnecessary jobs on Sunday…now I regret it! Those annoying little rascals greedily feasted on Brandon’s nicest T-shirt (which was in the laundry basket to be washed) all day Sunday. Monday it was washed and hung out side to dry and I sadly spotted over two hundred tiny little holes all over his favorite shirt, Napoleon Dynamite’s PE shirt. So, unless I start buying disposable t-shirts, I might have to start washing clothes on Sunday.
Worse of all…they EAT CLOTHES! This is no exaggeration! Sweaty clothes, under clothes, and baby clothes seem to be the tastiest. Brandon left the empty wrappings of saltine crackers in his sock drawer and woke up one morning to find more ants than socks. Well, anyway, I didn’t wash clothes on Sunday because it’s the Sabbath. I was taught not to work on Sunday. Mom always told us that our pastor’s wife sewed up her finger just because she was sewing on a Sunday morning before church. So, I always wanted to please God and not do unnecessary jobs on Sunday…now I regret it! Those annoying little rascals greedily feasted on Brandon’s nicest T-shirt (which was in the laundry basket to be washed) all day Sunday. Monday it was washed and hung out side to dry and I sadly spotted over two hundred tiny little holes all over his favorite shirt, Napoleon Dynamite’s PE shirt. So, unless I start buying disposable t-shirts, I might have to start washing clothes on Sunday.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Missions week at ACA
This week the kids were studying about different countries during Mission Week. Gabriel had to research Netherlands and Brandon’s grade did Brazil. We found AND tried these two recipes and they are wonderful. We can’t invite you over for a tea, but we can teach you how to make them…
Have fun, just like we did.
Anise Cookies - Netherland
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp anise seed
Grated lemon rind
1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Beat eggs and sugar together.
3. Sift flour with salt and baking powder. Add to the egg mixture.
Blend in the vanilla, lemon rind and anise seed.
4. Spoon into a greased long (about 12") poundcake tin. Bake about 40 minutes, until light brown.
5. Slice while warm into 1/3" pieces. Place on a large cookie sheet and toast in the oven until golden. Turn over and toast other side.
Makes about 20.
Pao de Queijo (Cheese bread)
A famous bread from the state of Minas Gerais served at most steak houses in southern Brazil. Unusual in that the recipe calls for manioc starch (available in some Latin groceries) rather than wheat flour. Leavening is from steam during baking, similar to the way eclairs are leavened. These rolls do not hold well and are best consumed while warm, directly from the oven. In Brazil these rolls would be made with Queijo de Minas, a mild, white cheese similar to Muenster in texture - but quite different in taste. They are addictive.
16 ounces Manioc starch (polvilho) - 3 1/2 cups
1/2 cup Sunflower seed oil
3/4 cup lowfat milk
3 eggs, large
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1-3/4 cups Mild cheddar, grated
Bring milk and oil to a boil in a small saucepan. Add to the manioc. Mix and allow to cool a little. Incorporate the eggs, one at a time. Add the cheese and blend well.
Divide into pieces the size of a walnut or small plum. Place a little oil on the hands and round dough into balls. Arrange on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees Farenheit until done, about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve warm.
The kids ate these almost as fast as popcorn!
Tomorrow we have an international dinner. There are usually about 400 people there. Since there are many different countries represented at this school everyone has to make typical foods of their own country. It is amazing! There are Koreans, Chinese, Paraguayans, South Africans, Americans, Mexicans, etc. Last year they counted 20 different countries represented at the dinner. The teachers make the desserts!
After dinner there is a special prayer for each country and it is even translated in 4 languages!
It makes me wonder what heaven will be like...all these different people and languages...all praising the same FATHER.
Have fun, just like we did.
Anise Cookies - Netherland
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp anise seed
Grated lemon rind
1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Beat eggs and sugar together.
3. Sift flour with salt and baking powder. Add to the egg mixture.
Blend in the vanilla, lemon rind and anise seed.
4. Spoon into a greased long (about 12") poundcake tin. Bake about 40 minutes, until light brown.
5. Slice while warm into 1/3" pieces. Place on a large cookie sheet and toast in the oven until golden. Turn over and toast other side.
Makes about 20.
Pao de Queijo (Cheese bread)
A famous bread from the state of Minas Gerais served at most steak houses in southern Brazil. Unusual in that the recipe calls for manioc starch (available in some Latin groceries) rather than wheat flour. Leavening is from steam during baking, similar to the way eclairs are leavened. These rolls do not hold well and are best consumed while warm, directly from the oven. In Brazil these rolls would be made with Queijo de Minas, a mild, white cheese similar to Muenster in texture - but quite different in taste. They are addictive.
16 ounces Manioc starch (polvilho) - 3 1/2 cups
1/2 cup Sunflower seed oil
3/4 cup lowfat milk
3 eggs, large
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1-3/4 cups Mild cheddar, grated
Bring milk and oil to a boil in a small saucepan. Add to the manioc. Mix and allow to cool a little. Incorporate the eggs, one at a time. Add the cheese and blend well.
Divide into pieces the size of a walnut or small plum. Place a little oil on the hands and round dough into balls. Arrange on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees Farenheit until done, about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve warm.
The kids ate these almost as fast as popcorn!
Tomorrow we have an international dinner. There are usually about 400 people there. Since there are many different countries represented at this school everyone has to make typical foods of their own country. It is amazing! There are Koreans, Chinese, Paraguayans, South Africans, Americans, Mexicans, etc. Last year they counted 20 different countries represented at the dinner. The teachers make the desserts!
After dinner there is a special prayer for each country and it is even translated in 4 languages!
It makes me wonder what heaven will be like...all these different people and languages...all praising the same FATHER.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Saturday Night
On Saturday we heard a CRASH and even Edson jumped at it. It was time for our Praise and Worship practice. All of a sudden there was no electricity. The sound system guys were confused as to why their plugs weren’t functioning. It was 5 pm in the afternoon. Church was to start at 7:30. Neigborhood people started walking faster toward the main road and someone mentioned that there was an accident right around the corner. We only heard this loud crash, but no screams or the screeching brakes of vehicles.
We started to go in groups to see what had happened and were startled to see the nose of a pick-up embedded into the bottom part of a cement electric post. The rest of the pole was lying across the street with wires snapped in all directions. The 16 year old driver was fine! He wanted to disappear before the police came and found out he had no driver’s permit. The pick-up was LOANED to him.
The amazing thing was that Oscar and David had just passed the reckless driver and were only blocks away. David’s fiancé was walking down the road. If they had stopped to pick her up all three of them would have been UNDER the smashed column. When the column fell, wires snapped. Sparks and even small fires flew all around Maria who started running back to church.
Since we changed our clocks back last week, it started getting dark around 6:30 pm and by 7.00 the whole neighborhood was completely dark. Unfortunately, church was cancelled and we all went home. Fortunately, we got to bed by 9!
Another AMAZING thing…the electric company got a new post up and things working again right after midnight. That’s amazing because in Paraguay usually things aren’t fixed that fast.
We started to go in groups to see what had happened and were startled to see the nose of a pick-up embedded into the bottom part of a cement electric post. The rest of the pole was lying across the street with wires snapped in all directions. The 16 year old driver was fine! He wanted to disappear before the police came and found out he had no driver’s permit. The pick-up was LOANED to him.
The amazing thing was that Oscar and David had just passed the reckless driver and were only blocks away. David’s fiancé was walking down the road. If they had stopped to pick her up all three of them would have been UNDER the smashed column. When the column fell, wires snapped. Sparks and even small fires flew all around Maria who started running back to church.
Since we changed our clocks back last week, it started getting dark around 6:30 pm and by 7.00 the whole neighborhood was completely dark. Unfortunately, church was cancelled and we all went home. Fortunately, we got to bed by 9!
Another AMAZING thing…the electric company got a new post up and things working again right after midnight. That’s amazing because in Paraguay usually things aren’t fixed that fast.
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