Where you go, I will go; where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people for your God is my God.

Monday, October 24, 2011

A wee bit of fall…

…in a land where there is not one.

Oh, Halloween {or a version of it at least} is celebrated, but when I think of fall, I think of a season.  Cooler temps, colors changing, apple picking, baking, and pumpkin patches.  All of which does not happen here.  Except for the cooler temps, but the weather here is so fickle we go through four seasons’ worth of temperatures in a day.  

But I love fall. It’s one of my favorite seasons. Actually, I just get excited with any season change, cause I really cannot think of a favorite.  Anywho, we have been pretending it is fall, on a small scale. 

~Thanks to the ending {or near ending} of my first trimester, baking is a favorite activity of mine.  Especially sweet breads or anything with cinnamon.

~Tea {Limon Herb for Rafa and Vanilla Chia for me} is the current hot beverage of choice in this house. 

~An open front door, where the sun streams in the brightest, with a chair pulled up, is my favorite afternoon reading spot. 

~Cinnamon sugar magically makes it’s way on top of just about everything possible. 

~  You can find pumpkins in our small town, but they are all green or gray.  I thought about painting some, but I had yet to do it when my brother-in-law {who lives in Xalapa} sent my these little guys.  They have been enough to quench my need for fall décor.  For now at least  :)    IMG_1118

A Time and a Purpose

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{A look at our new, in process, front yard.}

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven….a time to break down and a time to build up….”

My new favorite mug.

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A gift from my suegra

It’s glass with pink lettering.  It starts off saying, “You are lovely, adorable, great, etc.…”

Then on the other side it says, “…you are mom.”IMG_1112

I would not be quite so sure about everything else, but it got the mom part right!

Monday, October 17, 2011

……

The beauty…

The emotions…

The learning… 

The excitement…

The scariness…

The discovery… 

The awesomeness…

A million questions, sleepless nights spent pondering, and cold mornings, still wrapped up in blankets and each other’s arms, wondering together what it will all be like….

So far, this is motherhood.  Yes, I am a mom. I may only have about 10 weeks worth of experience in field of motherhood, but I am a mom.   It’s new, unknown, and oh so beautiful. 

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The Kitchen

Small, well laid out, open, and fresh looking.  I love it. 

 

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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Just when I thought….

…the construction, noise, and dust were a thing of the past for our little house, I find this in the living room:

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As of yesterday it’s all back.  You know those big ugly concrete walls Mexicans put up to close in their land?  Give us a couple weeks and we will have some of our very own. Oh YES!

While they are quite the eye-sore the thought of animals roaming, fruits and veggies growing, and *children* romping around in our fenced in property brings nothing but a smile to my face. And the hideousness?  I believe some climbing roses and ivory are in order. 

Without Further Ado….

 

I would like to introduce you to our newest family member…

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Baby D! 

Who one day soon will be covering my view of my shoes and we should be holding in our arms around Mother’s Day 2012. 

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Monday, October 3, 2011

Moving.

We had a grand time.  Everything was not organized and stress-free, but it also gave us a three-day weekend to spend together, we were moving into our house, and had a good plan even if it was a bit crazy.

A few of details to give you an idea of the bigger picture.  The construction workers pasted their promised {and already postponed} deadline, our contract was up on the apartment with more people scheduled to move in only a few days later,  and Rafa’s friend with a truck could only help out after 10:30 p.m. So Friday night {really Saturday morning}  at 2 a.m. we told the construction workers they could leave,  laid our mattress on the living room floor in the middle of all of our stuff possessions, and fell asleep like giddy as four-year-olds.

We left around 9 the following morning to give our keys to the landlord and give the construction workers space to finish the details.  {Lighting, anyone?}  We slept in the same conditions that night, and then Sunday afternoon after church a small army came and helped us start turning our house into a home.  Thus enter what you have all been waiting for: pictures! 

The boys {brother-in-law to the left and Rafa to the right} working hard to clean up the outside. It required dirt and gravel hauling form the backyard to level it all out.

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Rafa’s great-aunt Tita {the famous Gael's grandmother} working hard in the living room.

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Cleaning the bedroom.

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Discovering the floor!  And taking a break for a round of Chines checkers.

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And the first comida….

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English Class Bit.

The average age of my classes is seven.  The major gender, male.  Think about it….seven-year-old boys in an after school or Saturday class.  It makes things quite interesting and memorable. 

The other day, I had to keep reminding one such lad about the rules. Obeying and being nice are the two basics, and I reminded him that interrupting was not nice.  At one point he asked,

“What does ‘wait’ mean?”  Not sure if he was referring to weight or wait, I asked, “Why do you ask?”

“My English teacher at school is always telling me ‘Wait!’”  he responded. 

“Then she is telling you to esperarte,” I concluded. 

I then continued on with the planned lesson when he held up his hand like a stop sign exclaiming, “WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! It’s not interrupting if you say ‘wait’, is it?!”

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{Memory game.  One of the very favorite activities.  Competition works wonders with young men.}