Thanksgiving in Mexico

Thanksgiving is a holiday which I didn’t really think much about before I came to. I mean sure I loved the get together and the turkey but that’s about all it was for me. I hardly remembered the whole story behind it besides that it had to do with pilgrims and Indians. I honestly didn’t even know how much I had taken the holiday for granted until my first Thanksgiving here in Mexico. This post is dedicated to all my ladies who are in their first few years her in Mexico. I actually don’t get sad at Thanksgiving anymore. It’s a fun time with good friends and my family. But this year I had some friends over who are in their first few years here and I was reminded of how hard it was before. I want you all to know I’m sending this blog out as a virtual hug to help you feel a bit better during this time of year which can be very difficult.

Flashback to November 2008, I was determined to still celebrate Thanksgiving and make it as much like home as I could. I had no idea how to make a turkey and hubby was working constantly. I think I ended up making a ham. Since I was fairly new to staying at home and not working all day the dinner and clean up didn’t seem to take as long as I thought it would. So this gave me an incredible amount of time to think. That is never a good thing. We invited the only family we had in town at the time. I wanted us to eat dinner around 6pm so we could have everything cleaned up and tidy for an appropriate bed time. For those of you that have been here form more than a few days may already be laughing. Of course six o clock rolls around and I have my daughter watching the parade over and over again on the computer. Food is cooked, hot and ready to serve. My husband comes in and is so thankful for all I’ve done. I’m feeling pretty good at this point. I mean even though we had mentioned that we would eat at six I had been in Mexico almost 6 months now and I knew they would be a “bit” late. Now its seven o’clock and I was getting a little annoyed. I ask hubby to call his family and find out what’s going on. Oh they say they would be here around eight. What?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? That’s when I gave up on my Thanksgiving being anything like in the states. Isn’t it funny how my expectations totally ruined my day? That happened to me a lot when I first got here. Next I fed Alana and put her to bed and Issac and I hung out until they showed up. Here is where it gets interesting. We heated up the food and sat down to eat, then came the flow of questions. Why do you celebrate Thanksgiving? Why do you eat turkey? When was the first thanksgiving? What happened? Why is the pumpkin pie so important? What’s your favorite part about thanksgiving? I of course mumbled and scrambled my way through explanations as Issac translated for me. But it made me realize how I hadn’t really thought of these things in a very long time.

From that year on I decided we needed to make traditions that help us to remember what Thanksgiving is about. And for me it’s not really about pilgrims and Indians. To me it’s about taking a day (or a month) to be sure and reminds yourself of all that you are thankful for. I know that we need to be thankful all year round and actually we are but how much better to have a day specially set out to celebrate what you’re thankful for with friends and family. The girls learn about Christopher Columbus and all that in October here so I just let them know that the original Thanksgiving was because the immigrants needed help and the people who already were there taught them how to survive and that is what they were celebrating. One of our favorite traditions is our Thankful tree. We make it and put it up at the beginning of November and anyone who visits is asked to write on a leaf what they are thankful for. My girls write a leaf almost every day if I let them. Here is a beginning and now pic of our tree this year. It looks a bit different every year and depends on what materials I have on hand. Last year it was made form newspaper. This year I happened to have large white paper so we used that. It’s a fun way to keep our minds and hearts focused in the right direction during a time when we could start feeling down and alone.

 

Oh That..whatever.

Oh yes readers I am posting after only a one month laps. Is this a come back? I don't know. lol

So in my last post I mentioned that there were many things that use to bother me and no longer do. Now when its mentioned I think "oh that.. whatever". I must say there are still many things that get under my skin but just from being on facebook I see that would be the same if I were living in the states. And maybe even worse.
Something that use to really get to me was when Mexicans would speak in Spanish "like a gringa". If you haven't ever heard it you wont get this, but those who have well, you know what I'm talking about. Basically the draw out the words and don't put the accents in the right place and they say the r like errr instead of rolling it. For a long time (were talking years here) I felt like they were making fun of me. Then one day I decided to spend some time with the Abuela and sat down to watch one of her old black and white films. Every single white person in the movie spoke like that, and it was hilarious. They were always some rich dude coming to take advantage of the Mexicans. I found myself laughing so hard at the movie and it was one of those days that I really connected with Abuela. After that I realized they were not making fun of me but more so laughing at an age old joke that came from the films. Many of my family members here have expressed the respect they have for me for being able to learn and communicate in Spanish and the same family members will do gringa speak at me. Writing about this gives me a since of peace and happiness that I cant really express on paper. So many times we get offended or hurt when we don't really understand the intentions behind an action. I was letting something upset me when really my family was trying to let me in on a type of inside joke. They think its hilarious when I do gringa speak.
As I'm sure many of you know the Time Space Continuum actually slows down in Mexico. When someone invites you to a party at 2pm you should plan on going at 3, they are not expecting you at 2.  This also extends into the workplace. If a meeting is at 10am do not show up at 945 because you will be waiting at the least 30 min before the meeting starts. I wasted many precious hours this way my first year or so. I have adjusted well, I'm still responsible in the fact that I always show up a little early or at the least right on time, but I also always bring with me something to do while I wait. Therefore I don't get disgruntled about my time being waisted and I don't have to feel anxious about being late. Oh and as for the parties depending on if its someone who knows me well I ask if the time they gave me was Mexican time. I always ask because we showed up after the time on the invitation once and the person told me they had put the actually time only on my invitation because they knew I always show up when its stated on the invitation. hahahaha That memory still makes me laugh really hard. And on the flip side once we invited some friends from work over for a barbq and put 2pm thinking they wouldn't show up till 3. When they showed up we were not ready and I actually mentioned I had planned on them being late. My friends fiance told me she rushed them out of the house saying that I was American and would expect them to be on time. To be honest I'm sitting here laughing really hard as I write this because I love the quirkiness of what my life has become.

Noise... ahhhh the noise. So I remember being in the states and being like what is the deal with all the hooting and horrible singing as loud as you possible can and laughing so loud the whole freaking world can hear you. Now after countless Christmas parties, weddings, holidays, birthdays ext. I love it. Its really fun to just let loose and let out a typical Mexican yelp or to sing even if you don't have a beautiful voice. Its funny just yesterday there was a party going on at 5pm next door to my house and they were all Aheee Aheee Aheee Aheee... (not sure if that's how you would spell it but you know when they are dancing and someone gets in the middle of the circle to do some funky move) and hearing it made me want to dance and spin around. These people really know how to have fun. It makes you feel like a kid again.
Speaking of the noise something else that doesn't bother me any more and actually I hardly notice is all the gas trucks, bread vendors, junk vendors, water vendors, the sweet potatoes whistle at 9pm... on and on and on that drive up and down the street all day and evening. I remember when I first moved here being like, gees how can these people stand that crap. And why don't they just call the companies when they want something. But there has been plenty of times when we are out of water or itching for some sweetbread where the truck happens to roll around and I'm like man I'm glad they are so loud so I knew they were coming.

So what have you adjusted to, or are hoping to adjust to?

Our first Three Kings day

Every year we eat rosca and comment on how cute the little dolls are. Many times the holiday has been explained to me, but I just never took the time to start the traditions. This year I took the girls to Soriana on Jan 5th to buy our rosca. I told them we would leave it out on the table and see if the three kings like rosca. They also each put one shoe under the tree in hopes that the kings might leave them something. Because it was kind of short notice and because we also do Christmas and Santa, the kings only brought them a piece of candy. But it was a big one. They also left pistachios for Issac and I and a sucker for the baby. When they woke up they got to eat rosca and thankfully both the big girls ended up with the doll. (no fighting) Joslins teacher had asked if we had some to send a piece for her to school because they were going to discuss it in class. I packed a piece away for her and sent it with her. I also made them some abualita hot coco that morning. It was kind of a lot to do on a school/work day but if its only once a year I think we can handle it. Plus once again I feel like it helps them to remember why we even celebrate this time of year. Today I finally got all my Christmas stuff put away and my house back in its original order. Usually I put Christmas stuff away the 1st or 2nd of Jan to start out the year fresh but I do believe I can let this slide and hey as long as its done in January its still the beginning of the new year right. Its been so great to have time today to catch up on my blogging and to clean my house and spend time with my girls. The only bad thing about having Sunday be my only day off is that we have been missing church. Hopefully soon Issac can get Sundays off also to help me drag all the girls in there.

Feliz Navidad y Año Nuevo

This year we were pretty busy through the Christmas season. I think I will always remember this year as the year of Posadas. Iv been in Mexico for four Christmas´s now and this year was the first time I ever saw people sing the Posada at a party. And the funny thing is I saw it twice in one day. We had two work parties one was on a Thursday and is when we had Pozole and they handed out the gifts from the hospital. The director of the hospital thought it was funny that they had a gringa their eating pozole with the rest of them. Seriously how can anyone not like pozole. I sometimes wonder what the heck is wrong with the gringas these people have meet. I received an awesome purse from work. One of the first weeks of Christmas I had told my husband  I wanted a purse for Christmas. The purse I had was a year old and I was ready for something new. Then a few days later at work they handed me a catalog and told me I could pick out a purse that was 790p Thats like 75usd, I have never owned a purse worth that much. I was super excited. The first one I picked was exactly that much but they were out of it. The other one I picked was 890p. So I paid 100p for a purse that was like 85usd. Its red and supper cute. When I first saw it I thought it was a little big but it has pull strings on the side that you can use to make it smaller. Anyway that was my perfect gift. Then on Friday they had the posada which included tacos. Some of us stood upstairs (inside) and others stood downstairs in the garden. This is hard to explain if you havent seen the hospital but more or less the hospital is set up like one of those hotels that is open in the middle, and where the pool usually is we have a beautiful garden and fountain. Anyway we (or they) sang all the way through the posada. They had one of the doctors dressed up as Joseph and one of the nurses who is about 7 or 8 months pregnant be Mary. One of the workers also brought a guitar. It was a lot of fun. Later everyone was wanting pictures with Mary so Joseph made a sign that said 10p for a foto with Mary. Everyone got quite a kick out of that. lol I left their right as the Mariachi showed up. I had to head over to the girls school for the posada there. I helped the teachers get everything set up and got me and the girls dressed up just in time. Once everyone arived we sang the Posada their. The kids loved it. I feel like its such a great way to remember what happened and why we celebrate Christmas as Christians. Then the kids broke like four piñatas. Thanks to all the christmas piñatas and birthday piñatas from this week we seriously had a bucket of candy. Issac and I had to bring bags of it to share at work in order to get rid of some of it. After all the fun of the piñatas we ate tamales. They had regular mole tamales for the kids but for the adults they had these amazing ones that were warped in banana leaves. This was also a first for me and if you have not had them you should find some. Seriously amazing. We were invited to another posada where they actually go house to house but we got so busy with just normal stuff here at home that we missed it. I really hope we get invited again next year because it sounds like so much fun. As far as Christmas we had to switch things up a bit this year because Issac and I didnt have a day off together. He had Sat off and since I get off earlier than him we decided Santa would visit that day during the girls nap. We ended up laying them down a bit later than expected because Issac had to help a friend with a flodded shop. But all went well. Instead of sleeping the girls ended up laying in bed playing but it gave Santa plenty of time to fill stockings and put out presents. We were so blessed this last year that we were able to find barbies and princess toys for 1/2 off. We pulled out all the stuff and got right to work. We had found an xbox on sale in October so that was Issacs present. We all were very happy with what we received and honestly although we spent less than 1000p (actually this was given to us by my mom thankfully) we had a wonderful Christmas. Issac and I have decided that from now on no matter how much money we have we will only buy the girls one "big" toy (the barbies) and a couple smaller things that dont cost much. We really want to be carefull not to make Christmas be only a day that they wait for just to get gifts. We buy them the things they want and need through out the year when they are good girls so this works out great for us.

We also got to go to a Christmas/Birthday party at church. Issac had to work that day so it was a bit difficult with the girls. But they had so much fun it was worth it. We had tacos, and cake. The follwoing sunday the girls received their gifts from their classes. Joslins teacher went above and beyond and made little houseshoes for each kid. They are so cute.  Christmas morning instead of a service they did skits. One of my favorite stories is of the candy maker and the candy cane. Every year (including this year) I print copies of the story and had it out with candy canes. That was actually our gift for the girls teachers, and we had no idea they would be doing the skit. I was able to leave the baby in the nursery and sit with the big girls and watch and explain the skits. It was a great day for us. And then after we came home Papi got off work early because there were no calls.

New Years was spent here at the apartment with Issacs mom. We all barely made it to midnight and when we did we randomly ate our grapes. But if its true that what you are doing on New Years represents your coming year Im happy with that. I love nothing more than hanging out here at home with my husband. Sure we like going out from time to time but we as well as our girls are quite home bodies. Oh I almost forgot that day we opened our time capsule from last year and redid it for the coming year. We also wrote out our resolutions. Alanas was so cute she wants to do her Dance stretches more at home. For Joslin we want her using English more easily. For lily it was for her to start walking, which she has done this week. lol Mine is to speak better in past and future in Spanish and to try and start my Yoga again. Issac wants to get some schooling which was his goal last year but with all the changes of jobs and such we just never got to it. His new job offers school aid so Im hoping he can get started this year some time, even if it is at the end of the year. Issacs moms was to finish her computer class well. We also talked about our favorite things from the past year. The funniest of these is that Alana said Lilys favorite thing over the past year was her milk. lol

Well that was my Christmas and New Years in a nut shell. Now I want to take some time to read about yours.

My baby is ONE

I have to tell you I am so glad my baby days are over. Lily is so freaking cute that people just melt when they see her. She actually bats her eyes at people at just the right moment. Even as mommy its hard for me to not fall apart when she does it. On the day of her birthday we went with some really good friends of ours to the park and just hung out. It was so much fun.  I'm going to post a couple pics. Then later in the week we had her party at school.  I wanted to put a video on that showed the cake but I cant get it to work. Dang it!!!! It was a cute butterfly cake that I made.  We had a lot of fun at the party. I had the kids make coffee filter butterflies, we broke a butterfly piñata and ate a butterfly cake and butterfly topped cupcakes. Thanks to a care package I received ages ago I was able to throw the cupcake toppers together in no time and thanks to a different care package I was able to make cupcake holders out of parchment paper. Let me just tell you really quick how easy this was. All you have to do is cut 4inch x4 inch squares from the paper, Then find a jar or bottle that fits just right into your 1/4 cup measuring cup. IF you want better looking cups you need to round the corners off your squares. Center one or a few of the papers, (this depends on how much room you have, the bottle I used fit pretty tight and I could only do one at a time)  over the top of your measuring cup. Make sure when you push the bottle into the cup that it is going to be very tight. If the bottle you have is a bit loose in the measuring cup use a lot of pieces of paper. And whoa-la you have cup cake holders. As for making a butterfly cake all you have to do is make a round cake and cut it in four pieces then rotate the pieces until it looks like a butterfly. I used a cupcake for the head and put a pipe cleaner for the antennae.  I had also made really cute butterfly invitations.

Thanksgiving 2011

Well I have to tell you that I love pictures. In the past I havent been good about putting them on my blog because it was a pain and I couldnt comment after each one easily. Thankfully Blogger has updated and now I can. So this is a picture post. 

Sorry I had to delete the pics off my blog, I have decided to keep my blog public no matter how many hateful comments I get. If I made my blog private it would defeat the purpose so instead I will just delete the pictures and refrain from using names in attempt to keep things safe for us. 

Me and the girls made Pumkin cheese cake from real pumpkins. They are to young to carve pumpkins at Halloween so I let them help me clean this one. 

Lily climbed up on her sisters chair all by herself. TODAY IS HER FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Every year at Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas decorations. Papi always helps put up the tree and I do the ornaments with them. 

Alana took this. Im making Deviled Eggs. Not sure why Im making the turtle neck. lol

Alana wanted to take a picture of our Thanksgiving decorations. lol

Papi was off on Thursday and I wasnt so he did the Turkey. He did a great job. 

Only one of the five or six people we invited showed up but we still had a lot to be Thankful for

This year it was Joslins turn for the Angel. 

Yum!!! We had mashed sweat potatoes, green bean caserol, rolls, gravy, deviled eggs , the turkey and the cheese cake. 

Lily started walking with the assist of her toy the day before her birthday!

THE WISH BONE. Here I am explaining it to them. 

Joslin ended up winning. The bone was a little wet I guess because they had to practically wrestle over it to get it to break. 

There you go folks yet another normal part of my life in Mexico. We missed having more family around but all together it was another great Thanksgiving.

¿The Normal Life?

The other night I was talking to my husband and I said, "I actually have time to blog now and I feel like I don't have anything to write about."
He says, "Amanda you have tons to write about you live in Mexico."
"Yes but everything seems so normal to me now." I responded.
He looks at me, almost exacerbated,"Then write about that." (somewhere in here I'm thinking oh gee how boring), he continues, "I remember when you first started reading blogs and when you saw that Leslie from Motherhood in Mexico said something to that effect, it gave you hope. That is why you write is to give those other people hope about their life here. I think you need to write about how you feel that your life is normal."

So here is that post.

I'm a mother of three beautiful girls, who every morning wake up at 630. I get them dressed, brush their hair, make a quick breakfast they can eat in the truck and rush them out the door. When I drop them off at school their is almost always something I forgot to put in a book bag, and if not at least one aviso (message) for me to give to a teacher or caregiver. I then zoom off (well not really my truck is a bit broken and I cant go over 30mph) to the hospital. I park and chat with the garage attendant if I have time then run inside to work. On the way in I say buenos dias to everyone I pass even if they are in the middle of a conversation (I guess Im still getting use to that part). After finding out where I'm working for the day I go and care for patients. At the end of my day I'm watching the clock because I'm anxious to get my girls and go home with them. As soon as I can I run out to my truck, of course saying adios to everyone I pass and from time to time stopping to chat. Their is no real running in and out of places here. I pick up my girls, the older two are always running to me for hugs and the baby loves her teacher so much I have to pry her from her arms. I listen to any report from the teachers and we are off. I talk to the older girls about their day on the way home and when I get home I read their report books and check for home work. They do their homework while the baby plays. Then I have Alana do an English website while Joslin watches and repeats. At aruond 530 the baby takes small nap with her milk while I cook dinner. By the time dinner is ready papi is home, and is welcomed by lots of hugs and kisses all around. We eat dinner around 6pm and then the girls get to play and talk with papi about their day. Bath time at 730 and off to bed for the girls. My husband and I then either spend some time alone doing our own thing or doing something together. Traffic and driving here in the city feels a lot like St. Louis, I have Wal Mart (which I cant stand anymore) Sams (which I love) close by and fresh fruits, veggies, and meat on every corner. We have a doctor that we really like. He only costs us 30p a visit, and he is wonderful with my girls. I have figured out how to keep the bugs out of my house. And I actually like the idea of black widows better than brown recluse. (black widows stay home and are usually in a place out of reach for my kids, brown recluse hide in your close and bed).

On days off my girls wake up and crawl in bed with us for a little snuggle time then want to eat. After eating we clean the house, let them do crafts, maybe walk to the park, or play games. We go to church from 11-130 I help in the nursery and my husband helps with translation. We have friends who come over for Sat night collage football, and my girls are happy and healthy. To me this all seems like what I would have been doing in the states. Although I must say Im ALOT more laid back than I would have been if we stayed their. My digestive system is healthier because Im less stressed, and I am able to brush off things much easier than before. Some of this my have come with age (no Im not old) but I know it came a lot faster because of Mexico.

I barely notice anymore that when I'm a pedestrian I don't have the right away, and that I have to teach my kids to run across the street instead of walk. I barely notice that my tissue goes in the trash can and I have to empty that can every day if not twice a day. And what were the other things that were different living here than in the states. I just read a blog this morning that talked about them all and seriously I cant repeat it if I wanted to.

Yesterday we shopped for food for Thanksgiving and for the babys birthday. Lily is turning one this coming weekend. I still have to finish her whole scrap book and baby book and make all the decorations and invitations. This should be a pretty fun week.

This post is for all of you out their who may be struggling with the idea of raising your family here, or who have just moved and need some hope. It took me three years to get to this point. Dont push it, take things one day at a time or how people love to say here poco a poco. Adopt that phrase and do your best to live it. You can do it and you can be happy here. One thing is for sure though you need a supportive spouse who loves you enough to love on you when its hard and encourage you when you get frustrated. Believe me my hubby is far from perfect and has screwed up pretty badly in the past but this is one thing that he has done so well.

I think thats it for now.

Halloween 2011

Well Halloween ended up being quite exciting this year. And I dont even have pictures of the best part. First me and the girls made pumpkin piñatas for a party with the Vaca family, and then we went "trick or treating" at a friends house. I was still a little bummed about the girls not getting to go "real" trick or treating. Well Halloween night I had totally forgotten about Halloween because we celebrated early. And we kept hearing some kids chanting something. For the longest time I couldn't figure out what it was. The finally I made it out they were saying "Quiermos Halloween" over and over. Then it dawned on me that they were prob trick or treating. I ran out of the house so fast it scared my girls and then I saw them....

THE FIRST TRICK OR TREATERS IN 3 YEARS!!!!!!!!

I was at first excited then I realized they were a block past my house. I debated screaming, "Quiero Halloween" really loud and then I figured I would just prove everyone right that gringas are locas. So I went in and explained to my girls what happened. My 5 year old could tell I was really sad that we missed them and said, "Mom maybe they will come back, and if they do we can give them our candy from the party." So we put their candy on a plate and waited......

Then they came in at least three more groups. We gave out all our candy including what I had from before to give the girls as treats. But the girls loved it and were not even sad about giving away their candy. I told them that for sure next year we will be going through the neighborhood chanting right along with the other children. Im already so excited for next year I just cant even tell you. So here are some pics from the piñata and party.

Sorry I had to delete the pics off my blog, I have decided to keep my blog public no matter how many hateful comments I get. If I made my blog private it would defeat the purpose so instead I will just delete the pictures and refrain from using names in attempt to keep things safe for us. 

Missing HR

So I think its safe for me to explain a few things that happened to us over the last few months. First I want to say to all of you who are thinking of getting a job down here. Always remember if there are not benefits and they are paying you cash that you will be getting pushed around quite a bit. We got hired on to a place some time ago and at the beginning we were told they would help me with my work permit and that we would be getting all the benifits (seguro, infonavit, a savings, ext.). After quite a while we realized this wasn't going to happen. On top of all that the lady who was in charge of the administration had it out for me, and she happend to also be the "HR" person. As you can imagine we were in quite a bind. I dont really want to go into to much more detail on that subject just because Im so spent on it and just done with the whole thing.

The good news is that a week ago I started as a nurse at a hospital and have my work permit. Actually it turns out I didnt really even need a permit. My FM2 is familiar so all I had to do was notify them that I am working. It was the same type of thing as for when we move.

Right now Im just getting to know the place and how things work. The idea is that I will help them to get their Joint Commission Certification. It is a great hospital but when it comes to JCI we have a long road ahead of us. Im excited to be back in the hospital, and if you have been reading my blog long you know how much I missed nursing. I actually get off work at a decent time now and I hope to get some more blogging and reading in.

We have recently meet some new friends who we are quickly growing close to. He is here to go to Medical School and his girl friend is here with him. The greatest thing is that my husband and I both get along with them so well. And of course they adore my girls. lol Its nice to because we know they are not going anywhere for a few years.

Last night we celebrated Halloween and I plan to blog about that also. But in case I dont get a chance you can check out Jackies blog http://thevacafamily.blogspot.com/2011/10/twas-night-before-halloween.html

I do have some more pics, and if you check out her page that is my middle one in her undies. She really was dressed up for a little while but she is just and undies girl and when you live somewhere that isnt cold why not let them run around half naked if they want. lol

More to come. I hope soon.

Mixed Emotions

I have so much to catch up about my life recently but today Im going to write about the crazyness going on in my head and heart regarding the holiday today.

Let me tell you for about five years this was a very bad day for me. My husband had to leave me (his 8mo prego wife) on July 3rd. Obviously that year I was quite bitter about hearing our Anthom and Pledge. The following year he was still waiting for his appointment and I moved to Mexico the end of June the follwoing year. My first 4th of July in Mexico needless to say I was still quite upset about the idea. I still sang the Antem and recited the Pledge to my daughter who was now 2 yrs old and living in Mexico. My second year here I still had the bitterness but it was weakened a bit by homesickness. I still hadnt been able to visit my family at that point and the holiday reminded me of times we would get together. Last year there was little bitterness and a lot of homesickness. I again as I do every year did crafts with my girls and Im pretty sure we ate hotdogs. Well here we are again five years later.

This year I am missing the fair, the fireworks, the greesed pigs, mud vollyball (yes Im from MO), concerts, and my family. For the last week or so I was surprised at how unangry I was. And how I didnt want to laugh at every comment put on face book about our great nation. I really thought that all the bitterness was gone until this morning. I sat in my kitchen reciting the Pledge to my girls, and it just felt wrong. I felt like I was lying to them, like I was out right telling them a bold faced lie. As I repeated UNDER GOD or JUSTICE FOR ALL I keept thinking about the false ideas so many Mexicans have of the US. These notions are one huge pet peve of mine and Im am so worried my girls will end up with them. I dont want them to have this AMERICAN DREAM that everything there is better, and that anything can be done there. Its not true and so many people here are raised with it. And then here I am feeding it to them myself just because its Independance Day in a country Im not even living.

Of course I will still have them practice the Pledge again and make a flag when we get home tonight. And I will smile and act like Im happy about it. But to be honest it feels yucky! Why will I do it anyway...  Im not sure. I think mainly so when they do go visit the states they still feel slightly at home, that they fit in, that they dont get stared down or looked at badly for no knowing it when they go to a baseball game.

Some patriatism ehh, only so my kids will fit in later in life.

So... this is more than three years after the initial verdict. Im sure it will get better in a few more years but as for now,  Im not quite there yet.

Kids say the darndest things: La batalla de Puebla

As most of you well know 5 de Mayo is not the Independence nor Revolution day here in Mexico but is a celebration of a big win. La Batalla de Puebla is celebrated mainly in Puebla and in a few other areas but not here. Alana got the day off school but that was about it. She did come home yesterday with a color page of a guy with a gun and canon that said la Batlla de Puebla on it. On the way home from school I asked "So Alana what is that picture about."
"Well this guy is a war hero." Says Alana
"What happened in that war" I ask
" The Mexicans didnt want people in their desert so they tried to kill them."
"Oh my!" I exclaim holding back my laughter. " And then what happened"
" Well the people just walked away." Saying it with a look and tone as if I should have already known this.
"I see."

So there you have it folks 5de Mayo was when the Mexicans didn't want other people in their desert and when they tried to kill those people they just walked away.

I love children.

April photo update!!!

I love this time of year. To me it represents love. The main reason of course is due to Pascua and the resurrection of Christ. It is amazing to think that God could love me this much. The next reason is because our anniversary is in April. And lastly of course there is spring and the coming of new life and what that means. With that brief description here is the update.
We have been doing activities for Easter to help the girls remember the real reason for Easter. Here are some of those photos.

Also we got to go to a passover dinner at church. It was very interesting and enlightening. We learned about the Jewish traditions and the meanings behind them. The pastor also tied in the relation that most of these traditions have to Christ. I had hoped the church would have pics up on the web page of that night but they dont as of now. One tid bit that I was happy to take away is that during the dinner the Jews eat a boiled egg. They do this because the egg represents the hardness of Pharaohs heart. I liked this because I often get asked down here why we do eggs. I never was sure and I usually answer that I think it has to do with new life, spring, and or fertility. But this answer always came up short for me because we are basically saying that a dead egg is a sign of fertility. So I plan for this idea to be more incorpirated into our Easter learning in the following years. And to be honest I have always left passover out of the teaching I do with the girls. I usually just talk to them about the resurrection but considering the passover was the last celebration Jesus had I feel my pastor is right in including it in the teaching.

For our anniversary this year we actually had a baby sitter which was so nice. We got our girls to bed then got all dressed up and headed out for the night. (well really only a few hours but its more than we have had for a long time) We went to a Tango Restaurant. The food was unbelievably good and the entertainment was so much fun. Every "fancy" restaurant Iv been to so far in Guadalajara was missing out a lot food wise. The decor and service is usually great but the food is mediocre. I had filet miñon and Issac had a steak and I cant say Iv had a better one since Iv been in the states. On top of that the prices were reasonable, sure there were plates that were 2-300p but total we spent less than 500p and we were not even trying to limit ourselves. Below are some pics. The pictures of the dancers didnt turn out all that great but you get the idea. They were great and now I want to learn Tango!!!

Then we got to go to Jackies house from the blog "The Vaca Family" and dye eggs. Shes such a good blogger she prob already has the pics up from that day. ;) We had so much fun and the girls loved it.

And then of course there was Easter morning. My cousin had sent me a box of Easter stuff but thanks to Mexico shutting down on Thursday I wasn't able to get it. Alana had once again asked if the bunny could bring her a flash light. I really wasn't planning on that happening but Waldos had the cute little lanterns. For those of you who live in or near a city if you can find a Waldos they tend to have at least a few things for America Holidays year round. The girls spent much of Easter morning in their closets with their lanterns. ;)

Wow so are you on overload!?!?! I could have broke this post up but its all within the same few weeks and we have had a blast.

Dia del niños

This is one of the things I love about Mexico. And this year since Alana is in school I´m finally experiencing the full extent of it. This Friday the kids are putting on a circus show for the parents. This is kind of a culmination of last day before spring break and the start of Dia Del Niños celebration. I'm really excited about it and for sure pictures to come. Today Alana came home with a coloring book titled Estos son mis derechos. These are my rights. And here they are:

Si tenemos alguna discapacidad es uestro derecho recibir atención adecuada a nuestras necesidades
If I have a disability it is my right to receive attention according to my necessities.
Todas las niñas y los niños tenemos derecho a ser tratados con amor y respeto.
All boys and girls have the right to be treated with love and respect.
Es derecho de todas las niñas y los niños el tener una familia.
It is a right for all boys and girls to have a family.
Todas las niñas y los niños tenemos derecho a jugar
All boys and girls have a right to play.
Niñas y niños tenemos derecho a alimentarnos sanamente.
Boys and girls have the right to healthy food or meals.
Tenemos derecho a expresarnos libremente y a que se nos tome a cuenta.
We have the right to express ourselves and be heard.
Es nuestro derecho recibir educación gratuita.
Its our right to receive free education.
Tenemos derecho a ser tratados con igualdad.
We have the right to be treated equally. (this one has a picture of kids from all nationalities and one kid holding a globe, I love it)
Niñas y niños tenemos drecho a la salud.
Girls and boys have a right to good health.
Tenemos derecho a profesar la religion que nos inculquen nuestros padres.
We have the right to profess the religion that our parents instill in us. (And here in Mexico this even goes for Christianity in schools. There is not a big uproar when the name of Christ is mentioned)
niñas y niños tenemos derecho a un medio abiente saludable.
Girls and boys have the right to a healthy environment.
Tenemos derecho a reunirnos libremente y a participar en lo que nos interese.
We have the right to get together freely and to participate in what interests us.
Todas las niñas y los niños tenemos drecho a un nombre y una nacionalidad.
All boys and girls have the right to a name and nationality.

The coloring booklet was given out by the CEDHJ the Comision Estatal de derchos humanos Jalisco. And if your spanish is good or your just interested here is their web site. http://www.cedhj.org.mx/

Spring

In Mexico one of the many ways spring is celebrated is by children dressing up like Animals. I was a bit slow at learning this but next year my girls will be cute woodland creatures. Let me tell you how I figured this one out. A couple Sundays ago my husband let me know that the girls were suppose to dress up in a costume for the following Sunday. The following Sunday happened to be the day we were "graduating" from our class and I assumed it had something to do with this. The Friday before I had seen some kids outside a tienda dressed like a lady bug and a bunny. I thought to myself oh how cute they must be celebrating spring. But was I bright enough at this point to connect the two events before church. The answer is NO, so we ended up dressing Alana like Arial and Joslin like Tinkerbell. To be honest we didn't have animal costumes anyway, and Alana did have another princess in her class who I knows parents are both Mexican. This made me feel a little better as the reality of it hit me during the service when I saw a bunch of woodland characters running around. Ether way my girls looked supper cute and everyone kept saying "ohhh que linda" as we walked by. I wonder how many of them were thinking, "I guess she didnt understand." lol The good thing is I can laugh about it and plan to get animal costumes for next year. ;) Here is a pic of my Spring mermaid and fairy. Oh and an updated pic of mi puerqito.

Sorry I had to delete the pics off my blog, I have decided to keep my blog public no matter how many hateful comments I get. If I made my blog private it would defeat the purpose so instead I will just delete the pictures and refrain from using names in attempt to keep things safe for us. 

New years

This year for New Years my mom was here to watch the girls so Issac and I decided we needed a night out alone. We were all excited about it but didn't have a chance to find a place that would for sure be open that night. We know that here in Mexico most people celebrate at families homes but we figured since we were in the city this year we wouldn't have to much trouble finding a place that was open. We were way off on this one. Our truck was in the shop so we were going by taxi and we had to have the guy drive around for like 15 or 20 min before we finally found a little wings bar open. We had planned on a nice dinner because both of us were on Antibiotics and couldn't drink. It was still nice to get out and the wings were actually really good. We didn't stay long though because the reason I was on medication was due to an ear infection. The music wasn't as loud as some bars but it felt loud to my sick ears. We were home by 11pm and I'm pretty sure we were not up at midnight. ;) I looked at my post from last year and I filled out this little questioner thing and I think I will do it again.

I got this great idea from http://laurieishere.blogspot.com/ last year and I thank her for it. I love to reflect on the past and find out what I can learn from it and to look forward to the future and what I can hope for.

3-4 words that describe this past year... Acceptance, tolerance, and Blessed

If 2009 was a book, I'd title it... Accepting Gods Path, no matter where it leads.

I am really glad I tried... living in the City

Something that really surprised me.... How much my online friends have done for us. We are so blessed to know you all. Things I have to thank you all for is my job, learning opportunities for my girls, and my sanity.

The most courageous thing I did this year was. . . Driving around Guadalajara without Issac. Oh and having a baby that takes some guts. lol

I tried to hold on to.... My relationships with friends and family in the states.

I felt more hopeful about... Life- I know that cant be more vague but its true.

I felt less anxious about ... The Future

A relationship I feel extra grateful for this year.... My husband, he surprises me constantly with what a great partner in this life he is. This is the same from last year. But again I have to say my relationships with friends on line. They grow stronger every year and help me to grow as a person.

This year, I noticed God at work in .... Teaching me that he will always take care of me. And although he may keep me on my toes I will never want for my needs to be fulfilled.

In 2011,

Words I hope describe this upcoming year.....Challenging. I cant believe Im saying that but I look forward to the Challenge my work is bringing into my life.

Something new I really want to try... visiting other areas of Mexico which brings along trying new foods.

A relationship I want to pour more of my heart and time into . . . My relationship with Christ deserves more effort this year. This is from last year and I must leave it up. Christ always deserves more time. But also with being busier Issac and I have decided we need to be sure and pay a lot of attention to our relationship to keep it tight.


A way I want to reach out to others is . . . I want to be more of a support to many of you who are in tough situations. I have received so many blessings and I hope to give them back in return.

I'm going to need God''s courage to ...Trust him to provide daily for my family no matter what the physical world looks like.

This year I hope I let go of ...fear and anxiety, Im sad to say this is from last year and I have to keep it up again.

This year I hope I can hold on to ...The passion and love between me and Issac, and one on one time with each of my girls.

One dream I have for 2010 is . . .Ok I have to show you what I put up last year.
(To be working and to be in a town we want to buy a house for our family to grow in.)
Thank you God for helping us to accomplish this.
I think my dream for this year is to adjust appropriately and the way God wants us to into our new living situation. Also I would love to see Issac get some schooling under his belt and maybe even get me started on some more also.

Alanas school party

As seems to be the norm these days I'm a little behind. Gees can you imagine with the new baby new job and new city. :) I am getting a little better at keeping things up around the house and so the blog upkeep comes next. Yes sorry folks house come first. lol
Here is a little post on my 4 year daughters school Christmas party. In this post you will see the joys and pains of the government school system here. Thankfully I have read enough of Leslies issues with the school that I kind of expect this type of thing. We were told almost a month in advance that her party would be held December 20th and that her class was to dress like angels and we would be pitching money in for one of the moms to prepare tocos durados and to buy tambourines for their part in the pastorela (christmas play). A week before we were told that the party would be changed to the 17th. This was no problem and my mom was here to help me get Alanas costume ready. I also made little yarn angels for all the kids in their class. (My mom keeps telling me to read a book called, Im not supper woman, I haven't yet because I'm still trying to be, lol)
So we show up on that Friday with Alana all dressed up and us ready to party. Of course nothing was ready to start on time and once it did start I needed to go feed the baby. I went into Alanas class room and let Joslin play while I feed Lily. Soon the maintenance women and another women came tearing through the class room looking for something. I asked them what they were looking for and they looked at me as if I had just appeared there. They asked if I had had my baby. Well yes I'm feeding her right now I said. Then they got all excited and asked if when she was done eating if they could use her as baby Jesus. Well of course my baby can star in the play, as long as no kids would be touching her or picking her up. Mind you she was only a few weeks old at this point. So Alana got to be an angle and Joslins so cute the teacher handed her a tambourine to play with Alanas group and Lily got to be Jesus. Oh yes I'm a proud mommy. lol
So then when the play was over everyone was packing up and leaving. I asked what about the food and the piñata? Well Monday is suppose to be the last official day so they decided to spread out the party and the rest would be on Monday. Ok no problem we will be there of course. We showed up on Monday and some of the parents were putting on another play about the diablo (the devil) trying to corrupt people. Then while we were eating I was told that they found out that Tuesday was the official last day and that they were saving the piñata for Tuesday. Up until now this American mommy was being tolerant but this I can not deal with. Alana already had her tambourine, got to eat the food and was given her gift that we paid for so no, I'm not coming back a third day for a piñata. Instead we made our own at home. Im going to post pics here of her party and of our piñata.

Sorry I had to delete the pics off my blog, I have decided to keep my blog public no matter how many hateful comments I get. If I made my blog private it would defeat the purpose so instead I will just delete the pictures and refrain from using names in attempt to keep things safe for us. 

advent calander, tree decorations, messy house.

Well I'm glad that sometimes when I think of something I want to post about I save a title and leave it at that if I dont have time to make the whole post at the time. I love to share about our advent activities. Today I will do it with pictures, here goes. Oh in case you were not around last year we do advent a bit different, I make it my own. We have a calendar that I made last year with pockets for each day. On a piece of paper I write a bible verse and an activity usually pertaining to the story we read. The girls also get a piece of candy with each activity, this usually keeps them quiet long enough to hear the story. We start with creation and move through the bible chronologically for the most part up to the birth of Jesus which we talk about on Christmas eve.

Sorry I had to delete the pics off my blog, I have decided to keep my blog public no matter how many hateful comments I get. If I made my blog private it would defeat the purpose so instead I will just delete the pictures and refrain from using names in attempt to keep things safe for us. 

My moms first couple weeks

Once again I started this a few weeks ago. So some of it may be a little out dated. Things like that Im no longer pregnant and we have a new member of our family around. Ill post about that on a different blog hopefully tonight. ;)
My mom flew in on the tenth of November. She made it through all the checks well but did get the red light. She said she was ok with it because they had reassured her that her family was on the other side of the next set of doors. As soon as she got through my girls were in her lap in the wheelchair and the attendant pushed them all out to the truck. My mom was only here two days one of which Issac and I both worked before more family showed up. Issacs sister came on that Friday with her husband, son and dog, and his mom came in on Sat. They were all here for about 3 days and although it was fun I was way stressed. Everyone and more are coming back for Thanksgiving but I think Ill do better this time because my mom has had some time to get use to the place. Really his family are the best to have around they cook, buy food, clean and everything its just the constant commotion that got to me.
So far all we have gotten to do is go to an art sale and listen to an orchestra band in the park. My mom loved it and Ill post some pics, shes the gringa redhead in the middle and Issacs mom is sitting next to her. My mom had a great time and regardless of the language barrier she actually made some friends. We will be going back this Sunday because we ordered a painting she wanted to have made for the girls.
We also went to a parade which was lot of fun for all of us.
A few of the things my mom has noticed that I forget about is how everything is built so close to each other. She is now telling me how I need smoke detectors in the house and I'm trying to explain how everything is concrete and fires dont spread like in the states. To be honest she hasn't seen to much except wal-mart because we still needed so much for the house and although we were dealing with it my mom wasn't willing to. Which is great because it was those things that makes life so much easier.
Even no weeks later I haven't been able to get her out much because I had the baby last weekend.
For work now I'm staying home and writing a curriculum for a medical English class. I'm glad I have something I can work on from home and still get paid during my maternity leave.

Sorry I had to delete the pics off my blog, I have decided to keep my blog public no matter how many hateful comments I get. If I made my blog private it would defeat the purpose so instead I will just delete the pictures and refrain from using names in attempt to keep things safe for us. 

First school meeting

Today was the last day of the second week of school and we and the school are finally getting some info. Wednesday when I dropped Alana off I saw a poster up that said Attencion. Thankfully as I was reading it I heard another mom asking about it because it kind of didn't make sense to me. Apparently it was written weird and even those who know spanish well were a little confused. So I listened in on her questions to the director (I guess that's what I should call her)and I got what I could out of it. I then approached the ladies who have sort of "taken me in." They live right on my block and helped me find someone else who lives on our block to make Alanas uniform. Also they are always sure to slow their pace if they know I'm behind them or ask me if we want a ride if they see us walking to school. One of these ladies actually has a daughter in Alanas class so she explained things to me and offered to come by and explain to my husband just to be sure I was not misunderstanding anything. This was a major relief to me. Well she wasn't able to come by and explain things to my husband because she came down with a bug and here is how things played out.
From what I could understand we were to have a junta (meeting) with the teacher on Thursday morning at nine and the kids would be having class that day, and then next Monday the whole kinder would have a junta with the director. Thursdays are a very busy day for my husband and we decided I would go and do my best and hopefully our neighbor could fill him in on everything. I hated the idea and so did Issac but we didn't have much of a choice. Walking to school that morning I was a little nervous but had my pen and paper and was ready to do what I could. But when I showed up the teacher handed me a paper and "reminded" me of the junta tomorrow. Opps I got jueves and viernes confused again, I do this a lot for some reason. But the good thing is that it was no big deal for Issac to switch to evenings for Friday so he could go to the meeting with me. The paper she sent home with me was one to fill out information on Alana. It was all information that we had already filled out for her inscription, and on her first week of school that I gave again to the director. I'm assuming this is the teachers personal copy of the info on each kid. It was simple things like the CURP, ht, wt, domicillo ( address)with this they want to know not only the street you live on and your house number but the streets that you live between also, I find this odd. Anyway also they ask for the parents names and jobs and phone numbers. I also find this interesting considering so far I had not been asked for my phone number. We did give it to them on a piece of paper the first day of school but that was our own idea and was not requested. In a lot of cases I like the laid back style here but in this one I feel it was dangerous for all those kids to be at school for two weeks without any emergency numbers on file. Anyway I came home and filled it out, mainly just to prove to myself I could do it, and because I was annoyed at the fact the teacher specifically told me to have my husband fill it out. I know I should be able to let this stuff go knowing how my spanish isn't great but being the independent person I am it gets to me. So once I had fluffed my ego by filling it out I had Issac check everything on it the next day ( I did good!! lol)
This morning we got there a little before nine and the teacher told us to go on in with Alana. When the bell rang they had only the parents go into the class room and brought the kids out and the teacher had some class time with them during the first part of the morning. I was expecting this to all be a brief overview of what they do in class and a quick vote on if we should buy the materials individually or give the teacher money. Oh boy was I wrong and completely unprepared (we didn't bring diapers for Joslin nor food). I should have known better from reading blogs such as Leslies.

First we sat through about and hour and a half of lecture and questions on proper nutrition. I'm so glad they did this because its one of my pet peeves down here. I'm also glad they did it because it gave me a new perspective on things. I thought people just ate and feed their kids the way they did because well they just dont care or its just the way things are or eating right is just to much of a hassle. But seriously these ladies seemed like it was the first time they were hearing any of this information. I realize I take my education and my quest for learning for granted. What I didn't learn in school I have self taught through many hours of reading. I actually told a few of the ladies I would bring in some healthy recipes because they were talking about how they wanted to try to eat right but didn't know how. They actually asked the nutritionist if they could make it a school project to get recipes together to send home with the kids. So there appeared to be a real interest and this was exciting to me. During my years of nursing, teaching this type of thing was drilled into my head and the importance of jumping when you see the willingness to learn. So I'm ready to jump and I hope I can help in the way I want to be able to. I'm thinking about putting the food guide pyramid on the back of the paper I use to type up the recipes. Most of the women were doing their best to jot it down during the lecture but I could tell they were not quite getting it. I couldn't believe some of the questions that were being asked and how many of the mothers were agreeing that they didn't know these different things. But again I'm just excited to see that they were eager to learn and were listening with interest. During this whole thing the few things I didn't catch Issac was sure to whisper to me and no one seemed to mind.
Next the teacher came back (apparently the class was now watching a movie with another class) and was ready to do her part. I missed a lot of this because due to a wet diaper and a hungry belly and it being nap time poor Joslin was getting a little restless so I was standing outside the door rocking her in the stroller and Issac was standing near enough to explain things to me randomly. Basically the teacher went over that at times she had to be fuerte (strong) with some of the kids if they didn't listen that she intends to not grita or yell at them but that she does sometimes talk strongly to them. I'm thinking well no kidding but some of the moms seemed like they were not sure this should happen and asked to be sure she didn't hit the kids. The teacher explained that she nor any other teacher in the school hits the kids and mothers who had other kids that had been at the kinder a couple years agreed with her. She then talked about the uniforms and dates that we had to have them by, thankfully we have till the 13th because the lady who is making Alanas has not let us know they are ready yet. And of course the debate about materials. Issac and I were all for her taking money up and the teacher buying it all herself. This would insure all the kids had the same stuff and that one person didn't end up supplying for other kids. After her explanation of the same thing and lots of questions everyone agreed on collecting money. The teacher didn't want to be the collector and one mom agreed to do it. So we have to give her 300p before next Friday and the teacher will go to Guad over the weekend and buy all the stuff. Other than that all we have to buy is a clear pencil holder or bag and put Alanas name on it. And finally we got the fun part and talked about the fiesta for Independence. I have to say that getting to be involved in this kind of stuff is one reason I'm so glad Alana is in school. We have missed out on a lot of the culture over the last couple years because we cant ever figure out whats going on. Here is the best part, since hubby was the only dad actually inside the class room (their were two others but they were hanging around the door and in and out the whole time) and he was also a good participant the whole time he got asked to dress up for the party. I'm so excited and for sure you all will see pictures. Seriously my husband is the best man I know, he accepted with a smile and will love doing it. And here comes the worst part. None of the women wanted to dress up and I told Issac I could do it. He proudly said, "Mi esposa puede." And all the women looked at me and were excited. But then the teacher is like, that might not be a good idea. She explained to Issac that there will be a short camio for whoever dresses up. While Issacs explaining this to me the teacher is explaining to the rest of the moms that my Spanish sucks. Ok I know that's not how she put it (shes very nice and works well with me when I do talk with her) and I know the horrific scene of 15-20 moms shaking their heads and doing an "oh ok we see now" face prob wasn't as bad as it seemed... but... well... I have no words. I know this is only the beginning and I'm trying to brace myself but the more I think about it the more I'm getting irritated by it. I'm a doer, I'm involved, I'm active... and damn it I cant be now. As we were picking up Alana from the movie room Issac suggested that Monday I should stay at home with the girls and he could go to the meeting alone. I know what he was thinking was for the girls sake but this hurt. And of course instead of saying anything, I got snippy with him on the way home and just briefly mentioned that the language barrier sucks. Iv since talked to my sister and and I think I need to be at that meeting. I need to feel that I'm doing all I can to understand and be involved even if I have to tote along the girls and ask Issac to explain constantly.
I really cant explain to you how bad it sucks to not be able to jump in and say what I want and be as involved as I want. It may be prego hormones and it may not be but I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes. I'm hoping after writing this post and talking some more about it with my husband (poor guy) that I will be able to walk back into the school with a renewed since of confidence on Monday.
I'm starting to feel that my Spanish needs to move to the next level but I'm not sure how to get it there. I do really well with a one on one or two conversation now but if there is more than two people I just cant keep up unless its people who know me well and make sure that I do (like Issacs family). I cant expect people to cater to me forever and I need to step it up... but how?

All in all the meeting went well and we got all the information we needed. I hope I added enough of that in with my sob story for those of you who may be looking to enroll your kids someday. If I left anything out about the school you want to know please ask!!!

Christmas in August

The longer I live here the less I think about what I miss from the states. The great thing is that even though I dont miss things when they do show up I'm so excited about them. For example Issacs mom sent us a huge jar of Jiff PB. This is sold in the larger cities in Mexico but around here all you can get is some junk called Aladine or sometimes they have a very small container of Jiff that is so over priced its not worth buying. So that was supper exciting we got it about 3 weeks ago and its almost gone. But then about a week ago I received a care package from my sister. I have the best sister in the world, in case I hadn't said that before. She has sent me things and done more running around in the states for me than anyone should ever be expected to do. We decided that she should try out the regular mail service this time around because we seem to have a lot of bumps in the road with the other mail services. Also we found out recently that packages go through the same random red light green light as people do as they cross the boarder. So I'm thinking the smaller and less conspicuous (because I still doubt the randomness of the red light green light) the better. So she got the Medium flat rate box and packed it tight and sent it on it its way. I GOT IT 5 DAYS LATER!!!!!! That is so much faster than any of the mail couriers we have used. She sent me two prego shirts, some magazines, shorts for hubby, fun bath markers and color changing tabs for the girls, happy meal toys for the girls, cars for the new baby and other random things for the girls. We are loving all of it and is so nice to have quality cloths from the states. I do really miss Kohls. Then this weekend we were privileged to have our friends Rebbecca her hubby and their son stay with us at our house. She comes in like Santa and gave my girls all kinds of toys, cloths and shoes and all new stuff. I was so shocked.. when she had asked for sizes I was thinking she was hitting up some yard sales which would have been great also, but these were all new. This is a big deal here, you see cloths cost about the same here as they do their except they are made cheaper and there are fewer sales. I refused to buy cloths unless they are on sale here because they are never even close to worth the original prices. Anyway the girls loved all their stuff and are still playing with the toys and are so excited about the cloths. She also brought me lovely books and magazines. I'm so excited because as usually this came just in time. I am currently reading the last book on my shelf that I hadn't read and its not one I'm liking all that much. One of the best things ever is that she helped me to set up a magic jack. A few months ago I went on a rant about not being able to connect with certain family members the way I wish I could. A lot of you wrote me with different ideas some of which I was already using. A lot of those ideas were just out of our cost range but this one was not thankfully. Thanks to this I have already spoken to a couple friends who haven't had time to sit in front of their computer to skype and I can communicate more frequently with my sister and mom. I cant imagine how much it could have helped and lightened my sisters load if we would have had this two years ago but hey its better now than never. Also because were pretty sure this new baby coming is a boy she brought us some of her sons old cloths. This helps a lot because I have girls and dont have boy anything.
During my walks to and from Alanas school I try to take that time to reflect on God and my relationship with him and so on and so forth. These last couple days of walks have just been full of thanksgiving. God has always put such great people in our lives and has always taken care of us. I'm so thankful for where we are in our lives and things are going so well. I actually love living here now. I love that before 10am I have said good morning and smiled at tons of people most of which I barely know or do not know at all. I love that I am getting to know my neighbors and feel so safe and cared for. Really this could go on for some times so Ill stop now and leave this blog with how thankful I am for the Christmas in August. ;)

Thanks Suegra... Thanks Burkharts.... Thanks Rebbecca and family.