Visitors!!

It’s crazy to think that, after waiting for months for this to come; my grandparents visit is already over!  We really had a lot of fun with them, doing deliveries, showing them our home and just being able to relax a little bit. 

The one main thing that we did while they were here was that we went to Lake Atitlan (Panajachel) for 2 nights, 3 days, mostly just to get away.  The past couple of times that they were here, we have stuck pretty close to home, doing what we would normally do.  They actually requested that we go out there and let me tell you, there weren’t any complaints from our end of the deal!  We did lots of walking the main street, a little shopping and then the “touristy” stuff.  My dad, Abby, Risa and I went zip lining, which is ALWAYS fun!  =)  And not to mention the view, I mean, it’s just BEAUTIFUL!!!!  We had awesome weather the whole time, which made it even better!

View from where we were staying.

Jumping fun!

Aww, sisters!

Group that traveled to Pana together

Me gusta tu sombrero!

Beautiful view from this tree!

The sky is on fire!!

Zip Lining.  Flat Stanley got in on the fun!  =)

Let’s see, what else did we do with them here… we did a day of deliveries, two mornings at Operation Rescue, played games, did puzzles, and overall relaxed!  Sometimes it’s nicer for those visiting to just see what we “normally” do and not run all over Guatemala to see the country.  Don’t get me wrong, we love traveling, but when people are visiting, it’s kind of nice not to be sitting in the car the whole trip!  =) 

We have a slower schedule now for a few weeks, which will be nice.  March has flown by so far, between teams and visitors, there was always something going on!!  I’m sure we’ll have plenty to keep us busy though! 

If you think about our family in the next few days/weeks, pray for us please.  We have quite a few decisions that need to be made and it’s just a lot!  It is so huge for us to know that God is in control of everything, from the tiniest decision to the largest, but it still is a lot to have on our plates!  Thanks!  =)

Our God is an Awesome God

Life

There has been quite a bit happening this past week.  We had a work team from Petra Christian Fellowship in PA that worked at an orphanage across the city.  I went with them to work every day, it really was a lot of fun!!  They sewed a whole bunch of new mattresses for the orphanage, as well as played with the kids a lot.  I must admit, I didn't do too much work, I mostly snuggled the babies and played with the toddlers, it was quite fun!! 

Monday evening we had all the "gringas" from our community over for supper, along with their family members that are visiting.  These three are pretty much family to us, so it was fun to be able to meet their family as well.  We had supper and then set off fireworks, surprise surprise, right?  =)

Oh, and yesterday evening my grandparents (dad's parents) arrived for a 10 day stay.  We're looking forward to showing them around Guatemala (again)!  Tomorrow we're heading to Panajachel for 3 days, just to be tourists and hopefully go zip-lining.  It should be fun!!!

Instead of trying to explain the rest of the week, I'll just let the pictures explain for themselves...

Gordo!!

Risa was grilling the burgers...

Scary thought!

Eddie was trying to "arm wrestle" me..,  didn't work!!

= )

Fireworks!!!

Fernanada

A little snuggle time, just what the doctor ordered!

Tonito and Fernanda, love them!

Scary!!

Me and "my" girl

Daniel!!

Amanda, look at those eyes!!

Team playing with the kiddos

Wendy, 1 week old, right from the hospital

Abby and her bud, Hannah

Angelito!

Our awesome team!!

Playing with Mischele

So, that about describes my past week...  it has been an interesting one and a fun one, and I'm hoping this one (that has already started) is just as fun!!!  =) 

Puppies, Muffins, and Choco Pops, Oh My!!!

Oops, guess I haven’t updated in a little while, it’s been pretty nuts around here!!  Anyways, on Monday the 21^st (February), another work team came.  We worked the same place we had with the last team.  The main jobs were painting the main house and pouring the ceiling/roof of a new kitchen area.  There was a lot of work to get done, but it all got done, plus quite a bit!!  At this orphanage, they also had two litters of lab puppies, they were all SO cute!!  So, in my free time, it was quite likely that I could be found with the puppies or the little ones.  We had a lot of fun with this team!!

Pouring the roof

Pip-Squeak!

Lots of work!

Painting to be done!

And the puppies...

I really liked this little guy!

= )

Also, PriceSmart, our local Costcos, has started donating their day-old sweets to ORI to hand out to different orphanages and feeding centers.  One day we got 100+ donuts, other days we have gotten around 50, 6-packs of muffins.  Many of the things are still really good; they just can’t be sold anymore!  It’s crazy to think that all this food had been thrown away, but the homes absolutely love it!

Yeah, cake!

100+ donuts!

They were quite excited!!!

 Another big donation that ORI has gotten lately is four, 550lb boxes of peanut butter- choco pops.  Let me tell you, that’s A LOT of choco pops!!   So, whenever we are doing deliveries, we have been making up 15lb bags of this cereal and handing it out to the different homes.  Once again, they really seem to like the cereal, although I do pity the caregivers at times!  =)

4 boxes like this!!

Yum, tasty!

We are still going out to Operation Rescue about once a week.  The kids are really getting to know all of us now and they come running when we enter the door.  I don’t necessarily enjoy dragging my butt out of bed before 6, but boy, once I see those kids, the early morning isn’t such a big deal anymore!  The other day we started arm wrestling with some of the kids, ok, the 5 year old boys… those kids are actually really strong!!  It was fun to mess around a little bit though! 

= )

Wrestling!

He's pretty strong!

My aunt (mom’s oldest sister) arrived on Thursday evening; she’ll be here until Tuesday morning.  It’s fun to have family around and show them the country that we call home!  We’ve just kind of been doing the “normal” life with her, sometimes that’s easier!!  New work team comes on Monday.  They’re staying pretty close to the house, which means our mornings won’t be quite so early, YAHOO!!!  =)  They’ll be working on the other side of the city, but it should be fun!!  Otherwise, I think like is pretty “normal”, if there is such a thing in Guatemala.  =)

Here are a few more pictures from the past little while, just for fun!!

Stuck in traffic...

Crazy Angel!

He's a mess!!

Crazy Dog!!

LOVE this view!!