Rainy night

Like most little kids I used to LOVE spending time at my Grandparent's house. It always seemed like there was more to do there than at home.... and lets face it Grandma ALWAYS spoiled us. I can remember her fixing us bowls of peaches and letting us put whipped cream on it. I can remember all of my cousins and I lining the floor of the living room with our sleeping bags when it came time to go to bed. I can remember playing spoons, hide and go seek, sardines, and other fun games. I can remember how excited we got over the newest "big catch" Grandpa had in the old bathtub in the basement. I can remember Grandpa's famous popcorn that he made with his special popcorn popper. I can remember catching lightening bugs as it got dark and going out searching for night crawlers after a good rain. Ahh the memories. 

I've often thought of how different my life and memories would be if I had been born and raised here. What stories of "Grandma's House" would I have to share with my kids some day? The other night I was once again reminded of just how different this country is from the one I was raised in. It had rained pretty much all evening and was just starting to let up as Mike and I arrived at Steve's house. Eduardo greeted us on the patio (as always) and asked if it was ok that he had "that" hanging from the rafters. I was startled as I turned to find out "that" was a big old crab. Apparently after it rains here kids go hunting for crabs instead of night crawlers. It makes me think twice about walking around barefoot in the dark! I was even more surprised when Eduardo told me that if you hang the crabs up like that all night they will be dead by morning and can be used to make a "really good crab soup!" 

Oh the differences between here and home.... I'm just thankful my Grandpa loved using the night crawlers as fishing bait instead of trying to make a soup with them! 

Auntie Ashley

I'm not sure how many of you know this. I haven't taken the time to fully celebrate it on my blog but ......MY SISTER IS PREGNANT!!! She is due one month from today. (Sept. 30th) My Dad's birthday is the 4th, my birthday is the 19th, Moms is the 21st, and Kelsey's is the 30th .... so we are all just holding our breath seeing when she actually has it. Regardless of when it comes I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNT. Yippee Skippee for that. It is some of the best news I've ever received. I'm be sure to post all kinds of pictures once the stinker gets here.

Miss Katty

How this little one can look so stinkin innocent in photos yet act so ornery ALWAYS is beyond me! :) 

Visitation

Yet another last friday of the month has come and gone. For these kiddos that day doesn't just signify that another month has passed it means that they get to go visit their mommas. (at least they hope) This morning was no different. They each woke up bright and early and the first thing out of most of their mouths was "I get to visit my mom today!" So we hurried around doing morning stuff (devotional, breakfast, getting dressed, etc.) and piled in the van. We made the hour trip to the city where the moms who were coming would be waiting. As we pulled up to the gate we saw Fanny (Brayan's mom) outside waiting. The rest of the kids held their breath hoping their moms were either already inside or just running a little bit late. However, as the morning wore on it became evident that Fanny would be the only one to show. The kids did their best to mask their disappointment. It is even more sad that they seemed to be getting used to and better at dealing with their moms not showing. They've accepted the fact that most months their parents will disappoint them and instead simply savor those rare months when they do show up. 

Take the good with the bad

So I have good news and bad news... the good news is MY LICE IS GONE! woot woot. Dilcia checked my head today can gave me a clean report. (pun intended) However, the bad news is that although I'm no longer itching because of lice.... I'm now itching because I have scabies or some scabies like rash funk going on. Our kids have all gotten some kind of a fungus from Rosita but Dilcia claims my junk looks different. The other day while in the mountain village I held a baby that we discovered had Scabies. Jen and Sam took the baby to the doctor to get cream to heal it but I had already loved all over the little guy. So... I'm not 100% sure what it is .... but whatever it is needs to go away. 

For those of you who know little about Scabies let me enlighten you on what Wikipedia had to say... 

" Scabies is caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, variety hominis, as shown by the Italian biologist Diacinto Cestoni in the 18th century. It produces intense, itchy skin rashes when the impregnated female tunnels into the stratum corneum of the skin and deposits eggs in the burrow. The larvae, which hatch in 3-10 days, move about on the skin, molt into a "nymphal" stage, and then mature into adult mites. The adult mites live 3-4 weeks in the host's skin. The action of the mites moving within the host's skin and on the skin itself produces an intense itch which may resemble anallergic reaction in appearance. The presence of the eggs produces a massive allergic response which, in turn, produces more itching."

Sounds fun huh? My favorite part is that they refer to me (or others who have scabies) as "the host." As if I invited these little guys in for dinner and am enjoying their company! I mean really! So yea .... I'm done with the lice but I've moved onto something even better! I've become so desperate to be done with the pain and itching that I willing rubbed a plant all over my body tonight before showering.... all because one of our Honduran workers promised it was a sure proof way to get rid of it. That was a good 6 hours ago and I STILL AM NOT SEEING ANY RESULTS! Heck!

We miss Papi Mike

Jen, Sam, Mike, and I got up way early Tuesday morning to head for the San Pedro airport. Once there we got Mike all checked in and made sure he was set for his flight before saying our goodbyes. I had spent the previous couple of days watching him say good bye to the kids and other friends he has made in this country. Each and every one was heartfelt and difficult in its own way. When I got back to Casa after seeing Mike off the kids all wanted to know where he was. Some insisted on knowing when he would be back while others simply refused to believe he was gone. He had certainly made his impact on their hearts and in their lives. He spent HOURS playing with them, loving on them, cuddling with them, chasing them, holding them, and yes playing on the trampoline with them. They each grew to have a special bond with him and they each are taking his departure differently. However, no matter how they are dealing with it we each can agree on one thing... we miss his presence. 

Happy Birthday Mike!

Today I had the privilege of celebrating Mike's 24th birthday with him. How appropriate that just a day after Daniela's birthday her "Papi" would celebrate his own birthday! We spent the day hanging out in one of my favorite villages in Honduras. It was a village that Mike got to spend a day in while here in March so he enjoyed getting to see some of the same kiddos as before. We were able to hand out some blankets/toys and simply spend the day loving on the kiddos there. It was a blast. We then went shopping and out to eat..... where we indulged ourselves in one of the best desserts in all of Honduras! All in all it was a fun day... in my mind at least.... (lets hope the birthday boy thought so as well.)