Tinbon

Sometime last week Jen and I arrived home to find Dorian leading Tinbon (affectionately known by me as T-Bone) toward us. Before we had even gotten out of the car Dorian was telling us that we needed to go back to the city because Tinbon needed to go to the vet. It was then as my gaze fell upon the poor dog that I noticed the mass amounts of blood covering his body. He had gotten in a dog fight and was in bad shape. Without another question Jen helped load him in the back of the truck and headed for the city. After 4 days at the vet Tinbon was able to return home but for now has to wear that ridiculous looking thing on his head. As for our other dog...Damasco. Due to the fact that he couldn't seem to resist the urge to eat the neighbor’s chickens (I make jokes but it was a serious situation. She started threatening to kill him if he didn't stop) he has now found a new home with some friends of ours from Ojojona. Who knew having dogs could be so eventful.

Cardboard Box

So yesterday after nap the kids and I were outside playing when one of them came around front dragging a cardboard box that had been discarded. I watched as the rest of the kids came to check it out and then joined in playing with it. Thinking there had to be something great about this box I too went to investigate. As I got closer I could hear them talking, giggling, plotting, and scheming. They were astronauts loading in their spaceship. Then they were policeman catching crooks who were hiding in a box trying to get away. They jumped on the box and pinned the "crooks" to the ground. After that they were in a car heading to Teguc.....and the list goes on. They played with this stinkin box (that held no super powers or special features) for at least 2 hours. I joined in for awhile before retreating to grab my camera and simply soak in the simplicity of it all from a distance. We live in a country (USA in case anyone was confused) where kids can't seem to entertain themselves unless the device in their hands is the latest of technology and requires 4 AA batteries. They aren't interested in going outside to play and their imagination extends far enough to pretend the video game they are playing is real life. I know I'm probably exaggerating to some extent how bad things are. I'm sure some of you still have kids that play outside but I know that all of you know what I'm talking about. So coming from a world of virtual reality, computer simulated environments, and gaming watching children entertain themselves 2 hours was wonderful. They didn't need fancy toys or expensive gadgets...they simply needed a card board box, one another, and the world of make believe.

When was the last time we allowed ourselves to be so entertained by something as simple as a cardboard box? Instead of watching tv tonight take the time to play in the snow, play cards, make something, or simply dig out an old cardboard box and figure out how many different things it can become when you use your imagination.

Water Fight!

So the kids and I took advantage of the unusually way warm day and had a water fight....ok so really the way the story went was that I was warm and feeling ornery so filled the water gun when no one was looking! They happily obliged my immature plea for a water war as they all scrambled to find Bowls, bottles, and anything else to help them with the battle!

Even soaked Daniela never stops smiling!
I was obviously the image of intimidation!
The boys quickly learned that half the battle was finding ways to block the water.

This was our water source. Sometimes it was a fight just to get to it.

I had just surrendered my gun and still they were relentless!

Some of them weren't as happy as others to be soaking wet.

Honduran "wild life"

I saw a squirrel today! I was sitting on the back porch doing my devo and noticed movement in the trees....took me a second but I finally found him. I know I know....you are all probably thinking woo hoo who cares it is just a squirrel. BUT I have lived here for over a year now and have NEVER once seen a squirrel! (or any other form of life unless it comes in the form of a creepy crawly thing I would rather not have around) Not to mention that I love squirrels and used to watching them out back of our house or on campus. So it was a big "take me back to home" moment! I sat watching him for a few minutes before I ran inside to grab my camera. He then was ever so kind to wave at the camera as I took his picture. He really was quite cooperative! :) So be glad to know that squirrel do exist here and they look much the same as the ones you find at home.

Beauty of Creation

So many times in life I'm struck by the time and detail God spent on even the smallest seemingly insignificant things. As I sat doing my devo on the porch I noticed a bug on the wall. The beauty of this tiny creature captivated me. The brilliant orange color of its wings stood out against the bland color of the wall. It was reminder to take notice of the beauty God has placed before me. To notice His handy work everywhere I turn. Take time today to notice beauty in places you normally don't take the time to look at or appreciate.

sweet moments

I would love to share with you every time that the kids did something sweet or every time they tugged at my heart strings. However, if I did that I would spend more time on my computer than experiencing such moments. So instead let me tell you one that has stuck with me the past few days. One that reminded me of how glad I am to be here to experience such moments.

A couple of nights ago I awoke to hear Antonio crying out for me. As usual I scooped him up and carried him back to my bed so I could snuggle away whatever bad dream he had been having. Well despite the interruption to his sleep and the long night he still woke up earlier than normal the next morning. Of course if he woke up earlier than normal that meant I needed to be awake as well. I woke to his gentle nudging and his sweet whisper saying "mommy." Although he was awake and it was clear he wasn't going back to sleep he wasn't quite ready to get up. He simply shook his head when I offered to go to the playroom with him. Then he silently moved from his sitting position beside me and crawled on top of me. Once there he curled up with his arms beneath him and his head nuzzled under my chin. Eyes wide open and not moving in the least he seemed content so just lay quietly. Covering us both back up we laid like that as morning came and woke the rest of the kiddos. Within moments they too were in my room relentlessly vying for my attention. The quiet moment was over but not forgotten. Even as I got up to begin the day I could feel the warmth of where his little body had been resting on mine. It was the sweetest of moments and one I will cherish it forever.

The gift of giving

There are moments here when this momma heart sighs with contentment. Moments when you know despite the ways you have messed up ... by the grace of God something is getting through to your children. God has given me many opportunities to see this being played out lately.

Our kids being like any other normal child from 2 -10 years of age have this problem with dilly dallying their way through getting dressed, brushing their teeth, showering, or any other day to day activity. Now just times that by 15 and you have a typical day here. Getting them ready for anything seems to take FOREVER. They will be sent to their room to do something and finally reappear 30 minutes later. It makes for craziness as you wait on them for breakfast or need to get them off to class...not to mention what they were getting into as they did the things they shouldn't be doing instead of what they should be doing. I long ago learned two tricks to raising children. 1. They love competing and racing one another. 2. They LOVE candy. So last week sometime I started doing competitions between the girls and boys. The first one to get dressed, make their beds, clean up their room, and be sitting at the table won. Meaning if all the boys made it to the table first and were sitting quietly they each got a piece of candy. It took them awhile to catch on. The big boys would hurry through getting ready and would be sitting down but the little ones would be nowhere to be found. As the days went on the bigger ones learned to help the little ones. They learned that cheering had no place in this game or they would be disqualified for failing the sitting quietly part. The girls managed to win the first couple of days but once the boys found a routine of who did what and who help whom the girls had no chance. The girls haven't won a day since. A couple of days ago the boys had won yet again and were sitting proudly with their candy in hand. As I walked back into the kitchen to put the candy away I stopped dead in my tracks as I watched the boys each bite their candy in half and then stand up and give the other half to one of the girls. I found tears prickling my eyes as Brayan explained that the girls hadn't won in awhile and so had watched the boys get candy day after day....so they shared. Whew...talk about a proud momma. By no doing of my own they seem to be shaping into beautiful young people. Don't get me wrong they still do all the rotten kid type stuff but I'll definitely take the bad with the good that I'm seeing!