Kitchen Ceiling Remodel

According to Civil Protección, we needed to cover up the insulation in the ceiling in the kitchen area. So last week, a drop ceiling was installed. Below are the before, during, and after photos.

Kitchen Before

Dining room Before

Storage room kind of Before

Kitchen During

Dining room during

Storage room during

Kitchen After

Dining room after

Storage room after

The couches from the dining room set up in the cancha during remodeling.

Lots of Family for Mother's Day

 A couple months ago, Miguel's brother Pedro and the rest of the family started discussing the possibility of them all meeting here in Magdalena to celebrate Mother's Day together. (Pedro lives in California with Miguel's dad. Miguel hadn't seen him in 9 years!) So on May 8th, Miguel and I picked up his mom, three siblings, nephew, and baby niece in Hermosillo at the airport and on Sunday, Pedro, his girlfriend Brenda, and her grandfather arrived from California. We spent a fun, lively week together. Pedro, Brenda, and her grandpa went back to California the following Monday. Lola and the rest stayed until May 23rd.

Mother's Day evening (May 10th here) we all got dressed up and took family photos. Lola hadn't been with all of her children in nine years!

Back L-R: Kevin (nephew), Brian (brother), Miguel

Middle L-R: Pedro (brother), Lola (mom), Fani (sister), Me, Brenda (Pedro's girlfriend), José (Brenda's grandpa)

Front L-R: Fernanda (sister), Natalie (niece)

(relationship to Miguel)

Pedro, Lola, and Miguel on Mother's Day

We so enjoyed meeting our niece Natalie (Fani's daughter). She turned four months old while she was here and didn't cry much at all unless she was hungry.

Miguel loves babies and Natalie soon had him wrapped around her little finger.

On Mother's Day here (May 10th), Fernanda and Kevin went to work with me and helped me make pizzas for the houses. (The kitchen ladies were off work for Mother's Day)

We made a tres leches cake with mango on top for Mother's Day.

The kids hanging out. I enjoyed going with the little boys to the park and playing hide-n-go-seek!

Making Pozole! We had a lot of delicious, mexican cooking!

Brenda and her grandpa making us a shrimp dinner. 

One unfortunate event took place the first Sunday afternoon when Pedro arrived. They were driving from California and he had never driven across the border into Mexico, so Miguel, and I and his mom decided to drive up to Nogales to help him cross. On the way, we hit a tope a little too hard and completely snapped this hose under the front of the car. So we sat on the side of the road for a couple hours, Pedro drove down on his own, and Keith Beyer (thanks Keith!) brought a trailer to haul our car back to Magdalena. Let's just say I had a bad headache that night from the sun and all the chaos in general. Thankfully, I felt better by the next morning!

The Sunday before Pedro left, we spent some time in the plaza. Here I am with Fernanda, Fani, and Natalie.

I enjoyed connecting with Fani over the two weeks she was here.

All the girls!

Miguel and I in the plaza.

Miguel with his mom and siblings and Fani's two children, Kevin, and Natalie.

Sunday, May 23rd, we got up at 3:30 in the morning and we're at the airport by 6:30 AM. We helped them get their boarding passes and check their bags and said goodbye. So much fun! We will miss them! Until next time...

Goodbye Tadiboy!

First of all, it's been over two weeks since I updated. The second week of May I said goodbye to Tadiboy! I'm so thankful that he arrived safely in Indiana with his family and hope I can visit him there sometime soon. Above we were getting ready to do our last horse riding session.

This past semester Bertha has been spending time cooking and doing other projects with a few of the CVE girls. Here she is sewing with one of them.

This Friday (May 28th) is my last Nurture Group with these girls for the school year. We've had so much fun!

Last Friday we did abstract watercolor paintings. Some of the girls even tried painting with their eyes closed! We had a lot of fun.

I was surprised to find a toad in the kitchen the other day. Usually I don't see them until the beginning of July when the rains start. We were thankful for two light rains last week as everything here is very, very dry. We are in a drought right now.

Spotlight on Balto! and more...

Balto playing with his friends at CVE!

The black dog belongs to Fe Leman and the brown dog belongs to the Slagel's.

We were worried about Balto last week because he was subdued and seemed sick. Finally we figured out that he had a cold and we were able to get him the right medicine. Since Miguel works at the vet office now, he got lots of treatments including shots and was feeling better within a week!

Tuesday when his favorite girl from CVE visited, he was pretty sick, but we pampered him, and at least she enjoyed it. He even joined us for a game of uno! just kidding.

Sadly, I don't have many other pictures this week. So just a quick update...

I had a cold last week as well, so I stayed home from work on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Thankfully, I was feeling much better in time for our annual Fun Day on Saturday!

Each year for Children's Day (April 30), CVE has a day of games, competitions, and prizes. Last year, we missed it, but this year we were back with a small, but exciting version.

I was in charge of organizing it this year which was new for me. 

We had four competitions, an obstacle course, a race, a water balloon toss, and a coloring competition. There was also a volleyball game, lunch, and ice-cream. 

On Saturday evening, I ran into Mani (one of the boys I used to care for) and we had him over for supper and some games. These relationships can be so complicated sometimes for me, but I was thankful for the chance to connect and thankful that he has been spending more time with people from CVE in the last week. Please continue to pray for him, Yubal and Yoani, and Jesus (the other boys I cared for). 

This week, Tadeo and his family leave for their new home in Indiana. I will miss him a lot! Please pray for them in their transition and for all of us as we adjust to their absence. 

Miguel's family plans to arrive this Saturday for two weeks. His brother is coming from California. We are very excited. This will be the first time he has seen his brother in about 8 years! Please pray for our time with his family that it can be a blessing for all of us!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and God's blessings to each of you!