Mele Kalikimaka

The title for this post is Hawaiian for Merry Christmas! 

Reasons: I wanted a different title than I’ve used before and I liked how it sounded…

It’s the second week of January and I’m getting back into the normal school routine. The Cissna Park team is visiting and I’m enjoying time with all the “grandparents.” Two of the couples are part of the grandparent program and the other two are the real grandparents of little Owen Kaeb, born to Adam and Belinda the day after Christmas. 

Routine was delightfully broken over the Holidays as I helped out at Casa Palgave on Mondays and Fridays for a couple weeks and hosted my younger brother Justin for a little over a week. 

The CVE children were gifted rain boots for Christmas and they proved to be a perfect gift as we had a rainy December. 

Christmas day we had breakfast for lunch at the Beyer’s where we also spent Christmas day last year. I made Mexican fruit punch again and also spent a couple hours on a Saturday making tamales with Bertha. It’s so fun learning to make traditional Christmas foods. 

Justin arrived on December 30th and the next morning we headed up 'the big mountain' with a group from CVE. Here we are at the bottom.

And here we are at the top.

Balto was privileged to be included on the excursion and took a little nap at the top.

I also captured this photo of him.

On January 3rd, Casa Palgave and friends drove to Hermosillo for the day to experience a seasonal ice-skating rink. It was a blast! 

We also watched Frozen 2 at the theater which set the scene for our activities the next Monday as I spent the morning curling "Elsa" and "Anna's" hair, participating in Cristof and "Anna's" wedding, and was surprised to be invited along on the honeymoon. Here "Anna" pets "Sven." :)

Sunday, Jan 5th, Justin and I got up in the wee hours of the morning and drove up to the border. It was a little after four when we got in line to cross and I thought, "I've never waited beside this gas station before. The wait must be pretty long." I checked online and it said 480 minutes. "No way." The average said 106 minutes. "Ok. that's not bad. It's probably about an hour and a half." Nearly an hour later, I started getting rather worried (more like panicking). I got out of the car and looked down the line and realized that those 480 minutes were actually accurate. We were sitting in an 8 hour line. Without a way to get to the airport for Justin's 8 am flight, we turned around, went home, and enjoyed another day with him. As pictured above, he also got to participate in Cristof and Anna's wedding and travel along on the honeymoon. ;) Ha. Ha. 

Thankfully, our next attempt at crossing on Monday afternoon was a mere 30 minutes. And Justin was able to fly home on Tuesday morning!

School started on Wednesday, January 8th, and routine...

Here is a little poem from my reflections back in 2013. 

The Summons

Another year has ended.

Another moment past.

How soon will be the hour

That will be our last?

Precious seconds ticking,

Time is running short.

Soon will come the summons

To the highest court.

Thank you for your prayers and love!

His Joy

His Joy 

by Laura Aviña

Darkness meets my eyes as they open each morning. 

I’m warm. 

I’m safe.

I wait.

I wait for the voices, the happy ones, the grumpy ones, the voices that instruct, the voices that respond.

I know each of them, my family.

I wait for the footsteps outside my door, not the ones that pass by, but the ones that stop. 

I wait for the hands that turn on the light, the hands that lift me, the hands that wash me.

I wait for her face.

She is happy to see me.

I see it in her eyes.

Wheels move my body, wheels moved by my arm.

They move me outside to the front porch.

They move me down the sidewalk.

I see the little things, the little things that become big things and the little things that stay little.

But most of all I wait expectantly for him.

Then I see them, the school children, and I see him, their teacher.

I can’t hear his words, but I see him point toward me.

And then one comes running, running for me!

They are happy to see me!

He is happy to see me.

I see it in their eyes.

I go. 

I go with the children.

I watch them stretch. 

I watch them play and I play too.

I hear the laughter. 

I point.

I yell. 

I jabber. 

They don’t understand, but they answer anyways.

This is my favorite time. 

My favorite place.

I feel so alive.

As they play, I see her. 

She is looking for her dog.

I saw where he went when I was watching the little things.

She brings him back.

Soon she will come for me.

Then we go.

Sometimes I want to stay, but I don’t complain.

We go to the classroom.

She talks to me.

She teases me.

I talk to her.

She stretches my legs and my arm.

We listen to music.

I walk. 

I stand. 

I learn.

Sometimes it is hard.

I feel angry. 

I hit her. 

I hide my face.

Sometimes she feels angry and she tells me.

We use a screen.

The people I love are on the screen.

The screen says their names.

I say their names.

The screen asks for snacks.

I ask for snacks. 

The screen says how I feel.

It says it for me.

Sometimes she hides her eyes behind a blanket.

She says “boo” and I see her eyes again. 

It is my favorite game.

I wonder if she is still alive when I can’t see her eyes.

But they always come back.

The eyes that are happy to see me.

After lunch, I go to the porch again.

I watch the little things, the little things that turn into big things and the ones that stay little.

I know that I’m different.

I don’t know why.

It has always been this way.

But I don’t worry.

They are happy to see me.

They are happy to be with me.

And I am happy to be with them.

Reminisce

Making banana cake in preparation for Thanksgiving week.

Miguel putting together his Christmas present, a charcoal grill.

Hanging out with the neighbor girls on a Saturday afternoon.

They made my day when they brought me this box of treats and this awesome picture of Miguel and I.

Thanksgiving week began with me finding this giant rose.

I spent Monday reminiscing with a surprise visitor, Destini Rassi!

Here we are in 2007 when I lived at CVE as a girl. Yes, those little girls in pink and orange-striped shirts in the front row.

And here we are now, 12 years later!

It was so amazing to spend some time together and catch up on each other's lives. 

Wednesday morning, the pies were in full production and the potato-peelers were being entertained by Tadi boy in the dining room.

Apple pie in the making by Jody Klotzle who helps bring our Thanksgiving meal together every year!

Gravy...

Feasting on the giblets.

Pie night Wednesday evening was nearly drowned out by heavy rains, but we still had it.

And enjoyed singing praises together afterwards.

It was a beautiful evening!

Balto was allowed in the house for a bit because of the rain. 

He made puppy dog eyes to beg me not to send him out again.

"I'll sit right here!"

Puddles

Sunday afternoon I put up our Christmas decorations.

So excited for the season.

And on Monday I made a pot of "Caldo de Queso."

Mexican Cheese soup

Roast 4 green chiles. Place them in a plastic bag for steaming and easier pealing. Chop 4 potatoes and put on the stove to boil in one gallon of water. Peal and slice green chiles into strips. Chop one onion and two tomatoes and sauté in oil. Add the green chiles to the onion and tomato in the skillet. When the veggies are well sautéed, add to the boiled potatoes. Season to taste. Cut 2 pounds of Mexican fresh cheese into squares and drop into soup. Bring to boil. Y listo!

Tuesday this week, I had one of the girls from CVE over at my house. We walked over to a big soccer field with the neighbor girls and I taught them how to play "miniatures."

Here is a "house."

This is a close up of the cooking pot sitting on the table!

It makes me remember playing like this as a girl!

Learning some Photography Skills

Tadeo hanging out with his favorite teacher, Maestro Jesus.

Nurture group activity with four of our teenage girls.

We had some great laughs.

Building a fire in the fire place in the CVE dining room.

The story of a Cucumber Thief

I was in the kitchen when this little guy stepped out of the fridge with an entire cucumber. I asked him if he had permission and we went to ask his mom. She asked me if I could wash it for him and I did. And he ate the entire cucumber! What a healthy snack!

In the last few weeks I have been using a borrowed camera to learn some about photography.

Here are some photos from when I was just messing around with the adjustments.

I struggled with getting the correct lighting as I didn't understand all the factors.

Then I watched a few videos about aperture, shutter speed, and iOS and a whole world opened up!

playing with focus

stopping water

photographing my hubby in the shop

My puppy-dog. I feel like this picture is too perfect. He looks like a stuffed dog.

the walkway at church

Here is one of the first photos I took after watching the videos. It was dusk and I enjoyed figuring out how to make the picture bright enough to see!

Purpose

Why do I live?

What are my efforts for?

How can I wake

With joy for one day more?

What is my life?

If Thou art not the One

For whom I live, to whom I give

My will, my all in all!

May God bless each of you! Thank you for the prayers!

Electrical Adventures

So it's starting to get chilly in the mornings and I took this photo to document it.

 Also as promised I have a photo of my pie from the Chili and Pie Night two weeks ago. Alas I forgot to snap the photo until after the judges had tried a piece (and the cool whip had melted).

Caramel Apple Pecan Pie

Probably because of appearance, my pie did not win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. Next time I will chill it longer before putting the cool whip on. However, I did get some rave reviews. A few people told me it was their favorite and one told me it was the best pie they had ever tasted, so maybe I'll try again with the same recipe next year. 

The day before pie night our electricity suddenly sputtered and went out. 

Thursday night and all day Friday we had no electricity until Saturday morning when an electrician was able to replace this wire. Thankfully, the wire did not cause a fire when it burnt up. Our only casualties were the milk that soured in the fridge and the banana ice-cream that melted in the freezer. Thankfully we have a gas stove and gas heated water heater!

The Sunday after the electricity adventure and Pie night we enjoyed a fun board game with Duane Wulf. And Monday morning, I got to help butcher hogs again. I always help with the skinning. (skip the next three photos if you don't want to see.)

Keni and I posing with the bacon.

The butchering site.

Also, I got a new pair of glasses. My other ones were loosing their antireflectant coating and now that I have new ones, I can't believe how bad the old ones were. 

If You Should Ever Doubt

If you should ever doubt

A God created man,

If you should ever question

Design by sovereign plan,

If you should ever wonder 

How heaven came to be,

If people tell you always,

“It’s all evolved, you see,”

Then ask yourself some questions

And gaze up at the stars,

And learn about this world

From mustard seeds to Mars.

And you will find that somehow

As you learn these things to love

That mustard seeds of faith

Can grow to reach the stars above.

In my last post, I asked my readers to comment. However, I have been informed from those who attempted that their comments would not go through. I tried to fix this, but have not been able to, so my apologies.

October Weekend

Eating a corn dog in the Magdalena Plaza. 

On Friday, Miguel and I went to see the stands in the plaza that were still there from the festival a week before. We bought some churros (similar to cinnamon and sugar covered donuts) and a corn dog. The stands were full of purses, bags, clothing, hats, statues, vases, blankets, toys, and lots of kitchen and household items. Each vendor had their specialties. Some of the items were cheaply made such as plastic kitchen items, toys, and some of the clothing. Others were high quality and some even handmade, such as painted pottery, grinding stones, and some kitchen items and clothes. We purchased a couple clay coffee mugs and a hat. There were also carnival rides and many, many food stands. The food stands were selling tacos, churros, fruit, deserts, pizza, drinks, and "Gorditas" which are like fat tortillas and can be filled with Nutella, cream cheese, goat-milk caramel and other delicious fillings. It is always an interesting experience!

Me sporting Miguel's hat from the ranch. "Rancho Agua Viva" means Living Water Ranch.

On Saturday, Miguel and I went out to CVE to work in the garden patch he's been cleaning up. We planted some corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers. We'll have to see how they do! 

Sunday afternoon as I drove home from church on one of the routes, we crossed the river and their were lots of these yellow wildflowers growing by it. So I stopped and picked some to put in the vase on my piano. Only one older lady and I were still in the vehicle, and she was telling me about when she and her husband used to grow their own corn and beans when they lived in the mountains. They would eat the harvest, so she never needed to buy food from the store until she moved to where she lives now. Miguel and I take her to church nearly every Sunday. She loves plants and flowers and grows them in buckets in her yard. She is so sweet and I am blessed to know her.

Stay tuned as this weekend is our annual Chili and Pie Competition! Hopefully I will have a few photos to share.

Questions without Answers

Questions without answers,

I bring them all to Thee

And lay them down before Thy feet;

I know my wisdom’s not complete,

So Thy dear name I now repeat,

Oh Lord of majesty!

Questions without answers,

The why, the when, the how

The path before me gives me fear,

But I will trust that Thou art near

To help me on and wipe each tear.

Before Thy throne I bow.

Questions without answers,

Hold me to Thy breast.

I am helpless to perform.

Please work Thy will in me, O Lord,

And lead me to Thy heaven home

Where in Thy arms I’ll rest.

written March 2013

Also, I have a request for any of you who read this blog. Because I don't know who reads it, I often feel as though I am writing for 5 people or so. So could you please drop a comment below to let me know. Thanks!