My Parents Visit Bolivia-2015-Week 2

We started off week two of my parents visit with a bang! Tuesday was a busy one. Mother helped the kids with some school: grammar/English with Emily and math with Clancy. Clara at some point brought Clancy's bird in and put it on his head! I hope that helped him think twice as hard. However, you do hear things about "bird brains" that make you wonder if maybe they wouldn't help you think!

Grams and Clancy studying 

When we were at Mario and Helen's house for lunch Monday afternoon, Helen asked if my mother could share at the ladies' meeting that our church has each Tuesday afternoon. My mother, of course, said yes! Emily translated for her, and they both were a big blessing to the ladies there. The theme of her talk was about knowing God and trusting in Him. At the end, Emily and I sang, in Spanish, "Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus."

Mother sharing at the Ladies' Meeting!

Daddy and our boys kept busy that afternoon also. They went over to House 2 and helped Tio David put together some "roperos" for the boys clothes. They formed two teams to build them: Clancy, Tio David, and E. were one team, and Daddy and Myles were the other team. They knocked out 7 roperos in about three hours! Tio David was super happy, because it had taken him about three hours to do one by himself the night before! Now all the boys at House 2 have their own spot for their clothes, shoes, etc. Our menfolk were tired and hungry when we picked them up, but very accomplished!

L to R: E. Tio David, Daddy, Clancy, and Myles

Our next stop that Tuesday evening, (I told you it was a busy day!) was our Horita Feliz in Chulla, at Tia Techy's house. We had a good turn out of children from the neighborhood! Mama and Daddy enjoyed the time in Chulla.

Singing at Horita Feliz Chulla!

Mama and Daddy taking it all in...

Rudi with his volunteer reader for the evening!

Wednesday, Mama and I got to go out in the afternoon to do some touristy shopping and then we went out for tea! I took her to Lutetia, my favorite place in the city for tea. It is owned by a French man and the tea, food, and desserts are absolutely fabulous! It was a fun, relaxing time.

Tea for Two in the Garden!

I loved this picture of Mother "smelling" my tea! Isn't my mother beautiful?! I think she looks like a model in this picture below.

My Super Model Mother!

While we were having tea we felt something kinda like an explosion from far away and then the ground moved slightly. I mentioned to Mother that it felt like a small earthquake, but we both decided it was too small. On our way home a friend called me and asked me if I had felt the earthquake. There had been an earthquake! When we were walking home on a small side street we saw about six dogs ahead of us in the street. Mother commented on how cute the small black one was. As we walked past the dog she had complemented it gave a short growl and then bit my mother's leg... Mother just kept walking as if nothing had happened. After a few steps, I asked her, "did that dog bite you?", to which she just replied, "yes, and it stings". Thankfully, her capris were long enough that he got her on the capris and not her bare skin. Other than being slightly bruised she was just fine. I think that will be the last time she complements a Bolivian dog!! It was quite the adventurous afternoon, complete with earthquake and dog bite! Only in Bolivia!

The first two Wednesdays during my parents' stay, Emily was asked to babysit the cutest little girl! This little girl was adopted from Casa de Amor almost two years ago now. She has blossomed into a delightfully cute little girl! It was a privilege to have her in our home for the morning. She and Paula had a grand time together!

Gabriela and Paulita! 

Wednesday night is our volunteer night. This particular evening we were saying farewell to two great volunteers, Hillary and Shana. I already did a blog about them, and if I were really cool and techy, I would have a link to the blog right here. Since I am not either of those things, you can figure out how to read about them in the blog before this one!

Volunteer night. 

   I wouldn't want to leave out Thursday the 23rd, because that day was the 49th wedding anniversary of my parents. Unfortunately, Daddy wasn't feeling too well, so it ended up being an easy going day. In the afternoon after running some errands, my mother, Emily and I went to my favorite hair salon. While, Emily and I got haircuts, Mother got a pedicure. The lady did a great job and Mother loved it! After all, you can't get a good pedicure for $4 in the U.S. anymore! Not even at a beauty college!! I think Mother took some pictures of the event on her phone. I will upload one later if I find a good one!

   As I was going through photos to upload to the blog, I realized that many (too many) are taken at our dining room table...sorry for the un-originality! However, our jumbo sized wipey board behind changes its message. See if you can read the messages! Also, the people at the table change....usually!

   Friday night we were super privileged to have Jennifer's parents over. They were down for a week visiting their new grand baby, Lydia Ruth that was born April 16! They came for dinner, along with Jake and Jennifer and family. This was the first outing for Jennifer with her new baby! The only bad thing was that the evening went by too fast. I was happy that my parents could meet Carl and Glenda. They are true "kindred spirits"!
 

Dinner with the Boohers, Johnson, Beatys, and the Thompsons

And the kids eating outside...

Another shot with different kids looking this time!

L to R: Jake holding Lydia, Jennifer, Glenda holding Sophia, Carl,
Mama, and Daddy!

Saturday, Gladys asked if Mother could share with the ladies at the Horita Feliz what she had shared the previous Tuesday at the ladies' meeting. Mother, of course, said that she would. Since, Emily also teaches a class on Saturdays, she couldn't translate this time. That left me to translate...eeeks. Talk about a Spanish test for me! Thankfully, the Lord gave me grace, and I think the ladies got the jist of the message! I can easily translate from Spanish to English, which I have been doing a lot of with Mama and Daddy here, but English to Spanish es una otra cosa totalmente! Emily joined me at the end, so that we could sing the song, "'Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus" again for this group of ladies.

Mother and I sharing at Horita Feliz.

Singing, "Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus"

Our Saturday Horita Feliz Ladies Group... 

After Horita Feliz, everyone lines us for a snack before they leave, Franco let the boys from the baby house take a turn playing his guitar. I thought the picture below was super sweet!

Franco with S. and S.!!

Every week the volunteers bring several children from Casa Uno. It is such a blessing for the babies to be able to get out and about!

Volunteers  Shana, Hannah, Danyelle, and Emily with some of the
"Casa Kids".

Sunday we went to Km. 0 again. We stopped and picked up S. and A. at the baby house to come with us!

A picture in our "Sunday Best" clothes!

My parents enjoyed their Sundays at Km. 0. Rudi translated for Daddy and I translated for Mama, so they got something out of it! The people were very welcoming and kind to my parents. It has been great introducing them to our many friends here in Bolivia. 

Both "Paula's" with Paulita's Best Friend, Jeaneth!

After church we drove around looking for a place to eat. Each place we went was crammed with people that had the same idea we had, Sunday Lunch! Daddy and Mama had a reservation to spend the night at a lovely hotel called Hotel Aranjuez, in honor of their 49th anniversary. We ended up taking so long looking for a place to eat that we decided to drop off their bags and check them into the hotel. Come to find out, this hotel served lunch and it was not busy at all. In fact, Daddy called it Cochabamba's best kept secret, because it serves delicious food and is seemingly never busy. We had an amazing lunch on the patio with a beautiful garden and fountain to the side... and we had the whole place to ourselves!

Lunch at Hotel Aranjuez 

My handsome parents, Burnell and Paula
"49" years of wedded bliss!! Congratulations!

This concludes the second week of my parents' visit...stay tuned for the third and a half!

Adios, Shana and Hillary

Wednesday night we had a "going away" party for two of our volunteers. Shana is from Texas and has been touring Latin America for the past eight months. She spent the past four weeks working with the babies of Casa de Amor and also studying Spanish. We are sure going to miss having her at the baby home each evening! Hurry back, Shana!
Hillary is from New Brunswick, Canada. She has visited Cochabamba with various teams several times before. This time she stayed for two months and was able to help out at the girls' home (House 3) for Casa de Amor. The girls loved having her come and would pester her like crazy, "fixing" her hair and dragging her around showing her things. When I asked Hillary if the girls drove her nuts, she sweetly replied that she actually loved it. A perfect match! Hillary is going to be greatly missed, also. We hope that she will be able to come again next year and stay longer!

Dinner with our amazing volunteers!

 Emily made Enchiladas that were AMAZING! For dessert we had chocolate cake and cupcakes that Hannah and Danyelle had so generously brought to share with us! After dinner many rousing games of Dutch Blitz were played (Thanks to U. Tim and A. Diane!).

For a thank you gift, my mother and I picked out scarves and a pair of earrings for each of them: a heavier one for Hillary to wear in Canada, where it was 30 below when she left to come down to Bolivia, and a lighter one for Shana to wear in Texas or La Paz where she is headed next! They both look stunning in the scarves we got them. These gals are beautiful inside and out. We are so thankful our paths have crossed for a short time and that we have been able to get to know them. Que Dios las bendiga y que les vaya bien, amigas!

Shana and Hillary
Thanks for everything!

My Parents Visit Bolivia-2015-Week 1

Waiting for the 6:30 a.m. flight!

 We have been super blessed to be enjoying a visit from my parents, Burnell and Paula Johnson, otherwise known as Grandpa and Grams! We all got up really early to get to the airport for the early morning flight from Santa Cruz to Coch, but it was worth it! We asked permission to have S. and A. stay overnight so they could go with us to the airport to meet their new "abuelos" for the first time. S. especially enjoyed seeing the airplanes on the ground and taking off. They fly over the baby home all the time, so he is familiar with "aviones"!

Everyone watching the airplane land!

Almost here!

It was great to see my parents safe and sound in Bolivia! They had good flights, but the one from Panama to Bolivia was an all night flight, so they were ready for some real sleep in a real bed!

They're Here!

 We quickly loaded into our white van. (Please notice our spiffy new seat covers!) Last time my parents came, two years ago, we had our "happy mobile."  It was not nearly as comfortable as our little truffi people hauler!

Heading home from the airport.

We got them home just in time for breakfast! We had fried potatoes, eggs, yummy bread, and fruit salad! 

First Breakfast with Grandpa and Grams!

After breakfast they broke open the three suitcases they had brought for us. We had ordered lots of things from Amazon and Ebay and had them sent to them to bring down here for us. They also brought gifts for us all. Once again a "Christmas" in April, just like last time!

S. enjoying his gifts from Grandpa and Grams.

Ruth with her Polly Pockets!

Among the things they brought were a tent for the boys, balls for S., a doll with "chocolate" color skin for A., another doll with "vanilla" skin for Paula, new schoolbooks for the kids, a refill of the amazing soap my brother makes, letters from some of our relatives, material for Clara to sew with, "How to Juggle" for Myles, and MUCH more!

A. getting a doll from Grams. 

Their first day was very restful with lots of napping, eating, and just chilling! The next day also was tranquilo, the "big event" of the day being having the volunteers over for dinner.  Mama and Daddy shared their love story and told some of the ways that God has blessed their lives. It was a good time!

Thursday morning we went with them to our local market to buy groceries.  After naps, Rudi and I took Daddy and Mama by the CDA baby house to see our kiddos, S. and A.! Daddy was able to show one of the volunteers some of the baby exercises he used on us when we were babies!

S. was pretty upset when we left. He didn't want to let go of me and kept saying, "I want to go home with you."  It was like the time we had to leave him at the baby house almost a year ago. It is very hard to walk away when he is crying out for us... Please pray for him as he waits for our adoption to be completed. We all are super ready for him to be permanently at home with us, and he is especially ready.

Daddy showing Shana some baby exercises on baby B.!

After  leaving the baby home, we went by the Home Center to find a curling iron for Mama. It was fun to stroll around and show them our "U.S." style shopping here in Cochabamba! For dinner we went to La Estancia. It was a good choice! We all enjoyed the salad bar and our choices of meat. I was the only one to have chicken. Rudi had trout and Mama and Daddy had salmon! Yumm! After dinner we went by Yogen Fruz for strawberry frozen yogurts. Double Yumm!
On our way home from dinner Daddy commented that he was enjoying Bolivia much more this time around! I think it is because our house is a lot more comfortable, and since we know the city so much better now we can take him where we know he will enjoy himself! We had only been here six months the last time they came...

Dinner at the La Estancia.

Friday afternoon, Emily went  with her friends to help clean the capilla (where the Saturday Horita Feliz is held). She ended up going to dinner with them afterward and then helping grade first grade papers at the English speaking school where our friend, Danyelle, teaches.  The rest of us took Daddy and Mama to the Botanical Gardens for a walk! It was a lovely afternoon and evening to be out and about in the city.

Enjoying the Botanical Garden.

The kids with Grandparents, sin Emily!

Just some random trivia for you: My parents are celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary this week, have 8 children (all are married), and they currently have 40 grandchildren--with four more "expected" this year! Pretty amazing! Everyone keeps commenting to me about how young they  seem. What can I say?  Having lots of children keeps you young!

Such lovely couples!!

After the walk in the park we all had "Aragatza" ice creams!

Waiting for ice cream!

The Botanical Garden closes early, so we took in another park. I can never remember the name of this park, but it is near the Cine Center! They have a train that Grams took with Paula and Ruth. As they were driving away, I wished that I had gotten on with them,  Silly me!

Grams with Ruth and Paula on the train.

Happy Girls!

"Hanging Out with My Parents"

At this park there is a whole section that has work out equipment. Some of the pieces use your own body weight for the workout. We spent quite a lot of time "working out."  It was lots of fun for everyone!

Grams and Clancy

Grampa, with Paula in the picture behind.

Saturday we, of course, had Horita Feliz. It was fun to have Daddy and Mama there with us. Clara translated my message for Mama, but I think Daddy was pretty bored not being able to understand much of anything being shared. We will get Clancy to translate for him next week so that he can get something out of it!

Sunday we went to our church at Km. 0. A team was visiting from upstate New York. Some of the folks in the team had grown up in Argentina. I got a real kick out of hearing their Argentinian accent that makes all their "y" sounds have a "sh" sound instead! So they were from Nueva Shork. The message was about hearing the truth, speaking the truth, and living the truth. It was a timely message for all of us. Rudi translated for Daddy, and I translated for Mama. We got it into our hearts double! It has been great to have a better command of the language this time and to be able to host Daddy and Mama better because of this.

After church we went out to Tia Techy's for Chicharron. My mother had requested that we eat this sometime when she was here. Tia Techy makes the best Chicharron, so of course we had to go! My parents are really sporty, because it is not fancy where Tia lives. You also eat the whole Chicharron meal with your greasy fingers. Not the most elegant of circumstances!

Chicharron in Tia's front yard!

Tia Techy serving Chicharron

What everyone wants to eat the MOST! Seriously!
Would someone tell that pig it has something in its nose!!

My parents with our Tia Techy!

We were so close to Pairumani at Tia's that we decided to drive up to the park and show my parents the house we lived in up there. The dog that came with the house, "Maget," was SUPER happy to see us. I fed her very well while we lived there. It was good to see her and the place. No regrets about moving though!

 My parents enjoyed the park and the short hike we took.

The lovely couples, once again! This time at the Pairumani Park!

My sweet family... only missing my three "chocolate" kiddos:(

Paula hiking down to the car!

My parents enjoying the great outdoors!

Snitching Figs!

 For dinner, Clara and Ruth fixed us leftovers, and they did such a pretty job that I took a picture of them and the table they had prepared!

My budding chefs, Ruth and Clara.

Yesterday, we went to the orphanage where the sibling of S. and A. lives. We are, Lord willing, adopting this little guy as well. For various reasons they have not moved him to live with his older siblings at Casa de Amor. This is the first time that our whole family has gotten to see/meet him! Rudi and Emily had met him once before. We wanted my parents to meet him, also. The people at this orphanage do not know that we are adopting this little boy. It was so good to see our little "Peter." I am as madly in love with him as I am with his older siblings. It makes it very hard to wait when you have a face with the name! Even though he had a cold and looked quite sick, Peter seemed more in personality like his sister A., easy going and peaceful! He looks a lot like his brother S.!

We had a good time loving on the kids here at this orphanage and sharing some music with them. Hannah went with us. It was great having her along! I know we'll be going back soon to this orphanage...

Our family in front of the orphanage's sign! Thanks, Hannah!

Clara with Peter before his bath. 

Emily letting one of the little boys play her ukelele.

Enjoying holding my little boy, Peter! He eventually fell asleep in
my arms!!

The girls and Grams enjoying Peter!

Playing music for the kids!

Ruth and Peter

After leaving the orphanage we went by our favorite Bible bookstore. Next, we dropped Hannah off to catch a truffi back to Casa 1, while we went on to lunch at the home of one of the elders of our church. Mario and Helen are good friends of ours, and we wanted our parents to get to know them while they were here this time! Helen is from Scotland and Mario is Bolivian, but speaks English with a wee Scottish accent! My parents really enjoyed their time with this lovely couple. Not only was the food delicious, but the company was wonderful as well! 

Lunch with Mario and Helen!

That sums up the highlights of the first week of my parents' visit! Of course, there have been lots of games played and laundry done and all of that everyday stuff, too! I will try to give you a weekly update of their time here... At least I have gotten around to doing the first week!