¡Viva la Vida!

Vigilantes

All throughout the night you will hear whistles being blown throughout the town... at first I was unsure as to who these guys all were and why they blew the whistles. There was a man that wore dark clothing and lurked in the shadows of our neighbors house, and he kind of creeped me out the first two months we were here. One day he appeared at our gate to ask if we would like for him to guard our house as well. I was a bit rellieved to find out why this man was out all hours of the night watching everyone walk by as he hid in the darkness. This guy makes 100 cordobas (about $6 USD) per month for each house he watches. He works seven days a week, from 9 pm until 4 am. He blows his whistle outside each house he guards so that we know he is working. I don't know what would happen should someone try to break in, but it is encouraging to know he is out there watching! Not only him, but there are dozens like him all over the place. A person can walk safely all about town and be assured they are being watched.

New pics!

I'm loaded some new photos into our Photo Album...just click on the photo album icon on the right side of your screen and scroll down to the bottom to the the latest pictures.

Morning Assembly

This is a typical picture of our morning assembly at Centro Educativo Nueva Generacion (New Generation School).

Swimming Hole

Went swimming this afternoon in a volcanic lake. We decided we needed a break from this heat! It has been uncomfortably hot for the past few days. The sun has been strong, and we have been sticky hot. Hotel Norome is pretty, but they wanted a lot of money just to swim. We are hoping to find the Monkey Shack next time.

Laundry Room

The saga of the cell phone/internet continues, as we now know we do not get a good digital signal inside the house. We have resorted to holding the cell phone way above our heads while we type with one hand in order to have the privilege of netting from home. Last night found us outside in the laundry room with the computer perched upon the washing machine as we tried to get a signal enough to email a few people. This is so hilarious!

Stomach Viruses

Last Thursday, our six year old had to come home from school because he was throwing up and had diarrhea. The Nicaraguans all around us immediately panic when someone doesn't feel well. They had the doctor at the house that afternoon. She said he had an infection because he had a fever and wanted him to immediately go on antibiotic shots and whatnot. I decided to wait it out for a little bit because I had the sneaking suspicion it was just a virus. Sure enough, the kid was bouncing around like normal after about twelve hours!

Last night our nine year old was up all night vomiting and going to the bathroom. Poor guy. He had nothing left in his body to get rid of! He is sleeping next to me, occasionally moaning in his sleep as his stomach cramps yet again. We'll wait this out at least until this afternoon if I can keep the Nicas from panicking once again!

Blogging from home

It seems we are really coming into our own now here in Nicaragua. Now we have internet access from home through Bellsouth Mobile. We are typing from the comforts of home! Please rejoice with us in this HUGE step forward!

34 kids...!

In the first grade classroom. They can't read. They can't write. They have no books. They have very limited attention spans. They are so incredibly cute. They are so incredibly frustrating (at times!). But they can count in English, glory to God! And they love to show it off!

Home Sweet Home

Friday night at 1 am the adventurers roled into town. They were sleepy, but adrenaline-rushed after a whole day of crossing borders and trying to get home. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning hearing stories of the adventurous trip. Thank God they arrived home safely and still friends!

The car is a definite blessing. After eight months without having a car we are thinking about the potential changes that come with having one! We can go to Managua to the movies when we want. We can venture to the beach or even to Costa Rica if we want! Wow! What opportunities!

Greg and Victor should be home this weekend, but they are only able to bring one of Victor's boys with them. The other two have to stay in Mexico and wait for their passports from the US. They will be with Angela's sister Rachelle. We are all anxious to see Greg again and have our family intact.