Teachers

I figured I would probably go into pediatrics speech therapy for my career. However, sometimes the more time I spend surrounded by small children, the better geriatrics speech therapy looks...

Truly, I do love my kids. And yes, I still want to have my own someday in a good seven to ten years from now. Teaching takes SO much stinkin' energy though! Missionaries may be applauded when they go and teach for a year. The real heroes are the teachers that keep coming back each fall somehow ready or at least willing to tackle another year.

Hats off to you, teachers. I appreciate all of my teachers immensely, and each of them has impacted my life. If you are a teacher, Thank You.

My Face Hurts.

I have a wisdom tooth that decided to start coming in again, and I am in pain. The glands on the left side of my neck are swollen too. Basically, my face hurts, and I miss having someone to baby me every once in a while.

Lack of Sleep

When I was little, I begged for it.
Whined for it.
Worked for it.
But my parents made me go to bed.

In middle school, I went to friends' houses for it.
Lived for it.
Laughed at it.
Candy pretty much cured problems.

In high school, it became a way of life.
I got used to it.
Napped to fix it.
And tried to convince myself I was fine.

In college, it seemed inevitable.
I tried to avoid it.
But I had to accept it.
Because those papers had to be finished.

This is my first year of not being a student in thrirteen years.

I decided I could not deal with Lack of Sleep anymore.
But sometimes it sneaks back.

Like a familiar dreary friend,
That clings and brings you down.
Lack of Sleep was tough today,
But I'm not letting it stick around.

Sunday Success.

Quite the switch from Jamaica Night, tonight we had nice home style comfort food for me! Scalloped potatoes, corn on the cob, choplets (veggie meat), fresh tomatoes, and even fried zucchini.

Today was well over 90 in our house, not sure how much hotter it was outside. All I know is, our clothes dried in record time, and I have never been so happy to see a fan! Miss Jessie went to Teguc today and came back with three fans for our house. She couldn't have picked a better day. We are thrilled to have fans for our rooms. Our house only had one, but no one wanted to hog it, so we basically never used it.

Putting them together...

Success! We got so much done today. We did laundry, cleaned our rooms, the bathroom, the kitchen, menu planned, grocery shopped, cooked supper, and even had time to bake some brownies and relax at the end of the day. I got to catch up with Steven's mom and see my grandparents on Skype for the first time! I'm going to miss this kind of success next year when I am surrounded and swimming in loads of information and textbooks. I can't believe it's almost April.

Jamaican Night!

Nelly chopping up the jerk chicken

Every month (more or less) we get together to celebrate different cultures with some friends of Pastor Roy and Miss Norma and the other missionaries.

Yummy! Two types of chicken, fried plantains, salad, and coconut rice. Everyone chipped in. We also had ginger "beer" and sorrel on the table. Dessert came later :).

Kadian ran the presentation. Pastor Roy saved the day by letting us use his Wi-fi internet.

Learning about Jamaica

Our lovely host. She is seriously one of the cutest ladies ever! So expressive.

The girls told me that I am an "adopted Jamaican"!

"Don't worry, Kadian darling, I'll help you with the England night." all said in Emily's best British accent. Kadian--classic look.

Papa B and Emily serenaded Kadian with "It's a jolly holiday with Mary..." from Mary Poppins after Papa B told us that it is his favorite movie. Notice Ashley cracking up in the back! lol. The night was a grand success, the food was a hit, and we all learned more about Jamaica.

Jamaican Gizzada

Remember the blog I wrote about chopping and shredding those coconuts? Well this was the reason behind the madness. Gizzada--a truly Jamaican pastry. Though the date has been changed twice, tonight is officially Jamaican night. Kadian and I were in charge of dessert. This picture is the dough after I finished mixing it together and cutting it into a "bread crumb" like consistency.

Kadian set to work on the coconut filling.

After the dough set in the fridge, I got to work rolling it out and shaping the pastries.

Cute and rather time consuming.

Next the crust had to bake for about 15 minutes.

Then we filled them with the sweetened caramelized DELICIOUS coconut and put them back in the oven for about 15 more minutes.

Ready to come out.

I'm pretty excited to eat them tonight! The girls have been working on the jerk chicken, sorrel, ginger beer (not alcoholic), and other people are bring the rice & peas and plantains. Yummmm.

P.S. Here's the recipe we used ;) http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink/gizzada.htm. We pretty much followed it exactly except that Kadian added a little cinnamon to the coconut too.

Love These Kids.

Some of my sweetest little Prepa A girls

Kindergarten AM busily working

Katherine (Kat-er-reen). Such a sweetie.

Giuli (like Julie). She really likes coloring in pretty girly colors. One time, she drew a nice hippie flower in Jesus' hair.

Emily & Emilio!

Maria and Jose Adrian

Jose Eduardo sings "A sunbeam, a sunbeam..."

"Jesus wants me for a sunbeam!"

Dylan ^_^ SO cute.

My darling little Ely.

Andrea and Bethany came all the way from Walla Walla to visit! They were both missionaries here two years ago with my friend Kayla. It was so fun to hear their stories and get to know them a little bit while they were here for a couple days.

Henry is in 1st B. Let me tell you, hearing him say "panqueque" (pancake) is one of my favorite things.

Eating lunch in the teachers room.

Yum yum.

Fernando is such a good kid.

Mia is adorable.

Alejandro was born camera ready. This kid loves the attention.

Jose David is such a sweet sensitive soul. Sometimes he cries when he thinks he is being ignored. It's really sad.

Caleb is learning Spanish! I am so proud of him.

Gabriela's got a special place in my heart <3

Speaking of my heart, I've gotten two new letters since I talked to Steven in January. He seems to be doing really well. I'll know more in another week or so, because there is another letter coming my way! We write each other every week, but the mail is so terribly slow. This is the rose I bought myself for our 16 months :).