Failure. Again.

Oh my readers, my readers. I have failed. Again. I thought for SURE I'd be more consistent at posting once a week or so but I have let you (all 5 of you) down. And I am truly sorry. Please don't leave. I need you. My bloggy-world security is depending on you!

Alrighty, done with the guilt-trip tactic.

Before I post TONS of pictures from this past month I have a very blog-worthy story to tell. So don't skip to the pics!

One night last week we had supper on the street outside one of our favorite restaurant/snack joints. We pay about 5 dollars to have 4 to 5 fried, puffy, & free-radical-laden pastry thingies along with a smoothie. Good deal huh? (you probably just had a heart attack, Mrs. E...but don't worry, pretty soon we will be thousands of miles away from this joint!) The owners have an adorable little girl Karis' age that sometimes comes around. Well, this night she came and hung out with us most of the time just talking away (and receiving blank stares from Karis who couldn't understand what she was saying.) Now, if you are like I was before I moved overseas and you wonder how a family can live overseas and yet their little kiddos don't speak the native language, well...I know what you mean. I didn't understand that either 'til we did move overseas and had a child. You see, it takes SO much effort to speak a 2nd language to your child in the house. Why should I take the time to say "you, daughter, clean toys in your room" and sound like a non-fluent speaker of the native language when I can say, without thinking "ok, time to clean up your room!"??

If we come back after furlough I do have a plan in place for Karis to learn. But until then, English in the home is what it will be!

So after that excuse I shall continue with my story. So here we are munching down on our $5 heart attacks and this little girl is just talking and talking when Karis decides she really wants to talk to the girl, too! She says "Mom, can I tell her that on my next birthday I'm going to be four?" and I reply "Sure! but uh, well, she won't understand you because she doesn't speak English."

You could see the wheels spinning. Kachunk, Kachunk, Kachunk. Then, after about 15 seconds of silence Karis looks up at the girl, holds out four fingers and says "wa ba dooby da da!" I looked at Jonathan, trying hard not to laugh and then back at Karis who was contentedly munching down on supper, once again.

After I thought about it I realized how genius my child is after all. She used a lot of logic in that situation. The little girl says things she can't understand so as long as she says something that even she can't understand, surely the little girl will. I know, I know....a real prodigy.


Oops, these pictures are from before our big trip, actually. A little carnival-type-thing came into town for a few weeks with several rides that would inspire one to write out a will before daring to go on one of those rides. For the longest time we couldn't understand what Karis was talking about when she would ask "Are the cartoons open?" We thought it was a strange way of asking to watch T.V. but one day as we were passing by the carnival she said "Look, the cartoons ARE open! Can we go?" And then it clicked. And because she isn't spoiled, and because she doesn't have both of us wrapped around her little finger we said "no, we are going over to so-and-so's house for supper." And then after supper we took her back....at 10pm, to ride a few rides.

Thankfull this halfway-safe ride was her favorite.

This one may appear to look safe, but don't let looks deceive you. Sure, it's a cute little caterpillar and yeah, it only travels at 1-2 mph. But let me tell you, I feared more for my life on the back of that thing than I did on the huge roller coaster rides at Six Flags. As you can probably tell, this picture was taken BEFORE the ride began (hence the smile on my face). Karis naively enjoyed it but after that it was back to the truck ride, for Mama's life just flashed before her eyes. And continued to flash before her eyes the whole 10 minutes that caterpillar would NOT stop going around and around the 50-year-old track that sounded and felt like it was about to break into a million pieces.

A "Jump-o-line." A great alternitive. NO. MORE. CATERPILLAR.

The highschool had a great banquet right before we left on our big trip.

Ok, now post trip. We have a huge city a few hours from here that has donuts!

One more churrasco before the folks head back.

And a camp-fire underneath the stars. I mean, carport.

Karis' friend (practically sister), Kiera, hung out with us that night.

It doesn't matter how badly they may be fighting, the wonderful solution is to grab the camera and yell "say cheese!" Suddenly, all is ok in the world.

It is such a wonderful, yet humiliating thing to be married to a man who can do anything. He is so mechanically inclined and I am...well, not-so-mechanically-inclined. The only kind of questions I ever get asked are "Should I wear this shirt tonight?" I'm afraid as a wife I am rather dependant on my husband's knowhow. But, just when I was feeling completely useless an opportunity presented itself! And it involved HIS green baby! Sure, it was spreading apart little pieces of metal with a screwdriver that had been smooshed by little bugs on the highway. But still, I did something useful. And I even got my picture taken for it....

So if ever there is a time when my mechanically-inclined husband is tempted to remind me of how useful he is, I can say "but dear, remember the time I sweated over your truck and pulled apart little metal thingies that had been smooshed by bugs?" Ah, I look forward to that day.