the family is happily on the beach in michigan, and the countdown continues. in less than a week i'll be in mexico with andrew and the rest of the team from hrc.

on a heavier note, gabriel house has lost another child. her name was lupita, and she was 4. jan from mexican medical said that she had spent a lot of her life in a hospital bed, and it was a merciful death. still a hard time for everyone involved, so please keep them in your prayers.

looking forward to updating you from mexico!

well, in 3 weeks i'll be in mexico. i am so excited i can hardly stand it. packing has begun and it's kind of a disaster, but it will get done somehow.

i just placed a big order for children's books in spanish and am always looking for more, preferably used, to decrease the cost. if you're interested in adding to the collection at gabriel house, please let me know! books can be sent right to the mexican medical (www.mexicanmedical.com) office, where they will be brought down to the kids as soon as possible. i'm really excited about this because i LOVE to read to kids, and i think this will be a great way to connect with them while my spanish is improving (in leaps and bounds, hopefully!).

thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for your support in every way, shape and form. watch for something in your mailbox in the coming weeks!