marcos and nene have doctor's appointments tomorrow morning...they're getting blood drawn and they weren't allowed to eat after lunch today until their appointment is over tomorrow. yikes. were going to mcdonalds after the doctor!

well let's see what has been happening here lately.
sunday i went to roca de salvacion...eliseo usually picks me up halfway between gabriel house and church. i texted him like an hour before the service, asking if he could pick me up. he never wrote back but i went to the place anyways and was waiting and waiting and finally was like okay they're not coming. i went to catch a bus to begin the adventure of figuring out how to get to roca de salvacion, and the first one that went by didn't stop! i was waving my arm like a crazy and everything. slightly annoyed but determined to get to church somehow, i kept waiting for a bus. 2 minutes later, caleb (eliseo's brother) pulls up. i was like, God you are just so funny sometimes.

i saw an ad for mcdonald's happy meals, but here it's called una cajita feliz - a happy little box. i think that is just the most hilarious thing.

sunday was day of the family (no one could believe that doesn't exist in the states - or does it? i've never heard of it...) and after church i went out to eat with pastor cande and his family. i was like guys, are you sure you want me here? it's day of the family! you should be with family! and caleb goes i thought you were my sister. what's going on here? cande and angelica were like please, don't even start. that whole family is just awesome.

sunday night i drove some of the ladies home - when it rains the buses stop running. i got to know las flores, their little town, very well...too well. whole roads covered in water that covered the wheels of the car as i was driving through it...trenches so deep we got motion sickness from being jostled around (and i was going SO slowly)...you get the idea. craziness. then i got up at 5:30 this morning to pick them up and do it all over again. it was rough, but then i think about the women who work here and do that every single time they come to work, whether they have a ride, or money for the bus, or not.

no classes today...it poured all weekend and everything's soaked and it's cold. i keep reminding myself that i would much rather have all this rain than snow. really.
i got to work with marcos for a long time which was great. he does so well when he works one on one - it's affirming for him and for me!

awhile ago, martin told me about a standing invitation we have at the gymnasium in maneadero. every monday and friday, there's a group of senior citizens who meet at the gym for a couple hours. i'm not exactly sure what they do, but we thought that would be cool to bring the kids to hang out with them and also play in the huge gym. i wanted to bring all the boys and all the kids down below, but after the red van became too dangerous to drive (and there's no money to fix it, so it looks like all trips are on hold for at least the next couple weeks...) and the fact that they boys had been to my house yesterday for lunch, we decided it would be best to take the kids down below in the white van. nene, pilar, josue, ruben, and the two women who work with them, luz and marisol, and i loaded up into the white van and headed to the gym! the kids were so excited and kept saying everything they saw when they were in the car (store! truck! gas station! sun! tacos! people!) and they didn't even understand the best was yet to come hahaha

the senior citizens weren't at the gym but that turned out to be okay...we had free rein of the entire place. it was awesome.



we brought some exercise balls to kick around...it worked way better than regular size soccer balls because these kids don't have the best hand-eye coordination.


josue, ruben, luz, pilar, irene, marisol


then we went to a park nearby! the same one i've taken the boys to. josue and ruben were on this spinny thing the entire hour and a half we were at the park. eek.


nene loves swings...we have some where they live down below, but they don't go very high because there's a fence behind them. now if we could just teach her how to do it on her own...

here's a video... if you look on the right hand side where it says more from: hilary holbrook you'll see a bunch more.

so chuy cancelled classes on thursday because it had rained the night before and supposedly it was supposed to keep raining all day long. i have been wanting to have the boys over for lunch for awhile, ever since renie suggested it.
josue (with the helmet) and i went to the store to get some sandwich stuff, and then we sat outside the bistecito and watched the cars go by. every truck that went by was like the first one he'd ever seen - MIRA! un camion! ooooooooh! (look! a truck!) it was so fun to watch him get so excited.
then the boys and marcos came over. we had ham and cheese sandwiches or pb and j...these kids eat their sandwiches piece by piece. it's so strange! first the bread, then the cheese, then the lettuce, then the ham, then the bread. yuck.
they spent some time cleaning up, which was awesome...tonio asked me if he could wash the dishes, and then alex and jose wanted to clean stuff too. it was great!



alex and jose were absolutely fascinated by the microwave.


everyone minus sergio...he was sitting at the table with woody.


i didn't put him up to this...i promise.


really...

went to roca de salvacion for the thursday night service....just got back! it's late, i'm tired, and i'll catch up tomorrow. i had the boys over for lunch today and have some great pictures that i'll post :)

as i'm writing this, i hear the occasional thud and clomping around of someone that could only be alex. he's upstairs, spending the night at angelica's (the supervisor) house. she has an 11 year old son, joshua, who is awesome. he loves hanging out with the boys, and they think he's just the coolest kid ever. he also has a psp, which takes it to the next level. alex has been talking about this all day, and he even gelled his hair. gelled hair = special event. church, the library, and joshua's house are some of the only things worthy of gelled hair. i'm so happy that they can do stuff like this.

we added all the march events to our calendar - lots of things are happening this month! the big brother group is coming, a group from roca de salvacion is coming to work, we're going to visit alex, jose, and tonio's sister in tecate, a group from azusa pacific is coming, jan from mex med, some of her friends, and my mom are coming, and lourdes and my brother are coming. whew! so exciting.

we had ceviche for dinner tonight. they hardly ever make it with just fish, instead, it's made with soy, tuna, veggies, lime juice, cilantro, and chile. you eat it on top of a tostada with a little mayonnaise and chile. YUM.

jose, out of all the boys, is the one who loves to make up stories. and he NEVER forgets them. a while ago, a dog that lives around here ran down the steps toward my house. i was joking around and said how it was going to go in my apartment because i accidentally left my door open (not really) and alex and jose just thought that was the funniest thing ever...so i kept going. i said he was going to sleep in my bed, use my toothbrush, eat all my food, use my computer...and so on. so whenever we see that dog run by, jose just loses it, laughing so hard, and then we have to retell the story to anyone nearby, and anyone who may walk by in the next couple hours. today jose went inside to shower but left his backpack outside. he told me to keep an eye on it, in case the dog came by, and i was like, look jose, i'll do my best, but you never know. this dog is crazy. while he was inside, alex and i hid his backpack and knocked over my water, to make it look like the dog came by.

this is video is when he came back outside, and me telling him what happened.

look jose - the dog drank my water. he knocked it over. and he left with your backpack. i was too scared! i couldn't do anything. his huge teeth...he was going to bite me. he has your backpack. i'm really sorry, but i couldn't do anything. my water got knocked over, it was the dog's fault!

his laugh is priceless.