November fun!

Vacation Bible School at Las Marias church.

Story time!

Enjoyed watching these ladies participate in the coloring activity with the children.

Coloring activities

I made it home just in time for Michelle’s court hearing. Very thankful the adoption was finally granted : )

So thankful to be with my Dad’s family (minus three) once again for Thanksgiving.

July-October 2011

Christmas in July = lots of fun!!

Our classroom competition winners waiting for their treat at the ice cream shop!

Yum!

Our float for the September 15th parade.

They celebrate Kid’s Day in October. This is the group that came to Child Evangelism Fellowship’s Kid’s Day activity.

Having fun with puppets at another Kid’s Day celebration!

Pizza party on the last day of school!!

Awards Banquet 2011!

CEBE’s staff, students, parents and siblings. One big family!!!

I am going to miss this special girl.

Celebrating a high school graduation with a special friend.

Another graduation celebration with a very special friend.

October is the birthday month for this special girl!

She’s enjoying one of her favorites – bean tostadas – at her birthday party!

Enjoying being together at the birthday party!

April – June 2011

April: Easter program!

Our first field trip, besides a small one they did in Kindergarten.

Field trip to the Children’s Museum in Guatemala City.

After the museum we enjoyed a stroll through the zoo!

Tired after a fun-filled day!

Look what came to Guatemala. Seems kind of weird to see it there.

But that’s not all . . .

Starbucks finally made its appearance, too. Sorry for the shadow but I was trying to hurry before making a big scene. The guard probably thought I was a little crazy taking a picture of their sign = )

My first and only visit, thus far, was for a special birthday treat!

Celebrating Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day!

June included a quick mid-year vacation, which meant Aunt Ria made a quick trip to OH.

It was great to be with family and friends for a few days.

January – March 2011

Here is the start of the promised review of the 2011 year. Enjoy!

January: Time to start our new school year. We are thankful for twenty-seven precious students.

February: Valentine’s Day fun!

“Honey, if you love me please smile. . .

. . . I am sorry. I love you, but I just can’t smile.” We had fun with that game!

Enjoyed a special visit from some very special friends.

So good to have them!

A fun day together!

Lots of fun on the cables!

Come visit me again, amigos! Mi casa es tu casa ; )

5, 4, 3, 2, . . .

We were stuck on “2″ for a few days, but have finally made it down to “1″ in our countdown of the remaining school days of our 2011 school year! Did you hear the “YAHOO!”? I can assure you that many hearts are more than thrilled with the thought of “summer” vacation right around the corner. The school year was supposed to have ended last Friday, but due to weather conditions out of our control our plans were changed. Classes were suspended nationwide last Thursday and Friday due to the continuous rainfall. Thank the Lord, we are fine here in Jalapa and are not considered a disaster zone, like many other areas. Many lives have been taken and many houses destroyed.  Please pray for those who are suffering. I must say that I was more than disappointed with the news of suspended classes (first time for everything, huh?)  but God gently reminded me that there were many others who were in far worse situations than what I found myself facing. I still have a house, a warm, dry place to sleep at night, more than enough clothes and food and the list goes on. I tried to change my tune and be grateful and flexible!

Saturday we continued with the awards banquet as had been planned.  I thank the Lord for a nice evening and for all the accomplishments of the students throughout the year; they have worked hard!

The children slowly trickled in this morning as the rain continued. Several were unsure if we were actually supposed to be there, but we were given permission to go ahead and finish our testing since an official announcement had not been given.  Lord willing, tomorrow the majority of them will complete their work before we end the school year with a pizza party!

Please remember us in prayer as we finish all the final paperwork, end-of-year tasks and make some important decisions and plans for the 2012 school year. One specific area that we really need God’s help is in choosing ten out of the twenty, more or less, candidates for Kindergarten.  I know that God knows exactly who needs to be in the school and I pray that He will give us wisdom.

 

I will do my best to give a little more attention to this neglected blog. Hopefully, a summary of our 2011 school year will follow within the next few weeks.

Special Times. Special People.

It was so good to be with family!

Thankful that we have been blessed with four special additions over the past several years : )

Three precious blessings in my life!

Why must they grow up so quickly? A teenager and first grader already . . .

Buds!

Miss this little guy . . . and will miss hearing his sweet voice call for “Raw raw.”

Thankful for another opportunity to visit my great-grandmother.

Love this picture . . . and love even more the special lady that is in it : )

And we can’t forget the special times with friends. Enjoyed seeing all of you (including my Cincinnati friends – sorry we didn’t get any pictures).

I “enjoyed” the snow and am thankful that it stayed around for Christmas Day. But, oh, am I even more thankful for warmer weather!!