2012 Winter in California

Sorry these are so random. It's a smattering of the things we've been doing to keep ourselves occupied while we've been waiting to move into our new home.

This is Naomi sitting on my lap at the children's science museum in Santa Ana. She is watching Dora the Explorer (puppet/mascot), and, though Dora is some distance from us, Naomi is keeping her eye on that puppet, just in case any evasive action needs to be taken.

Outside of the science museum: Adara placed the sticker over her own mouth with no prompting. Hmmm. . .

Just an average view of Keenan at breakfast.

Nana and Poppy came to visit and we all went to the Santa Ana zoo. The carousel animals were exsquisite!

Keenan stew?

My Sweet, Simple Life

These are some of the perks that arise in the midst of the hubbub of raising three young children:

Naomi finally has enough hair for pigtails.

Look at that red!

Little angel face. Well, sort of.

There is a river walk by the temporary housing we're staying in.

My father-in-law described this as an inter-racial couple.

Here We Go . . .

Well, here goes nothing. My first attempt at real storytelling. It's a first draft. I'm posting it because I haven't really done creative writing since, like, the 9th grade. I'd love to know how you like it. And if I lose you anywhere, tell me where I lost you and if you have a suggestion on where I should have taken you instead.

Working Title: "Worldly Love"

“Just like a cartoon.” That's what Jon thought as he fell off a cliff. When he woke up he could feel the blood starting to dry on his face. He remembered washing in the stream, tying his shirt around the gash on his head. It didn't stop the blood, though, so he just put the shirt back on. The next thing he remembered, he was following the river through the jungle. 

He was in Bolivia teaching English as part of a mission trip for his church. It had been over a month and he couldn't speak Spanish. It was frustrating, and he just needed to get away for awhile.


A short walk from the village was a ridge that looked out over the jungle. From the top of that ridge, Jon could see glimpses of the river below. He went down.


It was late afternoon when he decided to start back to the village. Santiago de Chiquitos. There was nothing else nearby except for mountains and jungle. Dense jungle. Jon couldn't find the path he'd followed down to the river. And he didn't have much time. Being in the jungle overnight was not a possibility in his mind.


When he saw the cliff, maybe 15 or 20 feet at most, he was desperate. He’d climbed about 10 feet up before the sandstone crumbled out from underneath him, condemning him for his youthful . . . he balked as the word “stupidity” came to his mind. Consciously, he re-worked the thought: The sandstone had permitted his adventurous impulse for a commendable 10 feet before it succumbed to the pressure.


The sun was moving more quickly now. He thought he saw a girl leading him through the jungle, but his consciousness was fading in and out so he wasn't sure. Her dark hair and white dress made him think she was a school girl from the village.


"I've never seen such ugly girls," he thought. His girlfriend in America was a pretty blonde California girl. Even though he didn't like his hometown, he wished he were there now. His head was still gushing blood, he was most likely hallucinating, and he thought he heard a puma snarling. Then he saw it up ahead: the path back to the village.


***********************************************************

David crouched in the dirt of the school yard, plotting with his friends, their faces the same color as the ground. They watched the gringo English teacher talking to some kids nearby. When he left, David approached Mateo, the tallest in the group.


"That teacher likes you," he said simply.


"Why do I care?"


"He's doesn't know Spanish! Let's have a little fun with him."


"He's our teacher, David! I don't want to get in trouble."


"Mateo, this teacher isn't like the others. I think he can take a joke."


"Yeah, you're probably right. Let's have some fun. What do you have in mind?"


***********************************************************


The next morning David and Mateo watched carefully as the nuns inspected their classroom.


"Hola mamacita. Que tal?" Jon smiled hos most charming smile as he greeted the Mother Superior. The children struggled not to laugh out loud.

It was founded as a Jesuit Mission.  The train from Santa Cruz stopped frequently as herds of cattle ambled across the tracks. Then you had to take the bus through the mountain roads, narrow ledges with steep cliffs dropping down. Jon noticed several times when the exterior wheels of the bus were partly touching the road, and mostly spinning in mid-air.

Success!

Listening to music with Adara today:

First she asked to listen to some songs from the movie, "Tangled."

Then, she asked to listen to Weird Al Yankovic's song, "White and Nerdy."

I have faith that the princess phase will end someday. But a childhood appreciation for Weird Al Yankovic, I know from experience, is something that will last a lifetime. :)

(Below is a recent picture of Adara. Sorry it's out of focus. It's the best I was able to capture.)

Homonyms

I'm lovin the four year old learning process. Today Adara said, "I know. . . . I know. Why does it say "know" when it has the word "no" in it?"

Skunk Award

Well now, this is different. I've been chosen to receive an award. And a most appropriate one, I might add. It is, apparently, for people who make us feel (and smell) better. Now I am supposed to pass it on. And while I'm not sure that much can be done about my smell (or rather, the smell of people (a.k.a., babies) and things (a.k.a., smelly diapers) with which I am surrounded), there are plenty of people who make me feel better, and who also have blogs. I think my friend nathalia at Me and Ma Vie is my top choice.

Now to name one thing about myself that I like. I like that I am sympathetic. In my sunday school classes when I was a kid, I was taught to seek out people who seemed lonely or different and to be their friend. Since I moved all the time and had a hard time making new friends, I could identify with the feeling of being left out or just new and unknown. So I have always made an effort to look at how someone must be feeling and then make an effort to be a friend.

Ok, Ms. Nathalia. Your turn. (If you dare!)

Granddaddy

My granddad passed away this morning. It's hard to lose a grandparent, even when you feel like you didn't know them that well.

Of course, I did stop and visit my grandparents as I was traveling from Georgia to California. That was only two weeks ago. So there is a small comfort in that. And I got to spend a few weeks with him and my grandmother almost 10 years ago when all three of us serendipitously ended up in Germany at the same time.

Before my visit two weeks ago, though, it's been years since I last saw my granddad. He and grandma went to Utah for several visits, and I actually made it to one or two of those visits. But I still never knew what to really talk about. Even for those two weeks in Germany. Don't get me wrong; granddad is an extraordinary man. He rose from shop sweeper to airline pilot to retirement all with the same company.

So -- that picture at the top of this post is pretty much the only picture I have ever personally taken of my granddad. His holding Adara, who was a little less than one month old in this picture.