Where I post lots of pictures of burgers

Our first night in Tampa we ate at the only place we could eat. Five Guys Hamburgers and Fries. It was the right thing to do.

A large order of cajun fries, because....they are the reason french fries were invented. I'm sure of it.

Bacon Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, mushrooms and pickles, please.

We have eaten there twice already, but I think I may need to go back for a third burger. That's right, need.

Love at first sight

We introduced our girls to donuts.
Dunkin' Donuts that is.
Their Yankee daddy wouldn't have it any other way.

(The fact that he is a Yankee does not mean he roots for the Yankees. It's Red Sox all the way, folks.)

Now that I've cleared that up...

Donuts.





Elena thought they were okay.

But Abbie has fallen completly in love.

This comes as no surprise to anyone that knows her.



Her Daddy is so proud.

Bloggy Slump

I haven't been around in the blogging world much because the whole "moving to another country" thing did me in. It appears that the blogging department of my head has shut down until further notice, or at least until I can finally, finally unpack my suitcases next week in New Hampshire.

We've also been busy catching up.







And one more thing...I can't believe how neat and tidy the roads are here.

Look! Everyone is in a lane! There are no potholes! No donkeys! No old cars!

It's weird.

(And kinda boring.)

Miami - The capital city of Latin America

While waiting for our lost luggage in Miami (did I mention that before??) Brian went for a walk around the hotel just to see what was out there. Maybe he didn't want to be in a small room with four women, or maybe he was hungry, but either way he made a great discovery. A small Venezuelan restaurant right around the corner from our hotel. He brought back several boxes of our favorites. Carne mechada, arepitas, queso blanco, and cachapas con queso de mano. It was great and made the Lost Luggage Wait a little more bearable.

(Another thing that made the wait more bearable was that we are all experienced travelers and always pack a clean pair of undies in our carry-on.)

Pink Shoes

I learned a couple of things while packing to move this time around. I started packing way in advance, about a month before our departure. It seemed to help my girls accept the upcoming change a lot easier because they had more time to adjust.

I also learned, that when little girls are involved there are a lot of shoes. Most of which are pink.

Our trip in bullet points.

Highlights from the trip:

• My husband yelled at a rock star while in Colombia. Turns out this rock star was very nice and apologetic. Ooops.
• We did not get to eat at the Dunkin Donuts in Lima or Bogota. We quite literally ran through both airports and almost missed both planes.
• Brian forgot our passports, tickets, baggage claim stickers, social security cards and who knows what else, at a security check point in Colombia. This involved more running.
• Elena is terrified of airport bathrooms, the flushing scares her.
• My girls were both angels and very well behaved on the trip...but still...we're all tired.
• Airplanes give you crumbs and call it a sandwich.
• My sister flew with us and was more than willing to help with the girls, but they decided they only wanted to be with me.
• I'm tired.
• We lost our luggage, but got it back the day after.
• So far we have eaten at Taco Bell and Five Guys. I would now like to eat something I don't have to unwrap to get to. Real food, please.

I'll be back to my regular blogging soon. But one more thing: If you ever need to get any information out of anyone just put them on a 18 hour trip with two toddlers. They will tell you anything just to get out of that situation.

See you soon!

What I learned my first term

In seven days our first four year term as overseas missionaries comes to an end. It flew by. Most missionaries don't make it this far, and even less leave the first term with plans of returning.

We made it and we're coming back. But only because of God's grace.

I grew up on the mission field and this helped so much, but I still learned a lot.

1. I'm not one of those women who can balance "ministry" with family. Womens Bible studies, prayer groups, one on one discipleship...all those things will have to wait. I have a family to raise. Maybe in 20 years?

2. Apart from my relationship with God, my marriage is more important than anything else. If that relationship fails, everything else does too.

3. I still hate packing.

4. Saying goodbye doesn't get easier.

5. Plans change.

6. God is in control.

And probably the biggest thing I learned this term...

7. I don't know anything.

I still have so much to learn.

Links I like

An Open Letter to the Hollywood Magazine Types - Thank you, Shannon, for putting my thoughts into words.



Black and White Holga's of New York City - I want a Holga so bad. I really, really do.



Audrey Hepburn - Oh, Audrey, I just think you're great.



Coffee Table Play Mat - How cute. Hmmm...I need to make one of these!

Sunday Suppers - In my dreams I make meals like these and then photograph them like that.

Scary toilets

Last week, while at a soccer game, Fripits had to use the potty.
We were at an indoor soccer arena, mostly used by men. The bathroom was also mostly used by men.

I'll let you do the math on that one.

I knew the bathroom would be disgusting but when a three year old has to go, she has to go.

We walked in and it was nasty.

She looked at me and asked, "Mommy, this bathroom isn't very clean, right?"

Nope. It isn't.

Then I lifted up the lid to the toilet seat, and Fripits peeked inside. It was brown, murky, and stinky.

She reacted by screaming in terror at the top of her lungs.

Finally, after the screaming subsided she begged me to taker her to her bathroom because it has a clean toilet.

That was too far away, so Mommy saved the day by putting a diaper on her and letting her go there. (Drastic times, drastic measures.)

I have traveled in many countries, and there have been times where I've wished for my bathroom with its clean toilet.

Welcome Elena, to the real world.

:)

Moo.

I would like to publicly thank the cow that gave its life so that we could eat 'asado' on Sunday.

So, thank you, cow. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.



Ah...Sunday afternoon asados. It's one of the best things about Paraguay.

Boo boo.

So, last Saturday at youth group I suffered an on the job injury. I was minding my own business, playing with my camera, standing in the corner. There was a game involving a small ball going on, and I'm allergic to all sports, it's true, so I stand as far away as possible.

Then I got hit in the face with ball. It was kicked clear across the auditorium and landed right on my upper jaw bone.

This made everyone laugh.

Sure, guys laugh.

It's a good thing they didn't hit the camera...or else heads would have rolled.

Better my face than my camera.