Makes my heart smile

I don't sponsor Gabriela so she will write me, but it does make my heart sing when she does.

How Rumors Get Started

Corinn: I think we should get rid of the dogs.
Me: We can give them to Micah. He likes dogs.
Clay: Micah eats dogs?!
Corinn: Yeah, they're his favorite.

Conversations with My Children

Me: Stop harassing me!
Clay: Be thankful I'm harassing you. At least I'm paying attention to you!
--------------------

Me: How's Matt?
Aaron: Good

Me: How's Brad?
Aaron: Good

Me: How's Crystal
Aaron: Good
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Callie: OH MY GOSH! Clay has those glasses! (Looking at the cover of Rolling Stone)
Me: Don't you know who that is?
Callie: It's Bono.
Me: And he gave the glasses to Clay.
Callie: I know!
Me: Then why are you surprised to see them on Bono?
(And yes, I know he has many pairs of those glasses.)
Callie: I don't know.

Callie: Are we going to the Smith's tonight?
Me: No, we're going Saturday night.
Callie: Are we going to the wedding?
Me: No, we're going to the Smith's!
Callie: Are we going to the Smith's tonight?
Me: NO!

Hairspray

Part of my family went to see "Hairspray" this afternoon. I know it has been out for a while, but when you have 5 kids, sometimes it takes longer to get to the movies. Being a fan of good musicals, I loved it. However, something did surprise me. I cried. Racism has always bothered me. Growing up in a small East Texas town, it was all around me. My parents were very good at teaching us there was no difference. It insulated me to the reality of what was going on in my community. Even though extended family members made their beliefs known, I didn't realize how deep it ran. Now that I'm older, it is very plain to me that there was quite a chasm.

I don't understand racism. Especially when it is spouted by "never miss a Sunday" church goers.
It blows my mind. Sometimes I just stand with my jaw dropped. Sometimes I speak. I've got to learn to speak more. As Motormouth Maybelle sings, "'Cause just to sit still would be a sin".

Back From The Yucatan

Twins! The pastor's wife had no idea that she was
carrying twins until she delivered them. Surprise!

It's Monday. We got back Thursday night. This is the first time I have felt the desire to blog. Our time in the Yucatan was special. There were many beautiful things to see and the people we met were wonderful. I lost count of the villages we visited. We were suppose to go to five different ones, but in the world of missions you must remember a very important word - Flexibility. We flexed a lot. During our time in the first village, my 12 year old came to me and said, "These kids have nothing, but they're so happy." Of course we saw that over and over during our week. It was a good lesson for all of us.

I want one of these tricycles! It would be great to pick up groceries. One of the men let me test his out. I managed not to kill our music minister.





This is one of my buddies. I was helping her make her bracelet. Isn't she beautiful? She kept staring at me. I guess she had never seen anything so strange before!

















I bought a hammock for my family from the lady who made it. Think about this - I'm 5'4".
She only charged me $10. If I had bought it in the city it would have been $20-$30. I cut out the middle man and made a friend.
















As we began to leave on night this woman, the wife of the man that let me ride his tricycle, brought me this tortilla cover. Her 18 year old daughter makes them to sell. She and her husband presented it as a gift. I was so touched!

The people of this church fed us a wonderful dinner. It consisted of what I call "tapas", tiny soft tacos on homemade corn tortillas. Good stuff! Also at this church there was a door that I had to duck to get through. Again, I'm 5'4".









My daughter, Corinn, makes a friend in Ek Balam. Mayan temple ruins were discovered by outsiders in the late 90's. They are being excavated now. Soon this sleepy little village will be a hot tourist spot. It already has one "eco-hotel".

Clay makes some friends. This is at the Ek Balam's village square. There is no church here, but there is a Mayan missionary, Ramone, that wants to start one soon.
















Randy, the puppet master, and my daughter, Callie, showing off their dance moves during one of the puppet songs. I never got to see this live because I always had my hand up a puppet's hiney.

My Darling Kiddos

My darling kiddos.
Corinn, Clay, Aaron, Callie, Haley
The picture says it all.

my daughter

my oldest daughter is home from college. she has been working hard to shock me. so far it has been a wash. i taught high school freshmen this past year. if they didn't knock me off my guard, i don't think she will.