These trees bloomed a couple weeks ago on our playground. The little guy is Joaquin, one of my students. He is super sweet, and always gives me nice sweaty-headed hugs right on my tummy during recess that leave wet marks on my shirt. :)

Kindergarten

Sunday Swim

Today James and Jenny brought their kids over to go swimming. They have three boys: Coy 6, Cy 3, and Cade 8mo. We spend lots of time with them...we are grateful for their friendship!

Halo

When we got out of church today this was in the sky...very cool...a little lower in the sky was another rainbow but a horizontal one. Chad looked it up online and it was called something "halo", I've already forgotten. I guess it happens a lot in the arctic because of ice particles in the air. Here it probably has something do to with the moisture and smoke in the air. September and October are always smoky here due to the farmers burning their fields.

Man, I need to have our camera handy.

The funniest thing happened the other day during kindergarten recess. I was watching the kids, and they were, you know, running and screaming, playing monster, swinging, chasing each other, screaming, all the things little kids do. Then something caught my eye. Out in the field sat two of my students, Joaquin and Andres, MEDITATING. Sitting cross-legged with their hands resting on their knees and their fingers in meditiation position. I smiled out loud if that's possible...I watched them for a few minutes and decided to make my way out there and ask them what they were doing. They said they knew someone that does it..i asked who and they told me one of the first graders. Then Joaquin said in his broken english , "yeah, and in chinese they do." So I told them that a good thing to do while meditating is to pray because you are being quiet and still...they just nodded and smiled, so I left them to it, and they resituated themselves and started it up again. Andres sat there the rest of recess time...so cute. Where did they get that??:)

I know we have been maybe not so good at the blogging. Here goes another try.

This summer Chad came back to Bolivia for two weeks with a team from Faith E. These are a couple of pictures of that trip and also a picture taken on my birthday in Montana with my sister Cara and her husband Gabe.

This one is for Gina
I have a friend who lives far away,
china to be exact.
Just today i heard from her,
and she asked me with friendly tact:

"Why don't you ever update your blog?"
(She is a master at blogging, you see)
I don't know how, but in between everything else,
she has time to inspire me.

Inspire you how? you may want to know.
oh man, where do i start?
she has mommying and wifing and gro-cer-y shopping
down to a very fine art.

So now, although it has been so long,
I will post this blog today.
In honor of Gina, who, though its been ages,
remains my friend....Hoooray!

Cheezy? oh well. It just comes out.
It comes from my mother, you see.
SHE is the reason I make silly sweet rhymes.
She's done it since before I was three.

So now, I guess this poem of mine
has become a tribute to two.
my mom, to whom I give far away hugs
and my friend, who I wish you all knew.

Christmas

Starting in November, I think, Chad and Molly made a deal that for every episode of Gillmore Girls that Chad watched, Molly would watch one of the Star Wars Episodes. (Better deal for Chad, I think, being that Gilmore girls is only 40 minutes). Molly quickly became sucked into the saga, and although I hate to disappoint Chad, she has shown a love for it that I never had:) Chad was only too happy to further her new interest with her own Star Wars DVDs for Christmas. She was thrilled. As for Chad and Gilmore Girls, well, I don't know...you'll have to ask him...

We had a wonderful Christmas here with wonderful friends...we are so thankful.

A tribute to Mike and Aileen

Our good friends Mike and Aileen left Bolivia about a month ago after spending a year here. They worked with students at the Bolivian Evangelical University in sports ministry and taught English. Aileen also coached varsity girls basketball at our school and they were always involved with what the kids were doing there. They were a blessing to everyone around them here. Chad and I are ever grateful for them, and feel so blessed to have spent this time with them. Now they are back in Montana....we miss you!!!!!!!