Christmas Eve and Christmas morning

After our annual Christmas Eve servce at church, we headed home to put out lamingtons and milk for Santa.

 I think this was the first year Lachlan got to be in on the action.

 The stockings were hung by the chimney with care and stuffed to the brim by Santa.

 The next morning, the boys were excited to see that Santa ate every bite.

 Someone had a hard time waking up.

 They dove into their stockings first.

 Poppy was content once she found the cookies.

 Then we moved on to presents under the tree.  Gigi and Mr. Don got all the boys new pajamas and backpacks.  Jonas is pretty thrilled with his Texans jammies.

 Then they took a jelly bean break.

 Lastly, it was time for Santa presents.

 He was pretty excited with his car garage!

He jumped right in with his new "lemon" car.

 Reef and Jonas each got scooters.  Santa was unsure about this gift for Jonas.  He had changed his mind several times in the days before Christmas.  Reef wasn't super surprised since it was the only thing he asked for.  He also told Troy later that he saw the scooters in our closet before Christmas!  Oops!  Thankfully, he's not really questioning Santa.  He believed that Santa sent them early since he would be so busy on Christmas Eve!

 Poppy loved her new cash register.

 All the boys got in on the car action.

 After breakfast, we headed out to test the scooters.  You can't tell from this picture, but those are big smiles on their faces!

Minivan Express

I saw on Pinterest an idea for a Minivan Express, based on the book Polar Express.  We've never read that book but decided to go for it.

One night, we got ready for bed as usual and read books as usual...

 But in the back of the last book were golden tickets for the Mini Van Express.

 We grabbed our snacks

 And loaded up for fun night of Christmas lights!

They really liked it but we need to find better lights next year.  And we might go with Sonic drinks instead of hot chocolate!  The big boys didn't like drinking out of "baby" cups!

December fun

We had lots of fun for the week before Christmas.

I get this look a lot:

 Note the yogurt on that bow.  Sometimes she's confused about where her mouth is.

 Santa Poppy

 I think they were in a sleigh to the North Pole!

 Sunday driving.  Yes, those are my shoes she's wearing.

 The Chapmans brought us a gingerbread house to decorate.  It was serious work.

 The finished product (minus the few pieces Poppy ate)

 And, five minutes later, it collapsed!

I pinned all these tutorials on how to take beautiful pictures in front of your Christmas tree.  This is how mine turned out:

Stacia, you'll have to help me next year!

Nicaragua Day 8: Saturday

Of course the trip wouldn't be over without a crazy, stressful trip to the airport to get home!  I woke up at 4am, unable to sleep more for fear of oversleeping.  It always happens to me.  Breakfast is just toast and cereal on this day, and we're in the van at 6 after saying goodbye to Jorge.
We are at the airport by 6:50 and our flight boards at 7:33.  This is cutting too close for my comfort!  Check-in goes super fast but the security line is sooo long.  Some of us (ahem, Deanna) worry while others (Theresa and Kristin) shop!  Her kids have t-shirts to show for her trip; mine got nothing.  As the clock ticks down, finally Kent asks someone and they pull us to the front of the line.  From there we go through security, and it's still a mad dash to the gate.  We get their after the third "final boarding call."  I'm so thankful we made it!
Deanna and I moved our seats to the front and thought we took Emily with us, but a strange man ends up between us.  Oh, well, I sleep most of the way anyway.  Customs and baggage claim and security take awhile in Houston, but it's not big deal since we had a long layover.  Lunch is at Chili's, a little taste of home!  Those french fries were good!
Again, I end up with a stranger between me and Emily but he was happy to switch.  That flight from Houston is short, and before we know it, we're home!  It is so exciting to see my people at the bottom of the escalator!  Poppy is especially thrilled to see me.  We have a nice dinner at Red Lobster before heading home to bed.
I enjoy putting Poppy to bed, something I usually view as a chore.  Tonight it was nice to hold her and rock her and be reminded of how blessed we are that she is healthy and has a nice bed to sleep in.
Troy and I look through my pictures together, and there aren't as many as I thought!  I regret not taking my nicer camera, I really miss it's image quality.  It's hard to look through them with him; he's not connected to them like I am.  He says the drilling looks really fun.  I am excited to show the boys tomorrow and see what they think and say.
It feels good to be home but a little strange, too.  All of our "stuff" seems so extravagant, and I miss the people in the village.  I wonder if I'll ever see them again and find myself daydreaming of ways to make that happen.  I am suddenly anxious for Heaven in a way I haven't been before, because I know we will be together there!

So, that's it.  My Nicaragua journey.  Coming up next: Christmas festivities!

Nicaragua Day 7: Friday

Thanks to all of you who've stuck by me through these long-winded posts!  We've finally arrived on the last day.  I honestly couldn't believe how fast the week flew after the first day!

The day started with the devotional as usual.  We convinced Adrian that we should sing more than 2 songs.  We sang a song that goes "open the eyes of my heart, Lord, I want to see You."  I shared with the group that I truly saw God working when I looked at those women with the Bible the day before.  Look at me, stepping out and sharing with the whole group!

We head out on our last drive to the village.  It is going to be really hard to say goodbye to these children I've grown to love. 

We are later to the village, and several kids are already waiting for us in our usual parking spot.

 As things are getting set up, Rosa joins Emily for a few minutes.

 Poor Rosa, this is how dirty she always looked, freshly bathed or not.  Her head was crawling with lice.  There were times when her head was so itchy, she would bend over and rub it on the ground.  She was also frequently picking up trash like this bottle and carrying it around.

 As the kids were running by the van, Eric and Katarin fell down.  Eric recovered quickly, but Katarin just kepy crying.  We find that she has hurt her arm and won't move it.  Santo drives to find her father in the fields, but he says there's nothing he can do about it.  WHAT?!?  If my child was hurt, nothing would keep me away; I would want to be there to comfort, care for, and get them the attention they needed!  As she calms down, she can move her shoulder and wrist but won't bend or straighten the elbow.  I'm worried it's broken or dislocated.  We try to get her to bend it without success.  An uncle comes by to check on her and gives her a few coins and a piece of candy before walking away.  Not long after, her grandfather picks her up on his bicycle, and we're hopeful that he's taking her to the doctor.  She is back less than half an hour later with a smile on her face and a bag of Pepsi in her hand.  But, her arm still hangs awkwardly at her side.  I am so sad for her!  I am still wondering if her parents ever got treatment for her arm.  Will is always be like that?  The injustice of the whole thing really bothers me.  Karen and I try a couple more times to pop it back in, but it's just too painful for her.  I so wish we could just load her into the van and take her to the hospital, but I know that can't happen.
Theresa and I take the kids away from the well area to play.  Yamileth, the girl who never plays, finally asks me to play soccer with her, and, of course, I agree.  I started to regret it when she started kicking the ball so hard though; I think she was trying to kill me!
The littler kids enjoyed finishing off the bubbles.

 Finally I got a picture of some jumproping in action.

 Our lunch was being prepared in that big black pot.  "The soup" has been talked about frequently this week.

 We find it strange that Scarleth doesn't join us with the children.  She spends the whole day sitting with the drillers.  I try not to let it bother me too much.  We were told to leave nothing on the table, to have no regrets about this trip, so I try to make the most of every last moment with them.  Soccer, jump rope, frisbee, pato pato pollo, necklace-making, everything!
Finally we get word that they're pumping the well:

 We race over with the children in tow and gather round, anxious to see those first drops.

 After 300 pumps, there's still no water, so they take the head off to see what the problem is.  I whisper to Theresa that our chances of staph infection are decreasing; she's sure we'll get it if we go zip-lining but it's not looking like there will be time for that.  We wait about half an hour, which is plenty of time to take pictures with the kids.

 The second try is a success!  The first stream of clean water!  Everyone cheers at this sight!

 The dedication follows.  It's shorter than I expect, with a much smaller crowd.  If feels like we should've spent the morning going to door-to-door with inviations to the dedication.  How else would they have known to come?
Estebana shared with us what this well will mean for their community.  And we share what we've gained from them.

Our team with our successfful well.

 The whole crowd at the dedication.

 Theresa hands out the rest of the Bibles she brought to the preacher.  Again the women love looking them over!

 Then it's time for "the soup."  We were told on day 1 that the villagers always cook a meal for the team after the well dedication as a "thank you".  Living Water always tells them to make soup because they're sure it's been heated enough to kill any germs.  All week, we've talked about "the soup" with some trepidation.  I mean, we will be eating it while they watch.  What if it's gross?  Will they think it's rude if you don't eat it all?  Not to mention, have the dishes been washed with dirty water?
Here it is: 

 Looks yummy, huh?  They served us huge bowls on their nicest table cloth.  I know it's important to them to serve us in this way.
I tasted it.

 But it ended there.  The broth was actually fine.  My meat was pretty fatty, so I passed that on to Dan.  And Ernesto gladly finished the rest for me. 
After lunch, it's time for goodbyes.  Oh, how I ish I could communicate with the ladies, how I could tell them what this week meant to me!
We head over to the children.  They think we're coming back to play.  They don't understand when we tell them we're leaving for good, to go back home to the United States.  When they finally understand, we say goodbye, calling each child by name and giving hugs.  I miss them already.

 On the way out, we visited the 2 wells drilled earlier in the month.  We learn that Dante (the sweet boy who greeted us at church) lived near last week's well.  We also see the site for the next well to be dug in January.  It's comforting to see that Living Water will have some presence in this community for awhile, like maybe we're not totally abandoning them.

It ends up being too late to go ziplining, so we're dropped off at the compound.  It strange to not have anything to prepare for.  We swim, pack, clean out the trunk, reflect on the week.  They order pizza for dinner, and it's yummy!  We play some bananagrams after and visit with Jorge some.  He decides we will leave for the airport at 6am.  Our flight is at 8, and it's a 45 minute drive.  This doesn't seem early enough to me, but I assume he knows what he's doing.
I'm off to bed.  Tomorrow I'll be back to my babies.  In light of the week's event and learning about the school shooting in Connecticut, I'm anxious to hold them close!

No pictures from San Antonio.  Troy and his dad were very adventurous; they took all 4 kids on a roadtrip to Ikea in Austin.  I am impressed!  He wanted to surprise me with new furniture for my schoolroom.  I guess he realized how disorganized and dysfunctional it was when he had to use it for a week!