Couple of pics

Our bags were delivered last night just after midnight, everything in tact

And we tested out the pool. Verdict? Awesome!!!

Today our landlady and her daughters arrive hopefully on time so that we can get to the meeting by 4pm. Can't wait to see our our congregation again.

That's all for now.  Time to get some unpacking and sorting done.

We made it!!

Just a little note to say that we arrived in Nicaragua last night. Unfortunately our suitcases didn't make the trip with us, but hopefully they arrive today! At least we have clothes at the house so it wasn't as bad as when we arrived for the very first time without our luggage!!

We were supposed to arrive Wednesday but we just came in last night, Friday. When we got to Atlanta they were asking for volunteers to get the next day's flight bc they had oversold this one. They offered a night in a hotel, food vouchers, and $700 for future travel which can be used over the next year! So, we couldn't resist!!! To cut a long story short, we did it again the next night too!! So we each have $1450 to spend on travel with Delta over the next year - woohooo!!!!! So, that's why our bags didn't make it since our plans got all changed up.

But we're here and trying to get settled in. Although we won't really settle in yet bc our landlady and all her family are coming tomorrow so we're going to stay with our friends Brenda and Caleb for a week, which is fine because it's close to our territory and we're host congregation for the Circuit Assembly so we'll be right there for all that activity.

Hopefully by December 2nd after the assembly we can finally get ourselves settled!

In the meantime, we're going to test out the new swimming pool that we now have in our back yard - life is rough down here!!

I'll blog more about our last few weeks in the US later. For now, I gotta go swim!

North Carolina Pictures

Well, I said I'd make a post about our trip to Charlotte, NC so here it is. We went to visit a sister and her three daughters who we had the privilege of studying with until the point of baptism. She was the first study that I'd ever taken out in service for the first time, we took her to her first District Convention when she was 7 months pregnant with her third daughter. But less than a month after she got baptized, she moved to NC, and then to Mexico. That was 6 1/2 years ago! So when we found out she was back in NC, we just had to make a trip there to visit, even if it was only for a couple of days.

It was a long drive there, longer bc of traffic, but it was DEFINITELY worth the effort. We were thrilled to see her doing well spiritually, her oldest daughter is baptized and LOVES the ministry (she's auxiliary pioneering this month for the first time - Go Dani!!). Her middle daughter is talking about baptism now too, and the youngest is just a little riot! She was less than a year old when they left, so it was so much fun to see her now, 7 years old, and hilarious! We also got to spend some time with her family who are almost all in NC now.

On the way to Lazy Ranch

Escaped from the set of Shrek!

Dani, me, Evy, Sherlyn (white coat), Ariana, Dulce, Diana & Rosi. Evy is my old study, and Rosi is her sister.

Why is it the male that's so colorful?!

The horses that pulled the carriage ride through the ranch

On the carriage ride to feed the animals

Now THAT is a tongue!!

This baby had been born just a few hours earlier

They said the knots on this male giraffe are because he lives with six females!

Guess what that is?!!?

These camels were fighting for the food

HAHAHAHAHAAA wearing a tutu!

Outside the Charlotte Kingdom Hall that Evy and the girls go to

All of Evy's family - they all go to the same congregation

Dinner at Rosi's house - Posole - YUM!!!!

Tres leches cake that Ezequiel made!

Former CO and his wife with a couple from Cuba who had some AMAZING stories about being imprisoned for their faith in Cuba. And she did that painting of the CO and his wife.

Guerrero familiy with Delgados

Mirror time!

Goodbye my dears!!!!!

Young at heart!

I may be 34 when my feet are on the ground but on a trampoline I'm just a big kid!!!

Two posts in one day?!?!

Look at me - I'm blogging again!!

We had a great night with Charley's family and I just had to share the picture we took. I had it all set up so when they all finally got to the house after their assembly we just all got in the same places we were in last year, more or less, and took three shots until we got it just right. I'm so pleased with the results.

Handsome bunch, eh?!

Then we got down to business and ate my mam's delicious chicken dinner - roast potatoes and yorkshire puddings - my favorite!

There was also some pretty intense jenga playing went on.

I LOVE all the action and emotion in this shot!

And I realized today that I never did blog about my Scrabble game from a couple of weeks ago. I was playing against the computer, who was set to a harder level, and look at the two 8 letter words (7 of my letters around one on the board)!!! I got TWO in one game - although I kinda cheated with the word sonicate - found it online, but still, 449 points in one game!!!!!!!! I had to take a picture of that!

It's all go, go, go

I just realized I didn't post any pictures from the lovely welcome party some of the Spanish friends had for us so here they are! I danced like I haven't danced in over a year! The music the Spanish play here is so much better than what they play in Nicaragua!!!

Now THAT is jello!

We even got a welcome cake!

So, I also didn't mention that we had dinner with some friends, I think that same weekend, who live in Ohio. I've been friends with Nicci for over 10 years and it was great to see them. They have the cutest little kids. They are amazing parents. It's so nice to see a couple whose kids are so well behaved, and are being taught to love Jehovah from their infancy. Nicci and Chad do a great job with them and we thoroughly enjoyed their company. Their little girl, Charlotte, just turned three but she's very easy to understand. She explained why we don't celebrate birthdays, she sang part of a Kingdom song, she told us all about dinosaurs including names I can't even pronounce!! And Eli sang us a bit of Preach the Word too!!

I still haven't finished collecting anniversary party pictures but here are a few from that night. Probably more than anyone wants to see anyway! But do watch the video! It was at the same house we had the welcome party at - party central!!! 

Charley's mam and sister with her boys, and Maria from Spanish

Josie & Angelica

Aidee, Yolanda y Valeria & Maritza thought she was hiding in the background!

Our yummy cake

They asked our favorite colors. I said I like red, Charley likes green, but that makes Christmas!!! But they did it anyway!!

Watching a little video I put together with photos from our wedding

Cake table (aka pool table!)

Click here to watch Scottish dancing video

The newly-weds!!

Just for the record - those are NOT my fingers behind my mother-in-law's head!

We danced to "Tiempo de Vals" and did it Argentina style. We started out dancing and then another couple would come split us up and dance, then another, then another, than another. It was so much fun!

Maybe if I type here I can get the last couple of pictures to quit bouncing to the top of the page! Below you see later on in the dance. Charley is somewhere in there dancing with Sabina, and I'm dancing with her hubby Oscar. It was so much fun. Click here to hear the song we were all waltzing to. It's a Spanish classic - I love it!!

As I already blogged about we went to hear our nephew Asa do his first bible reading that next week. He was great, as you saw if you watched the video!! We had an ice cream cake party aftewards.

Not a bit nervous!

Yum!

People kept asking me that week if I knew Sarah & Jeremy - well, I do now!

The house is under construction so we had fun measuring everyone and writing their names! I'd just like to say, I'm quite a bit taller than Lara - just for the record!!

Asa with his Uncle Charley. I think they have the same smile in this one - forced!

And the boys with their favorite aunt & uncle - who wouldn't love an uncle who lets you drag him around the floor!

We went to Charlotte, NC this past weekend but I have too many pictures to share so I'll save that for a post all of it's own.

The highlight of this week was going to my cousin Wendy's house on Wednesday and having the most AMAZING homemade fish 'n' chips. The Claddagh has nothing on them. Man, were they good. You can see the pile of fish in the picture below. YUM!!!!!!

Wendy and her lovely family.

And I'm sorry to say that I took my camera out with us last night and totally forgot to take a picture. We had a lovely dinner with some lovely friends who are pioneers here in Indianapolis. We had a lot of catching up to do, and had a really encouraging time with them. But unfortunately, no picture. 

Well, Charley's family will be here in a few hours after their Special Assembly Day so I'd better go help my mam get things together for that. We're hoping to take a family picture like we did last year, see how it turns out. Thank goodness for self timer and tripod!

Hope you're all doing well. We're looking forward to going back to Nicaragua. It's been awesome to be here, but after a while you start craving a more settled schedule. Since we know we're not here permanently you don't really settle. 

Plus we have this to go back to in our back yard in Nicaragua!!! We've got it rough down there!