So sorry...still no photos !

We have gotten internet connection in our house which is sketchy at best as to when it wants to work but it is here and we are thankful ! I STILL have no photos to post and I am so sorry. Tonight David , Cooper, Jacob and Grayson went on a search to find something adventurous to do since we are without a car and have pretty much the same routine this week. So, they are all hiking a VOLCANO ! Yep, for 6$ a piece they have gone on a "guided" tour of one of the MANY volcanoes here. When we leave our home in the morning we use one of the volcanoes that is behind our house as a marker and way to find our way home. Anyway, Grayson has my camera. I couldn't send here that close to LAVA and her not get it on film. The little guys and I had a pretty calm afternoon opting for something fun but not THAT adventurous (yet). They played outside (but were inside) our house. I unpacked and sorted my SCRAPBOOK tub. It felt like Christmas. Amy and Cristin , thank you for all of the extra goodies ! I'm working on one of my albums tonight and can't wait ! It is so hot inside the house (no A/C ) this afternoon but tonight it will be awesome. 

Some funny things about our new culture :

*when shopping in the Piaz (Guatemalan Wal Mart) you MUST open your boxes and make sure that everything that you are paying for is in the box. Seriously, we bought chocolate squares. I got to the register and felt the box shake...one of the squares was missing... hard to be frustrated though. Three bars or four , I was thanking the Lord that I had found the chocolate to start with. Then, we had to purchase a dvd player for the TV and got it all of the way home and there was a dvd player but no CORD .... (who wants just a cord ? ...well, us now I guess- smile) . 

*motorcycles DO NOT stop or yield to people walking ! 

*cars DO NOT stop or yield to the motorcycles or the the people ! 

*BUSES will run over ANYTHING here - people, bikes, motorcycles, cars, dogs, (you get the picture ) .. They are HUGE and FAST ! The term "public transportation" should be used loosely) 

*McDonalds is a five star restaurant including a formal garden, coffee shop that puts the swankiest Star bucks to shame, and pergola with outdoor dining to classical spanish music.Quite the ambiance. 

*stray dogs and cats are no where to been seen here (hhmmm). 

* it is dark every night and all year long at aprox. 6:30 -7:00 and the sun comes up at about 4:30-4:45 and SO DOES ELI!!!!!!! (yuck). Since our house is open in the middle it is sort of like a glorified tent and you wake up to the sky. Beautiful but early ! 

* one wrong turn to the market can cost you a 4 1/2 mile walk(instead of 1  1/s or 2 miles) but WITH groceries and CHILDREN ! 

Things that we LOVE about our new culture:

*the people, the people , the people

*our new home

*the language

*God's amazing art work that surrounds us.

*our team members 

*the CONSTANT confirmation that God sends us to remind us WHY and by WHOM we are here ! 

*the weather (a constant 70-79 degrees all year -at least here in Antigua)

So, there is a lot of information but still no photos so I will go to work on that this weekend. We start language school on Monday which will bring us a whole new twist to doing things here. Should be interesting ! 

Love to you all from Central America,

Mel