Poor deluded dog!

This really gave us a good laugh!

Can I really be this busy?

Yes! Ever since we got home from vacation, we have been insanely busy. Of course, the normal post-vacation laundry and housework. Then the arrival of a guest from America...who is still here. He's not a problem at all, but another person is another person. I do not mind, since he brought us corn tortillas and dr Pepper. Then, my husband's aunt died. We had to drive 5 hours to the funeral and then 5 hours back. On the same day. Then, my Dh tells me that the men have been planning and evening in town. They treated us to chinese food. It was great, and a once-in-a-lifetime event for some. The only problem is that it was in the city, an hour away. I really did not want to drive anywhere. Then, the next day we had to drive into the city again for Vanessas check-up. We were all day in town, and we had missions conference at night, Oh yeah, and the guest speaker as another houseguest.

And, Vanessa still wakes up 3 times a night to eat. Yes, we know that is not good, but the process to end that requires a time of crying it out, something that you do not want to do when you have houseguests.

I am tired and my house is crying out for some TLC. Our vacation is just a fading memory. What can I say? No rest for the wicked, and the righteous dont need it, so they say.

I miss my blogging time and all my bloggy friends. You are important to me.

Vacation!

Here's a few things we did. Ice Skating! This rink overlooks the Nahuel Huapi lake. Beautiful. We had fun until the "professionals" arrived and made us feel stupid.

Here's a shot at the bowling alley. Vanessa was not happy!

Drool machine!

No words needed. simply lovely

This is the Bariloche civic center. A whole city block built in stone.

A letter for Michele

Dear Michele,
I tried twice to write before, but both times I was unable to finish. I didn't want you to think that I had completely ignored your last posts.
First, I know and understand your desire for a break, or even an end for your blog. Even good things have to end, and that doesn't mean that they weren't good anymore.
That being said, I would still hate to see you go! You are a kindred spirit and you know just how hard those are to find!

I have put off writing because I hate goodbyes and endings. I have had so many! As a missionary, I have become somewhat hardened, simply as a coping mechanism. But I also know that as Christians, there is never really "goodbye", just "see you later". Sometimes, that is literaly the truth! I'll tell you a story. we met this nice couple several years ago in California at Hopewell Baptist Church in Napa. Have you ever heard of their pastor, Mike Ray? Anyway, we had a nice visit with Steve and Sandra. And I never really thought we would ever see them again. On our next furlough, we didn't go to Hopewell. Later, we were in a small town, south of Jacksonville Florida, at the Spanish ministry of a large baptist church there. The pastor asked Neil to ride on the church bus that morning. So he went. And he saw a man working that bus route that looked familiar. Yes......Steve Reyes. Thousands of miles away from where we had met them. We couldn-t believe it. Steve will be arriving this Saturday to spend two weeks with us here in Chile. This kind of thing can only happen in the family of God.

So even if you decide to quit, I comfort myself at the loss of my friend with this knowledge. God gives us friends, and we get to keep them for eternity. No matter where we are on this globe.


Your friend,
Rhonda

A frugal "lightbulb" moment

People here are so poor that they often buy things in small amounts as they can. This is, in my opinion, the most expensive way to buy things. However, it just occurred to me that, when I have a stash of something, I tend to be somewhat careless as to its use. If you only have a small amount of something, you'll use it sparingly. For example, if I have quart of dishwashing soap, I can use a large squirt. If I have a small bottle, you can bet I'll be as stingy as possible, in order to make that small amount last.

I say all this just to make it clear to me that, even though I will buy in larger amounts, I need to be more careful.

This became even clearer to me since DH bought a more-expensive liquid detergent. I thought he was nuts to do so. But I began carefully measuring instead of "eye-balling" the amount of detergent. The bottle now lasts us almost 3 month. I am thrilled.

Not exactly thrilling blogging, but it is what I've been thinking about lately, thank you Dave!

The end of Summer

Our short Summer is almost over. The schools started this week. Neil is at a preacher's retreat near Santiago for the week, so its been an odd week. A friend lent us the first season of Star Trek, the original series, so the kids and I have had a blast from the past.
The end of Summer always signals something special for us......Vacation time! We always leave for our vacation after schools start. Just another blessing of homeschoolers, vacation when you want to! We leave on Monday a.m. I am looking forward to it. We've had a busy year. It will be good for Neil to have some down-time with the kids.

When I come back from vacation, I intend to start blogging more consistently. It hasn't been easy, but Vanessa is getting bigger and bigger, and I hope to have more time.

Vanessa, Black and White

Eileen has been having fun with the camera again!