wintergreen

We had an awesome weekend at Wintergreen! The weather was amazing...super foggy the day we drove up the mountain...then a bitter, freezing wind in the morning...but it turned into the most beautiful day ever...I think it was around 60F. This was the first time for the kids and JP. Diego and I did not ski...(and I realized after just walking around in snow boots that I am certainly out of shape!) I have visions of us being this outdoorsy, active family...going skiing, hiking, biking...but for now, this trip has given me the push I needed to get my butt back in the gym.

But can I just say...I love ski pants! They are so warm and so roomy and so comfortable. I'm thinking of wearing them for the rest of winter.

Check out the smile on the guy in blue. He loved every minute of it...well, maybe not when he was turning himself into a human snowball down the steep side of the mountain...but that's what helmets are for.


Does Juan Pablo look cool or what?


The kids had a blast, too. We put them in the Treehouse, which was a ski camp for the WHOLE day.


Look at that concentration.


But I think Isabela has found her talent...she was really good at this. Very confident and could ski quickly and stop...stopping is always important.


Of course, they both had some time to taste the snow.


I really couldn't believe Joaquin made it through a whole a day of skiing and still wanted more. They were so independent by the end of the day...here he is putting his own ski back on.


Shred it, girl!


I love the way Isabela is standing in this picture.


We'll definitely be back again!

checked off

Remember the first career you thought you wanted as a young child? (I'd love to know...feel free to share it in the comments!) Mine was a veterinarian (although I couldn't even spell it when writing this post). That was soon crossed out when our cat had to have a tube put in her head to drain puss from some kind of wound she'd mysteriously gotten. Then it was a ballerina...I quit that when I was sixteen...it turns out I really didn't like performing in front of hundreds of people. And then, among a host of other careers along the way, it became translator at the U.N.

Well... today, I got my chance.

Shall I tell the long version?? Why not!

Yesterday, my long, dull birthday ended with me wondering what to do about dinner. JP was at work and I thought about going out with just the kids, but we really don't have the money. So then I remembered that Tuesday was dinner night at church and we decided to go. (Keep in mind, I'm pretty sure this is only the second time we've gone since Diego's been born.)

We said our hellos to many friends that were there and sat down to eat. It turns out, two pastors from Cuba, that have a long relationship with our church, are visiting...and THREE different people came up to me to ask me if I'd met them. (Because I speak spanish, of course.) Why, no, I hadn't.

So at the end of the meal, I did meet them, and had a very short conversation about their stay and the cold...stuff I'm sure they were tired of hearing.

But here comes the good part. Their host came up to me a few minutes later and asked if I'd be interested in translating for a meeting they were having (today). He had been emailing JP to see if he could do it (did I forget to mention Juan Pablo and I weren't talking to each other for the last few days?...don't worry, we're fine now)....well, he had told me NOTHING about it...and they hadn't been able to find anybody else. Why, yes, I could!

So I ended up....being the translator....for these two Cuban pastors (it's a husband and wife)....and the Superintendent of the Richmond district of United Methodist Churches. High enough up that my throat was dry and I had butterflies in my stomach as I was driving to the meeting.

I called a close friend just before to pray with me that I could do a good job at translating everything. And I must say, it went extremely well! I only messed up a couple of times, but more importantly, I got to meet this wonderful Cuban couple who are busy doing God's work in their country. We talked about our families, about Cuba, about God's plans and joked and laughed and I had an amazing time.

It is plainly obvious, but I love how God's hands helped to place everyone in the right place at the right time with the right words.

It wasn't the UN, but it was good enough for me. I can cross that off my to do list.

TRANSLATOR AT THE UNITED NATIONS

happy birthday to me

All I've got to say is...if 40 is the new 30, then 35 is the new 45.

family Bingo night

Lately, just the simple words "family night" are starting to make my insides tense up, but this seemed infallable. There would be popcorn, yay, water, not-so-yay, and a chance to win prizes, yay, again. I never thought about 'what if we didn't win'. Isabela was so excited, she screamed out BINGO at the first game...she had misheard a number though and was quite embarrassed...but she pulled it off well. After about the fourth straight loss, Joaquin's face started to frown up. By like the sixth, he had tears in his eyes. At some point, they both were crying. I thought, 'Well, I hope now one of them doesn't win because the fit will really hit the shan then' (I do love that new country song that says that).
Thank God for the popcorn. They all left me at the table to go get it and head to the bathroom. There I was with Diego sleeping in my arms, trying to play 5 BINGO boards, with my right hand, and she was calling out those numbers as fast as she could. I started to get close to winning. We were playing the square, only the outside rows, and I only needed like three. Then I started to think,' I can't win now, there's no one with me that can pick a prize.' Not to worry, I knew better than to get my hopes up.
Besides spilling a bottle of water (which I knew was going to happen), and a bunch of bad sports, it was a great family night. I can't wait to do it again next year! Oh, yes, we will be doing it again. They have to learn... you can't win them all. Or, maybe, that is a lesson that I need to learn?

quite a day

Joaquin woke up at 5am this morning! Sometimes he can't go back to sleep after that...and I thought oh no! he'll never make it through school. Thankfully, he was able to fall asleep....and the next time I was awoken at 7:30am...both kids fully dressed, coats and backpacks on, ready to go to school. They still had an hour and a half to wait!

Isabela got off the bus with a huge smile saying..."Yes! I have homework!" She loves it! How funny!

Joaquin got off the bus like this:


Diego and I got our quality outdoor time waiting for the bus...freezing!... about 25 minutes since we weren't sure when it would arrive. He was fascinated with the cars whizzing by...note to self...get a fence before this boy starts walking around outside. We also watched a huge hawk soaring overhead.


That's me holding up traffic talking to the bus driver. Sorry! He really doesn't like that the kids have to cross the street to get home...plus there's this drop off on the side of the road about a foot down, and they have to squeeze around the bus door to keep from falling off. It seems like there's no way around it, but he said he'll look into it.

I thought I might get a lot done today...but Diego had his 9 month check up and then we both took a nice long nap. There's always tomorrow to clean the house.

back to school

We're back! Yesterday, we went up to the school to register for first grade and Kindergarten. The teachers and staff seemed very glad to have the kids coming back and set them up quickly to start tomorrow. They got to meet their new teacher and already know a few kids in their classes. They are thrilled and have their backpacks chocked full of crayons, markers, and glue. We just about bought Target out at the not so discount prices mid year. I've prepacked lunches for the week and signed one thousand forms...so much that my wrist hurt. I certainly wasn't this organized for homeschooling! Wishing them a wonderful first day and smiling faces getting off the school bus!

the taken road

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Robert Frost


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I had to memorize this poem in sixth grade, and it's always been one of my favorites. For any decision I ever have to make, I think of it, and how whatever path I take...it will lead me on to different paths ahead.
Obviously, this post is leading somewhere. We have decided to send the kids back to public school after the break.

The two main reasons: Diego crawling! He certainly is a curious little George and into everything. We used to have plenty of time while he would sit and play or take a nap...not so anymore. I feel like Isabela and Joaquin are getting a little behind in the basics. I am definitely not as organized (if I ever was) and it is just chaos everywhere in the house.

Reason #2: Friends. I really didn't think this would be an issue. But we miss our friends. We are so isolated where we live and being out of school just adds to that.

My two new mottos:
*It takes a village to raise a child.
*Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

That being said...we will still be a homeschooling family...just not officially. I still see us going on nature walks, reading the classics together, memorizing Bible verses, keeping a commonplace book for our handwriting practice, looking at great works of art, keeping our history timeline on the wall, learning Spanish...etc.

So we're taking the other path...however, we're not the same as if we'd taken that path all along.