IYQ...

…and because of that I am removing the comment verifier. So nothing is stopping you from commenting.

Vixy - The Babe

Victoria is someone I met online recently due to following blog links. She, like me is rejoining so we have some things in common. She's got a good blog with meaningful posts, so if you have time check it out.

A Timely Reminder

Don’t forget to change your clocks, watches, alarms and timepieces as North America and Europe switch back to Standard time, officially ending the summer Daylight Saving Time!

While yet some countries in the Southern Hemispheres such as Australia, begin Daylight Saving today!

Click this link to find out the date for your country!

The link above also makes for a phenomenal study as to the history and reasoning behind time changes. This is the type of class Adrian would have loved. I miss him. I love you Buddy!

Journal – A potentially boring Post!

We all know what a journal really is, which would be the name guys use to justify them keeping a diary. I mean lets face it; they are one and the same.

But in the beginning of this year when I decided to keep a journal I wondered if I would really be able to do it. Writing down a record of the events of my life and the thoughts of times that would soon be gone seemed like a good idea at the time. So I got a journal, this plain simple black one.

I started it and was being regular with keeping it, not always everyday but often enough to redeem its worth. Then I moved to Mexico in June and forgot it in one of the homes I visited along the way to my new one. And due to me not having my journal was one of the things that spurred me into finally getting a blog.

I sent messages and notes to my friends who would be coming this way asking if they could bring it to me. God bless all of them tried to help and I have no idea how many times it switched hands on its journey to get to me. Well four months later it was still in Mexico City, so when I went there recently I got it, finally. It was in my hands.

But as fate would have it I again forgot it while living out of one of my friends rooms. I mean you’d think I would have learned from the first time. So on my trip back I had realized my forgetful mistake and subsequent disloyalty to my journal. Thank God it’s just a book and doesn’t have feelings, as if it were a friend no doubt I would have lost them for sure.

Yesterday one of our home members returned from a trip from Mex City and brought my journal to me. Thanks, Tina! So I guess we’ll see how long it lasts. Maybe I should write in it to break the forgetful streak. Then again, maybe it won’t help!

Dengue Fever

(Update Nov 1^st, Thanks for all your prayers and notes that were sent. It was a big encouragement to our home and those who had the fevers. The three people in our home that had Dengue are healed. TTL!)

Two members of our home have had Dengue Fever in the past two weeks and a third contracted it today.

I am not talking about the music group Dengue Fever which is described as “being in the vanguard of an emerging global pop sensibility, making music that's both familiar, yet eerily unique.”

I am talking about the mosquito transmitted disease. I won’t go into all the details of the disease (click this link for info on it) but I will say that it is very debilitating to have recurring fevers accompanied by headaches, joint and bone pains for any length of time, which for Dengue is about 1-2 weeks.

Please pray for those in our home who have it to recuperate totally to full health as quickly as possible. Also that no one else gets it. Thanks so much.

To see if you live in a Dengue area click this link.

Musings

I just finished reading the book Anja. It’s an excellent read and really got me thinking about sacrifice and what it really means to suffer for the Lords sake.

Looking back over the past couple years I have got into thinking that I have really suffered and gone through a lot.

But after reading her testimony and the things she went through to just be able to witness and show the Lords love to those around her and the subsequent persecutions because of it, I have realized I really haven’t gone through anything at all.

Maybe one day should the Lord see fit to use me in that way I pray that I can be counted worthy and ready for such an honor.

Mexican Bus Lines

In the movies they depict traveling in Mexican buses as an experience that you will neither forget nor want to repeat. I mean who wants to have chickens and pigs on and/or next to them for any amount of time.

I will not say that these kinds of buses do not exist, but I personally have never been on one in all my years here. To me traveling on a Mexican bus line means class and comfort that equaled to traveling in most airlines. They do have different classes’ equivalent to flying coach, business or first class. All have entertainment (movies) and depending on the class you choose they even have drinks and meals. And it is relatively inexpensive, making traveling in Mexico very pleasant.

So today I will be making my way home on such a bus line. My trip will be 5 ½ hours long, not bad at all, so I will be traveling “coach.” You can see by this pic of the bus that it is actually quite nice.

Huge thanks to the home in DF that put me up for my time there. They are one of the best homes I have ever seen. Every single member of that home is a good friend of mine. I love you guys so much and was so glad of the Lord’s blessing in having me be able to stay with you guys. It truly is an honor to be counted as your friend.

In other news, it is the birthday of an old friend of mine, no, she’s not old, but we were friends many years ago. So Happy Birthday Tara, (Click this link for your card)

Visit with Cel

My long time friend, Cel, came over yesterday to pick me up to show me her new home. (Click here for pics) It was a good time of seeing a lot of old friends and meeting a few new ones.

Every once in a while you meet someone and they just really stick out to you. They are friendly, personal and really make you fell at home, welcomed and at ease from the moment you are introduced. Well I met Michael and Joy yesterday and that’s how it was.

They celebrated their 28^th anniversary yesterday, and very benevolently invited Cel and I to join them for tacos. We all had a good time. Thanks so much Michael and Joy!

Monday Night in DF

Monday night we all hung out playing games and just fellowshipping. I lost at poker to a complete novice. But it was fun. The drinks were exceptional. Hope you enjoy these pics from the evening.

Mike making the drinks!

Haven and I

My good, good friends, Jason & Nash

Jade, more interested in the poker chips than in going to bed. What kid wouldn't be?

A Heartfelt Thanks!

I would like to thank my home and each of its members for helping to make the kids visit possible and fun.

JD, Hana, Andrew and Joy, thanks for helping with the kids on my WnR's and at parent times when they wanted to be with your kids instead of me. Ha!

Joy, thank you so much for all your help with Adrian’s schooling. I know he is even smarter now for it. It was great having you and your experience to help run ideas by and helping me know how to best do his classes. Thanks also for all the extra classes he got with the older boys.

Hana, thanks for all the Word input Adrian got with you and the excellent memory and review times.

Nano, thanks so much for your sweet care of Jade. Faithfully taking her on walks and seeing to her needs. She loves you a lot and I know she'll miss you.

Melissa, thanks for going with me on the initial trip to bring them down and all the little things along the way that helped make the kids stay enjoyable.

Andrew, Tina, Jesse and Danny, thank you guys for all the times you were with the kids and helping with their care and making their visit memorable.

Adrian and Jade

...left his morning with Haven on their way home. We got up at 5 am and loaded the truck and then I saw them off. It has been so great spending this time with them. Please pray for their travels as they have about 1000 miles to travel before arriving home.

Mexico City

Well I made it safely to Mexico City with the kids last night; we had a very good bus trip with no hassles or problems. Thanks for all your prayers! It was such a sweet reunion for the kids and mommy, who hadn’t seen each other for nearly three months.

We went to the zoo today, much better then the one in Veracruz. We didn’t stay all that long as it was so crowded. I mean who wants to fight these kinds of throngs.


But we did have a lot of fun.

I won’t bore you with wordy depictions of our day so just check the pics and video clips below. Hope you enjoy!

Video clips at Zoo

Zoo and Metro Pics

Visits

Tomorrow I take a bus with the kids to Mexico City to meet up with Haven, who has been at BLAST! Then they will be traveling back home with her ending their nearly 3 month visit with me. I am so thankful for this time that I have had with them. I will miss them greatly. (I am determined not to dwell on their leaving.)

The upside of this trip is that it was completely unexpected, another touch of the Lords love to me. I will have a few days there in which time I will be able to see a lot of my close friends. I will be updating and hopefully posting pics from along the way.

I am not looking forward to the iniquitous Mex City traffic and pollution. But I am looking forward to the cooler weather. Please keep our bus trip in your prayers, Thanks so much!

Keeping Company

I had a funny dream last night but before I begin I will set the stage as to who is who.

Gabe is Company 1
Married couple 1 is Company 2a and 2b
Married couple 2 is Company 3a and 3b
Single is Company 4

Okay so in my dream Company2b came to Company1 to keep my company because she was bored. That was because Company3a was keeping company with Company 4 thus leaving Company3b without company. So seeing the situation of Company3b, Company2a came to be her company, leaving no company for Company2b.

Does anyone else need company?

Beach Fun!

Pic of Jade...

... Added below. Click here.

The Zoo

Well we finally made it to the zoo here. People kept telling me that it was a junky zoo and that it’s better just to go for a picnic. I was starting to think maybe they were right when I go there and found out it was twice as expensive to swim in the pool then it is to access the zoo.

Not a whole lot of animals, mostly just ones native to Mexico and Texas. You can basically see these animals anytime you’re traveling in the country here. They did have a nice size monkey cage (I forget what kind they were) with about 10 very active monkeys in it, which was fun to watch.

Then way in the back I found the big cats, 4 lions and a Siberian tiger. Now that is a majestic animal. Besides them being huge with a beautiful coat it had the most amazing crystal blue eyes. This particular tiger was resting right near the front of the cage, close enough that I could’ve reached out and patted him on the head. I never realized just how big these cats really are.

We then had tacos there at the zoo for lunch. Over all, it was a great day!

"Oh, Pussy my Love"

Today while going through Adrian’s 3^rd grade Spelling and Poetry book from A Beka I came across the famed poem by Edward Lear, “The Owl and the Pussycat!”

After reading the first paragraph, which I am including below, I asked myself if this is something I really wanted Adrian to learn and recite in front of a class? I think not, was all I could come up with. Read it to see why!

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!'

For the rest of the poem click this link!

Happy Birthdays

Mike your a great guy! If you want to see your card click the link.
We've been through a lot together these past four years I have known you and we're still here getting stronger in faith and friendship. To think we have never even lived together, who knows may be one day we will. Stay strong, keep the faith and come for a visit. Cheers! I am restocking my bar, first bottle is from Brazil, I need some help man so hurry on over. Have a great year!

Czech It Out!!!

Okay so we all know the Czechs are beautiful people. I mean they did turn out the Miss World for 2006. But even so, I am blessed to personally know some of the Family’s Czech beauty’s which I believe even make Miss World look like a fake. The Pic above proves that!

So with this post I present to you, Kathy a very good Czech friend of mine. She has started a blog, please “Czech It Out!”

Time is on my side!

People keep asking me when I will have completed doing my six months rejoining process, so I have added a countdown clock to my blog. It's right over there above the links.

Unity Wheel

We have started what we call “Unity Wheel” in our home for Wednesday night activities.

Hana made a wheel and put everyone’s name on it with a smaller wheel in the middle also with everyone’s name; you turn the smaller wheel each week to determine who your unity partner will be. Then you spend the evening doing something with that person to get to know each other better.

Last night my partner and I set out on our boat dock listening to the surf, the air in the coconut trees and had a good time just talking about all kinds of things.

Parent Days and Times

Monday was Parent Day and we had big plans of going to the zoo. The kids were looking forward to it and had been talking about it all week. Yesterday morning we packed up and headed out despite the morning rain, it looked as if it would soon blow over. By the time we arrived, it had stopped raining, so we parked got out and went to the main gates to find that the zoo is closed on Mondays. This resulted in a big emotional scene in front of the zoo.

At least it’s fairly easy to distract small children with promises of returning another day as well as doing something fun today.

Off we went to the port downtown to see the freighters and the turtle pond outside the Naval Academy. When approaching the Naval Academy we saw that there was something major happening as the area was all blocked off with Naval personnel everywhere. So no turtle pond!

Next on the list to stop the fresh flow of tears…ice cream, which always works. Off we went to have lunch and ice cream at Burger King. It was the first time we ate out since the kids have been here. They played there for about two hours before we headed home. The rest of the day was pretty relaxing at home with naps, art projects and things around the house.

Tonight for parent time I took the kids out after dinner to get some juice and nuts. We had the snack on the beach. They loved the little picnic in the dark. The moon was bright with it's light reflecting on the water so after the snack we walked along the waters edge running from the waves for about an hour. We had so much fun.