Here are some pictures from Mirella’s birthday last Sunday.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53242&id=100000498772939&l=8cc4919e8f
Her potty training is going very well. Only one accident in the past two days.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52066&id=100000498772939&l=2906b18050
After various sicknesses caused June to be a tough month, we’ve had a relatively pleasant July.
16 Years!
Terry and I celebrated our 16th anniversary. We enjoyed a night at a local hotel. And Zeferina made us a very typical Bolivian meal, Silpancho. Rice, home-made french fries, a local pico-de-gallo-like mix, a thin steak, and a fried egg on top. Delicious.
Retreat
IJM hosted a pastors and church leaders retreat in mid-July. Our whole family attended. We drove about two hours away to a retreat center called El Puente (the “bridge”).
Although it’s not too far away, it’s much lower in altitude and, as a result, very different in climate – tropical, much warmer, and somewhat humid. The kids enjoyed playing outside on grassy fields. They tried the swimming pool, but it was still too cold. On the drive down, Mirella stared and pointed at all the greenery. I think she forgot what trees look like.
Winter
We’re in the middle of winter. Pretty cold mornings. But the sun warms us up during the day. Still, everyone sleeps in sweatshirts and under three or four layers.
The local schools have Winter break in July for about three weeks. Actually, the schools close for two weeks. Then, after the two weeks, the government extends the vacations for a week due to cold weather. At least that’s been the pattern for as long as everyone can remember. But this year, the government had a twist. It decided to not extend the vacations, which led to many people having to cut short their trips or simply not returning and having their children miss school. A cold front then blew in. So after a week of school, the government closed them again for five days.
On a related note, we decided to enroll Nicolas, Eliana, and Mia in a Spanish private Christian school. They’ll only be taking art and science classes. We’ll continue to home school for all major areas. But the classroom experience will help them improve their Spanish and make more friends. Their first day of school is August 3.
Six Months
We’ve had a very eventful past two weeks.
Birthday Girl! : )
Last weekend, Eliana had a sleep over for eight of her friends to celebrate her 10th birthday! Her birthday isn’t until June 20, but she wanted to celebrate before some of the girls went back to the states for the Summer (Winter here). The girls made their own pizzas and brownies, played hide-n-seek outside in the dark, watched a movie, and generally had a great time.
Emergency Room! : (
This past Tuesday, we unfortunately saw firsthand the Bolivian emergency room. Mirella had been sick on Monday, but seemed to be recovering on Tuesday. Late in the afternoon, she had a seizure/convulsion. We went immediately to the emergency room, where she had a more severe convulsion. Our pediatrician was there to provide quick medical attention. We spent 24 hours in the clinic/hospital. Mirella started acting pretty normal by Wednesday. We went home that evening. She’s still fighting a stomache bug.
She’s also still on some anti-convulsants while the doctors try to determine the cause of the convulsions. So far, all the tests have returned normal. (brain scan, EEG, blood tests, stool tests) So it’s a bit of a mystery. The neurologist said, and some of our own reading on the internet seems to confirm, that small children do have seizures at times, and often the cause remains unknown. So we’re praying that it was a one-time event. Mirella will remain on medication for about three weeks. She’ll retake the EEG. If it’s normal again, the neurologist feels comfortable removing all medication.
We were very impressed with the service and the facilities. Not as new perhaps as Dallas Children’s Medical Center, but more than adequate. We felt very comfortable there with the medical care. And the staff was very friendly.
God also blessed us by showing us that we truly have a great group of friends here in Bolivia. We had many people from our church and IJM who visited, prayed, brought food, took care of the three older kids while we were at the hospital, and otherwise supported us. We felt very loved.
Friday Nights!
Every first and third Friday of the month, Terry has a women's Bible study. The children of the women et together for a night of fun. So this past Friday evening, we went to one of the family's homes. We had about a dozen children/adolescents in all. We enjoyed dinner together, did a little interactive-Bible lesson, and then played board games. Very fun.
Here are some pictures from our church, Iglesia Biblica de Mallasilla. (Mallasilla is a neighborhood in La Paz.)
Family Life
We’re settled and getting used to Bolivian life. We lived in an apartment for the first month, but started renting a house beginning late February.
Plenty of room, and it’s in Zona Sur, which is the area of La Paz that’s a bit warmer than where we used to live. We have four bedrooms, and the girls share one. So we have an extra bed for visitors! And the outside has plenty of nice flowers.
Terry has homeschool up and running. Nicolas and Mia have tennis classes twice a week. Eliana has ballet twice a week. So the days are full.
We bought a piano last weekend after a long search. The children have re-started their lessons. It’s very nice to hear a piano in the house again.
For those of you wondering, Dulce is doing well. The house we rented came with a puppy (Settler). So Dulce has a playmate! Her name is Maya, which means “one” in the Aymaran language. Dulce and Maya get along very well.
