Shutting Down the Computer

I checked out Gloson again today! I think he's spent a lot of time with Dr. Seuss, from the sounds of some of his poetry! Which is great - I love Dr. Seuss books (well, at least most of them, and before the 90th time to read through one!) If you want to check out Gloson's poetry, just type in Gloson, and I think his good stuff will come up! Enjoy!

Shutting Down the Computer

When I was a little toddler,
I played a computer game.
'Winnie the Pooh and the
Scary Monster' was its name.

At that time I did not know how
to shut down the computer
And so, I got my brainy brother
to become my tutor.

At last, I learned exactly how to
shut computers down,
which means that I could shut it down
when no one was around.

One day, when I played the game
strange things were happening.
My computer went 'ping' and 'pong' and
'ding' and 'dong' and 'bing!'

I guessed it was a virus or
a Trojan or a worm.
It made lots of annoying noise
and then began to squirm!

I think I really need a
brainier brother tutor.
I need to know exactly how
to shut up the computer!

What's he talking about "toddler"? Who needs to be a toddler to have computer troubles?? Just 'cause I FEEL like a toddler at times (too many times)!!

Beautiful, aren't they?

Chariots to China

I've been reading about Eric Liddell, who, as I'm sure you remember, became a national disgrace in the 1924 Paris Olympics when he refused to run on a Sunday. Disqualifying himself from the finals, Britain's hope of a medal was sacrificed as well. But the thinly veiled criticism in the press turned to sensational acclaim when Eric entered--and won--a race for which he was completely untrained, finishing a full five meters ahead of the favorite.

But this book and another, called Eric Liddell, isn't so much about his races, as about his life. He is described by some as a "saint". He went from being an incredible athlete, to being an incredible missionary to his homeland, China. I had always thought he was a single, but no, he had a beautiful wife, Flo, and two little girls. A sad part of his story is that while he was interred with over 300 others in China, his wife Flo gave birth to their third daughter in Scotland. He never saw her this side of heaven because he died of a brain tumor while a prisoner in China.

Chariots to China is a story for children describing one incident -- and scary adventure -- in Eric's missionary career. This incident was referred to in the book Eric Liddell, a book written especially for young people - and old people! It's a wonderful book! Check it out!

I Did Exactly What You Told Me To

I love funny poetry! As I'm sure you've figured out! On the internet I found Gloson, who is an 11 year old "funny poet" (his words) who lives in Malaysia. His poems are great! Here's one:

I Did Exactly What You Told Me To
By Gloson

My mom went to the shopping mall
to buy a brand new bed.
Before she went, she told me something.
This is what she said:

"Wash the clothes!
Fry potatoes!
Finish homework!
Boil tomatoes!

"Wash your face!
Dust the doors!
Comb your hair!
Clear the drawers!

"Wipe the windows!
Chop the wood!
Mow the grass!
Eat your food!

"Rake the leaves!
Fold the clothes!
Feed our doggies!
Shoo the crows!

"Brew the Chinese
herbal tea.
Then you're free to
watch TV!

"Please do exactly what I've said.
Please do what you have heard!"
My mother then went to the mall.
I did her every word.

Fried the clothes,
washed potatoes.
Boiled homework,
finished tomatoes.

Dusted my face,
washed the doors.
Cleared my hair,
combed the drawers.

Chopped the windows,
wiped the wood.
Ate the grass,
mowed my food.

Folded leaves,
raked the clothes.
Shooed the doggies,
fed the crows.

Watched the Chinese
herbal tea.
Then I brewed our
huge TV.

Finally, I've done the chores!
I then relaxed with glee.
I can't wait for her to come home.
She'll be so proud of me.

Baptisms and a Picnic

Baptisms at our church are always so much fun. Because they're also a BIG PICNIC! We headed for the swimming pool this morning, which is out in the middle of cornfields. The runoff is used for watering the crops, but the pool is kept beautifully clean and in recent months they've planted grass and made it much nicer than it used to be. We set up chairs and first had our Sunday morning service. Then two young ladies were baptized. And then, it was time to swim! There is a smaller pool where the little ones can safely swim and the older kids and adults headed for the large pool.

Before leaving home, Dayton informed me that he wasn't going to swim! Well, I didn't believe it, so took along his swimming suit and towel anyway. Well, as soon as he saw that beautiful pool, he said, "I'm ready to swim now!" Good thing Grandmas don't always believe grandkids! He had an absolute blast, as did Cameron.

Preparing the meat to grill. "Steaks" here are very thin pieces of meat, prepared with garlic salt, onion salt, Maggi and lots of lemon (actually limes). They marinate awhile in this mixture, and are grilled. Nothing like a U.S. big fat juice steak, but luscious just the same. Accompanied with beans, rice, salsa, guacamole - delicious!

BTW, we did also have a larger grill than the one seen here! And I think we overdid it - after the meal, there was at least half of that cooler still full of meat!

Laura was nervous about getting baptized, but thrilled at the same time!

The pool is beautiful and to make it even nicer, it's WARM water! I didn't get in this time, but next time I'm going to!

Normally the ladies here don't swim, so that's why I usually don't either, but today a couple of them, so next time I'm gonna join them!

I didn't take near the pictures I should have and forgot to take one of the food table (this is the "preparation" table). But I did catch Laura, Francisco holding Joel and Gaby catching a bite to eat. Francisco and Gaby, who had planned on just two kids (Vanessa and Joel) are now pregnant with Baby #3! Yay!

Go Mexico! . . . and Brazil! . . . And Uruguay! . . . And South Africa! . . .

The World Cup is in full swing. And no, I'm not a huge fan, so I haven't been glued to the TV these days! But 3/4 of Mexico is! Everywhere I go, there are TV's blaring the exciting games.

The first night of the FIRST game, my doorbell rang and about 15 people filed through my door - YES! To watch the game! We have cable, others don't, so when there's an IMPORTANT game on, folks come to our house! Some came from as far as Puebla - they were actually coming for a good-bye party we were holding for Yinglings and Beverly Kendal, but decided to come early and catch the game of the year! Mexico versus South Africa! How much more important can that get??

Sara, Debbie, Matthew, Caleb, Josiah, Sandy crowded around the TV

Go Mexico! There was a lot of noisy shouting around the TV that evening - and I'm sure not just at my house!

But then there were the "not so interested" ones, who went upstairs to play video games! There was a lot of noise there too. It must have been exciting!

For all but Dayton - he was busy on other pursuits!

One day we were at the Comer (Comercial Mexicana, one of our grocery stores) and saw this tray with tiny cokes! Couldn't resist! Especially since Cameron was "encouraging" me to buy it! He and Dayton have gladly helped me drink up the coke and I've already used the tray for snacks!

Celebrating

This year we celebrated one birthday on several days. Might as well, huh? First we celebrated at Corral de la Vaca with a luscious chicken dinner. Didn't think to take pictures! Too busy eating!

Then there was a gorgeous hand crafted vase from Guanajuato filled with beautiful flowers. Then there was a luscious tres leches chocolate cake after lunch with the team that is here from PA. And about 100 Facebook messages and many emails and calls. And a wonderful book from Ivonne called El Barqueño by Keila Ochoa Harris. And beautiful roses hand delivered by Juan, Carmen, Cristian and Nallely. And a special package flown in special from Pennsylvania containing Mary Kay goodies, from Jeff and Kim. And, shall I go on????










Then the day was over. But wait! There´s still ice cream to be eaten and smoothies to be guzzled!




And NOW the celebration is over. I think.

I Love Sumer -- Except...

I love fun poems! And lately I've found some really fun ones! I don't do serious well, nor hidden-meanings. The meaning has to be right out there for all of us to see - and laugh about of course! So, here's the first of several FUN POEMS, some by authors unknown, but a few by young, new talented, and did I say YOUNG authors!

I Love Summer--Except...
By Janice Kuharski

I love all the fun
that summertime brings--
excepting, of course
just one or two things:
Except for the ticks
and spiders and bees.
Except for the pollen
from grasses and trees.
Except for the sunburn
and rashes from heat,
and sidewalks so hot
they burn up your feet.
Except for sour grapes
and melons with seeds,
and slithery snakes
that hide in the weeds.

Except for mosquitoes
that suck on your skin,
and all of the flies
that let themselves in.
Except for the warm nights
when I sleep in a cot.
Except for the weather
that's humid and hot.
Except for the smog,
the dust, and the grime...

But other than that,
I love summertime.

The Pink House

With a name like The Pink House, you would expect a sweet story about a happy, loving family, right? NO, NOT RIGHT!! Norah came to live in what became the pink house, at the age of 7, up to then a coddled, loved, happy child. But then her mother died, her dad left her with his sister, and Norah was now the "poor relation" (or so was thought for many years) that was loved by a very few, hated by others, ignored by most, and grew up quickly in such an environment. What a fascinating story of an incredibly dysfunctional family and how this young lady survived - no, came out a lovely, victorious, happy young lady! I was certainly fascinated! I don't even know if this book is in print anymore - the copy we have is old - but not as old as me - HA!!

Look for it - and enjoy!

The Innocent Man

I like to read all kinds of books, Christian, non-Christian, thriller, mystery, some romance (not too much!), kid's books, and so on, but I don't usually read horror stories. Until this week. The Innocent Man was truly a HORROR STORY. And the scariest part of it is that it's a TRUE story. It's been described as "a page-turning legal thriller," "a triumph," "a gritty, harrowing true-crime story," and "a legal thriller every bit as suspenseful and fast-paced as his best-selling fiction." I could not believe such horrible happenings could go on in the U.S.A., but apparently they do! I won't go into the story, but if you want to read it, beware, it's a HORROR STORY and will leave you HORRIFIED!

I need a calm, sweet story after this! How about The Pink House, by Nelia Gardner White? Sounds calm and sweet enough - we'll see!

CHAIRS

Yesterday I started a Bible study with Aracely. But not just with Aracely. After we were finished our study, I had a very short "study" (read a verse, color a picture, paste a sticker!) with her daughters Karol and Karen, age 5, two adorable little girls full of energy, with very short attention spans. And very lovable. They greet me with kisses and hugs and tell me how much they missed me (I just saw them on Sunday!) and always want more and more and more attention. They make me think of this poem:

Chairs
by L.J. New

Chairs, chairs, everywhere,
Everywhere I look.
We sit to eat, we sit to draw,
We sit to read a book.
Some chairs rock and some chairs roll,
But most chairs just sit still.
My favorite chair of all is one
That holds a lap to fill!

A day of fun

Monday Alan and Beth's team got together at Brock and Heather Hower's house in Amealco. They invited me along, so I could visit with the Davie family (Heather's parents and brother with his family) who was visiting. It was so fun to see them again after so many years! We knew each other WAY back in Honduras when Bethie was about 5 years old - maybe younger, I can't remember back that far! Warren, Heather's brother, married Paty, who is the daughter of a good friend of Ken's and pastor of the Central American Church in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It was fun to get acquainted with her! And of course I didn't get any good pictures of everyone! Why would I do that??? But I got some fun pictures!


Annie (above) was one of the first to get a whack at the piñata. She didn´t do it much harm, but sure had fun - and sure was cute!




One of the birthday boys (Cameron!) got to break the first piñata. It didn´t take him long to bring it down! He and Warrencito almost share a birthday, just a couple days apart, and are the same age! I don´t know if Warrencito was born in Honduras, but his mama´s from there! And Cameron WAS born in Honduras 12 years ago!

What are you supposed to do when a piñata breaks? No answer needed! Just ACT! Quick!

Happy birthday, boys!

This picture was too cute to pass up! Reuben and Annie made short work of that cake!

The kiddos (and the dads) enjoyed the rides on the little scooter and four-wheelers.

Here's Brock with one of his boys.

Annie, Reuben, Dayton and someone behind him (?) climb on with Bryan Smith. Dayton is guarding his piñata treasures. His mom took them from him, so he could hang on instead of worrying about losing his precious candy! At age 8 you don´t think about the dangers of riding Four-wheelers!

Warren Davie with his daughter Andrea and one of the Hower boys. Look like fun??

But at least ONE kid had other interests! In fact, only ONE kid! Warrencito Davie would rather read a book!

Mentoring

I recently read a book on mentoring, and I can't even remember the name, but I jotted down two poems that were very meaningful - and yes, even a rebuke - to me. One is very short, but wow! It packs a wallop!

Come to the Edge
By Guillaume Apollianaise

"Come to the edge," he said.
They said, "We are afraid."
"Come to the edge," he said.
They came.
He pushed them and they flew.

On Sunday I am leading a Bible study on Insufficiency. Perfect for me, as I've felt that way for many years. But that's also a good thing! If I'm insufficient, look at how God can be glorified!

And here's another that was a rebuke to me.

An excerpt from "If"
by Amy Carmichael

If I belittle those whom I am called to serve,
talk of their weak points
in contrast perhaps to what I
think of as my strong points;
if I adopt a superior attitude,
forgetting, "Who made Thee to differ?"
And "What hast thou that thou hast not received?"
then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If in dealing with one who does not respond,
I weary of the strain, and slip
from under the burden
then I know nothing of Calvary love...

If I myself dominate myself,
if my thoughts revolve around myself,
if I am too occupied with myself I rarely have
"a heart at leisure from itself,"
then I know nothing of Calvary love.

Amy Carmichael, IF
(Christian Literature Crusade, 1992)