Mami en la RD

Here's a quick update...my mom's here!!!

She got in last Monday and hung out all week in Jarabacoa meeting my kids, my friends and Natan. We were busy with school, she helped a lot in my classroom every day, and we cooked some nice dinners each night. Then, we relaxed at the beach...we got in Friday night and stayed until Tuesday, it's been wonderful being able to spend such quality time with my mommy. We will update again soon, up to the Monks :)!

Here's Mom's first night at the house...

Another night she made Enchiladas for Natan, Shelly, Amanda and I...

And here's Mom enjoying the first day in the sun...

She's here until Monday (her Birthday) visiting with more people and helping in my classroom. I'm so thankful that she's been able to share my life with me here in the DR. Take care!

una locura

I've noticed that sometimes things just stop working here more often than in my previous life in the (luxurious, convenient, everything-at-your-finger-tips) United States of America. I've also noticed that bad things happen in threes...have you ever heard that? I think it's true. The past few days I've dealt with:

1. A broken alternator in my car...

2. A broken water pump at our house...

3. And a broken fan in my bedroom...

They're not by any means part of a human's basic needs, but without my car, without running water, and without a fan while living in the Caribbean, life is a little tougher.

I do have a reason to go on though :)...my mom is coming in 5 days! She decided last week to come visit me for two weeks while my dad's in China. I'm so excited to spend such a long amount of time with my Mommy, I've been missing my family tons lately!

Oh, I almost forgot...here's a tiny peek at a day in my life as a first grade teacher:

My 17 munchkins had just come in from lunch/recess, they were sitting "criss-cross applesauce" on our rug listening intently (haha) while I was reading "David Goes to School" aloud to them. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping; but then, all of a sudden...

Francisco starts to throw up chicken, rice, and beans all over the floor! The kids jumped up to get away from the vomit and the vomitter as I tried to get Francisco to the bathroom. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I notice that Eliezer makes a dash (in slow motion in my mind, of course) to the trash can. But...you guessed it, he didn't quite make it. He then threw up all over the floor on the other side of the room! What a mess...I got all my kids onto the playground as fast as I could so there wouldn't be any more domino-barfing, took the boys to the office and found a very kind cleaning lady to clean my classroom.

It was horrible, but now, pretty hilarious. Rice and beans, anyone?

Thanks for all your love and prayers...I'll post some more pics as soon as I can, and for sure when my mom gets here! Cuidense mucho!