Things We Have Enjoyed in Ecuador--Part 4

Camping at the beach.



Volkswagens.




Baby Jesus on bars.

Uncle Henry's visit.

Things We Have Enjoyed in Ecuador--Part 3

Forests.




Ziplines.



Family.

Giant grasshoppers! Oops, I couldn't get this picture to rotate!

Things We Have Enjoyed in Ecuador--Part 2

All the boys at Casa G.



Horses and ponchos.





Waterfalls.

Spiders. Okay, maybe we haven't actually enjoyed the spiders.

Things We Have Enjoyed in Ecuador

Butterflies.



Standing on the Equator.

Being 10,000 feet closer to the sky.

Treehouses.

Thanksgiving in Ecuador

Thanksgiving overseas is always an interesting experience. Our first year in Bahrain, it was just Kai, Shawn and me, but we went all out and spent all day cooking. We made turkey and the whole works, ate within about 15 minutes, then it was over. The next year we just decided to skip the whole thing and ordered pizza.

This year, we are also outside of the US again, but we have enough family here that we were invited to a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Shawn's aunt and uncle. There were numerous other American friends who joined us in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately, Shawn had to be out of town for work this week and didn't get to come.


Here's a picture of our group--some American missionaries and teachers, along with their families and many of the Casa G boys.



Shawn's aunt and uncle made their patio up so cute for the occasion, complete with tiki torches. Inside they also had a large table for most of the guests. It was a lovely evening and the food was great with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes--the works! Though I have heard it is difficult to find pumpkin here, a lady brought two pies made from an Ecuadorian plant similar to pumpkins. Though the texture was different, the spices made the delicious taste of pumpkin (-esque) pie unmistakable. A slice of heaven.

The family atmosphere was a refreshing change to some of our previous Thanksgivings and it was so nice to hear everybody talk about what they were thankful for. The adjustment to life here has been difficult for me, but taking that time out to spend time with family and friends brings things into perspective. I am of course always thankful for my wonderful family--I have truly been blessed in that area. I am also thankful that though things have been stressful, life has still been filled with so many new adventures. Here's to another year of being grateful for all God has seen fit to bless me with!

Life is Moving Too Fast

I can't even begin to condense all that has happened in the last several months. Since my last posting in May, we have remained in Ecuador, but had repeated battles with Ecuadorian bureaucracy over our visas. Shawn was also gone working on the oil spill at Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on a firefighting boat for the months of July and August. Thankfully, my brother Henry came and stayed with me during that time and got a first-hand preview at parenthood. Since August, Shawn has been settling into his new job, Kai has been settling into his new (Spanish-only) school and I've been (sort of) settling into life here in Ecuador.