Our Family

Our Family
Our Boy's

Thursday, January 20, 2011

We made it home!!

We arrived safely in Oregon on the evening of January 19th.  It seems that nothing we do can be done with ease, boredom or simplicity.  Yes, we arrived with three sick children, one of whom was running a fever.  We took five flights to get home and spent one night in Florida.  While in the hotel, one of the boys was coughing to the point of throwing up.  But, we made it... enough of the gorry details. 
We are happy to be home, but I find my thoughts drifting to Ecuador hourly.  Despite the obvious obstacles, we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Hopefully, this trip is just the first of many, for us, to the country of Ecuador.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Papallacta






Monday and Tuesday, we went to a natural hot springs about 2 hours from the assembly hall.  The drive was gorgeous and exciting, since we rented our own vehicle for this trip.  Driving in Quito is unlike any other place we have driven before...It is hair raising, to say the least.  But, we made it safely to the hotsprings.  They are naturally fed hot springs and are very secluded and picturesque.  The pictures will give you an idea of the surrounding area.  It was just breathtaking.  The boys couldn't have been happier or more exhausted, after spending most of the day swimming and splashing in the pools.  One of the funniest moments was thanks to Jack.  Among the heated pools there are also cold pools.  These are meant to be soaked in for a few minutes at a time until you get back into the hot pools.  Matt and Matt decided they were hot enough and would go for a soak in the cold pool.  Jack did not realize the water temperature and, before any of us could get the words out, he JUMPED in the freezing water!  I have never seen a child walk on water before...it was hysterical.  He could not get out of there fast enough...or breath!  Maybe that is why he came down with a nasty cold the following day?  Anyways, it was a very enjoyable and relaxing day.  We spent Monday night in one of the cabins that slept the six of us.  We made a warm fire, watched movies, and visited.  It was a fantastic couple of days.  The previous pictures are some of the highlights.  The one of Jack jumping into the freezing pool is shown.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Tram Ride






This was a tram that we rode to the top of a mountain that overlooks the city of Quito.  It was amazing!  We were at 13,500 feet.  Jesse was not allowed to go because he is under 18 months old.  It is too hard on their little hearts and lungs.  So, he stayed with Roger ( as shown in the picture) and Cally at the bottom and waited for us.  The group shot is most of the friends who are also here working on the concrete project with Matt.  We made for an international group, with 3 couples from US and one from Australia, all working or living in Ecuador! 

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Playing in the water

The boys had a blast playing in this water which was caused by them draining the baptism pool inside the assembly hall.  They always want to get in the baptism pool at our assembly hall...in Ecuador, they finally did...sort of!

Monday, January 3, 2011

The courtyard project is progressing well

 


This is what happens when you have a room full of Ecuadorians and grandparents...

This happened at a lunch that we attended Sunday.  The assembly hall commitee had a catered lunch to thank all of us who are working on the concrete at the assembly hall.  The meal was prepared by a brother who works as a chef at one of the local, high-end hotels.  The food was amazing...I will post a picture of the meal.  Towards the end of the meal, one of the assembly hall commitee brothers asked if he could hold Jesse...He then put him on the table and everyone (including Jesse) had a good time as Jesse climbed up and down the table.  The Ecuadorians cannot get enough of the boys' pale skin, hair, and eyes.  They would let them do anything!  As is shown in this video.  It made for a good laugh and many photographs, as you can see in the video.  We have many things to retrain these boys on when we get home... now, we can add crawling on the table after dinner to that list!