Odds and Ends

1. I am way, way behind on posting...but of course, you already noticed that since there's been nothin' new to read for a while...sorry, life has a way of whirling and twirling until the days just sort of run right into each other...
2. The kids started school a week ago today and it was a very interesting week...Jojo in his K4 class with 3 other little guys; so cute!!! Gracia moved up to the 1st and 2nd grade classroom where she is now not the only girl in the room! Micah also changed classrooms, moving into the 3rd and 4th grade room...so far he claims it's 'boring', but I have a sneaking suspicion that he's actually having fun! JD is in 10th grade and it seems to have been the right choice of grade for him...he is taking a Bible class, Physical Science, Geometry, English, Computers, and P.E. This week he also began practicing with the basketball team...the change in climates and altitude is affecting his game, so he'll have some adjusting to do there! He's also amazed at the amount of homework he has compared to back in Venezuela...he definitely has very little free time here, not necessarily a bad thing, if you know what I mean... :)
3. There was a mouse in my bedroom this morning...I thought I saw movement in the windowsill and sure enough, this mouse came swarming down the curtain into one of the potted plants on the bookshelf and then disappeared for a few seconds until it made a dash for the bathroom! I really am not a terribly squeamish type of girl, but I do confess to a couple of squeals here and there...brave Miguel shut himself up in the bathroom with the beast where he was able to slap it silly with one of my flip-flops...my hero! And all this at 5:30 this morning! Too early for such excitement, really...
4. I've been kinda sad lately, thinking about three of my sisters and my Mom getting together for a few days in Missouri this week...I'm really quite happy for them to get to spend the time together, but on the other hand would really love to be there and hang out with them! It's one of the hard things about this missionary life, the times we're separated from family...it's hard to be so 'close' and yet so far!
5. Also been thinking about my sister Chrissy in Ecuador...she had some really weird rash break out on her arms a couple of weeks ago that turned into quite a nasty ordeal. She was able to get out to town and see some different doctors, none of which have known exactly what is causing the rash or what to prescribe...she actually ended up hospitalized for a few days when the rash became infected! Sister Kathy and family just left Ecuador on their furlough, but PTL, their other coworkers (who had been on furlough themselves) returned in time to help out with things. They are thinking that perhaps it is a reaction to a plant there since my niece and nephew also had a bit of the same type of rash, too. The Awa people that they work with tell of a plant that gets 'angry' if it is not properly 'greeted'...that one sounds like a prime suspect! But honestly, I'm praying for Chrissy that she will heal quickly and not have to go through this again!
6. And to leave you tonight with a laugh...last week I was down in the basement with about five other people, showing two new single guys to their room...I had just explained to the guys that they needed to be sure to shut the window in their room when they left the house because the rain coming off the roof tends to splatter in and drench the entire room. At that point I turned and looked up in time to see Jojo taking a leak right in front of one of the basement windows!!!! Apparently he has absolutely NO idea that even though you can't see IN the windows, you can see OUT of them perfectly well! One of the guys then said, oh, well, now we know the REAL reason you need to shut the windows...ay, ay, ay!!!!