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We were thrilled to have Jon & Dawn Showalter spend the day with us on Saturday. We gave them a nice long walk around the city, and really enjoyed talking with them. We felt blessed and encouraged after they left, so thanks Jon & Dawn!
At the end of our walk, we came upon a Catholic Church procession in our part of town because of the “Festival of the Mariana” that was going on
This week we are back to our usual schedule of language school.
-Wendy
Yesterday, we packed a lunch and headed out for a nice Sunday afternoon walk. We hiked up many steep hills and steps and very bumpy places with the stroller. We went through a small “town-like” section of the city on the hill above where we live, and on to a very peaceful and deserted “park” above the “town” where we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Our hike continued down and up and all around different parts of the city. It was a warm and sunny day and we enjoyed the hike but were all exhausted and ended up taking a bus home. We think we probably walked close to 5 or 6 miles, and very little was flat. Evan walked it all, and seemed to have a lot more energy than us at the end.
Peaking out a window on our walk through the little town
Someone's "residence" on the side of the hill in the small town we walked through
View of the city from the "park" above the small town
This week I (Wendy) continue to have classes in the morning, and Kevin in the afternoon. My homework for today was to write a short biography of a famous person from my country. I chose Helen Keller. A quote of hers that I really liked was this:
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature… Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” (Wow, that was a lot easier to type in than translating it to Spanish!) While most of life for me right now continues to be very “insecure” and definitely not familiar or comfortable, I am resting in the security of God and his promises from the Bible that remain timeless!
-Wendy
Evan lost his second top middle tooth today! He was very excited!
This is my (Wendy’s) language class two weeks ago. I’m not in it since I’m taking the picture. One of my favorite teachers, Juan, is on the far right.
And this was my class last week. You’ll see some of the same people. Susannah, the teacher, is in the middle standing up with the black tank top. This coming week, the only ones left will be Josefin (the 2nd from the left with the blue dress or shirt with the black sweater, and Josie (in the orange sweater). So it will be me and the Josie’s and whoever else may join us.
Today we are feeling very thankful that the weekend has arrived, and are relaxing a bit on this nice sunny day. It is a great break from a stressful week!
-Wendy
Here is a tour of our street and apartment. It is a bit long... about 7 1/2 minutes. Enjoy!
May 13, 2007
Happy Mother’s Day to both of our Moms! We love you both very much and wish we could be with you today!
Last night before bedtime we all went up to our shared terraza (porch) and enjoyed the pleasant evening air and the view of the city.
This is the view we have of our street from the shared terraza, where we also hang our clothes to dry
This afternoon we did some hiking up around the Alhambra. The trees have changed a lot since we first arrived and are now full and green!
Evan & Ellie enjoyed chasing the peacocks today on our hike
Kevin and the kids treated me pretty well this Mother’s Day with a bunch of roses. They also took me out for lunch today to a Chinese restaurant and it was great! We did some more walking and ended up by the “birdie place,” one of Evan & Ellie’s favorites, and they enjoyed chasing the birds, and after that we all enjoyed some ice-cream. When we came back home, Kevin took the kids out to a park for a little so that I could enjoy some silence… a gift that I highly enjoyed! And he is now bathing them! Good Daddy!
Ellie chasing the birds
This weekend has been a great break from our full of stress weeks. It has been wonderful to relax my mind a bit, and just enjoy life. The spiritual darkness here is very heavy at times, and we are thankful for your prayers. This morning (as a family) we were talking about Solomon, and how God gave him one thing that he wanted, and he chose wisdom. We talked about what we would want if God would give us one thing and Kevin said that he would love to be able to spend just five minutes each day with Jesus, in person, face-to-face; to ask him what is on his heart for that day. I agree… while we can spend time with God and he loves it when we do, I desire more intimacy and closeness with him, to be able to REALLY know each day where he is working and what his plan is for me. So…….. what would your “wish” be?
-Wendy
It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Granada, which is what the title means (sunny)! After language school, Kevin and the kids came to the school and we all went out for lunch with a lady in my class, Josie from Canada. We have enjoyed getting to know the different people from different places in our classes. We haven’t yet met another person from the US. The others in my class (Wendy) are from Switzerland, Holland, Australia, England & Sweden. In Kevin's class there are two girls from Holland; there are only 3 in his class this week.
Amy from Australia in my class
After lunch, the kids and I stopped at a park on the way home. Evan & Ellie enjoyed wading while I studied. Ellie ended up almost completely wet, but they had a blast!
Our schedules have been very full with language school. This week I (Wendy) have classes from 9 am-1 pm and Kevin from 3-7 pm. We are also fitting in lots of homework and studying as well as normal life… taking care of Evan & Ellie, housework, meals and etc. It has been a bit stressful at times, but I am glad it is working out for both Kevin and I to attend classes at different times so that one of us is always available for Evan & Ellie!
So what else are we doing besides school? The last few days…
On Sunday I made Strawberry Pie and we enjoyed it very much
This past Sunday was Dia de Madre (Mother’s Day) here in Spain and our landlord’s son and his family came to visit them for the weekend. They had 4 boys; ages 3, 6, 7 & 8 and Evan had a BLAST playing with them! Our landlords live right above us. It is not very often that we see a Spanish family with that many children! The usual number of kids is 1 or 2.
Today Evan & Ellie got a package and we were ALL excited! Thanks VERY much Grandpa & Grandma Byler!! It was a special treat!
Tonight the kids and I blew bubbles in the street. Kevin is gone right now meeting with our friend Jose. Now its bath time, bed time for the kids and study time for me!
-Wendy
Today is a holiday…Spain’s labor day, and we are off school! We met Jose and his wife for lunch at an Italian restaurant that they picked, and it was delicious! We were excited since this was the first time we’ve met Jose’s wife, Teresa (Terri). She was very nice but didn’t speak English at all which made conversation a bit more difficult in a noisy restaurant.
This afternoon Evan’s friend Miguel came over to play for a while.
Here is a video clip of them playing in the basement/ garage area under our apartment