Catching Up: February

In February, we finally saw some slowing down as far as the short-term campaigns at Kumanii. There was a medical campaign the first week, so Rusty was gone for that, but then we were finally done with all the big groups for awhile.

Whenever both Rusty and Josh are gone at the same time, Julie and I try to get the kids together for a sleepover at either her house or mine. Our sleepover at the beginning of February happened to fall over Carnaval, so we let the kids have some fun out in the backyard with water balloons and shaving cream. They had a blast!

In mid-February, we watched the Marcum kids for a couple of nights while Josh and Julie played tour guides and translators with some Operation Ecuador supporters on a tour of the Galapagos Islands. We happened to be at their house on Valentine's Day, so I made Valentine's cupcakes for the kids to frost and decorate (and eat, of course!) after dinner that night.

We used sprinkles and conversation hearts to decorate our cupcakes

I'll be your Valentine!

Alex started attending a Spanish-speaking school 3 days a week. For details on how this came about, you can read the post I wrote here on my Writing Project 365 blog. It has been somewhat of a rough transition, but we are pleased with the school overall, especially thankful for how it is helping Alex learn Spanish so quickly. Already, in just over 3 months, we have seen such improvement in his ability to communicate in Spanish. He even told me several weeks ago that he is pretty sure that he speaks Spanish better than me now. (And I'm pretty sure that he's right!)

A couple who spent 12 years among the Chachi Indians on the Cayapas River (where Kumanii is) as Wycliffe Bible Translators came to Ecuador for a short visit, and we were able to have them into our home for a meal while they were here. We enjoyed getting to know them and hearing their insights into ministry in that area of the jungle. Read more of my thoughts about our visit with the Wiebes here.

Alex finished out his T-ball season. His last game was followed by a closing ceremony and then a pizza party at a local park. We are thankful not only for this opportunity for Alex to participate in an organized sport, but also for the connections we have made with other expat families through the Quito Youth Baseball League.

Alex and Michaela

The "Kansas City Royals" and their coaches

Finally, Benjamin got his first haircut (it was past time):

Before

After

And Alex turned 7! We celebrated with pizza from Pizza Planet and homemade butterscotch pudding. (He and Stephen had a joint birthday party with all their friends in April.)

7 years old!

And that was our February!