A basic overview of last week would likely focus on Thursday through Sunday. Julie's best friend from college came to visit along with her parents and children. We had a good time getting to know the family and spending time with everyone. Thursday, when they arrived, the kindergarten class had a project to tackle. If you have much experience baking with a child, then you know that making bread with three young children can be extremely difficult! Somehow, David, Ana, Daniel, and I managed to make rolls to be shared Friday morning at breakfast. We even had enough flour to make 18 decently sized rolls, after half of it seemed to attach itself to David's pants, shirt, and hands. It seems we were just in the kitchen last week. Friday, Krista decided to treat the kids to a favorite creation back home. We came out for recess and snack, and there on the table were mugs filled with... PUPPY CHOW! The kids had never tried puppy chow before, but it certainly became a quick favorite. On Saturday, Krista and I continued our baking week by spending 4 hours or so taking charge of pizza production. We spread the dough, baked it, shredded chicken for BBQ chicken pizzas, prepared the four different types of pizzas, baked each one, set it out and cut it into proper slices.
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| One pizza down... |
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| Trying to spread the dough... |
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| One of Krista's mishaps... |
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| Krista's other mishap... |
In addition to baking, we kept busy socializing. Friday night we set up a home theater in the school, including speakers, a large computer screen, 2 full sized mattresses, and various chairs. The "theater" held 14 people, all eagerly watching The Avengers in Spanish. The night went over great, and the kids seemed to enjoy being able to finally watch the movie. A couple of weeks is just too much to wait to see a movie it would seem! On Sunday, we said goodbye to our guests on our way to church. It was a good visit, and really nice to hear what others thought about life here. It's so easy to forget about the ease of life back in Indiana, where there are microwaves, electric stoves, unlimited water and electricity, and where you don't have to check your laundry every 10-15 minutes.
Moving on, this past week has been fairly "normal," whatever you may label that to be around here. Diane, Grandma, came back to the Ranch on Tuesday, and it's been nice to see her again. Another English speaker is always a plus, and since Grandma was here when I first arrived, it's been great to explain how things have changed and to realize how much has happened in a mere 3 months.
However, this week has been bittersweet. With Grandma's return, Krista's departure became all too real. For awhile we've had a joke about hiding Krista's passport so she can't go home, and throughout this past week, the comments about a missing passport have certainly increased. I can't quite imagine life here without Krista. She was here when I arrived, and we've become more than close friends over the past few months. Krista will be more than dearly missed, and while I understand her desire to go home, I also know that it's going to be harder watching her go than when I left my family behind in the airport on August 22.
This week has definitely been a challenge, but I also realize it's just the beginning of a new change. Life can never stay the same, and we're constantly reminded of this fact here.
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