March 31, 2007

I know that this update has been a long time coming. I actually started it a month ago, but time seems to be on fast forward here. I can’t believe that we have already been here for two months.

Dane went to Buenos Aires and has returned. We all missed him while he was gone for nearly two weeks, but he did make it back with all of our things and didn’t even have to pay a bribe for them. What an adventure that was for him. He will tell you all about it in his update that he is working on.

The children and I carried on here without Dane. We walked to town and back a few times, which was slow because David is slow and all over the place, but nevertheless we made it and didn’t have any problems. We went to the Jardin de Los Pajaros (Garden of the Birds) here the same Sunday that Dane and Elijah went to the zoo in Buenos Aires and we all enjoyed that very much. One night when I took Elisabeth to the bathroom, I saw the biggest spiders I have ever seen in my life. I closed the door behind Elisabeth and me, and when we turned to leave, there they were! The two spiders were larger than my hand and could have made a meal out of a mouse. Needless to say, I had a hard time opening the door again, but when I mustered up the courage, I ran in the house and returned to the bathroom to give them a large dousing of cucaracha spray. Thankfully, the spiders ran off out of the bathroom.

We have had requests for more pictures of our rent house and new pictures of the baby, so I hope to include them in this update. We did discover after we finally ventured into the overgrown backyard of the house that we have two lime trees, two orange trees, a mango tree, an avocado tree, three peach trees, mandioca (cassava plants from which mandioca and tapioca are harvested), a squash or gourd vine, a banana tree, and something else that I can’t remember the name of, but the neighbor said it was dulce (sweet). The children spent an afternoon picking green oranges and limes and squeezing there own juice. What fun. Our neighbor with the chickens also has a guava tree and some other fruit that resembles a fig, but tastes like a banana. What a blessing to find these things! We had no idea that our rented house had such a goldmine of produce around it.

The front of our house and Abby.

Flowers in our yard in front (above). And part of our backyard (below).

The children are doing great. We have finally gotten back to our homeschooling and this week the children are starting to get into a comfortable routine with it. The baby is growing and is such a sweet one. David, our baby genius, who turned two this week is talking up a storm in full sentences and riding Elisabeth’s bike with training wheels all over the house. He runs the bicycle into the wall on purpose in order to do what he proclaims is a, “pop a wheeie!” The girls are a tremendous help with everything, and Elijah loves having the opportunity to help his father with all the things he has been working on.

Joseph at five weeks.

(above) Joseph at six weeks. (below) All the children last night (notice the red dirt on the boys pants and the girls feet – if you live here your children will never be clean for more than 10 minutes)

Since Dane has been back from Buenos Aires, he has made life a little easier here at the house. He plumbed water into the house so that we now have water from a faucet at the kitchen sink. He also rigged me up a hose so that I could fill the washing machine without having to haul buckets of water (running water is so nice, particularly when you don’t have to carry it from place to place, but have it just where you need it, when you need it). He also put some shelves up in the house, so that we could unpack some things and get some things off the floor. I especially appreciate the arrival of some of the things that we shipped from the U.S, namely; towels, plates, and cooking utensils.

Dane has been able to make frequent trips out to the chachra and has begun some work out there. He began by clearing a path in the weeds with a machete and the 4Runner and today he bought a weed eater and took it out there. We hope that the construction of the barn will begin soon. It has been delayed for various reasons up to this point, but it will go up very quickly once the guys get started on it.

We will have to make a trip soon to get the necessary signature on Joseph’s birth certificate that can only be given by one man in Posadas (95 kilometers away). Without this man’s signature, Dane nor I will be granted residency in Argentina based on Joseph’s birth. In addition, we will have to go together to Buenos Aires to the American embassy to get Joseph’s CROBA (Consular Report of Birth Abroad). If we can’t get to Buenos Aires for a while, we may try to get his Argentine passport and wait until we come to the U.S. to apply for his U.S. documentation.

Furthermore, we continue to be humbled and realize how spoiled we have been. We have visited several farms lately and have seen some very different ways of existence. Homes here are very small and some families on the farms live in single roomed shacks with dirt floors. The people make things out of any available materials and they often don’t have running water. These people don’t complain and are very gracious hosts. Visiting with them and seeing their homes have made me realize that there are so many things that I have taken for granted in my life of convenience. I am thankful to God for opening my eyes through these experiences.

I have so much more to say, but this email needs to be sent out. I will try to get another update out soon. Take care.

Jessica