Finding the New Normal

Greetings from Ecuador! Though I am not sure if I can commit to a weekly update as some have requested, I did feel that I had some things to blog about that may be of interest...or at least I found them noteworthy.

Nate facing North at Mitad del Mundo

Around the Home
We made a decent attempt at "normal" life this week: kids started school, I started full-time work from my office, kitchen (with oven!) is operational, bedrooms unpacked and semi-organized, etc. Some may think that it would be better to take more time off to "adjust" to the new surroundings, but Alesha and I have always preferred to "get on with life" and try to set up a schedule. For us, it is better when we get started with a daily routine, then we know what to expect, the kids are comfortable, and we function much better as a family unit.

Tuesday seems to be the day to get things done. Tuesday morning, I woke up to the apartment owner ringing at the door. She had a new stove to replace the one that was currently in the apartment which did not have a working oven. So my neighbor graciously helped me haul the old oven down and the new oven up and he even helped get it hooked up. Also, that same day the refrigerator repair man came by to replace the adjustment knob which had not been working since our arrival.

Last week we got 4 wooden pallets. This week we cut, pulled, hammered, and sawed three of those pallets into practical masterpieces...or something like that. I finished building my desk; I made it a stand up desk. No it does not look beautiful, but it is extremely practical! We (the kids and I) also build a couple of step stools with the principle intention being for Glory to be able to better help Alesha in the kitchen; they seem to be working out well.


Neighbors & New Friends
We recently had a chance to visit with our neighbors and let the kids play together outside...yes, our children are learning to play in the street. Does that make them "street kids"??? The street that we live on is more of an ally, so there are not many cars that drive down it. It was fun to watch Levi and Dan playing soccer and Glory play dolls. Playing dolls still seems to be a very common thing for little girls to play around here.

While the children were playing, we invited our neighbors over for supper...I did warn them that they might be eating "gringo" food. They laughed and said that would be ok...little did we or they know what to expect. We had pancakes. Simple. Right? The Hondurans knew all about pancakes, surely it was not THAT uncommon, right? Wrong! They had never met pancakes and were not entirely sure what to do with them. It was initially a bit awkward, but after the nephew eagerly asked for seconds, I realized it was not too strange. I showed them how to put the butter on then pour honey and then eat it with a fork, not a spoon. The next time I saw the boy, he asked when we could make those pancakey things again!

Ultimate Frisbee
I played Ultimate Frisbee on Tuesday!!!
'nuff said.

The Equator
We visited a city called Mitad del Mundo, which is translated as Middle of the World. There is a large area dedicated to being on the equator (by the way, equator translated into Spanish is ecuador).

Growing Glory

I wanted to mention a few things about Glory from this week. She, being the oldest, is more aware of the changes going on in our life and she is adapting well to her new surroundings. This week, Glory began/continued learning to play guitar (we decided to encourage her in guitar over piano since the guitar is slightly more portable!). 

One day while the boys were all napping, Alesha, Glory, and I played jacks. I then showed her how to spin the jacks and she played with those jacks for much of the rest of the afternoon. 

Look carefully. There are four jacks: red, blue, silver, and green. 

Glory and Alesha noticed that there were lots of birds in the city, so they converted one of our porch railings into a bird feeder. Glory is always on the prowl to catch that perfect shot of the birds just outside the window. 

A few nights ago, while playing in the street with our neighbors, she was asked which place she liked best: Texas, Honduras, or Quito. She responded that she liked them all equally well. She later confirmed my suspicions that she likes the place most when we are together as a family, wherever that is. 

Glory walking the equatorial line. 

Enjoy!
Taylor