A Shock...

A Swastica.  

A Nazi Brand.  

On 2 of our new horses.

I am horrified as I watch Liam turn 

his new horse and then smile at me

He of course is clueless

as to the meaning of that symbol

the pain and persecution that it stands for

I feel suddenly ill

Our Instructor Julia,

(a german who married to an Ecuadorian)

just bought 2 new horses for us to ride on the hacienda

And their brands are HUGE.  

As I panic and wonder what to say...

Will calls loudly out across the field

"Hey -  these horses are Nazis!"

Much to my relief, 

Julia nods knowingly and says  

"Ya, I'm sorry.  

We almost didn't buy them because of that, 

but they are gentle and

 we WILL change their brand soon."

Sweet Relief washed over me.  

But the reality sweeps over me again...

.....We have officially left the bible belt.

-The swastika  -  

along with Will's gentle but straight talk, 

allowed us to have a very deep conversation about God.

She is open to hearing about the God we worship.

She abhors what Hitler and the Nazis did in her country.

It is still illegal in Germany to be a Nazi...

so I guess they excersize their political 

freedom here in South America. 

Sounds from our window...

  The weather is perfect here.  

We sleep most nights with the windows open.  

I have grown fond of the sounds that come in at all hours of the night....

at 4am in the morning,

it took some getting used to, 

but now the animals comfort me and 

I smile and go back to sleep.

Sometimes.

Our mother goose protecting her golden egg.

The big turkey ran into the kitchen yesterday

and chased me around the island 

I know I was  screaming louder than he was

(in his defense he was just trying to get away from the dog)

Liam finally rescued him and took him outside.

A visit to a neighbors farm

Patricio took us to visit his family last Sunday afternoon.

We drove up Imbaburra Volcano to their farm

It hasn't erupted for 1400 years so no worries

It's summit is over 15,000 feet

The whole family was waiting 

and welcomed us, allowing

us to join them for a 

beautiful Sunday afternoon

This is their farm and they gave us a full tour.

They are so proud and should be, they work very hard.

One of our favorite parts was the roost in front of the house.

  I would have loved to see all their chickens

 climb that ladder and perch on those limbs for the night.

Their outdoor kitchen where they made lunch for us all

The view from their house of 

Cotachachi- an active volcano

After our tour, we sat and learned to 

shuck corn with Maria

she does this for hours then takes 

it and sells in the market in Otavalo

 For lunch we were eating

Chocolo-the latin word for corncob 

A delicacy here,

 it is a very soft corn on the cob

Cooking the Chocolo for lunch

They set a wonderful table for all of us in their house

 and Carmen served us 

Chocolo, fresh cheese from their cow

 and Coke. 

Everyone cleaned their plates. 

While Maria told stories 

It was a fantastic meal

And we were so honored to share it with them 

and be considered friends

They took us hiking in their fields to see all their crops

Daniel used his machete 

(which mesmerized the boys)

to dig up potatoes, and beets in the field

Carmen is a single mom my age 

Although our lives are very different we were 

able to connect through our love for our 

families and our children. 

Patricio and Erma are building a house on the farm too-

they have been working on it for 2 years 

and said it should be finished in another 2 years.

This would give Will a heart attack.

But they are so patient

 and work on it in their free time

The kids all played soccer after lunch

-Anthony and Liam are very competitive-

We were sad to leave 

and so grateful for their hospitality 

Proud to be an American...

I did it.  I couldn't resist.  

Will was out of town and I needed the convenience.

I bought bulk. 

I drove over an hour with my kids in the back of a truck 

to get American cereal.

Sound pathetic?  

It was- but I was pushed to my breaking point.

  

And we made a real spectacle of ourselves.

Even in the Us if I take all 4 boys to the grocery

 I am stared at, but here it was worse.

 Most Ecuadorian's don't frequent the grocery stores very often.

  They buy their grains in bags and fruit from the local market. 

And they don't eat much meat.

The Costco run that fills the back of my suburban 

weekly sounds ridiculous to them. 

We had to drive to Ibarra to find the Super Maxi 

with the most American products.

Crackers, peanut butter and milk that I don't have to 

stir for 20 minutes before we drink it!

Chicken breasts are hard to find, most use the whole chicken.

For the most part the grocery stores are like ours

Then you have these guys, whom my boys love to stare at

They are very nice, they even help me bag my groceries 

with their loaded AK47 

in one hand and my cart in the other

BUT THIS TAKES THE CAKE..

In the checkout line, as I am about to loose it and all my boys are grabbing at food, 

fighting, kicking screaming and anything else they can do to cause a scene, 

I turn and look in Liam's favorite hoodie.  

What is that? I say and as I pull it out.  Then I realize what it is.

 He has a pair of my undies, stuck on his head.  

-Static cling my friends is a real thing here-

-they do not make dryer sheets-

Well we all fall apart laughing and causing a bigger scene 

(at least we are not kicking) 

and I quietly put my undies in my pocket and left the store.

Finally a translator..

I  am so excited!!!

Our teacher Tanya- 

has been teaching us spanish for a month.  

She is gentle, honest, smart and kind.  

                                                  All of us have learned a lot from her- 

which is a hard job for any teacher, 

just look how my crew takes their classes.

                                                         Tonight during my lesson, 

I brought out a copy of my Storyrunner 

stories that I have been struggling to translate.

                                    So far I have told a few stories to new friends here, 

but I have been stuck.  

The translating and then memorizing is 

more than my brain can handle.

                                                   So- I asked her if during my lesson 

she would help me translate a few stories.  

She was thrilled, and immediately began 

telling me that she knew these stories 

and that she was a believer in Jesus Christ.   

A gift from God, a friend and a helper.

                                                This is a Catholic country by culture, 

but for most their religion

 has nothing to do with a real faith in Jesus Christ.

Many people here we encounter here have never 

even heard the creation story-

It is so exciting to tell them 

they are God's special creation-

Tanya's son Joel is Eli's new best friend

they giggle more than talk so language isn't a problem

                                       Tanya has agreed to help me translate the stories.

And then to also translate for me while we I tell them to groups.  

Please pray that God will bring natural opportunities for us to share

God's story.

A birthday party....

Saturday we had a fiesta here.

Good friends from FW, who actually introduced us to Ecuador
live part time in  Cotachachi, 

drove out to see us.

After visiting many wrong haciendas, 

their taxi driver finally found us...

good thing they are soo laid back.  

TED they say (Typical Ecuadorian Deal) 

it does no use getting uptight, 

the go with the flow attitude is really a must here.

Janine and David slaved for hours to cook us all lasagna from scratch.  

There are no frozen foods here.

David, who lives in Quito which is a huge city where they have everything, 

said he had never even SEEN a frozen lasagna. 

It was a beautiful day so all the boys sat outside 

The adults talked around the table for hours 

 -religion, government and taxes-

...sorry, no solutions found...

Everyone ate at least 2 helpings

And Brandon ate the rest!

We all sang Feliz Cumpleanos a ti

And enjoyed Will's favorite cake that Cindy made for him.  

Sans icing on his piece, his favorite!

I still don't know how she made it turn out, 

everything I bake at this high altitude crumbles,

 but it was delicious!

Survival mode...

Chickens, Rabbits, Cuys, Dogs and Cats

                                         It's been 2 weeks since I've written anything.  

Will's been gone for 3 weeks back in Texas working.

I have been on the hacienda alone with the boys. 

It is so tranquil here I have felt very safe. 

It really hasn't been that bad, just no extra time to sit in quiet and reflect, 

or think, or do anything other than manage the chaos. 

My writing dest upstairs  has collected dust

We have friends that are staying in another house 

on the same ranch and between their 3 boys and my 4 

there has not been a dull moment.  

Or a quiet one.

But, Will returns tonight…I cannot tell you what a spark that has put in me.  

I have more energy all of a sudden..I guess the anticipation.  

Everyone is working hard to get ready for a big fiesta the day after he arrives.  

Loading firewood in all the fireplaces and scrubbing the kitchen in anticipation,

 and shaving legs for the first time in almost a month.

Don Luis and Zeb raking the leaves

                                         We missed Wills birthday while he was gone, 

so we are planning a big party with friends who live in 

Cotachachi here on Saturday.  

We bought Will a hammock in Otavalo last 

Saturday and they are trying to hang it now.

Don Luis and Matilde

A few afternoons a week while Will has been gone, 

Matilde has taken the little boys on a walk up the mountain 

so I could do Spanish classes with the big boys.

Liam taking his spanish lesson 

They love Matilde and their walks with her- 

its funny how quickly little ones adapt.  

Matilde has them climbing high and deep into the mountain, 

they are gone for hours at a time,  

picking berries and chasing cows, 

all in a different language.  

And they are so comfortable with it all.

Matilde raised 7 children, 

she's a pro at this and I have much to learn from her, 

especially about not underestimating what my little kids can do-

 I would have never walked up the mountain 

alone with  Zeb & Eli

Ready for their afternoon hike