Today was different

Today I woke up, went to market, went to the visa renewal place, did laundry, all the normal things...

some different things:  we saw a gas tank (like the gas you put into your house...we have to have the tanks filled up every so often) FALL OFF A TRUCK...we were like, that could have exploded!!!  but it didn't and he stopped, picked it up, and threw it in the cab...you know, the guy from the gas company...no biggie...

then winnie wanted to go to a friends house to jog (even though it is a million degrees outside), and she is planning to spend the night there Friday...so we wanted to meet the family...well, the thing is, this family lives in the US Embassy compound of houses...so, they asked for ID, which I did not have, but Lee did, and the mom had called ahead.  They had to inspect our car, put a mirror under our car, and search our engine...then, we were allowed in.  It was like crossing the border.  But they were very nice.  It was like driving into a luxury resort in Florida...absolutely beautiful.  I would love to show pictures, but am quite sure that would be forbidden.  They were at the pool...which my kids and I drooled over, as we have sweated all day long today.  We met her friends mom, and then got back in our fancy car (LOL) and headed out...driving around the road of very beautiful, very american, very air conditioned homes...I asked Lee if he was feeling a calling to work for the embassy...but he said he liked his boss he already has (Jesus) and living amoung the Belizeans...I do too:)

then we headed home to a beautiful tree in our front yard being eaten alive by these ants...they literally break the leaves into a million pieces and carry it down...lee poisoned with three different types of poison and yet, they still worked, a trail, destroying the most beautiful shade tree over my front patio...i do not like it!!!  but just now, he tied the tree with duct tape, and Lee said they would not cross it...well, you bring a boy from Tx, he is gonna fix it all with duct tape...yeah.

Tomorrow we  head to Spanish Lookout for an errand...love that the kids are homeschooled.  We will do the schooling in the morning, then enjoy a nice, AIR CONDITIONED ride in the car to the beautiful community.  And of course, we will need to stop by the ice cream place while we are there:)  Tonight, we watched Amish Grace, the story of the shooting at the Amish community a few years ago and it is a beautiful story of Forgiveness.   How appropriate for us to visit the Mennonites tomorrow.  We love the Mennonites....Love seeing them shop with their little babies all dressed up in bonnets...

We look forward to the evenings when the house begins to cool.  Our afternoons are rough and we are sluggish...I must admit.  Even going to get our visa this morning...I was in no hurry to leave...just enjoyed sitting there enjoying the lovely air conditioning.  We have learned ways to keep cooler...in that I took three cold showers today, we bought two huge bags of Ideals, which we can just put in the fridge, or freeze, drinking lots of water, the kids put ice packs on themselves while they work, and just plain sitting in front of a fan.  But things still must get done, and they do.  But I try to do most harder work in the morning, and plan to rest in the afternoons, and it starts to cool around the time I start dinner.   And you wear more tank tops and shorts...you dress like a Belizean:)

Oh, and just for you, Wayne...you should be so proud of me:  this morning, I woke up to make breakfast and lunch for Winnie and saw something out of the shadow of my eye:  a gecko...and not a baby one, crawling along my ceiling...I did not freak out or scream.  I calmly thanked the Lord for all the bugs he was eating for me and asked that he might not fall into the eggs I was cooking!!!

Some people have wondered why we are not running the air conditioners when it is 95-97 degrees in the house...well, one reason:  we have been told that it is very expensive...and we only have them in the bedrooms...and once you turn them on, we would never want to turn them off...electricity is double here.  We have not had an electric bill yet, but our gas for our car is high, our water bill is high, it is high to have cell phones, so we just want to use wisdom...   But we do have air in the bedrooms...  but we also moved to Belize, where we are surrounded with people who do not have air in their bedrooms...or maybe even fans...so we are okay.   We will adjust...and maybe we will run it once in a while once we know how high it is without us using the air...

I have learned a lot about Belize in a very short time...even more than when we came on all those short term trips...really getting an understanding of the culture.  Some of that is just living with a teenage girl and getting to know her friends, their struggles, etc.  Even just being a Belizean myself now...just understanding why people do what they do...i think how much i am adjusted and learning the culture in 2 months, it will be interesting to see where we are in a year.  I remember when we first got here, we missed american food sooo much.  But we had a tv then with commercials advertising all that stuff.  But I think my tastes have changed...changed to what is here...

Here is what we had for dinner:

I cut up fresh carrots (or tori did) and cooked them, and put brown sugar and freshly squeezed oj on them...not everyone like this...but i did

I cooked garlic, gr pepper, and onion in olive oil, then added chicken breasts, browned them for a while, then added a boullon thing they have here to make a gravy...

Mashed potatoes...the red skinned kind...they make the yummiest mashed potatoes.

We had leftover garlic toast...

And a friend made Josh Chocalate Chip cookies and carrot cake for his birthday...

koolaid and sweet tea for drinks...no Dr. Pepper...oh how we miss it...

so we eat good, and probably too much sugar still...usually we have cut up tomatoes and cucumbers...but just not tonight.  or salad.  it is always different.  but we have fresh squeezed oj for the morning...yum.  and dont normally have dessert, but are still enjoying josh's bday...