National Friends Day

Today is "Dia de la amistad", or Friend's day.  It is a national holiday.  And it is taken pretty seriously!  There are parties thrown, gifts exchanged, phone calls made and a plethera of text messages sent. 

Our family had a day of "firsts". 

Walker got lost:
Emma, Walker and I spent the morning at the giant party store getting all of our party supplies for Emma's 5-year birthday party next weekend.  The kids had a great time since it is also stocked with toys, funny foam hats that they love to try on and run into each other with and a pretty spiffy children's play area.  However, there were a few moments of panic in the air.  As we were getting ready to leave, Emma and I were trying to decide which kind of candy we needed to get to put in her pinata.  I looked around and didn't see Walker anywhere.  I said his name a few times and I didn't get any response.  Normally he is laying somewhere in the floor around me, or hiding in the next aisle.  And he always answers as soon as I say his name.  But this time, nothing.  I had just seen him like 10 seconds earlier.  I could not figure out how he was out of ear shot.  I started walking quickly around and saying his name even louder.  After covering the entire area near us, I started getting that sinking feeling.  My mind started imagining- what if someone grabbed him, what if he got near the escalator, what if.........fill in the blank!  I started yelling out loud his full name and still nothing.  I found the nearest guard and he immediately got on his walkie talkie and started walking towards the middle of the store.  (The store is 3 stories high and we were on the 3rd floor)  Emma started saying "Mom, I really miss him already.  I really want to find him."  So sweet.  Thankfully the walkie talkie communication worked.  One of the young lady workers came towards us with a crying Walker in her arms.  He was scared too.  I said "Baby, where did you go?"  And he just said "I don't know!"  Bless his heart.  He held onto me and I held onto him for a good while!  Then we went to the play area and all was forgotten!  Whew- that was a scary feeling!

Emma learned to use a hole puncher:

This afternoon Emma and I made our friends day treats.  We cut, hole punched and tied a string to little notes and put them on some of Paraguay's yummiest treats- chocolate BonBons.  Emma did most of the cutting, all of the hole punching and put the strings through the holes for me.  It may not sound like a lot, but for a four year old who has never used a hole puncher, she was pretty proud!  And it is so nice to have a helper! 

I think they turned out pretty well!  And taste even better!

And Olivia took her first steps:
I tried early in the day to get Olivia to take a few steps between me and Chris in the living room, but she was not interested.  I am not sure what changed her mind, but tonight we had a "merienda", or coffee time with the church members to celebrate friends day.  While we were there and I was in another room, she took her first steps with Chris and Perry!  I thought Chris was just kidding when he told me, until she did it again with Chris and Diego.  I feel betrayed!  I am so excited for her, but a little sad too.  I wanted to see her take her first steps.  She is growing up so fast.

Walker drew a "stick figure":

By the end of the day, I was feeling very nostalgic because Walker sat down at the table and started drawing.  He drew something that was similar to a stick figure and said "Look, I drew daddy!"  It was so cute because up until now, his drawings have all been scribbles.  He was so proud of himself, he kept wanting new pieces of paper so he could draw daddy again. 

Wow, a lot of firsts for one day! 

And I can't leave out Walker's funny quote for the day.  We were putting bug repellent on the kids at the church building and Luis Fernando, a 3 year old Paraguayan, came up and said "Walker, que es eso?" (What is that?) and Walker said "Este es bug stuff."  (This is bug stuff)  We cracked up. 

Vacation Bible School and the West Dyersburg Campaign Group

In Paraguay, winter school break is in July.  This year we had a campaign group  of 15 come down from Dyersburg, TN to help us with a vacation Bible school, as well as help in several other ministries.  Although the weather was a little colder than we had hoped, it turned out to be a fabulous week! 

We had a great crowd of kids at the VBS that came from a nearby orphanage, as well as many who were invited by fliers that the campaign group handed out every day in various areas of the city.

We spent the week studying the life of Joseph from the Bible.  We had skits, crafts, games and, of course, Yes,Yes for snacks!  The group worked hand-in-hand with our church members, which was no small accomplishment, seeing as how no one in the campaign group spoke spanish.

The group brought down all of the supplies for the week, which were donated by the West Dyersburg Church of Christ.  One of the favorite activities of the week was tie-dying shirts that the kids got to take home with them. 

 

They also worked at the building.

 

And were able to spend time at the orphanage and deliver beanie babies to them that had been donated by a family in Dyersburg. 

Besides working, they got to see the reality of poverty in the world. 

That is something that many American teenagers never witness with their own eyes.  The people of Asuncion, the church, our team, our family and I am quite certain, the group, were all blessed by their week here!

A Visit to the Sock Factory

In home school, we have been talking about the world that God created for us and all of the wonderful things that He put in it for us to use.  The more obvious ones are things that we consume such as water, fruits, vegetables and animals.  But, we have also been talking about what we have in our house that people make, using the resources that God made.  Lately everything that we talk about Emma asks "So, did people make that, or did God make that?"  We have talked about our furniture, our clothes, paper, paint, the TV, toys, etc.  On a different note, I have also been searching everywhere here for simple children's socks at a reasonable price, and I have not had much success.  It hit me the other day that we have Paraguayan church members and dear friends who own a sock factory!  What a perfect opportunity to let Walker and Emma see first-hand that cotton, something that God made, is used by humans to make thread and then placed in machines to make socks!  So, I called Nora Yegros and we planned a little visit to the sock factory.  And where better to buy those much-needed socks than straight from the factory! 

They got to watch the thread feed into the machine.

And both of them were a little hesitant about standing between the sock machines.

They got to check out all of the colors of thread used to make the socks. 

Emma loved the pink, of course!  And Nora sported her matching scarf that she claims she wore just for Emma.

Walker was most interested in what he could build.

And we walked away with lots of colorful thread spools that Walker can stack and build things with and Emma can paint.  Not to mention the new socks!  When I asked them what their favorite part was, they said "Eating cookies at Mrs. Nora's desk."  Thanks to Nora, we even got a snack! 

Papaya Raisin Muffins

A Review of the Digital Cookbook I Almost Invented- The Demy

I finally received my Demy!  And it is everything I had hoped for.  It took me a few days to actually be able to sit down and get started with it.  I have to admit, I am still not using it to it's full ability.  But, I have it set up and ready to add all of my recipes to it.  It was fairly easy to set-up, although I wouldn't recommend someone who is not familiar with uploading and downloading and looking up information on websites trying to do it by themselves.  I think the best information for getting it set up is on the mydemy website under "getting started".  http://www.mydemy.com/getting-started/  Here are some of the advertised features of the Demy:

• It stores up to 2,500 recipes
• It syncs with your computer and an account you set up with http://www.keyingredient.com/
• It has two different viewing angles and it automatically switches the screen when you turn it
• It is splash and stain resistant and is easy to clean
• It has a touch screen that allows you to access all of your recipes
• You can organize your recipes into your own cookbooks
• It has adjustable font sizes
• It has a "short list" that you can add recipes to so that if you want to use 4 recipes for one meal, you just touch a button to flip back and forth between them
• It has 3 built in timers for when you are cooking various foods at once
• It has a built in conversion tool for measurements
• It has a thorough list of alternative ingredients

But there are a few other things that I found later, that I also loved!  You can add recipes from your other favorite recipe websites onto your keyingredient account.  AND, you can add a button on one of your toolbars and any time you are surfing the net and find a recipe you like, you just highlight the recipe and touch your "post to key ingredient" button and it takes you straight to your keyingredient account so that you can dump the recipe into it!  You have to cut and paste to get it there, but it puts them side by side so that you can easily do it.  And it leads you through each step. 

It also comes with preloaded recipes, but you can send an email to the support staff and they will delete the preloaded ones and you can just have your own recipes on it.  This is explained here:  http://support.keyingredient.com/f-a-q-summary/doihavetokeepthepreloadedrecipesonthedemy .   I was very impressed that within 20 minutes after I sent the email, my preloaded recipes were gone! 

Getting my account on keyingredient set up was also very fast and easy. They also have a way to add your recipes to your own personal blog in the same style that you see the recipes in your account (I hope to add one in the next few days so you can check one out on here.)  And they have a "blog" button on their site where they blog a new recipe every day during the week, which you can follow. And the recipes from the blog are super easy to put into you own account. You can also do grocery lists and print them out on the website as well as share recipes, among other things.


I can't wait to get all of my recipes loaded on so that I can start using it everyday!  And I am so glad someone else invented this for me!

White Fuzzy Mold?

Okay, for months I have been fighting with what I thought was mold on my entranceway wall.  We knew that it was caused by a water leak from outside our house.  We had that taken care of.  However, the problem has continued.  For around 3 weeks, every single day, we sprayed it with a vinegar, water, bleach and mold killer solution.  Then I would wipe it down.  And then put a floor fan blowing on it to dry it out for the rest of the day.  The next day, every day, it would be back!  White, fuzzy mold.  Over the past week, I decided it was out of hand.  It even seemed to be spreading.  So, I washed the entire wall down with a bleach and water mixture.  And I borrowed the church dehumidifier and sat it next to it, running for like 3 days straight.  The morning after the bleach wash, it was back again!  That just did not make sense to me.  So, I decided to actually google "fuzzy white mold".  My previous googles had been only about how to clean mold.  I was very happy to find, after a few hours of researching, that my mold was probably not mold at all!  I am now quite certain that it is something called "efflorescence".  Here is a link that tells all about it:  http://www.google.com.py/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=0&oq=efflorescence&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4DKUS_enUS252US253&q=efflorescence

It is basically the bleeding out of salts and other minerals from a concrete type surface as water passes through it.  Once the minerals hit the air, outside the surface of the concrete, they crystalize into a white fuzzy form!  And the best news is that it is not dangerous to your health!  I have been so worried that this wall has been a primary cause for the allergies that the kids and I have been dealing with.  So, now I think I am just going to leave it alone and see just how much this stuff will grow. 

Cold in Paraguay

Have you ever had one of those days where you wake up cold and you just never get warm again?  Well, I have had one of those days!  I have not been able to feel my toes all day long!  It has been in the low 40's here this week.  I am aware that 40 does not really sound that cold.  I mean, in the US when it is 40, you just turn on the central heat or push a button to turn on the automatic fireplace and sit back in your t-shirt and shorts and enjoy.  Unfortunately, central heat and air are not common in Paraguay.  And my house is one of the few that I know of that actually has a "central heat and air" unit.  I find it very ironic because we only have two central heat and air vents.  One in the living room and one in the kitchen (both downstairs).  The one in the kitchen doesn't even work.  Having only two vents seems to me to defeat the purpose of central heat and air, since the idea is to heat/cool the entire house.  Our one working vent does fairly well with air, but not so good with heat.  The rest of the house is heated and cooled by window units.  And some rooms/areas don't have any heating or cooling except for windows.  So, we have to use a lot of electrical fans and heaters.

The homes in Paraguay are made to keep the heat out and the cold in because of the extreme heat.  Our house is made completely of tile and concrete and the windows are all positioned to keep as little direct sunlight out as possible.  So, a house made to keep heat out is wonderful 9 months out of the year, when it is scolding hot.  However, in the few months that it is cold outside, IT IS COLD inside! 

We normally build a fire in our fireplace to keep warm in the living room, but for some reason every time we build one this year, the kids' bedroom upstairs fills up with smoke.  We haven't been able to figure out how that is happening, so we have been avoiding fireplace fires.  I am really missing them!

I finally had to go take a hot shower at 5:45 this afternoon because I just could not take it anymore.  It was so nice!!!  Now the problem is that our hot water heater started leaking.  Great!  Tomorrow may not even hold the blessing of a really HOT shower.  Burrrrr. 

Lots of Pancake and Homemade "Bisquick" Mix Recipes

Several months ago I was searching for a new pancake recipe because I was out of Bisquick and we were not happy with the homemade recipe I had.  It called for buttermilk and since we don't have buttermilk here, I had to make it (see below for buttermilk substitution).  We have just never liked the taste of the buttermilk substitution in pancakes.  So, I asked for some new recipes on facebook and I got tons of great ones sent my way!  I also got a few multipurpose mix (aka Bisquick) recipes, as well as syrup recipes.  I have not officially tested all of these, but I am getting there.  And I always throw some fruits or veggies in my pancakes because it is often Walker's only source of them!  (See below for fruit/veggie ideas and amounts)

Hope you enjoy!


This one was give to me by Lori McElvain Parshall:
Oatmeal Pancakes
3/4 cup regular or quick cooking oats, uncooked
1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup oil (or applesauce - I like the applesauce best - healthier and tastier)
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Combine oats and milk, set aside for 5 minutes. Add eggs and oil to oat mixture, mixing well. Combine dry ingredients and add to oat mixture. Stir just until blended. Pour 1/4 cup batter on hot griddle for each pancake. Yields 4-5 servings.

********************************************************************
This one was given to me by Allison Hill Kizer:
Yogurt Pancakes
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (I usually use salted butter and just a little less salt)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup plain/natural yogurt (Here people love the "drinkable" yogurt in bottles, so I buy that but I look for brands that are a little thicker-don't buy light)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat & lightly grease pan or griddle with vegetable oil. Mix all dry ingredients, then add egg, yogurt, and butter. Stir together lightly, but keep batter lumpy. The batter should be spongy and puffy. Drop batter in small batches onto the cooking surface. Cook until lightly browned on each side.
************************************************************************
This one was given to me by Benay Blume:
Homemade Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
2 cups buttermilk (or 2 T. vinegar and enough milk to make 2 cups)
2 T. sugar
2 eggs
2 t. baking powder (I import mine from the US because the Brazilian is not as strong.)
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. oil

Mix all ingredients together. Cook on griddle, med-high heat- mine is Teflon so I don't grease it. Add blueberries if you want to.

************************************************************************
This one was given to me by Cara Blackmer:
Pumpkin Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp canola oil
1 cup nonfat milk
1/3 cup pure pumpkin

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg together in a medium bowl. Combine egg, oil, milk and pumpkin in a small bowl. Stir pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients. Leave to stand for five minutes. For each pancake, scoop 1/4 cup of batter on to a hot griddle or nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Turn pancakes when bubbles appear and edges are cooked, after about 2 minutes. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes on second side. Makes 8-10 pancakes.

****************************************************************************
This one was given to me by Mercedes Smith:

Good Old Fashioned Pancakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth. Heat griddle and cook.

****************************************************************************
This one was given to me by Dwina Willis, but is a recipe of Myra Holmans:
Pancake Ready Mix
3 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. sugar

8 1/2 c. unbleached white flour
2 T. salt
4 c. instant non-fat dry mix
3/4 c. baking powder...

MIX all ingredients together well. Store in tightly covered container.

To make pancakes:
1 1/2 c. pancake ready mix
1 - 1 1/2 c. water (until right consistency)
1 egg
2 T oil.

Measure mix, add water, egg & oil. Stir and use as you would any pancake batter. Each batch makes 12 - 15 pancakes
****************************************************************************
This one was given to me by Amy McKissick:
MULTI-PURPOSE (PANCAKE) MIX…bisquick

10 cups flour
2 ½ cups powdered milk
½ cup sugar
¼ cup baking powder
2 Tbs salt

Mix together. Store in large airtight container in a cool, dry place.
**You can use this for any recipe that calls for Bisquick.

PANCAKES
1 ½ cups pancake mix
1 egg
1 cup water
3 Tbs vegetable oil
(I add vanilla flavoring or almond flavoring)

Mix together, blend well, and let stand for 5 minutes. Cook on a hot oiled griddle. Makes 10-12 4-inch pancakes.  My kids love when I add chocolate chips, sprinkles or food color the batter.
Fruit such as bananas or strawberries or blueberries baked in tastes wonderful too.

ONION RINGS
Make pancake batter with ice water. Dip thin onion slices and fry about 2 minutes until golden.
Great with ranch dressing or salsa. Easy for snack or a light meal.

FRENCH TOAST
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup pancake mix
(I add vanilla and cinnamon)
10 slices of bread

Mix in shallow bowl, blend well. Dip bread into batter and cook on hot buttered griddle about 3 minutes each side.


PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
¾ cup peanut butter
2 cups pancake mix
1 tsp vanilla
Sugar
Chocolate squares

Beat milk and peanut butter until smooth, add pancake mix and vanilla, and mix well. Shape into balls, roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes at 375.
Place chocolate square in the center of the cookie immediately after removing from oven.

I always make a double batch – half I cook for instant enjoyment and the other half I prepare as above except I do not cook them. Instead I put them on a cookie sheet and place it in the freezer. When the balls are frozen I transfer to zip-lock bags, label and store. It makes a quick and easy dessert later on – just remover from freezer and bake. I also freeze the chocolate squares with the cookies so I know that I have all the ingredients.  I do this with any of my cookie recipes (chocolate chip, snicker doodles, chocolate oatmeal, sugar cookies, etc) – cook half and freeze the other half.


KFC BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
1/2 Cup Butter
2 1/2 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Egg, beaten
3/4 Cup Buttermilk
1/4 Cup Club soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
5 Cup pancake mix

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Combine all of the ingredients. Knead the dough by hand until smooth. Flour your hands. Pat the dough flat to 3/4−inch thick on waxed paper. Cut out biscuits. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 18 biscuits.

Variations:

PIZZA CRUST - flatten half the dough on a cookie sheet and bake it 15 minutes at 350, then add ingredients on top and bake until bubbly.

CINNAMON ROLLS - Roll out dough, spread evenly with melted butter, sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon. Roll up, slice and bake for 18 minutes at 350. As soon as they come out of the over top with a powered sugar, vanilla, and milk mixture.

Make double the recipe – half for dessert that night and the second half prepared as above but stored in refrigerator overnight to cook in the morning for breakfast.

DUMPLINGS – prepare like above. Put them by spoon-fulls into your simmering chicken soup mixture. Cook 10 minutes with the lid on and then 10 minutes with the lid off.

****************************************************************************
My recipe
Homemade Pancake Syrup
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar (or a total of 2 cups regular sugar if you can't get brown)
1 cup water

Boil for 1- 1.5 minutes.  Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon mapelline.  Stir and let it cool with lid.

****************************************************************************
Sent to me by Benay Blume
Maple Syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
pinch of salt

Heat on stove until boiling. Turn off heat and stir in 1/2-1 t. maple flavoring.
Ladle warm syrup onto pancakes, or store in refrigerator

*****************************************************************************
Buttermilk Substitute: 
•Milk (just under one cup)
•1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Preparation:
1. Place a Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.
2. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.
3. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

***************************************************************************
Fruit and Veggie Additions:
I always add a fruit or vegetable to my pancakes.  For my family, it has to be pureed or my kids won't eat it.   Usually around a cup of fruits or veggies can be added without completely changing the texture.  You can also give them a little protein boost with adding some wheat germ.  Here are a few of my favorites: 
 
Bananas- I just use a fork to mash them up and mix them into the batter with some cinnamon. 
Strawberries- I puree them in a food processor/chopper and then add them to the batter.
Pumpkin- If I have canned- I just open them and put them in the batter with some cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg and/or allspice.  If not, I cut up a pumpkin, steam it in a steamer basket, cut the rind off and then add some of the water from the pan into a food processor with the pumpkin to make a puree.  Then add spices. 
Sweet Potato- I either boil or steam them, remove the skin, add some of the water from the pan into the food processor and make a puree.  I also add cinnamon and/or some of the above spices to it.
Beet- I either steam or boil this as well.  If I put this in the pancakes, I only use about 1/4 cup of it and then add 3/4 cup of either pumpkin or sweet potato.  And then add the same above spices.  It make the pancakes pink, which can be fun if you have little girls! 
 
**And the easiest thing to do if you don't live in the US (where you can buy cans easily) is to make all of your veggies/fruits purees ahead of time, freeze them in ice cube trays and then when you are ready to make pancakes, you just thaw how many ever cubes you want to throw in and add them to your mixture. 

A Foreigner in Both Countries

"If you came back, you wanted to leave again. If you went away, you longed to come back. Wherever you were, you could hear the call of the herdsman's horn far away in the hills. You had one home out there and one over here and yet you were an alien in both places. Your true abiding place was the vision of something very far off, and your soul, like the waves, always restless and forever in motion"

Johan Bojer from The Immigrants.

It is often difficult to describe what it is like being a missionary, or even living in a foreign country.  This quote is a fabulous glimpse. 

The Dog, The Kids and a Window

I love watching my kids grow!  And I love that Toby loves growing with them.  These are all pictures taken of the kids with our cocker spaniel, Toby.  They are taken at our front window, where obviously there are good things to see outside of it.  Every time I catch any of them by the window, I run for the camera.  These pictures are what I have been able to capture so far.  The first four are just of Emma when she was smaller.  Then some mixed ones of Walker by himself and of Walker and Emma together with Toby.  And the last one is of Olivia with Toby.  I was so happy when I first saw her get in the window with Toby by her side! 

The Best Diaper Cream

I am sure most moms have had to change screaming babies' diapers when their little bottoms are red.  A nurse shared a fabulous recipe with me a few years ago when I was in the states and Walker had a really bad diaper rash.  It is wonderful!  I have recently been using it again with Olivia and thought I would share.

You mix equal parts of :
Maalox (the liquid antacid)
Desitin (or your favorite diaper cream)
Lotrimin (for foot fungus) or Monistat (for yeast infection)

Make them into a paste and use a cotton ball or q-tip to rub it on gently.  The Maalox is supposed to take the acid or sting out, the Desitin protects it from further irritation and the Lotrimin or Monistat kills any fungus that could be growing.  Happy diapering!

"Email Subscription" on your blog

It took me forever to figure out how to put an email subscription link onto my blog!  I really wanted my family and friends to be able to enter their email address and get notices when I update my blog so they didn't have to remember to check it all the time.  Plus, most of them don't blog and wouldn't have any other way to be notified or follow me.  Through this process, I have decided that I should be reading "Blogging for Dummies".  Is there such a book?  I really should take a short course or something.  Anyway, just thought that I would spare someone the trouble of doing all the searching that I did to figure it out.  This blog has it written out step-by-step and even with pictures! 

http://en.support.wordpress.com/email-subscriptions/

Flag Confusion and the Tooth Rat

Well, the big Paraguay game was Saturday.  Paraguay lost.  It was a sad day for everyone here.  But, I have been very impressed that flags are still flying high, jerseys are still being worn proudly and everyone is moving on to decide which country to cheer for next.  Although it was disappointing, we had a great time together at the church building watching the game.

Since Saturday was such a big day here and Sunday was Independence Day for the U.S., I decided to do a little lesson at home on the Paraguayan flag and the American flag.  I printed both of them out from online, along with some fun worksheets.  We talked about the differences between the flags and I explained why the US was celebrating Independence Day on the 4th, and what the U.S. flag symbolized.  I didn't think too much more about it until Sunday morning at church.  She very proudly brought me the picture that she had colored in Bible class and as I glanced at it, I was really impressed at what a great job she had done coloring it.  However, I didn't pay that much attention, until her Bible teacher, Nora, came up laughing and asked if I had checked out Jesus' and the apostles' clothing.  I will let you look below at the picture. 

Interesting.  And not only did Jesus and his apostles have the Paraguayan flag on their shirts, they had a fancy wall clock as well!  At first, I was a little worried.  I was afraid that someone might see it and be very offended.  And then I remembered what Jesus said in Matthew about us becoming like little children.  When she drew Jesus with the albirroja, her mind was pure and innocent.  I think that she has seen so many Paraguayan flags, albirroja jerseys and red,white and blue signs over the last few weeks that it just seemed natural to her.  I guess that she was personalizing him, putting him into the world in which she lives.  If he were here among us in human form, of course he would want to wear a Paraguayan albirroja jersey because everyone in Paraguay wears one! 

And then Sunday afternoon during naptime, she decided to make some of her own flags.  I was very impressed with what she came up with. 

She had cut them out, colored them like the Paraguayan flag and found crayons to glue them onto so that they would look like real flags!  She said that she wanted to take them with us over to our teammates house to celebrate the 4th of July.  When I explained that she had drawn the Paraguayan flag and that we were celebrating the independence of the Unites States, not Paraguay, she said "I know mom, I just wanted to make this kind for us!"  And there you have it! 

Moving on to other fun stuff- she lost her first baby tooth this week!  A new one has been pushing in behind it and the new one was getting pretty high.  So, I told her that if she didn't let me move it around, I was going to take her to the doctor and let them pull it.  After just a few minutes of moving it around, I was able to pull it right out!  At first she was a little overwhelmed by the whole process, but then she started getting excited.  A few weeks earlier we had told her about what happens in Paraguay when children lose teeth.  There is a rat called "Raton Perez" that comes and takes your tooth away and leaves gifts.  She had decided that when she lost her tooth, she wanted to receive fingernail polish.  So, I told her that maybe if she wrote Mr. Rat a note, he would leave her some.  She immediately became very concerned.  Raton Perez certainly wouldn't be able to read a note that she wrote, seeing that she only knew how to spell things in english!  So, I told her that if she wrote it out (with a little help, of course) that I would translate it into spanish.  She got straight to work.  She actually drew out the bottles of fingernail polish that she wanted and painted them the colors that she prefered.  She then wrote the colors in english and had one of our spanish friends to translated it for her.  So, it didn't take her long to remember last night that she just might have some new finger nail polish under her pillow in the morning. 

The problem was that when I pulled her tooth last night, I did not consider that fact that I had not bought her any nail polish!  So, Raton Perez ended up leaving her money and she got to go pick out her own finger nail polish.  In beautiful shades of bright green and pretty pink, nonetheless!  She showed everyone in the store that would look at her where she had lost her tooth.  And she was so proud to take her money up to the counter and pay for her very own nail polish.   

As for Walker, he has been busy repairing his bicycle. 

The Digital Cookbook I Almost Invented

The other day I was cooking and I really needed a recipe that I had downloaded onto my computer.  However, my computer was in the living room and was turned off.  In order to view the recipe, I was going to have to go to the living room, turn my computer on and find the recipe, then either write it down or take my computer upstairs to print it off.  Either way I would have been with yet another piece of paper with a recipe on it that would have to find a "home" in my stash of recipes.  I love to cook. And even more, I love to try new recipes.  My problem is that I am running out of space to keep all of my recipes.  And certainly running out of time to keep them all organized like.  For years, organizing all of my recipes has been on my "to do" list.  I just keep putting it off because it seems like such a huge task and I just could not decide on a way to organize them that sounded good to me!  

So as I was in my kitchen, needing that recipe, and I started thinking about the perfect invention.  What I needed was something digital that was small enough to leave in the kitchen, something that would hold all of my recipes in an organized way, something spill-proof, something that I could sink with my computer and that would hold all the recipes that I download, something fabulous.....and I was going to invent it!  And then, of course, I laughed at myself.  I went to my computer, brought it into the kitchen and turned it on, looked at the recipe I needed (after all, I did still need that recipe!) and then googled "digital recipes".  I sorted through a few recipe software links and then...I saw it.  Just as I had expected- someone else had already invented it!  The Demy by Key Ingredient. 

http://www.mydemy.com/

Here is what the website says about it: "The Demy is the world's first kitchen-safe digital recipe reader that will revolutionize the way you cook. The Demy holds your personal recipe collection in one sleek, compact device. Featuring a high-resolution color touchscreen, an uncluttered interface and many special tools to make any cook’s job easier."






It looks great! It is still rather pricey and seems to still have a few bugs to be worked out, but I am sooo excited!  I haven't been able to stop talking about it and reading about it.    It even has a website that works in conjunction with it.  I was thinking, wow- I would love to have one of these!  And then my wonderful husband said "So would you like that for your birthday?"  My birthday is coming up in a few weeks!  Of course I would like that for my birthday!  Why didn't I think of that?  I can't wait!  Now I just have to find the time to get all of my other paper recipes typed into my computer.  But, it is a start! I can't wait to get rid of tons of printed recipes!!!  I am getting a Demy!