smile...

Joshua sitting on the porch.

Mommy and the boys.

                                                                               Jacob playing in the rain.

Three month check up.

Here we are it's July, and I can't believe how fast time has flown by.  Granted, we have had our moments, but overall, it has been a smooth transition.  In the last three months we have managed to complete several projects, and along the way we have realized the need for more help, or at the least more time.
Ryan was able to help load corn into the grain bin, and unloads some every week to disperse to families enrolled in the corn project.  Jacob has started speaking Spanish, and loves to greet the workers in the morning with a 'bueanos dias' and every time we pas someone on the four wheeler, they get an 'adios'.  Joshua is enjoying his hammock time and being held almost constantly.  My garden is beginning to bear fruit as I continually fight the bugs to keep the plants alive.  We are enjoying our time here with family, and the visits from friends. Ryan's good friend Scott will be down soon, and we are really looking forward to having some company of our own.  We can't wait to see everyone this fall, as we will be in St.Louis for about a month, following Hannah's wedding in Houston. With one trip to the city in the past three months, I am looking forward to all the perks of living near a big city, or any city at that.  We plan on having an open house in Marine at some point, and hope to be an easy time for friends and family to stop by, and catch up.

After our trip to the states we plan on coming back down to Guatemala and staying through the winter, into next year, and playing it by ear. Ryan is fascinated by the opportunity for farmers here to improve their crops and hopes to teach by example and demonstrate the possibilities of some fine tuning in their planting and harvesting techniques. The people here are very independent, stuck in their ways, and reluctant to change. We hope we can open their eyes to possibilities in agriculture, industry, and lead them to know God. As the days fly by, it is hard to imagine not living here to help in the future, but even harder to imagine never coming home.