Easter Fun

Today we dyed Easter eggs. We will celebrate Easter as a family tomorrow, with the traditional egg hunt, scavenger hunt, and candy! Jacob enjoyed his first egg dyeing, and really dug in, with both hands.

Ryan returned home on Wednesday after a week away from home, back in St.Louis. The ended their trip in Houston, Texas, after a turnaround trip to McAllen. We are all glad to have him home, and he is back to it already, and hoping to start the next round of crops tomorrow.

Thank you for all the prayers while he was away, and for his return.

Let it Rain

As I am sure you know if you keep up with anyone in Guatemala, it has begun raining.  The irrigation canal has be turned off for the valley, and we have had a constant stream of requests for tractor field cultivation in town. These are both good signs that the rains have begun, and the dry season is behind us.

We were ready for bed at 6 tonight, from the dark sky's and cooler temps sending us indoors early. I am sure our weather has been much less dramatic compared to what our family and friends back home have had, but just as drastic none the less.

The coming of the rains means an increase in sick children that come into clinic from dirty drinking water, and families returning from the cost to start their crops, and bringing the alcohol and drugs with them. 

What a strange change of season.

There's no place like home... if you know where that is.

We arrived home here, in Canilla, after two weeks at home in St.Louis.

Our trip was good. We had time to restock on American essentials and visit family and friends. It seems like these trips never hold enough time for the latter. 

The trip started with car trouble, and ended the same way. Only in different countries. Ryan '04 Ford truck has some issues with a blown head gasket, and sits in the garage, as we decide what to do with it. In Marine, we were able to round up some items to be loaded onto the truck, in the next month or so, to make life here more comfortable and manageable for us.  We are planing on at least another year here in Guatemala, as we try to expand our reach into more long term goals.

Back here in Canilla, we were welcomed by warm weather, the usual smell of pine needles and smoke, and family.
Jacob has been going non stop on his bicycle since we returned, and has not lost a second on trying to go faster and farther. Joshua is enjoying crawling on the ground again, with new terror to be had on our home, and my kitchen (with no cabinet doors, he keeps us busy).

Thank you to everyone who helped make our trip back to St.Louis enjoyable, and all the hospitality that was shown towards us. As I think through the faces we have seen over the last few weeks, I am reminded of the many more that we did not get to see, that we will hope to see when we return home again, or when they come down to ours.