Around school

Here's a look around the school, the kids eating, and then later singing. Just some of the things that we do throughout the day.

Off to school

Okay, so the still picture of this video is incredible, right? I'm posting it because the video is my hope to share a little bit more of the "real life" of what my days look like. Sorry for how amazing I look while it's loading!

My favorite part of the day

When one of the newly-brushed 5 year olds ran up to me and said:
"My teeth are shining!!!"

Brushing!!!

After much, much waiting...we are now brushing at school!!! It has been a project I have dreamed about and I am so excited that we are actually doing it! Last week I went through the classrooms and talked about teeth and food and why we need to brush, then showed them how to properly do it. Each grade was given a toothbrush stand filled with their toothbrushes (each kid has a number) and toothpaste. Today they all lined up at the bathrooms and brushed away. I'm hoping this has good results for their poor little teeth, they definitely need some brushing. Once a day is better than no times a day though, right??

I can't put words to how happy I am to see these kids excited about this. They were literally running up to me asking me if this was the day they were going to get to brush their teeth!

AWANA

We started AWANA a few weeks back and the kids LOVE it! It's actually called OANSA in Spanish, but it is the same exact program we use in the States. It's a lot of games and competitions, then Bible class with more games and stories. The kids receive points for Bible verses memorized, going to church, etc. It has been fun watching them get so excited about this, they look forward to their Fridays and time to go to OANSA!

Thank you

We are thankful to everyone who helped us have such an incredible day. It never would have been possible without so many friends and family putting in overtime to help.

What a blessing marriage is. We are settling into our life together and the daily routines of working and coming home. Ariel is supporting and understanding and patient beyond reason! We are excited for all that is ahead of us and still love getting to know each other in all the small, daily things.

Thank you to all of you for you love and encouragement, your emails and phone calls leading up to and following the wedding. We still ask for your prayers as we continue to get settled and walk through each day!

The gringos

These are most of the white folk with whom we interact! It is nice to have such a support of North Americans close by. Even after living here for 2.5 years I still cherish my time speaking English and knowing exactly what the social rules are!

Our flower girl

Dariner was out little flower girl and she did such a great job. She is the pastor's daughter and we often sit together at church. She was so excited to be the flower girl and each time I saw her would talk about it and ask about her dress. She is a very special little girl.

Cake!

Our cake was beautiful. Ariels aunt, the madrina, took care of sorting it all out for us. All I had to do was give her a photo of what I wanted it to look like. It was so, so much cake, many guests went home with some too!

Reception

The reception went so fast! We started with food...and lots of it. The green things in packages are Pasteles in hojas, little surpises cooked in plantain leaves that Ariels mom made. We had fun walking around to the tables and seeing our friends and family and saying hi, even if just for a minute!

A job well done!

This is Aly and her sister, Lisa. I met Aly last summer on one of our Kids Alive teams. She was the one who came here to take the amazing photos you are about to see. (The top photo is of her after the wedding...she deserved far more than a little rest!) We are so grateful for all the running she did and her sunburnt nose. Her heart was so into what she was doing and she made me feel so special while taking the pictures. Thank you!!!

As you look at the collages, remember that you can click on them to make them bigger and have a closer look!

With this ring...

I thee wed.

And they lived happily ever after...

And so we are married

Photos from the ceremony

Civil Ceremony

We got civil married on Friday, yes, the 13th, the day before the actual wedding. It involved going to the civil court and waiting and filling out papers and signing things...then the judge asked us some questions, we all agreed and so we left married!!

The girls

Julie, Candace, Lucy, Williana

Jessi

Lots and lots of shots of Jessi...here are a few!

Ariel

Mr. Veras himself

Getting Ready

The dress ready to go on...putting on make up.

Birthday

I had a really great 29th Bday! Ariel invited a bunch of friends over and got a massive cake to celebrate. Now, cake here isnt really that good...its kind of wet and heavy, hard to explain really, but Ariel got an American-style cake in Santiago and had it all planned out. It was a fun night with everyone, nice to have a group here in the house finally, after lots of moving in and rearranging!