Simon and a best buddy, Jonah (Aitor in the background).

Ushue, Jenni, and Miren in our plaza.

During the summer the courtyard of our apt. building is a great place to be. The kids play and race around there... and neighbors stop and talk as they come and go. The other day these friends came over for a coffee and dinner. They have both in Portland with our program and now are at one of the Colleges in our town.

SIMON'S VIEW.

The other day we went for a walk and then met friends for lunch. Simon asked to use the camera and we were happy to give him something to do for the long walk. After looking at the pictures we thought this would be a great way to show you more of our city, our friends, and Simon's unique perspective. Enjoy!

Auntie Em!!!

Mommy and Miriam.

This guy looked cool!

I had to sneak up on this baby for the picture.

Girls.

Baby Xabi is awesome!

Marshall is eating a sweet burger!

I suprised my mom on this one.

My family and friends at lunch. See my shoe?

A baby sleeping.

My family walking and talking.

People walking at the beach.

A street musician.

Some nice people and cars.

Happy 7th B-day Jillian! Zorionak!

Roller blades from Simon

Simon loves wrapping gifts! Jillian has been using his roller blades so Simon gave them to her for her B-day. She has been rolling around every day since.

Apple pie instead of Birthday Cake!

Jillian asked Jenni to make Apple pie for her B-day. Jillian loved it, but her friend Nirea was not so sure...

Miriam and her friend Christina at school.

Miriam is happy it is her last day of school!

All Dressed Up, And No Place To Go

Fun Fair

Periodically, they set up these cool little kid's fair type things. This weekend, in our neighborhood, the put up a little Txiki Tren and a trampoline. The kids had great fun.

Out And About

Bikes are the best way to travel here!

Us And Our City

The Beginning of My Demise

Yes. This is McDonalds. Yes, my children are eating ice cream here. And, I must confess further...there is only one drive-thru of any sort in this whole country, and tonight, we drove-through it. And my children ate it. And I have no one to blame but myself. And culture-shock.

One Day...

He's gonna need therapy! This is what Simon enjoys doing to his "guys."

A Silent Protest

Every week in the old part of the city there is a silent march of people from the Basque Country. They carry a picture of someone that is imprisoned. From what I understand, many are falsely accused, and are innocent. People hold the pictures as a reminder of these loved ones and walk around the city following a car which is blaring out a sad, eery song. I am sure the song is significant. I don't know what it is, but it makes me want to cry-it is lovely and lonely.

We got caught up in the protest unexpectantly. You can see Gerald in his striped sweatshirt holding Miriam (just think: "Where's Waldo.")

The Benefits

Well, it took us nearly 10 months to discover it, but we have made up for lost time. Chocolate con churros, or Chocolate a la taza. It is like chocolate pudding, only way better. It is becoming a daily need for me. Like drinking water is a need.

Undecided

I wasn't sure what to title this blog entry. I had two ideas: Things I May Never Get Used To or for the second, simply titled: Why?!! You can decide for yourself.

1. Naked, old, men RUNNING on the beach. (things I may never get used to OR why?!!!)
2. The smell of the supermarket. It smells strongly of fish and laundry detergent mixed together. It is not a pleasant smell (things I may never get used to OR why?!!!)
3. The parks are used for public restrooms (and I do mean public) by both children and adults alike. Oh, the stories I could tell! (things I may never get used to OR why?!!!)

An Education In Citizenship

Mom (reading a question from Simon's Brain Quest Cards): Simon, what do you call a citizen of Canada?
Simon: A Cannibal.
Mom: Hmm, not quite.

Just Plain Cute

Tadpole Hunter

Next to our flat is a very beautiful and rustic park. There is a pond with little critters of all types swimming and hopping around. We decided to let Simon catch a tadpole and keep it in his room for 24 hours. He named his tadpole "Jenny." I am not sure if I should take it as a compliment, though. After 24 hours of living in Simon's cave...well...let's just say the little critter was meant to stay in that pond. But, it the end, it was a fun experiment for us all (except Jenny.)

For My Boy

I love the lyrics and music of singer Sara Groves. Many times her songs have been like a healing salve. Her song "A Song to My Sons" is no exception. It has become my prayer for my own son:

This is a song for my son(s) for when you understand it
You know how life is full you know we couldn't plan it
Your dad and I prayed for strength and understanding
For things we couldn't see or comprehend

This is a song for you to carry in your pocket
Take all our love with you in all the paths you walk in
I can't always say your life will always go like it should
But I can say that God is always good

And when the cold wind blows like I know it will
And when you feel alone like I know you will
And when the cold wind blows like we know it will

Don't let your love grow, Don't let your love grow, Don't let your love grow cold

*This is a song from my heart a small refrain to hold you
For times when we are apart and I can not console you
Be honest with yourself and don't forget to pray and read your Bible every day

Working It Out

Upon returning to the Basque Country, it became clear to us that our son was experiencing such hardship in school that we had to take him out. It was not a healthy environment for him to grow and learn. We reached a point where we literally felt like we had no options, but through the prayers of our beloved family and friends, and the support around us, we are seeing a bit of a clearing. It has always been a dream of mine to homeschool my children, and now it looks like I get to do that! I have been doing a bit of research and I really like what I am seeing with the strategy of a Charlotte Mason education. It incorporates an abundance of literature, and since my children can't get enough of books and stories, I think this could be a good route for us.
Because Simon is a great auditory learner he has been feasting on the adventures of "Huckleberry Finn" via podcast audiobooks. He and the girls have also been laughing to the tales and mischief of "Pipi Longstocking," and relishing in the mystery and intrigue of "The Secret Garden."
I have a lot of kinks to work out (homeschooling in a foreign country) but I am feeling encouraged and hopeful about it.

"See You Crazy"

Today Gerald and I saw a neighbor woman whom we hadn't seen for some time. She is great and always friendly. After stopping to chat for a few minutes, we began to say our goodbyes which traditionally end in something like this: "Hasta Luego" which means basically: "See you later." Gerald decided (unintentionally of course) to try something new: "Hasta Loco." No explanation needed.
I find this extremely appropriate given the state of our life right now.

Garage jam session in Arizona...

Check out Gerald, Chris, and Michael getting funky in the Ledners garage on Lylah's blog:

http://lylahledner.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-post.html

Update!

Much time has passed since our last blog entry! And even more so-events! I write this post from our living room in our apartment in the Basque Country! For those of you who haven't heard, our visas arrived just in time! Gerald happened to be on a "boys surfing trip" in Malibu with Simon, and our friend Andone from Basque Country when the visas came in. I joined them later that night (quick flight from Phoenix to LA) with 5 passports in hand. 4 days later, we made our flight back to the Basque Country. As much as I love the States, and specifically Arizona, and my family, my prayer was that God would bring the visas at the right time. It certainly seems that He did!
Coming back, I realized all the things that I had forgotten that I love about being here:
-people walk everywhere, and I do mean everywhere
-the sound of mopeds (Gerald thinks I am crazy, but I love to keep my window open and listen to them race up and down our street at 3 in the morning. There is something musical about it, though!)
-fresh bread (oh it tastes so good, but it can be so dangerous when eaten in large quantities on a daily basis long term)
-the streets, sidewalks, etc. are always full of people, there is so much life here
-the buildings are old, and beautiful
-although it hurts my brain, it is fun to learn a new language
-i love our cozy apartment with just our little family
We thank God for a safe journey back home!

Confessions Of A Slacker

Okay, so our blog has been a bit spotty the past few weeks because of our upheaval in our current living situation, but please check our our wonderful friends and teammates Chris and Megan Probasco's blog. They have just spent 2 weeks in the Basque Country living in our apartment doing visiting and meetings for the summer program, because we have not been there. They will be in Seattle this summer with students from the Basque Country, and we are praying they can join us this fall by moving to Donostia!
On the other hand, I have taken lots of pictures and posted many blog entries in my head. I will get around to putting them on our actual blog soon! Stay tuned! :)

cmprobasco.blogspot.com

From Bayonne to Bilbao...

"My people

have always had a harbour;

but nothing to hold on to firmly,

our harbour is the sea,

the furious sea,

which stretches from Bayonne to

Bilbao...

The sea is our language,

from Bayonne to Bilbao."

Biaonatik Bilbora

by Imanol Larzabal

It's Out Of My Hands

I can have a tendency towards extremeism. Much of the time I am laid back and can go with the flow. But, when it comes to food...well-I can be a bit...unflexible. One year our family ate no sugar. For Easter, I loaded those plastic eggs with little erasers and raisins and peanuts. Simon has eaten at McDonald's two times in his life. Jillian and Miriam-never. Sometimes I overhear Jillian ask Simon when he grows up if he is going to eat at McDonalds. He gets a wicked grin and a rebellious smile and says: "Oh yeah. Like everyday." Jillian is moritified and feels her brother is walking a straight line toward the gates of hell.
We eat organic whenever available, I would prefer to grow my own food, have chickens who lay our eggs, and collect milk from my own cow. Anything artificial keeps clear of our plates.
I say all this because as I look at my current life situation, I have really gone down hill.
Since living with my parents this past month (and counting...) my kids have a constant supply of bubble tape bubble gum (unnaturally blue or red), coke at dinner time (my heart races at the thought!), and well, whatever else they ask their grandfather for. I love my dad, and now-there is just no competing. He is a sucker for his grandkids. And for now, their teeth are rotting, but they are happy.

Top Ten Reasons I Love The United States

1. Whole Foods
2. Stumptown Coffee, Pete's Coffee, and when these aren't available...Starbucks is!
3. Libraries are in english.
4. Old Navy has incredible sales.
5. Every type of food you can imagine (thai food, indian food, sushi on every corner!)
6. Eating dinner at 6:00 is normal.
7. The coffee at restaurants is endless.
8. You can buy peanut butter.
9. Drive-thru's.
10. My mom's washing machine can fit more than 3 towels. A LOT more.
okay...11. Target (thanks Angela! how could I forget???!)

An Update

Okay, so we came back to the U.S. because we had extended our legal stay in Spain (Basque Country) as our residence visas had not come in as planned. It seemed perfect. The "man in charge" said our visas would arrive in L.A. at the end of the month (March), the kids had 2 weeks of spring break, and we had a conference with Summer in the USA to attend in Seattle. Yet here we are in Arizona two weeks into April, no word on our visas (still waiting!), and we can't get back into the country until the papers are in our hands. So now, we are waiting, and praying, and I am teaching Jillian timestables, and working with Simon on reading (Treasure Island), and doing Rosetta Stone (spanish) on the computer, and Gerald is working on the phone and computer.
So-this is the latest news for us! We are in a holding pattern. We are learning patience. We are learning faith. It is not where we want to be, but we recognize we are not the ones in charge! And we can take comfort in this!

A Little Work...

...And A Lot Of Play!

Experts (again!)

So, we have been back in the Good Ol' U.S. of A for nearly 2 weeks now. After having been living in the Basque Country for 6 months, we are enjoying the ease of conversation in our native tongue, we are finding the "system" here to be smooth and effortless, and the coffee and food...well, let's just say...variety is the spice of life! :) It is certainly humbling to live in a foreign culture and foreign language. We are like infants, dependant on those who know how to live and operate in this land. The simple daily activities that we take for granted in our own country, become large hurdles, burdening obstacles that must be manuevered with lots of time and care.
Even though it has been a difficult season of learning, I thank God because He has helped our family to grow. We are seeing areas in our lives that need His sharpening and His careful carpenter Hands. We are learning dependance on Him in ways we never knew possible.
So, for the next two weeks, we will enjoy being the "experts" on everything! But we are excited to return because He has been faithful to us in unimaginable ways and we know He will continue to do so.

Who Needs A Dog?

...when you have ladybugs!

Bike Tales

Jillian never rode a tricycle. I was concerned that she'd never learn to ride a bike. But two days ago, she got on the bike and Gerald has been chasing her ever since.

My Three Girls!

How is Miriam's face?

The Dirt Has Arrived

My parents are putting in garden boxes. They had dirt shipped from California-here is the day of delivery. The kids were ecstatic when this big truck pulled up and "dumped" the dirt right on the driveway. They weren't so ecstatic when they spent two days helping my parents shovel the dirt from the front to the back of the house. But all the hard work sure has cured the jet lag!