Come One, Come All

This morning as the kids and I were lingering over breakfast, Jillian, in usual form, made up a little song to sing. This went on for a few minutes unil Simon piped in with his own unique version of "beatbox." Simon was very pleased with the music that the two of them made together (I was looking for the nearest exit.)
Simon: "Jillian, we should get together at recess to perform for everybody. The other day I attracted a whole group of third graders with my beatboxing. Now, with you singing, we could attract the fourth graders too."
Jillian (looking mortified): "NO THANK YOU, Simon."

Where Oh Where?

I haven't flossed my teeth in 5 days. I know they have dental floss here, but I can't seem to find it. I scoured the dental section at the grocery store for 10 minutes the other day. I didn't see any. And I didn't know how to ask where it was. (well, maybe I didn't feel in the mood to make a fool of myself miming a person flossing.) Maybe there is a special store just for dental floss, just like there are special stores just for socks, and fish, and meat, and bread, and fruit. I hope I find it soon. My teeth are feeling a bit funny.

The beach of Ondaretta.

Simon and Jillian in their "chandales." These are school gym suits. Jillian has now overcome her aversion to things non-pink.

A Twist in Pokeman Land

Thanks to all of our caring friends (including Igor and our babysitter Ane-from Basque Country)-Simon has a fabulous collection of Pokeman cards. He has such a large stack of them, that he has felt generous enough to share some with his sisters. This has been with failed hopes of getting them to play the Pokeman game with him. Miriam has listened as Simon has told the tales of trading cards, and Jillian has told her tales of trading stickers. Today we discovered that our little Miriam has been doing some trading of her own. It turns out that she has been packing some of her cards (along with a little from her brothers collection!) for the last several days in her backpack. She has been sharing them with another 2 year old girl in her classroom. Jillian discovered this at recess today while observing Miriam at recess:
Jillian: "Miriam, why was Christina (2 year old friend) walking around at recess with a bunch of you and Simon's Pokeman cards stuffed up her sleeve?"
Miriam: "Because I bring them to her everyday."
Simon: (about to choke on air) "WHAT???

A Pain

Living in a country where you are just beginning to learn the language is quite an adventure in humility. Gerald and I (along with Chris Probasco) have coined the phrase "bidiot." It is part baby, part idiot. That is what we are here. Gerald just hung up the phone with the receptionist at an opthamologist clinic. We are trying to make an appointment for Jillian to get her eyes checked out. She has been having some difficulties. I listened in the room while Gerald fumbled with spanish to communicate our dilemma with her. I whispered my helpful spanish when necessary. When he hung up the phone, he was sweating profusely. He looked at me and said: "That didn't go so well." I smiled at him and said: " I know. You just told that lady that she had pain in her eyes."

Shopping Stories

When I go to the grocery store, I walk. It is the only option I have and being only two blocks away it is not inconvenient...IF I am prepared. Because I walk, I must carry my groceries home. It's not a big problem anymore, because now I have a little cart to put my things in. The biggest problem I have is when I forget to bring a euro. One little coin can make or break my shopping experience! The carts here in Europe require a "deposit" to use the grocery cart. If you forget your coin...you are out of luck. No cart for you! But, I do have one last little option ("little" being the key word.) They have these small carts that you can drag along behind you as you do your shopping. These are meant for just a few items. Not for feeding a family of 5 for several days. Much too often, my girls each get a cart, and the three of us stroll through the narrow aisles gathering our items, Miriam bumping and crashing into things along the way.

Simple Pleasures

I never realized how much I loved peanut butter until I had gone without it for 2 months. Here in Spain-no peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches, no apples dipped in peanut butter, no peanut butter cookies. My mom sent us a package the other day. There were many delightful things from home-but it was the peanut butter (Trader Joes REAL peanut butter!) that got the immediate attention of the kids and I. We wasted no time diving into it. It's only been a week, and sadly, the jar of peanut butter is long gone (luckily, my mom sent two-this one we are preserving very carefully!) The good news is that I have now discovered a little shop that sells...peanut butter!!! We are back in business.

She's Just Like Jesus

Since moving here to the Basque Country, my children and I have had the privilege of being exposed more to disabled people and to people in dire need. The school that my kids attend has a large section of children who are mildly to severely disabled. They are in the lunchroom, and in the halls, and in the playground, right along side my kids. It has been a learning experience for my kids. We've been able to have great conversations about being thankful, being kind, and having the opportunity to extend Jesus' love. Every evening we go to the local bread shop to buy our bread. This is something that everyone does (picture Paris, France!) And every night there is a young woman (maybe 19) who sits outside of our bread shop with a little tin can. She is dressed in rags. I think she is from Romania. I know she is not begging because she is an alcoholic, or a drug addict. She is begging because this is her only way of eating. A few nights ago, I let the children each pick out a special treat-they spent a lot of time laboring (and drooling) over their sweet choices. As we gathered our goodies and left the shop, we came face to face with this girl. We had so much, she had so little. I gave Jillian some coins to give to her, but as we walked away, Simon stopped. On his own, he turned to her and handed her his own special treat. Jillian watched as the girls eyes grew big and she quickly gave thanks and took a bite. As we were walking home (and I praised my boy!) Simon kept remarking on how good that made him feel. We decided we wanted to continue to experience this joy, so each time we buy bread for our family, we will buy a loaf for her.
I can't help but be reminded of something Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40

A Prayer Request From Miriam

After dinner tonight, Gerald asked the children to be bold and persistent with their prayers to God (ie. the persistent widow.) We all went around the table to share what we wanted to ask God for. This was Miriam's request:
"That my Basque friend Ivanna would find enough money to buy a pink cell phone."
*ivana is miriam's american cousin. she is 3-she does NOT need a pink cell phone :)

A Little Bit of Love

Today was an exceptionally difficult day for Simon. The language and relationships have been challenging for him. He was feeling lonely and discouraged. I think God has such sweet timing. He cares even for the little things.

A package arrived at our house today. In it was a gigantic pile of....(drum roll, please)...Pokeman cards!!! My little boy was practically jumping out of his skin with excitement and disbelief at his "good fortune!"

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Jen and Trey!!!

Simon's sweet teachers informed Gerald the other day that they were going to start taking english classes this week so that they could talk to Simon and help him more. I am speechless!!!

First Day

This is Miriam on the way to her first day of school.

This is one possibility of what could happen if you left an open jar of Nutella on the kitchen table and you have a two year old.

An Italian Dinner

In our language class there is a wonderful couple from Italy. We enjoy their company so much! The other night they came to our house and prepared a meal for us. It was all fish and seafood. I wished all my friends who loved good food were here to enjoy it-it was such a feast. An authentic Italian meal made by 2 AMAZING Italian cooks...in MY kitchen. I kept thinking a camera crew was about to enter any moment and put us on Oprah. We had crustaceans of some sort (?), octopus (a personal favorite of Simon), salmon, stingray, anchovies, fish liver (it was really good), and some other stuff. I went to bed that night deciding I could never eat again. Well...it didn't last.

It Has Happened....

This afternoon we had a Basque student to our home for lunch. Simon surprised me by bursting out a greeting in Euskara (the Basque language). I had never heard it before, but Simon knew it, and it was well received. I am so happy!!!! They are learning! :) Also, Simon has been enjoying putting together cool lego creations. Here is one that he made and took a picture of:

A Snapshot of Daily Life

In case you were wondering...I thought I'd give a snapshot of our daily life right now. The schedule here is a bit different from life in the U.S.

School for the kids begins at 9:15
Gerald's language school begins at 9:30
*I will begin school Monday the 29th
Miriam and I walk the 2 miles to school to pick Simon and Jillian for lunch at 1:00
They have from 1:oo-3:00 for a lunch break.
Gerald joins us.
This mid-day lunch break is the biggest meal of the day for Spanish and Basques. The whole town closes up and everyone goes home. The streets are like a ghost town.
We walk or bike the kids back up to school by 3:00 and then pick them up again by 5:15.
Between 5:15 and 9:00 people are out and about. Homes are vacant and the streets are filled with people. Coffee shops are crowded with parents gathering together and children playing in parks or on sidewalks.
People get in the last minute shopping for dinner or for the next days meal.
Dinner begins at 9:00 (unbelievable for Americans!)
and finally-bedtime by 11:30-midnight (yes-this includes kids too, but not ours!!)

I find it odd that my son does not even know his teachers name. You may find it even more odd, that we do not know either.

Pokeman

Simon has been coming home everyday talking about Pokeman. It seems that during recess, all the boys in his class sit together and "trade" or "play" with Pokeman cards. This is a new thing for me and I didn't have a clue what this was. He has been coming home in near tears because he doesn't have the cards to participate in what the other boys are doing. He told us that they don't let him hold theirs to look at them and he is often on the outskirts. Jillian has been reporting to us that our "social" son has been walking around alone at recess. This breaks my heart!!! So...Gerald and I have been on a quest to find these trading cards. Everyday after school we've popped our heads into some little stores that look like they would carry such things. Everywhere we've gone we've been told the same thing-"they have no more" or "they are all out." But, we have been determined to find some!
Today, when Simon came home for lunch he was beaming. He pulled out from behind his back a stack of Pokeman cards. It turns out that one of the mothers from his class knew we were looking for them and had her son bring some for Simon. We are so touched by this sweet act of kindness. I told Gerald that I pray that I am aware of others around me (as this woman was) to show love and kindness.

Tortilla de Patata (potato omlette)

This is a staple here in the Basque Country and I make it several times a week-I am trying to perfect it:

1 onion, chopped

4 potatoes, diced small

5 eggs, beaten

lots of olive oil

*the best baguette you can find!

Saute the onion for about 10 minutes until nice and tender in a lot of olive oil. Add the potatoes and saute along with the onion until they are soft. (I usually add some salt-3/4tsp.)

Have the eggs ready in a bowl, and add the potatoes and onions. Let this mix sit out for several hours to absorb.

Heat a small-med pan with nice sides (at least 2 inches high) and put in the egg mixture. The heat should be med-low. As the bottom cooks, push down the sides and move the pan around so the eggs on top get cooked by the sides (sorry if that doesn't make sense.) The tricky part is the "FLIP." You must get a plate ready and put it over the pan and "flip" the pan over so the omlette flops uncooked side onto the plate. Then you slide the omlette back into the pan (uncooked side facing down so it can cook.) Do this for a minute or so..and then...Voila!!!

For Americans, this will seem like a total breakfast food. But eggs are eaten here for lunch (the big meal, or for dinner-never for breakfast.) Oh, and the tortilla part can fool us Americans too. There are no tortillas in it :)