#5KPérezScremini

¡Felices de haber podido participar!

O tal vez (en mi caso, por lo menos): “Yo caminé…” 😉

📷: Fundación Pérez Scremini

📷: Fundación Pérez Scremini

Por los #Valientes de la Fundación Pérez Scremini.

Y en memoria de Jona.

#SomosProVida

#LifeLongLearning

Some of what I’ve been doing with my time as I’ve been recovering from the worst case of flu I’ve had in years...

(But I’m not really a Math Person...) 😉

#YeahThatGreenville

We enjoyed our “Goal Planning Date” with coffee and ice-cream in Downtown Greenville, also celebrating JM’s finishing the on-site part of his last course in the D.Min. program!

(We’re especially thankful to PaPa & Grandma for their part in making our abbreviated get-away possible!)

Learning French!

Je suis heureuse! Ils commencent à étudier le français un peu! ♥

#FirstThousandWordsInFrench #QuiACreeLeMonde

Favorite Books Read in 2016

So! I actually ended up starting even more books – and not finishing any of those posted in “My Reading Challenge for 2016!” (I did, however, read many work-related articles...) J

Consequently, my goal in this new calendar year is simply: Finish reading the already posted list! (I plan to add a title here and there – especially by C.S. Lewis. But I’m planning to start with the already existing list.)

Since I posted this picture in early January 2016,

we have undeniably become a family of four readers!

And a few favorites – read together in 2016 but not included in The List – were the following:

A Little Princess (by Frances Hodgson Burnett)

I have fond memories of my mother reading this classic to our family, gathered around the fireplace on winter evenings when I was elementary age.

The Velveteen Rabbit

(by Margery Williams Bianco; illustrated by Monique Felix)

A classic that I discovered late!

I still recall the moment, sitting in our glider rocker in the baby’s room, transported back to the emotions of my own childhood, choking back surprised tears: “Where has this gem been all my life?!”

I especially love the illustrations in this particular edition!

Two heartwarming stories that give a human perspective to WWII have become favorites:

Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot (2002)

(by Margot Theis Raven; illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen)

Twenty and Ten (1978)

(by Claire Huchet Bishop; illustrated by William Du Bois)

I will comment only that both are must-reads!

The Story of Holly and Ivy (1958)

(by Rumer Godden; illustrated by Barbara Cooney in 1985)

We first discovered this warm Christmas classic in 2012 when I bought it right before Christmas (on clearance!) for E; it has become a favorite for JM to read aloud to our Little People! ♥

Barbara Cooney’s illustrations – capitalizing on light and shadow – play a delightful part in telling this sweet “story about wishing. It is also about a doll and a little girl...”

“Happy New Year!” J

#NeverForget

[from JM]

Why not forget? Because we learned too much, at too high a cost. We went into work not remembering there was a sky. We left having seen it—clear, blue, beautiful, and real—but at a hellish cost. We saw reality clearly that moment, that week. We didn’t know we would live another fifteen years, but we knew how we wanted to live them. We knew then. We dare not forget because the price was too high.

My Reading Challenge for 2016

For several years now I’ve looked longingly at reports that friends post on books they’re currently reading or recently finished reading. And I’ve wondered: How do they manage to read so much – and especially on such a variety of topics?!

I, too, love to read; however, I currently find myself challenged in several specific ways. But I keep thinking about needing to read more – like I used to do! So I recently had this (liberating!) thought: Why not create a Reading List for 2016 (for myself) that takes my specific challenges (and current interests) into account?!

Not too long ago, I learned (from a friend who presents workshops on developing better reading skills) that what I’d considered a weakness – i.e. starting several books at once – is actually considered a strength! So I plan to turn one of my main challenges (that of actually finishing books I start reading!) into a tool to help me achieve my reading goals for this next year...

Two days ago I sat down and started compiling a list; I ended up with 13 books (two of them in both English and Spanish) plus parts of two book sets that I plan to read (or finish reading!) during 2016. The list is comprised of four categories that address my current challenges and interests.

These book titles also highlight four main emphases for me right now: spiritual challenge; family relationships; general education; and Uruguay, specifically our cultural, historical, and political contexts, in an effort to develop even greater cross-cultural understanding, while also developing greater appreciation for the phenomenon of TCKs (third-culture kids).

Most of my list is available in Kindle format.

Books to Read:

No Hope but God: Featuring The Christian Checklist

(“Claude L. Fly’s own story of his 8-month ordeal as a political prisoner”)

The Robin Hood Guerrillas: The Epic Journey of Uruguay’s Tupamaros

El camino es la recompensa: Conversaciones con Óscar Washington Tabárez

Books to Finish Reading!

Give Them Grace: Dazzling your Kids with the Love of Jesus

I invested in the audio book, too, and have been listening (and re-listening!) as I follow along with the print version (studying and questioning!) on the public bus to and from church on (most) Sunday afternoons (i.e. those trips when JM and I aren’t “catching up” while the kids listen to Patch the Pirate via earbuds). J

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

[Un millar de obsequios: El desafío a tener plenitud de vida allí mismo donde estás] (Ann Voskamp)

A Grief Observed (C.S. Lewis)

Eternity in their Hearts (Don Richardson)

U-RU-GUA-YO: Biografía de Diego Forlán

Luis Suarez: Crossing the Line – My Story

[Cruzando la línea. Luis Suárez: Mi autobiografía]

He’s undoubtedly one of our most famous (albeit controversial) actors on the world stage. (In June, I wrote an extended post on why we love him!)

Palabra de hombre: Confesiones de once varones uruguayos

Books to RE-Read:

Peace Child (Don Richardson)

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (Piers Paul Read)

The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis)

I’ve loved these ever since I first read (and re-read) them in third grade! (I read them that second time in chronological order!) Although I caught snatches here and there as JM read them all with E (and DJ) this year, I’ve been moved more powerfully than ever as I’ve started re-reading them as an adult. (I’d also like to start reading these in Spanish.)

Books to Read with The Little People:

Pictorial Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan)

(Joanne Brubaker, illustrator)

My Book House (Olive Beaupre Miller, editor)

I dearly loved this 12-volume set as a child and young teen! And while I do not plan to read the entire set during this next year, I do hope to read the age-appropriate volumes for E and DJ.

I’ll undoubtedly be reading many more books with The Little People...

And I hope to post book reviews as I go along. And I’ll undoubtedly add to this list, but penning these goals gives me a realistic (attainable) plan, especially for finishing books that I’ve already started. And I hope that this post can be encouraging to other (would-be) readers, specifically in 2016!

¡Día del Niño!

A mediados de agosto acá en el Uruguay festejamos “Día del Niño” con regalos, fiestas, eventos especiales. Siendo este año el segundo para nosotros acá, queríamos que Eli y Dani eligieran juguetes nuevos para otros niños. Nuestra idea es que de a poco se vayan concientizando y aprendiendo a personalmente marcar una diferencia en las vidas de otros a su alrededor. Entonces participamos en una campaña de donaciones, coordinada por “Movidos por la Vida”. Eli se entusiasmó con la idea y pensamos que Dani la copiaría. Y en teoría fue así; él se entusiasmó al oírnos hablar de la idea, etcétera.

Les sugerí a Eli y Dani que compráramos algo que a ellos les gusta: animalitos de peluche. Así que lo hablaron y decidieron que comprarían ositos. Todo iba bien hasta que Eli y yo volvimos con un osito re-lindo – ¡y Dani decidió que quería quedarse con él!

Nos entusiasmamos y compramos otros juguetes también...

Intenté explicarle a Dani: “Pero... Así es que sabemos que es un regalo re-lindo; a nosotros nos gusta también…”

Bue… Lo abracé, le sequé las lágrimas y hablamos… Y esa noche, con él acurrucado en mi brazo, le recordé que él tiene a Papá y a Mamá en casa con él: “Papá” que lo lleva en sus hombros cuando él se cansa de caminar y “Mamá” que le da muchísimos abrazos. Le dije que, tristemente, no es así para todos los niños… L

[¿Cómo se le comienza a explicar a un niño ansiado, amado, protegido que existe un mal tan horrible como el aborto (por elección)? Y más allá de eso, ¿cómo imaginar la desesperación que lleva a tales decisiones?] Le dije que probablemente casi se había muerto el bebé que iba a recibir al osito de regalo, pero que, gracias a Dios, se le había salvado la vida. Y por eso queríamos celebrar este “Día del Niño” con él, regalándole algo nuevo y lindo, algo que es tan lindo que a nosotros nos gusta también. Y quedó satisfecho con la explicación…

Qué difíciles que son estos momentos cuando (como madre que siempre he podido proteger a mis hijos, demostrándoles cuanto les amo) tengo que comenzar a explicarles cosas terribles que existen en este, nuestro mundo. Quiero protegerlos… Pero sé que no siempre podré… Así que, quiero que ya, de a poquito, a esta temprana edad, vayan aprendiendo a tomar aunque sean pasitos de bebé para marcar una diferencia positiva en medio de todo lo negativo.

Así que este “Día del Niño” fue un comienzo. Esperamos que llegue a ser “contagiosa” la idea. Es parte del gran aporte social que podemos hacerle los ProVida y los cristianos a nuestro querido Uruguay.

Y nuestros peques lo pasaron lindo también. El viernes lo festejaron en la escuela y el jardín. (Y a Eli la dejaron entrar colada a la fiestita de Dani).

¡Y fue “Fluor de Fiesta”!

Y el domingo festejamos en “La Pasiva” – donde se entretuvieron con payasos que les regalaron caramelos y lentes de sol.

Y a veces son las experiencias mismas las que brindan los recuerdos más lindos y duraderos… J

Small Steps. Big Journey.

In January of last year I used this same title on a post. It fits today, so I’m using it again.

Three days ago, JM and I started the 3-day sugar detox, which we hope to turn into a long-term habit. He’s doing more than cheering; he’s doing this with me! J

It’s been a challenge! (A bigger challenge, in fact, than I thought it would be!)

Today we’re halfway through Day 4 (which is really the beginning of Week 1 of 4), and I’m feeling much better than I did those first three days! I didn’t suffer the possible side effects of headache or irritability during those first three days! (At least not any more irritability than a “normal” day can bring… Wait! What’s a “normal” day?! But I digress...) But I definitely felt “fogginess” and “fatigue” on and off.

However, adding a (generous!) “splash” of rich whole milk to this morning’s coffee really helped! Immensely! (I’m back to normal on that score! And thrilled!) And the (Gala) apple enjoyed at lunch was amazingly sweet! The feeling of a re-calibrated palate is amazingly satisfying.

I’m now looking forward to the serving of dairy later today. (I’ll probably make it a half serving of cheese and a half serving of plain yogurt; I’ve missed both!)

And I’m doing the best I can to find (I hunted all over the supermarket last night!) “Triscuit-like” crackers so I can add those in, but the best available aren’t as “high-fiber” as I’d like. But! Uruguay isn’t Kansas – or SC! I’m here, so I’m going to do the best I can with the whole wheat & flax-seed crackers I did find...

Overall, I’m encouraged that this is looking like a sustainable life-style change. There will be additional challenges (like summer family camp in ten days). But, we’ll “make do” and keep going!

Because of family history of Type 2 diabetes (on both sides), JM and I already consistently try to avoid refined sugars, choose whole grain options, make “desserts” an occasional treat, etc. But this Sugar Detox made me see how quickly I reach for a sugary quick pick-me-up (candy, left-over Christmas turrón, etc.) – especially as a mom of little people and part-time teacher. (I wouldn't have otherwise admitted or even realized that fact!)

I’m thankful to be feeling so happy in so many ways about taking this challenge. It’s already been worth it. And I’m looking forward to looking better, too.

Now to improve on the consistent exercise part of life… J

All for Jesus?

Early in September we organized and hosted what we’re hoping was the first of a series of seasonal “Ladies’ Teas” – with the goal of encouraging personal Bible study and fellowship, especially among the ladies who faithfully attend Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha.

 

I say “we” because JM and the Little People willingly and cheerfully helped with all the details: brainstorming, pre-cleaning, setting up, re-organizing benches and tables, decorating, shopping for needed supplies, etc. One of my goals was to communicate that this “tea” was an extra special event; I wanted the ladies to walk in and see that they are loved. (JM, who keeps track of such “stewardship” details, noted that we spent, over the course of several days, the equivalent of two 8-hour days cleaning and setting up – and that didn’t even include all the time spent shopping.)

 

 

That Saturday dawned gray and cool, with a threat of rain. And things began to fall apart... Or so it might have seemed from a limited, human perspective... When the ladies I expected to surely show up did not, the thought came: Am I willing to have done “all that work” if Jesus is the Only One who attends? A blessedly convicting thought!

 

 

In the end, the nine ladies and girls present enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship. And we embarked on a study of Philippians, purposing to read through the book multiple times during the next two months, especially noting references to “joy” and “rejoicing” and the contexts in which those concepts occur. So, we continue our study individually, occasionally sharing what we’re learning via fb or when we see each other at church.

Do pray for this endeavor and especially for these dear ladies (and for me!);  my burden is that we grow in our love for Christ and His Word (Philippians 1:9-11).

Thankful that “He who began a good work in [those who believe in Him] will perfect [that work] until the day of Christ Jesus...”

Small Steps. Big Journey.

One of my goals for 2014 has become exercise: Exercise on purpose this year more than I did last year, that is. I’m thankful for the motivation, accountability, and encouragement I’ve found by joining a small group on fb, started by a very inspiring friend.

 

And maybe this long-neglected blog can play a part in accountability, too!

Yesterday’s (maybe not-so-small) step: My little family walked almost 6K – in increments of 1.2K, 2.3K and then 2.3K again. It’s one of the benefits of depending on public transportation and then deciding not to pay the basic fare for only a couple of kilometers!

 

I’m proud of my almost-8-year-old E who cheerfully did her part – and thankful for my DH who carried our Little Man on his shoulders for all but about 0.1K!