No particular topic...

Okay - so I have no particular topic or theme this post, other than to say that our life in general is kind-of random and the only topic or theme that runs congruent to everything would be ministry and Jesus (obviously).  This week's randomness includes:

Sarah's birthday... Sarah turned 5 this week.  She had a party at her school, complete with a clown and a pinata, etc.  It was fun - very different from the USA - another cultural learning experience for all of us.  By the way, jello is a staple food for birthday parties, as are a knockoff of Cheetos... it just isn't a birthday party unless these two items are present (I was told this info NUMEROUS times).

Adult ESL... Laurie has added to her already full schedule by taking on a trio of 20-something girls who want to learn English.  They come every afternoon for an hour to practice and have conversations.  One of them has relatives in the USA and wants to speak well enough to go to New York (I wasn't aware that New Yorkers spoke English :) HA!)  

Open Garage Classroom... We have finally opened the garage as a classroom and we have activities and classes each afternoon from 3-5 for whoever appears and wants to read, talk, play games, etc.

Sarah's Dance classes... Sarah has started taking traditional dance 3 nights each week.  The National Champion for traditional dance lives across the street and her older sister is the dance teacher.  She comes to our home MWF for an hour each night to teach dance to Sarah.  Sarah is having a great time!  She wanted to take ballet, but ballet is unheard of here in the mountains. So this is the next best thing, and she is happy with whatever kind of dance she can take!

Jack Sparrow's owners... If you have been following the blog, you know that we "inherited" a parrot a few weeks ago.  Well, the owners finally appeared.  Actually, they are our neighbors, but the mother works in the jungle and isn't there often.  The son is the actual owner, but he is in college in Lima and the parrot can't travel over the mountains to Lima.  The grandparents live next door and they can't really take care of the parrot well and give it a lot of attention. So, long story short, they gave the parrot to Sarah to keep.  They decided that it was in better hands with us, since we hold it every day and talk to it, etc.  PS - Jack is a female and her name was Reina (Queen).  Now what should we call her???  She answers to Jack now, and Queen Jack doesn't quite sound right.  

Miles' Wisdom Teeth... Miles had his wisdom teeth taken out in College Station yesterday.  He seems to be doing well.  It was SO hard on Billy to not be able to be there with him.  We really miss our boys!  Can't wait to see them in December!!!

Ballots... We just received our official ballots for the presidential election - oh yippie!  I know it is our duty and our right, etc... but speaking for myself - I'm just not sure what the best option is this time and voting seems like more of a burden than a privilege to me right now.  The news and info we see out-of-country makes both sides seem like loons!  I have no idea what is truth and what is propaganda.  For me, it would have been easier if the mail had been delayed (like usual) and we didn't receive the ballots in time.  Leave it to the USPostal service and the Peruvian service to get it together just in time to get my ballot to me!!!  Oh happy day...

I don't know what else to say... see, I told you this would be a random post!!!  Oreo the Cat, Charlotte the dog, and Jack the Parrot are all watching me post this and probably wondering, "What on earth does she have to say that is so important?"  To which I reply, "Absolutely nothing!!!"  Watching paint dry is probably more interesting than reading some of my blogs, but I feel compelled and obligated to post because there are people out there who actually log how many days it has been since my last post and start to wonder about my safety and health if they don't hear from me.