Hello February 2012!

February 2012
Kristen says...

Hi everyone!

I apologize for the unusually long blog hiatus...it's been a VERY busy 2012 so far!

Actually, the busy-ness started back in good old 2011, in December. It's always a busy month, and this past year was no exception. We had the early events, like the NPH Christmas party (instead of us going to the granja they come to the school and we throw them a little party complete with a movie, pizza, and even a piñata.) It was a fun day, but I'm always really tired after spending that time with so many kids!

Of course, the NPH party was a nice gear-up for the tons of one-on-one time we got with these adorables:

(GO ISU! Even though they lost their bowl game, Ezra and I were all decked out!) (It was nice to get to spend Jackson's first Christmas with him!)

This year's Christmas break was a bit less hectic than last year's, but still full of fun. Highlights included the tons of time I got to spend with my nephews (seriously, could they be any cuter?!), the time I spent with my parents, siblings, in-laws, and grandparents, and seeing everyone open and enjoy their presents (my favorite was the mustache-themed gifts we gave to brother-in-law Jay...a mustache book, candy, a mug, clings for a mirror or window, and...mustache bandages!)

(Too funny, right?)

It was also really nice to watch the college bowl games, even though both Iowa (boo) and Iowa State (yay) lost. Ezra, of course, was cheering for Iowa State:

(Jackson wasn't there, but he did get something that looked suspiciously like an Iowa football for Christmas, so maybe he's going to be like his Uncle Chris...a Hawkeye...booo!! Oh well, I'll still love him, just like I do his Uncle Chris!)

I came back to Teguc on January 2nd, and spent a very lonely January here while Chris stayed and worked in Des Moines (again...two years in a row).

It. Was. LAME.

I thought I would be totally productive and do lots of things like read and tat and clean and work out and stuff...what I really did was make 4 (FOUR!) batches of no-bake cookies and eat pretty much all of them by myself...sigh...

Needless to say the old waistline isn't looking so pretty right now... it's gotten bad enough that I've had to start to "work out" (which is a loose term down here...Teguc isn't one of those places where you can just go out for a morning jog, so I've had to get creative...) I'm really "liking" (if anyone can actually like exercise) the Walk at Home DVDs right now because they're quite easy and don't take too much time. If I had access to a treadmill I'd be even happier.

To motivate myself I joined my mom's Live Healthy Iowa team, which keeps me accountable since I have to post my "progress" online...that plus the upcoming Lent season (I'm still wavering about what to give up, I'm waffling between pop and desserts, but might go with both) should be a healthy thing...we'll see, though!

Chris came back on the Wednesday before the Super Bowl, and we were anticipating a nice evening watching the game together at home, especially since #39 on the (WORLD CHAMPION) Giants, a great "kid" named Tyler Sash, hails from our hometown and played on both of my brothers' high school football team!

However, just as the teams were running onto the field, my dad called...and let us know that his mom, my grandma, who had been sliding deeper into Alzheimer's for the past few years, wasn't doing well. Not even a Giants win could blunt my sadness when he called the next morning and said she'd passed away in the night.
So, for the second time in just over a month (for me--just over a week for poor Chris) we hopped back on a plane and back to Iowa.

Funerals are never fun, but I am so lucky to have a large, loving family to make them a little better. We ALL 5 (siblings) made it back, even brother Daniel and his 8-months pregnant (but sill remarkably mobile) wife Amanda. Also all my cousins were there, which was really nice. I missed my grandpa's funeral at the beginning of last school year, so I was really glad I was able to get back for Grandma's, although sub plans are never fun to write. I actually got 5 days of bereavement leave, which was super-nice, and since the funeral was on a weekend, I was able to leave on a Wednesday and return the following Tuesday to Teguc.

One of the nice things about the weekend (and having those 5 days) was that I was able to really focus on my family. At Christmas there's so much running around, and Chris had to work so we stayed a lot of Christmas Break in Des Moines, I didn't get a whole lot of R and R at Mom and Dad's house...for this funeral trip, we were only in Des Moines one day, and that was only because Chris forgot to take home the thing that allows him to work remotely (oops) and we had to go to Des Moines to get a new one.

So, there was family time, and true to form, it was pretty fun...especially since the nephews were there!

Ezra is feeding himself now, and doing a really good job of it... ;)

He also really likes to read, especially his Spanish book "Perritos" that Chris and I bought him. He likes to howl at the moon with the doggies:

Jackson is sitting on his own now, and very is starting to interact with everything around him. Any minute now he's going to learn to crawl. He is also very "silly" ;) (oh, and super-cute!)

He's also super-cuddly, which was a really nice distraction from the sadness of the funeral, especially for my dad:

Yep, they're pretty great! (Not that I'm biased or anything!)

This guy's pretty great too...I love this picture!

And of course we have the obligatory family pictures...

The original Foster 7 and the Foster 5 with the four outlaws

Sad as it was to say goodbye to Grandma, it was nice to go home again...one of the things I don't like about living in Honduras (and it's not a Honduras thing, it's a living out of Iowa thing) is that I don't get to see my family as much as I'd like...thank goodness for Skype!

We got back last Tuesday, and it's been catch-up ball since then. Not only has my "private" life been busy, but school has been busy as well! I had to miss the annual (English language) Spelling Bee turned (English language and Spanish lanuguage) Spelling Bee and (English language and Spanish lanuguage) Speech Contest due to Grandma's funeral, but made it back just in time for the students to go to a play (very loosely) based on a book they'd read and the Science Fair (Chris and I were both judges).

My students have also been doing fun stuff recently...check out these cool castle projects!















I also showed my students a really awesome movie called Lagaan, which is set in the 1890s during Imperialism in India, and decided to do some cross-curricular movie integration with the PE teacher by playing cricket with the class. (Cricket is a major plot point in the movie.) Here's a shot of me showing them how it's done...haha:
Right now we're off on a lovely 4-day weekend to celebrate President's Day of all things, so I'm looking forward to another short week this week...plus two of my four classes will be out on multi-day field trips, so I am looking forward to some extra planning time at school.

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Honduras has been in the news lately due to some fires, one which killed over 300 prison inmates and another that burned a large marketplace in Comayagüela (the city literally across the river from Teguc). We could actually see the smoke from that one from our house:
It's a very sad time for the country, and I keep wishing my Spanish was better so I could fully understand the newspaper and tv reports about it all...I suppose it's all part of the adventure...Luckily none of this has affected us more than just our general sense of heartache for the families affected by the tradgeties.

And with that, I believe we're all caught up. Now that the holiday craziness has ended I hope to get back to more regular posts...I have two lined up already, so check back soon for more Teguci-information from the Finks. :)

Thanks for reading!
KF

Motifs #s 9, 10, and on the road to 11! (oh, and some cute Honduran kids)

1/6/2011
Kristen says...

I have been doing some tatting too!! :)

I have three large balls of this kind of uglyish tan yarn, so I figured I'd better start using it...just for fun, I thought I'd try this triangle motif (#9)
...it worked so well in tan that I thought I'd use it to make a doily thingy. The doily starts with these two triangles and motif #10, this pretty wine-colored circle:
Then I put the triangles and the circle together. Here's the back:
Then I added a new color and a new round. I'm not counting this as another motif, because I consider it just one step on the way to the finished product...here's the front and the new color:
And another color and another round:
And another...(it was a long weekend, and they went pretty quickly)
And the last, from the front and the back:












Well, there it is, so far...there's a few more rounds to go, and I will share them with you when they're completed...(by the way, I'm working on the Celtic Sugar and Spice Doily out of Tina Neudorf's "Needle Tatting from the Heart".)

What's your opinion so far?? I'd love to know your opinion of the color scheme...

Also, just for kicks, here are some cute kids from our orphanage trip on Sunday:












KF

10 Days of Chris-less...

16/12/10
Kristen says...

Happy Birthday Mommy!! :)

Well, as the title says, I have been Chris-less the past 10 days...Chris went back to Iowa last Tuesday to spend some actual face-time with his co-workers (and, I think, to make me jealous from all the Iowa-related things he's been doing). Not that I'm in a hurry to leave Teguc for the holidays, but there are a few things I am excited about seeing:

1) My Husband. 10 Days is a long time!!
2) My Parents. 5 Months is a long time!!
3) My Nephew! He is 17 days old today!!
4) My siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, past co-workers, and everyone else I will be seeing over the break!!
5) Baby Boomers, Centro, India Star, and all the delicious Des Moines restuarants!!
6) SNOW!!

But, of course, there are things I will miss, even for the short time I will be gone:
1) Pupusas, baliadas, and all the other Honduran-ish foods that I have come to love over the past few months. (And yes, I know Pupusas are Salvadoran)
2) Friends. I have a lot of friends here, and I will, of course, miss them.
3) Pip. He's staying with friends who are going to take really good care of him, but I really hate leaving him behind. (But I think he hates flying more).
4) Warm-ish weather. As excited as I am for snow, the cold weather that comes with it will not be as nice. (Although I will have the appropriate clothing for it there, which I am somewhat lacking in here...it's been pretty cold the past few weeks!)
5) And a lot of other things too. I really like living in Honduras!

So what have I done to keep myself busy during my 10 days of Chris-less?
Well, of course there was school. I had to grade speeches in 1 class, presentations in 3 classes, and tests in four, not to mention daily work, review games to prepare, and narratives to write. So I have been very busy.

I also had friends who were kind enough to invite me to leave my house every once in a while (I'm a bit of a homebody). I had dinner, saw a movie, went shopping in Valle de Angeles, and attended the Russian Ballet on Ice and a baby shower. I also helped put on a holiday party for a group of kids from Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos last Saturday, which was nice but EXHAUSTING! (I have pictures, but they are on my phone still. I will get them put up a bit later.)

So, it hasn't been totally miserable, (well, except for the nights--I hate sleeping in an empty house) and I got a lot of snuggle-time with Pip, but overall I am SO HAPPY that today is my last Chris-less day, and I get to fly home tomorrow!!

My plan is to blog while I'm home, but I won't make any promises...I'm pretty sure we'll be very busy making up for 5 months of absence.

To all our readers, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah/Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, or just enjoy the time you have off from work or school. Thank you for the gift of your reading and comments this past year...it has been fun to interact with you over the Internet!

I hope you all have the best 2011!

KF

Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos

5/10/10

Kristen says...

One of the fun things about this month is that every date is going to end in 10/10 (if you write it the European/Honduran/everywhere in the world except the US-an way)

Well, I am finally recovered enough to write about our latest monthly visit to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (Our Little Brothers [and Sisters]). NPH is an international organization that takes in "orphaned, abandoned, and other at-risk" boys and girls...but the really cool thing is, it's not the type of orphanage where kids are put up for adoption...once they come to NPH, it is considered their permanent home. Because many of the children had been abused, have physical or mental disabilities, or have gone through other ordeals in their short lives, NPH doesn't put them through the stress of adoption days. Once they come to NPH, they can stay there basically as long as they want.

There are two NPH houses in Honduras. One is literally outside our back door--one of the lines of our address down here is "en frente de Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos." Casa de Los Ángeles provides housing for some of the NPH children with the most severe disabilities, as well as therapy to help them succeed. The other NPH kids in Honduras are at the Rancho Santa Fe, which is a full-service (and almost completely self-sufficient) Ranch about an hour's drive from Teguc. As of last month, there are over 600 children from age 6 months-21+ living on the Ranch, and apparently it is also home to AIDS patients and their families, and the "abuelos," or grandparents, older Hondurans who don't have anywhere else to go, who can live out their days in comfort and surrounded by loving children.

The Rancho gives children hands-on skills that they can use when (or if) they leave NPH as adults. This takes them from being potential "burdens" on society (or living on the streets) to having the ability to make their own way in the world through agriculture. Those who don't want to be farmers "when they grow up" are given the opportunity to move into the city for job training in domestics, as wait staff, or in sales. It is really a neat organization that is changing the lives of thousands of children in 9 Latin American countries. Check out the link above (or here) to learn more about the history, mission, founder, or to donate to this VERY worthy cause.

ANYWAY, obviously we believe in this organization, and Chris and I visit the Rancho once a month, usually on the last Sunday of the month. We ended up going a week late this past month, because of silly Tropical Storm Matthew, which didn't really do much more than dump rain on us. The rain was enough to make some of the roads a lot icky, though, so we had to put the trip off until this past Sunday.

There were six of us that went, two other teachers from the school, one of the teachers' husband, and a friend from that couple's church. The other couple were the ones that invited us along in the first place: apparently the school has been supporting NPH though volunteering for the past few years.

This was our second trip, but really the first time we got to look around the Ranch. Here are a few pictures at the Rancho:

Left: All the furniture at NPH is made on-site by the students...some of the beds are singles, others are double and triple bunks.

Right: Statues of NPH's founder Fr. William Wasson and some "hermanos"

Left: Two of the "hermanas" with the statues

Right: Chris with some of the "hermanos"

Below: some of the farm animals from the Rancho

We were even introduced to the "abuelos," which was one of the best parts of my day. I love older people, and these were so sweet. They were thrilled to see the children, and to meet new people. They greeted us so warmly, "Bienvenidos a nuestro rancho." They introduced themselves to us, and I was able to chat a little in my ever-growing Spanish.

After wandering (and being pulled! the kids were so excited to show us their home!) all over the Rancho we went back to our gathering area (and playground) and had lunch...by request, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

Chris and I actually made 50 of them (and another teacher made 50 more), and we served them with carrots and had lemon and orange cupcakes for lunch. Here are some pictures of the sandwich-making extravaganza:

Stage 1: Lots of bread
Stage 2: Peanut Butter!

<-Pip wants peanut butter!


Pip gets peanut butter (but not a sandwich) ->








Stage 3: Jelly
Stage 4: Sandwiches wrapped and in the freezer
Stage 5: Sandwiches packed and ready to go
Stage 6: Sandwiches out and ready for eating!

And did those sandwiches go! We originally gave each child 2 sandwiches, but when we had (a lot!) of extras, we passed out extras...some of the extras were eaten, some were taken home for later, but all were appreciated and enjoyed!

After running all over the Rancho, eating delicious food, and saying goodbye to our "hermanos," we drove back to the city and basically passed out for the rest of the day...the first time we went we took Pip, but this last time we left him home. I am sure he will head back there again sometime soon, but it was nice to have some time with the kids, without the dog.

I will leave you with a few more pictures of the beautiful Rancho...what an inspiring place to grow up!!
































And one of my favorite shots of the day:

Friends

KF