Friday Favorites

Day date with Avery

Happy 5 Year Anniversary to William and Kate!

And this picture of George in his robe has made worldwide headlines.  Just when you think it couldn't get any cuter :)

Unashamedly, I finished a whole season of Ed this week.  2 more to go. 

We have made it 2 1/2 weeks with no grain, sugar or dairy.  This has been quite the accomplishment for just this long and we still have a little time to go.

This was a slow week for me and I am glad to see it go.  It always makes for a harder week here and I have seen that in the little day-to-day things.  I am ready to see May come and the activities we have prior to our summer trip.

Happy Weekend!

One More Month 'til Summer!

Lord willing, one month from today we will be traveling to the USA.  We are excited for two reasons. First, we will be back in our home country and all which that entails ~ family, friends, church, English, driving, food, shopping, etc.  Second, the girls will be finished with their school year.  There are technically a few days left of school the girls will miss while we are at camp, but they aren't academic days.  What an accomplishment for the girls!  They have entered school in a new country, for the first time, and are a minority.  The heart language of their friends is not their own.  They have persevered and we have just a few more weeks to go!  And rest assured, this tired, frustrated mom could not be more excited for summer!  That being said, a friend of mine posted this yesterday on facebook.  I thought this was quite funny, and could really relate to number 13.  Every day I have to sign Brook's agenda notebook listing all her assignments.  Every day.

The contrast of parents from the beginning to the end of the school year....

And just for fun, if you want to watch the video of Olaf singing summer.....

What's Up Wednesday ~ April Edition

The end of April?  No complaints, but how can this be?

What we're eating this week.........

...With our diet this month, which will hopefully affect our lifestyle, this is a sampling of some of our food....

This was breakfast one morning...scrambled eggs, fruit, and avocado. 

Groceries 

I bought plaintains and made platano chips.

Quite tasty and apparently I've read they have boosted benefits over bananas and less sugar. 

Monday nights dinner:  Chicken with platano chips, carrot fries, salad with tomatoes and avocado dressing

What I'm reminiscing about............

.....Our trip to Disney last November

This was such a great trip and we are ready to go back, well the girls and I are :).  Avery needs at least a 5 year break between Disney trips!

What I'm loving...........

....Getting caught up on 4 seasons of Ed.  I fogot how much I really liked this show.  Sure, it isn't perfect, but I enjoyed it and it has a happy ending!

What we've been up to.............

.....Meal planning!  I do try to carefully plan out every meal since we (Avery and I) are eating 30 days with no grain, sugar, or dairy.

What I'm dreading.............

....Final exams for Isabella :(.  Brook doesn't have final exams in 6th grade.

What I'm working on.................

....The normal every week things like grocery shopping, meal planning, MTW paperwork, etc.  Nothing exciting.  

What I'm excited about............

.....Going to Camp Palmer again as a family.  We all really enjoy this time.

What I'm watching/reading.............

.......Of course, Ed.  We also still try to get our daily dose of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. We have found 2 other shows we (Avery and I) like.  One of them is The Catch, a new show on ABC that we watch through Hulu, which is how we watch most shows, with the exception of Ed, which I watch on You Tube.

What I'm listening to...............

.....I listened to some Price last week in honor of his memory.  I have a playlist where I listen to of a variety of music from the 70's-today, with a mix of contemporary Christian music.

What I'm wearing............

.....Jeans and a slong sleeve shirt (when I am not in my comfy sleep clothes!  If I haven't mentioned it, this is a slow week for us.)

What I'm doing this weekend.............

....Brook has a birthday party to attend.  She has 2 girls she really likes here and this is for one of them.  Sadly, this girl is moving back to the USA this summer.  Saturday, we may hang out with our teammates, Ross and Anglea Floyd.  Sunday, we are going to attend United Church because Brook's middle school group has a picnic after church.

What I'm looking forward to next month.............

This is an easy one......

We are going to the USA!!

What else is new................

.....Not too much.  We are looking forward to May though.  May brings a meeting with our new MTW leadership in  South America and Colombia.  It consists of Mother's Day, a Colombian holiday (translation, a day out of school), packing and heading to the states for 7 weeks.  I will be in Memphis for 5 of those weeks.  Until then, we press on here, day by day.

Weekend Wrap Up

Happy Monday morning!  I woke up to a beautiful sky here and the girls are off to school. 

As I mentioned Friday, I attended a Velvet Ashes Retreat this weekend.  I left Friday afternoon and returned home Saturday night.  This is an online retreat for women serving in some missions capacity around the world. We went to a small resort used for missions just about 30 minutes outside of Bogota.  I hired a driver to take me there and was able to get a ride back with one of the ladies who attended.

The name of the resort is Monte Sion.

This building is where we spent most of our time doing scripture meditations and watching testimonies.

The group (minus one) 

All of us - 4 of these are teachers at ECA (the girl in the gray sweatshirt is Brook's bible teacher and the girl in the black sweatshirt is Isabella's Algebra teacher). The other 2 ladies will be teaching at ECA next year, so we talked a lot about the school.

There were some great meditations on Psalm 23 and Luke 24.

We had some coloring pages we spent some time working on Saturday morning.

Sunday, our church was delayed until middle of the day, so we stayed inside.  It rained until early morning and Isabella literally had a days work of homework.  

We spent the evening reflecting on our 2 years in Bogota and praying as a family.

And now, 5 weeks left of school!  Woo hoo!

Friday Favorites

As I reflect on my favorites from the week, I don't have many photos, but here is my list this week!

Let's just start with one of the cutest pictures ever...

This photo was released in honor of the Queens birthday this week.

And in case you need a closer look....

I mean, Prince George, with his smile, that side swooped hair, holding his Daddy's hand, and the outfit.  His photos just get cuter!  

Cuddling with Brook each morning and night, sometimes it is only 10 seconds, but still....this is one of my favorite things.

Catching up on tv shows....sounds shallow, but it's true.  It provides some entertainment for me and keeps me from snacking!

Speaking of snacking, Avery and I are on day 10 of no grains, sugar or dairy.  So far, we have done well and haven't snacked between meals.  However, I am pretty exhausted, which is why I am catching up on tv shows!  Here is a sampling of two dinners this wee:

Chicken Avocado Soup with grilled onions

Skillet shrimp with zuchinni, squash, onions, and avocado

This weekend, I will go with 6 other ladies for a retreat sponsored by Velvet Ashes, an online ministry for women serving overseas.  4 of these ladies are teachers at the girls school and the other 2 are in my weekly bible study group.  I will leave this afternoon and return Saturday night.  This retreat is all available online, so we will basically watch downloaded videos and testimonies.

Hope you all have a great Friday!

Bogota Bridges

Happy Thursday!  Today, I am blogging at www.bogotabridges.com with some random photos, some of which I have shared here, and a few I have not.

Show and Tell Tuesday ~ A Day in the Life Edition

Good morning.  I am a day late, but here is my Show and Tell Tuesday.....Wednesday edition!!

Today I am sharing "A Day in the Life".  This looks different every day fo rme, but a few things are the same.

I wake up between 5-5:30 every morning.  I was in the kitchen at 5:41am preparing breakfast for the girls.

I cut up a fresh cantelope....

and warmed up arepas in the skillet. Some mornings the girls eat cereal, but I do try to cook something, even if it is as simple as this, at least 3 mornings per week.

I have been starting out each day by drinking my bottle of water before I eat anything to help me feel full before eating breakfast.  I think it is helping becaue I am not snacking between breakfast and lunch anymore! 

While the girls were getting ready for school, I folded clothes that I threw on the couch from the night before.  With our new eating habits and waking up so early, I am so, so tired during the day and the night too.  I have found I am much more productive first thing in the morning for housework!

I continued to fill up the kitchen sink with dishes (Avery had washed these for me by the time I got home in the afternoon). 

I stand on the balcony every morning and afternoon and watch the girls get on and off the school van.  99% of the time, Brook looks up and waves to me.  That is a highlight of each day for me :).

(And sorry....not sure if both links work or not, so this video may appear twice).

I worked on my bible study.

Avery and I like to watch "The Tonight Show" most mornings.  It is a fun start to our day.

I put dinner in the crock pot because I knew I would be gone for most of the day.  Usually, the beginning of the week is busier for me.  Yesterday, I went to bible study (no photos) and then went to lunch with the ladies from our MTW team.  I began coordinating these lunches last fall and we try to meet once a month.  Again, no pictures from our lunch....I forgot :(.  

I took an Uber home and began to catch up on a few emails.  Within about 10 minutes, the girls were home from school.

Isabella was on the floor working on a poster.  Other than a 15 minute break for dinner.  She worked on homework for 3 hours after she arrived home.  Sadly, this is completely normal just to complete her assignments.  

Brook was working on her math homework.  She is usually done with her homework in about 30 minutes, so she spends free time on her ipod or reading.  She spent time yesterday talking with her cousin, which is a pretty normal occurence too!

We had dinner and the girls are in bed by 7:30.  I worked on the blog and concluded my night with an episode of "Ed".  I am working my way through season 1 and loving it just as much as I did the first time!

So there is a glance into a day here in Bogota.