Current Child Count

  • HOGAR DE AMOR I: 11 babies
  • HOGAR DE AMOR II: 6 boys
  • HOGAR DE AMOR III: 8 girls
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts

Monday, February 14, 2011

What I love...



Living in Bolivia

Holding a sleeping baby

Doing first aid on the street

Adventure

Getting calls from the US

Reconciliation

Reading the news

Seeing God’s hand at work

Twins

Triplets

A car FULL of street kids

Snowy mountain tops

Homemade bread

A good book

Saying “yes” to a new baby

Meeting volunteers & visitors from all over the world

Going under bridges

Learning new things

Playing piano or guitar at Cochabamba International Church

Sleeping in

Visiting street friends in jail

Cold treats in hot weather

Wool blankets in cold weather

The dedication & LOVE of our Casa de Amor staff


And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:13


Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us here at Casa de Amor, the “Homes of Love”!

Monday, October 18, 2010

H-e-l-l-o out there...



I must be the most sporadic blogger ever. Don't ask me how I could put together 20 posts in September and exactly zero in October. I'm the same busy.

Once I fall off the bandwagon it's just hard to know where to start up again.

I have so many post ideas and so many pictures....

They just never seem to make it HERE. Sigh.

Well, until I can find time amongst office work, holding babies, 40 + hour weeks on the street, church responsibilities, and spending every free moment with Amber & Haley (good friends visiting this month) and the other volunteers, here are a couple of pictures.



Right now the wind and changing seasons (heading into spring and rainy season) makes for beautiful Cochabamba skys, and particularly sunsets.


Love it!

Friday, July 16, 2010

weather update :)

So this morning, we awoke to this image in Cochabamba....




A rare dry season SNOW on the mountaintops!

That should help with the water issues.


Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
Psalm 36:6

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Brrr...


Do all things without complaining... Philippians 2:14


As all my Northern Hemisphere friends sweat through summer, here’s a little post to cool you off…

We’re in the depths of winter right now in Cochabamba, a winter that is predicted to last longer than usual.

Now some, like friends currently visiting Cochabamba from Iowa, might laugh, but I’m Texan through and through. Any temperature below 70 degrees F is chilly to me, much less that we don't really dress properly for winter and there's no heating here. During Bolivian winters (approximately May - August) I relish the delicious sun that warms us up by afternoon, usually to the 80s...as long as you're not in the shade! Due to the "hard construction" style here, you can shiver inside all day long.

But I have to say that this time around, my 7th winter in Bolivia, I’ve seen the season in a whole new light, thanks to my street friends. I've been awed how they never complain about the cold! Just now, as temperatures hover right at freezing all night, two or three have finally made little comments. And it’s not even in a complaining sort of way, but rather just making a statement. Yesterday I realized that my best friend in the most hardcore, feared street group had slept up on their breezy hill in shorts and a t-shirt. With one blanket. And that he had a horrible hacking cough. And yet he simply said “It’s a little cold right now, isn’t it senorita? I think I’m getting a cough”, as if he was surprised.

When I wake up early shivering and see that it’s 50 something degrees in my room, by far the coldest in our large house, my first thought in years past was something along the lines of “woe is me, winter with no central heating”. This year my first thoughts are oh dear, it’s at least 20 degrees colder where all my friends are sleeping. By rivers. Under bridges. In doorways. On concrete courts. On a breezy hill.

But I'm learning something. By not verbally protesting about the cold (and normally I’m very grumbly about it), it really, honestly, is not bothering me much.

The street kids, driving home a Biblical principle—I love it!!

So just as I’m getting proud of this fact, that either I’m toughening up or God is giving me special grace this year, as I’m usually out till midnight on the street…..we lose water.

Let me explain. For the past couple weeks, I’ve heard different people mention not having water in their houses, and the street kids have had to haul water out of the river for a while now to wash cars up at their intersection. I wasn’t paying much attention until this week at the Baby Home, we’ve had irregular water supply. This morning I woke up, and even though they were supposed to send water today, we’ve run our tank dry over the course of the week washing out diapers and cooking and such……and I needed to wash my hair. Preparing for the possibility of no water, I had brought in the bottle of water from my car that the street kids use. Only that any water left in my room overnight is more or less the temperature of melted ice cubes by morning. And my bathroom isn’t any warmer! As I quickly took an icy cold "bath", I had to wonder if God was grinning. (Really, honestly, I wasn’t going to complain about the cold this year, but now THIS Lord?!)

Let’s just say I’ve repented on being so grateful for a very light rainy season earlier this year! And they say the water shortage will endure till the next rainy season kicks in, approximately December. Let it rain!!


I actually have good reasons for not posting till now, including the trauma of burying a baby on the street last week who was supposed to arrive to our (relatively warmer) Baby Home possibly the same day. She was just two months old and died from a complication of illness and the harsh temperatures. Until I have time for a proper post, here's a new post on the volunteer blog that you might enjoy!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Photo Shoot, Part 8


A few of us had a very special Sunday afternoon while photographer Melissa was here.


After a hike up a mountain...



...with our photographer friend Melissa...



...the fun began!





Some of the best from the afternoon!



The ever photogenic model ELENA!




New volunteer HANNAH!





ME!



Hannah & Elena



Downtown ghetto look, on a mountain far from the city, ha!



Hannah, Jen, Elena




Me and my adopted city, Cochabamba!



Jennifer (Director) and Elena (Assistant)
Really, we're not usually this confused thoughtful looking!!



Ah, better!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

the missing season

In blogging from the US for the first time, I often find myself wanting to describe something or show pictures of something only to realize, “oh, wait…this is interesting to practically NO ONE because it’s their life here. DUH.”

It then dawns on me that it’s quite easy to be an interesting blogger when you live in a third world country that no one else does. That is, I mean, most of my readers. Don’t live here. There. (I sometimes forget which continent I'm on!) Ah-hem. That was about as clear as mud. Moving along…

The point of this post is to say I LOVE FALL!!! But hadn’t really realized it until being in the US during fall for the first time since 2005. I didn't realize quite how "missing" it is in Bolivia. So I’ve been making up for lost time and enjoying…

~The changing fall leaves and the ground covered with layers of crunchy, colorful leaves
~Cashew Carrot Ginger Soup
~Walking through a corn maze with my family
~Pecan Pie Pancakes (at IHOP with Grandpa - what can I say!)
~Carving pumpkins
~Nearly wearing out my most fall-ish colored sweater that I rarely use in Bolivia because, well, I feel strange
~Pumpkin Ice Cream (more than once I’ll have to admit…I’ve been trying everyone’s!)
~Spiced Apple Cider
~Sitting by a bonfire in the crisp cool fall air
~Cranberry Bread and Upside-Down Cranberry Muffins
~Pumpkin pie, of course!
~Brussel sprouts
~Using pecans, walnuts, and cashews in my baking and cooking
~Wearing orange and golds and browns
~Brown sugar cinnamon sugar waffles
~Apple harvest nut cookies (from my parents stores)
~Sweet potatoes

(And of course I’m gaining absolutely no weight, even though my parents now own TWO cookie stores, because of the gym at the apartments, remember?)


In Cochabamba, we {supposedly} live in the city of "perpetual spring", and within 24 hours we almost always get close to summer AND winter, but the closest we get to fall is simply cooler temperatures at night and windy days. But no changing fall color, and just about none of the foods or activities listed above. Besides, when "fall" happens in April and May, does that seem like fall to you?? At least us from the Northern Hemisphere, that is.

And now that I probably have all my current volunteers completely jealous (and hungry), I better quit!!

(But hey, look at it this way: we don't have to endure a Northern Hemisphere winter by living down south. The best way to enjoy is probably to know that you're skipping out before winter arrives, hehe.)



HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!

Friday, November 20, 2009

new heights

We have some privileged kids for sure! It's a treat to even be able to climb Mt. Tunari, Cochabamba's highest peak, something most Bolivians haven't done, so it was a joy to see these pictures from the Alseth family from their recent hike/fishing trip.
Enjoy!


With Tia Kathy (who yes IS over 16 years old!!)



Taking a break



6 1/2 year old L has a catch!


Checking out a high altitude lake

The team!

Monday, November 2, 2009

what I see


My view...

...from my room in Bolivia

mountains, people walking, airplanes, clothes drying, snow on mountains, children swinging and sliding, dust storms, visitors arriving, highest peak in Cochabamba, K bus passing by, diapers hanging to dry, breathtaking bougainvillea vines



My view...


...from my room in Tennessee {actually sister Emma's room}

tall stately trees, picnic table, lawn mowing men, gorgeous fall color, parking lot, falling leaves, moving trucks, people walking little dogs

Love the nature!

So long as I'm not too close to it =)

Friday, April 17, 2009

blue skies, beautiful babies, and big birthdays!

More pictures from our big annual April park day...




Lots of baby lovin' time


Tia Sarin and Tia Teresa enjoy some one-on-one time with Twin E & Baby E


Tia Luz with Baby J


Micaela with Baby V



Tia Luz with a few



Games according to age group...

One of the baby groups plays with bubbles

(had to laugh when I noticed both twins at Tia Sarin's feet begging for attention, as usual!)


The 3-5 year olds playing "candy toss"..and then "candy eat" =)


L's shirt, oh so true: "I can't help it, I'm just cute"


Tug-of-war! Boy did they get into this! I didn't even have to explain, just make them wait till the count of three



Then we celebrated three of this month's birthdays...





Happy 1st Birthday, E!




Happy 2nd Birthday, B!





Happy (17th) Birthday, Katrina!



Twins E & E



In the words of volunteer Nick..."there's OH so much cake action here, you've gotta get a picture!"




(For the first time I was glad that I was one of the drivers.....what lucky soul would get these sticky little guys on the way home?!)


And then drumroll............







The amazing group picture--all 39 kids, and all staff and volunteers who helped!






CDA II crammed in and ready to go (12 kids, 3 or so adults + driver)...





And I know I already posted it yesterday, but this picture was so much work don't you agree it deserves another look?





Our kiddos!!