a diplomat in pajamas

Friday night I posted on Facebook

(which I rarely do - post something, that is.... but I am really, truly trying to be a better Facebooker)

that I had 6 ten year old girls over for a sleep over.

Then when people commented and told of their own experiences, I felt like a complete and utter sleep-over wimp.

The volume and energy from six was plenty for me!

We did have a rather good time though.

The girls all came over after school. They

played,

screamed,

had pizza,

screamed,

played some more while screaming,

screamed a bit while playing,

had birthday cake,

screamed....

and that was sort of the pattern.

Cake, of course:

Mia's favorite - same cake two years in a row: Chocolate with cream cheese icing and swedish fish (imported from Maryland, and previously imported from Sweden, I'm sure).

(The favorite is actually Chocolate Kahlua cake with cream cheese icing, but we can't find a good substitute for Kahlua... Believe me, we've tried, and tried, and tried, and tried, but somehow, at the end of that evening, and 7 bottles of coffee/mocha flavored liqueur, we just couldn't find anything that measured up. At least we don't think we did.... its hard to remember.

Okay, okay, okay - I'm joking.

It was only 5 bottles and over the course of two nights.

Okay, okay, okay - I'm joking.

I've only found one brand here - haven't spent much time looking - and it made the cake taste funny.

Where was I?

Oh yes.... the cake.

Wait a minute.... Just another little tangent.

Can I just tell you how sad it makes me that my two oldest don't want fancy shaped and decorated cakes any more?

It makes me sad.

First, it makes me sad because I don't have as much work to do then so I can't complain so much and make myself out to look like such a martyr and the runner-up for "Mother-of-the-year".

Second, it makes me sad because it is just a whole heap of fun to make them. I like figuring out how to do it on my own, thinking through what candies would make a good kitty nose, piece of ribbon, fire truck ladder, or wart with a hair in it (no, I never have made a cake with anything needing a wart with a hair in it - but that could be a fun, albeit gross, challenge).

Sigh.... once Lucy hits 9 or 10, it'll be all over for me.

At least I have a few years left.

Okay, back to the party...

Instead of Mia selfishly indulging in an Ecuadorian birthday tradition herself, she asked her friends to join her....

The tradition is shoving cake in the face of the birthday girl.

They decided to shove their own faces in their cake instead.

Mia is so thoughtful to share in this way.

Don't worry, I didn't let them run around with messy faces all night. I went around and licked all their faces clean.

Gross! I did no such thing.

So, moving on, the girls all slept in our room (Eric and I). We hauled another mattress in there so they had three pushed together - one great big huge bed.

Such lovely girls (and one very soft, fluffy cow).

One of them had to leave for the actual sleeping time.

Her dad is a diplomat.

Does that mean that he is smarter than everyone else?....

Being that he is a diplomat AND he didn't let his daughter spend the night.

The next morning he brought her back to join in the rest of the festivities.

I was still in my pajamas when he came and I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet.

I love meeting diplomats in my pjs.

And it probably only reinforced his wise decision not to let his daughter spend the night.

(Being that my half brother is a diplomat, and I know that he is just a regular human being like the rest of us, it really didn't bother me meeting him in my pjs. I just tried to keep my distance with the morning breath and all....)

Once all fed and ready, Eric took them to Mini-City.

I was extremely disappointed that I didn't get to go, but I had to stay home with the other kids.

Eric was extremely disappointed that he had to go, but he had to drive (nope, still no license for me... it's a long story....).

Mini City is just that - a miniature city.

You start off by going to the bank, and they give you $100 of Mini City money.

Then you go through the city and pay to do different things.

If you run out of money, you can go and get a job to earn more.

(side note: I was so proud of Eric that he actually took some pictures... I know only did it because he loves me!)

You can go on a plane and fly to the Galapagos.

Or at least you can pretend that you are flying to the Galapagos.

They have a climbing wall.

Mia was the first one to go and Eric said she just whipped up that wall.

She reached the top in no time.

She's quite an agile little thing.

It looks, from this picture, that Mia is quite a shrimp compared to her friends! Don't be deceived, she is actually taller than her friend in the red sweats. It is rather exciting!

The girls could earn more money working at a beauty salon. Complete with make-up and hair styling products.

They could also work at a pharmacy and sell drugs to other people.

Wait a second.... what are they teaching these kids!!!!

They also have a circus where they could walk a tightrope and do other fun stuff, a grocery store to shop at, a race track with pit stop, where they could change tires, etc., a soccer field with team pinnies to wear, trampolines with harnesses so they could do all kinds of tricks, a fire station, guard shack, etc.

The girls had a fabulous time.

And after that, Food, Folks and Fun at McDonalds.

Yes, Ronald is the same, no matter what country he is in.

He is such a chick magnet.

The girls, with a slightly deaf Eric, returned with just as much energy as they left.... not sure how kids do that.

But don't worry, we fed them a little more sugar and sent them all home.

Whew, one more birthday down.

watch out American Idol!

Or, Maddy thinks she'd be better off on "So You Think You Can Dance?"

Or maybe even "America's Got Talent"....

Here comes Lucy.

She was cracking us up.

The breakdancing from the Casa G. boys is rubbing off on her too.

Did you notice the run in her tights and the sparkly undergarments?

Maddy got in to it as well... with a little help from the measuring spoon microphone.

Mia and Lucy do the couple's dance.

Maybe "Dancing with the Stars"?

Now it is time for a ballad.

But she rocks it out at the end.

She also rocked out her "end" after she jumped off the counter.

Ouch!

Laughed so hard I almost peed.

fairy pencils

What am I still doing up?

It is way too late and I should be in bed.

Eric is gone for the night and I always stay up later when he is gone.

(Because when he is home he treats me like his child and makes me go to bed at a semi-decent hour.... Doesn't he know I can take care of myself? Okay, obviously not...)

It really should be the opposite - I should go to bed earlier when he is gone because that mean I have to get my lazy carcass out of bed for sure in the morning!

Anyway.... what was I supposed to be writing?

Oh, ya, fairy pencils!

So, today I was talking with an Ecuadorian friend.

She was telling me about a friend of hers from her church who recently had a baby. They discovered (I think I am getting the story right, but I loose a lot of accuracy with the Spanish) that the baby has some kind of disease in her blood and for some reason, as a result, the mother has to feed her formula instead of nursing her.

Formula is expensive.

Formula is really expensive here.... and the family is quite poor.

So, this mother is creatively and, I think - brilliantly and beautifully, trying to make money to pay for this formula that the baby needs.

She is making these:

They are little fairies on cute pencils.

Her work is really good - and I'm a bit of a craft snob.

I get pretty perfectionistic, but this ladies does a beautiful job!

Great details.

I bought these today from my friend and put in an order for 6 more.

They will be used as party favors for Lucy's up and coming 6th birthday.

She is only charging $2 a piece.

So, I thought I would use my fame

(I am so funny - that's a good one)

to see if anyone would like to buy some.

I am very willing and eager to pay for them now and bring them to anyone in the US or Canada who wants to support her cause.

I'll hand deliver or mail, if need be.

I love that she is not looking for a hand-out but is doing what she can to support her baby.

They would be great stocking stuffers, a little extra gift tied onto the outside of a birthday present, party favors or just an "I love you" special treat for a young girl.

So if you want any, please let me know and I'll put in an order and bring them down this summer!

I'm off to bed.....

giving thanks

Way back when in December we went to the beach.

Way back when at the beach I found this lovely piece of scrap wood.

It must have been a piece of siding from some building or sign.

But I knew I had to have it.

Okay, I just really wanted it.

Naturally, everyone we went with thought I was psycho.... who would want a stupid piece of rough, dilapidated wood?

(Eric also thought I was psycho, but he is much more used to it.)

Ignoring their lack of taste, I hauled it back with me and a few weeks later decided what to do with it.

Make a sign.

So I cut out letters from contact paper and stuck them on the board.

Then I painted the words using the stencil.

The words were a little too "perfect" for my liking, especially with the roughness of the wood and painting, so I sanded it up.

Now it hangs in our entryway.

It is a good reminder for us.

(Initially I thought maybe we could use it as a spanking paddle for anyone with an ungrateful heart..... That didn't fly.)

We, every member of our family included, are not naturally grateful people.

Yes, we all have incredibly sunny dispositions (hahahahahahaha! that's a good one!), but we don't tend to focus on the positive.

There is a distinct need for intentionally and purposefully being thankful for all that we have.

It is a little symbolic for me.

It is a beat-up, rough piece of discard.

But with a little positive attitude, creativity, gratitude and tender care

(okay, I used sandpaper on the thing.... I know that's not so tender, but you get my meaning....),

we can turn a negative thing into a positive thing.

I hope, in some small way, this little sign, for which I am extremely thankful, will help us remember to be grateful..... even without having to paddle it on our backsides!

rash

By the way, remember Lucy's rash?

It was Fifths Disease.

Pretty much every kid in her class had it.

Thank the Lord that at least it wasn't serious!

may I introduce to you

So I have an introduction to make.

An introduction to my new baby.

And actually, I have been "carrying" this baby for about the normal amount of time:

9 months.

I guess you could say that I am currently in the labor stage, because she hasn't actually, officially and completely been born.

This is my baby:

It is actually a rough draft of her - I am hoping to have a little help in approving her appearance.

A little graphic cosmetic surgery, so to speak.

Okay, so who is she?

She is a business ministry venture.

She is a new business in school photography.

Two things that I am pretty passionate about, as far as Casa G. goes, are 1) Helping the guys prepare for their futures.... such as planning and preparing for independence; 2) Having Casa G. become a little more independent financially.

For the first passion, it seems to me that no matter how well many (certainly not all) people are discipled, if they aren't prepared for real life, they will fail... especially if their struggles are a combination of financial and self-esteem. So having a potential career in which they are trained, given experience, etc. is a good step in solidifying their futures.

The second passion is founded in ownership. Ownership for the people of Ecuador, for the guys themselves at Casa G. and the ministry as a whole. So many ministries are funded mostly or completely by people in North America. Not good in my estimation of things. If we can get funding through our own work, service and the people of the country in which we are in, I think we've done everyone a great service.

Enter two delightful former business partners* and current wonderful friends (who also happen to be sisters.... well, not my sisters, they are sisters to each other).

They have together and separately started school photography businesses themselves. And in watching and talking to them, I thought - Why not here? Why not me?

So, out of this Fotografía Pescador was born.

(or is being born?? hopefully??)

The name means "Fisherman Photography".

It came from two things:

First the old saying: "Give a man a fish and feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime".

To me, that is a great statement of what a ministry should be. At Casa G. we seek to do both - feed them immediately while we are teaching them to feed themselves. Plus, that is what I hope this business will do - feed them currently, by raising money for the ministry and feed them for their lives, by providing a possible career for some of them.

Second, Casa G. is, in part, a discipleship ministry. Essentially, Casa G. seeks to take "fishermen" and make them "fishers of men", as with Christ and His disciples.

And what does this business do?

While school photography is common in North America, it is not prominent in Ecuador. So, we hope to bring that concept here.... You know, the mug-shot yearbook type pictures, where you can order a bunch of prints that you can trade with your friends, send to relatives, etc.? Only, like my two friends mentioned above, do it much better!

The big thing is, will it happen?

I don't know but I sure am praying.

I would like to start with the school our kids go to - and so far the response has been favorable. Everyone who has heard about it or that I have presented it to has been positive.

But that doesn't mean contracts are signed.

So, I'm just here praying that they will take it further, get more than just positive, and will commit to having us.

And I'm praying, for the future, that there will be more school that will jump on board too.

Who knows what God will do with it.

Maybe it should stay small, maybe it'll get huge, maybe it won't happen at all.

But if it is best, that is, if it is God's Will, it will happen.

A lot needs to happen first: The school has to say yes, sign a contract, and all that good stuff. Then we need to acquire the needed equipment. That is a big deal in and of itself. Here is what we are looking at:

General Equipment needed:

Lens: EF 50mm f/1.2L USM $1600

Camera Body: EOS 5D Mark II (Body) (full frame camera) $2500

Flash: Speedlite 430EX II $ 350

Filter: Filter PL-C B 72 $ 400

Battery: Battery Pack LP-E6 $ 100

Battery Charger: Battery Charger LC-E6 $ 80

Memory Cards $ 100

studio lights $ 300

backdrops $ 500

For editing and running the business:

Mac desktop computer New or Used

Adobe Photoshop "lightroom" - photo editing software $ 280

Photoshop softward for other related projects $ 200

For training and practice:

new or used digital SLR cameras

For training and assistance:

Air miles

(needed to fly a current school photography business owner to assist us in start up, as well as to fly one staff member to the US for training.)

So yup,..... choke,..... cough. That is a lot.

But if it is God's plan, this is peanuts.

I'm sooo excited about it.

I'll be very disappointed if God says no, or even wait.

But who wants to do it if He isn't in it?

Not me.

So, I'll wait and see if this baby is really born.

And if she is, we'll have another handful, I'm sure!

* while products have been narrowed down to a select few, they are still in business: here

The cute little baby on the home page holding the lollipop is our little Lucy. She was, for a few years, called "Lucy Lollipop".... therefore the name of the business.

I cheated

I accidently

(as in, did it with out thinking, natural reaction, type situation....)

stuck a toothpick in my mouth after I checked my brownies for doneness.

I'm guilty.

I admit it.

But since I'm not a legalist, I'm not counting it in my mind.

So there.