Scholarly Shenanigans

Life Lessons in Loving Others (and a little learning along the way)...

[kgrind-blog1]

Celebrations

Our daughter, A, has always been curious about people. When other toddlers were asking, “What dat?” she was asking, “Why dey do dat?” So it did not surprise me when she struck up a conversation with another complete stranger. Another teenage Bolivian girl. This girl was complaining that she wanted to live in the States after she graduated because Bolivianos always celebrate EVERYTHING!!! “You’re dating someone? Let’s celebrate!” “You’re having a baby? Let’s celebrate now AND before the baby comes AND after the baby comes!!!” “You bought a new car? Celebraciones!!!”

To A, this translated into a pretty good thing! To a social butterfly, the more parties and get-togethers, the more fun! So, what in YOUR life is worth celebrating? Maybe it’s time to make up some of our own Celebraciones!!!

Fireworks on Christmas Eve...

New Year’s Celebraciones...

Celebrating finding the perfect material for A’s upcoming Quince dress!

Celebrating friends...

And celebrating more friends.

¡Celebraciones por todo el mundo!

[kgrind-blog1]

Transition

About 2 weeks into our trip, we hit a wall. For some of us, that looked like fit-throwing, crying, sadness, loneliness. For others of us that like anger, outbursts, and unkind words. And still others it looked like isolation, writing, reading, processing. My sister had told us about transitioning to and out of other countries, and so we were expecting some of these things. But when I found myself blurting out a very unkind statement to someone I love tremendously, I didn’t even recognize myself anymore. Some say Transition brings out the worst in who we naturally are, magnified about 100 times. I don’t want to be that person. I don’t want my biting words or tone of voice to hurt someone I love very much. I was convicted of it immediately and went to bed in tears knowing that I had damaged the heart of one of my beloved. The next morning straight away, I went and asked forgiveness, and of course Grace was extended. Because that’s who that person is. Lord, help me to be that person full of Your Grace. Always.

A praising during Transition.

EK struggling through Transition...

I know Transition is coming again, so as we return stateside, we would appreciate everyone’s prayers over these next few weeks...

[kgrind-blog1]

Cat Naps and Unicorn Princesses

In that order...

Napping with my nephew kitty, Greebo. I usually sleep with a weighted blanket, so I had no idea he was even there!

Little girls and unicorns communicate in every language. Is anyone surprised that EK spent her B’s (Bolivianos) on this outfit at the market?!!!

[kgrind-blog1]

El Güembe

On one of our relaxing days, we took a trip to an ecoresort/park called El Güembe. Not only was there an ecosystem there in it’s full beauty, they have pools and other activities to do. 2 of my “bucket list” things while we’re here is to see a toucan and a sloth. #1 DONE!!!

He has the most gorgeous eyes!!!

We saw butterflies, spider monkeys, bee habitats, butterfly habitats, tortoises, and rare tropical birds! We also had a bunch of fun just goofing off!!!

[kgrind-blog1]

Feliz Navidad

On Christmas Eve, Papaw, Gee-gee, and Uncle M arrived without much issue! Yay!! We enjoyed a Christmas Eve candlelight service together and had a wonderful Christmas lunch.

Since then, we have had some great family bonding time that we’ll share in other posts. For now, Feliz Navidad!!!

[kgrind-blog1]

What We Miss

We have found that there are quite a few things we are missing through this transition. Here are a few:

1) Our family back home- mostly Mimi and Papaw and our pups! Being gone for a whole month is tough on everyone!

2) We miss our friends!! Our church family and our Classical Conversations Community. We miss our 4-H friends and Karate friends and close-by friends and long-distance friends!

3) Assuming that appliances will automatically just “work.” Not having to get a gas tank when your stove runs out, not having to boil drinking water. Not having to light every single burner. Every.Single.Time.

4) Our kids miss sitting face-forward in the actual car, not backwards in the trunk. We tell them it is good for their character. Hey, I loved riding in the back of our station wagon when I was a kid!

5) Ziplock bags. Yep.

6) Closets. ALL the closets.

7) Shower curtains. We’re all European-style down here... we’ll save you the pics of that, though!!!

Even though there are things we miss, there are a ton of things we are excited to try, learn about, and maybe even embrace back in the States. Who knows?!!

[kgrind-blog1]

The Simplicity in Difficulty

My sister says to do something here takes a LOT more time, a LOT more effort, and a LOT more brainpower than doing the same task in the States. We can see she is right in being here just a few days. The rain can stop your plans dead in their tracks. To get anywhere takes a knowledge of very intricate details of hailing the right taxis or navigating a complex/incomplete bus system or finding a friend who is available at just the right time (walking is only an option to school and church and a few tiendas because we are so far from the center of downtown). You go to this market for these specialty items one day, and another day’s agenda includes another market for other specialty items. Even home tasks are more difficult. There is a layer of dust on everything, so sweeping or mopping the entire house twice a week is going to be a MUST. There are no boxed meals, so we make everything from scratch. I am thankful we DO have a washer, but the rainy season can put a “damper” on line-drying the clothes. All of these things, though, really give me joy. It makes me appreciate the strength God is giving me to do them, and somehow I cherish the simplicity in all of it.

[kgrind-blog1]

Urban vs Urban

Santa Cruz is very urban. We weren’t expecting it to be so urban. I think “urban” just means a place with a whole lot of people, a whole lot of buildings and a whole lot of vehicles. We come from an urban area in the States and pretty much the above definition fits both our city and Santa Cruz. But that’s where the similarities stop. When we were driving from the airport, my EK loudly exclaimed, “Why does Bolivia look so TRASHED?!!” 7-yr-olds with no filter can get you into a whole heap of trouble (pardon the pun)... I quickly picked my jaw up off of the floor of the microbus, and told her we would talk about things like that at the compound. The truth is Santa Cruz is very dirty and dusty. There IS trash everywhere. But Santa Cruz is also very green and warm and colorful and hospitable. It is a mix of very, very old and very, very new. It’s amazing how one singular place can be a complete dichotomy of itself. That, my friends, is a beautiful thing.

[kgrind-blog1]

Smooth Sailing. Or whatever.

Our flight went as smoothly as could be expected. The only hiccup was in customs. They took Colby into a screened-off area with 2 of our suitcases. They first wanted to know the value of the smoke detectors we were carrying down for the missionaries. Ummm… $4? They weren’t interested. Then they wanted to know what my Young Living Essential oils were… the lady took one whiff and was definitely not interested! She doesn’t know what she’s missing out on!

Young Living is the World Leader in Essential Oils®. Through the painstaking steps of our proprietary Seed to Seal® process, we produce pu

Auntie Em was there to meet us and we were off! Did I mention it was 6:45am? So we had the whole day! When we got back to the compound, we unpacked, rested, and then went to Hypermaxi (a market down here). I think the family behind us at the cash register was shocked that we spent over 700b’s (approx. $100USD) for groceries. But when you have nothing for a family of 5, $100 comes and goes pretty quickly!

After market, we came back to crash for the night. It might have been the longest 24 hrs of my life!

[kgrind-blog1]

Where We Are. Right Now.

So, this blog is about EVERYTHING in our lives. That means one post may be about homeschooling, another about special-needs learners, still another about adoption or inner-city ministry or Classical Education or living naturally. There will be some posts about cancer and chronic illness, maybe depression and anxiety and life traumas. There will be a lot about Jesus and Hope and Forgiveness and Grace. And this blog will be all about LOVE. Because that’s where we are.

Where we also are, at this very moment, is in Bolivia, South America! We are spending some time in Santa Cruz, visiting our Auntie who is a missionary here. We are also learning about the culture, getting to know the people here, and serving those who need it most. So... come join us on this journey as we explore, engage, and immerse ourselves in the story that God is unfolding here.