Mehico Day 2

Wednesday 26 May 2010

AMAZING DAY! Had another Mehican breakfast – which is WAY too much food – but I feel like I have to eat it because they dish it for me. Then Erik from Manos Unidas (the orphanage) came to pick us up. We ran a few errands including going to see their ranch – where they had just killed and plucked a chicken who once had lovely feathers. A dog ran off with its intestines. Excuse me, it was a rooster who ran off with the entrails.
We got to the orphanage and to be honest, I was pretty nervous. At lnch I ended up sitting next to a girl who was all by herself. She was about 14. Then another came - and they spoke so fast. i couldn't understand a word! I just know they were talking about me though.
Ramon came over after and we played outside for a bit. We broke out the bubbles which were a huge hit. Ramon's little sister Paulina snuggled right up. Oh my. She is a little doll. I love her. There are about 25 kids liveing there and the "parents" are absolutely amazing. Just incredible people..
Anway, they have a bounce house which creates AMAZING amounts of fun. At one point, i clamored up to the top where I sat for a second when someone bumped me from behind and I went tumbling over and in the process karate kicked, in slow motion, a fellow VIDA member in the head sending her in slow motion sprawing on her back. Great moment.
We played a lot with the kids and boy, did they wear us out. I was definitely ready to go home. When we did, we got cleaned up and I took a lot of flack for blow drying my hair. Yes, I brought a blow dryer. Then we drove through town to find some amazing hot dogs. I didn't eat one - my tummy has been crammed with co-mida since I got here. i just got a true Mehican coke and let me just say its a bazillion times better in Mehico.
Then we went to the fair. The first thing i did was get a fake tattoo - right on my arm. It's a Chinese character that says "love," but I keep telling people it means "mother." It just sounds better.
We went on three different rides - all of which looked extremely dangerous. I was to chicken to go on the horror train ride. Apparently the horror of it was that there were a bunch of kids touching you when you went by. Let me tell you, all the girls were screaming at the guy sitting next to them to stop touching them. We met back up with everyone and I saw a bunch of lucha dora masks. I had to have one. So I found one that looked like Nacho Libre's and bought it. It's hilarious. I had it on and could not stop laughing. I bought an ice cream cone right before and wanted to take some pictures. When I was done I put my camera in my purse and mashed my ice cream cone in my purse right along with it. Nice.

Mehico

I realize I didn't post anything about my trip to Obregon. It was a blast. I had such a great time I'm going back over Thanksgiving. The good news is that my mom won't shoot me either because her family is coming to town the next week so that is when we'll have the real Thanksgiving. I kept a pretty good journal for most of it...

23 May 2010
I really feel like I lost a full day yesterday. Lindsey was a crazy driver and most of us got kind of sick. We finlally made it to Tuscon around 7:30 and hopped on a bus to take us to Obregon around 10:00 or so. I got to sleep on the bus pretty well and then when we got to Nogales (border town), we all had to get off and push a button. Randomly the light would turn red instead of green and they would go through your bags. Luckily mine was green because my bags were chuck full and I didnt' want everything to spill out. I needed to use the bathroom (surprise) and discoverd two toilets - side by side - with no divider, no screen - nothing. And NO toilet paper. Good thing Kristen had tissues in her pocket and gave me some when it was my turn or I would have had issues.
I got on the bus and slept most of the rest of the trip which ended at about 8:30 or 9:00 (a.m. Yeah, it was a long drive). We got here and drove to the FAI headwuarters, ate some breakfast, and then headed off to either the orphanage or to the job site. I went to build the house and got fried crispy.
Anyway, we are building a house for a family with three boys and a baby firl. - Jesus, Rafael, Christian, and America. Their house now is unbelievable. It's made of crates, a sheet, some scrap wood, sheet metal, and cardboard. They have a dirt floor. What's even worse, some of their neighbors live in even more terrible conditions. Breaks my heart.
We are building a house out of adobe bricks and mortar. It's a tiny house, but is much more stable and has a bathroom connected. The floor is concrete. It costs only $4800 to build this house. It makes me realize how much I take for granted.
We worked for a while and went to another FAI office where they prepared us a lunch and then we put together some puzzle mats so we could take a siesta. I couldn't sleep. The floor was so hard. Everyone else woke up and we headed back to the jobsite. We finished four walls and we start the cement supports in the morning. Mixing cement is tough.

A Swallow Does Not a Summer Make

So, these random Chinese people keep posting on my blog. And one of the few that has written in English wrote that. What does it even mean?

The Bumbler

Alana told me I had to post this, and sometimes I listen when she bosses me around. So we had to take Lanny to the hospital yesterday because her blood pressure was so high. They admitted her and they are taking great care of her. A LOT better care than I could give her apparently. Hence the post. Anyway, she is doing fine they just want to monitor some things. And I think they want to monitor with me out of the room. I came into the room and was holding little Baby Gabe. The nurse walked in so while I was trying to get out of the way, I turned the faucet on which scared the crap out of me. Apparently the faucet turns on by way of foot pedal thingies. Right after that, I bumped my head on the light. I gave the baby back to my mom. I think she was a little nervous. Anyway, so Alana had to pump, but then her blood pressure cuff started going so she had to straighten out her arm while the pump was still going. Well, she got this look on her face and instinctively I reached up to, you know, help her out so things weren't coming undone and falling off and such. Apparently, I made things worse and helped the undoing and falling off. So she decided that she didn't need any more "help" from me, especially becasue her laughing was making her blood pressure higher. Somehow, I got the baby back from my mom and went to give him to Alana and I guess I tried to yank her little finger clip off. That's when I decided that I would keep my hands to myself and not try to help her anymore. I think she had had enough bumbling for one night.

Ick

I just killed a fly with my bare naked hand. Have a happy fourth of July.

Baby Gabe

Little baby Gabe was born last Thursday. He is the cutest little guy. He was 6 pounds 9 ounces and 20 inches long. He has the longest little toes! I am just so in love with him. It's so weird that my little sister is a mom! She is doing great and I love to see all that she is already doing for the lil tyke. Steve is a great dad too! He is just love struck with him as well. How could you not be?! And now I really can't wait to have my own dang kids.

Maggie Baby

I have a new niece. I guess she isn't totally new, she is five weeks old, but she is the newest addition to my family. I got to see her on Saturday and she melted my little heart. Actually, she made my heart grow. Kind of like on The Grinch, how his heart grows however many sizes. Everyone was outside eating lunch and I just sat in the lovesac and held the little Mags. She just snuggled right up to me and fell asleep. It was great because there weren't a thousand fingers poking her face and waking her up. And I just got to see her and what a beautiful little baby she is.

I know no guys that I know read this blog so this won't freak any of them out, but I can't wait to have my own kids.

Missin mission letters...

Okay, so while I was going through mission stuff, I found some letters from my sister Alana. Seriously, she is just so hilarious. She tries to blame it on her pregnant brain, but I think it’s always been like this.
September 26, 2004
“Oh boy, on Wednesday at work, I had a fruit loop necklace on and this little rascal turd face named Diego, runs up to me and bites my necklace off! And the fruit loops go flying! So I get on my hands and knees to pick them up and he starts pulling my pants down! And he kept calling me “a little nerd” in his cute little Latino accent. I really like this job – it is way easy and the kids really are so adorable.
“Anyway, so ya, on Friday I asked this kid named Brett Miller to MORP (a high school dance) – You know how dad has like a million hot dogs in the freezer? Well we got 32 hot dogs, defrosted them, and put them all over his porch and said “HOT DOG! Let’s go to Morp!” Ha ha. I thought it was funny cuz I made it up. Oh and I put my name on a toothpick and shoved it in one end of a hot dog. So me and Shawna went and delivered the lovely little mess – as we were laying out the dogs, a black cat walks right up and kifes one of the hot dogs! Then it looked at us, kind of snarled, and ran off! Crazy lunatic cat I tell ya. “
Can you see why I really miss getting letters!?

Missin the Mish

Last night after I got home late, I found a bunch of things from my mission. Letters I never got sorted out, some pictures, my going home Dobra Strona (newsletter), you know, that kind of thing. I went through it, and I got really home sick. I won't lie, I even cried a bit. I am such a home body, I love to be with my family, but I miss the people who became my family when I was a missionary.
I don’t miss tracting. Or the cold weather. Or being yelled at. Or not being able to pick up the phone to chat with my friends and family. Or being able to take naps. Or my long skirts and button up shirts. But I miss having a sense of purpose. Living for others. Knowing what I was supposed to be doing with my life. My friends who have all moved on to another stage of life. Speaking Polish. Not having to impress boys. Companions. Writing letters. Receiving letters. Helping people make life changing decisions. I miss my mission president and his cute wife. Sharing my testimony a gazillion times a day. The food. Feeling like a rock star when people actually knew who we were. Train rides. Sleepovers at zone conference. People praying for me daily to find people searching for the gospel (and not a husband haha). I just plain miss being a missionary.
I am so glad I went. And that I have such a wonderful part of my life to look back on. And miss.

This is part of my MTC groupat a zone conference in Katowice. Some of these people I miss the most. From left: Starszi Cragun, Patterson, Dyer, Siostry Spainhower, Jensen, and me.

Grammy-Cakes

My grandma is the coolest rockin-est grandma. Here is why:
1. She is the best cook. She lost her sniffing senses a while back, but she still makes the best smelling and most delcious tasting food. She is the go-to-girl when anybody needs something catered. Ever tried her cinammon rolls? If not, you are missing out.
2. She wrote me lots of letters while I was a missionary. This is how they started: "Dear Pooh,..." It was awesome.
3. I was helping her cater a very busy job one time. I was running from kitchen to table and back and getting a little bit frazzled when she grabbed my arm and pulled me down so she could say, "Guess what? I love you."
4. She cracks me up. If I tease her she will say, "Come over her so I can smack you."
5. She takes care of other people. She makes dinner for little old ladies in her ward.
6. She is very thoughtful. She makes and gives gifts to my brothers and sisters that are not her grandkids. They feel like she is their grandma too.
7. She goes walking every morning. She is a mall-walker. She picks up her 92 year old friend Anna and they go walking. Cute little ladies!
8. If someone speaks for too long or their talk is too boring in church, she'll leave. And if a hymn is too annoying (Can we say, "There is Sunshine in my Soul?), she won't sing it. I am totally like that too.
9. Grandma has the best yard with the greenest grass and a little creek running along in back. There are ducks back there a lot of times and quail love it on her lot. Her flowers are gorgeous and weed free and she loves working out in the yard.
10. I just love her.

So, it was kind of tough this last Saturday when I got a phone call from my mom telling me Grandma was having an emergency appendectomy. It had perforated a while ago apparently without her knowing it, so it did some damage, but they were able to care of it for the most part. Grandma was a champ though and has had a pretty good recovery. I was able to spend some time with her in the hospital a few of the days. She had to go for walks and on one of them, she wanted to find the elevator and bust out of there. That was the only time I heard her say something about how she didn't want to be there. She just doesn't complain. She got home yesterday and has been getting up on her own and doing everything by herself. It's great! I went to see her this morning and asked her what she had planned for the day. She said "Rollerblading." I think she is going to be just fine. :)