(From the beginning of Dick's blog in which he once again "appropriated" my journal. This time, though, he was kind enough to insert the pictures for me.)
After only a little arm twisting on my part, and agreeing to post her picture at the top of my blog, Pat has once again graciously agreed to do part of this weeks Journaling. I will verify that most of what Pat has written is fairly accurate bear in mind though that although Pat excels me when it come to spelling and language skills my recollection of numbers (especially when it come to soccer scores) far exceeds hers. (Dick, I thought it was still a sin to lie!!!! Only left this in to once again demonstrate Dick's tendency toward exaggeration--Pat)
January. 4, 2010
Yesterday we were gratefully able to load all five school-age kids, including Ronnie, into Dick’s car and head for the coast. Ronnie has made a full recovery (or as full a recovery as is possible for a 17 year old with Muscular Dystrophy), and he, is brother Orlindo (age 8), and sisters Jessica (16), Clara (14) and Estrella (12) were more than excited as we drove away from their house. We also had with us Elder, a little guy from Dick’s neighborhood who was excited to be the only one we had brought with us from home.
We arrived at the hotel about lunch time, and were all hungry, so we headed directly to the restaurant to have a bite to eat while our rooms were being readied. The kids were delighted to find that there were hamburgers on the menu, and for the girls at least, this became their choice of food for every meal we had here, including breakfast! We swam for a long time after lunch, and the kids got progressively braver in the water. I think Dick and I had as much fun, if not more, than the kids did!
It had been at pretty long and hot ride down to the hotel (except for the few times Dick stopped to let the center-pivot irrigation spray into the car to cool us off) and all the kids wanted to rest after dinner. The girls and I settled into our room watching TV. Imagine my surprise when, at 8:30, Jessica turned off the TV and the overhead light, announcing it was their bedtime. I had hoped for some sleep while rooming with them, but never imagined I’d actually get MORE sleep than I do regularly.
They were up bright and early, however, and had a great time in the shower. This is a rare treat for kids who usually have to bathe from a small tub, and they took full advantage of their opportunity to use hot (well, warmish) running water to their hearts’ content. (I later found out that Dick and the boys were still trying to sleep through the noise, but, it was worth it to hear the girls enjoy themselves so much with something I take for granted, even here in Guatemala).
Since the boys weren’t up yet, we ladies made our way to the restaurant to have our morning coffee and play a few spirited games of UNO. We were almost disappointed when then boys joined us and it was time to order breakfast.
This is a great hotel, with the slowest food service in all of Guatemala. I think we got it figured out, though. Today we placed our food order, and then went to play soccer while our meal was prepared. It was girls against the boys (with Ronnie being score-keeper). The girls easily whooped the boys, even though the girls played in dresses and bare feet! (Case in point abut Pat's poor recollection of soccer scores.) Dick kept trying to talk me into joining the game, but I think that was only because the girls were ahead (Hard to believe that Pat came here as a missionary. D.R.) , and he thought I’d be a “handicap” to them winning.
After breakfast we all quickly changed into our bathing suits and went swimming again. Today everyone swam except Elder. For some reason he was very anxious whenever he was around the pool. Dick’s frequent attempts to coax him out were futile, though I think Elder not swimming probably bothered Dick more than it did Elder, who seemed to enjoy himself greatly playing on Dick’s computer.
It was great fun to watch the kids become progressively more comfortable in the water, today even venturing onto the waterslides. Ronnie was even able to swim with Dick’s help. All too soon it was time to check out of the hotel and head for home.
We were all anxious to find out if the new baby (child #8) Mom was expecting had been born yet. None of us were a disappointed as Mom was, though, when she told us that there were still no immediate signs of his/her appearance. Dick suggested she wait until the weekend and deliver on his birthday (the 8th). We’ll see if Mom takes his advice.
Pat
(From Dick's jounal--Baby Briefing. . .he "forgot" to tell me about this call until days later. He may think he remembers numbers, but he sure forgets a lot of other things!)
Believe it or not mom did take my advice. I got a phone call from Ronny's dad a on the 10th telling me that his wife had a baby boy on my birthday and that they are considering naming it Dick.
We arrived at the hotel about lunch time, and were all hungry, so we headed directly to the restaurant to have a bite to eat while our rooms were being readied. The kids were delighted to find that there were hamburgers on the menu, and for the girls at least, this became their choice of food for every meal we had here, including breakfast! We swam for a long time after lunch, and the kids got progressively braver in the water. I think Dick and I had as much fun, if not more, than the kids did!
It had been at pretty long and hot ride down to the hotel (except for the few times Dick stopped to let the center-pivot irrigation spray into the car to cool us off) and all the kids wanted to rest after dinner. The girls and I settled into our room watching TV. Imagine my surprise when, at 8:30, Jessica turned off the TV and the overhead light, announcing it was their bedtime. I had hoped for some sleep while rooming with them, but never imagined I’d actually get MORE sleep than I do regularly.
They were up bright and early, however, and had a great time in the shower. This is a rare treat for kids who usually have to bathe from a small tub, and they took full advantage of their opportunity to use hot (well, warmish) running water to their hearts’ content. (I later found out that Dick and the boys were still trying to sleep through the noise, but, it was worth it to hear the girls enjoy themselves so much with something I take for granted, even here in Guatemala).
Since the boys weren’t up yet, we ladies made our way to the restaurant to have our morning coffee and play a few spirited games of UNO. We were almost disappointed when then boys joined us and it was time to order breakfast.
This is a great hotel, with the slowest food service in all of Guatemala. I think we got it figured out, though. Today we placed our food order, and then went to play soccer while our meal was prepared. It was girls against the boys (with Ronnie being score-keeper). The girls easily whooped the boys, even though the girls played in dresses and bare feet! (Case in point abut Pat's poor recollection of soccer scores.) Dick kept trying to talk me into joining the game, but I think that was only because the girls were ahead (Hard to believe that Pat came here as a missionary. D.R.) , and he thought I’d be a “handicap” to them winning. 
After breakfast we all quickly changed into our bathing suits and went swimming again. Today everyone swam except Elder. For some reason he was very anxious whenever he was around the pool. Dick’s frequent attempts to coax him out were futile, though I think Elder not swimming probably bothered Dick more than it did Elder, who seemed to enjoy himself greatly playing on Dick’s computer.
It was great fun to watch the kids become progressively more comfortable in the water, today even venturing onto the waterslides. Ronnie was even able to swim with Dick’s help. All too soon it was time to check out of the hotel and head for home.
We were all anxious to find out if the new baby (child #8) Mom was expecting had been born yet. None of us were a disappointed as Mom was, though, when she told us that there were still no immediate signs of his/her appearance. Dick suggested she wait until the weekend and deliver on his birthday (the 8th). We’ll see if Mom takes his advice.
(From Dick's jounal--Baby Briefing. . .he "forgot" to tell me about this call until days later. He may think he remembers numbers, but he sure forgets a lot of other things!)
Believe it or not mom did take my advice. I got a phone call from Ronny's dad a on the 10th telling me that his wife had a baby boy on my birthday and that they are considering naming it Dick.
Goodnight,
Yours in Christ: Dick
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