has it been this long?

in january, i made a conscious decision not to blog. i was running out of things to write about - and i find that writing about the day-to-day is kind of boring. 

life is not boring - 

but it's hard to find new content sometimes.

so, i took a little break. i didn't expect it to last three months. but, here we are.

life was busy and hectic and jam-packed with stuff for the past three months, and now - within the next two weeks - it will slow down and we'll start to get ready for summer. my semester is just about done, school is just about over for the kids and it is starting to get hot.

i'm looking forward to a slower pace - i've been running around a lot, and i'm hoping that i can get a lot of next year's school planning done and out of the way while i'm on semester break. i'm not sure that that is going to happen, but i can try. 

and i have a lot of help. (thank you!)

i've been snapping pictures again of things i see on the island and will hopefully make some time to share them. it's not infrequent to see something new and fun in these parts. 

for now i leave you with pictures from the last few months.

this was my favorite VBS group of the year so far - they did a karate class, outdoor games and crafts and then  decorated cookies with frosting and M&Ms before doing a coreographed dance concert with the kids.

i love this picture so much. hair is a really big deal in this country. women spend hours (and tons of money) on straightening and processing and blowing out their hair. it is almost unheard of to see this pajon - afro - so proudly displayed. but we've now had two african american missionaries with natural hair, and the girls have noticed. not only do they come to school with their "puffs", they show it off! anyi told me this day, "look, my hair is just like tia jewels!"

 we don't "do" carnaval. while i find it to be an enlightening cultural event - i don't like the violence and craziness that comes with it. men and boys carry around dried pig-bladder balloons and smack women on the butt. it hurts. plus, there are tons of drunk people and not a lot of control. so, we usually go to the local cultural museum for their "kids carnaval" - but this year was by far the most organized and fun for the kids. only kid dancers performed, on a stage, with a ton of activities for the family.

 we celebrated independence day on february 27th with an assembly filled with poems, songs and dances. 

 this amazing group came to visit from lansdale, pa. we met some of their young adult members this past summer and let me tell you, that i have not met young adults like these ladies in a long time. passionate, driven, kind. i loved their families just as much. they did eye checks and acupuncture. you might notice tia jewel in this picture. she came to visit for a long weekend!  

 while jewel was here, we HAD to go to the beach for a day. it started out rainy - but by noon it was gorgeous. and a much needed respite. 

 it's getting hot. so we bought a pool for the yard. i imagine i will be filling this thing up in the summer, and just laying in there while i grade papers or something.

most recently, we've had chicken pox. amely got them first - a fairly light case and this past week samil has had them. he got them worse than amely, but dealt very well with is and is finally excited to go back to school on monday!