#DominicanThanksgiving [part 2]

Saturday we headed up the mountain

[a whopping 10 minute drive]

to a cabin [read: wonderful and large house]

for a nights stay.

Thank you Wallace Family for your generosity.

You are inspiring to say the least. 

kneading dough and baking with yeast

oh yeah we used the espresso machine

We struggled all Saturday to get the oven to work.

No such luck.

I was truly challenged while I watched Brad prepare 

the chicken for our big Thanksgiving dinner.

The oven wasn't working, but he was putting so much effort

in preparing the bird.

It was a lesson in trust and expectant hope.

Victory is ours!

Thanksgiving dinner is saved!

This celebration was fabulous.

two girls perfecting their crafts

[Emily - cooking

Alicia - art]

window peeping on a busy kitchen

crackling fire

Curt's apple pie

and mini pumpkin pies...

dessert and 1st breakfast...

early morning sit 

with good books and good friends

It's official!

Emily and I are trained baristas!

Thanks Neal ;)

Thanksgiving 2014 breakfast crew

"You've made crepes before, right?"

"No... I thought you had..."

we were spoiled

with views

with food

with friends

Holidays are not complete without

watching "White Christmas"

in your jammies.

twinkle light putter uppers

What a splendid Thanksgiving break.

Although we live on an island,

things are not always perfect here.

It's still normal life.

[just a bit warmer]

But this holiday break was exceptionally wonderful.

I hope yours was too.

What was the highlight of your Thanksgiving this year?

#DominicanThanksgiving [part 1]

Holidays without family can be rough.

But when you have friends who stand in as family

it tends to work out alright.

First things first...

a trip to la cancha.

Overwhelming to put it nicely.

[la cancha is the Walmart of Jarabacoa.

But right now they are in the middle of a remodel.

Think construction workers, giant holes, jack hammers,

and piles of merchandise everywhere.]

Preparing my auyama for our Thanksgiving dinner.

[auyama is the squash here, it's comparable to pumpkin]

Doulos Thanksgiving is one of my favorite events of the year!

We all gather for games, fellowship, and delicious food.

Look who is growing up!

Cresly is doing great in 1st grade.

Holidays would not be holidays without

at least skyping with family.

I love you, Grandpa!

[isn't my grandpa handsome?]

Midday neighbor hangouts are a must.

We have the cutest girls next door.

On Friday night we drove 1 1/2 hours to watch some 

Dominican winter league baseball!

Manny Ramirez at bat.

The crowd goes wild!

Saturday morning we headed up the mountain

to a lovely cabin for a night.

But more on that in part 2 :)

lessons w/ little humans

I love learning from 5 year olds.

They really can teach you a lot if you just pay attention.

For the last 40 minutes of the school day we have "centers".

It's a time to learn from play.

A time that many would say is the most important

part of Kindergarten.

Anyway...

I was playing with a group of kiddos 

who were working on a puzzle.

Here is how it went down:

The puzzle was dumped out 

and the little humans scrambled for their pieces.

Then they pulled their pieces close 

and moved away from each other to begin their work.

Soon they were frustrated.

The little humans could not get their pieces to fit together right.

They glared at each other 

to see how the others were progressing with their work.

...............

One by one the tiny people began to move closer to one another.

Pieces started to come together.

Progress.

Excitement.

Little voices shared ideas and thoughts.

Tiny hands passed puzzle pieces to friends.

Slowly the puzzle began to grow and take shape.

The little humans were having fun.

Together, they eventually completed their work

and, let me tell you, 

it was a beautiful puzzle.

I love the way this lesson challenges me.
Can you learn something about work and life
from my 5 year old friends?