Tacos, Pets, and Plants....Just for Fun

Yesterday our good friends, Andres and Camila, headed to Argentina to raise support until the end of February. Actually, to say they are our good friends would be a huge understatement...they are terrific friends :) Even though the four of us are from 4 different countries and speak 3 different languages as our "heart language", we have a ton in common - Jeyson with Andres, and me with Camila, and us as couples since we both have international marriages. Anyway, we'll miss them a ton over the next few months but are praying that they will be able to raise the support they need while they are away.



To send them off, the couples group had a taco night at our house on Wednesday. Mexican food is just beginning to become popular here in Brazil (YAY!) so some of the people didn't even know how to put a taco together.

Each person brought some of the taco ingredients and our American friend, Michawn, made the tortillas. Tortilla chips aren't available here, but Doritos are...so since Doritos are kind of like cheese flavored tortilla chips, we used them instead to go with the salsa. This actually works GREAT and, I think, may even be better if you like cheesy flavored chips and salsa.


Otinarcy (left) is expecting a baby Lucas in January. I thought is was so cute and appropriate how she pulled right up to the buffet table :)

Even though Andres and Camila are now far away, their dog Hilu stayed behind and is going to live with us until they return. Hilu's a sweet mixed dog and has been a great guest. I promised Andres and Camila I'd post some pictures on our blog once in a while...plus I know my dog loving sisters back home are anxious to see our new friend. Hilu has been VERY nice to our cat Sam, though Sam is pretty nervous about the new guy. The first time they met Sam was hissing and arching up his back all of the time. Meanwhile, Hilu kept calmly looking at him like "What's wrong with this guy? I just want to be friends!"

Day 2 was much better and Sam has gotten very curious and spies on Hilu all of the time. Do you notice anyone watching from under the cabinet?

Come on out....there's nothing to worry about!

As of this morning, Sam has made a ton of progress in learning to trust Hilu. As you can see, Andres and Camila, they're doing just great! Give it another week and they'll be best friends :)Speaking of our home and making progress, our garden has really been improving. We've discovered that we really enjoy gardening, and I especially love having edible plants in the garden. Here's our rosemary and basil plants that are so convenient when I'm cooking.

And this week we planted grape vines! We're not sure if it's going to work out, but they were so cheap that we couldn't resist giving it a try.

And most exciting of all is our little cherry tree that my mother-in-law gave us. It is still only about shoulder height, but new leaves are developing and I have high hopes for some cherries with time!

All right, enough fun, and back to being a SERIOUS missionary :) Have a great weekend!