No new pictures, but lots of updates ...

Nica time is like no other, but then again - there has been a lot of things that have happened in a week. The pastor's family has helped me accomplish this, and I am very grateful to them. So far,

• We rented a house,
• Bought a stove, refrigerator, washer/dryer & microwave
• Bought 3 beds (guest bed yet to come after we measure room for size of bed),
• Went to Mercado Oriental (like a open-air market in a bad part of New York, which was very fun) and bought glasses, pots/pans and a few household items after we bought the beds there.
• Got a Price Smart (Costco card),
• Bought a phone,
• Will sign papers and complete purchase of the car tomorrow :).

We hope to move into the house within the week. It is totally fenced, has 4 bedrooms / 4 baths / 3 stories / maid's quarters (not!) and a beautiful yard with 6 coconut trees, mandarin oranges, guava, avocado & bananas. Amazing! We share a "guard" with the neighbors, and there is a gate between the two backyards because the guard is also is the gardener. It's weird to think we have this kind of help, but it helps the local economy and also helps us.

Nahum and Gener are doing well ... we are studying English and Spanish together (one at a time with me, or Gener would do all the talking for Nahum). I am also seeing how far they are in math by giving them division problems and seeing how they solve them (how they think). It's amazing how you can communicate with your hands and half-words and a little grunting hahahahaha.

They are very different from each other, and both very good young men. You can see the smiles on their faces, in their eyes and also in their hearts. I think they sleep with smiles, really, I do. I don't know exactly when school begins for them. I'm sure someone will tell me hahahaha. I don't want to be a pushy North American and ask, so ... I'll let you know when I know.

John fell and cracked broke his rib and punctured his lung last night on the way home from work. Today is his birthday. No cake - just Vicodin. This is the third bicycle accident, so I think his biking days are over for quite a while, as the roads here are horrible here and the drivers are worse. Car vs. bike = car wins. I don't want that. We need John with us. We talked with (and saw) John last night and this morning via Skype ... the boys almost crawled into the computer to see him and were amazed at technology. They will be learning a lot directly and indirectly. We realize and are thankful for the opportunity and responsibility entrusted in us to take them to maturity and give them the tools they need to succeed.

I'll stop now and try to figure out how to load the new pictures on this computer and hopefully NEXT TIME you will see them at the bus station (four hours waiting, bus exhaust, noise, vendors constantly calling out their wares, "Pollo pollo pollo" (or whatever they were selling) very rapidly ... it was an experience of sight, sound and smells all at once.

More later ... I've GOT TO figure out the camera software so you can get a better idea than just words. Too bad you can't smell the smells and feel the heat and hear the sounds.

Voy a escribirte despues. Con mucho amor.