Snippets.

So, we were out of town in Cochabamba most of this week.  Scotty has quarterly meetings there as part of an advisory council for the mission director.  I'll fill you in on the last bit of time with a few snippets of life, in no particular order.

The girls travel well.  We left for the airport right around Jubilee's nap time- 12:30.  We had the usual wait of an hour for our flight, plus a few more half hour delays brought on by our plane not being able to leave its previous destination to come to us.  We bided our time in the sunny departure room, sipping cappuccinos and playing "race" with Natty.  Jubilee happily watched, slept, and nursed.  I had a good conversation with the girl working at the jewelry counter, who unfortunately knew nothing about the Bolivianite (an amethyst like stone found here in the mines of Bolivia) and where in the country it comes from.  But, she did have a little girl, too, and was open to my questions and conversation about life.  When the plane came in, Natty got super excited, we walked out onto the cold, windy tarmac (not to mention noisy, since there was another plane raring to go next to us), boarded our jet and took off.  A quick snack and 30 mins later and we were there.  In those 4 hours there was almost nothing but smiles, other than a few short cries as Jubilee tried to fall asleep.  Yes, my girls might sometimes seem like angels- even to me- but stay tuned for the bubble bursting.

I took a walk the Sunday before we left.  We didn't go to church since we had to leave early for the airport, so I was able to get in a nice walk around the 'hood.  Whoa.  Note to self: No walks on Sundays.  I thought it would be nice and quiet cause it's Sunday and that seems reasonable.  Twice as many stray dogs out.  I honestly thought I might get attacked several times.  There is comfort in knowing by sight the dogs around town.  There is not comfort in seeing new, large dogs travelling in packs.  There were groups of men reeking of alcohol- obviously still out from a drinking binge started the night before.  They kinda just set up camp on a rickety, wooden bench outside of a small, corner store.  Although most of them looked harmless and probably couldn't walk straight, I'm never a fan of being a blond foreigner walking by a group of drunk men.  And generally there was a lot more traffic than I expected- people probably going to families homes for cooking and lunch and guys dressed in soccer garb to go play all day.  The Catholic church's bells were ringing just as I walked past the drunk guys...calling its people to come worship.  It was a bit ironic.

We were happy to spend some time in the beloved SIM guest house in Cochabamba.  We are still looking for a couple people to run it, so if you're reading this and feel a little spark inside, call me.  Natty immediately headed outside into the big, green yard for the swings.  I immediately got into a taxi to pick up some grub at the grocery store.  Ah- Cochabamba!  I was comfortable in short-sleeves (still winter here) and loving the familiar sights of town and the grocery store I must have visited 100 times while living there.  I picked up some cotton candy on my way out as a special treat for Natty and we enjoyed some play time back at the guest house before putting Jubilee to bed and leaving Natty with an SIM friend while Scotty and I went out to Paprika for our anniversary dinner.  We had celebrated our engagement there the night he asked me to marry him and it is a favorite of many.  It was nice to walk and talk and hold hands and not be in a hurry and eat good food.  Can I tell you about the amazing present he gave me before we left?  Well, I have to admit that Scotty is not a gift-giver.  He actually picks great presents, but doesn't enjoy it and often puts it off until the last minute.  I don't think he'd mind me sharing this on the world wide web because I've said some nice things about him before on my blog.  :)  However, for my first birthday as a married couple, he gave me a Nalgene bottle.  It was purple.  Yes, that's all.  I was a bit underwhelmed, although, I did carry that bottle with me everywhere I went, at all times, for about 5 years.  One Christmas, he admitted to me on Christmas Eve Eve that he hadn't bought me anything yet.  I'll let that be in the end of the examples for now.  So, let me read to you a section from the card he wrote this year for our 7th anniversary: "Seven years, seven presents: a photo frame in gratitude for such a beautiful family and great memories together.  A notebook and pencil case because you are such a gifted writer and because it makes me think of future travels together (the notebook had travel graffics on it).  The (chocolate-scented) candle and glass holder represents our future home, full of light, warmth, hospitality and the smell of chocolate coming from the kitchen!  Dark chocolate because you like it and After Eight (chocolate mint candies) because that's when I get to hang out with just you."  How thoughtful- right!?  All the gifts were beautiful...and yummy.  He totally made up for those other lame times.

It was a joy to have 3 days or so to just focus totally on the girls.  I didn't bring my computer so that I wouldn't be tempted to get online and waste time or ignore them.  I played all the stuff Natty wanted to play.  We took pictures of Jubilee and made her laugh.  We ate snacks that are bad for you.  Natty was happy and sweet and I was loving it.  For a while.  Toward the end, my sweet girl turned into Natty-the-sinner.  She was unrepentant when disciplined for doing wrong or disobeying.  She made little fists and punched the air with them like she wanted to hit me.  She glared at me.  Her attitude screamed, "I don't care what you say!  I like to sin!"  It truly broke my heart and frustrated me.  Of course, this wasn't the first time I had seen this, but it was a bit more pronounced on this trip.  How can such a young thing who is receiving such nice treats and love from her mommy treat her this way?  I wonder if God sometimes asks the same of me...  By the end of the trip, I was having a hard time enjoying my daughter.  I prayed hard and continue to every day.  No one teaches them to do wrong- it comes naturally.  As much as I talk about our relationship with each other being broken when she disobeys, only the Holy Spirit can make her want it to be right again.

Today is Saturday and we don't have any major plans.  I love this.  Tomorrow is pedestrian day- no car driving allowed.  Scotty will go over to church early tonight to set up for our Saturday night service since we won't have normal church tomorrow.  After the girls get up from naps, we'll have a family date to the ice cream store.  I'll stay home with Jubilee since church starts at her bedtime and listen to a sermon and try to connect with some long-distance friends.  We're still trying to find some neighborhood friends to hang out with tomorrow when everyone is stuck at home.

I had a lovely long conversation with a Bolivian friend last night at Bible study.  We were the only two to show up until an hour and a half after the study was supposed to start (!!).  I feel like it was a God-ordained time of reconnection with her.  Then a few more trickled in and we had a more intimate time of sharing and prayer.  I really enjoy that small group.

Well, hope you feel caught up!  Check my facebook for pics of our time in Cochabamba.