Viva Honduras!

We have been in Honduras for about a week and a half and it has been great. Matty joined us 4 days ago!!! Rebekah is doing wonderful. She loves the food and she loves to walk everywhere (with our help) :) She has adjusted really well. We have had a very relaxing time, visited and seen lots of family, and have been eating LOTS of good food :) There is no place like home!

The weather here is perfect :) It is 75 in the daytime and 60 in the evenings. We are loving it! My mom´s house is really open and is up on a hill so the breeze flows through the house, keeping it fresh and comfortable. The only distraction from the calm is the construction workers adding on to the back of the house. There are 3 men working to add a two story addition so the sawing and hammering is fairly constant. They say they should finish by December 23rd and we can´t wait for that to happen. The men working are hardworking, humble, kind and have servants´ hearts. They love it when Rebekah greets them with, ¨hola, hola!¨

Two days ago we went to my grandma´s house because they had made some arroz con pollo (chicken and rice) for all of us. We had a blast. Picture 7 wild kids under the age of 7, and 12 adults in a 10´by 14´room eating and talking while Lidia and Grandma dance to the Christmas merengue in front of the Christmas tree ;) Pretty wild, yet fun! We bought paletas (homemade popsicles) for everyone for 2 cents each from the next door neighbor! Can´t beat that! Later we had coffee and pan dulce (Sweet bread)...yummy...yummy!!! What a joyful time to be around all those kids and family; everybody sharing what little they have. This is a picture of a normal family gathering in Honduras.

Last night Matty, Rebebah and I went on a walk around the neighborhood. First we went down the really steep hill by the house and then went through the neighborhood where the trees where carved into archways. At the end of that street some of the children asked for a lempira...which is equivalent to five cents. We enjoyed looking at the different bright colors and styles of houses and daydreamed about what kind of house we would like if we lived down here. We then huffed and puffed our way back up the big hill. (Tegucigalpa is about 3,800 ft elevation so Matt´s Tulsa lungs are working overtime). All the way Rebekah was munching on a big rosquilla (hard, round bisquit with a hole in the middle). Rebekah has become fond of the rosquillas because she can chew on one for an hour or more. We give her one every day and that makes her happy :) As we walked, pushing her in her stroller, she was happy and content to look at all the cars and people and stray dogs along the way.

So far we have been safe and healthy and enjoying our time. We should be heading to La Ceiba to visit my brother and the Arevalos next week! We are excited! We appreciate your prayers. Check back for more updates in the days to come!