Home for the Holidays

It is hard to believe that we have been in Belize for over 6 months now.  I told my father when we last spoke that it finally seems like we are settled.  Instead of seeing the many differences of people and way of life here, I have begun to notice the similarities.  There are many more things that feel familiar.  Quinn finished his first semester in his Belizean school including exam week and received the highest marks in his grade.  He has made some friends, learned to play marbles and is enjoying playing baseball with the guys.  Caelan is comfortable spending his days at the clinic with us, doing his homeschooling on the Internet.  He is often a big help around the house.  Will has been practicing his guitar everyday - sometimes for hours at a time - and is making real music now.  Both Will and Caelan have gone along on an overnight trip to a couple of the remote villages.

Path leading to the river in the village of San Vicente

I really wanted to make our home feel a bit like Christmas and was initially at a loss as to how to do it.  There is definitely not the commercialization and Christmas trappings here and I wasn't even able to find any red cloth.  Then one of the shops in town got in a small, plastic Christmas tree and some light strands.  We were able to set it up on our dining room table and decorate it a bit.  Caelan, Quinn and I made an old-fashioned paper chain of red and white paper.  It has been so nice to have it and has added a bit of the holiday cheer to our home.  Everyone has also been looking forward to Barbara and Bill's visit (Bill's parents) for Christmas.

It does seem that as we have gotten closer to Christmas, we have been a bit homesick for the States.  Celia (our nurse) and Chad, Natalie (our pharmacist) and family left last week for the states until the New Year.  It was hard seeing everyone leave. Before they left, we were visiting and they were talking about what they were looking forward to: different types of foods, carpeting, no bugs or bug bites, clean environments and not feeling dirty all of the time.... I think we were definitely wishing we were going up for a visit as well.  But then I realized, there are lots of things we miss but we don't NEED anything.



On a funny note, "superstitions" are abounding in our house.  The only hot water in our house is by an electrical shower head that heats the water as it goes through it.  For some reason, recently we have been without power a lot in the mornings which means cold showers. There have been several instances that the electricity has come on just after Bill has finished his cold shower.  Quinn has thought it hilarious that Bill has had to take cold showers and has gone into the bathroom with a battery-powered fan aimed at him in the shower as a joke. This past Sunday the power was again out.  After a couple of hours, Quinn started begging Bill to take a cold shower so that the electricity would come back on.  After awhile we suggested to Quinn that he be the one to take the cold shower and see if it made a difference. Quinn finally thought it might be worth it and after hearing sqeaks and squeals from the cold shower, Quinn emerged.  As he stood there dripping wet and laughing, the power came on.  Then Quinn was convinced, "Somebody has to sacrifice themselves for the family."   Caelan's dry, intellectual approach was that it was "not only a coincidence but an unfortunate event."



We wish you all, our family and friends, a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

                                          For to us a child is born,

to us a child is given,

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace