The return of the rascals

These two are becoming infamous....
But who could get upset with them....?TOO CUTE!

Crazy Critters

While here at Lican Ray we share our space with lots of other creatures. The kids spend lots of time finding animals, bugs, birds, and whatever creeping, crawling thing they can get their hands on. Here are some pictures of the many they've come across.

To start with there are the pets....and my absolute favorite is Selah. She is Dan and Liz's golden retriever and the cutest thing!

Here Selah was playing with 'Pelusa' (or hairball) which is the caretakers dog. She had fun swimming out and trying to chase the ducks.

Selah also enjoys playing with Bruno, the Thompsons cat - I'm not sure how much he enjoys it, though.

While Selah is my favorite, Bruno is definitely a fun cat - he cuddles up in the cutest places!

Then there are the in-between ones, they're sort of pets but not as cute and cuddly. The Thompsons have some chickens, little ones and some full grown ones they've transported out here to camp as they are living here instead of traveling back and forth every day.

Then there are the not so cute and cuddly! Here they are gathered around to look at some frogs they caught ~

Logan and Micah found a cupful of these guys ~ OUCH!

While at the beach a few days ago Logan found a crab ~ and yes, that container is what you think it is=)

Here's the colorful little guy we saw up at the lava flow ~And then there's the hummingbird that Logan caught after he flew into the main dining room.Not only is God's creation evident in the beauty around but in the variety of animals we see also. How fun to enjoy the 'outdoors' part of life - especially since it's spring here!

OUCH

Since arriving we have had our share of 'accidents'. They've ranged from owies and booboos, to some on a larger scale of pain and discomfort. Yesterday we had a couple and one time we took a picture - it was quite impressive! So, to add to our list here is Matthias - he was playing outside on some lumber and fell headfirst into a board. He cried for a bit but after that it just didn't seem to hurt him anymore. He even let me put some ice on it while he watched with a little handheld mirror.

Isn't that amazing!

Today Matthew also had another injury - he dropped a board onto his foot that had a nail in it which pierced through his shoe and into the top of his foot, he was pretty sure the bone stopped it. He's had several other close calls with falling trees and hauling logs. Shortly after we arrived he came in with blood trickling down his face from what looked like his eye. Right in the inner corner of his eye he'd hit himself with the hammer when it hit and rebounded at an awkward angle. The longer this paragraph gets the more I wonder if we shouldn't have gotten insurance for him down here=) We've had Justin smack his finger with a hammer, Greg fall through some unfinished stairs and scrape his shins and also hammer himself full on in the knee, and the list could go on....

Also, this seems like a good time to update on Alana's feet. She is doing VERY well. In the evening we go through a little ritual of soaking her feet and putting some cream on them but she rarely complains any more even when I'm doing that. My concern at this point is to try and keep the blisters clean. They've all burst so there are lots of areas of exposed skin that are hard to keep clean here at camp!Please excuse the state of undress...

We are so thankful for God's protection! The near misses have been almost as scary as the accidents that actually happened. We know that prayers are being answered!

Zzzzzzzip-line

Yesterday afternoon we had another rather spur of the moment activity - we went about 1/4 mile down the road from the camp to a zipline, 1000 meters worth of zipping back and forth between the tree-tops! Matthew went along with Monica and Zach as well as the three single guys that are here; Justin, Greg, and Anthony. Justin leaves tonight and will spend two days in Santiago with the Kunarris before heading back to the US so we wanted to fit it in before he left.

The pictures are not that great as it was quite far away from the camera and they were going pretty fast when they did come closer.

Here is the place itself - canopy is the Chilean term for zip-line.

Because we were so many they divided our one group into two and the three guys went first while Matthew and the kids waited. Here they all are getting ready.During the first 5 minutes Logan cried, so much so that I sent him to sit away from the group until he could get a hold of himself. He desperately wanted to go....but as I was once told by a very wise man ~ "RHIP".He was appeased when he got to go on the ride to take everyone to the top of the hill to the starting point.The zipline was in segments and each line ended and started at a tree stand way up in the trees. This is where they hooked and unhooked everyone - hard to see but this is Zach way up there in the red sweatshirt.

Here's Matthew and then Zach swinging by overhead - I took one of Monica but, as per request, it was on her camera. As an added treat the owner transported people in his 1956 Land Rover. He has many original parts and it is his 'jewel' as he put it. It's quite an international vehicle and was used by the military in its earlier years. Matthew offered him our dog and cat for it but he refused with a grin....even when Matthew offered to throw in a kid he stood firm=) When all the runs were over he gave us a ride back to camp - we all squeezed into the back and then Matthew proceeded to drool over it a bit more when the hood came up.You would have liked it, Roy=)

News

The news that met me this morning left me thinking how thankful I am that I am not a citizen of this world or of the USA, but my true citizenship is in heaven. I could carry on for another 12 pages on how I feel about the issues that took place yesterday but I'll leave it at that!

Oh, and a week from tomorrow Matthew gets his Chilean 'carnet' which, because he was born here, allows him to work here and live here indefinitely ~ and he can have his whole family with him....hmmmm? =)

My birthday....

Since it isn't exactly going unnoticed I thought I might as well post something about my birthday=) It was a good day! Last year I spent my birthday in Chile as well celebrating with Uncle George Black, a missionary in northern Chile celebrating his 100th birthday - WOW! This year I'm here in Chile again, just farther south. Thanks to Matthew for the birthday post and all the special attention he's given me thoughout the day, thanks to Monica and Liz for not forgetting and making me a chocolate cake and getting me some presents, thanks to my parents for calling and chatting to wish me a good day, thanks to my sister Helaine who's written several things that are way more kind than I deserve, and the TON of other friends who've sent birthday wishes one way or another.

Feliz Cumpleanos a mi!

Tomorrow I'll post about the zipline adventure we went on this afternoon!

Happy Birthday!

Today my sweet Alisha celebrates another year of life and what better place to celebrate than her favorite place, Lican Ray, Chile! Our family has been so blessed to have been able to spend this last year together with the ups and downs and the growing in God's grace together. Thanking you Alisha for choosing every day to love me and dedicate yourself to your husband and your family. You are more beautiful today than the day we were married.
Love,
your husband.

Framing the House....

As of right now the first floor walls are up on the new house. The house is just one story on half of it but there is a second story on the other half. The floor is laid for the second level and the trusses are up and some of the walls, the first level has all of the trusses up but not all of them on the second story. There are two dormer windows that are framed in and all of the downstairs rooms are framed in as well. First thing today the plan is to finish framing in the upstairs and get the rest of the trusses up. I say all that for those that are interested in knowing the specifics and because it will also help explain some of the pictures.

The very first wall going up! Yay! A picture from the distance showing the two end walls. As you look at it from here the left hand side will be a single story with one, big room containing the kitchen, dining room and living room. On the right hand side there will be two bedrooms and a bathroom in the downstairs and on the second story will be the master bedroom and another bathroom. (The house in the background is the caretakers house.) Framing one of the bedrooms....Taken from the living room as they were sheeting the second story.Taken from the front side of the house, in through the window.I'll save the trusses for another post because they were an event all on their own!!! There are people reading this blog who have spent a lot of time here at this camp so for those of you who are wondering why all the construction details....well, its for them=)

A Yummy Treat

*Here is a draft I wrote a while ago and forgot to go back and post....oops!

On Wednesday night, before the Erskin family had to leave, we decided to go out for a nice meal. Fortunately right in the little town of Lican Ray, a 15 minute walk away, there is a very nice restaurant. We also discovered they had VERY good food. For about $10 a plate we ate until we could eat no more. We had several salads, roasted potatoes, and 5 massive platters of meat. On the platters there were hot dogs, sausages beyond compare, chicken, steak, and pork ~ all grilled just for our group. There was also a continuous supply of fresh bread and sopaipillas. It was delicious! Sorry if I'm making anybody drool but I've been waiting for these for a long time.
YUM!!!

Beach time

This weekend has brought us some very nice weather! And, as it worked out, on both Friday and Saturnday afternoon we ran out of some construction materials so the afternoons were spent relaxing. On Friday Danny was able to get in touch with someone who had a couple kayaks and a rowboat that they let us borrow for free! The kids got their first taste of the water and the grownups got to take a break as well.

Can it get any more beautiful?Enjoying the kayaks...Relaxing in the shade...

Bathing beauties....

Today we went to the morning service at the church that Dan and Liz attend in Villarrica. The kids each went to their Sunday school classes and must have done well because they came back about an hour later with smiles on their faces.

On the weekends Liz and I are in the kitchen since the cooks take a break and go home. It's been interesting trying to cook on the stoves they have here and with just a different set up than either of us are used to. But everyone has been patient and haven't complained to much about our attempts=) Thankfully the guys have done a lot as well since we can't even light the stove! It's been fun! Things are a bit harder, they take longer, and just not as convenient as our American way but I wouldn't have it any other way. Working alongside friends and sharing this experience with our family has been loads of fun.