Anniversary Gift

From Brad. Yep, today is our anniversary. Thankfully, the Treo beeped and reminded me of such (have I mentioned how much I love my Treo? :). For a gift, I am bringing another woman into our home. No, not turning Mormon on ya, we are getting a house helper today. This is a very common part of life over here, and not just for the rich and famous (neither of which we are!). For around $100 US/month, we can hire a lady to come into our home full-time and help Amy cook, clean, run errands, etc. Practically speaking, if we did not do this, Amy would have maybe an hour or two weekly to learn the language. Life just takes longer over here to shop, cook, clean, run errands, etc. Therefore, this blessing will free up Amy for language learning in the present and home schooling in the future. We know this ladies' cousin and as a result start with some confidence that she is responsible and trustworthy. We are hoping for that confidence to grow and a good relationship to be established between her and our family.

Back to the anniversary, I actually remembered a few days in advance this time and scheduled for a babysitter (Amy's language tutor) to come over. She has babysit for us once before and AMAZINGLY decided to come back. Yes last time, she gave a little and the boys took alot. We got a story about her chasing the boys around the house with Savannah when she told them it is time to get into bed. Nope, that did not sit well with the parents when we got home and as a result, the boys did not sit well the next day (at least not on their bottom). But our friend did agree to come back and we are thrilled to have a date. I still wonder why such a wonderful, godly girl agreed to marry and follow me around the world 8 years ago, but I often remind her its too late to turn back now. The decision and vow we made many years ago was before Him and for life. By his grace, we expect to fulfill that vow in the days that He has remaining for us.

Finally, I had to mention something we found the other day. We went swimming at a local hotel and afterwards decided to try a doughnut we saw. Not bad for a 60 cent doughtnut, but while eating we noticed a freezer full of Haagen-Dazs ice cream (a rare item around here). When we inquired about the price of a pint, we were told they are about $23 US dollars for one pint! :) We can actually get decent ice cream made here so this was not a temptation at all, but can you imagine?! :)