Sunsets, baby legs & friends

Today is a great day for remembering the many, many, many gifts we have been given. As always I wish I could carry this thankful attitude with me everyday.

We were incredibly blessed today to get to enjoy TWO Thanksgiving feasts -- lunch with our church family from Solomon's Porch and dinner with our AMA family.  I feel incredibly thankful to be surrounded by such a community of friends in this place that is far from our own families.

Luke is a joy to watch and interact with -- he eats well, getting some of it into his mouth (as you can see from his legs!)

Everyday we are here I am completely in awe of the beauty that surrounds us so closely - it is breathtaking all the time.

Pretty table at our dinner tonight -- who knew we'd have enough friends to fit at a table this size??!!? God is good.

Trying again ... house hunters international - Panajachel

This weekend, we attempted again to move into a permanent home here in Pana. All went just as smoothly as it could go which I'll admit I was a little surprised by.  Call me skeptical.  But, we were completely packed by 9 am Saturday morning and a co-worker from Jason's school came by -- everything was loaded into his vehicle and moved in one trip.  Awesome!

Prior to finding our new place, we'd had a few options that were just okay:

- this one in a pretty setting and near the fruit/vegetable market and within our budget; but it was literally just a bedroom with a tiny kitchen that you had to go outside and thru another door to access.

- this small studio which was WAY under budget and very tempting due to that; but was only partially furnished when we saw it and shared a thin wall with the compound's guardian/gardener whose baby was screaming when we were there. (we didn't think we needed to listen to two of those!)

This one was by far the best option, with the only real drawback being that it is a 20 minute walk to town (& Jason's school).  When we found it, we paid the deposit quickly not wanting to lose the only decent option we'd come up with.

Our new home ... where we will {hopefully} get to stay for the rest of our time here.  More pictures to follow.

Jason's trip to the rooftop of Central America

Every good adventure begins with a ride on a chicken bus, right? 

Or rather in Jason's case, a chicken bus breaking down ...


























They did eventually get to the trail head of Tajumulco

The toilets at base camp - they have a nice view at least!

It had rained on their way up and most of their gear and clothing was wet when they got to base camp -- not good when you're at 13,000 feet.  Brrr!  Jason's feet were so cold that he put his dry gloves on them to try to warm them up!

VERY early the next morning - with the moon still out!  Cold and clear; ready for an amazing sunrise!

The volcanoes in the center of the photo are the ones here at our lake.  Pretty cool!

Shadow from Tajumulco being cast across the sky while the nearly full moon was setting

Small volcano erupting in the distance

Heading back down the mountain

Some children along the road --looks like it's time for their puppies to have a bath.

Sunset back in Xela

Heading up Tajumulco Volcano @ 13,845 feet

Jason is at it again!  This time heading for the highest point in Central America!

He left yesterday afternoon on a shuttle to Xela (shay-la) to join up with Quetzaltrekkers for a two-day hike up this volcano.  He'll be tenting it tonight at 13,000 feet, then up very early tomorrow morning to make it to the summit for the sunrise. Pretty awesome, right?

Image from here

Lake Atitlan Villages: San Pedro la Laguna

This past weekend we ventured across the lake to explore the village of San Pedro for a day.  It was great! Exploring a new place is always a treat; we enjoyed wandering the streets and alleys of this fun town. It is a much more gringo-fied place which was almost a bit weird at some points as we felt like we weren't even in Guatemala anymore.

The central church -- complete with statue of St. Peter ... with a chicken. Not sure why?

Heading to the fruit/veg market --

A lovely alley ... where every restaurant had a garden patio or terrace or both.  Felt like we could spend a week trying out all the different places and still not pick a favorite.

Women doing their laundry in the lake.
When I see images like this one, I am quickly reminded of where we live and the scarce resources of most of the population.

Mmmmm....coffee is almost ripe!

Beautiful sunset behind San Pedro volcano & village.