My Birthday in Segovia

For my birthday this year, Wes found someone to watch the kids for a weekend (which is a really huge task here!!) and took me away to "fairy tale land" in Segovia, Spain.  We left Cáceres as soon as we dropped the kids off at school.  We were heading into the mountains into a small tiny town in the middle of no-where, so we decided to stop off in Madrid on our way and get our "American fill."  We stopped at "Taste of America" and bought root beer, Dr. Pepper, brownies and peanutbutter chips. ;)  Then we headed to TGI Fridays.  Wow... I had no idea how much I've missed American salads.  Here, they are pretty much iceburg lettuce with tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  I think, as Americans, we can make any meal into a salad... :)  I've missed them!  We both got sodas (with free refills!!!!... unheard of around here!) and brownie Sundays (also unheard of in Cáceres.)  Mmmmm... it was so much junk, but I was happy. ;)

We live 3 hours away from Madrid, and we don't get to go very often.  We decided to take advantage of our "no kids" status, and we stopped at IKEA.  Yes, NOT my favorite place, but it was definitely less stressful this time.  We had planned this visit, and I had a list printed out of what we wanted, so we did all that shopping, and filled the back of our van with all of Wes' office furniture. :)  "Real" furniture here is crazy expensive, so our whole house if full of IKEA.  :)

After we finished up at IKEA, we headed out for Segovia.  I've been promising pictures for a while, so here they are...

We stayed in a 15th century palace... it was an amazing mix of "rustic" and elegance. 

You can't really see from here, but these arches out on the balcony were SO distinct that when we were looking out over the city, we could look out and find our ROOM!

These are ancient Roman aqueducts that were still in use until a couple year ago!

Wes was having fun with his camera...

This is the castle in Segovia!... the inspiration for Walt Disney's castle for the Magic Kingdom. :)

The cathedral

This was a fire pit that was in the center of a "salon"in the palace.  It was SOOO cold in Segovia; we loved walking in and getting warm by the fire.

 We had so much fun, just enjoying each other.  We went to a million different little cafés and found a little ice cream shop... it was so relaxing and fun. :) On our way out of town, we went back through Madrid, and this time stopped at a mall... since we don't have one in Cáceres (at least one like this...)  You can't see it in this picture, but we are sitting outside of Starbucks. :) Happy day!

One, Two, Three, Four... oh! there's more!

Ok, this actually wasn't all that funny at the time (as is often the case...) but, it still makes Wes and I shake our heads and chuckle.  We only have 4 kids.  I know that to some, that may sound like alot; but it's not really.  I mean, I have friends (in the States... definitely not here!) who have much bigger families!  But there are days when 4 does feel like a lot... but only when "difficulties" strike each and every one of them. :)... on the same day.

ONE:
The other day, Nathan came home with a huge, solid, ugly scrape all down the side of his cheek.  He walked in from school, and I couldn't help but gasp when I saw him.  It looks (it's still there) really painful.  I pulled him into my arms (typical mom) and hugged him, asking him if he was ok.  Wes rolled his eyes at me, telling me Nathan was tough.  So I asked Nathan to tell me what happened.  He said he was playing soccer (yes, this is my sweet son who has Cerebral Palsy, but he DOES play soccer everyday during recess!)  So, he was playing soccer and he said he was running SO fast that his legs just couldn't keep up :) and he fell on the concrete.  I just cringed, and ended up having a typical Mom-son conversation.  It wasn't a typical Mom-Nathan conversation, b/c Nathan's normally a talker, but I couldn't help but wonder if this is what my conversations with my boys will be like when they are teenagers.  The questions came out in rapid succession... and so did the answers. :)

"Did any of the kids help you up?"
"No."
"Did you cry?"
"No."

"Did someone go get a teacher?"
"No."
"Did YOU go tell a teacher?"
"No."
"So, what happened?...
a shrug was his only response.

"Did Teresa notice when you went back to class?"

"Yeah, she sent me to the nurse."
I hugged him again.  I just couldn't help it.  All I could think of was, "Oh, my poor Nathan!"  But, I know he is a tough kid.  He hasn't complained about the wound even once... it sure does look ugly, though!

TWO:
So, right after that, I turned to say hi to all the rest of the kids, and Weston hands me a note from the school.  I love getting these... yeah, not really.  This one informed me that there had been an out-break of lice and that everyone was required to wash their hair with that special shampoo, just to make sure it didn't spread.  Lovely. So we did a head inspection of each and every child.  I'm thankful to say I don't have a prolonged story about a nasty lice infestation in our home. :)  BUT, we did discover that Weston had another, rather large bruise on his arm and that one of the kids who often tries to "bully" Weston had hit him in the throat.  Weston was having trouble swallowing and talking.  Great... well, at least he was breathing fine.

THREE:
We continued our "just home from school" routine and everyone was taking off coats, hats, mittens and putting away shoes.  I always help Carolina with her stuff, b/c she is required to wear a "smock" of sorts, everyday.  It has a lot of small buttons, so I was helping her take if off when I noticed that her arms were covered, once again, with a rash.  We have been trying to figure out this skin stuff with her for months, and it's just getting old. :)  Anyway, these reactions usually have something to do with what she ate, but as much as I've tried to regulate what eats, I cannot figure out what is going on with her!  This type of reaction normally happens when she eats nuts (which we think she is allergic to, but we're still not sure... and here, they won't do testing on her until she is 6.)  Ugh... it's frustrating to me, but I know it's painful for her!  Poor baby.  Just like Nathan, though, she's a trooper.  I made a mental note to put some ointment on it asap.


FOUR:
We finally got everyone settled for lunch and I was hoping for a quiet, smooth afternoon.  It wasn't to be.  I forgot that I had one more child who hadn't had anything happen to him yet: Jonathan.  I was organizing our office upstairs and Wes was outside playing soccer with our kids and all the neighbor kids (they all love it!).  I could hear Jonathan's screams from upstairs.  A momma knows the different types of screams of each of her children... and this one had me scared instantly.  I went running downstairs and there was blood all over Jonathan's face.  We got him to the bathroom, and I still hadn't been able to figure out where he was bleeding.  Wes told me that he got hit in the face, and I finally got Jonathan to tell me where it hurt.  Jonathan was pretty out of control, and Wes didn't seem to be doing well with the blood.  I shooed Wes away and confirmed that the blood was coming from Jonathan's mouth.  Of course... the blood mixes with saliva and it just looks bad.  Jonathan's hands were all in his mouth, and it just kept sliding all over his face... everywhere... ugh.  It was a while before I could get him to let me look in his mouth, but it looked like the the only front tooth that Jonathan had, had been shoved up into the gum.  He lost the other one when he fell on the tile in our kitchen, way back when he was 3.  I figured he was also going to loose this one before it was meant to fall out! The gum looked swollen all around it, but it looked like it had settled back down into place.  We decided just to distract him and see if we could at least get him calmed down.  He started watching a movie, and that helped.  The blood finally stopped, and we could tell the tooth was loose, but Jonathan wouldn't let anyone near it.  Plus, I figured it would be painful to move, no matter what; b/c the gums were all swollen.  He tried to eat dinner, but couldn't handle that, so he drank some water and went to bed.  I knew it was going to be a long night, but I didn't realize we had one more thing coming.

OH!  THERE'S MORE:
It was an emotionally exhausting evening, and I was very tired.  I was in bed reading, while Wes was taking a shower... or so I thought.  I guess I get really caught up in my books and don't notice too much of what's going on around me.  I thought the water sound was Wes taking a shower.  But, he walked out of the bathroom, and the water sound was still going.  We both spoke at the same time.  He said, "What is that?" and I said, "That wasn't you..."  and we both went dashing into the hallway.  We still don't know exactly what happened, but the bidet in the kids bathroom was on full blast and there was a couple inches of water all over... flowing into the hallway.  Goodness!  What a day!  We got it cleaned up as best as we could, all the while talking about what could have happened.  Wes checked all the kids, and Nathan was slightly awake.  Wes asked him if he turned on the water from the bidet and he said no... so, we have no idea.  Wes thinks the only explanation is that Nathan was delirious and doesn't remember.  Maybe so, but honestly, I'd be more apt to believe that about Jonathan... :) Anyway, everything was finally cleaned up ... I think it was almost 1am by that point.


Jonathan had slept for a couple hours, but he cried off and on all night, and I finally just had him get in bed with me; I was so tired.  It's hard to sleep with Jonathan (even when he's NOT crying) b/c he moves a lot. He kicks and flails his arms.  So, finally, at about 5:30am, I tried to send him back to his bed.  He kept telling me he didn't want to be alone... now, how can you resist that?  I guess his daddy couldn't (or he knew I couldn't, and knew I needed some sleep), so Wes told him to come to his side of the bed and he could sleep with him.  I actually got to sleep the next hour an a half! :)  Either Jonathan calmed down a lot for that last hour and a half, or I was just sleeping really hard.  I'm not sure. But,  he must've slept some, b/c none of us knew (not even Jonathan himself!) when that tooth fell out... Jonathan woke up with no top front teeth!  Wes and Jonathan searched the sheets and blankets, and finally found the prized tooth! :)  Jonathan's pain was gone... so was the swelling.  Thank the Lord.   He quickly forgot about the long night, in his excitement to put the tooth under his pillow.  I, on the other hand, knew I needed a nap that afternoon. :)

Little Moments

I should be translating right now (I'm working on my first message for a group of girls...so pray for me, please!!), but my brain is fried... so I thought I would take a minute and tell you a couple of the little moments this week that made me laugh.  Wes just said today that I should write these down, so I guess here on the blog is going to have to work. :)... that way, y'all can chuckle, too. ;)

We always talk to our kids about how blessed they are to be living in a different culture and how they get to experience and learn things that kids in the States rarely have the opportunity to.  We've talked about how they are especially blessed to have learned a second language so young.  We've explained that they are 'bi-lingual'... which means they know 2 languages (yes, simple language meant for my 3 year old. :))  Nathan, my little 'thinker', cocks his head and says to me the other day, "Mom, do you know that I'm really learning 3 languages... English, Spanish, and British English."  :)   He's right!  They teach British English in the schools, and there are a surprising amount of differences.  The sad thing is that they tend to harp on my boys for those differences, rather than allowing them to use their American English.  At least Nathan can laugh about it. :)

The other day at dinner, Wes was gone and the kids and I were sitting at the dinner table.  Weston, who is the one in our family who enjoys "poking" and getting a reaction out of the others, said, "ooooo, I think I hear someone downstairs...."  He was totally trying to scare the other kids, and you could see the mischief on his face.  Nathan and Jonathan's eyes got big and they started to listen... Before I could even get the words out of my mouth to tell Weston to stop,  Carolina, hopped out of her seat and started running for the door... "where?????"  she asked, looking all around for the "people"... haha... the girl in the family wasn't scared in the least!  She is such a people person, she wanted to go say hi to them.

Carolina is not afraid of people; but one night she was in her bed, scared of monsters.  I was telling her not to be scared, that Jesus was right there with her.  She said, "Mom, Jesus is dead.  He died on the cross." She said it softly, as if she was just breaking the news to me. :)   I had to keep myself from laughing... I explained that He did die on the cross but that He rose from the dead three days later.  I told her that Jesus is alive today and "He's right here in your room with you!"  She slowly looked around, and her eyes fell back on me.  Her face suddenly brightened with recognition and she said, "Mom, are you Jesus??" Oh, that girl. It still makes me laugh out loud... I just love her!

I guess this is another Carolina story.  She was definitely appropriately named: Carolina JOY.  She brings so much joy and laughter to this house!  Carolina has a stuffed dog that my mom gave her right before we came to Spain.  She doesn't go anywhere without her dog... many times we have to make doggie take a "nap" in the car b/c he can't go to school or church with her, but Carolina always tries. :)  People often ask her what her dog's name is.  She just looks at them strangely and answers, "Doggie."  She got a baby doll for Christmas, so there was another conversation about the name of her baby.  It's a new concept for Carolina... naming the toy something other than it's literal name. :)  We had talked it through with her... Carolina's name is Carolina.  Mommy's name, Daddy's name, etc.  So, it seemed like she was finally catching on and she stops everyone in the room.  She spreads out her arms like she's about to make an announcement to everyone.  She says, "Ok, the baby's name ISSSS...." she draws out the "s" and pauses for effect ... "BABY!"  I about died laughing.  She is SO theatrical.  She had everyone's attention and she knew everyone was waiting... and then, she really hadn't gotten the concept at all! haha...but there's more. 

Wes and I went away for my birthday (oh, I just realized I still need to post those pics!!), and we brought back little things for the kids.  Carolina's "doggie" is white and has been very, very well loved, if you know what I mean.  So we bought her another one... a brown one, this time. :)  Of course, once again, Wes asks her what this doggie's name is.  She looks straight at him and says, "perro."  (which is "dog" in Spanish.)  Now, this girl sure isn't creative, but neither is she dumb!! haha....

I do have one more, but I think I'll make it it's own post. :)  Here's how it starts...

Ok, this was nothing that the kids said, and actually wasn't all that funny at the time (as is often the case...) but, it still makes Wes and I shake our heads and chuckle.  We only have 4 kids.  I know that to some that may sound like alot, but it's not really.  I mean, I have friends (in the States... definitely not here!) who have much bigger families!  On normal days, 4 just seems... "normal."  But then there are days when 4 does feel like a lot... but only when "difficulties" strike each and every one of them. :) ... on the same day.