i have the most beautiful nephews

the boys got their spring photos done recently && they are stinking CUTE!!!

couldn't help but share a few...

i love my job.

a few pics from my first home visit...

(this is the nena who peed on my dress!)

and her darling sister :)

and some visits with katerine...

what a happy girl, makes me so happy to see her with a smiling face now...

we had a stuffed animal party with her younger siblings the other day,

everyone was feeling pretty feliz! :)

TODAY, my parents arrived!!!

and this is a horrible shot but, the only one i took...

they'll be here till next Wednesday!

tonight,

i really miss my family...

we had a very special morning...

I spent most of my day today with my girl Katerine.

Katerine is very special to me, and it was a really great day splashing around in the river with her after receiving good results from her cranial examine this morning. Katerine has suffered from epileptic-type seizures for several years now, and for this reason has not been able to stay in school. Recently her seizures have been as frequent as every 20 minutes, and very strong, leaving bruises on her head and face, and a chewed up inner lip... Over the past week or so, we have been strengthening our efforts to help Katerine get better & are already seeing what God is doing in her life! ...3 days ago she started a new medicine we were able to purchase for her and we have seen huge in improvement in the frequency and force of her attacks, changing from every few minutes (day 1) to only one time this morning (day 4)! Also today were able to take her for her first of a few examines that need to be done to properly diagnose, and the x-rays of her brain showed no abnormalities! We still don't know quite what's been going on with her but are well on her way to seeing her better and seizure-free, able to attend school and learn and flourish with her friends, this makes my heart feel so happy - what a blessing it is to work with her and her lovely family! We look forward to seeing her attend classes at the Scheel Center within a few weeks as well as she continues to improve at this rate, and this, I am VERY excited to share!!!

here i am with Katerine, her momma, and Leonel...

and i had to explain this picture,

no we're not baptizing, and

no we're not pushing her under...

crazy girl kept wanting to go swimming but doesn't no how so we were playing around and dipping her in and out - the look on her face is giggles and happiness = i love it.

it was a really nice day...

tomorrow I'm going into Guate for TIGOfest - a big all day concert event that the cellular company, "TIGO," puts on annually. i don't know any of the artists except for Enrique Iglesias but, it should be fun! :) anyway, tchau for now!!

this is how i spent my weekend...

Friday night I slept, I have a cold and need lots of sleep!!!

Saturday I visited a place nearby (in San Cristobal) where there are pools filled with mountain water and you're able to swim, however I did not swim because of course it's sunny when you're busy at work, and not sunny when you're at a place like this over the weekend but, oh well, it was fun.

This pooch lived at this place, he was boss, but look at how uncomfortable he's sitting!

There were lots of butterflies flying around there too,

caught a sweet photo of one when it landed on Leonelle's hand :)

i like to climb on things...

and this, was absolutely disgusting, these are bugs!!!!

Today I enjoyed a lovely church service in Jocotenango with a girl I meant working with Nuestros Ahijados. It was really nice to visit a charasmatic christian service for the first time since I've been here - I really liked it. On my way home I ran some errands and passed by these two dudes hanging out in the street of the arch...

Then I visited with this pooch at a friend's house,

Idk his name but, he was huge! - He's like a wolf!

(He looks all cute in this picture but, I have a way with dogs, he was jumping up and down and trying to crawl over his fence to get me! haha

Now I'm home,

procrastinating studying,

sipping on some organic green tea,

trying to regain some energy for the next few hours before I sleep.

And of course, messing around on my computer...

Hope you all have had a D-lightful day!

*Oh and just a reminder or fun fact for those of you who care, I'm now officially 2 hours behind you in time - Guatemala doesn't have time changes like the States so... just an FYI ;)

mstc.mbm.fcamm.sc.p - FINALLY.

I've had been making passes to load these photos almost every day this week, just haven't quite been able to complete the process, but tonight I'm going to! This post is a "mezcla" [mix] of photos; some I've been meaning to post from a while back, and others from my trip this past weekend! But to start, I have a nephew update that my sister sent the other day and well I'm sure you're all missing his sweet photos so, I had to include this...

title: mi sobrino tan chulo.

ahora, photos from mi boda maya...

A few weeks back we visited a nearby pueblo called San Antonio Aguas Calientes to learn more about the mayan tradition and specifically about a group of 5 mayan women who live there and are working hard to preserve their culture in spite of the pressure to conform to the changes in Guatemala. In a presentation of the Mayan wedding I was the "novia" [bride] and, this boy Timoteo was the novio [groom]. We went through quite a process to get married... I had to do a lot of cooking and sewing to make things to please and bless his family...

At our wedding we danced for almost 12 hours, then we had a baby! Actually, by the end of the presentation I had 2 children and Tim was off to work in the fields and I only sent with him tortillas and water for his meals - haha! This was really fun, really interesting to learn about the traditions this specific group of Mayans have for their wedding ceremony, it's a lot of work!! Also it was fun to wear their traditional outfit, how beautiful it was!

el 3 de Marzo = ¡feliz cumpleanos a mi maestra!

But we celebrated early, Wednesday we went up into the mountains for a really nice lunch, and Elsa really enjoyed her Rosa de Jamaica to drink :0)

We had a great view of 3 volcanoes, including Agua (which is the one in this picture)

It was a nice time and, I really like this picture I took in a tiny little square mirror piece that was part of a wall mural on at the place where we went to eat!

Semuc Champey.

I had a very cool time on my weekend journey to Semuc Champey, the place was beautiful, and although I could have stayed way longer, I'm glad I made the trip for the time I was able...

Friday we spent 8.5 hours in a 12-passenger van driving across Guatemala through country side and beautiful greenness such as pictured here... Stopped in Coban for dinner and I had a pineapple McFlurry with the grossest amount of yellow food-coloring I've probably every eaten but, it tasted really good! :O)

We arrived around wish to el Retiro Lodge in Lanquin where we stayed in a bungalo for the night with sauna-like humidity suffocating the valley...

this was our bunglalo! = super cute & cozy!!

I took the trip with 3 girls I've met here, one from Germany, one from Canada/Ivory Coast, Africa, and the other from Korea = quite the mix, huh?!

The lodge was located on this really peaceful and beautiful river...

Saturday, we loaded into the back of a massive cow-hauling truck with about 35 other people and headed up about a half an hour to Semuc Champey!

This natural water park was stunning!

The water was so clear & really indescribable and hard to capture via camera but, I tried!

Here's a map of the park "Semuc Champey," it's actually just a natural beauty site with several large pools of crystal clear water where you're able to swim and relax.

We climbed up super high to get some overview photos, it was quite a hike anddd... quite a site!

I really enjoyed swimming in the water here, it was so refreshing...

on the way home our tour guide used the seeds of this plant to paint on our faces

(me and Celina)

Really nice trip, definitely would recommend it! - But for more than one day!

Still, absolutely glad I was able to go!

We got back home Sunday afternoon and as I was trying to make my way to my house I ran into the processional that was making its way through town and snapped a couple of shots of this too! - It's just a preview of more to come as we get closer and closer to semana santa.

These men walked with this massive float-like thing from a pueblo outside of Antigua and then proceed to make their way through town, it's an all-day event with large crowds and lots of street vendors, music, and blocked off roads. I had the opportunity in the evening to join my coworker, Leonelle, and his family to help create what's called a "fombra" on the street in front of their house. Making hombres is a huge traditional thing here in Antigua. Many families partake in creating hombres for the processionals and they become more and more a big deal the closer it gets to semana santa (just before Easter). Fombras are put together using flowers, sometimes fruits and vegetables, but most commonly with colored saw dust. Supposedly the week of semana santa the streets are lined with saw-dust designs that the whole town spends days preparing for the prime processional that will come through and march on top of this delicate carpet; I'm super excited to see and participate in this activity soon!! But anyway, this is the one we made in front of Leonelle's house this past Sunday.

And here's some others that were being made in the street nearby...

At about 9:30PM the processional finally passed by and we went up on the roof to watch it as they marched with Jesus and the Virgen Mary overtop the flower carpet we had made. Unfortunately most of my pictures didn't really turn out due to the darkness but, here's one of the Virgen Mary passing bye...

It was a really cool thing to see, and there will plenty more to come, here in Antigua there is a processional now every Sunday until Easter so... I'll probably have more pictures to post but... Anyway, that's all for tonight, lots of catch up, hope you've enjoyed!

Buenas Noches!

-cortney.