In Grand Rapids

The past few days we have been staying with Duane's parents in Grand Rapids, MI. They have been kind enough to babysit as Duane and I do final errands. Yesterday we met with my sister and brother-in-law to get travel documents notarized. Our 14-year old nephew, Chase, is coming with our family so we needed proper documentation to show that we are not kidnapping him and to authroize Duane and me to make medical decisions for him.

Yesterday as Charles was jumping on a trampoline with his second cousins his knee knocked his mouth. It started bleeding and got swollen. To his surprise he spit out his front tooth, which had been loose. The event was a relief to him because he'd been hoping to lose the tooth before leaving for Guatemala.

Today we celebrate Daniel's 5th birthday with Oma and Gramps. Yesterday he asked Gramps if they were going to give him a present. He was delighted to know that, indeed, there is a present for him! Since, as an almost 5-year-old, gifts are SO important to him, Duane and I purchased a little something to give him on his real birthday, which we will celebrate in Guatemala.

Duane and I are getting excited, mostly by knowing we WILL have a better grasp of Spanish when we return. It's difficult to know what language goals to set, what is realistic and what is just a dream. We've been told by our Wycliffe Bible Translator friends that typically it takes 6 months of full-time immersion study for a person to become fluent in Spanish. (They are in China where is takes 2 years!) Right now, my personal goal is to improve speaking skills. I look forward to the day that Spanish rolls off my tongue without long pauses first, to think about how to translate a sentence or how to conjugate a verb. Currently, conversations with me in Spanish are more a lesson in patience than anything else.