We are getting closer to Christmas with each passing day and while the folks back home are enjoying crisp and cooler weather, we are steadily getting hotter here so if anyone is wanting an escape from their perfect and dreamy white Christmas, consider taking a trip down to us! Let us tell you about our week.
Tuesday was a stressful day for Kiersten. She had been invited to a White Elephant gift exchange for some of the Embassy ladies. We were told the gifts were to be nice which to us seems an oxymoron. Isn't the point of White Elephants to be funny?! So she set off in search of a gift twice on Tuesday and finally settled on a nice Christmas platter that if no one liked, she would take home. There were 21 people in attendance that night at the gift exchange and Kiersten was the last to choose a gift which is the perfect place to be in. She originally stole some chocolates from someone but that got stolen from her so she ended the game by opening the last gift which was a small bottle of perfume. Now she's got a White Elephant gift for next year!
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After the successful purchasing of the gift, we treated ourselves
to ice cream! |
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| Some of the decorations at the home of our White Elephant Gift hostess. |
On Wednesday Kiersten secured a babysitter for Mackenzie so she could attend her Spanish lesson. Ironically the sitter was Annie's sister who originally introduced us, Nancy who is our Relief Society President. Before Nancy came over, K&M went to the CLO Cookie Exchange. This was Kiersten's first real cookie exchange and she was very excited for it but was underwhelmed by the cookies. She makes better cookies. There were Spritz and peanut butter blossoms which she makes better so it was a little disappointing. Mackenzie had a great time however and had her first real up-close encounter with a dog.
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| The dog's name was also Mackenzie! |
That afternoon the Hermanas stopped by with a gift for us. There is a member in the area who does leather work and has made scripture cases for people including the missionaries. Kiersten had wanted a leather scripture cover for her Hungarian scriptures since she left on her mission and finally was able to get one! They also gave us a very cool leather picture of the DC Temple.
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| Hungarian scriptures cover made in Paraguay. |
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| Leather photo of the DC Temple. |
Thursday was a very busy morning with exercising, baking, cooking and food prepping. Sister Rhoades (older Embassy woman in our Ward) was having a farewell lunch for Hermana Bulgier and had asked everyone to bring a salad entree because Hermana Bulgier loves salads. K brought a grilled chicken Cesar and created a healthy pumpkin pie for us all to try. It was fun to be with other LDS ladies for a little bit. When the girls got home, Kiersten baby proofed the kitchen some more with temporary drawer closer strips. No more extra dishes!!
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Mackenzie loved opening the drawers and taking out
teaspoons, etc. and scattering them around the kitchen. |
Friday Kiersten had a second Spanish lesson of the week which hasn't happened in weeks! Nancy came over again to watch M and they played the whole time. When Scott came home we all went out to the Mall to let Mackenzie run around and window shop. We ate at the food court and Mackenzie had a little accident. She was playing in the high chair and stood up in the seat, sat down on the back and then fell backwards. She screamed and cried and wouldn't calm down for Scott. Kiersten was off getting her food on the other side of the food court and didn't see or hear any of this (thank goodness) but was able to calm her down. She sat very calmly albeit whimpering on Kiersten's lap while K ate her dinner.
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| She's starting to be silly during pictures. |
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| We finally have a pack-mule for our shopping bags! |
They fought traffic home which was worse than normal to make cookies and get M down to bed before K rushed off to the Ward Christmas Party which was actually a pretty fun event. The Primary sang 'Away in a Manger' and the party was catered with Peruvian empanadas. Empanadas have become one of our favorite foods in a very short amount of time. Little hand-held pockets of deliciousness.
Saturday morning we all participated in the Embassy's Breakfast with Santa. It was really fun and cute. There were pancakes, empanadas, chipa, coffee, juice and candy! Santa was also there dressed in his normal getup because Paraguay doesn't have their own version of Santa Claus. Poor man. They really should create a new image for the guy if he's going to deliver presents in 100 degree weather. And it was a very hot, sticky day on Saturday! After the breakfast and pictures with Santa, they opened the pool and practically everyone jumped in.
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She was very dazed the whole morning and did NOT
like Santa. We didn't attempt a photo op with him. |
Mackenzie took her nap when we got home and we did some more swimming in our own little pool. It really is perfect. The water is warm enough that it feels refreshing without being a shock to the system and when you get out the breeze helps you feel cooler. Later that afternoon Kiersten participated in the Relief Society activity making cinnamon rolls and ribbon ornaments. It was more fun than expected.
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| Cinnamon roll candy cane. |
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| We made a ton! |
Then Scott and Mackenzie met her along the road going to dinner at Waffle Roga (roga doesn't mean anything as far as we know). We've been told to eat here multiple times by the missionaries and Scott suggested it for dinner. They have savory and dessert waffles and is was surprisingly delicious. Scott was most impressed with their ordering system which is with a tablet. They have this same system established in the States but it was just unexpectedly impressive here. Kiersten was impressed with their different waffle batters for the different dishes like mandioca which is a very common and popular starch in Paraguay. We will eat there again.
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| They had really fun decor. |
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| Kiersten is copying Mackenzie's face! |
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| Scott ordered a delicious pineapple smoothie. |
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Our dinner order: Club Waffle Sandwich (eaten with fork and knife)
and a Caprese Waffle. |
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| Translation: "A waffle without ice cream is like a kiss without a hug." |
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And our dessert waffle complete with chocolate dulce de leche
and ice cream. |
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| They had a really fun eating area out back with this hammock. |
When it comes to Sunday, we've got to be honest, it's getting harder for it to feel like the Sabbath when you don't understand what's going on. Mackenzie was in Nursery with us again this week and she did better. The first hour K was with her and at one point had to tell 3 different children who were attempting to molest her face with fingers and too much love that she needed her space. Scott sat in on the last hour and K attempted to keep some of the peace and quiet during Sharing Time. No music time this week. Honestly, there is like barely any structure to this Primary which is getting more and more frustrating but hopefully in the near future we can make some changes for the better.
For dinner that night we made Cafe Rio Pork Salads and our neighbors came over to join us. They loved the meal and we all enjoyed the company. After Mackenzie went to bed we decorated sugar cookies! Good times were had by all. That night we finally got some much needed rain which helped to cool things off so the morning was actually quite pleasant.
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| Our Virginia decorated cookies. |
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| Some pretty some not so pretty. Those are the ones we ate. |
Mondays are always busy days but today added a new event. Kiersten had a Spanish lesson today because her teacher can't do it on Friday and then next week is Christmas so they are taking the week off. It was a good lesson. Learning so much! Then the rest of the day was the normal amount of busy with chores and grocery run. No missionaries today because with Hermana Bulgier going home mid-transfer, her comp is in a trio in another area of the city so it was a quiet evening just the three of us.
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Got this bow when she was about 6 months old. It's still pretty
big on her. |
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| Thought you'd like a picture of some of the signs we see coming home from the grocery store. Just like back home. |
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| We've hung our stockings under the AC unit in our living room! |
Misadventures in Baking:
- This week Kiersten accidentally bought the wrong pork. We'd originally planned to have the Cafe Rio Pork earlier in the week which calls for a pork roast or tenderloin. Well Kiersten told the butcher she wanted "costilla de cerdo" which she soon realized were pork ribs. So they had crock pot ribs on Wednesday which turned out to be a happy mistake.
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| Rib meal complete with homemade corn bread. |
- For the first time ever, Kiersten invented a baking recipe! She was very proud of the achievement because it had the right consistency but the pumpkin pie was not what you would call sweet. Tasted great with the normally made whipped cream though!
- We made focaccia bread and gnocchi for dinner tonight. Mmm good!
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| Mackenzie helped to dimple the bread. |
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| Such an easy and quick meal, apart from the bread which takes hours. |
Quirks of Paraguay:
- Insects. Every night there is a high pitched whistle that we've been hearing for over a month now. It sounds like when water is going through pipes in the wall for the first time in a while and that's what we thought it was but it's a bug of some kind.
- Santa. Dressed from head to toe in hot, sticky red velvet. The big guy would die of heat stroke for sure! Come up with a new wardrobe guys!
The Mackenzie Update:
- Well we had a nice run with her vocabulary up until now. She has learned how to say, "no". It sounds more like, "moaw" but in context it is definitely "no". She says it as the first response to almost any question or request we make of her but she inevitably obeys us so we aren't sure if she comprehends what the word really means and we are just fine with that.
- Other words added to her vocabulary this week besides "no" include "trash", "hola" and "gracias". She is getting better at her Spanish!
- Mackenzie now has a "baby". We unpacked some more of our boxes and came across a music doll that Kiersten got for her 8th birthday which Mackenzie has taken a liking to.
- When she wants to get off the couch she doesn't climb down like a normal child, no. Instead she'll lay down on her back, hang her legs over the side and lift them repeatedly and slam them down until she slides and slithers off. It's pretty funny to witness.
- She started doing a pacifier sucking motion when she wants or sees her pacifier. She'll hold her fingers to her mouth and suck. She knows she only gets it in her crib and in the car. We are working on weaning her off of it at church and she did it this week!
- She has begun to lick clothing and furniture! WHY?!! We have no clue but hope it stops soon.
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| "Bye!" |
We love you all and miss you terribly during this special time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Since next Monday is Christmas Day we can't guarantee there will be a blog post but who knows. With it being only the three of us we might have a lot of down time. Well, until next week! Thanks for reading!
