The Mom Life

I recently wrote about the youngest Powell and a week ago my middle, Carmen, had her birthday, so I'll talk about her today. So, here goes! Where do I begin?  Right now, Carm, your favorite things include: flowers, coloring, dresses, sparkly things, pretending, and playing outside.  You have such a diverse personality...sometimes you can be Negative Nancy and find the most pessimistic outlook in the most positive of situations!  But then other times you're so helpful and understanding of your circumstances.  And then a lot of the time, you're just plain silly! We've told you as long as you've been a Powell that your name means "song."  Wow, we had no idea that telling you that would turn you into the little songbird that you are!  You are often singing, "Cristo, puede mover montes, solo Dios puede salvar, Mi Dios puede salvar," but then sometimes you randomly sing songs we haven't heard since we lived in the US!  You have an amazing...

Yesterday while Seth was buying our groceries for the week at the market, I took the girls to Panchita's (the closest thing we have to McDonald's here...but a Bolivian version with chicken being the main meat.) to play on their playground.  As they were playing I realized there are things about them at this age that I will forget in a few years and I need to be writing them down.  So, tonight I'll start with Lola, or L.B. Lola, you are so full of life at this age.  You've heard me say it enough, that you even tell people that old people love you, and its true.  You have the cutest "Bolivian grandmother" at church, a tiny little lady with short, curly grey hair that lights up every time she sees you.  You hug each other and she holds your little face in her hands and talks to you (in Spanish). You just look up at her wrinkled, kind face and smile at her.  You also have a special connection with the beggars here. When you see one, you immediately start ...

When you first read this title, your first thought might be of burgers and hot, delicious fries.  Unfortunately, we've been in Bolivia nearly 8 months and Five Guys burgers are becoming a distant memory. (There are no such burgers like that in Bolivia!) But, Seth and I have our own five guys, and I want to tell you a little about each of them.  You may think, "You moved to Bolivia for five guys?"  But, Jesus himself only intimately discipled 12 guys.  And for the time being, these are the guys He has given us to pour much of our energy (and food) into. Let's call the first guy Pedro.  Pedro is 15 years old, a little on the quiet side.  He is thin and has a very sweet smile.  His dad died in May, leaving his mom to raise him, his brother, "Dan," and their three year old sister alone.  She works a lot to barely provide for their basic needs, and can't be there for her kids much.  Pedro' plays with my kids every time he comes over...the gi...

Here's a breakdown of what we've been up to since arriving in Bolivia!  Wednesday- We arrived in Cochabamba.  We were exhausted from 27 hours of travel, but marveled at the beauty of the mountains with the afternoon shadows falling on the green slopes.  With lots of help we got all our bags and suitcases safely to the guesthouse.  We took a long, deep-sleep kinda' nap (best nap of my life!) and then had dinner at TGIFriday's with the Holman family.  A burger and fries?  Oh, yeah!  (Besides a Burger King, this is the only American restaurant in town.) Thursday- We bought groceries at IC Norte and had lunch at Panchita's...a fast food place in the food court attached to the grocery store.  We had chicken strips and fries.  The kids' meals were awesome... They come in a container shaped like a rocket that held their drink.  Then on top of the drink, there is a cardboard top that they covered with fries and chicken pieces. Very cle...

The title of this post sums up life for us pretty well these days.  After we sold our house at the end of September, we moved into a two bedroom apartment in Oak Grove, very close to town, but also feels like we're in the country.  Perfect for us coming from Purvis.  I never imagined what putting the 5 of us in a two bedroom would be like, but its actually working out fine.  I think the kids are working together better, now that they share a room.  Most mornings when I come out of our bedroom and check on them, they are up, beds made, room clean, and dressed (not always matching , but dressed.)  We have less stuff here, so it is easier to keep it clean.  I do miss yard work sometimes though, and often miss my dog, Bama. Homeschooling is going well too. Cruz is usually done by 2, working on and off throughout the day and the girls get time with me in the afternoon doing the letter of the week and learning to read. Carmen is starting to show some rea...

You might have noticed my recent interest in minimalism.  I thought if I become more like a minimalist, this approaching move would be easier.  Just to give you an idea of what my version of minimalism looks like, my kids' bedrooms (when clean, ha!) have a bed and a small dresser with a lamp and very little of anything else.  Whatever else they have (toys/dress up clothes) is in their closet with their pretty basic wardrobe. My living room has one couch, a chest that holds our small tv/dvd player and wii. We also have a quilt rack in here.  Besides a few things on the walls, that was all we had in our living room. I won't tell you about every room in our house, but you get the idea.  We only have what we need and like.  Anything else gets thrown away, sold, or given away. This is a far cry from our newlywed selves!  The more stuff the better, we though!  Not so these days.  Craigslist and I are very familiar with each other :-) So although ...

We have been saying for a while now that we're moving to Bolivia, but we're still here in hot and humid south Mississippi.  Why, you ask?  Let me tell ya' :-) A lot of people don't realize that most missionaries have to raise all their own funds. And although I have commented on how inexpensive life in Bolivia is, missionaries still have many of expenses American's have in the states...education costs, health insurance, retirement savings (if a career missionary), internet (can be pricey in poorer countries), housing/rent, etc.  Then there's saving for visas, furlough, airfare, etc.  It adds up in a hurry, friends! We didn't start making our plans to move to Bolivia really public until about March/April of this year...trying to wait towards the end of the school year so it wasn't interfering with our teaching jobs.  We needed to raise $15,000 for moving expenses (airfare, visas, housing set-up, etc.) and $4969.00 a month in pledge support.  That soun...