Trick or Treat

There are around 40 kids that live in our housing area. This year many of the kids were out of town since there wasn't school on Friday for many and there is no school on Monday. So, the few of us that were here trick or treated. These are the kids that started out 3 more joined us later.


Every year my friends and I make matching costumes for our three kids. They were all born within 5 months of eachother. This year we went with ghost. It was a lot of fun getting together with my friends and making the costumes. Then of course it was fun watching the kids together. Hannah is the ghost on the left.

This year Josiahs best friend (the brother of the middle ghost) bought Josiah a wrestling costume. Its for his birthday (Nov 17th) but he gave it to him early so they could dress alike for Halloween. His mom and I made the kids shirts with muscles and a few of the tattoos that Rey Misterio has.

Hannah loved her costume.

Abigail was the Little Mermaid in her wedding dress. For some reason right after I took this picture my neighbor decided to paint her eyes black. From then on she was known as Frankensteins bride.

Here are the 3 kids together.

Funny videos

Here are some videos I thought I would share with you. Enjoy!

http://www.monstermashup.com/c8bd30

http://www.monstermashup.com/9dda5b

http://www.monstermashup.com/478d3f

Virgen de Zapopan

October 12th is a special day in Guadalajara and Zapopan. (Zapopan is the actual city we live in). It is the day of the virgen de Zapopan.

The virgen de Zapopan is considered a very important virgen to the catholics in this area. She is a statue (I have been told made out of corn) measuring 25 cm. She was made by artisans in the state of Michoacan. They brought her here when Guadalajara was founded.

She is considered the main saint in this area. Throughout the year she travels to all the catholic cathedrals in the Guadalajara area. On October 12th she travels from the main cathedral in Guadalajara to her "home" cathedral in Zapopan. School is cancelled on this day. Thousands upon thousands of people line the streets between the two cathedrals.

There is a procession/parade that accompanies her between cathedrals.

Here she is. Like I said she is only 25 cm high (10 inches). She is enclosed in a bullet proof case atop of an altar.

Here is a picture of the crowd gathered to see her.

This is the cathedral of Zapopan.

Cory and the AIMers decided to go this year to see and learn. Cory came back with a very heavy heart. Confused by the dedication that these 10's of thousands of people were showing
this 10 inch doll.

Praise God that He is bigger than our wildest dreams and He is all powerfull. I am thankful that He is our creator and He is not made by human hands. Glad to know that my God doesn't need a bullet proof case to live in.

great photography

I have told you guys before about my favorite photographer but I want to mention her again. Please check out her sight
http://www.amyrosekingphotography.com
Or just click on the link under my blogs that is titled Amy-Rose
She does great work and I highly recommend her to anyone that is in or around Lubbock, Texas.

Independence Day

The 16th of September is Independence Day in Mexico. We had an all church get together on the night of the 15th. Even though the holiday is on the 16th they celebrate on the evening of the 15th. Most people stay up super late partying and then sleep in on the 16th. Our get together was planned to start at 7:00. We were waiting on some friends to arrive from Mexico City and ended up getting to the party at around 7:40. We were some of the first to arrive!! There were a lot of people at the party and it was really nice because some of our friends (not from church) attended also. We had a great dinner provided by 2 of the churches. Each church was incharge of one area - desserts, paper goods, drinks etc. After dinner we spent a good while singing and enjoying eachothers company.

Isn't this little baby adorable!!

Hannah was so proud of her flag on her face.

Abigail getting her fingernails painted red, white and green.

Felicidades

I was going through my past blogs and found a few that were never posted that I had just kept as drafts. This is from May when we went to the beach with my sister and her family. We went on Hannhas Birthday. We didn't have a Birthday party for her we prefered spending the money on a trip to the beach for the family.

There is a kids club at the beach. They do crafts and activities with the kids during the day. My kids love going there. Well, one day they did pinatas. We were excited because we knew that Hannah would be expecting a pinata for her Birthday. Here she is watching the pinata.

This is the cake that the waiters prepared for her. She wasn't very happy about it. They sang happy birthday to her and brought it out with a candle. I think it startled her and she didn't ever really get over it.

Heres a picture of the cousins.

Another pinata picture. I am having trouble moving the pictures around.

All church get together

About once a month or every two months all the churches we work with get together on Sundays. There are 5 churches. We get together and worship and then spend the rest of the day fellowshipping and eating together. A few weeks ago we went to Chapala (about 45 minutes from our house). Not everyone came but there was a good turnout, I think there were a little over 70. One of the members dad owns a plot of land and they allowed us to use it. It was right on the lake. The lake is known for being very polluted and dirty. The first pictures is Hannah with a fish that someone caught for her. She was so excited she didn't realize he was upside down.

Here is a group looking at the lake before we had church.

After church we grilled out. One of the visitors brought two big pots of corn for us to snack on while we were waiting for lunch to be ready. Mexicans love corn on the cob. Its not sweet like we are use to and they cover it with salt, lime, chili and cream. I like mine with salt and chili. Hannah is eating her corn with Nicole (she is the grandaughter of the man who let us use his land). Her parents are part of our church.

This is Arturo preaching. He is one of Corys really good friends. He moved away to Leon for a few years but has recently moved back. We are really excited he is here. He and Cory are starting a weekly get together for the youth of the 5 churches.

This is a very small portion of the children that were there on that day.

Some of you have heard by now that on Thursday Cory was assaulted. He is doing fine. We have talked to many of you through facebook, phone calls, e-mails. Thank you for your concern. We got a call last night from some really good friends of ours that they had gotten an e-mail that had been forwaded to them. Well, I haven't read the e-mail but I guess the facts aren't quite right and a little exaggerated. I thought I would post what happened so that you guys can know the right story and not be worried. Yes it was bad, but not as bad as seems to be going around.
Here is a picture of Cory the day after the incident.
Here is the right version:
Cory calls starbucks his office. For the first few years here we and other missionaries were renting offices. In the end Cory wasn't using the office very often and was paying around $200 a month for it. We decided to let go of the offices since it was cheaper to go to Starbucks. The one he uses actually has desks with plug ins and internet. This way he only pays for his "office" when he is there and in the end is saving a lot of money. The really cool thing is that all the employs know him and respect him. He really has some good friendships at Starbucks. One of the employs even gave him a coffee press for Christmas.
So, on Thursday Cory was at the "office". At 5:25 he was leaving to come home because Josiah has baseball at 6:30. When he got out to his car he saw that a Tundra pickup had parked behind him and two other cars, blocking them from being able to leave. This is not so unusual, often when people can't find a parking spot they will park behind someone. It happens to me a lot when I go to the bank as well as a few times at the "office". So, as we always do, Cory went inside to let the owner of the vehicle know that he needed to leave. The usual response in this situation is "oh, I am so sorry, let me move my car". Then when you move out of your parking spot they take yours. Well, this time the response was "No, I won't move my car you can just wait on me." He told Cory that if he is going to live in this country he needs to do things like the Mexicans do and just wait on him. If he didn't want to do things his way then he could just go back to his country.
While Cory stood there waiting on the guy one of the guys from Starbucks went up to Cory and asked him how he was doing. Cory told him he was doing ok but really needed to leave and he was waiting on this guys to finish what he was doing. Then the guys came up to him and asked him why he was involving everyone in Starbucks with his problems and talking bad about the guy. Cory explained to him that he wasn't talking bad about him he was simply telling his friend that he needed to leave and couldn't. The guy then offered to take Cory to the bathroom (guess thats the Mexican way of saying "take you out back") Cory told him he didn't want to be shown how strong he was and if he was going to do it he would rather it be infront of everyone and not hidding in a bathroom. The guy told Cory to just go outside and wait for him to move his car. Cory went outside. He said that as soon as the guys (the one guy and his two friends) came outside they began speaking perfect English to him and cussing and saying many vulgar things. The one main guy then punched Cory in the chest. Cory put his arms up in the air and said "I am not going to fight you. I just want to be able to move my car thats all". Then the guys swung at him with his right fist and Cory ducked it. Cory turned to go to the car and the next thing he remembers is waking up on the floor. As far as we know the guys swung one more time and made really good contact knocking Cory down. The guys got in their car and drove off.
When Cory woke up the police had already arrived and told him that they caught the guys. This might sound like a good thing but in reality it isn't. He was also told by witnesses that the guys are from a well known drug trafficing family. The police put Cory in a police jacket and police hat in the back of their car with tinted windows. They drove him over to where the guys were and asked Cory to identify them while still sitting in the back of the car. I don't even think that the guys knew Cory was there. After Cory identified them they asked Cory what he wanted to do. He could prosecute them, ask them for money to pay for his medical bill, ask them for an appoligy etc. Cory told the police he didn't want anything from them because that could bring danger to him and our family if they really are who people say they are. If he were to file paperwork against them then our name and address would be on record. These kind of people have connections everywhere in govt and pretty much have free access to that information.
In the meanwhile I am sitting at home thinking that he lost track of time. When he wasn't home by 6 I called him. He answered but wouldn't really tell me what happened. I finally got some of it out of him. All he would tell me was that he was fine but that he had been assaulted and knocked unconcious. He wouldn't tell me anymore. So, I ended up sitting at home for the next hour not knowing what was going on. I didn't know how severe his injuries were etc. My two best friends that live in my housing eddition came over and spent time with me. They were so nice and almost seemed more upset than I did. They feel really bad that this happened to us in their country. They have always wanted us to feel safe, happy and inlove with Mexico. We have felt safe, happy and inlove with Mexico and still do!
Two of our friends went to Starbucks and picked Cory up. When he got home I had already arranged for a babysitter and we went to the ER to get Cory checked out. He had a pretty deep cut inside his mounth that we were pretty sure would need stitches. Other than that his face was pretty swollen with a black eye and a very fat lip.
Just a mile or so from our house the breaks in our car went out. I turned into a small neighborhood since I was on a major street when it happened. Luckily I was driving slowly and nothing happend. We were only a few blocks from the Ford house so I slowly manuvered thought the neighborhood to get to the Ford house. We dropped the car off and got a taxi to take us back to our house. There was a puddle of break fluid in our driveway. We assume it was a coincidence but the mechanics are going to check and see if the break lines were cut or if it really was just coincidence.
We got our other car and drove to the hospital. We checked in to the ER 3 hours after the incident happened!! The first doctor that looked at his mouth said he would probably need 4 stitches. They called in a plastic surgeon to stitch him up. When the plastic surgeon looked at him he said it would be fine and heal on its own. The doctor was really nice to us and in the end they didn't charge us anything. The doctor told us as we were leaving "you need to forget what happened tonight. I am sorry it happened in my country. When you wake up in the morning forget about it and go on with your life".
Two days later we are fine. Corys face is pretty messed up but it will heal. We still feel just as safe in Mexico as we have in the past. It definately shook us up. When I was sitting at home wondering what had happened I called a good friend of mine in the states and I told her "I just want to go home". I really was upset but now that I know the facts I don't feel that way. I know that it was a random act of violence just like the ones that happen in the USA. Cory just happened to run into an angry mean guy that was looking for a fight. This can happen anywhere, not just in Mexico.
We thank God for all of you that have called, written, prayed etc. We really feel at peace and ok with what happened. I really think its because so many of you have been praying for us.
I forgot to mention that Cory and I went back to the "office" yesterday. The employees that were working were the same 3 that were there when Cory was attacked. When we first walked in and the guys saw us one of them got teary eyed. They assured us that they had never seen these guys before. They said they had an accent and probably don't even live in Guadalajara. I don't know if they are just saying that to make us feel better or what but it worked.
Thanks again for worrying about us and keeping us in your prayers.

We just got back from a month long visit to the states. It was fun but also a lot of work. A few days before we left Mexico we found out that our renters (we have a rent house in Lubbock TX) had moved out and left our house a disaster. The truth is they had been living in absolutely horible conditions. There was urine all over the walls and two of the bedrooms carpet was urine soaked. There were handprints of fecal mater on the bathroom walls. Pizza in the airconditioning fan??? Food on the walls and every rooms carpet had stains from red, orange and brown soda. It was horrible. Anyway a large amount of time and money was put into fixing the house up. It was very frustrating. It is back on the market and we are fervently praying that we can get renters in it soon.

We visited churches that support us in Clovis (NM), Lubbock (TX), Tulia (TX), and Yukon (OK). We also visited a few families that support us in Texas. We were thankful to get to see so many of you but sorry we didn't get to see all of you. Next time when things aren't so hectic with the house!

We have made it a family tradition to take a few days off for a family vacation and see the Red Sox play. Every year so far we have been able to either see them in Houston or Dallas. This year they were in Dallas. We had a great time at the game. A family in Dallas gifted us with tickets which made it even more fun!

We enjoy going to the World Acquarium when we are in Dallas. So, the day after the game we got up, ate breakfast and were heading off to the acquarium. As we were pulling out of the hotel we could see 6 flags. We had previously decided that the kids were probably too young for 6 flags and maybe in a few years we would go. Something got into us and we decided to ditch the acquarium and go to 6 flags instead. We turned the car around and cought the hotel shuttle to 6 flags. It was one of the funnest days! The kids loved it. They had rides for every age. About an hour after we got there we saw some carnival games. I never play the games, they are a waste of money! Well, we saw this big monkey. My little sister is about to have her first son and wants to decorate the room with monkeys. Cory just had to win that monkey for Levi. Well, he did! The funny thing is that we had to drag that monkey around the park all day long! We took pictures of him hanging out with us.

Facebook is giving me a hard time with the pictures and isn't allowing me to arrange them in the order that I would like. Sorry that they aren't in order but I am tired of messing with it.

This is a picture of Hannah on the way back to Mexico. My parents bought the kids a coloring book set that we thought came with crayons we later found out it was markers. I heard laughing from the back and turned around and saw Abigail coloring Hannahs face!

So, while visiting some friends in Childress, Texas, we went to look at their German Shepherd puppies. Somehow a week later we owned one! Everyone in the family is really excited except one. He has been really good for the kids. Hannah loves him and calls him her "my baby" and her "bubba". She has taken it upon herself to give him treats. We have cought her many times sneaking treats to him.

A few days ago the kids were swimming and Youkilis (the dog - named after a Red Sox player) ended up joining them. It was really funny. Sorry the pictures aren't in order.

Here are my parents dog, my sisters dog and Youkilis playing.

Beach

A few weeks ago my twin sister and her family came to visit us. It was a great trip. It was the first time our 3 year old niece had been to Mexico. We had a fun time showing her the sights. The day after they arrived we left and went to the beach. It is only a few hours away so we left here in the morning and were there in time to eat a late lunch. Here are some pictures of the second day we were there. At night time they have a kids "disco". The kids exercise to a few songs and then have a competition. Each night its a different competition but this time it was hot potato. There were only two kids besides our four. Abigail ended up winning and she got a t-shirt which she is pretty proud of.

After the kids disco we headed up to the room. This is what Hannah looked like about 10 minutes after getting to the room. She was so tired, she fell asleep sitting up.

The resort has a really cool open air restaurant. The only problem is the birds! Josiah was feeling pretty big because we would let him get the food by himself (its a buffet style). One day he came to the table with his donuts that he had choosen for dessert. Well one of the donuts had a big hole on the side of it. We soon realized it had been made by a bird. So we put it on a tray and quickly another bird came to eat it.
We tried getting a picture of all four kids burried in the sand but the 3 year olds didn't really think it was a good idea so here are the two big kids.

Out with dad

Abigail so badly wanted to go out with dad on the kayak. The first day Cory went out with Josiah but by the time they got back to shore it was time for the pinata and Abigail decided she wanted to do the pinata and ride the kayak the next day. She was so excited, she kept talking about going out on the boat with dad. Well she finally got to and she had a great time as you can see from the pictures.