Fin de Semana

Weekends! At this moment, it is 6:12 Saturday morning so it is officially the weekend. I thought everyone might like to know how a typical weekend is for us. First, it's trash day, so I took that out first thing. Then, this is sheet and towel washing day. We are thankful to have both a washer and a dryer, but because of size, it takes 7 loads to wash both sheets and towels. During the week we hang clothes on the line to save money. (Electricity is very expensive here, along with everything else.) However, we do use the dryer for the Saturday loads. After the 1st load is started I read my Bible, get dressed, check my e-mail, update my blog, and fix breakfast.



Now it's time for the 2nd load. During it I wake everyone up and we eat breakfast. Then they get dressed for the day. Time to wash dishes and put on load 3. It should be about 9:00 to 9:30 now and time to go to the Open Air Market. Everyone wears a backpack to be filled and we walk to the park. Charlie watches the children who want to play and any that want to shop with me, do. (usually Colleen). We have had great fun finding out what things are and trying new things. One lady at a booth, always gives each of us a slice of watermelon to prove that they are ripe. We enjoy the treat, but it makes it a little difficult to shop with sticky hands! The first time Colleen didn't know what to do with the seeds, and the lady motioned for her to spit them on the ground, so Colleen obliged happily.



(Pause to put on load 2)



With bags loaded we walk home to bleach the produce and put it away, and of course put on washing loads 4, 5, and 6. By this time we are ready to have lunch. After dishes are washed, (we must wash and sweep immediately because of ants and bugs) the children usually like to go back to the park to play. This makes a good time for Charlie to stay home and work on bills and other computer stuff I don't know much about.



Usually in the afternoons, there is T.V. watching (mostly in Spanish), studying for Charlie and me and finishing the laundry. After dinner we get together with friends to talk and play games. God has blessed us with wonderful neighbors and fellow students.



We end Saturday with showers and bedtime stories. However, this weekend we are puppysitting for a couple who is puppysitting for another family. We are enjoying taking care of Preciosa because we miss our puppies greatly. Also Devon had a friend spend the night, and Mary-Esther and Scarlett spent the night with some of their friends. Things are a little different this weekend.



Sunday, after our morning routine, we head to church, El Lugar, it's a wonderful church with good teaching. It's all in Spanish, but the pastor gives us outlines so it's easier to follow, plus we can study it later when we have time to go through it slowly! After church we eat a snack and take a bus to the public pool in downtown San Jose. The water is so cold that I don't get in, and Scarlett and Mary-Esther swim for a while and then play at the adjacent playground. Don't worry, though, I keep a sharp eye on them. We swim until about 3:00 and then walk to McDonald's or Burger King (they are in the direction of home). After eating we walk the rest of the way home, take showers, prepare for the next week, eat a snack and go to bed.



I'm sure there will be many things to alter this routine, but these are the basics.

I'm just now posting this (I first wrote it two or three weeks ago) because I thought I had lost it. I didn't know that the computer had saved it as a draft - I just found it!