Happy New Year !

It is New Year's Eve and Mike and I are spending a quiet night at home.  There is a party at the clubhouse tonight but Mike was tired and I am not overly motivated...

In the past week, we celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary and since both of us were working that day, we didn't do much.  But on Sunday, we decided to go to late church, have a bite to eat and go golfing...  I wanna tell you and show you our golfing experience.

Since I booked the course sight unseen, we really had no idea what to expect.  When we came out of church, the wind was blowing, but that is really nothing new.  When we left the golf course restaurant, the wind was gusting, but we thought it would calm down - ya right.

Not only was the wind gusting to 30 mph, but the course is laid out around a sewage treatment plant - yes, you read right, I am not kidding.  What you see in the background is the fence around the sewage treatment plant - right smack dab in the middle of the course.  And since the wind was blowing, yes, there was an odor...

Not a great picture, but check out the mesh in the background - nearly got caught in it when going between holes.

Oh, do you like the turf???

Garbage containers added a nice touch.

Nonetheless, we were smiling...

wind and a "shitty" course couldn't deter us - sun was shining, it was almost 70, we were together and life was good.

2013 has kinda been like that golf experience, a little bit blustery at times but overall, a good year.  We learned a lot about ourselves as individuals and about our joint mission in life.  We were together throughout and it was good.

May your new year be filled with joyful times, perseverance when needed and optimism always.

Happy New Year!

Mom Always Said...

that times goes more quickly the older you get... And I am here to tell you that she was absolutely right!  We have now been at Pilot Knob RV Resort for five weeks and I have not written on this blog for over a month.  I think it is time to catch up.

Mike is working 3 days a week and I am working three days a week and our total hours are 30... not working too hard, that's for sure.  Since I am in the office and it is still pretty slow in the park, there are some days that I only work an hour or two before I am sent home.  And since Mike is in security and everything is pretty secure, he has been put to cleaning the grill and getting rid of "goat heads" by the fence line.  He has worked much harder than I - don't tell him I admitted that!

This is Office Jack, our boss

and this is Debbie and Jean who work in the office and allow me to assist once in a while.

We both have Sunday off and have been attending a church over in the foothills of Yuma, about 20 miles from the park.  The pastor even made a home visit.  Yep, a couple of weeks ago, Pastor Bill drove out here and had coffer with us and Mary and Bruce (another workamping couple) who attend Gloria de Christo Lutheran Church.  It was a pleasure to have him visit and we enjoy his Bible based sermons.  He is really good at using humor and teaching.  Mike says he still misses Pastor Shelly and I have to agree with him!  But this is a good church to attend while in this area.

We haven't done any sightseeing or golfing in the past five weeks and I really haven't missed it.  I have been busy doing Christmas baking - first for packages to go to grandkids and now for use in the clubhouse on Christmas Eve.  One day, I took a drive out to a date farm and bought the ingredients for Grandma's Fruitcake and I have to head out there again real soon to get some more currants - those things are impossible to find in stores around here.  We try to limit our grocery shopping "in town" to one day a week and it is usually after church on Sunday. 

What is bringing us both joy, and sometimes a back ache, is our reason for being here - helping at the orphanage and day care in Algodones, just across the border in Mexico. ( If you haven't been to that blogspot- check it out as I update at least once a week. www.papasmissions.blogspot.com )
These are some pics and some thoughts I haven't shared on that site.

I absolutely love the interactions with children; I don't think I realized how much I missed the school kids until I met this bunch of brats - I say that in a loving way.  I am never without my camera down there and this lovely wanna be model is always ready to pose.

Making faces and teasing is a part of all children's world no matter what language they speak.

Of course, I let the kids use the camera and I have to pose, too.

This little munchkin made a beautiful Christmas Greeting card for us one day when we were coloring in the courtyard.  I worry that he likes to play with pretend guns and knives a little too much so I always encourage him to explore more creative and positive activities.

(Oh, in case you are wondering, I made a decision to not use the names of kids in any of my posts in either BlogSpot.  I don't want to identify them wrongly and I don't want to spell the name wrong and I just think it is better for children to remain nameless when posting on the internet for the world to view.)

Mike had a tough time letting the little ones fend for themselves when eating, but it is the custom that as soon as they can feed themselves, they do.  This one is just a year and a half but very independent already... because he has to be.

Mike said once this summer that he really hoped Jack was well enough to return to the south and help out at in Mexico because he (Mike) had so much yet to learn from him.  Well Jack is doing pretty well and Mike is listening and learning.  There is a mutual respect between these two fellows. 

It has been a busy five weeks.  The house that was rented last year in Mexico was sold... or maybe the landlady just wanted us out so she could rent it for more money, either way, a new place was found and the fixing up and making livable started all over again.  Everything was moved and shelving secured and rebuilt and curtains found and nails drilled and well... you get the idea.  Mike and I are getting a few ideas for our house up north - in fact he wondered if we could buy a gas stove down in Mexico and haul it home - a 6-burner stove costs around $450 south of the border and it works well, even has a year warranty.

So, we are busy and life is good.  Today is a total down day.  We are both off work, no Mexico today,  and we are both fighting off a cold so we have done nothing but lay around.  I spent about an hour tying quilts up at the clubhouse but that is about it.  Oh, that reminds me, I have to do a blog post about the quilt corner one of these days... maybe after Christmas.

Love to all family and friends who read this from time to time.  Stay in touch and stay healthy!