Where do I even begin?

I guess I should start off by apologizing. I'm so sorry it has been so long since my last post! Life has gotten super crazy and busy these past couple weeks, and I have finally found time to write it down for you! Of course, that means I'm sacrificing my siesta, but you're worth it! 

We'll go chronologically. Sound good? I promise to keep it brief!

That means we'll start with my birthday!! I just love birthdays. And I so enjoyed my birthday in Paraguay! It was definitely the hottest birthday I've ever had. What made it even better was that Rebecca and I share the same birthday! First thing in the morning, the family all came in and sang to us :) It was such a fun tradition to be apart of. The rest of the day, I was stuck in teacher meetings. That was blehhh, but they all sang to me when I first got there, and that made it a little bit better! 

Then the party really got started! Our friends started coming over around 8, and we hung out for awhile. We ate super panchos (hot dogs) for dinner around 10 or so. And then we had karaoke! If you know one thing about my family, it's that no one can sing. We just have not been blessed with vocal chords of angels. Or even of an 90s pop band. But you only turn 24 once, right? And as far as I know, this is going to be my only birthday in Paraguay. So why not rap Grillz by Nelly? 

Wednesday was the start of a new school year! It was fun to see the students again. Some familiar, others new. I think this next school is going to be better than last year. Everything is more organized, with more direction. I'll be teaching 5th & 6th grade, Level 3 for junior high, and Levels 2 & 3 in high school. So far, so good!

This is the high school Level 2. Well, most of them anyway!

Late Wednesday night, my mom and Scott flew in!! It was so nice having them here. Especially my mommy :) Even though they were only here for 4 days, it was so refreshing to have my own family sitting next to me at the dinner table, and getting a hug from my own mom. 

On Friday, I went out to Su Refugio to celebrate my birthday with Charlotte, Candida, and Bill. Charlotte made Guatemalan tacos which has become a birthday tradition! They are seriously so yummy :) We made brownies and just hung out. It was so relaxing. 

The next morning was the inauguration for the Center of Hope for Women at Su Refugio. The front doors were put on about an hour before people started arriving! The Center for Hope is going to be a place where women can come a learn different trades, such as sewing, knitting, cooking, etc. to be able to support their families. This is also where we are going to be holding classes for the English Academy starting in March. If you want to read about it and test your Spanish, here's an article to check out.  

Getting ready the day before. Check out those clouds!

One last thing, I was in Asuncion yesterday, and I thought it would be a good idea to take a little video of where I was to show you what it looks like because I know that not many of you have been here! Well... I just watched the video, and you see more of my face than the actually city. My apologies. I tried. Here it is anyway... 

I hope that it won't be so long until my next post! Until next time, my blogging familia :)