Good Times and Gratitude

About two weeks ago we were invited to the home of some people in our ward(they also live in our gated community). I was a little bit nervous to have my first experience with Honduran food in front of people from our ward but it turned out to be right up my alley. It was basically scrambled eggs, beans, ham, and cream cheese that you eat in a tortilla. This is apparently a pretty typical meal. Before we ate they had their 9-year-old son(Caden's new best friend) give a fhe lesson. We started with a hymn. From a technical perspective it sounded terrible. The missionaries were there and they were way off key and the other family didn't quite know the tune of the song. Tom and I tried to help but we were unsuccessful. It was also one of the most spiritual experiences I have had down here. I was sitting in a room where I didn't understand much of what was going on but as we sang this beautiful hymn I didn't feel so alone and the spirit was very strong despite the lack of musical ability. They have become our good friends and we are excited to continue getting to know them.

We invited another family from our ward over for Thanksgiving. Tom and I have a new appreciation for our mothers and grandmothers that cook this meal every year. We are also extremely grateful for the Internet. Youtube, Skype, and various other websites got us through this meal. Tom gave us a B+ for the final meal, I think considering our lack of experience we deserve an A for effort. It is a lot of work!This is the Flores family. Nadia has been a wonderful friend to me. She speaks English and is so amazing.
Caden earned a trip to the Children's museum and we ran into Santa Claus (the Latino Santa Claus). He was so excited (even though he looks terrified in the picture). We are trying to get into the Christmas spirit but it is so hard when it is 80 degrees outside.

Connor and I have been enjoying exploring the neighborhood every morning. He has changed a lot in the last 3 months. He is such a sweet little boy but he is perfecting the art of the tantrum.
I am most thankful for these three boys. I think I can live anywhere in the world (if I have to) as long as I have my boys with me.
Caden is getting smarter and sillier every day. He is so full of curiosity and imagination-I love it!


I have to admit that Thanksgiving Day was pretty rough. I wanted to be home so badly and I got a little bit down. A few days later as I was sitting in church I realized that I have so much to be grateful for. I was sitting among devoted Saints who still use latrines and live in houses that are probably 600 square feet. If they can find joy and meaning even in poverty, then I should be able to remain grateful even if I miss one Thanksgiving.

For my Mom

This past week has been really hard. We were all hit by a little cold. When I am sick I instinctively want my mom. It is hard to be the mom when everyone is sick. When I was finally feeling better I decided to listen to some Christmas music. Bad idea. When "I'll Be Home for Christmas" started playing I literally cried. Those words have never meant so much to me. Yes, even "please have snow and mistletoe' made me wish it was snowing outside. I cannot wait to be home for Christmas!
Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. I am a little sad that I won't be there to take her to lunch and give her a hug. I often times feel like I am not a very good mother and am amazed that my mom was somehow able to be a spectacular mother to SIX children. She was so intuitive and able to spread herself in so many ways. I feel like it is hard to give your mom a gift when she has given you so much throughout your life. Nothing seems to be adequate.
Mom, I hope you know I love you. I think I miss you more than anyone else. You have been my greatest friend, cheerleader, confidant and advisor. Thank you for everything you have done. I hope you have a rockin' good time in Boston this week; you deserve it. Happy Birthday!

A trip to the zoo

I am turning into my Dad. Not literally, but anyone who knows my dad knows that he loves to make charts. I made a behavior/"bravery at school" chart for Caden. His first reward was a trip to the zoo and he achieved it quickly. Tom has gotten pretty good at navigating the city so we thought we would be able to find it. We were wrong, so very wrong. After a very frustrating hour we finally paid a taxi to show us the way. Best 5 dollars ever spent to save a marriage.Caden was terrified of the picture of a jaguar. It cost a little over a dollar to get us all into the zoo. They definitely operate this zoo on less money than good old Hogle but I actually like the ambiance of this zoo better. It seems more natural and you get a much better view of the animals.

They had a fun little playground for the kids. If you are wondering what kind of parents take their child to a zoo without shoes...the answer is Tom. He hasn't quite adapted to the reality that Connor needs to wear shoes now. Luckily we have a multitude of dirty socks now.
The monkeys were especially entertaining. There was even one monkey not in the cage. We didn't know what to do but he seemed friendly enough.

This is Connor's favorite way to travel. Thanks to their fun-loving Dad our children will never have problems with roller coasters. There was a really cool park next to the zoo. It was very similar to Millcreek Canyon. Except this park had a huge statue of Christ.
If you ever come to Tegucigalpa and want to see this statue, just look for the huge Coca-Cola sign on the mountain (similar to the famous Hollywood sign). The two things that Hondurans seem to love (in my opinion, at least) are Christ and Coke . There are signs and bumper stickers everywhere that say 'Christ gave his life for you' and it would be difficult to count the number of people I see carrying a two liter of Coke in a day. This sounds oddly similar to Mormon culture, except its diet coke of course.

It's getting hot!

We got a fun care package from grandma and it included some legos. Knight Caden was very excited to build a castle, a dragon, and a knight. (In reality mom did most of the building-which she actually finds enoyable. )
We went to the nearest tourist attraction, it is called Valle de Angeles. It is a cute little town with a lot of charm and a lot of vendors. We didn't bring a lot of money so we didn't actually buy anything this time but there will definitely be some Christmas purchases on our next trip. I love the cobblestone streets, the central plaza and of course the little church.
I don't know if I can handle 80 degree weather for the next 8 months. It is seriously getting hot. We might have to go swimming every day just to stay cool! It is rough down here people, very rough.
If you are looking for a place to go this winter, Honduras might not be a bad option. But bring a jacket because I heard it might get back into the 70's next week. Brrhh....

The reason we came...

I was pretty excited to see the Angel Moroni go up on the temple. At first Tom was not sure that we could be on site, but they broke the rules and let us in. We were able to watch from the balcony of the President's apartment which is probably 150 feet from the temple. (I was going to use the phrase "a stones throw" but I didn't want anyone to visualize me throwing rocks at the temple)
There was so much excitement when we got there. Members were lining up on hills nearby and all along the road. The workers were all taking pictures with the Angel Moroni (even though most of them are not members) but as soon as they started lifting it everything got quiet (except for my toddlers of course!). It was amazing that everyone stopped working and appreciated the solemnity of that moment. I wanted to break out into 'The Spirit of God' but I knew Tom would never take me on site again if I did.
This is from the parking lot by Tom's office. We had to walk down that little road. It was such a beautiful day for such a beautiful experience.
Caden watched it pretty intently. Tom, of course, was entranced. Connor...well, luckily there was a big puddle of water so he kept himself entertained. I snapped a million pictures. It was really cool to see it so close and to feel how important this moment was to so many people.
I seriously hope that hard hats and orange vests never become the style because I look horrible in them. Just focus on the beautiful temple behind me (Or the crane if that suits your fancy). It was an amazing experience and it helped remind us why we came on this little adventure in the first place.

Halloween in Honduras

I have a confession. Tom and I are not big fans of Halloween. We have never dressed up and usually just balk at the cost of adult costumes. (Tom is worse than I am. I would probably fold to peer pressure but he will not) Of course we want our children to enjoy Halloween but I am pretty sure Tom was pretty excited to skip it this year. Well, the Saturday before Halloween we got home late in the afternoon and there was a note on our door from our compound saying they would be trick-or-treating. I was excited because I want our kids to have fun. Tom...not so much. I begged him to drive us all the way back to Walmart (we had just come from there and traffic was really bad) to buy costumes. Luckily his heart softened and we went back. Caden has been really into knights lately (Tom tells him a story every night about a boy named Caden going on a quest) and they actually had a knight costume. Connor's options were limited-princess or dragon.

Maybe I should be more specific. A dragon in a track suit. Caden constantly asked if he could fight Connor because he was a dragon. Ah boys...
Connor only lasted for two houses. Caden and Tom went to the rest of the houses. Not everybody in the neighborhood participated but it was fun to have that American tradition anyway. Apparently everyone was very liberal with the candy.
Happy Halloween from the Heaths! Do you love our blank white walls? They are everywhere.
Connor loves to wave at people (especially the guards) and say 'hola'-it is adorable.