la familia hernandez: The Mangoes Are Coming!

Seems like a long time since the last post. Don't know why. I updated my Flickr page to right so you can see more pictures. We don't seem to have many pictures of outings or anything really that exciting to show. We did take a drive last weekend west in search of something new on a spontaneous whim. We drove to Bani, which I learned is known for their mangoes. No mangoes yet as they haven't turned ripe, but they are on their way!! They are all over the city, trees in parking lots and yards. I wonder who gets to pick them when they are on public property?! My friend, Ina told me that she got so many mangoes given to her as gifts from the village she works in that she didn't know what to do with them. Oh, the blissful thoughts in my head thinking of all the ways I get to prepare and enjoy my favorite fruit. I have no shame saying I will be glutenous! Eric's grandparents have mango trees in their yard, so I'm looking forward to checking out the progress when we go this weekend to celebrate his grandfather's birthday. I hear we are going to eat "chivo", which is goat. Yikes! It's supposed to be amazing...I'm not so sure, but I'll let you know.

I am getting busier each week with little things here and there. I am still teaching English to two women at their office one time a week (we had to move it to one day as opposed to two because they don't have the time for two lessons right now). I am also doing a language exchange with one of Eric's aunts. Flor comes over one morning a week and we talk in English one hour and Spanish the next. It's great, because this is a time where I can be corrected and really learn to speak better. I am learning a lot by just living life here, but I don't often get corrected and I know I use a lot of incorrect phrases. I am also helping my friend Ina out with her ministry in the village of Cercadillo. Take a look at her website to see more about what's happening in Cercadillo. For now I am helping her with little tasks to get a co-op started selling handcrafts the women in her village are learning how to make, like necklaces and bags. It's a really amazing ministry she has to these women and I want to spend more time telling everyone about it in greater detail, so I am going to wait and make it it's own post.

I'll leave you with a couple of pics of our boy who is really growing up so fast. He is talking up a storm, some words in English, some in Spanish and a lot in his own language still. He is becoming very energetic little guy and I am trying to keep him stimulated when we are cooped up in the house. We can go outside to play when the sun isn't overhead, but it's basically in the parking lot of our apartment and it's so dirty (I mean filthy, greasy black dirt that I have to scrub off) that I have to pop him in the bath immediately when we get back upstairs. Yesterday we played outside and when we came back up we discovered we didn't have any water! Hopefully we can get to the park to run out some energy today because it's one of my days to have a car.