Quotable Quotes

Super cool that the Schaefers came to visit for the week! They were here from Monday, January 23 – Friday, January 28. Erin has been my best friend since we were nine years old. I’m proud that our friendship has not only endured, but grown over the years. She and her family are very precious to me.

Instead of re-capping the play by play, I’ve decided to give you a glimpse into our week through some of the week’s best quotable quotes.

“Tuk-tuk!” – Luke Schaefer
Tuk-tuks are our city’s version of the moto-taxi and Luke’s favorite new word! He quickly realized that when he said, “tuk-tuk” he always got a good laugh! Sweet Luke is always the life of the party.



“Aaaa!!!! I ate my arm (or leg, or face, or whatever silly body part).” – Logan and Sam
Logan and Sam are really good buddies and were very excited to see each other this past week. They were super-hyped up most of the week and managed to run and shout and create silly games to their hearts content.




“Swiper doesn’t come to the table.” – Jason Schaefer Some silly games just don’t need to come to the dinner table.

“Let’s just send the boys to school.” – Megan Dove After witnessing all the “excitement” between Sam and Logan on the first day, all the adults agreed that sending them to Sam’s school on Monday while we took a walking tour of the city would be the best option. Logan was apprehensive at first, but told us later in the week that going to Sam’s school was his “favorite part.” Our walking tour of Antigua was informative and fun.


“Go Luke, Go Luke, Go Luke.” – Everyone
On Tuesday we took a special trip to San Antonio (ironic, right?), a small, poor community outside of Antigua. There’s a special organization that offers a small tour in which children from the city put on a traditional dance and music show and then teach you how to make tortillas. Remember how I mentioned Luke is the life of the party? He showed his true colors again as he joined in the dancing fun!




“Gallo!!” – Jason Schaefer
Jason discovered Guatemalan beer.


“Hectors would have been my favorite part of the day…if we would have had babysitters.” – Stephen Dove
We celebrated Jason’s 31st birthday while he was here by having dinner at a fantastic restaurant named Hector's, recommended to us by one of Jason’s doctor friends. It only seats about 12 people, which would be intimate and romantic if four of those weren’t under age 4.


“So how much do fincas cost? I really want a finca!” – Jason Schaefer Finca is the Spanish word for plantation (usually referring to a coffee plantation here). Wednesday we visited a coffee plantation and got the ultimate tour with the zip lines. I’m not sure if Jason really liked the beauty of the finca or the idea of owning so much coffee!



“Wheee” – Sam Dove
The zip-lining tour was definitely a major highlight of the week. Both Samuel and Logan were so brave and big.



“You should market that schedule. It’s a good schedule” – Erin Schaefer
So for those of you who know me well, you know I’m a planner. I teased that I had planned this week so meticulously that I had even had every joke and conversation mapped out before it happened. All teasing aside, my planning paid off – all tours went off without a hitch, all meals were delicious, all reservations were executed…you get my point. It was a good schedule. Maybe I should market that schedule.

“Gimme that face!” – Sam Dove
Sam liked to make Luke laugh. He was very successful with the “gimme that face” game.

“That should definitely be your profile pic. No, make that your profile pic.” – all the grown-ups
We shared some of our last moments together looking at all the pictures from the week. Lots of great memories worthy of the profile pic.

Married People

If you've followed the blog, you've surely heard about our sweet neighbors, Fatima (age 6 as of last week) and Haisha (age 9). School has started back for everyone this week and we've quickly slipped back into our routine of work/school in the morning and play/time with friends and neighbors in the afternoon.
Yesterday, Fatima and Sam were playing together at our house. While I was cooking dinner, Fatima comes in to the kitchen and tells me (in Spanish, but here's the translation for you), "Ms. Megan. Sam and I really want to play house, but we're having a hard time."
Me: "Why, Fatima?"
Fatima: "Well, Sam is talking a lot of English right now and we're just not understanding each other."
Me: "Don't worry about that, Fati. That's how is is in real life with with married people - they don't always understand each other."
Fati (after contemplating that for a second), "Bien. I guess you're right. " ... And they continued playing "casita."
I love kids! :)

2011 here we come!

2011, here we come.

Yes, Stephen and I were asleep by 10:00 p.m. on New Years Eve. I told him he married a dweeb, so he has to take all that comes with it – including never really being able to ring in the New Year.

After the kids went to bed (and slept amazingly through all the fireworks!) we did, however, spend some time last night reflecting on all that 2010 meant to us. It was a pretty amazing year, as all my years have been with my husband, but here are a few highlights we came up with.

• At the beginning of the year, Stephen was preparing for his doctoral comprehensive exams. While he was reading for his tests, he got to “stay home” with baby Ruth. (it’s okay to chuckle, because I’m sure you’ve thought of that before…Baby Ruth…ha ha ha)
• In March, Stephen found out he was rewarded a Fulbright Scholarship that would bring us to Guatemala. It’s crazy to think we didn’t even know that we would be here this time last year.
• A week after Stephen was rewarded the Fulbright, he took his oral “comps” (cool doctoral slang for that crazy test I mentioned in the first bullet point) and of course, did amazingly well. To quote his advisor, he finished the test with “flying colors.”
• In May our house went on the market. Praise God, by June it sold. We were very blessed with this transaction, as the market continues to go down. Stephen often says, “I am sooo glad we sold when we did.”
• In July I was offered not one, but two jobs! I didn’t want a job when I put in my resignation after six years in the HS classroom. I am now employed by Wayland Baptist University doing translation work. I am really enjoying it and I would have NEVER expected this a year ago.
• In July our baby turned one year old.
• In August, we moved to Guatemala.
• In September, our sweet Ruth finally walked. For those of you close to us, you know this was a big deal.
• In October, we were feeling so settled into our new Guatemalan home, we hosted our first family visitors.
• By November, we had made enough friends here to host a pretty cool “Guatemalan Thanksgiving” party.
• This past month, we welcomed more family and celebrated our first international Christmas.

And now here we are facing another year. Excitedly. Expectantly. If I even try to guess what it will hold, I’m sure I will underestimate.

The girls

We have neighbors with two little girls. Haisha is nine and Fatima is five. My kids spend lots of time with the girls and love them to death. I do, too, because they’re the sweetest, kindest young ladies I have ever met.

Our neighborhood is so safe and we’ve become such good friend with the family that I will even let Sam walk to their house by himself. Recently, our neighbors reported that Sam just opened their front door and walked in uninvited…even though he told me he had an invitation. Mischievous Sam! Sweet Sam who loves his neighbors!

Yesterday, Haisha and Fatima were playing at our house. Ruth noticed Haisha’s pigtails and insisted she have them, too. This was communicated through a lot of pointing and a little whining. After I understood what she was saying…voila!...her first pigtails. I know I’m the mommy, but come on…isn’t she CUTE?!?!

Feliz Navidad

My mom, dad, brother, and cousin came for a Christmas visit from December 17 – 22. I can confidently say that we all had an amazing time. I am blessed beyond belief with such an amazing, loving, generous, and fun family. Here are a few highlights:

Dec 18^th – The boys explored the food market while the girls stuck to the more posh artisans market. I have a hard time with the food market as it’s super crowded, hot, and feels so dirty. The boys discovered that Sam has a hard time with it, too. Too many people like to touch my “canche.” (“canche is the Guatemalan slang for “blonde”).

In the afternoon, we also went to Cerro de la Cruz, the hill that overlooks Antigua, for amazing views of the city.

Dec 19^th – In the morning my family got to witness the work of the Spirit at our Pentecostal church. We spent Sunday afternoon at the central park listening to music, watching the street performers, and playing.

Dec 20^th – Merry Christmas! We pretended this was Christmas morning. We woke up, opened gifts, ate a great breakfast and played with new toys, which included a new iPad, dress up clothes, and a kid’s digital camera.

Believe it or not, once my family left on the 22^nd, Christmas was over for us. It’s the first year of my life that the Christmas tree came down BEFORE December 25^th! Even though we didn’t celebrate on Christmas day, this was honestly one of my favorite Christmases ever.

The afternoon was relaxing and included a little more shopping, a great meal out to eat, and a visit to a beautiful hotel in Antigua.

Dec 21^st – The boys climbed the active volcano, Pacaya. I was nnnnnervous for Sam, but of course everything went perfectly. They even roasted marshmallows at the top of the volcano.

The girls spent the morning on a fantastic tour of an Antigua coffee farm that ended with a great lunch and cup(s) of coffee.

Beyond the touristy activities and the shopping, it was so great to just hang out. My brother, Erik and my cousin, Kris are so fun (and handsome and single, ladies! J ). Watching my parents play with, read to, and cuddle my kids were moments I treasured above all. Lots of evenings were spent talking, playing games, eating cake, eating ice cream, and laughing. I LOVE YOU MOM, DAD, ERIK, AND KRIS!!!!