Naomi is not in Spain anymore

life goes on for us.
in a different place
and in different ways.
but all five of us are here,
and God keeps being faithful.
keep following along with us here . . . if you want!

oh dear! it's been so long since I've written . . . does anybody still check?

I am getting the itch to blog again, though. it won't be long now . . . .

almost done

We leave Pamplona on Thursday.
Our stuff is packed away into 11 suitcases;
what hasn't been packed has been spread throughout our friends' and neighbors' homes
or set by the trash bin for an unknown neighbor to pick up (when no one is looking)

we're feeling tired
and pretty good.

we told the kids we'd only stay five minutes . . .

we went to the park yesterday afternoon;
we almost didn't go.

we ran into so many people
and had so many conversations

I can't believe we almost didn't go

that's what I say every time

Selma snagged Carlos' moto and went for a spin. That's why all the 2-year-olds go to the park - - to check out each other's rides.

if you want to find out more about the toddler moto culture in Spain, read this

flowers for my friend

My friend Gabriela is in the hospital this week;
I went by to visit her yesterday; I scrounged in Rachel's give-away pile right before I left home and found a cute little yellow pitcher and a shiny pink ribbon; and then ran by the shop to pick up some flowers
to stick in the yellow pitcher
to wrap up with a pink ribbon
(flower arranging is cheap and easy when other people give away pretty things!)

We had a fun visit.
I like Gabriela - - a lot.
I like that I can give her my old Martha Stewart baby magazines and she gasps and holds them to her chest and starts flipping through them right away.
I like that she loves her baby boy so much and that she speaks kindly about her husband.
I like that yesterday, when I sheepishly gave her my half used Burt's bees creams in her hospital care package, she didn't even bat an eye; she only gushed thanks - - acting as if I was doing her a huge favor by leaving them with her.

and I like that she told me that the flowers I brought her made her think of something her grandmother would have given her; isn't that a sweet, thoughtful compliment?

pack everything away . . . but not the coffee pot

today I washed my coffee pot. As I scrubbed, I thought that maybe I should pack it away today;
I really need to be putting the final suitcases together.

I remembered, though, that we still have some chocolate cake in the fridge;
and when Trini brings her sister over to pick up the bookshelves today, I really want to invite them for some cake.
and coffee.

and we wanted to invite Mikel over while his wife is in the Hospital this week;
I was going to feed him some cake
(he's a professional baker, with a dream to open up his own shop in Chile)
and make him give me tips on how to make it better.
He'll need coffee with that cake to give a fair evaluation.

and, when we said goodbye to Txutxin and Marian on Sunday, Marian gave us all hugs but told us they weren't her last hugs - - and that she was going to find a way to hug us again before we left.
She says that my coffee pot makes really good coffee, so I might need to make coffee for them sometime before I leave.

right.
I can't possibly pack my coffee pot yet.
what was I thinking?

the lamb was amazing . . .

Pablo's mom has been trying for months now to get us out to their pueblo (it's where their family retreats to on the weekends). We finally made plans to visit last week.
"it will be a special Easter get-together" she told me
"we'll roast a lamb in Vicente's brick oven!"
it was beautiful.
God gave us a gorgeous day;
Pablo, Malachai, Josu and Selma spent hours in the warm sun - - with futbols and wooden swords and Pablo's fake bull head mounted on a bicycle wheel that can be pushed around to simulate a bull run or a bull fight (they start'em young, I tell you!)

Trini and I spent the morning making cinnamon rolls in the kitchen (I promised her three months ago that I would) and putting the finishing touches on the dress I'm making for Selma (Trini used to own a little sewing shop)

Joshua and Vicente spent the day roaming around Vicente's little country acre - - looking at Vicente's garden, checking the suckling lamb in the brick oven, sitting at the porch table - - all the while talking about things like:
Vicente's role in heading up that Catholic charity ministry in Pamplona
and his methods for making home made wine,
but mostly they talked about the resurrection of Jesus.
Vicente insisted that Christ's resurrection was not a physical resurrection
Joshua insisted that it had to be physical
back and forth they argued - - with Trini in the background calling over her shoulder every now and then - - reminding Vicente to lower his voice and to stop swearing so much.

we had said we would leave by 7 pm - - at the latest.
at 8:30 we started packing up into to car, saying our final goodbye's

The following day Trini called us from the pueblo. she wanted to say sorry to Joshua for the way that Vicente kept trying to provoke him
("oh no" Joshua told her "don't worry about it; plus, I can push pretty hard myself!")

and she said that Vicente had one of the best days he's had in a really long time
("us too" he told her "us too")