En francais:

Desolee, mais je n'avais pas de temps de traduire ma mise a jour en francais.  (Ma vie est pleine maintenant!)  Alors, si vous voulez vraiment savoir qu'est-ce qui se passe avec moi, vous pouvez lire ma mise a jour en anglais (si vous voulez une aventure) ou vous pouvez utiliser google traduction.  Desolee!!!!!

Tears, Christmas, and thankfulness

Before writing this post, I considered fibbing a little and telling you what I think you want to hear, not what really is going on.  But I decided against that, because if you are reading this, you are probably a close friend and not interested in the least about a "white lie."  So, sit back and get ready for a slice of the truth.

This last week has been rather hard.  I've cried at least once four out of the last five days.  And for those of you who know me well, I try to avoid crying if I can help it.  Obviously, I couldn't.

You see, this last week, I've been feeling an unrelenting bombardment of sin.  More and deeper problems are coming to light in the kids I watch; problems that seem to have Satan's name written all over them.  Yes, I know that sounds creepy.  Believe me, it is.  There is a pain that cannot be described when you watch the image of God become distorted into the face of Satan. Many of my tears were shed over this pain.

Another pain prompted my tears this week: the pain of sickness and death corrupting those I love and their loved ones.  A good friend was taken sick this week, and a family member of many friends passed away a few days before Christmas.  I felt pain for both of them, as well as the persistancy of sin in this fallen world, so once more, my tears flowed.

And just as icing on this cake of sin and sorrow, Christmas happened, but there was little celebration on my part.  Sure, I am overjoyed that Jesus Christ came to right this world of wrong, but at the same time, my heart was heavy with all of the darkness encompassing it.  On top of that, I worked with tired and sugar-highed kids on Christmas, I was exhausted emotionally and physically myself, I was far from my family, and few of my Christmas staples were there.  In the spirit of honesty, let me just admit that I cried about this too, but really it was made worse by everything else.

Amidst all of this, there is good news.  Lets just start with the fact that I didn't give up on Christmas even though I didn't feel particularly cheery.  For me, that's pretty good, since I have a track record of giving up on cheerfulness in the face of gloom and doom.  It may not have turned out quite like I wanted, but at least it wasn't for lack of trying.  I made my own Christmas dinner, complete with a pot roast, sweet dilled carrots, garlic green beans, stuffing, and sweet potatoe casserole.

And what would a Christmas dinner be without dessert?  Ice cream adorned with sweet cranberry pear relish with a side of apple pie.  How could you go wrong with that?

My efforts did end up failing, though, because I ate Christmas dinner alone.  That wasn't my plan, but because I haven't quite mastered timing the cooking of five dishes at the same time, that's what happened.

Now, I'm not trying to list all the reasons we should feel sorry for Renee.  That's not what I want, because you don't need to feel sorry for me and I don't need you to eel sorry for me.  A pity party helps no one.  (Trust me, I just had one with my Christmas dinner.)  I'm trying to be honest first of all, and secondly, I'm trying to paint a backdrop for the next piece of good news.

And what might that be?  Well, it's Christmas.

We all know the story: Baby Jesus, the Son of God, was born in a manger to the Virgin Mary.  Shepherds showed up out of the blue because angels told them about this baby, and a little later, some wisemen stopped by to give the birthday boy a few gifts because they were following a star.  Somewhat of a strange tale as stories go, but a familiar one.

Some of you may be scratching your heads wondering why this is pertinant, and the rest of you are probably thinking, "I know where she's going with this."  Just bear with me though, because I'm hoping to surprise both of you.

Those of you a little more familiar with Christian theology are probably recalling at this point the Easter story: Jesus came to earth to live a perfect human life, take on the penalty of every human's sin by dying on the cross, and rise from the dead on the third day, thereby conquering sin.  He did all this so that he might offer us his perfect righteousness to restore our relationship with God if we trust in his work on the cross as our only payment for sin and if repent from our sin.  This, in a nutshell, is the storyline of the Bible, and I believe it with all my heart.

So what does this have to do with my rather depressing Christmas?  Lots, actually.

Lets start off with my first problem: the problems in the kids that I see.  Due to several reasons, I can't discuss in depth the problems I deal with every day, but I'll reduce them to a few broad categories.  In scholastic terms, I deal with psychological problems, behavioral problems, and trauma.  In spiritual terms, I face sin, the effects of other's sin, and, honestly, Satan.  (The items in these two categories are not necessarliy the same things with different names; there is plenty of overlap.)  And it just so happens that baby Jesus came to right these problems.  More importantly, he succeeded.  Because he rose from the dead, he conquered sin and its effects, meaning that all that weighs on me isn't hopeless.  Certainly, there's this waiting period, where I feel the pang of sin and I wonder why, why is there all this hurting?  I can't explain all that, nor do I have time to write down all my thoughts on the subject, but I do know that I won't be waiting forever, one day Christ will return in glory and establish his perfect kingdom.

My second problem, death and sickness, is also corrected by the cross: Christ conquered the effects of sin (including death and sickness), and so one day, they too will end.  Moreover, for those who trust in Christ, we know that death is not the end, but they will have eternal life.

Now for my last problem: I was alone on Christmas and it kind of stunk.  Now, I could cite here the fact that, as a child of God, I'm never alone, that his Spirit is always with me, but I actually found comfort in a different part of the gospel.  I've come from far away to an all-around worse situation in hopes of bettering these children's lives.  I miss my family, my church, my friends, and I'm assualted with many problems I've never faced before (long-term childcare, different culture, new language, the efffects of abuse, dearth of material goods, etc.).  What I'm doing is good, but loving other people can be painful, especially when you see them suffer.  Now, I'm not trying to say all this to convince you all that I'm a saint, because, in all honesty, any good you see in me is because of Christ (and that's not just church jargon, it's true!  Just ask my family...)  My point is, in some ways, I see similarities between my trials and those of Jesus when he came to earth.  I miss my family and love them incredibly, but sometimes I fight with them and they get on my nerves and I just want some time to myself.  Jesus, on the other hand, experienced perfect unity with his  Father.  It must have stunk to be separated from him. I find all of this sin heavy to deal with, and I, too, sin.  Jesus was perfect and so not only was all the sin heavy for him, it was oppposite from him and an affront on his character.  Not only did he live a human life and watch all the sin around him with perfect knowledge of the destruction that sin was wreaking, he also bore every sin of every human being for all time.  I may be crying more than my fair share right now, but surely, Christ wept more at the brokeness of sin.

So, this Christmas, while bitter, had its sweet side.  I understand more completely (though far from perfectly) what Christ experienced coming to earth.  I see more clearly the depth of love and sacrifice in the cross.  And I am so incredibly thankful.

C'est Noël!!!!

19-11-13

Il n'y a pas de grande chose a vous raconter au ranch.  Il y deux internes de l'egise de Juarez qui ont le meme age que moi, et bizarrement, elles ont le meme nom.  C'etait tres enjoyable de passer du temps avec elles et je suis tres contente que, peut-etre, elles vont rester pour Noel.  En parlant de Noel, on a decore la maison un peu pour Noel et les enfants commencent a etre impatients.  Moi, je suis impatient aussi et j'ai passe ma journee libre en decorant ma chambre.  Oui, oui, je sais qu'on devrait esperer jusqu'a apres le Thanksgiing, mais je n'avais pas de patience.  De plus, je n'y serai pas pour le Thanksgiving, alors j'ai du le faire en avance, n'est-ce pas?  Comme ca, ma chambre sera tres heureuse quand je reviens.

Dans mon cas, decorer pour Noel etait un peu plus different que normal parce que je ne pouvais pas aller au magasin pour un temps et alors j'ai du decorer aec ce que je pouvais trouer.   Je n'avais pas beaucoup, alors, j'ai fait mes decorations moi-meme et ils sont.... uniques.

La premiere chose a faire etait, bien sur, un sapin de Noel.  Plus tot, je croyais que je pourrais faire un sapin avec un poste et les branches artificielles que j'ai trouve cet ete, mais peut-etre quelqu'un d'autre a fait son propre sapin parce que les branches n'y etaient pas.  Ainsi, j'ai fait un sapin avec des cintres et de t-shirts verts.  (Je vous avais dit que mes decorations etaient uniques!)  Alors, ecoutez-moi bien si vous voulez savoir comment faire un sapin.

Tout d'abord, tu ramasses toutes les choses.  En ce cas, on a un poste, des t-shirts verts, cintres, du scotch tres fort, un peu de toile, et choses pour faire des ornements.

Ensuite, tu attaches les cintres au poste, et tu veux qu'ils ont assez d'espace pour que ton sapin puisse etre grand.

Apres tu as fini, tu veux pendre les t-shirts sur les cintres.

Depuis ca, tu veux inviter une amie qui peut t'aider a faire des ornements.  Pour les resultats meuilleurs, tu veux avoir beacoup de nourriture en ce temps-la.

Quand tu n'as plus d'idees (et il n'y a plus de nourriture), ecoute bien fort la musique de Noel et decore ton sapin.  Et voila, tu as fait ton sapin.

Un sapin n'etait pas assez, alors on a coupe des flocons de neige, on a pendu des ballons verts, rouges, et blancs, on a fait une scene de la Nativité, et on a pendu une couronne sur ma porte.

Voici ma scene de naissance.

Et voici ma couronne.

Et c'est tout.  J'espere que vous avez enjoyer savoir un peu de mon Noel et j'espere que le votre est asussi joyeux.

It's Christmas!!!!

11-19-13

Not too mcuh has been happening around the ranch.  We have two interns from the Juarez church that are the same age as me, and, oddly enough, they have the same name.  I've enjoyed hanging out with them and am excited at the possibility that they might stay for Christmas.  Speaking of Christmas, we've been decorating in the baby home and getting the kids excited about Christmas.  I've been getting pretty excited too and even spent my day off last week decorating my room.  Yes, yes, I know that you're supposed to decorate for Christmas after Thanksgiving, but I got a little impatient.  Besides, I'm going to be gone for Thanksgiving, so I needed to get it done early, right?  That way my room can be all happy when I get back.

In my case, though, decorating for Christmas looked a little different than usual because I hadn't been able to go to the store for a while and so I got to make do with what I had.  Well, what I had wasn't all that much, so my decorations are handmade and.... unique.

The first item on my list was, of course, a Christmas tree.  My original plan had been to make a tree out of a post and artificial branches I had found in the bodega this summer, but maybe somebody needed to make their own Christmas tree, because the branches weren't there.  I therefore improvised with some hangers and green t-shirts.  (I told you they were unique!)  So, sit back and learn how to make your own Christmas tree.

First, you gather all your materials.  In this case, we have a post, green t-shirts, hangers, duct tape, fabric for a tree-skirt, and random craft supplies to decorate your tree.

Next, you duct tape all of the hangers onto the post, making sure to have them evenly spread out so as to make your tree nice and bushy.

After you've done that, hang the shirts on the hangers and arrange them so that they look as branchy as possible.  (Note: the last part of this step takes some imagination.)

Once you've completed that step, invite a good friend over to help you make ornaments.  Make sure to include bacon-cheddar popcorn and homemade hot chocolate in your craft time to ensure creativity.

When you have no more ornament ideas left (and all the hot chocolate and bacon-cheddar popcorn is gone), turn the Christmas music up and decorate your tree.  Congratulations, you have succesfully made your own Christmas tree.

The Christmas decorating didn't end with the tree though (it was an all-day event), and we proceeded to cut snowflakes (wishful thinking, I know), blow up and hang green, red, and white balloons, make a manger scene, and hang a wreath on my door.

This is my little manger scene.  It was late in the afternoon and I had used most of my craft supplies (and energy) on the tree, so Baby Jesus may or may not be made out of a little pink pom-pom wrapped in a popped balloon...

And here's my little wreath.  It's made from old wedding decorations, aluminum foil, snippets of red paper, and green pipe cleaners.

That's just about it.  I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my Christmas season and I hope yours is just as cheery.

What I came here for

So, they're here.  Yes, the baby home is no longer a good place to hear your singing echo off the empty walls, since you can barely think with all of the baby chatter and crying.  We have eight kids three and under.

Before I say any more, I'm afraid I have to disappoint you all by letting you know that there's very little I can say about the children themselves and there will be no pictures of the cute little babies.  Sorry, but their situations don't permit it.

After a very hard first week of working every day for at least 12 hours, if not longer, I'm happy to say my shifts have been shortened to 8 hour days and I get a day off a week (hallelujah!!!!).  This means that I can actually love on the kids a little bit instead of barely getting everything done without bursting into tears.  Yeah, the first week was rough.

Some things you all can keep in your prayers are:

1) wisdom and grace to discipline temper-tantrumming toddlers, keeping in mind that spankings aren't an option.

2)  that none of them would get unhealthily attached and clingy to me, since I am not their mom and I will have to leave at the end of the year.

3)  grace and humility as a new schedule and rules are being implemented and I have very little say in the matter.  Let's just say that in my pride, I like to think that I have a few better ideas.

And now, a few pictures.

I got my room set up.  It's so clean compared to the visitors' dorm and the girls' dorm!!!!  I can walk around without socks on and not feel likeI haven't washed my feet in ten years!

Even though I'm not allowed to nail things into the walls, I found a place for my snakeskin and cowboy hat.  I'd also like to point out that I have a window seat!  That's a dream come true for me.

To be honest, the color of the room irks me a bit (it's basically the color in between all colors), but at least it's becoming home.

And I have a little desk too. (No, it's not usually that clean.)

This is a picture of what part of my morning usually looks like.

Look!  Baby shoes!  Baby clothes are so cute.  Just have to throw that out there.  Getting the kids dressed in the morning is one of my favorite things.

Pourquoi je suis ici

Alors, ils ont arrives.  Oui, la maison des bebes n'est plus un lieu pour ecouter tes chansons resonnent sur les vides murs, parce que c'est bien difficile de penser avec tout le parlement des bebes et les cries.  On a huit enfants dessous l'age de 3.

Avant que je dis plus, je dois vous dire qu'il n'y a qu'un peu que je peux dire des enfants et je ne peux pas vous montrer des photos.  Leurs situations ne le permittent pas.

Depuis une premiere semaine tres dure quand j'ai travaille chaque jours pour au moins 12 heures, et peut-etre plus, je ne dois que travailler 8 heures chaque jours et j'ai une journee pour me delacher.  Ca veut dire que je peux aimer les enfants maintenant parce que avant, je n'ai qu'essayer de sour vivre la journee sans pleurer.  Ouais, cette premiere semaine etait tres dure.

Des choses pour lesquelles vous pouvez prier sont:

1) la sagesse et la grace pour discipliner les enfants desobeissants.  De plus, les fessees ne sont pas possibles avec ces enfants.

2)  que les enfants ne seraient pas trop attaches avec moi, parce que je ne suis pas leur mere et je dois partir apres l'annee.

3)  la grace et l'humilite avec une nouvelle horaire et les regles qui viennent et avec lesquelles je n'agree pas.

Et maintenant our quelques photos.

J'ai ma chambre! C'est tres propre comparee avec le dormitoire des visiteurs et le dormitoire des filles!  Je peux marcher sans chaussettes et je ne me sens pas comme si je ne me suis pas l'age les pieds pour 10 ans!

Bien que je ne peux pas mettre clous dans les murs, j'ai trouve un lieu pour ma peau de serpent et mon chapeau de cowboy.  Je veux dire aussi que j'ai un siege de fenetre!  Cette une reve realiser pour moi!

Si je suis honete, je dois vous dire que le couleur de ma chambre me gene un peu (c'est le couleur entre tous les couleurs), mais au moins c'est ma maison.

Et j'ai un petit bureau aussi.  (Non, normalement ce n'est pas aussi propre....)

Voici une photo d'une partie de mon matin.

Regardez! Les chaussures des bebes!  Les vetements des bebes sont trop adorables.  Habiller les enfants dans le matin est une de mes activites preferees.

Things going on

These past two weeks have been busy, but good.  First, we found kittens (more on that later), then we had tons of rain, which meant flooding since the ground doesn't absorb the water well.   That meant that school got cancelled for two days and because of that and Mexican Independence Day, the kids ended up getting a five day weekend (luckies).  But, of course, that meant more work for us because we had to watch them all day instead of half of the day.  I'm not complaining, though, because we had plenty of fun.

One of the highlights of these past few weeks has been getting to know the kids better as individuals and invest in their lives.  I get to help teach the four year old that I watch how to read and count.  One of the girls has a small business that I've been helping her with (more on that later).  One day, I taught two of the boys how to bake cookies.  Late at night, I got to comfort a scared little girl and tell her silly stories to help her sleep.  Four of the girls and I baked cookies the other day and I was able to share with them things that I've learned in life that will hopefully help them.  One of the older boys asked me to pray with him for one of the younger boys and I got to share the hope of the gospel with the younger boy.  Even when the girls disobey me and I have to get them punished, I get to share the good news of the gospel with them by telling them that I can forgive them because of God's forgiveness.  Kindly, God's been giving me many opportunities to love those kids in different ways, and it's been wonderful.

That's most of what I have to say.  Please keep praying that babies come to the baby home and that God will give me strength to accomplish the tasks I have each day.

And now, to finish things up, here are some pictures.  :)

Meet my kitty, Luna/Grisy Face (think "gris" as in grey in Spanish and then add a "y" just because).  Well, she's not my kitty any more.  She was for about six days, but I'm not allowed to keep her in my room and if I keep her outside, she'll be tortured for sure.  So, I'm giving her away to somebody who can take care of her.  *sigh*  I was so close to have a pet.  At first, she was mean and hissed whenever you came near her, but after some time, she proved to be the sweetest kitten on earth, no joke.  She loves people (especially me :) ) and purrs whenever I hold her.  I'm really bummed that I can't keep her.

This is her sister, Vaca (yup, a kitten named cow).  I think one of the girls will be keeping her at her house.

And look at the pastries I got to make with one of the girls!  She sells baked goods on Sunday and this week I got to help her and teach her a few tricks from the bakery.  It was tons of fun and such a great way to invest in her and become better friends with her and I think I get to help her again this week!  I love my job here.

This is my favorite building in town.  I don't know why, but I just really like it.  It seems like it's witnessed many different times and would be able to relate so many stories if it could talk.  Sure, call me crazy, but that's the way I think sometimes.  Also, the colors are way cooler and more vibrant in real life.

And this would be the beautiful Mexican landscape.  Really, I think the Mexican landscape is gorgeous. There's so much sky.  And it's so blue!  I think I could look at it forever.

Recently, I've been working on lots of projects, and this is one of my favorite.  I took an old dresser that the girls were throwing out, cleaned it up, and painted it and now I have a night stand that works and looks pretty.  I'm pretty happy.

Les choses qui se passent

Ces derniers deux semaines etaient tres pleines, mais bien aussi.  D'abord, on a trouve les petits chats (plus de ca plus tard), puis il y avait trop de pluie et ca veut dire qu'on a eu de l'indonation aussi parce que la terre ne peux pas recevoir bien l'eau.   A cause de ca, les enfants n'ont pas eu d'ecole pour deux jours et avec ca et le jour d'independance, ils ont eu un weekend de cinq jours (la chance).  Et, bien sur, ca voulait dire qu'on a du les guarder pour toute la journee, pas seulement la moitie.  Mais je ne me plain pas, parce que on s'amusait bien.

Une des belles choses de ces semaines est que je connais les enfants mieux et je peux les enseigner des choses.  J'aide a enseigner la petite de quatre ans comment lire et compter.  Une des filles vend des choses, et je l'enseigne les choses.  Un jour, j'ai enseigne a deux garcons comment cuisiner cookies.  Tres tard une nuit, j'ai conforte une petite fille et je lui ai raconte histoires amusantes pour l'aider a dormir.  Quatres des les filles et moi, on a cuisine cookies l'autre jour et je pouvais partager avec elles les que j'ai appris dans la vie qui vont a les aider.  Un des grands garcons m'a demande de prier avec lui pour un petit et je pouvais partager l'evangile avec le petit.  Bien que quand les filles me desobeissent et je dois les punir, je peux partager l'evangile avec elles quand je les dis que je les pardonne a cause du pardon de Dieu.  Dieu me donne beaucoup d'opportunites d'aimer les enfants en plusieurs maniers, et c'est merveilleux.

C'est la plupart de ce que j'ai a dire.  S'il vous pait, continuez de prier que les bebes viennent bientot a la maison de bebes et que Dieu va me donner la force a accomplir ce que je dois faire chaque jour.

Et maintenant, pour terminer ma mise a jour, voici quelques photos.  :)

Je vous presente ma chatter, Luna/Grisy Face.  Bien, elle n''est plus ma chatte.  Elle etait la mienne pour six jours, mais je ne peux pas la guarder dans ma chambre et si je la guarde dehors, c'est certain qu'elle va etre tuee.   Alors, je la donne a quelqu'un qui peut s'occuper d'elle.  J'ai presque eu un domicile, mais non.  Tout d'abord, elle etait tres mauvaise et ne voulait d'etre touchee, mais depuis un temps, elle etait tres gentille, la plus gentille chatte du monde, et je ne rigole pas.  Elle aime les personnes (en particulier moi :) ) et elle est trop contente quand je la tiens.  Je suis trop triste que je ne peux pas la gaurder.

Voici sa souer, Vaca (oui, une chatte qui s'appelle Vache).  Je crois que une des filles va la guarder a sa maison.

Et regardez les patisseries que j'ai fait avec une des filles!  Elle vend les patisseries les dimanches et cette semaine je l'ai aidee et lai enseignee quelquehose que j'ai appris au boulangerie.  On s'amusait bien et je crois que je peux l'aider encore cette semaine!  J'aime bien mon travail ici.

Voici mon batiment favorit de la ville.  Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais je l'aime beaucoup.  Je crois qu'il a vu beaucoup de temps differents et, si pourrait, raconterait trop d'histoires.  Oui, vous pouvez m'appeller folle, mais c'est comment je pense des fois.  De plus, les couleurs sont plus vivants et magnificant dans la vie que dans une photo.

Et voici le beau paysage mexicain.  Serieusement, je crois que le paysage mexicain est trop beau.  Il y trop de ciel.  Et c'est tres bleu!  Je crois que je peux le regarder pour l'eternite.

Recemment, j'ai fait beaucoup de projets, et voici un de mes favorits.  J'ai pris une vieille commode que les filles voulaient jetter, je l'ai nettoyee, je l'ai peintue (CHECK) et maintenant je une table de lit qui functionne et qui est belle.  Je suis tres contente..

Life and other happenings (Francais: La vie et autres choses passantes)

Just thought you all should know a little bit about life here.  I am not the English teacher, they found one.  Instead, I do whatever needs to be done and watch the one kindergartner at the ranch until the other kids get out of school.  We had a bit of a rough start, but we finally see eye to eye know and have tons of fun together.

En Francais:  Je pense que peut-etre vous voulez savoir un peu de ma vie ici.  Je ne suis pas la prof d'anglais, ils en ont trouve.  En place de ca, je fais n'importe quoi doit etre fait et je guarde la seule fille de maternelle au ranch jusqu'a les autres reviennent de l'ecole.  C'etait un peu difficile au debut, mais on s'entend bien maintenant et on s'amuse tres bien ensemble.

Me and the little girl

Francais: La petite fille et moi

The other big news is that we're supposed to get babies at the baby home soon!  Finally!!!  Because it's Mexico, we don't know exactly when, but soon is better than who knows when!  Being an intern and helping out has been fun and very character-building, but I can't wait to do what I came here to do!

Francais: La autre grande nouvelle est qu'on va avoir des bebes a la maison des bebes bientot!  Enfin!!!  Parce que c'est le Mexique, on sait pas quand exactement, mais bientot est meilleur que personne ne sait quand!  C'etait bien pour moi et tres drole que j'etais une interne et que j'aide maintenant, mais je ne peux pas attendre de faire ce que je suis ici pour faire!

In other snippets of news:  the kids all love asking me to help with English homework, so that's an unofficial duty.  I also discovered how to make the most amazing chocolate cinnamon nutmeg cookies and I shared with all the boys and ever since they've been bugging me for more.  It's like they think I'm made of cookies.....  I've also gotten them to help me make the girls' Christmas presents and they loved it so much, they ask me almost every day if we can make more.  Unfortunately, because one or more of them stole some of the supplies we were using, I haven't let them help me again.

Francais:  Les autres petites nouvelles:  les gamins aiment demander mon aide avec les devoirs d'anglais, aors c'est un doit qui n'est pas officiel.  De plus, j'ai decouert comment cuisiner les plus supers "cookies" de chocolat, canelle, et la noix de muscade et je les ai partages aec les garcons et depuis, ils ne cessent pas de me demander pour plus.  C'est comme ils pensent que je suis faite de "cookies....."  Ils ont aussi m'aide avec les cadeaux de Noel pour les filles et ils l'ont aime tant qu'ils me demandent presque chaque jour si on peut faire plus.  Malheureusement, parce q'un ou plus a vole les  fournitures qu'on utilisait, j'ai dit qu'ils ne peuvent plus m'aider.

I'm really sorry if this has been slightly scatter-brained, but that's because this internet opportunity was unexpected, so I didn't have time to prepare anything more organized.  Sorry, but this is what you get. Deal with it.

Francais:  Je suis tres desolee si cette mise-a-jour etait un peu desorganisee, mais c'est parce que cette opportunite pour l'internet n'etait pas prevue, alors je n'avais pas de temps pour preparer quelquechose.   Desolee, mais c'est ce que vous avez.

Internship becomes internity (en francais, il n'y a pas de mots pour ce titre. Desolee.)

This blog post will be in French and English so that I don't have to post photos twice (it takes a lot of time...).

FRANCAIS:  Cette mise a jour sera en francais et en anglais pour que je ne mette pas les photos deux fois (ca prends beaucoup de temps...).

All the interns have gone, but thankfully there's been lots of grace through all the change.  Here are a bunch of pictures that sum up some of the changes and give you glimpses of my life here.  Enjoy!

Tous les interns sont alles, mais heureusement il y a beaucoup de grace pendant tous ces changements.  Voici beaucoup de photos qui vous donnent un image de quelques changements ici et qui representent ma vie en general.  Amusez-vous bien!

One of the first things to change was our fridge.  After most of the interns left and there weren't constantly people in the kitchen, the kids took the opportunity to rummage through our fridge and take whatever fancied them.  (My jumex and chocolate!!!!!  Sad me.)  Since we now keep the kitchen and the fridge locked, hopefully our food is safe now.

FRANCAIS:  La premiere chose a changer etait notre frigo.  Apres que la plupart des interns sont alles et qu'il n'y avait pas toujours les gens dans la cuisine, les gamins ont pris l'opportunite a regarder dans notre frigo et a prendre ce qu'ils voulaient.  (Mon jumex et mon chocolat!!!!  J'etais tres triste.)  Parce que la cuisine et le frigo sont serres maintenant, on espere que notre nourriture soit en securite maintenant.

Annnnnd, I finally got a set of keys.  Power and responsibility!  Yes!  (I was waiting all summer for this...)

FRANCAIS:  Eeeeeet j'ai finalement des cles!  Le pouvoir et le responsabilite!  Oui!  (Je l'esperais tout l'ete....)

Chloe and I finally moved out of the once cramped, now empty dorm where we were staying and into a proper room in the girls' dorm.  Yay!  I have a home now!  Well, until I move again, but who knows when that'll be....  This is my dresser with my awesome jewelry holder that Patrick helped me make before he left (thanks again!!!).

FRANCAIS:  Chloe et moi, nous avons finalement demenager de la chambre qui a ete plein de monde, mais est maintenant vide.  Nous avons une chambre dans la maison des filles.  Yay!  J'ai une maison maintenant!  Bien, pour maintenant, parce que jevais me demenager encore, mais qui sait quand ca sera....  Voici ma commode avec une chose pour pendre les bijoux que mon ami Patrick m'a aide a faire avant qu'il est parti (merci encore!).

One of the first things I did was fill my wall with pictures of people I love.  :)

FRANCAIS:  Une des premieres choses que j'ai fait etait de remplir mon mur avec les photos des personnes que j'aime.  :)

I don't have a picture of Chloe's side of the room since she's working on decorating it, but maybe I'll give you guys pictures of it once she's finished.

FRANCAIS:  Je n'ai pas de photos de la cote de Chloe parce qu'elle travaille sur le decor maintenant, mais peut-etre je vais vous la montrer quand elle a fini.

Here's our little hang out corner.  It's a little bare cause we're waiting on stuff in the mail to complete it, but I'll probably give you guys a picture of it if I remember.

FRANCAIS:  Voici notre petite salle a manger.  C'est un peu vide parce qu'on attend des choses de la poste pour la completer, mais je vais vous donner une photo quand c'est fini si je m'en souviens.

And here's my corner.  My nightstand is part of an old desk, I think, and has a random cabinet door as its top.  And our set of shelves that you see there really is a set of slightly rusty stairs to who knows what.  At least it looks cool.  And we're currently working on getting curtains, since anybody walking by can see into our room (funnnnnn).

FRANCAIS:  Et voici mon coin.  Ma petite table la faisait partie d'un burreau, je crois, et maintenant tient une porte de placard comme le haut.  Et nos etageres que vous voyez la sont vraiment des escaliers pour qui sait.  A moins ils sont bien cools.  Et nous cherchons currament les rideaux parce que maintenant n'importe qui passe notre chambre peut regarder dedans (c'est supeeeeer).

We're also working on making our door the awesomest ever because all the girls pass it every day.  It still needs more work, but it's coming along.

FRANCAIS:  On travaille aussi sur notre porte pour qu'elle soit la plus super parce que toutes les filles la passent chaque jour.  C'a besoin de plus de travaille, mais ca va.

This is nothing really exciting, but it's our closet and our shoes.  Que chido......

FRANCAIS:  C'est rien d'importance, mais c'est notre armoire et nos chaussures.  Que chido....

Speaking of shoes, when "shopping" for furniture in the bodega, I stumbled across the awesomest shoes in my size.  Bodega shopping score.  (In case you're wondering, the bodega is a building with  bunch of random stuff that no one's claimed that will maybe eventually be sold.)

FRANCAIS:  En parlant des chaussures, en "faisant du shopping" dans la bodega, j'ai trouve les plus supers chaussures dans ma taille. J'etais trop heureuse.  (Si vous vous demandez, la bodega est un batiment avec trop de choses bizzarres qui n'appartiennent a personne et vont se vendre peut-etre eventuellement.)

And that's it for now.  I hope you guys enjoyed this little update and I'll try my best to have more for you more often, but I make no promises.  Time and internet are precious down here....

FRANCAIS:  Et c'est tout pour maintenant.  J'espere que cette petite mise a jour vous paisait et je vais essayer d'avoir plus a dire plus souvent, mais je fais pas de promesses.  Le temps et l'internet sont bien chers ici....

Internship becomes internity (en francais, il n'y a pas de mots pour ce titre. Desolee.)

This blog post will be in French and English so that I don't have to post photos twice (it takes a lot of time...).

FRANCAIS:  Cette mise a jour sera en francais et en anglais pour que je ne mette pas les photos deux fois (ca prends beaucoup de temps...).

All the interns have gone, but thankfully there's been lots of grace through all the change.  Here are a bunch of pictures that sum up some of the changes and give you glimpses of my life here.  Enjoy!

Tous les interns sont alles, mais heureusement il y a beaucoup de grace pendant tous ces changements.  Voici beaucoup de photos qui vous donnent un image de quelques changements ici et qui representent ma vie en general.  Amusez-vous bien!

One of the first things to change was our fridge.  After most of the interns left and there weren't constantly people in the kitchen, the kids took the opportunity to rummage through our fridge and take whatever fancied them.  (My jumex and chocolate!!!!!  Sad me.)  Since we now keep the kitchen and the fridge locked, hopefully our food is safe now.

FRANCAIS:  La premiere chose a changer etait notre frigo.  Apres que la plupart des interns sont alles et qu'il n'y avait pas toujours les gens dans la cuisine, les gamins ont pris l'opportunite a regarder dans notre frigo et a prendre ce qu'ils voulaient.  (Mon jumex et mon chocolat!!!!  J'etais tres triste.)  Parce que la cuisine et le frigo sont serres maintenant, on espere que notre nourriture soit en securite maintenant.

Annnnnd, I finally got a set of keys.  Power and responsibility!  Yes!  (I was waiting all summer for this...)

FRANCAIS:  Eeeeeet j'ai finalement des cles!  Le pouvoir et le responsabilite!  Oui!  (Je l'esperais tout l'ete....)

Chloe and I finally moved out of the once cramped, now empty dorm where we were staying and into a proper room in the girls' dorm.  Yay!  I have a home now!  Well, until I move again, but who knows when that'll be....  This is my dresser with my awesome jewelry holder that Patrick helped me make before he left (thanks again!!!).

FRANCAIS:  Chloe et moi, nous avons finalement demenager de la chambre qui a ete plein de monde, mais est maintenant vide.  Nous avons une chambre dans la maison des filles.  Yay!  J'ai une maison maintenant!  Bien, pour maintenant, parce que jevais me demenager encore, mais qui sait quand ca sera....  Voici ma commode avec une chose pour pendre les bijoux que mon ami Patrick m'a aide a faire avant qu'il est parti (merci encore!).

One of the first things I did was fill my wall with pictures of people I love.  :)

FRANCAIS:  Une des premieres choses que j'ai fait etait de remplir mon mur avec les photos des personnes que j'aime.  :)

I don't have a picture of Chloe's side of the room since she's working on decorating it, but maybe I'll give you guys pictures of it once she's finished.

FRANCAIS:  Je n'ai pas de photos de la cote de Chloe parce qu'elle travaille sur le decor maintenant, mais peut-etre je vais vous la montrer quand elle a fini.

Here's our little hang out corner.  It's a little bare cause we're waiting on stuff in the mail to complete it, but I'll probably give you guys a picture of it if I remember.

FRANCAIS:  Voici notre petite salle a manger.  C'est un peu vide parce qu'on attend des choses de la poste pour la completer, mais je vais vous donner une photo quand c'est fini si je m'en souviens.

And here's my corner.  My nightstand is part of an old desk, I think, and has a random cabinet door as its top.  And our set of shelves that you see there really is a set of slightly rusty stairs to who knows what.  At least it looks cool.  And we're currently working on getting curtains, since anybody walking by can see into our room (funnnnnn).

FRANCAIS:  Et voici mon coin.  Ma petite table la faisait partie d'un burreau, je crois, et maintenant tient une porte de placard comme le haut.  Et nos etageres que vous voyez la sont vraiment des escaliers pour qui sait.  A moins ils sont bien cools.  Et nous cherchons currament les rideaux parce que maintenant n'importe qui passe notre chambre peut regarder dedans (c'est supeeeeer).

We're also working on making our door the awesomest ever because all the girls pass it every day.  It still needs more work, but it's coming along.

FRANCAIS:  On travaille aussi sur notre porte pour qu'elle soit la plus super parce que toutes les filles la passent chaque jour.  C'a besoin de plus de travaille, mais ca va.

This is nothing really exciting, but it's our closet and our shoes.  Que chido......

FRANCAIS:  C'est rien d'importance, mais c'est notre armoire et nos chaussures.  Que chido....

Speaking of shoes, when "shopping" for furniture in the bodega, I stumbled across the awesomest shoes in my size.  Bodega shopping score.  (In case you're wondering, the bodega is a building with  bunch of random stuff that no one's claimed that will maybe eventually be sold.)

FRANCAIS:  En parlant des chaussures, en "faisant du shopping" dans la bodega, j'ai trouve les plus supers chaussures dans ma taille. J'etais trop heureuse.  (Si vous vous demandez, la bodega est un batiment avec trop de choses bizzarres qui n'appartiennent a personne et vont se vendre peut-etre eventuellement.)

And that's it for now.  I hope you guys enjoyed this little update and I'll try my best to have more for you more often, but I make no promises.  Time and internet are precious down here....

FRANCAIS:  Et c'est tout pour maintenant.  J'espere que cette petite mise a jour vous paisait et je vais essayer d'avoir plus a dire plus souvent, mais je fais pas de promesses.  Le temps et l'internet sont bien chers ici....