In our new place at last! Everyone welcome!!

~After a long week with our wonderful new "family" (The Elkins), our apartment was finally ready.  Living out of a suitcase can only last so long. We were all starting to grab each others underwear as all of our "stuff" became a huge pile of clothing, toiletries, cell phone cords, books and baggage, and whatever else we needed for the day:/ It was bittersweet saying goodbye to our new "family" (Brian, Keli, and the kids) here in Puerto Rico and we will forever be grateful for our time spent with them. They say it was just has hard for them to see us leave after a week hunkered down together. We actually started to live like a real Puerto Rican family where several generations keep house together, and in a most wonderful way. My mother became "Nanny" to little Jordan, Jadon, and Jameson while also cleaning house and cooking occasional meals for us all. Keli says her house has never been so clean or the clothes all washed and put away at one time.  (Ah, the joys and struggles of life with little ones all under five! It was a pleasant reminder of the years with my little ones.)  Hunter, Naomi, and Wyatt were willing babysitters. Brian was so pleased to have Hunter around to help him with roof work and moving heavy furniture around.  We sat around several evenings together and pondered God's amazing grace in bringing our families together from so far away.  David not being with us is the only downside; however, I know he is secure in the fact that Someone bigger than himself is taking care of his family.  God is so good.
~So we moved in to the new apartment on Sunday. Brian helped us set up internet and cable connections so that we would be able to log right in Monday morning for the kids to do their school work.  Everything, I mean EVERYTHING, has been such a smooth transition; the realtor has become a good friend (especially for my mother), the landlord is going out of the way to provide all the furniture we need to make living easy (although it was suppose to be an unfurnished apartment), and we continue to find God's little provisions everywhere with everyone we meet from the supermarket to neighbors; everyone is so friendly.
~Hunter returned to his school in the mountain town of Cayey on Sunday evening. We arrived to a house full of Puerto Rican boys (about 15-20) who had driven from all parts of the island and were being dropped off by their parents for the week of school and baseball.  I say a "house full" because they stay in a house with two adult chaperone/assistant coaches at night. The house has an extra room built to house 4 rows of computers where they complete their online schooling each day.  Everywhere they go they must be in one of the school issued uniforms whether its for baseball workouts, games, going out for other public meetings or events, or simply completing their school online; there is a dress code that is representative of the school/team in the most dignified way. He reported to me this evening by text that his first day of school was "hard". I like it already:-)
~Not everything is beaches and baseball. I paid $6.00 for a gallon of milk today!  Everthing in the supermarket is two to three dollars more than what we pay in the states.  More on the culture and everyday living later. For now, still praying for rain and cooler temperatures to come your way. Love to all....

Naomi and Jordan Posing
Wyatt and Jameson (below)

                                       Fresh Guacamole! Look at the size of that avocado:)
                                             Avacado trees abound in backyards. Yummm...

                                                    Here's the baseball man!  Sporting his                                                    "going out for lunch" uniform. The entire 
                                                    team wears this. Looks sharp. PRoBaseall
                                                    Academy (Puerto Rico BB Academy-clever
                                                    play on words).

                                                           Outside our new apartment!