Returning to "normal".

Naomi and mom on playing on the chair. I just asked Naomi if she likes Granada, I think the smile is a "yes".

Dinner with Michelle at " El Garage". It was a real blast to have a Gill in our pose, it really reminded us of some of our previous adventures.

Bedtime at the Browns. A good book and a cuddle are the prerequisites of a good nights sleep.

This is how it all started......I was lying on the ground in the sun, watching my baby play nearby. Maia was asleep and Adam had gone to work on his muscles. I noticed that one of the chairs just to my right had a big bump underneath it. I never would have seen this bump, if I hadn’t been lying on the ground. This chair was one of a group of four chairs, and none of the other chairs had a bump underneath.
I stared at it for a while.
It started to move.
I jumped up quickly, knowing with certainty, that I had uncovered a nest of scorpions, or snakes, or even worse...cockroaches. I grabbed Naomi, and ran to the bedroom where Maia was sleeping, blissfully unaware of the horrors that were lurking on the other side of the garden.
When Adam returned home, an eternity later, I had closed all of the doors in the bedroom and was waiting with heart pounding knowing that every noise I heard was the sound of the baby creatures emerging from their womb in the chair. I quickly recounted my tale, and he bravely went over to the chair and whacked the cushion. I couldn’t believe his brazen disregard for his personal safety. I thanked my lucky stars that I had married such a courageous man.
When he returned from his heroic encounter with...who knows what...his face held an expression of disbelief. He must not be able to accept my tale as true, the strange bugs that we are meeting here in Nicaragua, I thought to myself. Yet, he was also slightly smirking at me. “It was nothing” he said. “Nothing”, my voice trembled, “you mean, it was nothing you couldn’t handle”? “No” he replied “There was nothing in any of the chairs. You’re going to have to toughen up a little Emilie” and then he mumbled something about cowering in the bedroom. Part of me was elated. No strange lair of animals was living in the cushion. It must have been the wind that created movement in the cloth. Another part of me felt slightly indignant, as I had only been trying to protect my children from unknown horrors. The greater feeling though, was one of shame. My Grannie told me a long time ago, that you should never show your fears to your children, because it will transfer to them. Since having children, I didn’t realise just how many fears I would have to hide. Who knew I was such a scaredy cat?
The intent of this story though, was to introduce the topic of animals. As I sit, in our new home, I can see 5 different birds in our garden. We also have a large frog living in the garage, bats that swoop into our living room at night, many geckos, ants, beetles, grasshoppers and the list could go on. For a squeamish person like me, I have had to come to terms the fact that I live in a world that has other creatures living it in with me. Nicaragua has been a real education in becoming closer to nature. It will take me some time, but I will come around. I already have come farther than I ever have in the past.
As for our new house, well, it is fantastic. It has a swimming pool. Enough said. Come and visit as soon as you can.
Maia loves her new school. She has made some friends and is exhausted by 1:00 when we pick her up. Adam and I have also been at school on the mornings. Adam goes to a non-profit Spanish language school, which uses their profits to house and educate street boys in Granada. I have teacher that comes to my house in the mornings. She is really great. Yesterday we went to the market, and I learned the culturally appropriate way to bargain. It was quite the eye opener actually.
As for Naomi, well she continues to grow and laugh. She is a happy person, who is a delight to be around. We are very lucky parents to have two very wonderful daughters.
As for our business, I know that I promised to tell you more next time, but we don't want to reveal too much, until we have more of it worked out. We have a meeting today with a man who will be helping us, and then perhaps afterwards I will be able to say a little more.
Love to you all. We miss you tremendously. Please send many, many notes!!