On Saturday, we went to lunch at a place near the ruins of Saqsaywaman. There is a trout pond there. I was surprised that Isabella could see the fish in the water. I mean, they were moving around of course, but I thought she might not know and not pay attention to them. But she did see the fish, and she loved it!
It was such a beautiful day. After 4 or 5 days of unexpected rain, with the air clean and sky full of billowy clouds, we had a wonderfully warm day.
Looking into the water. She is so observant.
Isabella turned 7 months on Sunday, the 10th. She loves her daddy. Now that she is bigger, she is so much more fun to play with!
Lots of trout!
Finally, onto our plates... head and all. hehe
Looking over the city of Cusco
Sunday church service, Luis played guitar with Ricky. He played so well, Ricky was so proud of him. Jorge and Janet, Luis' parents were rightfully proud as well.
Luis, watching his fingering. He is using the church's new guitar, a generous gift from the Christian Church of Thousand Oaks in California. Thanks guys!!
On the 28th of July, Peru celebrated its Independence Day. And for anyone who is wondering, the rainbow flag here is not because Cusco is a "diverse and tolerant" region, if you know what I mean. This is the flag of the indigenous peoples of the high plains, of the Andes. They are peoples of the mountainous regions of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. This flag represents their peoples. It has a beautiful representation, not quite perverted the way it is in the U.S. nowadays.
Being that everything was closed for the holidays, we took the day and went to Pisac, a little town 45 minutes away from Cusco. Here we are looking over the Valle Sagrado (the Sacred Valley).
We love the open air market, empanadas from the huge adobe mud ovens, and the Cuy castles. Isabella loved watching them scamper around.
I had fun feeding them.
This girl is always happy. We are blessed.
The leaders in training! These girls are between 12 and 13 years old. The three toward the left are the teachers (the tias) of the 3-5 year old group. they are doing an excellent job. It's so exciting to see them grow. Here they are teaching all the children a new dance to one of the children's songs.
The children are encouraged to lead the group in prayer. This is Brian. He is not afraid to stand up in front of 50 or 60 kids and lead them in prayer. They are developing a relationship with Jesus that will last a lifetime!
Here I am teaching the children using the "old" method. I remember learning this way during Sunday school 20 years ago! It is fascinating for these kids. Although old, flannel graphs are a wonderful teaching tool! Thanks, AGAIN, to the church of Thousand Oaks for their generous gift. They must have had this from years ago, but it was still in almost perfect condition. With hundreds of figures, this flannel graph set is amazing! Again, thank you CCTO!!!
The last few weeks Isabella became quite the talkative little girl. Aside from play coughing and growling, she now says Mama, Papa and Ba ba (or ba ba ba ba.... etc) and various other combinations. Pa and Ba are her current favorites; she sounds like a broken record, but it's super divertido listening to her chatter away. And is a much welcome change to the play screaming she was into a few months ago.
Horray for words!
A captured moment of Isabella enjoying her sippy cup while sitting in her new highchair! Finally...I think it was about time she got one.
On Saturday, we went to lunch at a place near the ruins of Saqsaywaman. There is a trout pond there. I was surprised that Isabella could see the fish in the water. I mean, they were moving around of course, but I thought she might not know and not pay attention to them. But she did see the fish, and she loved it!
Looking into the water. She is so observant.
Lots of trout!
Finally, onto our plates... head and all. hehe
Being that everything was closed for the holidays, we took the day and went to Pisac, a little town 45 minutes away from Cusco. Here we are looking over the Valle Sagrado (the Sacred Valley).
I had fun feeding them.
The leaders in training! These girls are between 12 and 13 years old. The three toward the left are the teachers (the tias) of the 3-5 year old group. they are doing an excellent job. It's so exciting to see them grow. Here they are teaching all the children a new dance to one of the children's songs.
