The Hope Chest: A Legacy of Love

Did anyone have a Hope Chest before they got married? I was fortunate enough to have one that I filled with all kinds of treasures. The great thing about a Hope Chest is that you can personalize it for each child, including their interests and their dreams for their futures.

One of my favorite books is "The Hope Chest: A Legacy of Love" by Rebekah Wilson. I purchased my copy 8-10 years ago from Vision Forum Ministries. In this book, she goes into the details of the history of the hope chest, the whys of having one, the hows to fill one, and the love behind the whole concept. She also stresses the importance of the differences and preferences each family will have for their own children and the hope chests contents. Rebekah shares about her own Hope Chest made by her father and the items she collected before her marriage. She shares the details of what she is including in her own daughters chest and why they are important to them.

Now, a chest doesn't have to be an actual cedar chest that most people associate with the concept (in fact, I am allergic to cedar). It can be a box under the bed, rubbermaid container with lid, closet, dresser drawers, etc. The possibilities are endless. My own was a chest made from pine. It was a Christmas gift from a boy I was dating after I graduated from high school. It was and still is a special possession but its uses have changed over the years.

Amy and Katie both have Hope Chests in their rooms that are rapidly filling. Both have items from their childhoods in them, special baby dolls, blankets, storybooks, ballet outfits etc. They also both have a set of Southern Living Heritage Cookbooks (wonderful books containing the history, menus, etc of food from the south). Katie's set came from her Memphis Grandmother and Amy's set came from her Atlanta Grandmother. I have a set also, that I started collecting when S.L. first came out with the books. I never completed my set, so Greg completed it on ebay for me. They have a S.L. Annual Recipe Book from their birth years (thanks to paperback swap). And they have a recipe book started by me of our favorite family recipes. My recipes are handwritten and the ones we find on the internet are just printed from the computer. (I love handwritten cards by the person you get the recipe from. We have several from my grandmother and they are family treasures) They also like to look through and collect the free recipe cards at the grocery store. They both have a Christmas Tree Skirt that we all made. They are rag quilt style. We each worked on the 3 tree skirts and I embroidered all 3 names on each one. For Christmas every year, they each get a Hope Chest gift. It could be cutesy towels or potholders that I find but usually its tree ornaments that I make for them. We all have a set of hand beaded nativity ornaments that I made. My goal is to have a set of these ornaments made for each of my boys & all my neices and nephews when they marry. They are also including their own cross stitch ornaments and pictures.

I know that when they are nearing the age and time of life to use their hope chest, we will be more earnest in filling them with useful, everyday items. Its fun to dream and think of goodies to put in them. And I pray they will be a blessing to them when they unpack and begin to use each item in their own homes in the future.

Great ideas are found in Rebekah's book with lists for each room of your home. Not all your treasures have to be new. Thrift stores, garage sales and antique shops could help you out. Lots of kitchen stuff can be found at Goodwill or Salvation Army stores, some folks get new dishes, or pots & pans and just donate their older stuff. There is nothing wrong with it, they just didn't want it. Ask grandparents for items they no longer use or want, thats how I got the cookbook sets. Any of these things could bless your children and take the financial strain of these young families setting up their own housekeeping.

These Hope Chest collections aren't just for girls. What about collecting tools, grilling supplies, etc for your sons. What are their interests? A well stocked toolbox would be a great thing to a young man starting his own household. A family recipe book with your sons favorite recipes could be a blessing to his future bride.

I have started a "Grandma's Hope Chest" with goodies for my future grandchildren. There are quite a few smocked Bishop Dresses & jumpers. And, there are baby quilts. I love to smock and sew, so the collecting has started. Most of the dresses have been entered in the state fair before they are carefully put away in my box (rubbermaid chest & lid). Greg teases me about making a little "grandchild" wear the dress and the blue ribbon...that would be a sight! But I will just keep the ribbons and share the dresses! Yes, out of our 7 children, I am counting on at least a couple of grand daughters in the future! If I have boys, Greg said I could smock for them as long as its John Deere fabric and tractor smocking! Bet I could sneak in some fish or something similar also!

Hope Chests are a great concept. A loving way to help your daughter prepare for her future. A fun project to work on together.

And I do still have my own Hope Chest. I guess it is 32 years old now. It holds my antique table linens and serving dishes. Some old story books and VHS tapes from when my children were younger!
Amy's hope chest is pictured first. It is a chest that was in my Mom's basement for years and not being used. I really like the old fashioned curved lid and the metal fittings.

The bottom picture is Katie's hope chest. Greg & I bought it at an unfinished furniture store and he and Katie stained and sealed it.

Both are filled with hopes, dreams, and love for my daughters!

Thursday Meanderings

Welcome to Thursday! That means the weekend is almost here! Yeah! My absolute favorite part of the week because my sweetheart is here all weekend! And this weekend will be a first in out almost 5 year married life...Katie, Will & Amy will be attending our church's Disciple Now weekend, so Greg and I will be alone from Friday night to Sunday morning. I am seeing date weekend not just date night!

The kids and I have gone overboard with buying seeds for gardening this year. We are trying some new plants this year: cantaloupe, peas, & more peppers, just to name a few. I've tried growing tomatoes from seed but haven't been successful. So I will stick with little plants from the garden shop. Mom sent me an article last year about a guy in GA who grows tons of tomatoes every year and the article included his "recipe" for what he mixes in the dirt. So I am going to try that this year. My tomatoes were a total flop last year, which was very disappointing. I love to eat cherry tomatoes right off the vine. We are ready for spring and getting outside but the cold weather is not letting go yet. Maybe Mother Nature doesn't know its March on Monday.

Greg built me an awesome 5 square foot gardening box for cucumbers. He, with the help of the older boys, got it into place last weekend. Now to fill it up with dirt and compost and get warm enough to plant. We will be planning other boxes and relocating our compost bin. Should keep us busy and out of trouble (yeah, right!).

In Sunday School our book has been "Fresh Encounter, experiencing God's power for Spiritual Awakening" by Henry & Richard Blackaby. I've done some of their studies before and always learn something new and have something that applies with my life and this book is no exception. What I read yesterday, got me to pondering my situation last week, my response to it, the others involved, etc. I had my friend read it and then Greg read it last night. Greg's response confirmed what I thought the Lord was telling me. Me serving in this capacity with our group is not beneficial to me, my children, or my family. It is taking me away from the family for 4-5 hours every month and causing loss of sleep, worry, and busy work. So its not something I need to be involved in. I am finishing out my term, but not participating in this again. We think the prior conflict was the Lord's way of pointing out to me the error of participating. Since the decision to quit was made, several exciting opportunities have opened up for next school year that we are all excited about. My friend 'Rie and I are starting a history/science co-op to meet several times a week. I am going to teach the ABeka Biology to a multi-age group of kids and she is going to do History. I did this with my kids 3 years ago and they really enjoyed it. We are going to "notebook" biology or scrapbook. Lots of pictures, graphs, word searches, vocabulary, classifying, etc. We may also start a small support group for field trips, etc. Plus our quilting classes and Keepers at Home group. I'm excited to see where the Lord will take us on this adventure.

Yesterday, Keepers at Home was great! We had a housefull of kids and their mama's. 11 girls participated and our craft was decoupage. They all decoupaged a wooden item that we can enter in the fair. All were different and turned out beautiful. They are creative girls. All the boys and younger sisters had a lego/k'nex-a-thon in the living room. There were 8 or 10 kids in there. It was noisy and full. They all behaved great and cleaned up at the end. What a blessing to not have a huge mess to clean up after everyone leaves. We just had to put our paper up and sweep up some scraps on the floor. My little friend Kaytee Beth wanted to see my pool, so we went outside to look. She very sweetly told me that she had 2 swimming suits (what a cute way to ask to come swimming...she is almost 4 years old). So a pool party is in our future! Come on warm weather!

Tonight we are having an easy dinner and then settling in to watch "Survivor". Gonna be a good family night!

Keepers At Home

Purpose: To learn to walk in the steps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, day by day, moment by moment, in every situation.

Goal: To have a teachable spirit so that I can master the different crafts and skills which will enable me to become a competent well-balanced Christian girl who loves God, and who will one day be a proper helpmeet and keeper at home.

Verse: 1 Peter 2:21 :For even hereunto ye were called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps."

Prayer: Dear Lord, Teach me the way to make each day a stepping stone as I learn to walk in your steps, and with your help I will make of my life a harmony of love, joy and service to Thee, my family, and others.

The above is taken from the Keepers at Home book as the inspiration of the program.

Our 2nd meeting is this afternoon. I have the devotion today and as I read the inspiration of this program, I am reminded how I fall short in my own life. We are never too old to learn and my prayer is that we can teach/inspire our daughters so they are better prepared for life.

The following is a "Letter to Girls" included in the book by the creator of Keepers at Home, Mrs. Susan Zakula.

Dear Girls,

This book is for you! It is your stepping stone to becoming all God would have you to be. Because you will not always be a young girl but will grow up to become a lovely, Christian woman, this handbook will help you prepare for your future. As you work through its pages, you will learn how to make beautiful things with your hands, become competent through the knowledge of many skills, become an accomplished keeper at home, and develop a servant's heart through learning how to love others.
Now it the most important time in your life, for your are now becoming what you will be in the future. The things you enjoy doing now will be the things you will enjoy doing in the future. There is not a moment to waste in preparing to be a godly woman. So now is the time to be busy. My prayer to God for you is that this handbook will be a "stepping stone: to becoming a Christian woman prepared to be a helpmeet and servant of God.

Wow! What awesome goals for our daughters to aspire to! My prayer is that my daughters and the other girls in the group will embrace this program, make it their own, and explore all the gifts the Lord has blessed them with!

Where was the Lord in all of this?

Romans 12:9-19

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live in peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for Gods wrath, for it is written :It is mine to avenge; I will repay" says the Lord.

Ephesians 4:29-32

Do not let any unwholesome talks come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that is may benefit those who listen. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom your were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Conflicts, strife, angry words, lies, and legalism are all ways that Satan works to drive wedges in relationships and friendships. This week has been a great reminder to me that we should get up every morning and put on the full armor of God.

Ephesians 6:12-18

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that come from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the work of Go. And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Words were said, facts were changed, tears were cried, apologies were not forthcoming, feelings are crushed. I was there. Maybe I should have stayed home that night.

Its not been a good week.

Let's go Krogering

I love bargains at the grocery store and I really love a generous grocery budget so that I can take advantage of all the grocery sales that I find. And some of these items are pure indulgence and not at all necessary for my menu's. Thats what makes it so fun!

This was an indulgent goodie for my children. Indulgent in that its not something I would normally buy, but the price was right. These sold everywhere at Christmas for $20, last week Kroger had it marked down to $10. I also had a $6 off your total purchase and $2.50 off your total purchase coupons so that made it $1.50! They have been wanting one just because it looked cool and now they have it! When I went back today, they were 75% off, so I got 2 more to use for birthday gifts this year! I also found some candy sprinkles on clearance to include as part of these gifts!

Indulgence #2 was the big Whitman Sampler Valentine Hearts for 75% off. We didn't NEED any, but I got them. 3 of them! I would have like to use coupons on these but I didn't have any!

Then came the Meat Managers Specials. Lately, I have been striking out in this dept. Someone has beat me to the good deals or there just haven't been any good deals. But today I hit the jackpot. I found 3-4 pound packages of ground beef for $1.11 a pound! I got every package (probably 6) then there were 2 more for $1.43 a pound and I got them too. A lady walked up as I was leaving and said "ohhhhh, is ground beef a good price", I just said yes and kept on walking. What was left was $2.03 a pound. I heard her say to another lady, this isn't a good deal. Wonder if they figured out that I had all the good deals in my cart? I was talking to Mom on the phone and she figured I would get mugged in the parking lot for my meat...didn't happen! And NO, I don't feel guilty for taking all the cheapest meat. Now I get to come up with 1000 ways to use ground beef...won't be a problem!

My last bargain to brag about is Oscar Mayer Lunchables for .78 each. I don't normally buy these but we can picnic on these on the way home from quilting tomorrow. We will add some of our 100% juice Capri Suns and I will have some happy campers on the way home instead of children starving!

Hope you are finding some super deals where you shop!!!!!

What a week!

Last Tuesday I posted about reading and listed lots & lots of books. And, I have been reading but sometimes reading is interupted by life and thats what happened last week. Life happened! Not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, none of it was bad, just busy.

Wed. morning we had a homeschool Leadership meeting. It started at 11:30 and ended at 3. These meeting seem to get longer as time goes on. We did pick a date for highschool graduation and cap & gown colors (royal blue & white). We still need a speaker, a venue, etc.

Thursday morning I had an incredible time with my daughters and a small group of Christian, homeschool girls at our first Keepers At Home meeting. We had it at my house. I had 9 girls, ages 5-16, gathered around my dining room table for a devotion, learning a craft (cross stitch) and fellowship. All the mama's got to come except one. We had a great time and are looking forward to the next one - next week. Most of our craft projects will be projects that can be entered in the State Fair in the fall. So we are comparing the Keepers book and the state fair book to cross-reference appropriate crafts. The Keepers at Home books focus on the girls learning to be godly wives, moms...Keepers at Home. All the moms agree that there are plenty of "messages" being sent to our young ladies about jobs and being working moms but not being stay at home moms and wives. We had a fantastic time with all of the moms helping with the craft and talking about their vision for their daughters!



And then on Friday, it happened! The big event of the last 50 years here in Mississippi. We got a whopping 5" of snow! This was the record snowfall since 1960! And, it was so beautiful. Katie, Amy and Will had a grand, cold time building their big snowman and trying to build a snowfort. Greg got to stay home from work, so we had an extra long Valentines weekend together. Don't those pool chairs look inviting?

Thank you Lord for the beautiful snow and the fun day! Everything is melted but the snowman...he's still hanging in there! But he is looking kinda droopy now!

The last 2 days

When ya had kids do you ever realize that its a 24/7 job till forever? Did ya ever realize how much these darling little blessings can capture your heart? Do you realize that no matter how old they are, they are still your baby? Do you cherish each and every "thanks Mom" & "love you too" & even "I need to talk". Do you realize that most of these moments are not things to be scheduled nor do they happen when you are well rested nor when you have time. Usually these moments happen when you are exhausted and busy. Its been that way, the past couple of days here.

#1 son James called at 2:30 am on Thursday. Told me he thought he had food poisoning. However, he ate at home on Wed. night and I know for a fact that chicken nuggets don't stay in his freezer long enough to go bad. I thought it was just a bug but told him to call me in the morning (meaning daylight), and told him what kind of over the counter med to take.

Thursday finds us starting school and laundry. So here is the sequence of events...
School starts
James calls and says he is going to the dr.
Dr. calls Greg and says to closely watch James, he thinks its his appendix
Greg and then James call me to talk about dr.
Allen comes in and needs to talk
James drags in and collapses on my sofa
We head out the door to get James's prescriptions
Notice that we desperately need gas
Drop off pres. and fill out paperwork cause its a new pharmacy
Call homeschool pres. and tell her we will be late for Senior Luncheon
Get gas at Kroger
Drive to Pearl for luncheon (turns out we are only 10 minutes late)
All of the above happened before noon!

Then drive to luncheon and have a great time.
Go to pharmacy to get 3rd degree about why I am picking up 26 yr. old sons prescriptions (its not the same gal that I talked to before)
Get home to find out he is still have intestinal problems.
Call dr. back about 3:30 and we decide to head to hospital
Call Greg & tell him, but it doesn't register with him asap what is happening
Get to hospital and admit James
they start iv
Pastor Jeff visits and prays
Greg takes K,W.&A pizza, eats with them
Radiology comes to get J and has him drink some nasty stuff before Cat Scan-big mistake it doesn't stay down
They decide to inject nuclear dye to look at his guts, by 7 he is back in the room - radiology is calling dr (they don't tell us anything)
At 7 Greg gets there and brings me dinner
And we sit there for the next 3 hours, knowing nothing
Between 9:30 and 10pm we start bugging the nurses for info (I didn't want to leave if they were about to do surgery) find out radiology didn't call dr.
Dr. calls the nurses station and her words are "Yes sir, his Mom is standing right here" (I figured if I just stood there, then maybe we would get something done-it worked)
He says he hasn't heard from radiology and he would track him down, even if he had to wake him up
We leave (only live 5 minutes away from hospital), on the way home Greg gets a call from the dr. saying its not his appendix its a massive infection causing his bowels to slow down & stop (gross)
Treatment is ivs and antibiotics
10:30 we collapse into bed

So how was your Thursday?

The name of the infection is ilieus (I think) and its when the lining of the intestines gets inflammed and they stop working. This usually happens to people after abdominal surgeries but in his case it just happened. Since they don't know what caused it, he doesn't know what to avoid to prevent it from happening again.

Friday I sat up there all day (9-5) and watched him sleep and eat popsicles, the only thing they would let him have. We watched 3 hours of FOX news and then Beverly Hillbillies and I Dream of Jeannie and "In Harms Way" with John Wayne.

I came home about 5:15 to see my family and eat the delicious Spaghetti Dinner my friend Angela brought us. Sure was yummy and I didn't have to bother about cooking. Spent a couple of hours watching tv with the kiddos and then crashed in the bed.

This morning, we found out the x-rays showed the ilieus was gone and they released James to come home. He stayed here a couple of hours and then decided to drive up to his place...probably wanted some peace and quiet. Ya know, ya don't get much rest in the hospital.

I am very thankful this didn't happen last week. At least I was here to take him to the hospital and annoy the staff for answers. I am thankful that the antibiotics cleared it up and really thankful that he has health insurance!

Like I said in the first paragraph, being a parent is a 24/7 job forever. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Images of Honduras

My dear little friend "M" and I. I was so totally thrilled that she was living with her foster father Mario again and regularly attending school. When I heard she was back I told Mario that I wanted to see her. About an hour later she ran into the kitchen calling me, giving big hugs and kisses and telling me how much she missed me. We talked several times over the week and it was such a blessing. I told her that we had been praying for her and were so glad to see her. Praise the Lord for answered prayers!
My dear husband has an aversion to chicken on the bone. We don't know where this aversion came from but its real. He loves the taste of chicken but I have always been the chicken "plucker". This year, he got up his courage and removed the meat off 3 of them! Brave boy! And he did a great job!

Children waiting to be seen at the clinic!

Sugarcane anyone? The softdrinks in Honduras are made with sugar not High Fructose Corn Syrup. You do notice a taste difference; the sugar softdrinks have a lighter taste, the HFCS drinks have a more syrupy taste and texture.

At night, when shops close, all the buildings look like this. These aluminum doors roll down and close over all the windows and doors. The whole town looks like this by 7 at night (except the few clubs we walked by).
I remembered the crazy taxi drivers but forgot about the 24 hour noise. It is constantly noisy in El Progresso, all night long. When daylight hits, the noise level rises considerably.
More beautiful little children waiting to be seen by medical.
Remember I told y'all about the big guns? Here is a bank guard at the door guarding. I was too scared to take a picture while walking by, I took this one the last morning from the bus with my big lens. I certainly wouldn't try anything with these guns guarding the bank.
This is Glenda, the housekeeper/cleaner at the church. Every single day, she comes and cleans the facility from top to bottom. The first day, I noticed her going through the garbage and getting out some 2 liter bottles to take home, after that I saved her the trouble and let the stuff sitting out for her. This is back to school time in Honduras (they started this week) and many of the packages at the grocery store had bowls or cups or water bottles taped to them. Greg & I bought some shredded cheese one day that had plastic Tupperware type cups taped to them. When I got back to the church, I untaped the cups and took them to Glenda, she looked very surprised, pointed to herself as if saying "are these for me", got tears in her eyes and said thank you (very plainly in English). It is so humbling to me because I take so much for granted and am rich beyond measure compared to most of the folks in Honduras. The last day when Greg and I told her "bye" she hugged us both, repeatedly said thank you and started to cry. I hope she is there next year if we get to go back.
Sunday School teachers in the baby/toddler room at the church. These ladies came to the church about an hour and a half before services on Sunday & Tuesday to get their rooms ready. By ready I mean, they swept and mopped the floors, cleaned the windows, etc. When I peeked my head in the door and showed them the camera, they all lined up and posed for me.

Cooking for 45 (more or less)

Mexican night in Honduras. Tostadas with beans, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and cheese. Chicken or beef enchiladas, hot sauces, vegetables, watermelon, chips and dips. This night, we ran out of food (1st time that has ever happened), extra folks came to eat.

Cleaning lettuce...leaf by leaf by leaf. The outer leaves were less than fresh, ok, it was really gross. I hope Mario's chickens enjoyed my efforts, they got all our organic scraps. But I guess it was a fair trade because we ate their eggs all week.
See the HB on the Shephards Pie, made out of Cheddar Cheese? The HB stands for Happy Birthday; Carl, Anthony and Greg all had birthdays that week.
Making gravy for our sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast.
Spam and Chirizo Sausage on the grill. Proof that we really did cook Spam, and everyone loved it. It was pretty much the only breakfast meat we could find. I still find it hard to believe that we stooped to Spam.

Greg's apron is pretty self explanatory. Any questions?
We were totally thrilled with this propane oven and stove top. It was such a great improvement over the previous very small oven. And the oven worked, it was great! Hope its still there next time we go back.

We ended up moving the big griddle out to the courtyard because Greg smoked up the kitchen the first day. And I don't mean a little smoke, I mean smoke filling the room and running us out of the kitchen. Our firemen mission team members got the smoke out, but we all decided to move the griddle. It turned out to be a great decision. It kept the kitchen cooler and we had more room. Greg & I moved a table and 2 chairs into the space and we set up a work station for us. We could chop all our vegies, etc sitting down which was a whole lot easier on our backs. There was plenty of standing to cook and wash dishes.

I am glad to be home to my bug-free kitchen, with my automatic dishwasher, clean running water, and my own pots and pans.

Katie J & Shelby C in Honduras

Shelby is supervising the pancakes...making sure Greg was cooking them correctly!

Katie is an expert egg cracker...she got to practice on about 50 eggs every morning!
Washing lots of pots, pans, and serving utensils. I tried to have everything washed before dinner started every night but there was still plenty for them to help with after dinner. They did a great job.
Katie is just a little tired! These girls put in some long days.

Ready to go out with the team for the first time!

Every morning the girls got up about 5:15, dressed and walked the 5 blocks (1/2 mile) with us to the church. Then they helped prep for breakfast, set up the tables and serve. Then they boarded the buses to go out with the medical team and work in the pharmacy all day. Late afternoon found them back at the church helping us get dinner on the table. After dinner cleanup and then the 5 block hike back to the hotel. They were the first ones working in the morning and the last ones at night. Their diligence was so appreciated by me and Greg and noted by many others on the team. These are hard working girls. I had a great time with them for the week and I am glad that they were both able to go!

Thanks for all your hard work Katie & Shelby!

More Shopping

Grocery shopping in Honduras is sometimes "interesting". Here are a couple of "not common in the USA" items in the meat department...tongue,

Bull parts,
MSG, by the pound. Maybe its to cover up the taste of the above 2 items.
Hot Sauce anyone? In Honduras they take their Hot Sauces seriously. Bottles range from 5 limperas (about .25) to several dollars. If they make it in Honduras it really cheap. Its fun to buy these and experiment with them. We brought 2 bottles back for Allen to try.
And then there is the fabric store. To make the most of their room, they display the bolts laying down and they are stacked to the ceiling this way. The guy who owned this store spoke English really well. If you find a fabric way up high, he will climb a ladder to retrieve it. Beautiful fabrics. They are all 60" wide and range in price from $3 on up. I got 2 each for me and the girls for skirts and 2 for tablecloths. Spent 2 months of my budgeted fabric money but it was worth it!
Tomorrow I will do a Katie & Shelby post!

Shopping in Honduras

Vanilla Shelves in grocery! Yum! We buy our vanilla down here and it lasts till we travel to Honduras the next time. You do have to be careful and read the labels, some are extended with agua (water). You can usually use 1/2 the amount called for in a recipe since this is pure vanilla.
My very FAVORITE drink in Honduras....Orange Mirinda (a pepsi product in Central America). This stuff is soooo good and I can't begin to tell you how much I drank. Greg and I bought one of these big bottles once a day and they were enjoyed fully. I brought one bottle home to save and enjoy one day this summer...if it lasts that long!
Case of tomatoes from the Farmers Market in San Pedro Sula. They looked great and the first couple tasted great, but they put the unripe ones underneath the gorgeous tomatoes.

My favorite fruit is cantaloupe and its in season in Honduras right now. We could buy them for 50 cents each! And they were soooooooo good. I ate too many and loved every bite of them.

Grocery shopping down there is such a challenge and so interesting. The local women shop every day for their families and many foods are packaged in small increments. Most have no power, so that means no refrigeration. Packages of bacon, lunch meat, cheeses, etc are opened and repacked into day-size packages. Our grocery carts are "eye opening" for them because we have to buy so much everyday. Shopping for 40-5o people takes alot of food.

More pictures tomorrow!