Earthquake

These pictures are for our niece Macen and her class in West Fork Arkansas.

Over the weekend Flat Stanley was in a 4.0 earthquake.  It was scary.

Flat Stanley hid under the table for safety.  (I'm pretty sure that that's not the safest place to be in an earthquake, so do not follow Flat Stanley's example.  If you're in an earthquake get in a corner or under a doorframe.)

We are happy to say that Flat Stanley is safe and there was no damage from the quake.

Flat Stanley will be going to the middle of the world this week so stay tuned for more pictures.

Colada Morada

Colada Morada is a traditional drink here that is drank during the holiday "dia de los muertos."  No it's not a satanic holiday like Halloween in the states, it's a holiday that would be compared to decorations in the states.  You know where you go to the cemetery once a year and put new flowers on the grave.

So the tradition here is to drink colada morada and eat bread dolls.  And I must say that the colada morada is very good.  If I had to compare it to something in the states it would kinda be like berry cobbler filling.  In honor of the holiday our church made colada morada Saturday afternoon for after the service today, and Shannon and I went to the church to watch them make it.  It was a great experience and I'm so glad that we went.  I mean how often would I ever get to do that?

There's lots of different fruits in Colada Morada.  

This is babaco and is only grown here in Ecuador.

This is black corn flour that turns purple when water is added.  This is where the drink gets its color, purple.  And this does not stain, how cool is that?

Here are the spices.  

Shannon getting in on some of the action.  

The ladies cutting up all the fruit.  During this holiday families get together and make this drink and it is a very special occasion.  I think it's cool.  (how many times have I used the word cool?)

More fruit, pineapple and strawberries.  

Cooking the moras.  (Moras are like blackberries) 

The finished product and it's very good. 

Here are the guaguas.  Guagua is Quechua and it means baby or small child. (Quechua is an indian language spoken here.) In English we would call them bread dolls.

Here's a better picture of a doll, not me. 

Megan enjoying Colada Morada.

A guilty pleasure.

Who likes a corn dog every now and again?  When you live in a different country you seem to crave the things that you can't have.  I don't think I would eat a corn dog in the states "just because", but since seeing these delicious things on Pioneer Woman, we decided we would give them a try.  We both tried to decide how long it had been since we ate a corn dog and came up with, at least over three years.  Corn dogs seem to be a "kid food" and Ethan was very excited about having them.  He actually ate three of them.  He also said he couldn't wait to go to school and tell his friends that he had corn dogs.  See, I told you it was a kid food.

These corn dogs were so good!  They tasted like a corn dog that you would get at the fair.  Ethan said that he thought they were better than the frozen ones.  And Shannon said that he would never be able to eat a frozen corn dog again.

I know that they are more work than the frozen ones but they are well worth your extra effort.

Don't even look or think about all that grease.   Don't even think about it.

Almost done.

The final outcome.  It's pure deliciousness.  Now, I probably would not eat this on a weekly basis but it's ok now and again.  Don't worry about all those calories you are consuming.  (it's a guilty pleasure)  And hey since your eating a big fat greasy corn dog, why not add fries to that?

And if that big fat greasy corn dog wasn't enough last night.  Guess what you can do with the leftover batter?  That's right, pancakes.  These were really good too.  They tasted a lot like the pancakes that you would get at McDonalds.

The batter was so good that we almost tried to fry some Oreo's but we decided that we had already consumed enough calories.  Oh well, there is always next time.

Want to make you own corn dogs?  All you need is some corn meal (and we used the corn meal that they make here in Ecuador) and some pancake mix.  Get the recipe here.  We love Pioneer Woman!

Flat Stanley is in the house!

These pictures are for our niece, Macen.  We received Flat Stanley last Friday and will be taking him around Quito and taking pictures.  We just wanted to show Macen that we got him.

He's here!

Shannon hugging Mr. Stanley.

Shannon shaking Flat Stanley's hand.
Ok, this Flat Stanley is getting out of control.

And one more because we thought this one might be Macen's favorite.

Over the weekend Megan and I went to one of her friend's birthday party.  We had a really great time. They played lots of games and ate lots of food.  It was a beautiful day outside and a perfect day for an outdoor party.  Megan is doing really great with her braces and has adjusted really fast.  Unlike her mother, it took me almost a month to adjust.  I guess it just goes to show you that the young do better than the old.

Over the weekend I had to go through a "roadblock" so to speak. A police check point.  By myself.  I was scared to death.  I have no idea why because I knew that I had everything that they would ask for.  It lasted a whole two minutes and I was on my way.  Since living in Ecuador we have never been stopped at one of these points, it has always been the car in front of us. I guess it was just my lucky day.  

Happy Monday!

Slacker

That's me, the slacker.  I've really been neglecting my blog since returning from the states, which was two months ago.  I just can't seem to find the motivation to do it.  I'll do better, I promise.

Things that I've learned living in a foreign country:

1.  While walking in the streets you don't step in anything that's liquid because you really don't know what that liquid is.  Please think the worst and you will probably be right.

2.  When parking at the mall there is no need to park in a parking space, just park anywhere.

3.  If you come to a red-light don't worry about stopping, just continue. (or a stop sign)

4.  If you go to the line "ten items or less", you better have ten items or less because the people behind you are counting.

5.  If someone in the car is throwing up on the side of the street and you are blocking someone's driveway, you will get honked at.

I love living in Ecuador and learning new cultures.  I say this with all honesty.  The people are great.

It's fun.

Plans for the weekend-  taking the kids to parties.

Yes.  More parties.

I guess that's it.


On a more spiritual note:
Update on baby Kai - He is doing great and getting to go home TOMORROW.

Braces times two!

Look who got braces today.  I know it's seems a little strange to get braces on a Saturday, but Saturdays are the days our orthodontist works.  It works out nicely I might add.

And did you notice that I said, "our orthodontist"?  Yep, that's right, I have braces too.  I know that some of you have seen me in my braces and already knew that I had them, but I haven't been too out in the open about them.  I have had them since January of this year.  You may have noticed the awkward smiles in some of my pictures and braces are the reason.  My braces are not as noticeable as Meg's because mine are ceramic and hers are metal. And I must add that there would be no way that we could afford for both of us to have braces if we did not live in Ecuador.  So I thank the Lord for this blessing!

Did I ever in my life imagine having braces with my 13 year old daughter?  No, but she's cool with it.

Candy Thief

We got candy corn in the mail yesterday and we were super excited.  There is no candy corn to be found anywhere in Ecuador.

Two bags of candy corn!  Just having candy corn in October feels like home. As soon as the kids seen that we had candy corn they wanted to open it right then and eat it.

One thing we love to do with candy corn is mix it with peanuts. 

And can you believe that Shannon hid the second bag of candy corn from the kids?  He wants to keep it for himself.  Poor kids!  

Baby Kai

We met Josh and Lisa in Costa Rica at CINCEL.  We got to experience the wonderful world of learning a second language together.  Well, except Lisa, she already knew Spanish and Josh knew quite a bit also.  So I guess you could say that we experienced life in Costa Rica together.  Speaking of Costa Rica, we really miss all of our friends there and all the good times that we had.  Once you go through something like that together, you have a connection for life.

Ok, Susan, back to the story.

Josh and Lisa live in El Salvador and work at Kings Castle.  Nine months ago they found out that they were expecting their first child and were super excited.  You can read their blog here.  Their blog starts at the beginning of the pregnancy up until now.

Lisa had baby Kai on September 28 by c-section three weeks early and baby Kai was born with an aggressive bacterial infection in his lungs. The doctors gave him a 50% chance of survival.

Can you imagine being in a third world country with no family and getting this news?  I can't even imagine it myself.  Kai was put on a vent at the hospital where he was born but was not improving.  The vent that he needed to be on was at the children's hospital across town.  Josh and Lisa then had to make the decision to move Kai by ambulance to the other hospital with a possible chance that he might die.  But if they left him on the vent at the first hospital he could die there too.  So what do you do?  Send your child on an ambulance ride that could result in death or leave him on the vent that could result in death?  Again, can't imagine having to make a decision like that.  Of course they chose to move him and with many prayers going up for that baby, he did great in the ambulance.  As soon as they hooked him up to the vent at the children's hospital he immediately began to improve.  He is now stable and improving.

I wanted to share this story because this family has been on my heart for almost a week now.  Lisa has only gotten to see Kai a few times since last Wednesday.  She was released from the hospital yesterday and was able to spend 30 minutes with him. They spent their first night at home by themselves last night and it was really hard on them.  It's one thing to have to leave your baby at a hospital attached to a vent and a bunch of tubes, but it's a whole different ballgame to have to do that in another country, alone.  Being in another country where they do things differently, like Josh and Lisa can only see Kai 10 minutes a day.  (Yesterday was an exception because Lisa hadn't seen him in two days)  Not 10 minutes every hour or every two hours but 10 minutes per day.  Not to mention having to pay your hospital bill before you're allowed to leave the hospital.  So before they are allowed to take Kai home their bill has to be payed in full.  Yes, they have insurance but in other countries you pay the bill and the insurance pays you.  Of course there are exceptions, but you get the point.

Please pray for this family.  They could really use some encouragement right now.  Doctors are saying that Kai will be in the hospital for weeks, but I'm believing he will be home sooner.  I do believe that they do have family coming and that will really help them.  And of course they have their missionary family there, I was not trying to leave them out.

You can check out our Facebook and read updates from Josh.

Josh and Lisa, if you're reading this know that the Pruitts are praying for you.  We love you guys!

Here is Josh's update from last night:
Ok, ok, I know the world is anxiously waiting for an update. This has been one of the longest days so far, and that's saying alot! Let me start with the beginning. I'll be brief, but it will all make it to my blog, don't worry. If you want the "unabridged" version of our day today, you can read it there.

We haven't been online or available all day long because we were working on getting discharged and being overseas we have to make full payment before leaving. After some snafus with the insurance and all, we finally got things figured out and could leave at 11:15, 4 hours after trying to leave! Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but visiting hours are from 10-12 and the other hospital was across town.

We finally leave and head off across town, braving lunch traffic and all that comes with driving in a foreign country, and arrive at the hospital. Being a government run hospital we had to go see a social worker to get permission to visit OUR child. EESSSH! There were more snafus there as they didn't have Lisa on the records as the mother because information got messed up. FINALLY, after some pleading, we got to go in.

Lisa spent about 30 minute in the room (10 minute time limit supposedly). It was the first time she had seen or touched him in over 48 hours, so I wanted to see them try and pull her away from him. She came out, teary eyed, and allowed me to pass. I went in and played with him, sang to him, prayed for him, talked to him, did "this little piggy" with him, and all. He gripped my hand pretty good and raised his arms, he wiggled his feet, kicked legs, moved his mouth, scrunched his nose, etc. He also was doing some breathing on his own, you could see his chest rising and falling in spite of the machine.

According to the doctor, he is doing much better (although delicate and critical, I swear doctors have not a single optimistic bone in their bodies), responding well to the medicine and everything. His x-rays showed marked improvement and his lungs look much cleaner. They continue to lower the setting on the machine and he is staying stable and responding better. They said that he is a different child today from 2 days ago when he came in. He has continued stable for 3 days now, which is awesome. They said they have the infection under control and the antibiotics are working well. They still say that we have weeks to wait, which I refuse to believe.

After seeing him, we had to come home to an empty house. I set up twin beds that we borrowed downstairs in the living room, because Lisa can't climb the stairs. I'm gonna be camping out downstairs with her until he gets home or she can climb stairs. I'm not going to even try and act strong, it is difficult leaving your baby and going home. We have yet to hold him, rock him, or do more than hold his hand. WE WANT OUR BABY! People say we are strong, but that strength is fading. This is the most difficult thing we have ever had to go through, leaving my child in a foreign place, covered in tubes, and go home to a house that is prepared for him but without taking him. It hurts to see parents with their children, to see healthy babies, and to hear others say, "I know what you are going through." Honestly, sympathy/empathy is nice at times, but unless you have ever left your child in a hospital room on a machine with tubes, you don't understand. Not to sound mean, but it's the truth.

Mommy and daddy need prayer and more than that we need our baby home. WE WANT HIM NOW! It's so hard to be here and not have him and the prospect of going to the hospital day after day does not sound good. Please continue to lift us up and I'll keep you updated as I can.

3 Year Anniversary

Yesterday was the three year anniversary at La Presencia, there was standing room only.  Last year on the second anniversary is when Shannon met Pastor Luis, so it's has been a year since we got involved with this church.  It's a really great church and is growing every Sunday.  The church does have a desperate need and that is land or another place to rent because the owner of the house is wanting to move back from Spain and wants her house back.  Not good, not good at all.  Please pray that we can find another place to rent in a prime location, hopefully by the end of the year.