merry christmas!

we hope that everyone had a wonderful time during this holiday season. we had a lovely long weekend. we spent christmas eve at dp's boss's home, christmas day we had our friends over with their kiddo and new puppy, and we spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and completing some small home repairs. i painted our front door (finally- 5 months later!) and some trims. i was quite happy with my work. we also put up some curtains for our patio door, which we're undecided about whether we like them or not. it was a quiet christmas and we sure did miss family. hopefully 2012 will bring us together with them all for certain.

built a house in mexico

this past sat dp and i joined a group of people from our church to build a home for a deserving family in tijuana. this was dp and i's first big volunteer roles together. it was a wonderful experience overall. we nearly missed the trip though when we woke up at 4:40am and was supposed to be at the meeting place at 4:45am! hehe. anyways, the pictures below share the experience more than we can. we learned a lot and it was a humbling experience given the life they lead compared to our cozy lives here.

us at the start of the trip. behind us is the family's original home.

the cement slab that the house will be built on.

the first wall being put up.

dp striking a pose.

rp using the drop saw (for the first time!)

... and a sledge hammer :)

towards completion!

the lovely family.

home project complete!

their new home!

love this song

You Love Me Anyways

what really matters

aside from God and family and friends, what really matters (atleast to me) is thoughtfulness. when people take time to think of others and with joy do something for someone else. amidst the stressors of life, i'd like to take a moment to share the act of kindness that happened to me today... last week, when meeting with a client to deliver a workshop, as we were walking to the classroom, i mentioned something i was going through. we never got to finish our convo because of course the day took over. today's a week later, and i remembered that i had shared that convo with her, but thought she for sure forgot about it. what meaning does it really have for her to remember? she is so busy to even act on it. to my surprise, when i came back today for day 2 of the training, the students had written us a huge thank you card, and the best part (in response to my disclosure last week), she gave me a book and some sage to burn at home. it was so thoughtful and really filled my heart with happiness. it's moments like this that reminds me that the other not so good moments with others and the stressors in life do not matter. there is good out there and i am thankful to be a recipient of an act of kindness today.

one of my best friends

back in august kim visited me! it was nice to have her visit; we did some sight-seeing, but mostly just hung out. it's always so nice to be in the company of a friend who just lets you be and you both just are... if that even makes sense. thanks for making time :)

dp is a car bodywork man

several months ago as i was driving on the highway, i ran over a tire piece and this is what happened to our silvia.

luckily dp furnished his hidden car bodywork skills and repaired it! we ordered the piece online, he spray painted it, and installed it. kudos to dp!

rain water (and everything else water) collectors

yes, dp and i collect as much water as possible from (the small amt of) rain that we have here and recycle it. here is his diy rain water collector system. go dp! so proud of him. we also collect water from our shower and washer too, and recycle it. yes, we are cool (and green).

housewarmings

dp and i believe (or at least i truly do) strongly that we should always open our house to our friends and strangers. now that we have more space inside and outside, we have had the true joy of inviting others over. thus far we've already hosted 2 housewarmings, which by the way exhaust us, so that'll be it. in addition, it's just nice to have our friends over for dinner and hanging out. here are some pics of our first housewarming since they've been sitting on our computer.