To make life a little easier…here is a slideshow of our pics from Ecuador. These are all straight out of the camera and alot were taken with our point and shoot and very “snapshotty”…just an fyi:) I did bring my 5d along with us but only brought it out a couple of times…

some things about our stay that will be helpful to know when viewing the slideshow:
-we stayed at El Refugio, an adventure based retreat center.
-our abode was a quaint little cabin in the mountains, surrounded by Eucalyptus trees…amazing smell!
-yes, Lena helped out by sweeping:)
-Brad finally got to do the zipline…he loved it!
-Yes, there were horses that roamed the property and were at our door one day!
-The guys worked on doing a roof out of cypress and eucalyptus trees…they finished the framing of the roof over the course of the week…it was quite amazing to watch, those logs were no laughing matter in the weight department!
-We visited a butterfly farm one day in Mindo, Ecuador (located an hour away in an altitude known as the cloud forrest). They would land on you and everything:)
-Lena made lots of friends
-Brad hiked almost to the top of the property line, about 1,500 feet above where the entrance to El Refugio was.
-Lena took a bath in the sink. She progressively liked it throughout the week.
-We had a wood stove…Lena loved helping the dada with the wood
-Cuy (guinea pig) is a delicacy there and eaten. They raise them on the farm. Brad got a t-shirt that says Cuy: dinner or pet? in spanish..he’s quite proud.
-We were running low on diapers by the end of the trip so Lena went commando for an afternoon…she’ll hate me one day for that picture:)
-Brad also zipped across another ravine in a cable car that was literally ran by a guy using a car motor to get it across…complete with a stick shift:)
-Lena got to be on both sides of the world. A bum cheek in both hemispheres at 1 year old…what a life:)
-The clouds and sky were amazing!
-Lena loved the airplane and clapped with glee everytime we landed:)

So, without further ado…the slideshow!

so last night my Macbook took a tumble onto a tiled floor:( it was so sad! It wouldn’t even turn on or register a charge. So I called 1.800.myapple and they told me to take it to a store and I may have messed up the motherboard and it would be cheaper to get a new computer:( so I prayed all day today, called some others to be praying, and hoped and hoped that it would be fixable. I walked into the computer store (which is amazing by the way…great computers for cheap!…its on Merchants by Nixon’s Deli for the locals!) They plugged it in and pushed the on button….it turned on and works perfectly, like nothing happened!!!!!!!! A pure miracle!

So, I’m typing on my more appreciated Macbook at the moment and so grateful for it!!!!!

3 years ago we visited Ecuador for the first time. Our week was spent in the slums helping a Compassion site, families living on $1 a day, and in the dumps where people and children called home. I fell in love with Ecuador and the people. There was beauty there but it was found in a cardboard house where a mother had found a rose in the garbage and put it in a vase. It was in the small child wrapping her arms around you and a man thanking you for giving him his first meal in days. While there last time, we visited a place called El Refugio, a adventure outdoor retreat center north of Quito. Those few hours there really impacted us, so much so that we spent our week there this time helping out.

This time it was so different. The slums were still there, the people living in dilapidated houses and working hard for so little. But what was so different this time for me was what stood out to me was the beauty of the country: the people, the land, the culture. What I saw this time was more beauty than hardship.

Just wanted to give everyone a quick hello! We got back early this morning around 1am and I’ve been trying to get life in a little bit of order this morning:) I am off to check my email and voicemails…so if you have left me a message or an email, don’t worry! You are on my list:)

We had a great time in Ecuador and I’ll definitely be sharing more throughout this week, so be sure to check back!