130/365

Mil gracias, Grace,
for being our lifesaver when Spanish 1312 was cancelled the very day classes were to begin;
for teaching with skill and contagious enthusiam;
for providing my Wednesday morning coffee;
for filling part of the hole in my Poppy heart;
for giving me a reason to play with Thomas and to read about George;
for the bonus of free sign language tutoring;
for a delicious bonus final cooking class.
¡Eres bien preciosa a nosotras!

304/366

Dios era omnipotente y ya reina 
(Aleluya, aleluya, aleluya, aleluya) 

- Handel's Messiah (Spanish)

Thank you Grace Reformation Chorus for a wonderful evening of music and fellowship.
Our God reigns!

79/365

getting some lessons on carne asada from my Mexican friends,
and sharing recipes, trying to translate "cobbler" into Spanish.
(no, "el zapatero" would not be the correct translation...)
:-)

287/366

at this point in my life, participating in garage sales feels like playing a part in an episode of Hoarders.
But, it was pretty fun to bargain in Spanish...
:-)

27/365

bilingual imperatives.

Friday night -ing

admiring this picture of the bird in my backyard yesterday.  It took a few tries to catch him on film.

watching the Yankees v. the Rangers via ESPN3

listening to the play by play en Espanol  (los Yankees (say: los Jayn-keys) v. los Rangers)

eating a cheese quesadilla (yay for when my husband gets hungry and I benefit)

going on a cool trip tomorrow

traveling to the Caribbean coast, to Tortugero National Park

reading So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger (downloaded on Kindle for PC/I-touch and ready to go)

hearing  rain fall outside

studying  los partes del cuerpo, los reflexivos, perefrasis, complementos directos y indirectos (body parts, reflexive verbs, periphrases (does that even translate to English?), and direct & indirect objects)

hoping  for more sun than rain this weekend

eagerly awaiting  taking pictures with the good camera this weekend

spending  time with family and new friends

missing  fall (and much more, of course)

hoping to talk to a few family & friends soon

happening today was  El Dia de las Culturas at my kids' school.  Today we represent Germany, Australia, and India (can you guess who is who?)

praising God for His mercies to us.  From this morning, Psalm 59:16-17:
But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;
Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For You have been my stronghold
And a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

waking up early,

going to bed now.

Soy... Estoy...

For the last couple of weeks in our Gramática class, we have been going over the correct uses of SER and ESTAR. Ser and estar are the Spanish “to be” verbs. Ser is used to indicate permanent and lasting attributes, while estar is used for temporary states and locations. Today, as part of an oral exam, I had to describe a ruler. I had no problem with ser and the ruler:
La regla es lisa.
La regla es de madera.
La regla es rectangular.
La regla es angosta.
La regla es liviana.
La regla no es pesada.

But estar and the ruler? I completely blanked.
La regla está sucia.
La regla está …
A ruler IS. When is a ruler in a temporary condition?

I wish I could say the same about myself…
I need ser and estar.

Because in a permanent and lasting sense,
Yo soy contenta.
I am content.
I am thankful for where I am, and where I am going.
I rest in the knowledge and promise that I am known and loved by the King.
I am challenged and never bored.
I am well provided for, and generally want for nothing.

But, oh too often,
Yo estoy frustrada.
I am frustrated.
I am frustrated that I couldn’t describe a silly ol’ ruler in Spanish,
I am frustrated that I get tongue tied even though I studied, and do really know, a long list of adjectives front and back.
I am frustrated that I never know if my morning shower will be hot or cold.
I am frustrated that I get frustrated!

And then I am reminded of the best use of ser,
by Jesus Himself, who tells us,

Ciertamenta les aseguro que, antes de que Abraham naciera, yo soy!
"Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." (John 8:58);

Yo soy el pan de vida.
I am the bread of life. (John 6:35)

Yo soy la luz el mundo.
I am the light of the world. (John 8:12)

Yo soy el buen pastor.
I am the good shepherd. (John 10:11)

Yo soy la resurrección y la vida.
I am the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25)

Yo soy el camino, la verdad, y la vida.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)

I’ll press on.

(photo credit:  wooden rulers set of five by ConnieandAndrewsDigs on etsy.com)