My First Birthday in Guatemala!

On Monday Feb 28th I had the joy to celebrate my birthday here in Guatemala. My first time to celebrate my birthday in hot weather. It was near 90's on Monday. All the kids were off school for some reason so there were alot of people here to help me celebrate! In the morning I was greeted by several with a "Vickieeeeeeeeeeeeeee, Feliz Cumpleanos" It was quite a greeting! After our normal Monday morning prayer time with the staff, which was awesome as usual, I tried to get a little bit of work done. "Tried" and "little bit" are the key words there!

Happy Birthday wishes

Finally after lunch I gave up and we all went to the river for a swim to cool off. Well, the kids and Norman swam, I sat on the side and watched. :-) While swimming, fourteen year old Manual found a crab that he thought would make a nice birthday gift for me. :-) So thoughtful isn't he?

Seafood from Manuel for my birthday:

We decided to celebrate all the January and February birthdays on Monday night. So when we got back from the river, we made a big pot of chili and corn bread for everyone.

Our friend Betty made a huge birthday cake and we had a grand celebration! I did learn first hand about a birthday tradition I didn't know about before. They put the cake in front of you and chant in Spanish, "Take a bite, take a bite!" meaning you are supposed to take a bite right out of the cake. Then when you do that, they push your face into it. So special huh? :-)

The biggest cake I've ever had. Of course, it wasn't just for me!

Taking a "bite" of the cake:

Norman also made me a birthday cake. He made my favorite, german chocolate cake with german chocolate frosting. All from scratch. He even bought a coconut and shredded the coconut. It was delicious! It ranked up there as the best birthday cake I've ever had!

Add in Birthday wishes via email, phone calls and facebook from my family and friends and it made for a very special birthday! I am blessed!