I miss....

 Hello there from a slightly cooler El Salvador (atleast the past few days anyway).  I actually didn't even use my fan lastnight, and even put on a little blanket the night before!! It's been pretty nice actually.  It has been a tough week here in the Mullinax household, as Alton (almost 9) has been sick since last Friday.  For several days he had a high fever and nausea, and after a couple of trips to the doctor, the diagnosis was mono.  Jen has been faithfully caring for him nonstop upstairs, while we try to keep the younger ones occupied downstairs.  Needless to say, this has been pretty challenging for everybody.  He is doing much better now, but it will be slow going.  Thanks to some really awesome people on staff at Wired, (and Richard and Jen's encouragement) I had a very refreshing day off yesterday, as Elijah and Christy ( a new intern at Wired) came over and took the kids to the zoo.  Prayers for strength and refreshing for Richard, Jen and all of the kids, health for Alton, and a fresh wave of creativity for me would be much appreciated.  Yesterday and the day before I seemed to hit "the wall" of my creativity and somewhat of my energy, and just couldn't seem to come up with new, exciting things for the kids to do.  It's amazing what a day off will do.
  There is now less than four weeks left here, and everyone is beginning to sense the oncoming change.  I began to compile a list of things I will miss about El Salvador, as well as a list of things I miss about home.  I thought it would be fun to see what I would come up with, and I keep adding things everyday. :) 
  So far... about El Salvador I will miss...
Hearing "Buenos Dias" every morning ~ Parakeets flying over~ Papusas~ Jugglers at the stoplights ~ Little kids waving to me as they pass my room ~ Rain ~ Palm trees ~ Twelve ft. tall weeds (for reals!!) ~ Fresh mangoes ~ Fresh pineapple ~ Every noise veing drownded out at night by a fan ~ Hearing "You Are My Sunshine" every night from little boys and their mommy ~ Nestor's laugh ~ Short Spanish lessons with Aura ~ The beach!! ~ Skip Bo ;) ~ Melissa's hugs ~ Raquel's giggles ~ Being asked to help with homework ~ Amazement at Alton and Felice's Spanish ~ Being constantly commented on my draaawwwllll :) ~ Reminders several times a day of how spoiled and utterly blessed I am, just by having clean water and 3 meals a day ~ Exotic plants and flowers at every place ~ Incredibly friendly strangers ~ Little girls singing with their Daddy ~ Wireless Internet - haha real profound, I know ~ Little geckos running across the wall ~ Three dollar Chinese food ~ Jen's incredible patience ~ Richard's "big brother sarcasm", which is surprisingly like my oldest brother :) ~ Veronica, a little girl at Esperanza y Vida ~ Walter, a little boy at Tia Ana's ~ Little brown skinned babies ~ Checking out my window every morning to see if it's clear enough to see the volcano ~ Sara's beautiful smile ~ Dance offs in the living room ~ Hundreds of different butterflies ~ Fresh Mames~ Jugo de Grenada (Grenada Juice - It's REALLY good) ~ Liz's laugh and hugs ~ Singing "The Wheels on the Bus" with Raquel~ Sing alongs with Nate and his eucalale ~.
  So far that's what I got.  Again, it grows daily, and will probably MASSIVELY grow in my last week or so here.  Maybe this gives you all a little more "in depth" glimpse of what my time here is like.
  Next time I will post my list about home.  It's funny how many things we take for granted and don't even think about, until they're not at our fingertips. 
  "But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."  Isaiah 40:31