Annalise has started sitting

Here, captivated by Bob the Builder on TV....

Guamote

We stopped in at a rural market in Guamote on the long drive back from Quito. This is one of the country's larger rural markets and it was happening! We got checked out with long stares by the locals, saw lots of pigs, sheep, fruit and the hugest veggies ever. Quichua seemed to be predominant, rather than spanish. A fascinating glimpse into another facet of this amazing country.

As we travelled south on the Panamericana I just couldn't get over the strenuous physicality of so much of the population here as they work their land on the steep slopes, much of it by hand. I also appreciated the way people can pass time, whether it's just sitting quietly on the edge of the road waiting for a bus, or passing a volleyball with a friend on a dirt patch out the front of a house or talking with a companion on some upturned boxes. All this as we listened to Kirk Patston's talks again on Ecclesiastes, and it made me want to again put my mind to enjoying and savouring this moment of time, this season that God has us in, rather than rushing through it, always looking to the next thing rather than the current.

So, I am thanking God for our three little kids, and enjoying their stature and all that it entails - the wonder and joy, the frustrations and the laughs.

That being so, I shall go and take joy in being able to comfort our screaming 7 month old as she tries to get back to sleep....