Grandma's visit

Grandma McFadden came to visit last week to see how we were doing as a family of four. It was wonderful to have some extra help and to be able to get some sleep. We didn't do much -- one outing a day was all we could handle, but Megan loved playing with Grandma, they had tea parties, went on walks to the 7-11, and my mom got to know our sweet little Henry and see how well he is doing. Thanks for coming, we miss you.



Henry is now 9 weeks old and he is getting so big, he is now 9 lbs 15 oz (12th percentile).

¡Viva Sergio!

In the last area of my mission, my companion and I were out knocking on doors and we came across a man named Sergio who was very excited to see us. He told us that he'd been meaning to talk to missionaries for a while, and said he was busy at the moment, but that we could come back. Thinking that we'd struck gold, we were quite excited for our appointment the following day. When we arrived back at his door, he showed us inside and had us sit down on his crumpled couched. As I took the lead to to talk about ourselves and our church, he interrupted me and said, "Listen, I have a proposition for you." He then handed each of us a 10 page typed document, and invited us to read as he talked.

He explained that he had a plan that would interest the Mormon church -- sort of a partnership. If the Mormon church would only provide him with 5 billion dollars, then he do the hard work of raising an army to overthrow the Chilean government and the Catholic church. His plan detailed not only how he would execute his coup d’état, but also how he would rule once he was in charge. Among other items in his detailed plan were the idea to explore the waters and marine life surrounding Chile, traveling in solar powered "bubbles," and this little rule:

"Se exhigiran cuatro arboles de fruta comestible por vivienda basica. Sus cuidados y mantencion seran un compromiso basico obligatorio. Los arboles pueden estar ubicados dentro del patio, ante jardin y areas verdes correspondientes a la propiedad. Como un compromiso superior, estara considerado como puntos de la referencia en el plano de la vivienda. La cantidad de arboles por propiedad la deciden sus propietarios, pero los cuatro arboles minimo que exige la ley seran una obligacion."

(For non-Spanish speakers, it basically outlines a law that obligates each home to have four fruit trees on their property as a means of providing their own sustenance.)

Although our Zone Leader turned down our 5 billion dollar request, I remained intrigued by the idea of growing my own food, and decided that I would at least plant a garden once I had my own place. Since Kim and I have lived in apartments for our entire marriage, I never had a chance to put Sergio's idea into practice -- until now.


I've planted tomatoes, squash, onions, beans, cucumbers and peppers.


Here is my garden on day 1 in May (I was a little late planting, I know)


And here it is after a month


I got my first tomato bud this week, and I'm very excited


And don't forget, we already had this awesome raspberry bush when we moved in.



As usual, Megan has been a big help. Here she is watering the weeds and bricks.


And even Henry likes to get involved, hanging out in the snuggly while I garden


The month of July should be filled with fresh vegetables, and I can't wait.

Thanks, Sergio!

Pequeña Momia

We just watched "Blame it on Fidel" the other day, (which, incidentally, is a fantastic movie for anyone with an interest in Chilean, French or Spanish politics) and the main character is a girl who cannot understand why her parents are becoming more socially and politically involved, and why her dad has grown a beard. Her dad calls her his "pequeña momia" (little mummy), referring to the reactionaries in Chile who opposed the election of Salvador Allende, the socialist president of the early 70s. She has a little brother who is much more reserved and relaxed, who goes with the flow.

Here's a preview:


Anyway, the little girl reminded Kim and I of our own little reactionary. Despite my best efforts, Megan has developed a great interest in all things relating to princesses -- including makeup, barbies, dresses, and even getting married. She quite often tells us the details of what her wedding will be like, pink dress and all (probably looking something like this:


Here are some more pictures of our princess



Notice the shoes she had to wear to church




She even wanted to wear her dress to play in the snow


Maybe I'll have to shift my efforts to making little Henry our revolutionary.


That is, unless Megan gets to him first