stories

Being in Guatemala with my family for the holidays ahs been such a blessing. I was not expecting to get to be with them and I ended up being albe to see both my sister and my brother-in-law in Denver as well as the family in Guatemala with both the older boys down here! Traveling down here was quite a mess as we flew stand-by. But even in that was a hidden blessing. Two days were able to be spent with my cousins in Dallas as my brothers and I waited for a flight into Guate. So many unexpected and wonderful visits!
I have been amazed at how much my siblings have grown, David into a little man, Katie into a lady, and Lydia is most definitely no longer a baby! When I last left her she was struggling with her letters and simple words, tonight I was happily surprise with the progress she has made. After dinner my family was sitting around the table working on our separate homeworks and I was helping Lydia. We first read together for the required 15 min (Barbie at the Fair was the book of choice) and she was excellent! After completing that as well as her math homework it was time for me to do my Spanish homework. (I am taking Spanish classes for the week in Antigua.) My assignment was to write a story in Spanish and Lyders decided to write a story of her own! It is quite a lovely story, that she thought up all herself, complete with a title and illustrations. Here are some photos I took of my little princess.

writing

I have been taking an expo class this semester, Violence & the Sacred to be precise, and if I was not a bad writer before I am now. We have being reading a book by John Trimble called, "Writing with Style." Basically he wants our prose to throw out every rule and absolute you have ever learned in writing to make it "fresh, interesting a new!" This all sounds good and simple, but really is a monster. It seems everything I did that made me a fairly proficient writer before, now is incorrect and must be thrown out. While this book is an excellent read,which is highly unusual for grammar books,I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of renovation my writing style requires. For today I wish I could "sell the house as is" and try my luck with a new one. Unfortunately personal writing habits are not as easy to be rid of as a house or pet. So, instead of practicing good writing here, I am continuing in the crappy form of the usual and writing a blog.