To Mother Mary G. and Mother Camille

Happy Valentine's Day Moms. We love you and miss you both. Here is a vase of hearts as our gift to you on this "heartfelt" day. The guy that sold it to us said you would be able to reach through your computer and take your gift --like in sci-fi movies.
Thank you for all the unconditional love and support we've received from you throughout our lives. Hugs and Kisses -Matt and Leigh

January Showers Bring Lots-O-Flowers

Here a collage of just some of the wonderous flowers and foliage found on the island. If you click on the pictures, it will zoom in closer. I took most of these on the way home from church until my camera ran out of batteries (sorry if some of them are blurry).
Speaking of church, did we mention that we walk to church in the mornings: forty minutes, in the rain, up hill -both ways?! No joke --it's crazy. I can't wait to tell my kids about how "hard" we had it. haha.

Check it out...

Hey so my friend from Oregon, Jessica Milnes, just put together a website featuring her photographs. Her work is fantastic and I think everyone should check it out.

www.jessicamilnes.com

Prophet Seer and Revelator

President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away on 27 January 2008. He was 97 years old. He was the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and a prophet of God.

Evenly Eventful

Hello one and all. Well this has been quite an eventful week. There were a lot of new things I did this week as Matt studied. Most were good, some bad.
GOOD - I attended a new yoga class on Saturday. It was on a deck right next to the ocean. There was no music, just the sound of the wave lapping against the sand and my breathing. Very exhilarating.
BAD - I can't stop eating cookies (or any other food). One night I consumed a whole box. Ridiculous.
GOOD - On Thursday I started going to two new service opportunities. In the morning we went to a school to work on reading with children. At night at the church there is a ESL class which I will help teach in the coming weeks. It's nice to stay busy here. I feel lucky.

BAD. Very bad- I experienced a nightmar-ish ordeal with some weavels in my food (I would blog about it, but it still makes me ill to think about it. Maybe another time.)

GOOD - Matt and I got new callings in the ward. He will be teaching Elders Quorum and I will be a Relief Society teacher. Pretty laid back callings, hip hip hooray.

Here are some other pictures from the week. Enjoy!

This is a picture of some of the children in the After School Program (4 of the 12). We were playing the game Sardines. Some had never played it before and were having trouble not giggling. Everyday this group of kids does something hilarious.

Here is a picture of many of the fruits and vegies we get at the market every Saturday. I wash it in bleach water to destroy the bacterias. Usually I'll pick up mangoes, oranges, apples (which are expensive), grapefruits, all kinds of lettuce, carrots, onions, cucumbers, peppers, green beans (our favorite), limes, potatoes, and bananas. Since I'm so indecisive, it takes me forever to pick out the produce...but well worth it during supper time.

Ok, I'm pretty proud of myself about this shell. When Matt took a break from studying on Friday, we went to the local beach for a swim. The ocean doesn't have too many waves, but there is plenty of sea life close to the shores. I brought my goggles and was checkin out the fishes and such. Suddenly, I saw this baby laying by a small coraled rock. I shouted to Matt that I found a shell and asked if I should try bringing it to shore -a lot of big shells have creatures living inside them. He said go for it, so I dragged it behind me all the way back to the beach. I was a tad nervous something was inside of it, but my mind was put at ease after checking it out with Willy.

It's cool, huh. I did a victory shout on the beach and showed everyone that came by my new trophy (I'm such an american idiot). It's not everyday you find a shell as big as your head, so that was a great event.

Now this is a great picture: Willy studying his brains out. Don't you just feel smarter by lookin' at this pic?! It will be a site to see for many more days, months, and years to come. I'd just like to give a shout out to him for doing such a dedicated job at studying so far.

Whitey Coats

This marks the end of the first week of medical school. Good job Willy for working hard. The school had a white coat ceremony to welcome the new students into their new profession (or the pathway too there new profession). We both thought it was a little silly to take pictures of an event which still had four years left of grueling hard work....but Matt looked all sorts of cute in a medical outfit, hence I couldn't resist.



Here are some of our newer friends. Aileen Mosele and Matt Cullings (Texas), us and Chelsie and Keith Taylor (Idaho). Special thanks to Jenny Garlock for the cute green skirt I'm sporting. Basically I wear it every other day because it's light-weight, comfy, and a great color. Special apologies to all who have to see me in this skirt all the time.

This pic above is Jonathan Napitupulu (L.A. and Indonesia), Willy and Adam Heath (Ohio). We met these guys in Antigua when we all missed the airplane. They are great guys and hopefully will be great study-buddies for Matt.

I Love Lists

Crazy things I've seen on the island so far:

1. Man driving a motorcycle while drinking a beer.
2. The LDS church building is a bright lime green color. Think 80's neon green. You can't miss it.
3. Most of the students at Ross look like they are going to the beach, but they are actually going to class.
4. In the mornings I have Farrah Fawcett hair. It's hot, but only lasts for about an hour.
5.The roads look like they are only big enough for one lane of traffic. Nope, two crazy vans going opposite directions are going to squeeze on the narrow slap of pavement...
6. One box of Pop Tarts are 14.95 EC or around $7.00 USD. Crazy. They're not $7.00 good.
7. Stray cows. I can't get over that one. Why are they so skinny when all they do is eat all day? And why doesn't anyone own them?

Things about Dominica that are super cool:

1. The diversity of the students who are attending.
2. Not having to wear a coat or a pair of winter boots...ever.
3. The little branch of saints who are valiant and friendly.
4. My Farrah Fawcett hair in the mornings.
5. The three minute walk to the beach from our place.
6. Knowing that because I married Willy all of my wildest dreams are coming true (living by the ocean, in a warm climate, with friendly non-materialistic people around, etc.)
7. A taxi ride is less then 40 cents from our place to the middle of the town.
8. I get to volunteer at an after school program and work with darling kids.
9. The lizards and birds and iguanas and roosters and goats and stray cows and fish and plants and flowers!

Things I miss about the United States of America:

1. Living by family.
2. Cheap food.
3. Hammy and Hilmo.
4. The big screen ghetto cinema.
5. My kitchen appliances.
6. Having a job.
7. A toilet that flushes correctly, with no surprises.