Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Thanksgiving Flashback

Only a few more days until Thanksgiving! I think this is one of my all-time favorite Thanksgiving pictures.

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Grandma's Pie


Grannie made such beautiful pies!


One day, I asked her, "How do you get such beautiful pies with the crimps around the edge so even?"


"It's a family secret," she said, "so promise not to tell anyone! I roll out the dough, then cut a bottom layer and carefully put it in the pie plate. Then I slowly pour the filling, making sure it's not too full. Next I cut a top layer and put it over the filling. Finally, I take out my teeth and just run them around the edge of the pie crust and they make the nicest, even impressions you ever did see!"

(Thanks to Casey for this!)

Happy Birthday, Fred!

Wow, there are sooo many birthdays in November!

Happy Belated Birthday, Lance!

We were on vacation for Lance's birthday so I wasn't able to post his birthday video of some of his life for the past year. So here it is. Happy Birthmonth, Lance!

Happy Birthday, Jena!

Wow! Twelve years old already! Happy Birthday, Jena!

Happy Birthday, Tom!

Great Vacation!

Wow! Time flies when you're having fun! Our three week vacation is over already! Costa Rica is incredibly beautiful! The weather was perfect, we only used our umbrellas a few times even though we really didn't need them because it was still warm.

We spent most of our time swimming in the ocean, hiking through national parks, enjoying 23 hot spring swimming pools, zip-lining through the jungle, photgraphy the jungle life, horse back riding and meeting great, new friends from Costa Rica, Norway, Spain, Germany and the United States.

The infinity pool at the hotel in Manuel Antonio.

Us standing outside the infinity pool.

One of the waterfalls at the 23 hot spring pools at our hotel in Fortuna by the Arenal Volcano. Ironically it was the Hotel Baldi.

Of course on November 4th, just like every other person in Costa Rica, we were glued to the television to see the election results. It was almost as exciting as Christmas and New Year's Day put together! Obama gave a great, humble acceptance speech and I think John McCain's concession speech was very sincere and from the heart. The next morning on the news people were being interviewed from all around the world - there is such a great new feeling of hope, better relations, kindness and friendship! Hopefully everyone will really want to work together for the best of the country!

Of course Proposition 8 passed in California, but that really doesn't matter, just a few years ago it would have passed with a MUCH, MUCH larger margin. People are learning that love is love and that bigotry will always be bigotry (stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own.) We REALLY appreciate the people who sincerely want to understand us and the issues and study them and not just pay notice to the thirty second sound bites (where ever those sound bites might come from.)

Lance's biggest wish was not to have to do any traveling on his birthday - he didn't get it :(

We took a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to the San Jose airport, then a flight to Guatemala city. Carlos and his mother, Leti, met us at the airport and drove us to their beautiful, new home in the town of San Lucas Sacatepequez. In spite of being out of smoggy Guatemala City, I still caught a bad cold. Maybe I got it from someone on the airplane - Ali's blog mentions a lot of colds going around.

We didn't have time to take the bus up to Senahu and Xalibe but we had a great five day visit with the Lopez family. They are such a loving and giving family. The family had a lot of fun teaching Lance words in Spanish, touring, eating and playing games - there favorite is Phase Ten! They send their greetings and love to all the Call and Van Buren families.

We've been in about two dozen countries now. Now matter where we go people are good and happy. Sometimes it is hard for people in the United States to understand that even people in poverty can be happy. In the Mayan villages around Xalibe most of the people basically wear rags, many have never had a pair of shoes on their feet, there is no electricity or running water, but they all take care of each other and work together as a community. If there were ever a great, worldwide calamity it would be the poor people who would survive - they already know how to do it! Hopefully we'll never have to find out!

One of the surprise highlights of the trip was seeing Ana again. She is a little Ixil Indian woman who I used to buy little trinkets from in Guatemala City when I lived in Guatemala years ago. I haven't seen her for over seven years but when Lance and I walked onto the plaza she came up to me and said, "Oh, where have you been for so many years?"

Any of you want to go with us on our next trip?