New Mexico!

Sean and I were able to take a few days to head south to New Mexico while the girls stayed with grandparents here in Colorado. We had such a great time!

We LOVE northern New Mexico. The blue skies, the adobe architecture, the Mexico-like feel, the amazing food. We stayed a night in Chimayo and also went to Santa Fe for a night. We wound up spending a lot of time in Albuquerque as well, shopping for things we need to take back to Indonesia. We are now almost set for the next few years with fresh clothes, shoes, and other things we can't get in Palangkaraya!

Ristras, or long strings of dried chilies are so beautiful.

This little church in Chimayo is famous for being built on soil that supposedly heals people of all sorts of maladies. There is a little hole in the basement where you can scoop up some of the red dirt for yourself...I think the Virgin Mary appeared on this spot many years ago and that is why they built the church and proclaimed the healing powers of the soil. A LOT of people are convinced this is still holy, sacred dirt and people make pilgrimages here from miles around. It's just a pretty, old Catholic Church that I find fascinating because of its history. If you've ever heard of Fernando Ortega, he is from here and even has a song about this little village.

So many people looking for hope.

We made a special trip to Taos just so we could eat at Michael's Kitchen. Heaven!