Chile En Nogadas

Yesterday I got another cooking lesson in Mexican cuisine. Mari, the caretaker out at Aleluya church, taught me how to make Chile En Nogadas. This is like a Chile Relleno but even better. The dish is from south Mexico so it's a delicacy here. First you have to prepare the peppers. You char the poblanos, peel their skin and make a small hole to remove the seeds and stems and to fill with meat. You make the meat mixture by browning ground beef, onion, garlic and tomato. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin and add in chopped walnuts or pecans, raisins, and pomegranate seeds. It's amazing! Next comes the trick that makes these chiles so good. To make the batter you separate eggs and season the whites with salt, pepper, and garlic salt and beat with a hand mixer for a looong time until they are very stiff. Once stiff you beat in the yolks and some flour. You dip the stuffed poblanos in the batter and fry until golden brown. As if this wasn't enough, you serve the chiles with cream and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. The traditional plate is served with red rice and shredded lettuce and is supposed to look like the Mexican flag. I'll never eat another chile relleno and not appreciate how much work goes into them. They are quite the process but definitely worth it. If you come and visit me I'll make them for you! There are more pictures on the Photo page of the blog of the cooking lesson.

If you peel the peppers under water it makes taking off the skin easier. Mari is full of little shortcuts and tricks.

Stuffing the chiles was not my strong point. This one I had to stitch up with 5 toothpicks. Careful!

Frying the chiles to goodness!

Tex and Ramiro testing out the finished product. Contrary to Tex's face they both really liked them.

Holiday Celebrations

This may be our busiest holiday yet. My mom came down to visit for Thanksgiving and ever since then we have been on the go with holiday parties and events.

For Thanksgiving we had an amazing spread (thanks to Hallie Saylor's dad's famous Cajun Fried Turkey) and even more amazing time hanging out with family and friends. Besides my mom visiting, Michael and Erica Jarrett came down from Waco and celebrated with us. Gina, another missionary who lives down here joined us as well.

Michael, Erica, and Tex puzzling.

The Jarrett's brought their dogs so we had a little dog park at our house for a few days. Their dogs, Gypsy and Solo, are Huck's sisters so it was kind of like a family reunion!


My mom bought us an early Christmas present. Tex and I have been eyeing these hand made chairs and table for over a year. We think they are so beautiful and we use them a lot even as the weather is getting cooler.

A few nights before that we had a dinner party with members of our Tuesday night bible study - The Gathering. We ate delicious homemade Pozale. This is a yummy soup made with shredded meat, dried chiles and hominy. You garnish it with lettuce, radishes and chopped onion. It is so good on a cold night!

We also recently celebrated Katt's birthday. Katt Lovejoy (coolest last name ever) is a missionary from Colorado. She lives with us upstairs in one of the bedrooms. She teaches first grade and English to the kids at Nava School. She is such an asset to the school and we are so fortunate to have her live with us. We went to a little restaurant to celebrate called La Casita. They are famous for their empanadas. They are hand-made and have all sorts of different fillings to choose from.

We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends here that make the holidays so much easier for us to be away from our families.

Christmas Slumber Party

Last Saturday I hosted a little slumber party for a couple of our neighbors. Nayeli is the oldest of 6 and turned 11 on Saturday. To celebrate her birthday, her and her cousin, Sarai, the oldest of 8, came over for some Christmas time festivities and a sleepover. We made a gingerbread house, ate pigs in a blanket for dinner, and they decorated our Christmas tree. They did such a good job and it looks so beautiful! It was so fun to get to know the girls better and hopefully give them a little break from helping take care of their younger siblings. After all the activities we curled up on the couch with some hot chocolate and watched El Expreso Polar (The Polar Express). It was a relaxing evening and a blessing to spend time with the girls. We'll see if it goes this smoothly when Tex has the boys over!

Nayeli finding the perfect spot.

Sarai and Nayeli with their decorated tree!

Long Time No Write

It has been a VERY long time since I last wrote. Since then we went to Georgia for a fundraising trip. While there we got to catch up with family and friends and even had an early Thanksgiving with all of Tex's family in October. We had a great trip home but were very anxious and happy to get back. After our long road trip one of the things I was most excited about getting back to was catching up with the kids that live around us. One of the girls that I’ve gotten close to is Sarai, the oldest of 8, that’s right EIGHT!. (They range from 14 to 5 months). She is a beautiful young woman who works hard to help her parents take care of the family. Shortly after we got back, her 14th birthday was coming up and we wanted to do something special for her. So Tex, Katt (a teacher at Nava school living with us), and I brought her a cake and sodas for an impromptu birthday party. She was so grateful and it was a blessing to spend time with her and her family. While at her house we planned to get her haircut the next week. I’m pretty sure this was the first time she had ever been to a salon to have here hair done professionally. It was such a blessing that we could take her for a short girls afternoon of relaxation and fun! We are blessed to have Sarai and her family in our lives.

Katt and Saraii after their haircuts! ¡Que Bonita!

¡Viva Mexico!

On September 16 Mexico celebrates it's independence. This year it was even more of a celebration because it was the 200th anniversary of Mexico's independence. After living in Mexico for three years this is the first year that Tex got to be in town and attend the festivities. In the Macro Plaza (across from the Plaza Motel) there is a huge stage for performances and tons of food stands. There is a tent that represents each state in Mexico and has authentic food from that state. We attended the festivals as a big happy family with Alex and Rosy and the kids from House of Peace. We didn't take the little ones but still had 9 kids to keep up with. We had the best time. They loved the fireworks and the music. All the kids had braided their hair in the traditional Mexican style. We didn't get home til well after midnight but had so much fun getting to take the kids out for some fun family time.

Alex and Rosy and their new baby Saiday. She looked like a little Mexican doll! So cute!

Alex and Rosy's brother-in-law and nephew in their Independence Day gear.

Me and some of the girls at the festival with Baby Martin!

New York, New York

After our trip to Waco, Tex and I went up to New York City to visit my mom and some friends. A few days before meeting Tex in NYC I was able to fly up to Rochester, NY and see my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was the first time I have gotten to see them since Tex and I got married in 2008. Everyone is doing well and my little cousins are getting so big! When Tex arrived in NYC we pretty much went on an eating tour around the city. Tex was very adventurous and tried all kinds of new food; I think he liked mostly all of it. We had Indian, French, Korean, Japanese, and Thai. By far the craziest thing he ate was Steak Tartare. This is chopped up RAW beef. It had capers, red onion and garlic mixed in. If that wasn't enough it comes with a raw egg yolk that is poured on top. I don't know what is more surprising the fact that we both actually liked it or the fact that we didn't get sick. I got to see my best friend from college, Sophie, Rosie, a friend and former co-worker, and we met up with Morningside Church, the Korean church that was just down in Mexico on a mission trip at the end of July. We also had brunch with Hannah, John and Baby Danny before church! They are all doing well. We got to go to Morningside's Sunday afternoon service and they treated us to a wonderful authentic Korean BBQ lunch afterwards. It was sooo good. It was also pretty adventurous because they bring out red hot coals to grill the meat on that seems dangerously close from falling on someone's head when they lift onto the table. The Korean style is so great; it's all based on a lot of different sides to eat with your rice and meat. It's all family style, even the soup is in one big pot that is shared with the table. It lots of different vegetables, flavors and a nice amount of spice! Thanks so much to Pastor Mark, his wife Christina, Tom, Ellen, Peter, Jesse, and Sam for taking us to a wonderful lunch!! It was a short trip but it was so great to see family and friends. Thanks mom for putting us up and treating us to so many meals! We love you.

After Saturday morning Brunch in the East Village with Sophie, Rosie, and Faris! So great to see them! Pretty sure Rosie will have her own magazine (or at least a column) before she leaves NYC.

Sushi in Astoria Queens

Indian food for lunch in Midtown Manhattan

Korean BBQ in K-Town with Morningside

With our lovely hosts after lunch! Whitney and her friend Martha happened to be in NYC at the same time! We got to meet up on Sunday for church and lunch.

By far one of the weirdest (and grossest) things we ate was at a little bakery/dessert place called Milk. They have the most delicious cookies but very odd flavors of soft serve ice cream.

Purple Drink, Cereal Milk, Creamed Corn, and BBQ. All were disgusting on various levels.

Travels to Waco, Texas

On Friday, August 20 we headed up to Waco, Texas for a relaxing long weekend with our friends Michael and Erica Jarrett. One of the highlights of our trip was to visit the one and only Dr. Pepper museum. (Waco is the home of Dr. Pepper was the only place you could buy for about 30 years) If you know Tex, you probably know he LOVES Dr. Pepper. On Saturday morning he woke up so excited you would have thought it was Christmas morning. The museum was really fun and we learned a very interesting fact: The opening of the Dr. Pepper Museum was May 11 - Tex's Birthday! It all came full circle and I understood that Tex's love for DP was destined from birth. Our weekend with the Jarrett's was a great way to unwind after an eventful summer. We enjoyed amazing meals and fun, relaxing evenings with Gina, Michael, and Erica. We are so grateful to have such wonderful friends in our lives.

Tex in front of the opening day photo of the museum.

Michael, Erica, Me, Tex, and Gina at the museum.

Our delicious meal on Saturday night: Peppered Grilled Shrimp with Avocado Buttermilk Chilled Soup with Crab...YUMMY

Tex and Marissa Bagley: Casa De Paz House Parents...sort of

After the Quinceañera Alex and Rosy took the oldest three girls to Monterrey for a fun filled trip. While they were gone Tex and I moved in and became the house parents for a few (looooong) days. We got there Sunday evening and left Thursday afternoon. We were in charge of an 8 month old, 9 month old, two-2 year olds, a five year old, 3-10 year olds, an 11 year old and a 12 year old. Also, early Monday morning we received two new kids to the house, a five and six year old brother and sister. It was quite the adventure cooking, cleaning, bathing, and playing with the kids. It reminded me how wonderful God is to put two people like Tex and I together. We are a great team and got through it without killing the kids or each other! We were very grateful to be home in a quiet house and enjoy a full night's sleep and we actually still want a big family after it. It was a wonderful learning experience and were so blessed to be able to help out Alex and Rosy. They got to provide the girls with a memorable trip and experience something they may never have been able to do. We got to grow even closer to the kids and are so fortunate to have Casa De Paz in our lives.

¡Vamos a la Quinceañera!

On Saturday, August 14th, the three oldest girls from Casa de Paz y Amor Orphanage celebrated their fifteenth birthday with a joint Quinceañera celebration. This was very exciting for Tex and I as it was our first quinceañera, a huge deal in Mexico. Marilu, Adela, and Lupita have been waiting for years for this occasion and had been preparing for months for the big day. This event was definitely a joint effort. From the invitations and the decorations to the cake and the dresses, it took many people's donations and time to make this a success. The bible study group that we are a part of also volunteered their time to help make lunch the day of the party and to do all the girls hair, make-up, and nails. Tex and I were also honored to be Marilu's padrinos or godparents and got to present her with a bible. Tex and I are so blessed to be involved in these young women's lives. At the religious ceremony when they brought up Alex and Rosy (the orphanage house parents, along with their aunt, uncle, and grandparents) they invited up Tex and I and introduced us as part of the family. I can't believe that God has allowed us to be involved in such a wonderful thing. The reception was a blast with delicious food and cake. The girls also put on a great dance for all the guests and Tex and I had the honor of walking Marilu into the reception. We had a wonderful time and the girls looked beautiful. It was a long night (didn't get in until 2AM) but so much fun.

Getting ready!

The girls doing their formal dance at the beginning of the night.

Rosy and her new baby Saidey looking beautiful

The girls' beautiful cake

Morningside Church

We just finished our last team of the summer season! We had a great summer, saw so much fruit, and even though our numbers were down completed so many wonderful construction projects. We had THE BEST team to end the summer: Morningside Church from New York City! They are such an amazing group of people. They poured their heart into everything that they did. One of the highlights of the trip was, as a thank you to Maruca and Americo for all their hard work catering the teams, they prepared an authentic Korean dinner for us. It was so good. Did you know that Korea is the second, after Hawaii, largest consumer of Spam? It's true and they prepared it! Tex and I have a trip coming up to NYC later this month and can't wait to see them again soon! Thanks Morningside for a great trip!

The Korean Dinner Spread

Pork and Beef marinated in Pineapple Juice, Fried Spam, Lettuce Wraps, Rice with Carrot and Potato

One of the couples, Tom and Ellen, got engaged on walk during VBS! It's such a memorable engagement!

This is John and Hannah with their 11-month old Danny. They stayed with us during the week. It was so much fun to have a little baby crawling around. I found out our house is definitely NOT baby-proofed.

The group worked out in Nava tileing some of the classrooms. The school looks great and is ready to start classes again in a few weeks!

The Yellow Eye

Last week I was admitted to the ER in Eagle Pass early Tuesday morning. I was extremely nauseous and jaundiced (which Tex "affectionately" dubbed "the yellow eye"). After several blood tests, an ultrasound on my liver and gallbladder and a CAT scan I was transported to San Antonio to see a Gastro-Intestinal Doctor and Blood Specialists. After two more nights in the hospital I was released on Thursday afternoon. The doctors diagnosed me with hemolytic anemia. Pretty much my red blood cells were bursting but they didn't know why. They suspect it was a virus that they couldn't detect and eventually ran it's course and went away. I know that I had many friends and family praying for me and believe God answered those prayers. I'm so grateful for such caring people in my life. I feel better than before I was sick and Tex and I are so glad to be out of the hospital and back home.

Bagley Photo Shoot

Here are a few more pictures from Ashlee and Benedikt's visit. They took a few pictures of just Tex and me. We are so excited to have these. If you'd like to see more visit the link below.

- Click 'Tex & Marissa Portraits'

- Password: Bagley (with a capital 'B')

Day at the Water Park

I said I'd never do it but I did. I spent a day at a Water Park in Mexico!!! The kids at Casa De Paz and Casa de Miserecordia took an outing to the only water park in Piedras (technically Nava). I was more of a chaperone, taking care of 2-two year olds and a 7 month baby. The kids had a great time. It was actually much cleaner than I thought it would be. The most disturbing thing was there were no lifeguards, I'm not sure I actually saw anyone who worked there. Luckily everyone made it out alive. We were exhausted after our fun-filled day but it was so much fun. I might even do it again in a few years.

Tex tried to teach some of the girls how to swim. They all did really well and can at least float all by themselves!

Pre-Quinceañera

The girls at the House of Peace orphanage are getting ready for their Quinceañera on August 14th! Three of the girls recently turned fifteen and are having a joint party. In Mexico this is like a sweet sixteen but a much bigger deal. On Sunday they got all dressed up and did a trial run on their hair and make-up for pictures for the invitations. Marilu, Adela, and Lupita looked beautiful. It was so great to see them feel so special. We also got a great honor of being asked to be Marilu's (in the blue) godparents. At some Quinceañera's the girls are presented with a Bible and she asked us to be her presenters. We are so excited to get to do this for her! I can't wait till next month so see them all "done up" and look like little princesses for a day. We are so grateful to be a part of these young women's lives.

First Guests Upstairs

On Monday night we had our first guests to stay in the upstairs apartments in our house. Cliff Shanklin and his family have come down for the Christmas trip two years in a row. He is an electrician in Gunnison, Colorado and installed all the lights at our house and wired Aleluya school. This past week he came down with his oldest son and two other men to finish the lights upstairs at our house and install all the lights and fans in Aleluya school. It was a short trip but we were so happy to have them. Since it was just guys they didn't mind roughing it by sleeping in the one finished room on air mattresses. The upstairs still needs carpet and the other bathroom needs to be finished but it was so great to have our first guests. We hope to keep working on it this summer and fall to have it complete in time for Christmas.

As you can see, it was all guys =)

They wired everything and hung a beautiful ceiling fan to keep our guests ACAP (as cool as possible).