Life is pretty amazing! Some days are great, other days are horrible, but most days I seem to just plod along, going through routines, taking care of everyday things. Nothing amazing or miraculous about those days and yet every day is a gift and is a miracle in itself.
These days the miracle of life takes on a new meaning once again as our third Baby is growing inside of me. What a miracle and privilege it is to be blessed to experience the beginning of a new life in such an intimate and invading way. It makes me glad to be a woman and a mother.
We have just spent 10 days in the capital city running a few errands like collecting a new passport for Elliot and applying for new visas. So now we are officially tourists again! Everything always takes longer than expected which it did this time round, too, but at least we got to see our friends' new Baby boy who is just about 2 weeks old now. After a lot of heartache God has blessed them with this child and placed him into their family and now they are in the last stages of the adoption process. Again the miracle of life!
There is a lot that mystifies me about this country. Driving down to the capital and back again I was once again struck by how much time people spend just doing seemingly nothing. It's not that they're lazy but that there just isn't anything for them to do. This is more true for those living in the numerous villages that we pass through. Their lives are determined by the seasons and by planting crops and harvesting them. And when all the work connected to growing crops is done what else is there to do but do nothing?
But even in the city I am astounded by the number of people just standing at their windows watching the street scene below or sitting in front of their houses. I guess a lot of it has to do with the high priority they place on community.
It makes me wonder about what my values and priorities are. I wouldn't say that busyness is a value or a priority but I can't imagine spending so much time just doing nothing because there is always something to do - a book to read, a letter to write,...
Interesting how life just influences us and makes us who we are. Again the miracle of life - beauty in diversity!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Dylan's birthday and other pictures 1
Keep pressing on
Life has been crazy since the new year started so that I have struggled finding time to update this blog. In January we took over a Day Care Center and that has occupied much of our time - moving to a new location, hiring new staff, trying to SLOWLY change routines and old habits (SLOWLY is the key word in this beautiful country) and taking in new kids.
As of next week we will have 30 kids ages 0-3 which is our maximum, so that's exciting. But it has also been challenging to develop new daily routines and schedules for us as a family. We are glad that David was able to move out of English teaching. Having him gone in the evenings, well, actually almost all day on three days a week was strenous and we are thankful to have more flexibility again. Having said that, this is a huge task that we have taken on and there are many days when I wish I could just be a normal stay-at-home mom! And I'm praying for someone to come soon and take over most of the responsibility for the Day Care Center from me.
At the same time I am learning a lot about living in this country, learning new words as I do my best to train the staff and learning to rely on God's joy to be my strength for and in everything.
Elliot enjoys coming along to the Day Care Center and playing with the other kids.
Other than that we celebrated Dylan's 3rd birthday on Februrary 18th! The poor guy could not go to Pre School that week as he had conjunctivitis so after his eyes had healed up we brought cupcakes to school and celebrated his birthday with his friends there. It's been a while since I have seen such joy and delight in his face and that was special to see! He's a great kid and I can't imagine what life would be like without him. And I can't believe that three years have already passed since he entered into our lives. I am thankful for both my boys in spite of the way they manage to bring out the worst in me and in spite of the way their presence disrupts just about everything about my life - my sleep, my comforts, my conversations, my meals, my reading, my studying, my ideas about how I might like to spend my time,...You get the picture.
But their hugs and cuddles, joy and laughter totally make up for all of that and they are truly a blessing.
This month we will once again have to say goodbye to our good Korean friends who will be moving on. It's hard, having to let go of people that have become a part of your life and who have helped you view life from a totally different perspective. That leaves us with just one couple here that we consider our friends and life keeps getting lonelier.
I have struggled often this past year with living here, thinking I have given up on so much and that life anywhere else would be so much easier and more comfortable. But I know that we are in the right place and that life was never meant to be comfortable. And little things througout each day remind me of why I am here and what I love about being here. So we keep pressing on!
As of next week we will have 30 kids ages 0-3 which is our maximum, so that's exciting. But it has also been challenging to develop new daily routines and schedules for us as a family. We are glad that David was able to move out of English teaching. Having him gone in the evenings, well, actually almost all day on three days a week was strenous and we are thankful to have more flexibility again. Having said that, this is a huge task that we have taken on and there are many days when I wish I could just be a normal stay-at-home mom! And I'm praying for someone to come soon and take over most of the responsibility for the Day Care Center from me.
At the same time I am learning a lot about living in this country, learning new words as I do my best to train the staff and learning to rely on God's joy to be my strength for and in everything.
Elliot enjoys coming along to the Day Care Center and playing with the other kids.
Other than that we celebrated Dylan's 3rd birthday on Februrary 18th! The poor guy could not go to Pre School that week as he had conjunctivitis so after his eyes had healed up we brought cupcakes to school and celebrated his birthday with his friends there. It's been a while since I have seen such joy and delight in his face and that was special to see! He's a great kid and I can't imagine what life would be like without him. And I can't believe that three years have already passed since he entered into our lives. I am thankful for both my boys in spite of the way they manage to bring out the worst in me and in spite of the way their presence disrupts just about everything about my life - my sleep, my comforts, my conversations, my meals, my reading, my studying, my ideas about how I might like to spend my time,...You get the picture.
But their hugs and cuddles, joy and laughter totally make up for all of that and they are truly a blessing.
This month we will once again have to say goodbye to our good Korean friends who will be moving on. It's hard, having to let go of people that have become a part of your life and who have helped you view life from a totally different perspective. That leaves us with just one couple here that we consider our friends and life keeps getting lonelier.
I have struggled often this past year with living here, thinking I have given up on so much and that life anywhere else would be so much easier and more comfortable. But I know that we are in the right place and that life was never meant to be comfortable. And little things througout each day remind me of why I am here and what I love about being here. So we keep pressing on!
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