Our Extremely Busy Week

Last week was amazingly busy!  We started Monday with our last day of Co-op.  It was a great and fun day but exhausting.  Co-op has been such a blessing to us as we have been able to fellowship with other home schooling families.  I am glad though for a break.  Then Monday and Tuesday night the kids performed in a musical they both have been practicing in for three months.  It was a lot of fun! 

On Tuesday afternoon Hubby called and said the adoption people called and said they were coming on Friday to do our home study!  I was not expecting it to be so soon.  I was actually in the middle of spring cleaning and getting ready for a garage sale.  I just had to speed it up a little.  Friday morning we passed out 150 flyers for a kid's club we are starting in our neighborhood this week.  We are inviting all the Thai children to come play games, eat snacks, learn English and hear a Bible story.  We are really excited about this and wonder how many kids will actually show up!  Then Friday afternoon the government representatives for the adoption division came and did a short interview with us and took pictures of us and the house.  After that we headed over to the hospital to start all our physical examination stuff for our insurance company.  We have to do this to get clearance to return home for stateside time.  We spent four hours there and by the time we got home we were exhausted!  Saturday morning we had a garage sale with 3 other families and that was crazy and fun all at the same time!  Thai's are hard bargainers! 

Right as our garage sale was closing down our neighbor across the street, whom we haven't been able to really get to know, quietly called for Hubby to come over.  When he went into their house I knew something had to be wrong.  It is not custom for you to be invited into the homes.  Hubby ran out and yelled for another male friend of ours that was over to come and help.  One of the ladies that lives there was unconscious. And barely breathing.  They both picked her up and carried her to their car.  As they were driving off an elderly lady who also lives there showed us a bee hive.  Then it all made sense.  This lady was having an allergic reaction to the bee stings.  I have no idea how many times she was stung.  We asked her if she wanted the bee hive removed that was right near the entrance to their house.  She said no!  We have learned that they believe the bee hive brings blessings to the house.  They seemed so grateful for the help we gave and I am praying that this will bring us closer to them. 

I spent the afternoon with a friend eating lunch and shopping.  Sunday morning we had to go back to the hospital to do blood work.  We were there at 7:45.  Hubby and I had to fast for it.  Fasting and blood work for my Hubby do not mix.  He ended up on the floor passed out.  I was trying to get him some water and while I was away he fell and hit his head on the floor.  When I returned he was being picked up by a ton of nurses and Rocket was next to him crying.  Sassy was having her blood drawn while all this was happening.  They took Hubby to a bed to lie down and I looked out at Sassy and she was as white as a sheet.  I went over to her and she started crying and said she felt light headed.  I gave her water and put her head in between her knees.  She did not pass out, praise the Lord!  Next time I have to bring orange juice and granola bars! 
We went to the McDonald's that sells breakfast and feasted after all that! 

We spent the rest of the morning with our friends at house church and enjoyed an African stew they had prepared for us.  It was so good!

This afternoon I took a 2 hour nap and boy did I need it after the crazy week we had!
This week we are hoping for some peace and quiet!  

My Sweetheart's Nightstand

My sweetheart's nightstand looks like this.  Well this is after I picked them all up off of the floor beside the bed.  Maybe we need a bookshelf for a night stand!  :)

Enjoying Summer

Not a lot going on here lately! Just enjoying summer with the kids. We spent the week just being together. One day we went and taught English at the orphanage. The kids really enjoyed that a lot. This will be a weekly event for us.
Yesterday we went and saw Toy Story 3. It was not my favorite. A few parts were scary for the kids. There is a McDonald's in the mall where the movie theatre is so we had lunch there. They had Christmas music playing. It was quite nice. :)
Today we have been preparing for our early fourth of July party. We baked a chocolate cake and made tons of salad and salad dressing. I am also getting crafts together for the kids to do. It will be lots of fun tonight!
Hubby is going out of town for four days this week. I may have more time to blog while he is away. :)

Monday

Today was my first day without my hubby! It went pretty well. I am going to try and keep myself busy while he is away. One way to stay busy is to study and practice my lanuage. I actually pulled out my vocabulary cards and old notes to study by. I called a new tutor and arranged for her to come to my house to begin lessons. The only hiccup was that her mother passed away last week and she is headed to the village this week. She said she would call me when she got back. I am really excited about working with her. On the way to school today we had a flat. I am so thankful for a driver. He whipped out the spare and changed it within 15 minutes. Then he took the car to get a new tire. A little later I took a new couple to our superstore to get a few things off their list. I actually snuck a Dr. Pepper into my cart and purchased it. :) I am just waiting for the kids to go to bed to enjoy it! Isn't that just awful?? What they dont' know wont hurt them. Right? Speaking of the kids, they are in the other room watching some awful 80's movie about a little boy in a wheelchair who has an alien befriend him. HA! Gotta love those oldies.
I plan to spend less time on the computer these next few days and read more! We discovered a new online book store called FlipKart.com. I have vowed not to buy any books until all the books I already have are read! So, I better get busy since my shopping cart is already full on Flipkart!

                                                                          Blessings!

Our Hope in the Resurrection

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." Matthew 28:1-10

Day Labor Workers

It just breaks my heart to see these precious women doing such hard labor.  The women here are the ones that carry the rocks and cement on top of their heads.  I am not sure exactly what the men do.  Although I see them supervisoring the women most of the time.  I know these women work 10-12 hours days and then go home to a tarp tent and cook dinner for the family.  The women make very little money in a day. 

A Widow

Just a glimpse of my morning...

Hubby had language class and I needed to go and get Little Lady's birthday present at this store on the other side of town. I decided to ride with Hubby and spend some time over there while he was in class. I shopped and then stopped at a little coffee shop. I happened to order a chicken burger which was disgusting. I finished half of it and ask to bag the other half up. So many times children beggars will come up to us asking for money. I like to give them whatever food I have left. As I was walking down the street a tiny elderly lady walked up to me. Widows here are not cared for because they are considered bad luck. Families will turn their backs on them leaving them homeless. There are so many who have nothing and no one. They just walk around begging. Well, of course I gave her my sandwich, but asked her if she wanted some rice. We keep bags of rice in the car for this reason. Of course she said yes. I gave her my sandwich and two bags of rice. She told me in her language she couldn't see and her eyes were bad. They were a gray foggy color. I took hold of her hands and told her how sorry I was for her. She took hold of my hand and kissed them! I didn't want to leave her...if only I had a little room to take women in like this and love on them, give them a bed and food for the remainder of their days. Share with them the sacrifice Jesus made for them.
Pray for us as Father shows us needs and how to meet these needs! There are so many and it's so overwhelming at times!

Everyday life

It's Been a Good Day!

This is a picture of my day....a team from the states brought some yummy goodies for us. (Beef jerky, M & M's, Mac N Cheese, Hot sauce, taco seasoning, pringles and Koolaid) Yea for volunteers!! Then I received a couple of letters, cards and a thumb drive with LOTS and LOTS of pictures from my mom!! My sweet househelper made us snickerdoodles and I finished the day off with pizza. :) AHHH, life is good!

Just another day

As I look at my clock, you have got to be kidding me. Two little girls giggling and talking and it is only 5:45 am! Thoughts run through my head...Savannah will never have another friend stay the night...should I yell at them to get quite...maybe they will go back to sleep. It's summer time, sleep in ladies! I awoke at 8:20 with these two sweet girls completely dressed telling me they are starving. What kind of mother am I? I should have been up at least a couple of hours making a delicious breakfast. I reply, "You know where the bowls, cereal, milk and bananas are."
Kids fed, Bible read, prayed, and ready to begin my day. First thing, head to the nearby store to find Mayonaise before my husband heads out for his language session. As I am walking out of our building, my wonderful, now I know how much I need her, house helper calls and says she needs to come in late. Something about her boy's school.... I still have trouble understanding her English. She says she will come at 1 or 2pm. OK, just please come! I go to my beloved bazaar that is a 10 minute walk from our house. Eggless mayonaise, pure 100% vegetarian, the only one on the shelf. Wonder what it tastes like? I have no choice, just buy it. I came for mayo and left with two bags full of goodies! The man at the register now knows I live in the nearby apartment complex and tells his cashier to carry my bags for me. I am so honored and appreciative but I can handle these two bags myself. I thank him much. Half way home, arms cramping, I wonder why I did accept his offer.
Children swim, fellowship with another mother in my building, take sweet little friend back to her home, children feed, time for rest. I wonder if my helper is really coming or maybe I should go ahead and do that mountain of dishes myself? I decide to call, "No, madam, I am not coming, tomorrow." Oh, no, now I have to do all those dishes and sweep and mop the floors! We have guest coming in three hours. I really can mop, sweep and washing my own dishes! I can even bake brownies in the middle of all that! Friends arrive, we order Papa John's pizza and pig out! Great fellowship, great food, time with a sweet 20 month old little girl, can't get much better than that.
Oh, the little man of mine is having his first sleep over tonight too. Wonder what I will be thinking at 5:45am in the morning?

Iron Wallah

One thing we love about South Asia is the fact that we have ironed clothes! Shannon and I both hate to iron. We used dryers in the states and tried as much as possible not to iron. We have a helper that comes in and helps us and she irons. Many of the people here use what they call an "Iron Wallah". The picture show exactly what they do.

We are Shifting

We spent most of the day "shifting" all our things to our new flat. Shifting is word South Asians use to say they are moving. We started out the day with moving a bed and dress from another worker's house. We bought the bed from them. Then we headed over to our guest house (the picture above) were we have been for three weeks to get all of our luggage. Then on to our new home!
The blue truck has all our belongings, except the kids.

The Littles wanted to help, so they wiped down all their cabinets.


We had lots of deliveries today! All of our appliances came! YEA. Caleb's loft bed came. He was so excited. We are still waiting for Savannah's bed to be made. It should come in a week. We have a mattress she can sleep on until then.

We are closer to a Dominos Pizza! We had to indulge for lunch today. It was delicious!

To end the day, we needed to get some basic household items like a mop, broom, trash cans, front door rug, etc. This was the one stop shop that did it all!!

South Asian Walmart

We are at the point of trying to outfit our flat. We are having to buy everything from toilet cleaners to dishes, towel, mops, and furniture. That is just to name a few! Today we decided to try a new (to us) store call Big Bazaar. It was fairly easy to get to...only 43 Rupees (about 1 dollar). When we got there, I began the shopping frenzy...getting what I could. I had to be careful too, we going to have to carry everything back on a auto. After we shopped all 5 non-air conditioned floors, I decided this was as close to Walmart we would get. It wasn't bad at all! In fact, I love the grocery store on the 3rd floor! It even had Gatorade. :) We didn't have so much luck on the way back. We got a auto driver who did really know where to go. So we took an hour long ride that should have been twenty minutes. It also cost us 99.50 rupees! A lot more than 43! It is with these wonderful rides we are learning where we live and where things are in relation. :) We only buy packaged food at these stores. I like to buy our vegetables and fruits on the side of the roads. Cheaper and more fresh!
The picture below is of another grocery store that I have found. It reminds me of a Sam's Club! They are both located in Malls.

Pampered Feet

How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"
(Rom 10:15)

I love the verse above, but it is funny that I don't think that my feet are all that beautiful when living and serving overseas! I have searched for days trying different pharmacies to buy some magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salt). I finally found some and had my hubby buy 10 small packages. I wanted to buy 100, but refrained. So tonight I heated some water on the stove and created myself a little foot spa. By the time it was all over the kids had joined in with the foot soaking. Now, if only for a day or so, we have soft beautiful feet.

My next hunt....a salon that gives pedicures!

Nothing much to talk about

I have enjoyed being at my parents house in West Texas, eating good food and just resting. We leave on Tuesday from Abilene headed for 8 weeks of training in Virginia. It will be an intense time, but will be well worth it preparing for life overseas. The kids are spending all of daylight outside playing and enjoying the warm weather.

Today

This is another day of schooling and going through things and try to figure out which pile to put them in...South Asia, Virginia, Goodwill, or Storage (to deal with in three years). I will definitely be ready to be at our training in three weeks!! We are having dinner with a couple tonight who are missionary parents in our area.