So Long Ordinary

It is almost 9 pm and Sean and I are gearing up for what will most likely be a very, very long night. We have been in Ecuador for almost two years now, and, I have to say, I'm dealing with some serious culture shock...again - or still, I don't know! New Year's is almost a bigger deal than Christmas for Ecuadorians. This lazy town in the jungle is literally pounding with music and the party-goers are just getting ready for the big celebrations coming in a few hours. Last year, we were in Quito at the MAF apartment there. We saw the fireworks and the "burning men" from the safe distance on the roof of the apartment building and then settled down for a quiet sleep in the basement apartment. Not this year. Our neighbors across the street have built an impressive stage out of bamboo, spare tin roofing, and barrels. They have huge speakers and floodlights. (There are several more just like it all over town) The music is going strong, but really not as bad as we an...

As promised, here are some pictures from our Christmas Day.... Before opening presents, we always read the Real Christmas Story about Jesus' birth. Brooklyn grabbed her Bible too so that she could "read along" with Daddy. After reading from Luke 2, we sang some songs - "Away in a Manger," "Angels we Have Heard on High," and "Hoy es Navidad." We were surprised at how well Maddie did opening presents. She really enjoyed it. Here she is excited about her new baby doll. Both girls tearing into their presents. So glad we found some wrapping paper - way more fun than gift bags!! Brooklyn and her newest Barbie. Maddie opens up the Little People nativity set. We were so happy to find it in the toy store in Ambato and this will be a special thing to get out every Christmas season for the kids to play with. Brooklyn loves shoes. (She did not get that from me. I'm the girl that made my entire wedding party go shoe-less in prickly grass for ...

We had a great Christmas. The girls were so much fun to watch opening their presents and were actually entertained for a whole day! Brooklyn loved her new Barbie and the Barbie bedroom set we got her. Maddie was thrilled with her very own first baby doll and a Little People nativity set. This was our first Christmas without any other family. Surprisingly, it was very pleasant. Of course, we did have a great Christmas Eve dinner with friends...and we know we'll get to see our families in January...and we know that, next year, we'll spend Christmas in Colorado with everybody because we'll be on furlough! We spent the day lazing about, eating Sean's famous waffles, watching "A Christmas Story," reading, napping....It was a rainy day, and though that isn't quite snow, it is more cozy than a hot, sunshine-soaked day. The big surprise, though, was that Sean got me an iPod! I had no idea. I thought we had decided not to get each other anything this year...

I cannot believe it is Christmas Eve. Sean is getting ready to go into the hangar - they have to fly today, although there aren't many flights and the guys are hoping to be able to leave the hangar a little early today. Brooklyn was invited to a cookie decorating and Christmas 'toons party with all the other little girls this afternoon. I'm going to be busy making some rolls and a green bean casserole for a dinner with friends tonight. Tomorrow, we will just hang out at home with our family, open presents for the girls, play with new toys, maybe convince Daddy to make his famous blueberry pancakes, and probably watch "A Christmas Story" with Brooklyn. We're playing the Christmas music like crazy around here, keeping the Christmas tree lit, and talking a lot about Christmas presents - Brooklyn keeps bringing it up, I don't know why :-) It is still hard to picture that this is indeed Christmas - I've heard some missionaries say they just keep the...

This has been a humdinger of a day. Those happen every once in a while, but this one is noteworthy in the fact that there is absolutely no reason at all why things should be so off-center. Well, okay, I'll be honest and admit that Christmas, New Years, a month full of visitors, and an imminent international move might be on my mind, therefore causing all sorts of calamities that otherwise I'd be sharp enough to avoid. But *sigh * I still don't understand why things are so weird and crazy around here today. For example: I woke up later than I meant to (but still far earlier than I wanted to), therefore messing up my whole morning. I was determined to at least get my walk in - Okay, I have to interrupt here, lest you think I've got some sort of good habit happening here. I started this week after a... hmmm....6-month break from my not-so-regular morning walk routine. So, after discovering I'd lost my keys (see bullet number 2) I headed out to walk. I got to ...

If you read Sean's blog, you know we've made our decision regarding the move to Mexico. We're going! We have really talked through this over the past several weeks. We've asked lots of questions and sought God's will through His Word and lots of prayer. We have such a peace about going. It just feels right. I can't explain it any other way. We know that this is going to be a huge change for us in just about every aspect of life and ministry. Sure, we're excited! ......but, also a little nervous :-) I've never been so excited to go somewhere and yet so sad to leave where I am. It is a weird feeling. If I think too much about leaving our life in Ecuador - our friends, the small town, even this crazy jungle - I tear up immediately. But at the same time, when I think about Mexico, I am just beside myself with excitement at what God is doing there and the part we get to play in it. We've got so much to do.... We have to renew our passports th...

We're so glad that Sean is home! It has been a great weekend of just catching up and hanging out as a family. Since we had an MAF Christmas party to get to about 30 minutes after he arrived home on Friday, Sean and I ended up staying up until well after 1 a.m. that night talking about his trip. If you know Sean, you know he isn't a night person - at all. Obviously, we had a lot to catch up on. Sean learned a ton on his trip and he took hundreds of pictures for me so that I could see what it was like there. We spent most of Saturday recovering from a very long week for both of us. Our whole family was exhausted by 11 a.m. and all four of us went to sleep for a good three-hour nap in the middle of the day! We are still catching up on sleep. I was asleep for the night by about 8 p.m. last night and slept hard until almost 7 this morning. Sean is still in bed, sleeping in later than he has in a very, very long time! Yep, I think today will call for another nap! We do hav...

Just a quick update... All is well here on the home front. We miss Sean a ton but we seem to be getting along okay without him. We are very anxious for his return! In the meantime, we've had some movie nights and tried to have as much fun as possible without Daddy around - it isn't easy, but we're making it! I've chatted online with Sean nearly every night. He is doing well - just extremely busy seeing any and every aspect of Oaxaca, Mexico. I'm sure he'll blog if he ever gets a chance. Here are some pictures....some of you are enduring ice and snow storms up North. This is what we're doing these days! Both girls have been loving playing with bowls of water on our front porch. Brooklyn stays a little drier than Maddie... One of Brooklyn and her Daddy's weekend "chores" is to wash the car. Well, Daddy wasn't here to help her this weekend, but Brooklyn still took it upon herself to get the job done! Maddie has outgrown our kitchen s...

It is late, but I wanted to let everyone know that we girls here in Ecuador are doing fine - even without Daddy around. We miss him something awful but we're getting along okay. I'm feeling very safe and secure in our house and, so far, not feeling at all lonely. We have plenty to do while Sean is gone and I know the time will fly by. Brooklyn seems to miss Daddy most. She keeps asking me to bring him back home! Then I remind her that Daddy went on a really big trip to Mexico - or Mesico , as Brooklyn calls it. That keeps Brooklyn content for a while but it doesn't take long for her to start asking where Daddy went again! Such a Daddy's girl. Now that our internet is working, I feel like I can function again. Good grief, I'm dependent on this internet stuff. Anyway, I heard from Sean tonight and he made it safely to Oaxaca at around 4:30 central time today. We chatted for a few minutes at about 9 tonight and he seemed to be tired but really enjoying his t...

Madison loves to play in Brooklyn's room, especially while Brooklyn is away at school. If Brooklyn were around, you can bet she would not be allowing Madison free reign with the toys in her room (we're still working on sharing). It is so fun to see Maddie begin to really enjoy playing. She stirs and stirs and stirs like there is no tomorrow! It looks like she's walking but don't be fooled - she may stand up on her own, but she does not move away from her "anchor." See what I mean? Here she is scooting again!