So Long Ordinary

We really had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration here at our house. Sean's parents and his sister (who surprised us, we didn't think she could come!), my parents, and my uncle and his girlfriend all came. I can't tell you what an honor it was to have these loved ones in our home this year. Our little house was bursting at the seams...it was great! Speaking of bursting at the seams, we had a very large feast - I cooked a turkey and a pumpkin pie and everyone brought several sides to go along with it. It even snowed, making the day that much more special - for me anyway. Sean built a fire in our outdoor fireplace/kiva and we watched plenty of the Macy's parade and football. Just a really great time. The Table, before we attacked. Brooklyn got her own special table. (Maddie was asleep.) She loved Thanksgiving. This is the first one she's had that she can remember. Getting our food! Empty plates already! Yeah, sure, make the pregnant lady take the kids out to

We have SO much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. When I look back on the past year, I am just awestruck at all that has happened, all God has done in our lives. A year ago, we were in Ecuador at a really fun MAF Family Conference. We loved our life and our friends and our ministry - we never would have guessed then that this is where we would be just one year later! I'd say God has done some BIG things this year! Aren't you glad He knows what's ahead for us, even while we simply enjoy what He has for us in the present? I'm thankful for our first Thanksgiving with family in 3 years. I'm thankful for my beautiful girls. I'm thankful for a healthy pregnancy (and things are progressing right along...this baby might just come early). I'm thankful for a new home that far exceeds my expectations. I'm thankful for a new church home that is refreshing us in ways we didn't even realize we needed. I'm thankful for experiences in Latin Ameri

Our family has had more illness in the few months we've been back in the States than we had in our entire three and a half years overseas. We've had someone with a runny nose or tummy issues pretty much every week. It's getting old. Thankfully, none of us has been really sick. Just kinda sick. But that's annoying enough. Currently, Madison is the sick one. We went to breakfast yesterday and Maddie did so good...but she didn't eat. We should have figured that one out right away - she was quiet and wasn't eating in the morning? Definitely out of character. Sean had just said, "I don't think Maddie is feeling very good," when she suddenly threw up all over him and the restaurant table. Nice. She was obviously not feeling well all day, though she didn't throw up again until the middle of the night. Once again, we were clueless parents. She came into our room at around 2 a.m. and Sean pulled her up into bed with us. She cuddled with us for a

tired big frustrated (no snow in mid-November?! It melted.) irritable happy blessed excited ready weary grateful curious glad merry sad sentimental silly joyous loved heavy achy homely cozy beautiful ridiculous unsettled comfortable content motherly mean grumpy sorry waddle-y nervous incapable strengthened cared for slow able So, in other words...I feel pregnant!

The girls at San Luis Lake...don't think we'll swim this time. We had a nice, restful weekend. We took a drive on Saturday and ended up at San Luis Lake for a picnic lunch. Yeah, in November. It was kinda cold...and we were the only ones there. The girls still had fun and we did a little walking by the lake, which hasn't frozen yet. Really, the weather has been beautiful and warm for this time of year. We went to a worship service at our church on Saturday night. Oh, wow. It sure is amazing to get to worship in our own heart language again. We're really enjoying church - we can leave our kids with dependable nursery and Children's Church teachers and the teaching we get to sit under is not only in English, it's also so good and just what we need. But we do also miss our churches in Shell and Oaxaca. I think we always will. Sunday was a serious day of rest. We all ended up taking very long naps on Sunday afternoon. Guess we needed some sleep! I'm fin

This is a picture Sean took last night, not far from our house. Yeah, uh-huh, it's pretty here in Southern Colorado. Sean isn't blogging any more...but I just have to make sure you remember to check his Flickr album often!! My awesome husband is a talented fella and I'm his biggest fan. I love his photos and he's gotten some pretty stunning ones lately. It helps to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. It also helps that he doesn't have to work 8 to 5 just yet. I'll be honest and tell you that his *ahem* passion for photography kinda annoys me sometimes...but then I see the beauty that he's captured again with that silly old camera and I have to admit that he's just got a talent and gifting that I want to see him use and enjoy. I always love to see what he's captured in a photograph that I didn't catch in real life. I think he should make a book and/or sell his pictures....don't you?! I'm adding his Flickr to my side

To all those American heroes out there who served our country (and especially my own Dad), Thank you. We really enjoyed the Veteran's Day Parade today. It's good to be an American. I really believe that. And I'm grateful for the men and women who have fought or are fighting for this country and all it stands for. God bless America! (photos by Sean....of course.)

It snowed yesterday. It was wonderful!! I have to say, though, that it was also very cold. Brrrr.... My blood is pure orange juice after 3.5 years in tropical climates. I'm a wimp. And my children would be worse about the cold than even I am except for one major difference....THEY LOVE PLAYING IN THE SNOW! They haven't experienced cold like this ever before in their lives but they are just too overjoyed with the white stuff to even notice how frozen their fingers are. Sean and I ran to Wal-Mart to outfit our dear girls in winter gear. Apparently, Wal-Mart stuff is pretty good quality. It was near impossible to get our girls to come inside out of the cold and they were plenty dry and warm underneath all those puffy layers. Did I mention that the girls didn't want to come inside out of the cold? I even had hot cocoa ready for them. And popcorn. They would have preferred to just stay outside and eat the snow instead. It was a glorious day. And I took up knitting since it

I just want to let you know. Today, it was a big day. We finished unpacking!! Woo-hoo!!! Yeah, it feels pretty good. And, as a special bonus, we now have a place to put the crib. Cool.

Just a couple of shots of my precious girls actually getting along. In their room. In their pink room. Coloring quietly. Together. The room sharing is actually going quite well. They love their pink wall. You can also see they love the little child-sized table. Maddie's bottom bunk is working out perfectly. It really is a special thing to have been able to make a room like this for our girls. Even more special is that they appreciate it and share it so willingly with each other (most of the time).

Okay, I wish it was a snow storm. It's more like a snow...flake or two. Every once in a while, I glance out of our living room window and see a few snowflakes flying around. I've been so excited for some real snow. And, of course, it is not happening like I want it to. Not soon enough or serious enough. I love snow. It has been so long since I've seen snow. I want snow . Now. Still, snowstorm or tiny flurry, it is a cozy day. One of my biggest decisions today is whether I want another cup of coffee or to brew up some decaf chai tea. Hmmmm....both would hit the spot right about now! But I really should switch to decaf at this point in the day.