So Long Ordinary

So, things have been so crazy this week. On Monday, I went shopping for clothes for the girls in Colorado Springs. (There is no Target or Old Navy here and, well, we've pretty much bought all we could find at the Wal-Mart here anyway) It was a good, successful day. I think we're set with clothes for the girls for our first year in Indonesia anyway. After that....who knows? I'm kinda hoping they stop growing. Okay, maybe not. But I've already decided that I just can't plan that far in advance. How can I guess what size they'll need in a year or two or four?! Somehow, it will all work out. People do wear clothes in Indonesia, I'll bet we can find something. And if we can't find what we need we can have it shipped or maybe our families would even come visit and bring us some stuff or maybe we'll find a good tailor to make it all for us.... It'll be fine. Right? Right. Right? Right! Yesterday was a sorting/catch-up day. I spent a lot o...

Have you been wondering where I was? (Yeah, me too.) Things are in full swing - we only have a little under two months to get everything in order before we leave Colorado for Idaho and then Indonesia. And Sean will be gone for 3 out of the remaining 8 weeks! So, uh, yeah, we're kinda stressing. There's so much to do. We made a trip to Pueblo and did some hunting for a gas range with no electrical parts and an old-fashioned pilot light ignition. Such a basic thing and so hard to find! We finally found one at Home Depot. Stoves really aren't readily available in Indonesia (Indonesians don't typically bake/cook like we do) and if you can find one they are more expensive for less quality. So, we'll take our own. Sean built our crates early this week. He did an awesome job! Yesterday we took the crates up to Colorado Springs to have them heat treated. This is a new requirement for shipping to Indonesia...not at all convenient for those of us living over three hu...

On Sunday afternoon, Grandpa took Maddie and Brooklyn horseback riding. Both girls had a blast. Poor old Brotey politely put up with them as he was led around and around the lot. Later, Grandpa saddled up his own horse, Jose, and took Brooklyn on a long ride like a big girl. She loved it. One of my best memories of growing up was riding with my Dad - only back then, I was on Dixie (rest in peace, old girl) and Dad was on Camper (who now is so old he gets special treatment in a stall in the barn every morning) and Brotey was far too "wild" for a leisurely afternoon ride. I love that my girls get to enjoy the same special memories that I did with my Dad. Too bad Grandpa doesn't have a unicorn, though. ...

Lately, we've been ruthlessly paring down our belongings (again). When one moves as often and as far as we do, there are few items that actually stay around from move to move. It's been said that three moves are as good as a fire...so I wonder what 11+ moves are equal to?! What was a must in one home, is not so important in another (I can't really imagine that our heavy wool blankets would be very useful in Indonesia's hot climate but in wintertime they are a necessity here!). We really do try hard not to place too much meaning on objects - we know we can't take them with us when we die...and possibly we won't be able to take them with us when we move next! Some things have stuck around because of their usefulness - things like my KitchenAid mixer or the ratty towels we still have that were wedding gifts almost 10 years and five countries ago (they work, even if they aren't pretty). Some items are so special to us that they won't be coming with us ...

I had a wonderful weekend! It was so nice to relax a bit...haven't been able to do that in a while. We did have our yard sale on Saturday and got rid of everything ! It was the perfect day and we were done by noon. I didn't realize what a burden was pressing down on our shoulders until it was over - what a relief to have that done! Now it's time to start building crates, buying needed items, and packing..... On Saturday afternoon, my sister and I stole our mother and we all went on a special Mother's Day Eve outing. I cannot remember the last time the three of us went off together with no children. It was awesome. We drove up to the quaint little mining town of Creede. It's a beautiful setting up in the mountains. Sadly, it was windy by then, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. We wandered in and out of cute little tourist shops (all two of them). We sat down in a little coffeehouse and enjoyed coffee and conversation (closed the place down, in fact). We bou...

Playing on the playground at the MAF apartments Nice turtle... After lunch at The Retreat at Three Mile Creek with Uncle Keith, Aunt Cy, and our hostess, Charlotte. See, it's pretty in Idaho.

Whew! What a whirlwind trip to Idaho. We covered something like 2500 miles over the past several days. Out of 7 days we only had one day without any driving! That, my friends, can really burn a person out - even a person like myself who loves road trips. Thankfully, we were driving through some of the most beautiful country on this planet. Wow, Idaho, we had no idea you were so pretty! Our time at MAF was great. The class we attended was very well done. We learned a few more valuable tools to use in our time overseas, especially where safety is concerned. We're so glad MAF takes safety serious. One of the best parts of our time in Nampa was the opportunity to meet some of our future teammates! We met a couple that was recently married - he's already served in Kalimantan and now they are preparing to return there as a couple. Another family hails from Canada - the husband is a pilot and the wife a teacher who will likely someday be our girls' teacher. We enjoyed...