So Long Ordinary

Our shipment has finally arrived.  I'm still in a state of shock. Is it really, really here?  And I'm also very tired.  What a day! Ummm...we didn't have a forklift in our garage so we had to unload everything out of the crates one item at a time and throw it inside the house.  Unfortunately, most of our Indonesian staff is at a retreat right now, so it made things interesting!  We had the help of the two other missionary families here right now (one of those families also got a crate, which was sitting on top of ours in that truck - we had to unload that one first at their house,  they don't have a forklift either. oh my.)  We wound up hiring a guy off the street, plus made the driver work, and our neighbors also came and helped.  It went relatively quickly. And everybody knows exactly how many extra pairs of underwear we brought for Sean ;-) This is what our front room looks like now!  Okay, so I've whittled it down some - now that same mes...

I can't believe it's taken me so long to get around to this...but we must introduce the kittens!  We got them a few weeks ago - their Mama lives at the MAF dock.  These little fellas have brought the girls hours upon hours of fun.   Meet Mickey and Oliver.  They're both boys and are so identical that they are almost impossible to tell apart.  Mickey is usually the friendliest one but they are both very sweet kitties...this is a picture from about two weeks ago - they are much fatter now!  Spoiled kitties. Seriously, the girls spend hours torturing these cats.  Mickey and Oliver know that resistance is futile and just become limp noodles when they are picked up!   Brooklyn has done a wonderful job of keeping Mickey and Oliver fed and watered.  She's great with pets!  Brooklyn took this picture of herself with her favorite kitty, Mickey.  It's out of focus, but it gives you an idea how goo-goo she is over that cat!

Am waiting...still.  But choosing to count my blessings instead of whining. Really! Have heard rumors of delivery of some shipments in the next few days...but not putting too much hope in a speedy or timely arrival. (Things take longer than they take, you know.) Had coffee with the other expat ladies living in Palangka Raya - there are 5 of us.  Let the girls con me into going into the "Pink Store," as they call it (similar to a Claire's, I guess).  Left with three headbands, some hair elastics, and some clips.  Said NO to a million other fun little knick-knacks.  Discovered a great place to shop for some upcoming birthdays! Just started another new (free!) book on my Kindle.  Have I mentioned that I love my Kindle? Am making tortillas from scratch for our dinner tonight - soft tacos!    Am making rice for dinner tonight - taco meat and rice in a bowl! Rearranged our school room/office so that it can also be our play room. Girls sure do like it! ...

Just had a very encouraging talk with my Mom and Sister!  Dad is still on a ventilator - but they've begun the process of weaning him off of it. No idea how long it will take, but he's making good progress! God's presence and help has been very real for all of us through this whole thing.  Can't get over His Goodness right now.   I'll never take modern medicine for granted again.  I'm just sayin'.  Same goes for communication technology and the Internet.  Even Facebook.   Jango.com has filled our home with lots of fun music these days!  Pandora doesn't work internationally but Jango does :-)  The girls love  the Disney station. Our household shipment is somewhere between Jakarta and Palangka Raya.  Which means...absolutely nothing.  I have no idea when it will reach our doorstep and I'm trying my hardest not to get my hopes up. To say I'm anxious to get my stuff would be a gross understatement.  I want to bake!  I wan...

On this Father's Day, my Daddy is in the hospital on the other side of the world.  He's heavily sedated and ventilators are breathing for him.  He had a heart attack a week ago and double bypass surgery on Friday.  The surgery went really well but he had an allergic reaction to a medication and that has meant extra time on the ventilators to allow his lungs time to recover and return to normal.  The prognosis is good. It will take a few extra days, but he'll be okay - this is what the doctors and surgeons and nurses say. He has a long road to recovery, but he's still a healthy, strong guy.  And stubborn, to boot, which will serve him well in the days and weeks ahead. It has been so hard to be here when I want to be there .  I can't tell you how hard.  I might as well be on another planet right now and I'm not going to lie, my heart is breaking that I'm not there to hold Dad's hand or  stand in my place beside my sister during meetings with docto...

Goodness but things have been crazy around these parts.  I can't seem to fall into any sort of routine with my blogging.  The only reason I'm getting any done right now is that the girls are sleeping in (a typical Monday occurrance - never on a Saturday) and Sean is out of town. Being a full-time Mommy again is exhausting!  I love it, I really do - but I'm busy pretty much all day long.  Doing what?  Oh, cleaning up messes, facilitating grandiose craft ideas, breaking up fights, and generally just keeping things from falling apart completely.  It's a tough job!  Gone are the days of blissfully sending the girls off to school.  I'm a homeschooling Mom, now, to boot. But we love it.  I'm still waiting on homeschool materials...that shipment, in addition to our household shipment, has yet to arrive, though we do hear that both are in Jakarta at least. (I'm trying very hard to stay patient, so I'm going to skip the rant I would normally insert he...