So Long Ordinary

A little Kitchen Science with yeast, flour, water, sugar, and oil!  We're 1/3 of the way through school already. All in all, it has been a good year so far.   It feels good to be plugging along, though I must admit to occasional rough days.  Welcome to homeschooling - the world with the highest highs and the lowest lows.  ;-)  Luckily, the good days far outweigh the tough ones and my girls and I are still smiling...and talking to each other.  I love that we get to do this, challenges and all. A friend of a friend interviewed me last night about homeschooling for his Master's thesis paper.  The concept of homeschooling is very new in Indonesia.  I really am passionate about homeschooling and it was fun to talk about it with someone who has never even met a homeschooler before!  If his topic is approved by his professor, we'll have the opportunity to share more about our school choice and our faith with him and his family, which is a really cool opportunity!  I never could ha

A wild "bajaj" ride from my most recent trip to Jakarta through hidden back alleys and crowded, dirty streets...on our way to Starbucks and the mall.   I keep waiting for things to slow down, get less chaotic and hectic, reach some kind of equilibrium. More than 3 years into living in Indonesia and I'm finally learning that just won't happen. Not in this missionary life. We have some less-busy seasons.  But life here consists of far more crazy-busy seasons.  It's okay.  Because it is a good life and we love it. There goes my "Living-Overseas-Is-A-More-Simple-Life" box. Part of this crazy life means learning how to live in a ton of different worlds at once.  We're Americans - through and through - America is, and always will be, our home country.  I cannot wait to go there in a few months and to be able to really relax for the first time in years .   But Indonesia has worked its way into my heart.  It is also our home.  If I think about leaving, I fee

Oh, we've had a great few weeks since my last post!  I mean truly   great weeks with all sorts of little blessings that have shot our end-of-term weary arms full of the energy we need to reach our furlough in just FIVE more months. I think I'll start with the most obvious..... I mean, really.  Who ever would have thought? I know I never imagined meeting Harrison Ford in Central Borneo. I'm just blown away by this life we live.  It's amazing.  Sean and I often talk about how crazy our work in Indonesia has been - dealing with the rich and powerful as well as the most down-trodden and needy.  It really throws us sometimes. Three years in, we're still learning how to navigate two such different worlds - neither of which is our comfort zone. Mr. Ford really impressed us, though.  Not because he's a huge movie star (though I was most certainly starstruck), but his attitude was so humble and kind. He's a normal guy.  I was touched at how he took the time to reall