So Long Ordinary

Reading over this post, I realized it sounds awful whine-y and complain-y.  But I'm leaving it because, not only is it simple honesty, I want others to understand that as adventurous and wonderful as the life of a missionary really is, it also comes with plenty of hard days.  It would be dishonest and unfair to only portray the good stuff.  In the end, you'll see I'm better now and feeling far less like a petulant two year old.  But it's a process... You know when you have so much to say that you can't say anything at all? Yeah. We arrived back into Indonesia about 8 or 9 days ago and it has been pretty much chaos ever since. We were welcomed back so well by our team here and we feel so blessed by the friendships and people here as we pick back up where we left off.  We spent several days getting our house in order and it feels just like home again.  There have been long, hard days, fun parties, lots of laughter, and fun moments of joy as we get back into o...

About a week and a half ago, we should have been on a jet plane, headed back to our home, life, and ministry in Indonesia.  Um.  We didn't go. No visas. Visa purgatory. At the same time, this delay has been just what we needed.  It has given us a few days to rest, to recover from all the craziness of our furlough travels.  It has provided us with extra time to deal with a medical issue (more on that later).  It has freed up a weekend for camping with my family and for being able to see my niece off to college. It provided us a chance to see our friends and mentors whose influence brought us to MAF as they prepare to head back out on a new assignment themselves.  It has given us a little more time so we could go visit Sean's cousin, finally visit the Denver museum of Natural History, and see Sean's sister and our brother-in-law again.  It gave us a weekend to drive out to eastern Kansas to see my Grandma Jean (a precious weekend with her, by the way) an...

You know it's bad when you see people you haven't seen in four years and all they have to say to you is, "You haven't blogged in a very long time!" Okay, yes, I've been a little quiet on this space these past few months. To tell the truth, furlough has been a bit of a roller coaster for me, and I'm still trying to find my bearings here in the land of plenty.  America, you are way too much for me.  Truly, I still have panic attacks every time I walk into a store.  I want it ALL - because it is there to buy.  And then, I realize, I don't need that - it doesn't fit into a suitcase...or, I'd be sweating buckets if I wore that in Indonesia....or, maybe bowls made out of bacon aren't exactly the best use of my money.  Or are they? Building a snow man with cousin Audrey (February 2014) Can I tell you how much I am loving waking up in my parents' house every morning, hearing my kids teasing my Dad or my Mom reading a book to them in her little ...

The girls and Ester.  Ester is a sweet, shy, quiet little girl from next door.  She's also our helper's daughter, so she comes over almost everyday to play with the girls while her mom works.  On Friday, she just wanted so badly to spend as much time as possible with us, so we brought her with us to the MAF dock to say our good-byes.  All four girls spent the time at the dock playing around in the grass.  (Remember that post of the girls playing in the water a few weeks ago?  This is that same area, now bone-dry.) We're going to miss Ester...and so many other friends here. I'm not going to mention how very much we will miss our MAF family. (okay, guess I just did)   Sniff. Well, what a surreal feeling.  Our house is pretty echo-y.  Since we're having the interior painted while we're gone, I took down all of our pictures and wall hangings.  I also put away breakables and special items that might get damaged just sitting around the house f...

Happy New Year!!! It is finally 2014!  I've been anxiously awaiting this year for a while now, knowing it was our FURLOUGH YEAR.  Our whole family is getting giddier by the minute as we countdown to D-Day (Departure Day).  20 days to go....Eeeeeeehhhhhhh! As I look back on 2013, I'm able to see so many instances where God was with us and working on my heart through the many ups and downs of life here.  It was a good year.  Actually, 2013 was a total success in that I never had to take anybody  to the emergency room!   I welcomed in the New Year with a stomach bug.  It was a doozy, and I had to miss out on the fun party our expat friends were having.  But I'm all better now and it appears nobody else is coming down with whatever it was I had. Even though (or perhaps because) I was so sick, I was up at midnight to welcome in the New Year. Sean, Madison, and Paige all wound up giving in and crawling into bed.  I was asleep in the recliner b...

We had a wonderful  Christmas.  It was small and very simple, but just right.  After last year - which I not-so-affectionately label The Typhoid Christmas - we needed this year to be special to bring back the wonder of the holiday and God did it!  All week has been so restorative and fun.   Brooklyn reading from Luke 2 before opening presents.   After opening gifts we enjoyed a yummy breakfast (with bacon!  Thank you Centropolis Christian Church!), visits with our families back in Colorado over Face Time, and then we went out to visit our neighbors - a tradition in Indonesia.  Most families hold an open house on Christmas Day and everybody visits one another.  It feels like such a backward tradition to us since we grew up with Christmas Day being all about being home with family, but we've learned to really enjoy the chance to visit our neighbors and friends in their homes.  After more than two years in this house, we are slowly developi...

Happy Thanksgiving!  I thought of you all when I found this in the grocery store yesterday.  It gave me good chuckle anyway...  Not definitely, but probably the best in Indonesia!  No unattainable promises here.  Gotta like the honesty in the marketing department at Shira Potato.  By the way, these are diet potatoes, as you can see on the bar code sticker. Yes, diet potatoes! Probably. Nothing says yummy diet potatoes like the Tasmanian Devil, and I'm sure no copyright laws were infringed upon.  Probably? As you've noticed I've been on a sort of an unplanned hiatus from blogging.  Our October was crazy - very good, but indeed very crazy.  Apparently, the craziness continued through November and here we are nearly into December.  Oops! In my defense, I did attempt to blog several times over the past few weeks only to discover that Blogger and I were having technical difficulties.  Well, I think we've got those things figured out and ...

I'm just dropping in here between travel engagements  (I love travel!)  to share a huge praise - our house is rented!!!  We're relieved that it won't be sitting empty over the winter.  We'd still love to sell it altogether so please continue to pray with us that a buyer comes along ready to take that burden off our hands. I said I was "between travel engagements."  Yup!  I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Jakarta for more dental work this morning and tomorrow, our family is headed out for our first vacation in nearly two years. Hooray!  We so need this break.  I'm thankful to God for His provision so that we can take this time away to just be a family - with no responsibility other than making ourselves rest  and have fun together.  Can't wait to play the part of the tourist, to travel as a family, to see a new part of Indonesia, to get away from the smokey air, to take a break from homeschooling, to step away from all the responsi...

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 ...

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 ti...

I'm just gushing over here.  My second-born took a big step today and made a decision for Christ!  We were having a talk in the car on the way to the store about heaven and next thing I know she's over there quietly folding her hands and whispering a prayer to Jesus. When she was done, she looked over at me with a big smile and said, "I have so many blessings from God, Mommy!" Indeed. Happy Born Again Day, Madison Elizabeth!  We love you so much.  

We're gearing up for what will be a very, very busy month in July.  Lots of guests, lots of big projects, lots of fun, too, I'm sure!    I'm so sad to hear about the fires happening in my home area of Southern Colorado. Some of my very favorite places to play in the mountains are in or near the fire zone.  So, selfishly, I'm praying for rain!  We are continuing on with homeschool.  It is going very well.  I love Sonlight - I'm sold.  I know the girls are enjoying it too.  Sure makes it easier to work through the summer, when you don't so much mind cracking open your books! Sean's sister's wedding is next week.  Sigh.  We're all just really sad we can't be there.  I never imagined we'd have to miss this special day when it came, but we're hoping to "be there" through Skype.  Missing these important days - graduations, weddings (even just birthdays) - gets harder and harder.  Big sigh. We'll also miss my uncle's wedding...

Taking the Final Math Tests! These two happy little girls are really excited.  Today they have completed all their work for 3rd and 1st grades!  They have worked extra hard this week to finish up so that we can have a nice little break before starting up again with grades 2 and 4 in a little over a month.  Paige will also be starting Kindergarten - which you can imagine she is excited about - she's been watching her sisters and wanting to "do school" for a long time. I really love homeschooling our girls.  Long ago, when Brooklyn was a preschooler, I dreamed of homeschooling my kids, but when it came time for Brooklyn's kindergarten, we were in the throes of support raising and it just didn't work out.  Then, we were in language school and I was again not able to homeschool.  But when we started our first year of homechool in Brooklyn's 2nd grade year, I knew I'd found my calling. I'm not sure I ever would have had the guts to homeschool if it hadn...

It's hard to believe we've almost lived in Indonesia for three years.  In some ways, it has become a pretty ordinary life.  Things that once shocked me now barely register a blip on my radar.  I was trying to think of some examples for you but found I had to think a good long time to come up with anything!  That is how normal life here has become - I can't even recognize the things that, for this Colorado Mountain Girl, weren't normal 3 years ago.  You know -  things like taking your shoes off before going into people's houses to have important documents notarized.  Or unloading an airplane engine from the back of a dump truck using nothing but manpower and 2x4's.  Or seeing all manner of objects transported on scooters - refrigerators, chickens, 5-6 people, rebar, lumber, food carts, bicycles, fans, jerry cans full of gasoline, propane tanks, monstrous bags full of rice cakes.  On any given day, I see about 20 different things that I never k...

I knew I wasn't blogging much, but I can't believe I totally missed the month of March!  That's okay, though, because I truly needed the break.  We have been swamped lately so here's a little catch-up: Early in March, Sean and I took a little trip to the capitol city of Jakarta so that he could complete his annual flight physical.  Our girls stayed with our teammates, the Rogers, and had an amazing time.  I really enjoyed a change of pace and Starbucks but overall I came away with the realization that I. Don't. Like. Big. Cities.  And Jakarta is a big, big, big city.  Next time, I think I'll try to remember that I don't like shopping all that much, either.  Little touristy shops on quaint, quiet streets - yes!  Huge, indulgent malls with overwhelming prices and choices....not so much.  We had the Rogers' kids over the following week, so that their parents could have a similar trip to Jakarta.  I never expected the boys and girls to get a...

It's already the last day of February on this side of the world and I'm still scratching my head wondering where January went.  Good grief.  It would be an understatement to say we've been busy.  Lots of guests, lots of happenings, lots of good stuff....that's what's been going on!  March looks like it will be just as full - but with some fun travel and rest, which we are especially looking forward to! Can you say Starbucks? I'll share a couple of pictures from our February.  I lost the charger to my camera a while ago (not that I used it that much) so these are pretty low-quality Ipad photos.  I should steal Sean's camera once in a while, shouldn't I? We had a LOT of rain in February but one morning in particular we had a major downpour that flooded our yard before it could drain.  The girls just love it when that happens....   Our Valentine's Day wound up being crazy-busy but the following morning we finally got around to making and decorating...

We've had a guest all week - since last Wednesday, actually.  Heather lived here for more than 12 years and now she and her husband continue to serve "remotely" with occasional visits to Indonesia.  (Isn't technology amazing?) She's been so fun to have around and I've really enjoyed our morning conversations over coffee. She'll be here till Tuesday and has been teaching a workshop all week.  Our whole household (including our very busy guest) is very tired on this Friday - looking forward to a movie night and sleeping in tomorrow!  Woo-hoo! English Club went well this week.  I always have fun when we have a fun craft to do with the kids.  They love it!  Our newest teammates will be here in just over a week! We're super-excited to get them here.  I can't believe we'll actually have a full 3-family team.  For so many different reasons, it has been years since that could be a reality in Palangkaraya.  God is so amazing a...

Well, just like that, 2012 is over and 2013 has begun.  I can't believe it! I'm finally feeling human again.  No, I wasn't the one that was sick, but life in our house was pretty much on hold for all of us for a good two weeks or more.  Today, though, Sean is all better!  He is back to work and seems to have more energy than I expected him to.  This illness really knocked him on his back.  Can't tell you how great it is to have him back to himself again.  I'd really be okay with never having to take him to the ER again - I did it twice in about a one-month span! (Once for stitches on his foot and then again to try to figure out what he was sick with.)  Thank you again for your prayers!  We had to miss our planned vacation to another Indonesian city and we did not join in with the usual visiting that happens on Christmas Day here due to Sean's illness. Our Christmas this year was not at all like we'd planned it to be, but we rested. A lo...

Welp, we're on day five of Sean feeling miserable. If you are a Facebook friend, you've probably seen the status updates.  Sean has come down with something - we're not sure if it is dengue or typhoid.  I've never seen him so sick and it has made for a real bummer of a week.  As hard as this week has been, I'm not complaining.  Things could be so much worse - we all know that, right?  Others are suffering so much more.  Both in the U.S. and overseas, there is great suffering, illness, sorrow, and strife.  I refuse to let this get me down.  These are the things that come with living in a fallen world.  This is why we need the Christ in Christmas so very, very much!  I am putting on a brave face, doggedly remembering that Christ really is with us, that we have so much to be thankful for, that even when the days are dark, the Light has come and He has already won .  A little update on Sean this morning...he's still very sick...

I can't believe we celebrated Paige's 4th birthday on Friday.  How did this happen? In the midst of a very, very busy week, we carved out some time to celebrate our precious little "baby." We had a really fun "rainbow" birthday party with our friends the Rogers. There was a water balloon fight...the 70 or so ballons I filled took all of 30 seconds to finish off.  Sigh.  The kids weren't getting each other wet enough so I had to help.  ;-)   Then we just hooked the hose up to the slide...   Next, was cupcake decorating time.  Pretty sure Paige ate all of hers before we even got to see them.   Aw, my cute, precious, precocious little four-year-old.  She's as sweet and mischevious as she looks in this picture.  We all love her to pieces...(though I'd say her sisters really do get frustrated with her at least twenty times a day!) She's a pill!