So Long Ordinary

Where to start?   Madison and I were just chatting about some visitors from the States coming to our house tomorrow.  This is a couple that does Member Care for MAF and just wants to spend some time getting to know us and see what life is like for us here. We're looking forward to having them.  When I told Maddie that the guests are arriving tomorrow she said, "So, when I wake up there will just be people with big noses standing outside my door?"  Ummm... I had to ask why she thinks these people will have big noses (she hasn't met them yet) and she said, "Because they're Americans!"   We've been back in Indonesia for four months!  It's been a rough adjustment back to life here.  I think we're finally getting there, though. Honestly, we just got too spoiled on furlough. Those things we were used to before furlough (heat, humidity, ants, separation from loved ones, crazy driving) are taking some time to get used to again.  Homeschool has b...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

It is raining more and more regularly!  We are so thankful.  The smoke got very bad there for a few weeks and it was so gross and depressing.  It is nice to see blue sky - or even gray rain clouds - instead of that dull brown fog.   Our electricity has been going off nearly every day.  Usually, it isn't this bad and your guess is as good as mine why this has been a problem all of a sudden.    We've gotten a lot of use out of the generator lately!  We don't turn it on every time the electricity goes out (it is loud and we like to save our gas for true emergencies) but we have had to turn it on a lot lately just to save the food in the freezer!  And to move a little air in the house...it has also been extra-hot. The girls and I are on a homeschool break this week.  We've already finished 9 weeks!  I'm very glad I scheduled in a week off in the fall.  It was time!  We haven't really done anything special but the girls did set...

Hey all, here's a list of the haps around here.... We have started homeschooling! So far, I'm really happy with my curriculum choices for this year. I learned a ton last year and we've tweaked some things - added some things and taken a few things away. I love getting to plan and create our very own homeschool and tailor it to our needs. And then it comes in the mail.... Oh, the joys of opening up boxes and boxes of new books and materials! I'm in a tiny bit of heaven just now. I'm also a tiny bit of a nerd - or so I've been told. My kids are maybe less enthusiastic about our new stuff. They are, however, working hard anyway and as we get accustomed to our new routine, things are getting easier for all of us. We are getting things ready for MAF teammates, the Rogers, to come to Palangkaraya from Tarakan (the other MAF Kalimantan base) to help us out through the end of the year. We're super-excited to see them come! My niece is in Hawaii for college ...

The past week or so has been pretty hectic and emotional. Our teammates, the Pratts, are moving back to the States so this past week we have been busy helping them get ready to go and saying our good-byes. The Pratts are now en route to the U.S. We were sad to see them go and they will be missed by so many people here but we understand that God is leading them down a new path and we totally support them in that decision. Good-byes are a part of our missionary life - and that is honestly the only part of our life that I really, really, really hate!! We were pleased to host some friends from Tarakan (another MAF base) who came for the Pratts' good-bye party. It's always fun to see our friends and we were sad to see them go so soon after they got here! That's the problem with MAF - too many wonderful people and great friends and so little time to really hang out with them.... Sean has now taken over the Base Manager responsibilities and will also be the only pilot for the...

There was a shrew in our house the other day. A shrew. I've heard plenty about the little creatures and seen them outside plenty but this was the first one to make it's way into our house. It was ugly and it shrieked like crazy when we tried to get it out of the house. I shrieked a little lot myself when I glanced down and saw it coming toward my foot! Sean was disgusted with all four of us girls for screaming like, well, girls. But some things can't be helped. When that shew was scurrying around our house and yard? The cat just stared. The dog, on the other hand, caught the little fella in no time. Well, then. We have a new pet rabbit, this time a full-grown adult that hopefully we will be able to keep alive. She's cute and Maddie is quite serious about taking good care of her. Did I mention that a couple weeks ago Sean brought a (big) snake home from the dock? And that he put it in a cage and wanted to keep it as a pet? And that the snake escaped within t...

We're all doing well. Busy, busy, busy. (but not with homeschooling, which is SO nice) This week we're extra busy with company. Two different families are in town - a family with Wycliffe that visits 3 times a year and our newest MAF family visiting during their break from language school! Any increase in our Western family count is cause for great joy and celebration! ;-) Our Indonesian staff is on a retreat with other Indonesian staff from the other side of Kalimantan. Please pray for them to have a great and blessed time. We highly value these men and their families and we know they need encouragement in this ministry just like we do! Please keep praying for the English Club. It just keeps growing. There were 59 last week but half of them were new and several regulars were missing, which means we're shooting upwards of 60 if everyone comes! I am unable to do as much craft-type projects with them because it is just too much - too expensive to get all the material...

Brooklyn is officially a 3rd grader! She worked really hard this week to finish her work and I am SO proud of her. She's pretty excited and we're already enjoying our break. First year of homeschool done - check! Madison is also done! I started her in Kindergarten a little late in the year because I had to wait for some materials. So, we only got about halfway through Kindergarten. I do have First Grade materials also on the way for next year. Maddie is gonna be a KinderFirst Grader! I counted 54 kids at English Club today. I could have double counted a few or even missed a few, its kind of hard to keep count with a bunch of kids milling about in a smallish room! Seriously, though, we can't add any more to this class. We're really having fun - today I taught them to do the twist and make paper airplanes. They loved it! The fun thing about teaching English is that the students can learn from anything. Okay, okay, we are studying action verbs and transportation...