Life lately

I really hate it when people who have blogs never update them... :)

I wish I could say it's because life has been so calm and there's nothing to write about - ha! - but the truth is we have had so much mental stress going on lately it's been really hard to sit down and pretend nothing is wrong... and I don't really feel ready to write it all out - still a lot to process and trying to work through some issues before the Lord and don't necessarily want to spit them all over my blog. :) Basically we're still working through our ministry options here and what our short term plans are going to be, so you can pray about it for us but I won't say much more than that about it now.

I think it's because I've had so much on my mind lately I have had a hard time focusing and making decisions regarding Christmas plans... stupid stuff like "What are we going to eat on Christmas Eve for dinner?" You have to be really creative here with stuff like that as"traditional" stuff is not readily available.

I've also been having a hard time getting Christmas cards and seeing my friends' Christmas photos on Facebook and missing home and "normal" life. Do you know there are people in life who just live? Sometimes it sounds so nice to just have kids and enjoy them and write Christmas letters about where you went on vacation this past year and what birthday party theme your 5 year old had and how your husband loves his job and just got a raise. :)

I know, I know, life in America is not always as pretty and easy as I remember it to be. :) But I'm blogging here, not trying to be real factual. :)

So, I've been watching my kids the past few days and am realizing that just because we live here and face some unique challenges doesn't mean I can't enjoy having little kids and laugh at their craziness and relish the few short days when they're young and silly. It doesn't matter that our kids opened their Christmas presents on Christmas morning wearing shorts and no shirts because they were sweating because the electricity was off (It has gone off at least once EVERY day for the past 3 weeks). They still had a ball with their stockings and new presents and were so excited it was fun to watch. We had a great time even though it wasn't cold outside and they weren't wearing cute Christmas pajamas just like all my other friends' kids.

So I've been thinking about things I enjoy about my kids...

Elijah, at 5, is so full of wonder at the world. He asks fifty million questions a day (not an exaggeration in the slightest) and talks non-stop, so sometimes it gets on my nerves but I love how inquisitive he is and how he is always trying to figure his little world out. I also love how he is starting to ask so many questions about God and loves to read Bible stories with us.

Caleb just turned 3 at Thanksgiving and is a riot! He has brown eyes (as my parents point out, the only descendant of theirs without blue eyes) and I love his eyes! They are so mischievous and he is always making up songs and playing 3 year old jokes - which, being not funny at all, are hilarious. He is convinced he cannot see me if I don't have my glasses on, which he calls my "sunglasses" and since he always wakes up before 6, he usually brings me my "sunglasses" to come wake me up. :)

Ezra celebrates 11 months today. He is my joy - he cannot talk back or whine. He is fat and squishy and cuddly and he hangs on my arm like a koala bear. He's just starting to get shy so if we're out in public (where he always gets tons of pinches and little Indonesian grandmas patting him) he tightens his grip on my arm and buries his face in my chest. He's such the easiest baby and I LOVE his red hair...

Anyways, on Christmas Eve we ended up eating mac-n-cheese out of a box (great treat from America) I had had this great plan that we would make homemade pizza and each decorate our own, but I spent all Christmas Eve day baking for Christmas Day, so was totally exhausted and didn't want to make pizza dough that night. :) I did make egg nog for the first time ever though.... really easy and way better than the box stuff that I had always bought for Brant in the States (he loves it; I'm not a huge fan) and I made gingerbread - but it was a box mix Brant's mom had sent from Trader Joe's. SO good!

Other really encouraging thing was today we went to the beach with some friends who are out of their tribe for a break. It was beautiful - like the kind of exotic tropical beach people pay big bucks to vacation at. There are a few perks to living here. :)

I tried to post a few pics... it takes forever to upload pics with our internet connection. I bought Brant series 5 of "House" on iTunes for Christmas... SEVEN HOURS to download ONE episode!

Us at the beach :)

Elijah with a starfish - still alive. They have all different colors - kinda like at SeaWorld except for real. :)

Ezra all done taking pictures! I love his face.

My 3 sweet boys in their matching Christmas shirts (taken before Ezra was all done) :)