Happy Birthday, Aaron!

Today is Aaron's 30th birthday. Happy birthday to the best man in the world - you are the greatest husband and the best Dad to Taylor and I love you tons!

Our first eschatology lesson

It all started with reading Taylor's picture story Bible before bed tonight. We were reading about Jesus' ascention into heaven, and Taylor was quite fascinated with the concept. So we started talking about how Jesus went "Up, up in the sky" a long time ago, and now He is in heaven, and how someday He will come back "Down, down, down" to the earth. It was in the fear of the Lord that I proceeded to tell her that she very well might be alive and see Jesus return to the earth with her own eyes. I then told her that Jesus will come back to the earth and be a king. Her response? "That will be fun!" Yes, my dear little one, it sure will be fun. If you're reigning with Him, that is. Out of the mouth of babes......

It was one of those conversations that I will remember for a long time. I know that she doesn't even understand all of what it all means - after all, she's 2 - but I do know that it's not too early to begin introducing these basic truths and that this was the first of many such conversations with her. (No, our next eschatology lesson isn't going to include a complete explanation of the seals and bowls and trumpets and the antichrist and false prophet and all that. In case you were wondering.) As a parent, I want her to be ready for all that she will see and for the events on planet earth that will be escalating during her lifetime. I want to do all that I can to equip her with all that she will need to know and understand so that in that day she chooses Life, not death. So that she chooses love. So that she sees with the eyes of eternity. So that she can look beyond the momentary afflictions toward the day when Jesus will once again reign on the earth, and when we will reign with Him. And how much fun that will be.

And to my readers who may have never before considered these things, or who may choose to not consider these things because of the controversy or stigma surrounding them, let me leave you with one thought. I believe with my whole heart that we are living in the generation when Jesus will return - and if not our generation, definitely the generation of our children. But if I am wrong, and if I live and die and Jesus has not yet returned to the earth - but if I sought to live my life as though He was going to, in prayer and fasting and sincere devotion and in the pursuit of fullness - what have I lost? And if our children live and die and Jesus has still not yet come, what have I lost in preparing them for His coming and teaching them to live in anticipation of it? I'd much rather live as though He is coming soon and be prepared, than live as though He wasn't coming, and find myself not ready.

So, back to Taylor. To borrow Randy's prayer, what more can I say but, "God, may you make Taylor into the woman You need her to be when it all comes down."

Amen. Let's stand.

My latest favorite invention

Electric blankets are perhaps the best invention ever. We just got one for our bed - and it's awesome! Prior to the electric blanket, those sheets were really cold when getting into bed at night. Now, I put the electric blanket on a couple of hours before we go to bed, and by the time bedtime rolls around - it's like stepping out of a freezer and into a sauna. (Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point). Don't know how we lived without one for the first half of winter.

You learn something new every day.

I was informed today that oranges aren't usually ready to be picked until August/September. I guess that explains why the previously mentioned orange was so sour. At least there's hope for our orange tree. Which, on second thought, does us absolutley no good, seeing as how we move in mid-July. Fortunately there are orange trees at our new house, too. I still have my heart set on fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Speaking of moving, haven't even started to think about packing anything. I think this will be one of those "pack everything in a few days" sort of moves. Can't bring myself to even look at anything that resembles a box. More to the point, can't bring myself to live in chaos for any longer than absolutely necessary. Hopefully the last-minute approach will work.

Taylor's not feeling too well.

Taylor woke up sick last night. Fortunately, it wasn't the tummy-type sick. It was just the runny-stuffed-up-nose-type of sick. But she felt pretty miserable all day today. She wasn't grumpy, just really cuddly and quiet. (Can't complain about that!) She was sitting on the couch reading books this morning while I was washing the dishes. I checked on her a few minutes later when it became a bit too quiet, and my suspicions were confirmed - she was fast asleep. That's when I knew she was sick. She never does that. And then she took a 2+ hour nap, and then was in bed before 7:30. Poor little girl. Hopefully a good night of sleep and several more doses of imported children's Tylenol cough and cold will find her feeling better before too long.



And now for a really random thought, I made a chicken-cranberry-onion-Camembert pizza for dinner tonight, after being inspired by Candice while away last weekend in Taupo. We all really enjoyed it - I think it will definitely become a regular around here. Funny how moving to a different country makes you try lots of new things. With no decent pepperoni or Italian sausage here (at least, if it's here, I haven't found it yet....), one is forced to get a bit gourmet when it comes to pizzas. Apparently that's not such a bad thing.

As close to the grove as you can get

One of the benefits of having an orange tree less than 5 steps from the house is a continual supply of fresh oranges all winter long. Taylor asked for an orange for lunch today, so what did I do, but step out on to our deck and pick a fresh one. Nevermind the fact that it was quite sour, but she didn't seem to notice or care. Hopefully this year's crop will sweeten up considerably so we can enjoy some fresh OJ.

Another busy day

Grocery shopping, the bank, errands around town, laundry.....it was good to get caught up on life, but it hasn't slowed down a bit here. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit slower-paced. I don't cope well with too many fast-paced days in a row!

The highlight of my day was a nice long conversation with my dear friend, Rachel Hood. It was so nice to connect with her after six long months - and it really made me miss home all the more.

It's late. Time for bed.

I'm back!

Sorry for my extended absence, everyone! Had I known this past week was going to be as crazy as it was, I would have told you earlier that my presence would be scarce at best. But I think that life has settled a bit, and I am finally sitting in front of my computer again.

The rugby game was great - definitely a cultural experience! I still don't have too much knowledge of the game itself, so I found the rugby a bit hard to follow.....but it was definitely more interesting live than it is on TV. And whenever the game got a bit slow, fortunately there was a bit of entertainment from the Irish fans who came to watch their team lose to the All Blacks. Yes, we did win.


Here we are!!



A pre-game shot of the field


We had a great week with Marty and Candice. Lots of good food, good times.....it was fun to catch up with friends from home. It was a pretty full-on week, though. I also taught (and hence prepared) two classes for the internship this past week - doesn't sound like a lot on paper, but believe me, that made for quite a full week!

So this past weekend we had a much-deserved break, going down to Lake Taupo with Marty and Candice and Josh and Misty to enjoy a few days of R&R at Marty's parent's lake house. It was great fun - Taylor even slept in until 8am - which meant that we did, too! The weather was lousy, but thanks to a blazing wood fire, we were nice and toasty warm inside. The best part of the weekend, no doubt, was that on our drive home, it was snowing! Now, you have to understand that it New Zealand, it never snows on the north island, unless you're in the mountains. But it was so cold today that the rain definitely changed to snow - it was awesome!

So it's great to be home, finally get caught up on blogging and my emails, and begin to think about this coming week.

Visitors

Marty and Candice are coming today to spend a week with us. We met Marty a couple of years ago here in NZ, but really got to know him when he spent some time in Kansas City last summer. He all but lived at our house for a few months (along with Josh, another Kiwi, who really did live at our house over the summer). Now those were some interesting times. 3 Kiwi males all together in one house........wow. Let the reader understand. (Do the words "golf", "food", and "farting" bring any clarity?)

So that's when we got to know Candice, too. She's from Arkansas and was dating Marty at the time. Anyways, Marty and Candice were married in December. They live in the States now, but are back here in NZ for a visit - we're honored that we get a whole week with them! And of course, Josh and Misty were married a few months ago and live here now.......so it will be lots of fun to spend time together as married couples.

Tomorrow night we're all going to an All Blacks rugby game. Should be fun. Can't say I'm much of a rugby fan, but I guess it's a good "cultural experience". Don't worry - there will be a full report to come on that one!

Creativity

Taylor got some new paints the other day as a belated birthday present (Thanks to the Telfords, if you read this....). They're the coolest paints I've ever seen....they're like a felt-tip marker, except what comes out it paint, not ink. The result? The same amount of fun and creativity as normal paints, with virtually no mess. They're great! And last week, Taylor and I made some playdough....so here are some pictures of Taylor exploring her artistic abilities!

It's a beautiful New Zealand winter day!

It was a cold one last night - the forecasted low was 1*C (about 34*F)....burrr! Fortunately, due to the late-night Warehouse run last night to buy an extra blanket, we were nice and toasty in bed. And now with our fire going (albeit a 'fake' gas one), at least the living room is nice and toasty. The good thing about New Zealand is that although it gets cold at night, it warms up nicely during the day. Yesterday warmed up to 15*C (60*F), which made for quite a pleasant day. I think the highs today should be pretty close - especially since there's not a cloud in the sky. Don't suppose there's much to complain about when the average high during the middle of winter is 60*.

Today promises to be a low-key day. I'm home with Taylor today, so no doubt we'll have lots of story time and we'll also try out the new paints that she just got as a belated birthday present. Then of course there's always the cleaning and the laundry to catch up on. And in all my spare time (i.e. naptime), I'll tackle preparations for Friday night's Song of Solomon class. Guess it's time to get going, or nothing will ever get done today!

Quote of the Day

I stumbled upon this quote today, and thought it was worth repeating. I'm not a Jay Leno fan, and I think this a few months old, but like I said - it bears repeating.

With hurricanes, tornadoes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'.
~ Jay Leno

What a little cutie!

Taylor in her new winter coat that Nana just sent:

Thanks, Sabrina! It fits perfect and looks adorable on her. Gotta love those American sales.

Ahhh, the weekend....

...the glorious weekend. We sure have needed this one. All three of us took naps yesterday. (Seriously, I think there is much that one can learn from the life of a two-year-old. Take a nap every day. Eat fruit or veggies at every meal - and for snacks in-between. Remember to share and use good manners and not be self-centered. Don't complain when you have to do things that you don't want to. The list could go on.) Anyways, I did nothing all afternoon yesterday, after my morning at the prayer room. My big event of the evening was making a grocery list. That was yesterday. Today? A sleep-in until 8am! Taylor didn't wake up until 7:30, and Aaron got her up and got her breakfast so I could sleep. (Now that's a great way to start the day! Thanks, hon.) And the big event of today today was grocery shopping. Needless to day, it's been pretty low-key around here over the weekend. And we've needed every minute of the down-time. The best part is that our weekend continues tomorrow. (Because we do the prayer room on Saturday, or weekend 'round here is Sunday and Monday. We love it.) Monday could perhaps be the best day of the week to have off.

Now, lest I give you the impression that this is all we do all the time, let me assure you that our weeks are quite the contraire. Prayer meetings, class, preparation for teaching, admin work, meeting with interns.....not to mention keeping everything around the house in working order. This is why weekends such as these are so glorious....

Frustrations of life in New Zealand

It's amazing how it's the unexpected, little things that can often be the most difficult parts of moving to and living in a different country. I thought I had a pretty good idea before I came the things that I would find most difficult to deal with; most annoying. After all, I did live here for three months last year and thought I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into. But one thing evaded my predictions. One seemingly insignificant thing, but rest assured - it is by far the most annoying, frustrating part of living here so far. Maybe it's because I wasn't mentally prepared for it, and it has taken me by surprise. What is it? Condensation. Yes, you heard me right. Condensation. You see, none of the windows here are double-glazed, and with no central heating in the house, there is condensation on the windows every morning. Not a big deal? Oh, yes. It is a big deal to this American who has never before dealt with such a nuisance in her life. You see, not only does the condensation collect on the windows, but every few days, it also collects in massive puddles on the window sill. Like, puddles big enough to soak a hand towel through. So then, not only is there condensation on the window and puddles of water on the window sill, but (this is the bad part....) if you leave it there, the windows and/or curtains get moldy. So, logic concludes that it's in one's best interest to get rid of the puddles of water and condensation on the windows. Easier said than done. Either you have to take a towel and wipe down every window in your house every morning, or you have to open the windows for half the day to let them dry. Which (in my short, limited experience) doesn't even seem to dry them well. So then, not only do you have windows that are still wet, but it's also absolutely freezing in the house. Remember, it's winter here. And for those who know me well, you know that I don't cope well with being cold. At all. I hate being cold. Grrr. To be honest, I must confess that most days I opt for a certain element of warmth in the house, close the windows (or, don't open them in the first place), and settle for condensation on the windows. It's situations like these that make me really long for the convenience, comfort, and ease of American life - and make me appreciate and love America all the more. Oh, what I would give for central heat right now.....

So, my "perspective-gaining" question to myself, in response to the said frustration? If I can't cope with living in New Zealand in the middle of winter, how am I going to cope with the end of the age?? Hmmm. That's a good question.

Now that's called perspective.

Found that CD - finally

The CD in question is the software for my camera so that I can finally download photos from my own camera, and I don't have to use Nic's. So here are photos that I just downloaded today of our container arriving and the unpacking job. A bit late, I know.....but better late than never.


The container arriving at our house.



Everthing we own - finally here!

The sea of boxes with no apparent end...