Gotta love the weekends
Great relaxing day today. After church and a nice little outing into town to buy some presents for Daniel's wife and little boy, the rest of the day was spent playing with Taylor lots and getting a bit caught up on internship admin and the huge mountain of laundry which had accummulated in our room, waiting to be folded.
With that said and done, it's now time to head off to bed, in hopes of a decent night of sleep.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Saturday, July 29, 2006
First Milestone Gone By
Yesterday marked the graduation of the first THOP internship class. It was an awesome evening....it was great to reflect on each of the interns and where they started this journey and how far they've all come. It was sobering to stand back and catch a glimpse of the fruit of our labor, and to feel a bit of the pleasure of God in what He has done here in this city.
One of the highlights of the graduation was a last-minute visit from Daniel Lim, one of the senior leaders from IHOP-KC. He had been in Australia and contacted us a couple weeks ago and said that he'd love to come visit and pray with us. The timing of his visit couldn't have been better if it was planned. What a gift to have one of our friends from Kansas City here for the first internship graduation. Definitely a kiss from the Lord.
So now we have a week off - yeah! I'm really looking forward to having a chance to rest and slow down the pace quite a bit. I'm hoping that in this week I can get caught up, then prepare for the next internship - and then if I'm really doing good, maybe even get a bit ahead.
This evening we had a few families over for a mid-winter cookout. It was great to just relax and have fun and enjoy good food and good friends.
And now for a really random thought, here's a picture that my friend, Isabel, took while Taylor was playing at her house with her daughter, Kylie. Talk about a little cutie!
Yesterday marked the graduation of the first THOP internship class. It was an awesome evening....it was great to reflect on each of the interns and where they started this journey and how far they've all come. It was sobering to stand back and catch a glimpse of the fruit of our labor, and to feel a bit of the pleasure of God in what He has done here in this city.
One of the highlights of the graduation was a last-minute visit from Daniel Lim, one of the senior leaders from IHOP-KC. He had been in Australia and contacted us a couple weeks ago and said that he'd love to come visit and pray with us. The timing of his visit couldn't have been better if it was planned. What a gift to have one of our friends from Kansas City here for the first internship graduation. Definitely a kiss from the Lord.
So now we have a week off - yeah! I'm really looking forward to having a chance to rest and slow down the pace quite a bit. I'm hoping that in this week I can get caught up, then prepare for the next internship - and then if I'm really doing good, maybe even get a bit ahead.
This evening we had a few families over for a mid-winter cookout. It was great to just relax and have fun and enjoy good food and good friends.
And now for a really random thought, here's a picture that my friend, Isabel, took while Taylor was playing at her house with her daughter, Kylie. Talk about a little cutie!
Friday, July 21, 2006
Time for me to fess up
So, I have a little confession to make. In a previous post in which I recapped the events of our packing week and made excuses for a notable absence of posts, I mentioned (in reference to the events of that week) that "you didn't miss much". Well, that wasn't entirely true. You all actually missed something quite huge, but I wasn't able to disclose this secret to the world because I needed to make a few overseas phone calls and tell some people "in person" first. No, I am not pregnant.
Taylor and I are going home for 3 weeks! Aaron totally surprised me - bought the tickets and everything - and I didn't have a clue! I was so excited when he told me that I started crying - I was totally un-done. I guess the best way to explain it is that in the midst of missing home, you just can't let your heart 'go there' to a certain level. And then when someone tells you that you'll be able to experience that which you have been longing for but telling yourself you can't have.....that is enough to bring the tears. And then Aaron even got my parents in on the whole plan, and arranged for us to fly up to CT for a week, too, so we can see them. How awesome is that??!! It will be so much fun for both sets of Taylor's grandparents to be able to see her and spend time with her, and not miss out on this phase of her growing up. Oh, I can't wait to see family, friends, go shopping, go to baseball games, eat all the yummy food I miss and just be in America. Amongst Americans. Yeah!! The only bad part is that Aaron won't be able to come with us, as he has to hold down the fort (i.e. lead an internship) here.
Thank you, honey. This is a true gift which I don't take lightly. You're the best.
So, I have a little confession to make. In a previous post in which I recapped the events of our packing week and made excuses for a notable absence of posts, I mentioned (in reference to the events of that week) that "you didn't miss much". Well, that wasn't entirely true. You all actually missed something quite huge, but I wasn't able to disclose this secret to the world because I needed to make a few overseas phone calls and tell some people "in person" first. No, I am not pregnant.
Taylor and I are going home for 3 weeks! Aaron totally surprised me - bought the tickets and everything - and I didn't have a clue! I was so excited when he told me that I started crying - I was totally un-done. I guess the best way to explain it is that in the midst of missing home, you just can't let your heart 'go there' to a certain level. And then when someone tells you that you'll be able to experience that which you have been longing for but telling yourself you can't have.....that is enough to bring the tears. And then Aaron even got my parents in on the whole plan, and arranged for us to fly up to CT for a week, too, so we can see them. How awesome is that??!! It will be so much fun for both sets of Taylor's grandparents to be able to see her and spend time with her, and not miss out on this phase of her growing up. Oh, I can't wait to see family, friends, go shopping, go to baseball games, eat all the yummy food I miss and just be in America. Amongst Americans. Yeah!! The only bad part is that Aaron won't be able to come with us, as he has to hold down the fort (i.e. lead an internship) here.
Thank you, honey. This is a true gift which I don't take lightly. You're the best.
This ain't rocket science, folks
Storm warning on as Beryl moves north (Reuters): "The hurricane center said additional watches or warnings may be issued for part of Long Island and the New England coast later in the day. The storm was expected to turn northeast and gain pace over the next 24 hours, bringing its center near the southeastern coast of Massachusetts Thursday night or Friday morning, the center said. The tropical storm posed no threat to U.S. oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico." (emphasis added).
Anyone with a basic understanding of U.S. geography should be able to figure out that a storm barreling toward Massachusetts will definitely not pose any threat toward anything remotely close to the Gulf of Mexico.
Storm warning on as Beryl moves north (Reuters): "The hurricane center said additional watches or warnings may be issued for part of Long Island and the New England coast later in the day. The storm was expected to turn northeast and gain pace over the next 24 hours, bringing its center near the southeastern coast of Massachusetts Thursday night or Friday morning, the center said. The tropical storm posed no threat to U.S. oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico." (emphasis added).
Anyone with a basic understanding of U.S. geography should be able to figure out that a storm barreling toward Massachusetts will definitely not pose any threat toward anything remotely close to the Gulf of Mexico.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Monday, July 17, 2006
Getting Settled
We're in. There are boxes everywhere, but we're in. It's been a pretty full-on couple of days. Actually, on second thought, it's been a pretty full-on week. The last couple days I've had nothing else on my mind nor agenda besides unpacking boxes and finding places for things and putting things away and trying to regain some sense of order in our life. I have been reminded again that doing this with a two year old means that the unpacking process also takes twice as long as it would otherwise. This time, instead of my helper unpacking the boxes I worked so hard to pack, now my little helper tries to pack the boxes I'm unpacking! But such are the joys and paradoxes of motherhood, and at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Another reason that the unpacking is taking a bit longer is that Taylor is absolutely loving playing outside - and she wants (yea, needs) me to play outside with her! The house we're living in is situated on about an acre of land, and she is having so much fun running around outside and discovering her new surroundings. And watching our neighbor's horse. (Yes, our neighbors have a horse.) I, too, am enjoying living on so much land. This is the first time in my life that I've lived in a house where you don't have a view of the inside of your neighbor's house from within your own.....and I'm loving it. I never knew what I was missing. It's doing something for my heart. But of course, beauty always does. Did I mention that this land is stunning? There are palm trees, numerous flowers and flowering shrubs, avocado trees, grapefruit trees, orange trees, fijoa trees.....and the list could go on. It really is a small piece of paradise. Check out these flowers:
Yes, they are real. No, they weren't a housewarming present bought from the local florist. I picked those myself from our backyard. Now that's incredible. Never had flowers like that before in my backyard.....ever.
And I feel more at home now than I have in six months. Maybe it's because we lived in this house for 3 months last year and it feels familiar. Maybe because this house is part of a larger property that has been dedicated to the Lord's purpose decades ago, and there is a very real sense of peace here. Maybe it's because we're now where we're supposed to be. But I like it. And I think I'll like it even more when the boxes are put away and the counters are clean and the pictures are on the wall and maybe - just maybe - I can start to feel settled again.
But now it's time to pull my mind off the unpacking project and turn my focus back onto the prayer room and the internship. Easier said than done. I don't multitask very well. But I must, seeing as how I have a prayer meeting to lead tomorrow and a class to teach Friday night and a graduation to think about and plan for a week from Friday. I guess the house will remain a mess for yet a few more days.....
We're in. There are boxes everywhere, but we're in. It's been a pretty full-on couple of days. Actually, on second thought, it's been a pretty full-on week. The last couple days I've had nothing else on my mind nor agenda besides unpacking boxes and finding places for things and putting things away and trying to regain some sense of order in our life. I have been reminded again that doing this with a two year old means that the unpacking process also takes twice as long as it would otherwise. This time, instead of my helper unpacking the boxes I worked so hard to pack, now my little helper tries to pack the boxes I'm unpacking! But such are the joys and paradoxes of motherhood, and at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Another reason that the unpacking is taking a bit longer is that Taylor is absolutely loving playing outside - and she wants (yea, needs) me to play outside with her! The house we're living in is situated on about an acre of land, and she is having so much fun running around outside and discovering her new surroundings. And watching our neighbor's horse. (Yes, our neighbors have a horse.) I, too, am enjoying living on so much land. This is the first time in my life that I've lived in a house where you don't have a view of the inside of your neighbor's house from within your own.....and I'm loving it. I never knew what I was missing. It's doing something for my heart. But of course, beauty always does. Did I mention that this land is stunning? There are palm trees, numerous flowers and flowering shrubs, avocado trees, grapefruit trees, orange trees, fijoa trees.....and the list could go on. It really is a small piece of paradise. Check out these flowers:
Yes, they are real. No, they weren't a housewarming present bought from the local florist. I picked those myself from our backyard. Now that's incredible. Never had flowers like that before in my backyard.....ever.
And I feel more at home now than I have in six months. Maybe it's because we lived in this house for 3 months last year and it feels familiar. Maybe because this house is part of a larger property that has been dedicated to the Lord's purpose decades ago, and there is a very real sense of peace here. Maybe it's because we're now where we're supposed to be. But I like it. And I think I'll like it even more when the boxes are put away and the counters are clean and the pictures are on the wall and maybe - just maybe - I can start to feel settled again.
But now it's time to pull my mind off the unpacking project and turn my focus back onto the prayer room and the internship. Easier said than done. I don't multitask very well. But I must, seeing as how I have a prayer meeting to lead tomorrow and a class to teach Friday night and a graduation to think about and plan for a week from Friday. I guess the house will remain a mess for yet a few more days.....
Friday, July 14, 2006
Has it been a week already?
Wow. It's been a week since I've written anything on here. Ouch. Didn't realize it had been that long. Where did 7 days go? I remember now that when our container came a few months back and it was unpacking week, I fell off the blogging wagon for a while. I should have done the math and figured out that the same would probably happen during packing week, too. My apologies to my dedicated readers who have missed out on the commentary of life this past week (all two of you out there). But don't worry - you didn't miss much. This has been the extent of my days: prayer room, packing, packing the box again that I just packed because my little helper unpacked it, cooking dinner, doing laundry, packing a few more boxes, trying to stay sane. Anyways, tomorrow is moving day. Thankfully, we're as close to packed as we can be.
I'd like to be optimistic and say that I'll now be resuming my regular schedule of frequent posts, but judging from my last performance during unpacking week, I can't give any promises. Also don't know when our internet will be hooked up at our new house, so I may miss out on a few days right there. But, rest assured, I will be back. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Wow. It's been a week since I've written anything on here. Ouch. Didn't realize it had been that long. Where did 7 days go? I remember now that when our container came a few months back and it was unpacking week, I fell off the blogging wagon for a while. I should have done the math and figured out that the same would probably happen during packing week, too. My apologies to my dedicated readers who have missed out on the commentary of life this past week (all two of you out there). But don't worry - you didn't miss much. This has been the extent of my days: prayer room, packing, packing the box again that I just packed because my little helper unpacked it, cooking dinner, doing laundry, packing a few more boxes, trying to stay sane. Anyways, tomorrow is moving day. Thankfully, we're as close to packed as we can be.
I'd like to be optimistic and say that I'll now be resuming my regular schedule of frequent posts, but judging from my last performance during unpacking week, I can't give any promises. Also don't know when our internet will be hooked up at our new house, so I may miss out on a few days right there. But, rest assured, I will be back. Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Gaining motivation, slowly but surely.
The pile of empty boxes has moved from the garage into the house. Nevermind the fact they are still empty. It just seems so counter-productive to now be moving the boxes back into the house that I worked so hard to move out to the garage a few short months ago, and then to be filling the boxes that I worked so dutifully to empty. Guess I better stop philosophizing about it and start packing. The countdown on the moving clock is T minus 8 days......
The pile of empty boxes has moved from the garage into the house. Nevermind the fact they are still empty. It just seems so counter-productive to now be moving the boxes back into the house that I worked so hard to move out to the garage a few short months ago, and then to be filling the boxes that I worked so dutifully to empty. Guess I better stop philosophizing about it and start packing. The countdown on the moving clock is T minus 8 days......
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Independence Day
The 4th of July lives on.....though we're on the other side of the world, though it is the middle of winter. We had a small little 4th of July party yesterday - thanks to a few care package goodies!
And of course, I made a red, white, and blue dessert in honor of the American holiday.
Did I miss those yummy cookouts with burgers and hot dogs and baked beans and potato salad and dill pickles and fireworks? Absolutely. But hey, we did the best we could with what we've got.
The 4th of July lives on.....though we're on the other side of the world, though it is the middle of winter. We had a small little 4th of July party yesterday - thanks to a few care package goodies!
And of course, I made a red, white, and blue dessert in honor of the American holiday.
Did I miss those yummy cookouts with burgers and hot dogs and baked beans and potato salad and dill pickles and fireworks? Absolutely. But hey, we did the best we could with what we've got.
Monday, July 03, 2006
A Night Away
Aaron and I went away last night to this hotel to celebrate our anniversary - and we had such a great time! We left Taylor with Nic and off we went.....nevermind the fact that it was only five minutes away - it might as well have been an hour away. It's just nice to spend a night in a fancy hotel, no matter where it is. We had a great dinner last night - room service from a really yummy restaurant just up the road, and this morning we got a complimentary breakfast brought right to our door - all because they were painting the hallway and they didn't want that to be an inconvenience to us! Not a bad deal, seeing as how we could care less that the hallway right outside our room was being painted!
Yesterday afternoon, I wandered around town a bit, and went into the bookstore to buy a cooking magazine to read. While I was in there, I found some winnie-the-pooh sidewalk chalk on the clearance table - 4 pieces for only $1. So of course I bought Taylor a little present to bring home with us. I think it's fun to bring pressies home for her when we've been gone - even if it was only for one night, 5 minutes away! So here are some pictures of Taylor discovering the wonders of sidewalk chalk this afternoon......
Aaron and I went away last night to this hotel to celebrate our anniversary - and we had such a great time! We left Taylor with Nic and off we went.....nevermind the fact that it was only five minutes away - it might as well have been an hour away. It's just nice to spend a night in a fancy hotel, no matter where it is. We had a great dinner last night - room service from a really yummy restaurant just up the road, and this morning we got a complimentary breakfast brought right to our door - all because they were painting the hallway and they didn't want that to be an inconvenience to us! Not a bad deal, seeing as how we could care less that the hallway right outside our room was being painted!
Yesterday afternoon, I wandered around town a bit, and went into the bookstore to buy a cooking magazine to read. While I was in there, I found some winnie-the-pooh sidewalk chalk on the clearance table - 4 pieces for only $1. So of course I bought Taylor a little present to bring home with us. I think it's fun to bring pressies home for her when we've been gone - even if it was only for one night, 5 minutes away! So here are some pictures of Taylor discovering the wonders of sidewalk chalk this afternoon......
Saturday, July 01, 2006
A time to celebrate
It's a weekend of special days! Yesterday was our anniversary, celebrating 5 wonderful years of marriage - and looking forward to many, many, many more.
Today I threw a birthday party for Aaron. We had several of our friends over, and it was a really great evening enjoying each other and celebrating Aaron.
As if that's not enough for a weekend, our house back in KC closed today - a big answer to prayer, but also a bit sad for me, too. I think there's always something special about your first house. We bought it less than 6 months after we were married, brought Taylor home to that house, and made many memories there. Those were glorious years that we lived in that house - so of course, there's a part of me that's sad to see it go. Of course, the door on that season closed many months ago, but today, that door was locked shut and the key thrown away - never to go back again. Sad, yes, but also a definite relief to no longer have to manage a property on the other side of the world!
And the final notable event of the weekend is that our little weiner dog, Bailey, who we left back in the States, was just placed in his 'forever home' a few days ago. He had been in temporary homes since we'd left, but has just now been placed with a wonderful family. I'm not worried about him at all - he is well-loved and well-taken-care-of, and also a bit spoiled, I think - but in a strange way, it makes me miss him a bit more, knowing that he's really, for real, for real not our dog anymore. Maybe we'll have to get another one....
It's a weekend of special days! Yesterday was our anniversary, celebrating 5 wonderful years of marriage - and looking forward to many, many, many more.
Today I threw a birthday party for Aaron. We had several of our friends over, and it was a really great evening enjoying each other and celebrating Aaron.
As if that's not enough for a weekend, our house back in KC closed today - a big answer to prayer, but also a bit sad for me, too. I think there's always something special about your first house. We bought it less than 6 months after we were married, brought Taylor home to that house, and made many memories there. Those were glorious years that we lived in that house - so of course, there's a part of me that's sad to see it go. Of course, the door on that season closed many months ago, but today, that door was locked shut and the key thrown away - never to go back again. Sad, yes, but also a definite relief to no longer have to manage a property on the other side of the world!
And the final notable event of the weekend is that our little weiner dog, Bailey, who we left back in the States, was just placed in his 'forever home' a few days ago. He had been in temporary homes since we'd left, but has just now been placed with a wonderful family. I'm not worried about him at all - he is well-loved and well-taken-care-of, and also a bit spoiled, I think - but in a strange way, it makes me miss him a bit more, knowing that he's really, for real, for real not our dog anymore. Maybe we'll have to get another one....
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