78 Days Until We Leave to go Home to America.

Not that anyone is counting.

First Earthquake

Apparently there was an earthquake last night - 4.7 on the Richter scale - but I didn't feel a thing. Slept through it all. Part of me is glad ~ I've never been in an earthquake before, and I'm not necessarily looking forward to feeling that sensation for the first time. But on the other hand, because I have never been in an earthquake before, there is a strange intrigue and curiosity that has got part of me looking forward to the very experience that I'm not looking forward to. Sounds a bit schizophrenic, I know. Seeing as how this is the first earthquake that Tauranga has had since we've moved here, I might be waiting quite a while until the next one, though Aaron (a self-appointed seismologist these days) thinks we're due for a big one sometime soon. Who would know.

Passing Along the American Heritage

Ever since Taylor was little, I have had some small American flags in her toy basket for her to play with. The logic behind that stretigic move was that I wanted the American flag to be a familiar sight to her, a common part of her life, so she would grow up knowing what one was. No worries there. The girl can spot one a mile away.

Anyways, the other day we were picking up toys together, and I came across her American flag. I was suddenly inspired to begin teaching her the Pledge of Allegiance. Why not? I mean, come on.....don't all American mothers sit around home and teach their 3 year old children the Pledge of Allegiance?! So I taught her how to put her hand on her heart, and then she repeated after me as I recited the pledge in 3-year-old-length phrases. I was quite impressed with the way she maneuvered through the pronunciation of some of the larger words such as "indivisible". It really is cute to listen to the Pledge being said in a "3 year old" tone of voice.

(On a side note, I can't remember the last time I said the Pledge of Allegiance. Probably my school days. Back then the Pledge was just another part of the "home room" routine, recited with barely a thought of what it meant. Now, being more than a decade older and living in a foreign country, those familiar words carry more meaning and weight than perhaps they ever have before. Talk about feeling patriotic).

Anyways, back to Taylor. She loved it! And she has come to me since and asked if we can do that "American flag thingy". Not sure how long this phase will last, but I plan on capitalizing on it as long as I can!

Randomness

Yesterday was another gorgeous spring day, so I took Taylor and a friend out for a picnic lunch at the Mount. It was so much fun; Taylor really enjoyed playing in the sand and watching the waves (still way too cold for swimming). I still can't really believe that I live in such a beautiful place!

Today was my long day at the house of prayer - prayer room in the morning, teaching class in the afternoon. I'm feeling especially tired this evening - so much so that I just sat on our couch and watched SportsCenter for the last 30 minutes. Yes, I'm lovin' SportsCenter these days.....with baseball playoffs just around the corner and eight NL teams currently in contention for 4 playoff spots, keeping track of who is winning which games is of utmost imortance. It really is getting pretty exciting these days. I wan't kidding when I said I love baseball!

Our quiet week is drawing to a close. Nic comes back tomorrow, and Dayna in a couple more weeks. It's been a nice change of pace. I've had heaps more time with Taylor than I usually do which I think has been good for both of us, and heaps more time and space just to "be" and to chill out. We have a week break coming up during which we'll close the prayer room and have no classes; I think I'll definitely be ready for more "down time".

I think it's time for me to head out to the office and practice some piano and vocalizes before heading off to bed. 'Night!

Rainy Tuesday Afternoon

When I put Taylor down for her nap today, I knew that I would be wise to spend the afternoon listening to my body and resting rather than being productive and "doing". Two hours later I woke up; 3 hours into Taylor's nap, she's still sleeping herself. I think it's safe to say that we were both feeling pretty tired. There's now a steady rain falling, so I've made myself a cup of lemon tea, grabbed the two Rachel Ray magazines I just got in the mail today (from America, that is!), have the baseball set up on my computer so I can keep track of the games and scores for today, and I couldn't think of a better way to spend a rainy afternoon. Speaking of baseball, the last week of the season is getting pretty exciting. The team that our friend plays for has a very strong chance to make the playoffs, so we're following it pretty closely around here....not just their team's progress, but also the teams ahead of them that they need to pull past in the standings in order to extend their season into October. Pretty exciting stuff. But for right now? Those magazines are calling my name!

Starting to feel like summer

Okay, well maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but for at least an hour today, it sure felt like it! I went up the mount this morning, and was it ever so beautiful out there! Warm and sunny and lots of people enjoying the beach. New Zealand really is a whole different country come summertime, and for good reason. The country just comes alive ~ especially beach towns, like ours. Of all the places on the earth to live, I've gotta say that I think this is one of the best.

We've been enjoying our quiet week so far and some much-needed family time. I've had lots more time with Taylor than I usually have, and it's been really fun to hang out together. Every day I remind myself that these next couple years will go by so fast, and before I know it, she'll be in school every day. Makes me want to hang onto every minute that we have now! They just grow up way too quick.

Sundays.

Waffles for breakfast.
9am. Still lounging in PJs.
Baking yummy treats. And eating them.
Watching baseball online.
Taking a nap.
Reading a book.


This is the stuff Sundays are made of. And made for.

Catching Up

Wow. I really need to stay diligent when it comes to posting. Some days it just seems that there's not much exciting to write about! Either that, or there's lots to write about, but I don't have a chance to sit down at my computer to actually post about it.

This past week, we had a couple from Fiji come and stay with us for a few days. They're pastors of a church in Suva; this is the couple Aaron always stays with when he goes to Fiji. Since they were already going to be in NZ for a few weeks, they wanted to come to Tauranga to check out the house of prayer. It was so fun to be able to love on them and pray for them and see them come and be refreshed in the presence of the Lord.

This coming week will be quite different than last. Dayna (the girl who lives with us) is home in Canada for a few weeks, and Nic (Aaron's sister) has gone away for a few days during school holidays. So the three of us have the house to oursleves this week; one thing's for sure - it's going to be a lot quieter than usual around here!

First Haircut

At 3 yrs and 4 months old, Taylor was finally ready for her first haircut! One of the THOP interns is a trained hairdresser, so we had her and her husband over for dinner tonight, and then she cut Taylor's hair right here at home. At first Taylor was a little tearful, but once she realized that it wasn't going to hurt, she was all smiles! She still wanted Mommy and Daddy to hold her hands, which of course we gladly did. She did a great job standing still, and ended up with a cute little haircut!

A day at the duck pond

Today has been another gorgeous spring day. This morning Dayna (the girl who lives with us) was babysitting Abilgail (neighbor girl), and this being my 'home day', Dayna and Abigail and Taylor and I decided to walk up to the duck pond and the park to enjoy the day. We had a fantastic time! The pictures say it all.

Dayna with the girls, feeding those hungry ducks!

Taylor and Abigail

Yes, there were ducklings!


These are pukekos ~ a native New Zealand bird

Who is the queen of the mountain?

And just for comparision sake, that was then.....

And this is now....

My, how she's grown!

Baseball

Those of you who know me well - or those of you who have been reading this blog for any amount of time - will know that I love baseball. That is no doubt one of the things I miss about America. There's just nothing like going to the ballpark on a warm summer night to watch a game live. I try to keep up with baseball as much as I can while we're doing here, though admittedly it is a bit more difficult as I really have to go out of my way to keep track of all that is going on. I do faithfully track the progress of one team in particular - the Colorado Rockies. Tthis year - if they win lots of games against the right opponents in the remaining couple weeks of the season - there is a good chance they could win the national league wild card and make it to the playoffs. Today they lost in the bottom of the 10th inning - in one of those important games against an important opponent. Hopefully they'll be able to pull out the big wins from here on out when they need them. And one thing is for certain. I'll be watching their progress closely for the remainder of the season - and hopefully into October.

Pavlova.

Yesterday, for the first time, I made a pavlova from scratch. Some would say that this is something every Kiwi woman eventually must learn how to do. I've been a bit too wimpy to give it a try these last 18 months (they really can be a bit tricky, and do require certain technique to get them to turn out right). But yesterday I decided to take the challenge and go for it. It was actually Taylor's idea. We were walking through the grocery store on Saturday and I asked her what I should make for dessert on Monday when we had friends coming over. Her answer? A pavlova. I actually thought it was quite a brilliant suggestion, especially seeing as how I got my resident visa/permit last week (yeah!), and there was no longer delaying that fact that I, too, must gain my initiation into Kiwi womanhood. Now, for my American readers who are completely lost by this point, totally unaware of what the heck a pavlova is, let me explain. (I didn't know what one was, either, until I married into a Kiwi family). It's a meringue-type dessert, topped with whipped cream and usually some sort of fruit. It's usually about the size of a dinner plate, preferably quite tall, and the best ones are crispy on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside. They really are quite divine, especially with lots of fruit.

I am pleased to say that my pavlova-making attempt was a grand success, and I am eagerly awaiting my next opportunity to make one, so that I can work on perfecting the technique further. Hopefully next time I'll have a photo to post, too!

Time is flying.

Wow. It's been a whole week since I've posted. Where did the days go? We got back into town on Monday and very quickly got back into the routine of life. Tuesday was a normal day for me ~ prayer room in the morning, home in the afternoon. Wednesday night we had the staff and interns over for a cookout. It had been a long time since we had all gathered together, and it really was a lot of fun to see everyone outside the context of the prayer room and class. Then yesterday, after my long day in the prayer room, Aaron and I went out to the local mall for some time together while shopping. Our vacuum cleaner broke last week, and being one of those things that you really can't live without for longer than a few days, we decided it was time to replace it. I had also wanted to look for something specific at one of the home stores in the mall. For quite some time now, I've been wanting to get some decorative lanterns to hang in the house. One of my friends recently tipped me off that one of the stores in the mall had some. So yesterday we had a look, and not only did they have exactly what I was looking for, but I got the last two on the shelf - on sale - for only $10 each. I have to say, I was really excited! Now I just have to find the hardware to hang them with, and we'll be in business. One thing I've learned in the last 18 months is that home decor is much more challenging in New Zealand than it is in America, mostly because it's near impossible to find cute things that are affordable. This has been quite a startling realization for one who loves trying to make our house look cute, so when deals on good stuff such as these come along, it really is worth celebrating.