Monday, December 29, 2008

New Zealand is now a better place...

Thanks to a Christmas present from Taylor, I have discovered that it is now possible to buy dill pickles here! They aren't as crunchy as Calussen pickles (but to be fair, I was never expecting them to be...), though they did taste as perfect as any American dill pickle. Three years of wishing for dill pickles has now been satisfied.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Berry Picking

A couple weeks back, we found a local "Pick your own" berry farm. So Aaron, Sabrina, Taylor, and I headed out to pick a truckload of berries. The strawberries here are 2nd to none in the world, and we sure were't shy when it came to filling up our containers! Here are some pics of the fun:

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Long Overdue
Seeing as how we're only a mere 5 days away from Christmas, I figured I'd better get my act together and post some of my Thanksgiving photos. Nevermind the fact that we're well past Thanksgiving and well into the Christmas season. But that's beside the point. Better late than never, I suppose.
My little helper, making pumpkin pie


Our turkey, not over-cooked this year!


Our whole spread.

(Sorry, Esther. Didn't realize 'til now that I never did get a photo of the cranberry relish. But it sure was yummy, thanks to you!)

Gotta love the pies ~ apple, pecan, and pumpkin!
(And a big thanks to one of my dearest friends from home who sent the Thanksiving decor items!)




Monday, December 08, 2008

Christmasy

I still have Thanksgiving photos I want to post, but until then, a short word about Christmas.

We finished putting up the Christmas decorations today. It was tons of fun; Taylor thoroughly enjoyed herself, and we had a good time working on it. It's fun to see how much they grow and change within a year, and how much more they remember, understand, and are able to hep with each Christmas that goes by. Being a parent at Christmastime really is fun.

Aaron very aptly pointed out this evening that it feels very Christmasy now, and it's even 20 degrees outside. The only problem is that it's 20 degrees Celsius, not 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Big difference.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Awake

It's 2:30 in the morning, and I am most definitely awake. I've had some pretty bad nights of sleep the last few nights, all manifesting in different ways. Tonight appears to be a bit of insomnia....how annoying!

So lying in my bed, trying to fall back asleep, my mind has wandered in all sorts of directions.....from the book of Revelation and eschatological events and the Man leading it all, to (a slightly less spiritual topic).....food. It all started as I randomly remembered this time when I was a kid and we went to New Hampshire for vacation. My parents had lived there at one time, and wanted to bring the family to their favorite sub-sandwich joint, called Moe's. I was only a kid, but I can still taste that sandwich to this day. It was hands-down the best sub I've ever eaten in my life. What's one to do when such a craving crosses the mind in the middle of the night? Nothing much that can be done but remember. So then I started thinking of a more realistic craving....which brought me to Subway and their veggie delight subs. Yum. A bit more realistic, but not at 2am. *sigh*. Of course, going back to sleep would be the best option by far, if only it were that easy.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Missing Home

Maybe it's the hormones; maybe it's the holidays approaching. Maybe it's both. Probably is. But whatever the reason, I've found my thoughts wandering towards home a lot recently: the cool, crisp fall air; Thanksgiving preparations in full swing; family and friends gathering together; and of course the other myriad of memories and thoughts that follow such a mental trail. The food and the shopping....favorite restaurants and holiday treats.....; I'll quit now while I'm ahead.

I do genuinely enjoy living here; I am settled and an peace with being here and I am content. I couldn't be more convinced that we are in the right place. There are things about New Zealand that I really am starting to love, and my heart is at rest here. But at the end of the day, it still isn't home; I am still a foreigner, and I still deeply love and miss my homeland. I am at peace with missing home, but sometimes I still do. On the bright side, I'm looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving (though we're celebrating on Saturday).....I think it will be good for my heart.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Finally...

...feeling better! The flu is long gone, and I've had 3 good days in a row with no morning sickness, either. Yippie! This is what we like. Although I'm not nauseous, I still don't feel myself yet ~ physically or emotionally. These hormones sure do have a funny way of changing everything. I'm counting the weeks until that (supposedly) glorious 2nd trimester when (everyone tells me that) I will (supposedly) feel more like myself again. I sure hope "everyone" is right.

In other pregnancy news, I had my first ultrasound on Friday. We got to see the baby's heartbeat and even got to see his/her spine ~ which at only 8 weeks, I wasn't expecting to see, but was pretty fun nonetheless. Everything checks out fine so far, with a estimated due date of July 1st. I am already counting the weeks. Some women just love being pregnant; I am not one of them.


I did take Taylor to a friend's birthday party on Saturday ~ the first party invitation from one of her pre-school friends. She was so excited to be invited to the party, and with several other moms there who I've gotten to know over the last several months, we both had a really good time.
Not too much in the line of other news, as it's been pretty quiet around here as I've been focused on recovering from the tummy bug, and then attending to all the details of life that went unattended while I was sick, such as grocery shopping and cleaning the house, laundry, and all that. Tomorrow is back into the normal routine ~ off to the prayer room in the morning.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

I was throwing up yesterday...

...but this time it's because I'm sick.

Somehow managed to pick up a 24-hour bug, although 24 hours later, I still don't feel like myself again. Might take a bit longer to recover from this one, being pregnant and all.

Pregnant + sick = not fun combination.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

I've been throwing up today...

...and it's not because I'm sick.

Let the reader understand.

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Election Night in NZ

Today I cast my ballot for a second time this year. It was strange, though fun, to vote in another country. It's been interesting watching how different it is from America. The whole process from the actual voting experience to watching on TV the events at each party headquarters and everything in between is much more 'toned down', laid back, relaxed, and casual compared to America. Though there's much I still don't understand about NZ politics, it's still interesting to sit and watch on the news where each party is at as the polls come in; it's definitely part of my cultural initiation into NZ. With that said, back to the other room to watch the latest results coming in....

Friday, November 07, 2008

Busy Week

All too soon, another week has come and gone, and here it is, Friday again. It's been a full week at the House of Prayer. YWAM was having their national leader's gathering in Tauranga this week, so on Wednesday the THOP gang joined a mere 75 other YWAMers from around the nation for a BBQ. Though I'm not fully part of the YWAM community and culture, I have done enough with the organization throught the years to recognize faces and re-connect with people whose paths we have crossed in times past.

Then on Thursday our staff and interns sat in on a presentation by a man who is a Kiwi church historian. He spoke for a good couple hours about NZ church history and the relationship between the Maori and the European missionaries. It was quite fascinating to learn the history and the stories of this nation, even this city in which we live.

And then this weekend there is a large conference at the church in which thop meets, so there was no prayer room today, and there will be no prayer room tomorrow, either. Some of our staff and interns are helping out at the conference; I love their attitude and willingness to jump in and serve when needed.

And then on Sunday, one of Aaron's good friends is coming up to Tauranga for the week and will be staying with us. He's stayed with us many times before and is just about like family, so it will definitely be fun rather than stressful having him here.

Never a dull moment around here, I can promise you that!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Just like Christmas

Aaron returned home today after two weeks away ~ in the States. Having him home is a wonderful present in and of itself (Taylor and I both missed him a lot this trip). But to make today even more fun, he came with tons of presents for us both ~ clothes and toys for Taylor, Thanksgiving decor, Yankee Candles, and lotion/skincare things, and the list goes on. It was a day full of excitement and fun, and it's oh so good to have Aaron home again.

It's been a bit day, and we're both pretty tired; off to bed now.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Turkey

As the weather warms up and the days get longer, it's time to start thinking about.....Thanksgiving. That sentence still seems strange to me, but such is life in the southern hemisphere. So I went to our local butcher today and bought our thanksgiving turkey. This is the 3rd year we've bought a turkey in New Zealand, and I still haven't gotten used to the price tag that goes along with them, but let's just say they ain't cheap! (Now it is a free range turkey, but still.....don't know how they can justify charging that much for killing a bird that just wandered around the farmyard 'til he got nice and plump. Hmm. Maybe we should go into the turkey-raising business). Anyways, hopefully I can cook it to perfection this year (last year was a wee bit dry). No pressure or anything, Kristi, when cooking the bird-that-might-as-well-be-made-of-gold.
To Enjoy Running

I can't believe I'm actually admitting this; writing this; putting this into print. But both today and Tuesday I have (just about, almost) truly enjoyed my jog through the neighborhood. I have always had a love-hate relationship with excercise. Actually, that's not entirely true. I've mostly hated exercise. Until I discovered the mount. Then the love-hate relationship developed. When my mount days ended, I settled for jogging through the neighborhood, which was fine for a while, but the past several months I have have found it quite difficult, boring, and a necessary evil. But for some reason, my last two jogs this week have been acutally borderline enjoyable, and have finished feeling energized, loving life, and on top of the world. Now, I know much better than to declare boldly that this will be the case from now on, but for as long as this fortunate turn of events continues, I'm not complainin'.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A Tragedy of Monumental Proportions

Okay, I admit. I'm a bit of a drama queen. It's not quite that bad. But nearly. Countdown no longer sells frozen cranberries. So unless New World comes to the rescue (which honestly I don't have much hope for that happening), our Thanksgiving this year will for the first time ever, be without homemade cranberry-orange relish. And cranberry muffins, cranberry bread, and cranberry up-side down coffee cake will forever be things of the past as long as we reside in New Zealand. *Sigh* I suppose on the positive side, we can still get the jarred Ocean Spray whole berry cranberry sauce, so at least there will be a cranberry contribution to the Thanksgiving table. But it's not quite the same.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Just Like Macaroni Grill

I found a recipe the other day that was so good I just had to share! It's a recipe for Rosemary Bread, and it tastes exactly like the bread at Macaroni Grill. I made some for dinner tonight, and served it with olive oil mixed with fresh cracked pepper for dipping; it's incredible! Perhaps the best bread machine recipe I have ever come across. (Although you could definitely make it by hand if you don't have a bread machine).

The other good thing about our dinner tonight is that our little Taylor ate two whole spears of asparagus ~ she still isn't decided for sure if she likes it, but seeing as how she ate two spears, I'd say she's doing pretty good! Along with sauted chicken breast with a mushroom-white wine-cream reduction and mashed potatoes, I think I may have found my new favorite dinner.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

AWOL

According to dictionary.com, AWOL is defined as, "Away from military duties without permission, but without the intention of deserting." Though I would say that my blogging career isn't exactly on par with military duties, I can promise you that although I have been temporairly away, I have absolutely no intention of deserting.

Now that we have established that fact, we can move on. A couple weeks ago, Taylor started going to pre-school in the afternoon instead of the morning since she is now 4 1/2 and has only two more terms before starting school. (Wow, where did 4 1/2 years go??). Anyways, she moved up to afternoons with a lot of her really good friends, so she's been enjoying the opportunity to maintain the friendships she developed in her first two terms of morning pre-school. The afternoon program also includes quite a few more extracurricular activities to get them used to some of the things that happen at Primary School, as well as get them used to the Primary School campus. For example, they will soon start swimming once a week, they'll join the primary students in some athletic events for a few weeks, and they also go to the school library every Friday. Although afternoons have been fun, the one downfall is that Taylor now no longer gets an afternoon nap ~ which means that at 3:20, I pick up a very tired little girl from pre-school! I think it will take a few more weeks for her to get used to the new schedule and adjust physically. So in the meantime, it's been early to bed for the little one!

Since this is "Labor Weekend" here in New Zealand (NZ equivilant of Labor Day), there is no pre-school tomorrow. And apparently the weather is supposed to be good; so between the prayer room in the morning and hopefully a nap in the afternoon, hopefully we can get out into the world to enjoy the day!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Looks like she's going to be a golfer, folks...

...Just like her daddy!




Saturday, October 11, 2008

I voted today.

And I even have the sticker with the American flag to prove it. One of the funny things about voting on an absentee ballot is that it must arrive to the election board office by 7pm on Nov. 4th. Which means that I vote before the rest of the country does. Kinda fun, if I do say so myself. I love that I still get to vote and exercise one of the great freedoms of our country, even though I live miles and miles away.

And the strange thing about this election year is that I actually get to vote in two countries. New Zealand allows permanent residents to vote. (Actually, registering to vote is required by law here, though actually voting itself is not). So, on November 8th, I get to vote again here. It's kinda strange voting in a country not my own, but it's also kinda fun all at the same time, to have a voice in not only one, but two countries.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Rest and Urgency

So far break week has met every expectation ~ time with family, time with friends, sleep-ins (thanks to my wonderful hubby), and also a bit of study time and music time (though admittedly not enough. Yet. Hopefully that's what the next several days are for).

I even got to watch the presidential debate today, which was most boring in the most interesting sort of way. I'm not usually one to publish my political opinions, so I'm not going to elaborate much on that now. Except to say that at this very moment, the state of the church (specifically in regards to this election) is as concerning to me as the state of my nation, if not more so. I am grately disturbed in my spirit.

If there has ever beeen a time to pray and fast, surely it is now.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Break Week

This week is our mid-internship break, so we've closed the prayer room for the week to give our staff and interns a much-deserved break. With the marathon pace and longevity in mind, we've learned it is wise to occasionally take a break for a week so we can continue on for months (yea, years).

In light of that, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do some things that I don't normally get to do during our normal schedule. For example, tomorrow I'm going into town with a friend to do a bit of shopping and catch up over a cup of coffee (or, in my case, a chai latte). I'm also hoping for some good sleep-ins during this next week, lots of time with the family, and also some good time studying/singing/playing keys. If I can accomplish that, I'd say it will be a great week!

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Parenting in the 21st Century

To be the mother of a 4-yr. old is to at times bear the expectation of being a walking encyclopedia. Fortunately, for the mothers of the 21st century, Wikipedia comes to the rescue, faithfully every time. Today's question? The surface temperature of Pluto. Not kidding. So to Wikipedia we go, in search of pictures and the answer to the thousand dollar question. After locating the Kelvin-Celsius converter (courtesy of Google), I finally discovered that the average temperature on Pluto is approx. -229*C. Nevermind the fact that this means nothing to Taylor except that it's too cold to wear short sleeves and a skirt without tights outside. By only a few degrees, I'm sure. But our mini-science lesson was only beginning at that point; after that we discovered pictures of the other planets, the structure of our solar system, the phases of the moon, and finally I gave a brief explanation of the seasons and an illustration for why the northern and southern hemispheres have opposite seasons (using her ball as the earth, and my Pumpkin Pie Yankee Candle as the sun).

How in the world did our parents survive before the internet??

Monday, September 29, 2008

Significant Week

It's so funny how many of the significant things in life occur without any pomp or fanfare or stately announcement of their occurance. Last week was one of those sorts of weeks in our thop history. It was one of those weeks in which the Lord spoke, when certain events and meetings took place, when notable conversations were held, and when yet another one of the mile markers was crossed on this journey of establishing a house of prayer here in Tauranga. In the natural, nothing much looks different now than did a week ago, just as much as when one has a birthday, he or she doesn't necessairly feel older in the immediate days following. But the lack of apparent change doesn't negate the reality of the significant events which have taken place. God is on the move; the winds of change are blowing, and by His grace, the plans and purposes of His heart for a city and a nation and a region of the world will surely come to pass.

This thing sure is hard work ~ one of the hardest things we've ever done in our life. But it sure is exciting to be part of.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Bullet Points
  • Tonight is daylight savings. Though I love the thought of one more hour of sunlight in the evenings, the immediate price of losing an hour of sleep tonight is quite disheartening. Especially since I am quite tired.
  • This weekend is full for us. After a late night last night, a pre-7am rising (thanks to my precious daughter), grocery shopping this morning, and a meeting this afternoon, I am tired. Tomorrow Aaron preaches all 3 services at church, and I will lead ministry time with some of the THOP guys for the evening service.
  • Friday marked the last day of the school term for Taylor. For the sake of my American readers, the school year here begins in February, and is then divided into 4 ten-week terms, with 2 weeks of "school holidays" between each term (and 6 weeks summer vacation over Christmas). So, Monday starts 2 weeks of school holidays. I look forward to the opportunity to have Taylor home with us all day every day, especially since our THOP mid-internship break falls in the second week of school holidays, so we'll all have a week off together. I can't wait!
  • Taylor's social life is thriving. We have a play date scheduled for Monday with one of our ywam/thop friends, and we also had a lunch play date after pre-school yesterday with one of her favorite friends from pre-school, whose mom I also really like. I've really enjoyed forming friendships with the other moms, many of whom will be part of our life for years to come as our children will progress through school together.

Nothing much else terribly exciting for now. Time to get ready for bed, especially since it really is an hour later than the clock says it is.....

Friday, September 26, 2008

Strange, very strange.

In this country grow lemons that are orange and limes that are yellow.

This is enough to make a certain American girl very confused.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

New Bible

After 13 years, multiple layers of duct tape on the cover and binding, and scotch tape holding together many riped pages, I've decided that it was time to purchase a new Bible. I seriously thought about getting my old one re-bound (an idea which, I must confess, I still haven't entirely thrown out), but after scoring a deal at the local Christian bookstore (NZ$80 for a genuine leather Bible that's exactly the same as the one I've already got ~ even the chapters and verses are in the same place on each page), well, I've got myself a new Bible. As familiar as it seems, it still is quite new and strange, but seeing as how I can actually now read the book of Revelation, I'm thinking its good that I have a new one. I guess it will take a bit of time to 'break it in', but its worth it. And my old Bible will forever have the place of honor on our bookshelf. It feels like that Book contains within it the last 13 years of my history and journey in God.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Perpetual Night and Day Prayer

Today is IHOP-KC's 9 year anniversary. Or birthday. Whichever you choose to call it. Actually, they really have two birthdays. May 7, 1999 marked the beginning of the House of Prayer, 13 hours a day, 5 days a week. Then on September 19, 1999, night and day prayer began, and a prayer meeting started on that day that has not stopped since. I moved to Kansas City in August of 1999, so I missed out on being part of the May 7th beginning. (Though my husband tells me that the first nation ever prayed for in the House of Prayer was New Zealand. How does he know? Because he led the prayer meeting with Mike, and prayed for this nation himself. How cool is that?!) But anyways, I remember Sept. 19th quite vividly, a day which will, perhaps, be impossible to forget. There were lots of people crammed into the small prayer room, but it didn't matter. There was excitement and celebration in the atmosphere, yet also a holy awe and sobriety as we understood that none of us really knew the magnitude, significance, and also difficulty of what had just begun. It was an honor and privilege to be there on that day, and for 7 years that followed.

But the real point of that whole story (besides giving a bit of history and re-living those great memories) is that as I write this, I have a holy jealousy and a holy zeal/longing/anticipation for the day when it will be our turn. When a prayer meeting will begin in New Zealand that will, by the grace of God, continue until He returns. Not because this defines the success of our ministry, or because it's the pinnacle that all houses of prayer aspire to reach, but because first of all, He is worthy of it. He deserves great praise and adoration and worship and honor. Second of all, because as we consider the hour of history we are living in, this city and this nation will need it. Because I long for justice (the making of wrong things right) in our city (Luke 18:7). Because we need an open heaven. Because business as usual isn't working anymore. Because we need another Great Awakening.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Girl's day out, girl's night in

Aaron was in Wellington for the weekend, speaking at a youth camp, so Taylor and I had lots of special time together the last couple days. Yesterday I decided to forgo our usual Saturday grocery shopping routine, favoring a picnic at the park instead. It was a beautiful day, perfect for enjoying a good play (and lunch!) outside. Then last night, I decided to invite the girls from our community over to our place for "girl's night". We had a great time! It was a full house ~ between the THOP interns and staff and also the YWAM DTS students and staff, I think we ended up with about 20 or 25 girls here. But it was oh so much fun! The DTS just started last week, so it was really fun to meet those girls and get to know them a bit more. They're a great bunch; it's such a privilege having them here and having the opportunity to do the house of prayer alongside a DTS. It's a great combination! And Taylor had a blast last night, too. Many of those girls are her friends, too, in a "young adult befriends a pre-schooler" sort-of-way. I think she enjoyed the night just as much as (more than?) the rest of us!

One thing that I learned very early on in our marriage is that when Aaron goes away, it's important for me to make it a "positive" time for myself (and now Taylor) rather than a "negative" time. If he can go away knowing that I (we) are having fun and enjoying ourselves (rather than being miserable because he's gone), then it frees him to go and do what he is called to do without worrying about us. So, especially now with Taylor, I like to try to plan some special things to do while he's gone that we don't usually do when he's home. Like having a girl's night.

And now Aaron is home, which is the best part of the whole weekend!

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Like a kid again

Wow. How is it possible that it's been over a week since I've posted? The days are just disappearing, and ending as quickly as they begin. Never mind the fact that it's already September. What is that about?!

So yesterday I decided that it was a great day to take advantage of the spring air and warm(er) sun. I decided to forgo my usual Monday run, opting instead to put Taylor in the stroller and go for a lengthy walk with her ~ with a stop at the duck pond and the park on our way home. It was great fun. Good to get out and enjoy the fresh air of spring. And enjoy some good time with Taylor. The ducks were pitifully not hungry, though they managed to humor us and dutifully eat our old crusty bread, much to Taylor's amusement and delight. My personal highlight of the walk, though, was definitely the park. The swings, to be exact. It's been a long, long time since I've done this, but I decided to hop on the swing while Taylor was playing, and really swing for real, not just sit there. Now, there's just something about soaring high into the sky on a swing that's good for the soul. It brings with it a sense of freedom, childlike-ness, carefree-ness, innocence, pure fun, and satisfaction. Like all the troubles of the world melt away with each propulsion into the air. I think I could have stayed on that swing for a whole lot longer than I did, if it weren't for Taylor's requests for help on the climbing ropes. To be honest, I'm not sure who had more fun on that day: Taylor or I. But I think the bigger girl would be a safe bet.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Our week in pictures

We've returned to the tropical north after a wonderful week in Oxford. The faintest whispers of spring are in the air as the temperatures are slightly rising, the magnolia trees and a few other early flowers are blooming, and the sun is shining later in the day. Before we know it, summer will be upon us.

But before I get too ahead of myself, I still have the opportunity to relish the joys of winter, especially in regards to our week down south. Unfortunately, we narrowly missed a band of snow that was moving up the east coast of the island, although there were two short snow showers that I managed to see on the day before my birthday ~ they only lasted a few minutes each, but it was enough that I did get to witness snow falling from the sky. I must say, it's strange to associate snow with my birthday, seeing as how I spent 25 years of my life enjoying summer birthdays. No weather even close to resembling summer in Oxford, though! It was cold, cold, cold there! As much as I wasn't impressed walking through freezing hallways to take Taylor potty in the middle of the night (we slept with the heaters on, so at least our bedrooms were warm!), during the day I loved the fact that it was cold outside and we were warm and cozy by the fire inside. Although it wasn't near as cold as winters that I'm used to back in the States, it was way colder than Tauranga winter, and it reminded me so much of home. I loved it!

So anyways, here are some pictures from Oxford:

There was a park that Taylor loved playing at. She especially enjoyed going down the big slide!

There were huge trees at the park, and Taylor wanted to pose next to one. Sure is a big tree compared to the little girl!




The snow on the mountains was beautiful!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Keeping the home fires burning

Quite literally. We've been enjoying the wood burning stove all day today, thanks to Aaron. There's nothing like a fire that says "Warm and cozy". Did I mention that it's cold here? Probably the coldest I've ever felt in New Zealand. I love being warm and cozy inside while it's freezing outside; it's just like home! There's even some snow in the forecast for the region for this week, but who knows if it will actually snow here in Oxford. I'm holding my breath, though trying not to get too excited. But I would be perhaps the happiest girl in New Zealand if I woke up one morning to world blanketed in white. Or if it was snowing after nightfall and I got to go for a walk in a winter wonderland. It would be even better if that happened on my birthday, which happens to be on Tuesday. Oh, how it would remind me of home! But I'm not getting my hopes up. Really, I'm not.

Taylor and I drove to the airport in Christchurch to pick up Aaron this morning. It's great to have him here with us! We've enjoyed a quiet, low-key day as a family watching the olympics, playing with Taylor, and basically just relaxing. Off to go start making dinner!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Here Safe and Sound

Taylor and I have arrived here at YWAM Oxford after two uneventful flights. Fortunately we missed out on this drama at Auckland Airport; it must have happened just after we left. We've settled into the guest house we are staying in here; it's comfortable and just what we need for the week. Though I can't believe how cold it is here! Fortunately we have plenty of heaters, and Aaron arrives tomorrow and will get the wood burning stove fired up. (No, I never was a girl scout and wouldn't have a clue how to light a fire in a stove). I won't be complaining about the cold, though, if it snows in Oxford this week. What an amazing treat that would be!

In other important news, I have just watched New Zealand win a gold medal at the Olympics in the woman's rowing. Twin sisters that Aaron went to school with when he was a kid have captured the gold by mere millimeters ~ it was an amazing race to watch. As much as I've loved watching the olympics here, it has been very different watching them in a foreign country. Mostly because we don't see any of the medal ceremonies for American gold winners and miss out on hearing the Star Spangled Banner. Fortunately we still get to see many of the Americans compete, but of course the programming is planned around the competitions that New Zealand athletes are in, and all the commentaries are favoring New Zealand. Which isn't a bad thing at all ~ it's just different than watching and listening from an American perspective.

Time for me to start thinking about heading off to bed; we drive back into Christchurch in the morning to pick Aaron up from the airport. 'Night!
Off to Oxford

In a few minutes, Taylor and I leave to fly down to Christchurch to meet up with Aaron and spend a few days together as he ministers at the YWAM Oxford base. I love Oxford ~ it's a quiet small town where the pace of life is slow and offers the chance to unwind and relax. Looking forward to some good family time in between Aaron's teaching.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Good news from a far country...

...Sure is life to the spirit. Or however the Proverb goes. 'Tis true, though. We've had a good friend of the family from Kansas City visiting the Walsh clan this week, and has it sure been wonderful to have her here! She is a true encourager; she has spoken life to us and to our team here when we have really needed it. It's been great to re-connect with her and also to re-connect with Kansas City through her; what a precious gift for us in this season. It sure will be sad to see her go at the end of the week.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Waffles, real maple syrup, and a big welcome home

Aaron returned home on Saturday after 10 days in South Korea. Taylor and I are both so glad to have him home ~ he's been traveling lots recently and it feels like he's been gone for ages. So, in true Walsh tradition, I made waffles yesterday for Sunday brunch. They were especially yummy, because I received a jar of real Canadian maple syrup by a very thoughtful person who has been visiting Tauranga this week. Although we can get the real stuff here, the price tag on it is costly; it could easily be equated to eating liquid gold. Waffles, kiwifruit, whipped cream, real maple syrup.....doesn't get much better than that!

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Rainbows on a rainy day

It has been an unusually cold and wet winter. Today was the first day in (what felt like) weeks in which it hasn't rained at all. As much as the continual rain can get a bit wearisome, and as much as the squally showers on partly-sunny, partly-cloudy days can get quite annoying, one of the benefits of the unpredictable weather is the number of stunning rainbows we get to witness here. I have never seen so many rainbows ever before in my life. Often we will see three, four, or even five different rainbows in one day. And no matter how often I see a rainbow, my heart always skips a beat when I see one, and I can't help but to wonder and consider how glorious and merciful is the Creator who painted it in the sky. These pictures don't do justice to the glory of rainbows here in Tauranga, but I figured they were worth posting regardless.





Wednesday, August 06, 2008

A Day at Lollipops

Today Taylor and I met a friend from pre-school and her mom at Lollipops playland, an indoor play place for kids. Although I have known about it for a while, Taylor and I have never been before, so today was particularly exciting for her. She loved it! She was quite a bit hesitant at first to climb and explore without Mommy, but once I did it with her a few times, she gained a bit more confidence to go off with her friend and enjoy the tunnles and slides together. We spent five hours there (yes, you read that right). But we had nothing else going on today, and Taylor was having so much fun, so I figured we might as well just stay as long as we could and enjoy the opportunity while we had it. Here are some pictures of our fun:


Striking a pose.

Playing in the ball area

Having fun on the merry-go-round-type ride


The super-size air slide

They also had a huge bouncy castle which Taylor enjoyed, but no doubt her favorite activity of the day was going down the plastic tunnel slides. They were really fast (this I know by experience!), and at first it was a bit scary for her, but once she figured out that she wouldn't get hurt (and that Mommy would catch her at the bottom), she couldn't stop going down! Since I was catching her every time she went down, I never got any photos of it, but I wish I could have, because the look on her face of pure enjoyment was priceless!

Needless to say, somebody went to be super-early tonight!

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Bearing the Stigma

I've been thinking today about the words of Jesus in Matthew 10, "You will be hated by all for My name's sake." What a sobering wake-up call to the reality that the church in the last days will be living in. I don't think any of us really have a grid for just how un-politically-correct the church will be in that hour of history, and how un-popular we will be with not only the world, but also with those professing to be followers of Jesus, but who really aren't. Ouch. I mean, in some circles, it's a bit "extreme" now to take a stand for the basic 101 Christianity of the Bible. (You know, the Matthew 5, 6, and 7 stuff). And the consequences for such an unpopular stance today are barely more than a wee bit of social sigma or rejection. (Although take heart. The religious leaders of the day called John the Baptist demonized and Jesus a glutton and a drunkard. At least we are in good company). But what's going to happen when the issues we take a stand for are way more controversial than anything we've seen yet? Like the judgments of God breaking into planet earth? (Or the mere reality that there is a God, and we love His Son, Jesus). And the consequences for doing so are way more intense than they are now? (Like along the lines of death or imprisonment.) I mean, this takes any controversy, any misunderstanding, any false accusation that we may have experienced, and puts a "times 1,000" next to it, and then multiplied about another thousand times after that. And this is what we've signed up for.

Is it just me, or is that a bit sobering?

Monday, August 04, 2008

Remembering Sovereignty

After listening to and telling some of the stories this evening of how THOP was established and how the Lord led many of us here, I am reminded yet again of the goodness of the Lord's leadership ~ over regions, nations, ministries, families, and individuals. I have been pondering in my heart yet again the bizarre stories of how I ended up here in New Zealand ~ starting with my "accidental prophecy" when I was a child, to all the events between 2004 and 2006 leading up to our re-location to New Zealand. I have been considering how the Lord so wisely and carefully began knitting together in relationship the prayer movement and the missions movement in a new expression that we are watching emerge before our eyes. I have a fresh sense this evening of His sovereignty, and our destiny that He is so kindly and attentively orchestrating, and it makes my heart rest. This whole thing is His idea, not ours; He is building His house, not us. That's really good news.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

For all the American pecan-pie lovers in Tauranga...

...We can now make it, because Bethlehem Countdown now sells corn syrup! Miracle of all miracles! I'm actually not a huge fan of corn syrup, simply because it's so bad for you, but every now and then I come across a recipe that calls for it that I would love to make regardless. Unfortunately, though, corn syrup was no where to be found anywhere in New Zealand. Not anymore! I found it yesterday by accident when I was looking for something else. It's called "Glucose syrup, derived from corn"; it's in the baking aisle, on the same shelf with all the extracts, to be exact.

There's a certain amount of comfort found in the fact that the corn syrup is there on the shelf in the grocery store up the road, available to buy, just in case someday I decide that I want it. Never mind the fact that I rarely use it. (There's a commentary on the consumerism-driven American psyche for you.)

Happy baking!

Friday, August 01, 2008

I love what we do

Tonight was another great night at the house of prayer. It was one of those prayer meetings in which I was reminded again of the kindness of the Lord that He touches us with His presence and sends the Helper to enable us to worship in Spirit and in truth. I was reminded again why I love so much what we get to do; the superior pleasure of lifting weak words and weak hearts before a strong God with a company of people is just awesome. I'm so grateful to the Lord for all that He is doing, for this community that He has gathered here, and for the grace that He gives to pray.

It's late and I'm tired. Off to bed.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Good News

My step-sister has been found; thank you so much for praying for her. Please do continue to pray, though, if you think of her. She is still in desperate need of an encounter with Jesus. Please also pray that her heart softens toward her family and she initates contact, especially with her mom.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Contending for life

This time, it's a bit closer to home. Some of you may know that one of my step-sisters is in a rough place, and has been for several years now. The bottom line right now is that she has been missing for over 48 hours, and my parents have sufficient reason to think that she could be suicidal. Please pray for her, as the Lord brings my family to mind. Specific prayer needs:
  • For her safety, protection, and well-being
  • For grace for my parents, and especially Joanie (her mom)
  • That she would be found quickly, safe and well.
  • Her salvation, healing, and deliverance.
  • That Psalm 118:17 would be her testimony: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord."

Thank you for praying. The Lord God, Jehovah, whom we serve is mighty to save!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

New Look

Thanks to Jaime and her great instructions, my creativity has been sparked and I decided it's high time for an updated look and a bit of originality. The beach ~ an iconic element of the New Zealand life and culture ~ was the inspiration for my latest design. I think it's kinda fun to have something new and different. Thank you, Jaime!

As far as the storm goes, Tauranga lived up to it's meaning of a "safe harbor". We missed the brunt of the storm and only suffered a few tree limbs down on our driveway. It was kind of a let down after the buildup of "the biggest storm in 10 years". It honestly didn't seem much different than an ordinary windy and rainy day, but I suppose there's nothing wrong with that.

We're enjoying a nice family day today; it's still cold and a bit rainy outside. Good day for being warm and cozy inside with no where to go.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

The storm is coming

They say it will be no ordinary storm, potentially one of the worst in 10 years; one that "mimics...modest Atlantic hurricanes that hit America." Not sure if it will actually be that bad; but we've got the batteries and flashlights ready, just in case.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Somebody is learning how to read!

Taylor has had a steady interest in letters and phonics since, well, about the time she was 2 (Thanks to Leap Frog's "Letter Factory" DVD and fridge phonics ~ the absolute best toy ever). But the learning curve has risen sharply in the last couple of weeks, mostly in terms of learning how to write the letters of the alphabet. Every time I turn around, it seems that she has a pen or pencil or marker or crayon in hand, asking me how to spell a certain word, so that she can practice writing the letters. She can now write her name (very well, too, I might add).

The learning curve has also risen sharply when it comes to reading. I've read a bedtime story to Taylor every night before bed, since, well, long before she could even talk. Recently she's been into Curious George (like mother, like daughter. He was my favorite when I was a kid!). For Christmas this past year, Nana bought her a large hardcover Curious George collection, with all the original Curious George stories in it. So what have we been reading every night before bed for months? Curious George, of course! The last couple weeks, she has started pointing to words on the pages as I've been reading, trying to guess/sound out what word it was. So, what I started doing recently was being a bit more deliberate to focus her curiousity in words, and at the end of every page, I'll point to a word, have her sound it out, and see if she can figure out what it is. Tonight, she was doing amazing ~ sounding out and reading all sorts of 3-letter words, such as "hat", "man", "him", "his", "and", "bag", "big", "zoo", etc. She was so proud of herself ~ absolutely beaming with every new word that she was able to read. And of course, Mommy was proud, too!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Yankee Candles

It's been quite rainy recently. I think I can remember two entire days in probably the last two weeks when it hasn't rained at all. And on cold, rainy winter days, I find nothing makes home feel homey and cozy like burning my Yankee Candles. There's something about the sight of an open flame that deceives my mind into believing that I'm warm; when in all reality, it could be anything but warm inside. I was talking with one of my American friends the other day, and she agreed with me that good candles are really hard to find here in New Zealand. Either there are no good candles, so Kiwis aren't really into them, or Kiwis aren't really into candles, so there are no good ones to be found. I'm not quite sure which it is; but I have a strong hunch that if it's the former, someone would make a killing by starting an "importing and selling Yankee Candles" business. At least all the Americans in the country would buy 'em.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

To love prayer

I love when you leave an intercession prayer meeting more alive on the inside and less weary than you were when you got there. In my experience of prayer, these meetings are normally the exception rather than the rule. I normally find intercession to be more "work" than "refreshing". Whether that is true of all people, or simply a statement of my own depravity, I'm not sure. But the point remains: I love prayer meetings in which a genuine encounter with the living God occurs; in which Holy Spirit impartation happens at the heart level; in which true grace to pray is given. I love when His presence is manifest and when He pulls back the veil ~ even just for a moment ~ to allow us to catch but a glimpse of Heaven's perspective. Even one in a hundred like that is enough to keep me coming back for more.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Time to brag on our team

I was thinking today about the team of people that the Lord has gathered around us here in Tauranga, the ones He has chosen to help birth this House of Prayer and missions base here in the ends of the earth. When we left Kansas City 2 1/2 years ago to venture into the vast unknown, we had absolutely no idea what (or who) would await us. We knew a handful of amazing people already here, but also wondered who the names and faces would be that the Lord would add to our number in the years to come. (Actually, to be completely honest, when we left KC, we really had no idea if this thing would actually work and if we would even still be here "in the years to come". By His grace, we are still here; and for as long as He chooses to impart the same grace, we will continue to be here, laboring to see His house built). Anyways, for those out there reading this who have ever started a house of prayer, you will understand what I mean when I say it is hard work. For those reading this who have never started a house of prayer, I hate to ruin the romatic ideas of what that may be like, but, it's really hard work. And if this is something that the Lord ever calls you into, I pray that you will be blessed with a team as incredible as He has blessed us with.

I was looking around the prayer room this morning, silently thanking the Lord for the ones He has gathered here. Many of the ones in the room today have been with us since the very beginning, others for a year, some for just a couple weeks. But let me tell you, the faithfulness of these people is remarkable. I have seen them show up day after day, week after week, year after year to gather together for no reason other than to worship Jesus and lift their voices and cry out for His mercy on behalf of this city and this nation. Many winter mornings the temperature in the prayer room has been colder than the temperature outside; a few times our worship leaders have joyfully worshipped the Lord truly before the Audience of One ~ with no one (or only one or two) people in the room. All of them have gone without legitimate pleasures in order to pursue the superior Pleasure. But still they keep coming back day after day, to set themselves before the Lord, to pursue Him until He comes, to seek until they find. They have really bought into the fact that their reward is Him, and nothing else. And they are growing in leaps and bounds. These guys are the real deal.

So first of all, I'm grateful to the Lord for surrounding us with such amazing people. And I'm grateful to them for their faithfulness and devotion to Christ Jesus, and also for standing alongside us through the thick and the thin. You guys are the best.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Re-visiting a long-lost friend

It's been three months, but today the separation has ended. I went up the mount. Nic was the one who inspired the outing; it was her idea to begin with, and her offer to walk around the beach with Taylor while I was going up. Though admittedly hesitant at first, I eventually agreed to the suggestion, and I'm so glad I did! I had prepared myself for the worst ~ barely being able to get up even at a slow walking pace. But as I put my foot on the first step, I decided to see just how hard-out I could go and just how close I could come to my personal best fitness of 9 months ago. Though I am definitely no longer in my prime, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my little 30-minute jogs around the neighborhood have, in fact, been paying off, and I was still able to scale the mount in good time ~ even running all the steps, and the last bit of the trail near the top! I'm definitely encouraged to continue my running routine, even though it isn't as good of a workout as the mount. But seeing as how it felt so good to give my legs and lungs an intense workout, I think I should make the mount a once-a-month tradition!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Random thoughts

  • Once again, I find myself burning the midnight oil. Quite literally. I must stop this if I have any hope of getting decent sleep.
  • The All-Blacks played a fantastic game tonight, unfortunately losing to South Africa in the last minutes of the game ~ by only 2 points. Even I watched the second half of the game tonight, and was admittedly getting into it. Surely this is a sign of the times.
  • My new favorite recipe at the moment is for chicken pot-pie. Nothing like great winter comfort food.
  • My two new cooking ventures for the week are corn chowder (Served with American biscuits on the side. Now, for my Kiwi readers who may need a definition of what a biscuit is, or for those who may be a bit confused as to difference between a biscuit and a scone, click here for a thorough explanation). My second new cooking venture of the week is curry (made with curry paste and coconut milk and chicken and a bunch of veggies, all served over rice. Yum!). Nevermind the fact that I really don't have a recipe I'm following for that one, more like a few helpful hints from friends and lots of experimenting and 'a pinch of this and a pinch of that'.
  • Speaking of experimenting, I invented a swiss chard-roasted pepper-garlic-parmesan-orzo dish the other day. I decided I love experimenting in the kitchen; it's a great creative outlet.
  • 'Nuff said for now. Time for bed.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Happy 4th of July

Welcome to our world, where the red Christmas sweater worn in Kansas City also doubles as the 4th of July sweater in New Zealand. My, what a strange life we live.




Thursday, July 03, 2008

Musings

In the interest of bring an element of closure to my previous post, let me briefly say that we are now the very happy owners of our own dehumidifier. I am definitely looking forward to a drier, slightly warmer, and healthier home. If any of my American readers thought I was exaggerating in my last post, I dare you to come to New Zealand and see for yourself.

Now that we have that important part of life sorted, we can now move on to a discussion of slightly more significant proportion. In this week that we've had off, I have spent a fair amount of time pondering and praying through the season we are in, asking the Lord for His perspective and His thoughts on the matter. Following the hunch that what I am feeling is not representative only of us as a couple or us as a ministry, but perhaps is being felt on a regional, national, or even global scale, I'd like to share some of my recent musings, on a whim that perhaps it may strike a chord in the hearts of some of my readers. Following is an excerpt from an email which I wrote to a friend recently, which summarizes my thoughts quite well.

...This is a season to arise; to contend and hold fast; much is at stake, much hangs in the balance. It is a critical hour. Even as I write this, I am feeling again the sobriety of this...

It seems to me that we are in one of those seasons in which there is a window of time mercifully granted to us from the Father in which we have the choice to respond in wholeheartedness and devotion. It may or may not come as a surprise to you that the landscape of life, soceity, politics, and the church is changing rapidly. The battle between good and evil is raging, perhaps more intensely than ever before. And in light of that, I feel the urgency to arise and stand firm and labor in the place of prayer in order that the purpose of God may be brought forth ~ personally, corporately, nationally, globally. To wrestle with Him through the night until He releases the blessing of His power and presence and glory upon the earth. It's not time to play games anymore. Not that we have been before, but the reality of the significance of the seemingly mundane is pressing in upon us, and is demanding a response proportinate to the intensity of the times.

So, how, then, do we carry our hearts and respond? The only two things I know to do in such a time as this are to pray and fast. With as much grace as Heaven will bestow, pray and fast.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

My new favorite appliance

We've been using one for less than 3 hours, and the one we have now doesn't even belong to us. We've borrowed it from our wonderful neighbors, and already I am convinced that we must invest in one of our own. I actually think that someone somewhere needs to start a campaign to ensure that every household in New Zealand owns one. What is it? The humble dehumidifier.

The first 2 winters I lived in New Zealand, I thought I disliked winter here only because it was cold not only outside, but inside as well. This is true. But a few days ago it dawned on me the other reason why I don't get along so well with New Zealand winter. Not only is it wet outside (which I really don't mind all that much), but it's wet inside, too. The condensation on the windows every morning is enough to make one think that the rain outside managed to find it's way to the inside of every window. And not only that, but the air is damp....which makes it feel all the colder. Cold and damp, cold and damp; it's a vicious cycle.

This fact of life illustrates itself most in our home, unfortunately, in Taylor's room. One half of our house manages to stay pretty warm, but the other half of our house (where Taylor's room is), is seriously 5-10 degrees colder. And I really was starting to have some issues with the injustice that our daughter had to sleep in such less-than-ideal conditions (Nevermind the fact that compared with the majority of the world, she's sleeping in luxury). Anyways, that's how this spoiled American was feeling. Until the de-humidifier arrived on the scene.

Long story short, we're borrowing it tonight from our neighbors who are out of town at the moment, and after running it for less than 3 hours, I'm already amazed at the difference in Taylor's room. It's dramatically warmer than it usually is, and the air noticably drier, which makes for a much, much better sleeping environment. I'm already sad at the thought of returning it to it's rightful home tomorrow. Trade-me, (NZ version of E-bay), here we come!!

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

24 Hour Flu

Fortunately, the 24 hours are just about done, which means that I'm feeling a heckuva lot better now than I was 24 hours ago. Hopefully no one else in the house will come down with the same bug; even though it's only 24 hours, it's never fun to be sick. I guess it is, however, one (unfortunate) way to guarantee that I'm getting some much-needed rest this week. I've realized this about myself: I don't rest well; I find it very difficult to sit still and do nothing productive. But I sure did rest today! Slept 'til mid-day and watched TV all afternoon ~ something I never do. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back to normal so I can enjoy the rest of our week off.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Slow day, slow week

Today marked the beginning of our (much-needed) mid-year week break at THOP, so we've slowed the pace down quite considerably, and are looking forward to 6 more days of the same. I don't think I got out of bed 'til 8:30 this morning; wasn't that just wonderful! I did manage, however, to find the motivation to go for a run and, more importantly, hang out 3 loads of laundry. The locals will understand the immense importance of this. I think that today and tomorrow are the only two days within a two week time frame that will be suitable for getting anything dry. By this time tomorrow, every laundry basket in this house will be emptied of dirty clothes, unfortunately only to pile up again during the coming days of rain, until the sun dares to appear again. Such is life in the middle of New Zealand winter. (Okay, Trena, don't even tell me how wonderful it is to be putting your wet laundry in the dryer....in the middle of summer!) I will not be homesick. I will not be homesick. I will not be homesick.

In other news, Aaron and I went out for dinner last night to this great restaurant, in celebration of his birthday and our anniversary. We'd never been there before, but the food was amazing and the atmosphere warm and inviting. We'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great place to eat out.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

What's happenin' on the ministry front

It's been a long time since I've posted about what's going on at the house of prayer, so I figured it's time for a brief update.

In terms of day-to-day life, things are carrying along much the same that they always have ~ prayer meetings every morning (except the weekends) with the community of young adults the Lord has gathered here, meetings in the afternoon a few days a week for Aaron and I and various other ones, and two nights a week at the house of prayer ~ both teaching and prayer meetings. That's the basic schedule on paper, but in reality, what we are doing requires much more than what the weekly schedule portrays ~ in terms of both time and also heart.

The first couple years that we were here, we were leaning into sovereignty in an intense way as we were finding our own feet and doing our best to lead others in the midst of our own instabilities and uncertainties. There was much grace, for which we are grateful. But there comes a time in the season of pioneering in which a shift is required ~ from "leaning in" to "pressing in". A time in which (under the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit, and with much help from Heaven, of course) it is necessary to confidently move forward and initiate change and growth, rather than simply waiting for change and growth to happen. And so is the season we now find ourselves in. Though this shift isn't necessairly manifested in a dramatic schedule change (though modifications to the schedule and routine of life are inevitable), it is more apparent in the initiatives that take place behind closed doors; the decisions made at 'round table' discussions; the subtle re-orientation of time and energy, finance and pursuits; establishing infrastructure; long-term preparation and planning; and perhaps most importantly, the raising up of other leaders who will help us guide this community into all that God has for us as a people, both now and in the days to come.

So, that's our life these days. Is there a lot happening? In the day-to-day-ness of life, sometimes it feels that nothing exciting is happening and things are pretty mundane. But as I step back and look at the bigger picture, it becomes quite apparent to me that much really is happening ~ probably even more than I can see. Now that's exciting.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Time to take a little time out

I'm posting this evening from a local hotel room. Aaron and I have taken a much-needed night away to get some good R&R after an intense week at the House of Prayer. We might as well take advantage of having Nana and Grandad in town and give Taylor the chance to enjoy a fun night at home with them!

The second All-Blacks game of the season is on TV tonight; of course, someone here is extremely excited to watch it! And speaking of the All-Blacks reminds me of the Haka, which reminds me of our latest favorite YouTube video. (I've posted this link is for my Kiwi readers; I'm afraid that this will be irrelevant to my American readers). Here's to New Zealand!

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Fieldtrip to the Fire Station

Today Taylor and I went with the rest of her pre-school class on a fieldtrip to the local fire station. The kids loved it ~ Taylor's favorite part was when they were allowed to climb in the engine and sit in the seats! Here are some photos of the day:

For Taylor, the bus ride was almost as exciting as the fire station itself!

They divided the kids into 2 groups while they did the tour.
This is the group that Taylor was in.
All the kids got to stand on the hose while they turned on the water so they could feel the water filling the hose under their feet. They loved it!
Taylor with her teacher, Mrs. Bennett

Each of the kids had a chance to hold the hose and spray the water.

Taylor's favorite part of the fire station was getting to sit in the engine!

Monday, June 02, 2008

What New Zealand Thinks About American Politics

But first, a brief explanation for the photo you are about to see. "Tui" ads are famous in New Zealand for featuring a sarcastic statement, followed by the notorious "yeah, right". Some of the billboards are borderline offensive, some are pretty dumb, a few will definitely make you laugh out loud, and others are downright clever. After seeing this ad on my way to the airport, I couldn't resist taking a snapshot. I will leave it up to you to determine which category this one falls into:

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Oh, Happy Day!

Aaron has been in Vanuatu for the week, visiting a good friend who lives up there....and Taylor and I are so excited that he is coming home! As much as I've enjoyed having lots of quiet around the house and lots of alone time, I'm missing my hubby tons and can't wait to see him tonight. And there's a little girl here who will be so happy to see her daddy!

Speaking of the little girl, she had a couple late nights recently, so I was quite delighted when she woke up (and therefore, I also woke up) at 8:30 this morning! I think that both of us were quite ready for a long sleep-in; and it's amazing what a good mood she woke up in. Good thing, too, 'cuz someone will be having a bit of a late night again tonight since we have to go to the airport to pick up her daddy! Tomorrow is a public holiday in New Zealand, so no pre-school for her. Maybe she'll surprise us with another big sleep-in tomorrow. Now wouldn't that be a treat?!

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Recap of the week

It is just about bedtime, but before I call it a day, I am enjoying the silence of my house, the smell of my imported Vanilla Caramel Yankee Candle, and a few moments to reflect on the week gone by. I've had many meetings this week with various girls from our community, which have been a good chance for me to re-connect with them on a heart level. I have certainly been challenged, encouraged, mystified, and forced to lean into the great Leader of the ages for a new sense of wisdom, strength, creative ideas, clarity, and discernment. That's not always an easy place to be in, but I know enough to know that it's a good place to be in.

The other aspects of my week have been good, too. Taylor has done amazing at pre-school! I think it's safe to say that we're well past the stage of 'tears when saying goodbye', which is absolutely wonderful. She's adjusted well, really enjoys it, speaks positively about it at home and is eager to go in the mornings. I can already see such growth in her confidence, especially when it comes to making friends. She has really fit in well, and it seems to be a good bunch of little girls for her to be building relationships with. Speaking of building relationships, I have really enjoyed getting to know the other moms in the 'drop off' and 'pick up' times. There are already a few coffee dates/play dates that have been discussed, which I am really looking forward to. I guess on the front end I was a little unsure what that dimension of the 'pre-school experience' would be like, but I have genuinely enjoyed the brief conversations I've had with so many of the moms, and I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better. I think I'm discovering that it's nice to have a circle of friends in which I relate not as a "leader", but just as a normal person and another mom. Not to mention the fact that many of these girls will be Taylor's peers throughout the coming years of her school experience, so it's nice to begin establishing relationships with their moms now; relationships that very well may carry on for the years to come.

And in between all that, I even managed to go running a couple times (oh, I still do miss going up the mount!), enjoy great times with Taylor, keep up on the laundry and grocery shopping and such, and find a little "me" time, as well. If I can manage a bit of time for ironing, vacuuming, and a quick tidy of the house tomorrow, I think I'll be off to a good start for the week.

Too late to worry about all that now. Time for bed. 'Night!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

City girl turned country

That's exactly how I felt about myself as I leaned over the fence watching the late afternoon sun disappear behind the silouette of a farmhouse and the red-brushed trees lining the paddock where Josie the horse was grazing. Did I mention that this was in my back yard? It was at that moment that I felt miles away from my familiar suburbia/city upbringing.

Taylor and her little friend/neighbor, Abigail, enjoyed a long run-around in the big field next to our house this afternoon, while all us adults (Abigail's Grandma, mom, dad, Nana and Grandad Walsh, and I) leaned against the fence watching the girls and chatting about nothing really in particular. Bek (Abigail's mom) acutely pointed out that this was the New Zealand version of "porching". (For those of you unfamiliar with the term, " Porchin' " is American slang for sitting on your front porch, sipping a glass of ice tea, serenely watching the world go by). It was kinda one of those moments where I felt more noticably the extreme difference of environment and lifestyle that I live now, compared with the life I once knew in America.

Not that every day is filled with lazily leaning against fences shooting the breeze watching my 4 year old princess run and dance and freely enjoy the sunshine and cool air of fall. Actually, those 45 minutes felt much more like the exception rather than a rule, so much so that many times I was interrupted from my own reverie wondering what I was supposed to be doing that I was forgetting, only to remember that there was actually nothing else beckoning me; and in fact that this was the most important thing I could be doing: enjoying watching my daughter enjoying life.

Perhaps I need to make an effort to be deliberate in putting aside all the "important" things which must be done and stop for a minute to enjoy. To quote the song from the movie Mr. Holland's Opus, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans..."

Sunday, May 25, 2008

The start of yet another week

Does anyone else feel like time in just whizzing by? Seriously, how in the world is it already the 25th of May?!

This week promises to be full and quiet all at the same time. I already have 3 one-on-ones lined up with various ladies from our community, a night out at another friend's house....and not to mention the usual schedule at the prayer room. And it's only Sunday night. Who knows what the rest of the week will bring. As for the "quiet" part of the week, I'm looking forward to many long evenings with candles lit and commentaries out and the opportunity for some good, solid Bible study. With so much travel last month and then Taylor starting pre-school, having a birthday, etc. etc. etc. , life has gotten away from me and I've had to re-establish my routine of spending consistent time with the Lord. Either I'm turing into a heathen and my human weakness is showing itself more, or I am simply growing more honest with myself, but as the months and years go by, I'm more and more amazed how apparent it is when I don't spend consistent time in the Word and in prayer (and also how quickly my capacity for Him shrinks). I suppose that only goes to show how completely barren we are and how utterly helpless we are to live the way He desires us to, in our own strength. Good thing He doesn't ask us to.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

My beloved mount, I bid thee farewell....

The season in which I enjoyed the luxury of going up the mount 2-3 times a week has come to a definite end. Granted, at the time, I never would have considered going up the mount to be a luxury....it was more of a (sometimes) enjoyable chore. But it's funny how rosy life looks in hindsight. (Hmm. Let's pause for a moment to allow that statement to sink in. Next time I am tempted to complain about how hard life is now, it may do good to remember that in a few years ~ or months~ from now, I may look back on this season and realize just how easy and glorious it was 'way back then').

Anyways, back to my original point. With gas nearing the $2/litre mark, spending at least $10 round trip to go to the mount, multiplied by a few times a week, is not exactly fitting in the budget any longer (for my American readers who may be a bit rusty on your english-metric conversions, there are approx. 4 litres in a gallon. Now do the math......). For about a week, I was wondering if my well-established exercise routine had also come to a grinding halt. It was at that point that I made a surprising discovery. I actually really missed working out. I felt lazy and sluggish without it. I may even go so far as to say that my psyche and self-esteem were affected slightly. So, I decided that something was better than nothing, and it would do me well to go for a 30-minute jog around our neighborhood a few times a week. It's certainly not half as good of a workout as ascending the mount (and not even near as mentally appealing as the mount), but it still keeps me in the routine of excercise. And, as long as we're on the topic of appreciating what we actually do have instead of moaning about what we don't, I really couldn't ask for a better neighborhood to run in. It's beautiful, safe, has tons of cute houses, and even a hill or two to remind me of the mount.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Apple Butter Time

Well, I finally got around to making my apple butter, and my efforts were rewarded this morning with a nice piece of toast richly slathered with a thick layer of the delicacy. Here's the original recipe as written, complete with my own notes of what I did and what worked for me.

Put 3 quarts of (homemade) apple sauce in a sauce pot. Cook on low with cover off for about 24 hours. Then add:

1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice

Cook slowly, stirring frequently until think and mixture sheets from spoon ~ about 1 hour.

So this is what I did: I used about 7 lbs. of apples, peeled, cored, and sliced them, and put them in a pot with a bit of water. I cooked the apples until they were the consistency of applesauce ~ about a couple hours. This yielded 1.5 quarts of applesauce. So I continued to cook the applesauce until it reduced quite significantly and became darker brown in color. I found that this process only took about 6 additional hours of cooking time, not 24 ~ maybe due to the fact I was cooking a much smaller quantity? Or maybe my impatience? Not too sure. Anyways, at that point I added half the sugar and spices (since I started with only 1.5 quarts, not 3), and then let it cook for an additional 30 minutes or so. At this point, I declared it done, and poured it into a jar and stuck it in the fridge. (Didn't make enough of it to have to worry about canning it. Nevermind the fact I've never canned before and don't have a clue how to do it). I probably ended up with about 2-3 cups total.

It sure tasted good to me this morning ~ perhaps the closest I've come yet to the 'real stuff' of my memories. Still don't know if I have the right consistency, but by the time it's on the toast, it's hard to tell otherwise. And it tastes great!

Dad, as the master chef, do you have any comments you'd like to add? I know it's been a while since you've made it, but seeing as how I was 4 when our family made it, I think you'd remember quite a bit more than I do! :-)

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Happy Birthday, Taylor!

My apple butter project (and posts) have been put on hold for a much more important occasion: yesterday Taylor celebrated her 4th birthday! We had a wonderful day celebrating the life of our beautiful little princess. She went to pre-school and had a little celebration there, and then we had a small family party at home in the evening. Here's some photos of the festivities:


Taylor and Nana decorating cupcakes to bring to pre-school


Cupcakes decorated and ready for the morning!


Celebrating Taylor's birthday at pre-school
Butterfly birthday cake
Opening presents. Notice the Snow White costume......
one of her favorite gifts
Strike a pose with the new panda unbrella!