Missing life here

3 weeks from today we’ll be in America. AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Sorry, excited. :)

Also, really stressed. Lots to do. Every day something gets checked off the list and something else gets added. Packing. Sorting. Trying to clean out boys’ toys and clothes and books. Working on church presentations and prayer cards. Home school. Supply buying. Going through the motions of granola baking, yogurt making, bread making...

Lots of emotions about going back to America. Some stupid stuff like “Are my clothes totally out of date and I’m going to look like a geeky missionary?” “How are we going to afford $4 a gallon gas?” and some deeper stuff like “How has everything I’ve seen and experienced the last 3 years going to affect who I am and how I relate to my friends and family?”

Many years ago, well, maybe only 4, :) an older missionary told me she hated going on furlough. I thought she was crazy. I love America. I am thankful to be an American and I’m praise the Lord my children are Americans. We have friends and family we love seeing while we’re there and I plan to consume gallons of ice cream in America. How can any sane person not love going on furlough?

But, I can now see what she means. Life here is settled. I have pictures on my walls and food in the fridge. My kids know where their toys are and where to hang their bath towels. We have a schedule, a routine... it’s not always easy or fun, but it’s familiar. America, on the other hand, is unfamiliar... particularly for the little boys, who study the 4 seasons in their school books the way some kids study the Pyramids.

So, while I could write a book on the things I am looking forward to during our trip to the States, I thought I would take a couple minutes and write out things I will miss about our life here....

Nasi kunning... aka Fried Yellow Rice... which we get every Sunday night.... $4 for all of us to eat. Amazing mix of spices and lemon grass and coconut.


Passion fruit... pretty sure they don't sell these at HEB. I think I will crave these the whole time we are gone.



Papaya... Ezra's favorite fruit. We eat at least one a week. Never knew I would love a fruit so much.


Beach... um, they don't make them like this in America.


Cream bath... $6 for an hour of pure bliss - deep conditioning hair treatment with avocados, followed by a scalp and shoulder massage. Great for moms who need a break from their kiddos and can sneak out at night to chat and get de-stressed and get a great hair treatment. If we ever retire from the mission field, I will start a salon to give cream baths and I think I will make millions (and yes, I will charge WAY more than $6!) :)


I will NOT miss this, but I know the boys will.... riding everywhere on a motorcycle with Dad. Car seats and seat belts here we come!


How many American kids get to ride in helicopters? I'm thankful for all the unique experiences my boys have had and will miss the uniqueness of the life we have now.


Pizza Hut - has literally been a sanity saver over the past couple years. It's such a blessing to be able to go someplace nice to eat out occasionally - and fun that it's less than $20 for tons of cheese crust pizza and fancy drinks and ice cream for dessert.


The view from our house... going to miss it. Have never had a house with a view before and have decided if I am ever rich it will be worth the millions of dollars to get a house with a view. :)


Ditto on the notes on passion fruit and papaya. I know you can get pineapple in the States, but it's just not the same as going out and picking one out of your own yard and eating it right then. Elijah ate this whole one himself. :)


My friends... the Lord has really blessed me with some incredible friends here. The small community and the single-mindedness of our purpose here really makes people close and builds a sense of community that I love.

Hairy days

I am not talking about the craziness of the last few weeks and how Brant and I are so stressed we're about to go crazy. Normal life takes a lot of work here - add on getting ready for a big translation workshop, packing our home and planning a trip around the globe and we're just totally wiped out.

No, talking about real hair. :) Never thought hair would be a big topic of conversation in a home with 3 boys, but I've been surprised.

It started about a month ago when the boys' hair was starting to get long and I thought it would be cute to try to spike their hair. Give it a bit more style than the "I just rolled out of bed and I'm 7" look that we've been sporting. :)

Crying. Tears. Yelling to "Get this goop out of my hair as fast as you can!" So, we're not going to spike any hair any time soon. Not sure what the problem was, though both Elijah and Caleb cried like you'd have thought we pulled each hair out one at a time with tweezers. :)

But since then, Elijah's been very particular about styling his hair. He has spent hours (well, maybe minutes!) working on this hair style that he loves... and Brant and I have lots of bloody lips trying to keep from laughing out our precious firstborn....


And Caleb, ever wanting to follow in Elijah's footsteps, has begun sporting the same style. (It's water, not gel.)


It finally got so bad I begged Brant to put down his supply orders and take the poor kids to the barber. (Which also bought me about an hour of totally quiet house time!) :) So, now the boys' heads are shaved and Elijah's having a hard time getting his hair to do what he wants it to do. :)

But just yesterday I walked into the living room and this is what I saw....


Caleb was such a good barber, he even used a "razor" (play knife!) to shave the edges after he had "cut" with the scissors and "comb" (play fork!). Then he poured powder all over Ezra and dusted him off with a brush and told him to go home right away and get a shower to get all the hairs off his neck!


Loving the comic relief my little men provide in the middle of some really busy days.