Waiting for Water - Our life in the desert
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
And we're off!
On the camping trip, Ryan just stood up and started to walk around this pole! We were all surprised! Neither Tom nor I were there - thankfully Vic had enough wits about her to film it for us (= Tom was sleeping because he was sick and I was on a short walk with Layla. He hasn't done a repeat performance - just a few steps here and there. He has progressed SO quickly through these last few stages that we assume he'll be walking soon. How fun to see his personality starting to emerge.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Catch Up Time
We've had visitors the last few weeks which has be super-fun for all of us! It also means that my computer time took a nose dive which is fine from time to time (= To catch you all up, here is an excerpt from an email I just sent out. Sorry for the repeat to those of you who might have gotten this email as well!
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We are closer to getting a visa than before – nothing is in our passport yet so we are not celebrating, but we are hopeful!
Tom has gone from the “Hurry up and Wait” syndrome with the visa paperwork to being crazy-busy ALL the time! This is a welcome change of pace for him. If you remember that he was pursuing four visa options, one of them was basically being a sales representative for some construction products. We determined that it would not easily provide a visa and had backed away from it, but then the Lord has dropped a couple of sales jobs in his lap that could potentially provide some decent income for us! This is much needed as we have laid out quite a bit of cash for the visa during this season, and because we have been under budget for some time and have not had the time or mental capacity to address the issue. As with everything, until we see the money in the bank, we are making no assumptions. It has been a great change of pace for Tom and he has had a steep learning curve. We will see if this will turn out to be an occasional source of income in the future.
We have had two sets of visitors so I was rather busy and not on the computer much. It was LOVELY to see friends and you can see pictures here and here for our camping trip. So great!
Layla is still struggling with being rather clingy and scared which is unusual for her. We continue to pray and think and hope that we are doing all that we can to address the issue. Some days she is fine, other days she does not even want to be in a room in the house by herself. Do pray for her heart and for wisdom for us, please.
Last time we mentioned the need to get away for some extended time. Through one of you all we are able to arrange to house-sit for an American family who teaches at Black Forest Academy! We are excited to be in their place for the summer. We have to be in Germany anyway for a set of meetings for Tom and we are happy to only have to buy one set of tickets. We also able to offer our home to another family evacuated from another country and who need a place to sit and wait out the political situation. They are happy to have a place set up and ready to go and they also have a small little baby so it will be a great set up for them. Thanks for your prayers about this. We will have wireless at the place in Germany so Tom will still be able to do the majority of his responsibilities, but he really needs a change of scenery.
Please pray that our visas will be finalized before we leave town at the end of June. This would help us to be more relaxed this summer.
On a lighter note, Ryan turned one last week! It is amazing to reflect on the year we have had….God has certainly been near and it also feels like we have been near to insanity (= It does seem like He is changing the season we are in and we are so so grateful for that.
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Now off to my nap....
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We are closer to getting a visa than before – nothing is in our passport yet so we are not celebrating, but we are hopeful!
Tom has gone from the “Hurry up and Wait” syndrome with the visa paperwork to being crazy-busy ALL the time! This is a welcome change of pace for him. If you remember that he was pursuing four visa options, one of them was basically being a sales representative for some construction products. We determined that it would not easily provide a visa and had backed away from it, but then the Lord has dropped a couple of sales jobs in his lap that could potentially provide some decent income for us! This is much needed as we have laid out quite a bit of cash for the visa during this season, and because we have been under budget for some time and have not had the time or mental capacity to address the issue. As with everything, until we see the money in the bank, we are making no assumptions. It has been a great change of pace for Tom and he has had a steep learning curve. We will see if this will turn out to be an occasional source of income in the future.
We have had two sets of visitors so I was rather busy and not on the computer much. It was LOVELY to see friends and you can see pictures here and here for our camping trip. So great!
Layla is still struggling with being rather clingy and scared which is unusual for her. We continue to pray and think and hope that we are doing all that we can to address the issue. Some days she is fine, other days she does not even want to be in a room in the house by herself. Do pray for her heart and for wisdom for us, please.
Last time we mentioned the need to get away for some extended time. Through one of you all we are able to arrange to house-sit for an American family who teaches at Black Forest Academy! We are excited to be in their place for the summer. We have to be in Germany anyway for a set of meetings for Tom and we are happy to only have to buy one set of tickets. We also able to offer our home to another family evacuated from another country and who need a place to sit and wait out the political situation. They are happy to have a place set up and ready to go and they also have a small little baby so it will be a great set up for them. Thanks for your prayers about this. We will have wireless at the place in Germany so Tom will still be able to do the majority of his responsibilities, but he really needs a change of scenery.
Please pray that our visas will be finalized before we leave town at the end of June. This would help us to be more relaxed this summer.
On a lighter note, Ryan turned one last week! It is amazing to reflect on the year we have had….God has certainly been near and it also feels like we have been near to insanity (= It does seem like He is changing the season we are in and we are so so grateful for that.
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Now off to my nap....
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Happy First Birthday Ryan!
We went camping this weekend and it happened to coincide with Ryan's first birthday. So he spent the auspicious day on the tallest mountain in the country (= We did NOT hike to the top as it was an arduous hike even for our super-mountaineering-friend Mel who also joined us.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Whew!
Our friends Porter and Renee hopped into town for a quick visit and these are just a few pictures of our time when we went to pick them up. We stayed overnight before coming back home. It was a fun time though driving around was a wee bit daunting - we got quite lost two times. yikes.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Thanks mom (=
It goes without saying that my mom is a HUGE help. Even across the miles, she is helpful in a million little ways. Both Tom and I are deeply grateful for her presence and help during both really difficult deliveries and recoveries. In the top photo she is with Ryan and in the bottom is dear Layla. Thanks mom!!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Loooong Day
There is a group of local friends I have who get together on a regular basis. They are so different from one another and each evening we hang out there are so many cultural things I would just love to sit down and write about and share. Buuuuut, then the rest of life comes in and I just get too tired to try and explain all the fun cultural things (=
A couple of days ago one of the gals asked me if I would like to drive to a town about 2 hours away to see some of her family and to go shopping! I couldn't resist the offer and even though I was NERVOUS about taking both kids with me (she is single and without kids) I said yes.
We left about 11am and returned about 1am. So it really was a very.long.day. But it was SO great to meet so many of her family members. There are about 9 kids in her family and the oldest 3 have citizenship in the country next door and the others are all citizens of our country though their tribe is from both parts.
One visit was super traditional with the fruit and dates and coffee and loads of perfume at the end, the others were truly just swinging by to see a new house or meeting in a park or shopping in the mall together (=
Layla was able to ride a horse AND ride in a little carriage pulled by a miniature horse when we were in the park. It was about $3 a ride and of course they paid for everything while we were with them. I protested at one point and one of the gals (who speaks VERY good English and is basically like any Post-Modern 19 year old) said "that's okay. you are visiting me here and I'll pay. When I visit you then you'll pay "(= So that is clear isn't it!
Layla was given SO much candy and junk food and juice boxes and whatnot. They love to give kids toys and gifts and food. It is wonderful to have kids so loved by the general population.
And I was most grateful for the fact that when we FINALLY got in the car to go home, both kids just dropped off to sleep in their carseats. Getting the carseats in that morning was a chore....she had shoved the seatbelts ALL the way down and we couldn't hardly get to them. Anyway (=
I must go and take a nap (=
A couple of days ago one of the gals asked me if I would like to drive to a town about 2 hours away to see some of her family and to go shopping! I couldn't resist the offer and even though I was NERVOUS about taking both kids with me (she is single and without kids) I said yes.
We left about 11am and returned about 1am. So it really was a very.long.day. But it was SO great to meet so many of her family members. There are about 9 kids in her family and the oldest 3 have citizenship in the country next door and the others are all citizens of our country though their tribe is from both parts.
One visit was super traditional with the fruit and dates and coffee and loads of perfume at the end, the others were truly just swinging by to see a new house or meeting in a park or shopping in the mall together (=
Layla was able to ride a horse AND ride in a little carriage pulled by a miniature horse when we were in the park. It was about $3 a ride and of course they paid for everything while we were with them. I protested at one point and one of the gals (who speaks VERY good English and is basically like any Post-Modern 19 year old) said "that's okay. you are visiting me here and I'll pay. When I visit you then you'll pay "(= So that is clear isn't it!
Layla was given SO much candy and junk food and juice boxes and whatnot. They love to give kids toys and gifts and food. It is wonderful to have kids so loved by the general population.
And I was most grateful for the fact that when we FINALLY got in the car to go home, both kids just dropped off to sleep in their carseats. Getting the carseats in that morning was a chore....she had shoved the seatbelts ALL the way down and we couldn't hardly get to them. Anyway (=
I must go and take a nap (=
Monday, April 25, 2011
Easter 2011
Just a few fun pictures (= It was pretty low-key though we enjoyed ourselves! I had a nice big roast planned for dinner but we were invited to eat with some friends so I am cooking that big meal tonight instead.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Jeje and her cool gifts
My sister Jen buys THE coolest things for the kids (=
Here is one thing my mom managed to fit in the suitcase. Jen, thanks for this! I am REALLY trying to help Layla learn the RULES.
For those of you who don't know my dear girl, she is quite a free spirit and helping her grasp that sometimes there are RULES is a wee bit of a challenge (= If she doesn't like the rules she just ups and walks away. That is okay for 3.5 years of age, but not something I want to foster much longer.
So anyway - we are trying to find good ways to help her learn to play with a little more structure. Anyway - here's the video.
Here is one thing my mom managed to fit in the suitcase. Jen, thanks for this! I am REALLY trying to help Layla learn the RULES.
For those of you who don't know my dear girl, she is quite a free spirit and helping her grasp that sometimes there are RULES is a wee bit of a challenge (= If she doesn't like the rules she just ups and walks away. That is okay for 3.5 years of age, but not something I want to foster much longer.
So anyway - we are trying to find good ways to help her learn to play with a little more structure. Anyway - here's the video.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Easter with kids
My mom is always on the hunt for good games and resources for kids. It was REALLY fun to see all that she pulled out of her suitcase on their recent trip! This was one of them
I HIGHLY recommend this. Layla has loved playing it multiple times a day and we've passed it around to other families this week in anticipation of Easter. She can walk you through the whole Easter story as a result.
If you can't lay your hands on this particular one, you can make your own using these ideas
We haven't decided what we are doing for Easter - it is the first day of the week here so it has a bit of a different feel. We used to go out to the desert for a sunrise service but we would be sitting in the middle of a construction project if we went back to the same spot. So much building going on here!
I hope it is a meaningful Easter for you all.
I HIGHLY recommend this. Layla has loved playing it multiple times a day and we've passed it around to other families this week in anticipation of Easter. She can walk you through the whole Easter story as a result.
If you can't lay your hands on this particular one, you can make your own using these ideas
We haven't decided what we are doing for Easter - it is the first day of the week here so it has a bit of a different feel. We used to go out to the desert for a sunrise service but we would be sitting in the middle of a construction project if we went back to the same spot. So much building going on here!
I hope it is a meaningful Easter for you all.
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