Hi, I'm still here!

As you can imagine, we're very busy these days! It's a good busy. We like busy. Not TOO busy, but properly busy....

• We have a house guest this week. John is in college and hopes to be a missionary pilot someday. He also happens to be a bit of a photographer himself, and offered to get a family portrait. Wow! It was much easier with him behind the camera than trying to get Madison to look at a tripod (which we've tried so many times and yet never come up with a decent family picture)! Madison wasn't exactly cooperative even still, but we got one or two good shots...even if she isn't smiling!

• Time is moving right along, very quickly. We only have three weeks left in Oaxaca. That is hard to believe! The girls are doing well with things so far, if a bit confused! We've already sorted through most of what we just finished getting from Ecuador and even sold some of it already! Brooklyn is very excited to go to the States - I think mostly because I've made lots of promises of new clothes, shoes, and, well......toys!
• We celebrated our 8th anniversary as well as Brooklyn's birthday last week. It was a whirlwind week! Brooklyn had a great birthday and is very proud to be five years old now!!!
• Madison's vocabulary is growing every day. This little girl loves to talk. We're having fun deciphering her words. Our favorite is "kachuck" which is "chicken!" Oh, it's cute when she says that one! But she also says, diaper, color, cow, go, car, clothes, me, cup, more, cookie, duck, yucky, goat, kitty, sit, bear, chair, and just about anything else we prompt her to say. She's quite polite and says "leeeease" (please) a lot - usually she's pulling and yanking on us, trying to get us to follow her to the kitchen so she can get us to give her a cracker or cookie or some other treat she has her eyes on. "Puppy" is by far the most popular word she says and is usually the first thing she says when we come to get her out of bed first thing in the morning!
  
• Madison loves puppies. LOVES. Puppies. Just like Brooklyn always has. Yesterday, for the very first time, Maddie got to pet a real puppy. We saw a cocker spaniel puppy at the park yesterday when we went to do our family portrait and, man, was that thing adorable. Both girls were in puppy heaven and the sweet little puppy let them adore it for a long time. I have to say, we very much look forward to getting a puppy of our own someday!
  

• Brooklyn got to eat cotton candy for the first time last night (well, both girls enjoyed it). We were downtown with our guest for dinner and just couldn't resist the chance to share this little piece of our childhood with our poor, deprived daughter. She picked pink cotton candy, of course, and we all sat down to enjoy it. Both girls were a sticky, hyper mess by the time it was over...but it was so worth it!
• While Brooklyn was experiencing her first cotton candy bliss, Sean decided to try elote from a street vendor. Basically, it is corn on the cob (not sweet or small kernel, like we're used to) on a stick. They slather it in mayonnaise, sprinkle it with some kind of flaky cheese (similar to Parmesan in appearance but not in flavor) and then give a few good shakes of chili powder on top. Ummmm....we all tasted it and....I'm not sure what to say! It wasn't awful, but the mayo really threw me off. If that would have been butter, I might have liked it better. Well, check that off our list of things to try before leaving Oaxaca. Sean also apparently tried a grasshopper (very common food around here) the other day when I wasn't around. He says this is something I have to try for myself. We'll see.
• Church was fun yesterday. We were able to stay longer than usual since Maddie fell asleep (they don't have a nursery). We did end up leaving just a touch early because Sean got a call to do an emergency flight. We've so enjoyed our church here in Oaxaca and will definitely miss worshiping in Spanish. There's just something about it.
  

Thank you for you continued prayers for our family. Transition is never easy, especially transition on top of transition on top of transition! With only three weeks left in Mexico, we're certainly facing some daunting tasks, as well as an exciting emotional roller coaster ride. We're still 100% sure we're doing the right thing in leaving the mission field now, but that doesn't mean it is easy. I'm glad we can honestly say we've loved our missionary career and that it is hard to leave - it means we've got some great memories rather than bitterness or disappointment to take back with us. While we aren't relishing even the thought of the many upcoming changes, transitions, and struggles, we are feeling God's awesome grace giving us the strength to be obedient to Him. It is really true that when we obey God, He provides the strength, grace, and Spiritual umph to follow Him. It is hard to say exactly what God has for us in Colorado, or why now is the time for us to return to the U.S., but we feel very strongly that this is the right choice. We've always said it and we still do - there is no better place to be than right smack-dab in the middle of God's will!

Little Girls

I have to tell you, little girls are the best! I'm so loving being mommy to my two precious girls. If this baby ends up being a girl, I for one will not be disappointed! I would love to experience having a son, but I'm also quite content with my girls. Sean is flabbergasted and at a loss for words about 99% of the time, but I'm in heaven!

Did I mention how cute these two are when they play "house" together? Both of them prancing around with purses over their shoulders and enough jewels to make the Queen of England jealous. Toting around babies and puppies and Barbies and Polly Pockets, and, of course, their pink and purple teacups....

I did some shopping for Brooklyn's birthday - wow, it's next week! It will be a princess birthday! Brooklyn hasn't grown out of princesses yet, so we'll just keep having these princess birthdays until she's had enough. I was able to find a few princess Barbies and a princess box to keep them in, princess play makeup, princess nail polish, and a princess "diary." To me, that was easy, and really much more fun than picking out Tonka trucks. I like those pink aisles. Sean was glad to leave me to the shopping because he feels much the same about Barbie as I do about GI Joe. Poor guy.

This past Tuesday, we had a welcome dinner at a restaurant for an MAF family returning to Oaxaca from a support-raising time in the States. The restaurant we went to was very fun, with lots of space to play in, toys and trampolines aplenty, and even a DC-3 airplane for a certain man in my life to explore (that man has an obsession with DC-3's). The food was good too! I'm sure we'll be going back there sometime before we leave.

Brooklyn made a new friend. This is the first English-speaking friend she's had since arriving in Oaxaca, and she is on Cloud Nine! Her Spanish has improved, but she still can't communicate very well, which I think leaves her Spanish-speaking friends a little unsure as to what to do with her. But this new friend was a breath of fresh air for Brooklyn. They were instant friends.

Madison has this thing with hills and inclines. She loves to run down them! Surprisingly, she does very well and doesn't fall - it gives me a heart attack every time she goes running pell-mell downhill. Anyway, there was a perfect little slope in the yard of the restaurant and I'm pretty sure Maddie wore a path through the grass running up and down that hill! Too cute.

My Hot Date

What a whirlwind week this has been! It has been a good week - we're busy planning the move back to the States, selling our household goods (again), welcoming team members back to Mexico, and still sorting out that shipment (or at least washing jungle mold out of the linens and clothes)! It is hard to believe we only have 4.5 weeks left in Oaxaca. There is so much to do!

But that doesn't mean we can't take a little "break" from it all. On August 5, Sean and I will celebrate a whole 8 - count 'em, EIGHT - years of marriage. This past Monday, Sean took the day off from work, we found a babysitter, and we celebrated just a touch early.

We went to the Guelaguetza, which was an extravagant festival featuring cultural dances from the seven different regions in the state of Oaxaca. What a great time! We feel like we got a good feel for the many cultures represented in this small state of Mexico. So many different languages, customs, clothing, and traditions. It is really mind-boggling - almost as mind-boggling as the amount of pictures Sean took of the event. Be sure to check his blog and flickr page for some awesome photos, I'm sure he'll be uploading them soon!

It was a hot, sunny day and we somehow managed to be the only people in the arena that didn't get their complimentary hats, but thankfully, a sweet little lady next to us let her borrow her extra hats. Otherwise, we would have fried. Aren't we cute?

After the Guelaguetza, we walked the (almost) mile back to our car and then headed over to Monte Alban. We had been there a few months ago with the girls. But, well, archaeological sites and small children don't exactly mix...especially when one of said children has a major diaper blow-out all over her Papa. So, we went back to actually see and enjoy the place sin kiddos. I dragged my weary, achy, pregnant self all over ancient pyramids and such while Sean did his duty as Family Photojournalist. We also found a neat restaurant right there by the museum and had a delightful lunch overlooking ancient ruins and modern city. Very cool.


Here we are, on the top of one of the pyramids, overlooking the grounds. (Ack! I need that hat back!) I don't think I ever imagined celebrating my eighth wedding anniversary in a place like this!
Well, that was Monday. We've had more fun since then. Hopefully, things will slow down long enough for me to post more pictures of the girls soon.

Here

Our shipment made it here today!!!

We are reveling in tubs and tubs of toys,books, clothes, and many other things we were beginning to wonder if we would ever see again. Four months and 2 days after arriving in Mexico it is all here. Uck. Too long.

Anyway, it all looks good. Nothing was missing or broken. We're quite happy...and busy.

Woo-hoo!

The Inside Scoop

At this moment, a man from an international moving company is here measuring our furniture in order to give us a quote on moving our stuff from Oaxaca, Mexico to Alamosa, Colorado.

You read that right.

How's that for dropping a bomb on ya?!

Alright. So here is what is happening. A few weeks ago, after months of praying and discussing, Sean and I finally came to the decision that the time for us to leave the mission field is now. We feel it is best for our family and it is what we want to do - but most importantly, we are 100% convinced that this is a step God wants us to take. Our "term" is drawing to a close and as we contemplated the future, we didn't see staying in Oaxaca as the best choice for us. It really is as simple as feeling strongly that God has plans for us elsewhere.

You may or may not know that a lot of missionaries leave the field because of something bad that happened or bad health or mental/spiritual/emotional breakdown or some other really bad reason. The simple truth is that we don't have any of those "bad" reasons! We praise God for this fact. We get to be the exception to the norm as missionaries who leave the field not only fully healthy and intact, but also spiritually fired-up!

Have you ever come to a point in your life where you just feel strongly that it is time to move on? As in - time to try for a new job, move somewhere new, maybe go back to school and pursue something completely different? Maybe you have a dream that you've contemplated pursuing. We are at that place in our life right now. It has taken a huge amount of guts and faith for us to make this decision. We have loved our life and adventures as missionaries - it has become "comfortable" and normal, and leaving it behind is going to be hard. There are more people affected by our decision than just our little nuclear family - that makes this even harder. But it is what is right for us. It is the choice we have made...and God has done nothing but confirm our decision in a million different ways since it was made.

We're excited about our new future! We have some serious things ahead of us - not all of them easy - but we feel with complete confidence that it is worth it! So, back to Colorado we go! We are leaving Oaxaca on September 1. From there we'll go to MAF headquarters and then to Colorado. For about 6 months, we'll be traveling and visiting our supporters and churches - we're so thrilled that we get to say our thank yous in person. We'll also be looking for a house to rent and setting up house, having a baby in December, and re-adjusting to life in the good 'ole USA. After six months or so, Sean will go to work for my Dad as an aircraft mechanic...and we'll take it from there one step at a time, just like every other part of our life.

Watermelon Fun

Quotable Quotes

A few days ago, Brooklyn and I were discussing the coming baby brother or sister. Brooklyn is convinced she's got a baby brother on the way - mostly because I asked her what she wanted us to have and she thought a brother would be fun....therefore, it must be a boy! Anyway, the conversation went something like this:

Brooklyn: "Mommy, after my birthday we are going to the States and then it will be Christmas and then my baby brother will be born and we will name him....uh.....Shhhhhhurnk?

Me: "You want to name your baby brother Shurnk?"

Brooklyn: "Uh, yeah, uh-huh. I like it."

Me: "Did you think of that name all by yourself? Just now?"

Brooklyn: "Yep."

Me: "Interesting. How about something like Jackson?"

Brooklyn: sigh. "Yeah, okay, that works too."

(And by the way, I am by no means making any announcement as to either the sex or the name of our future child. It was a cute conversation of two musing individuals who like to routinely discuss what the future might hold. "Jackson" has not been approved by He Who Makes Choosing A Name Harder Than Labor. It was an EXAMPLE, people! And I really like it better than Shurnk.)

That was weird...

This is a strange morning. I took the girls to the store to get some groceries and, most importantly, diapers. (We have a great store here that is basically just like a Super Wal-Mart.) The fact that I went shopping isn't so strange, although I do try to avoid going by myself with the girls. What happened while we were out was weird, though.

As I was picking out my produce, Brooklyn started complaining about a stomachache. She's been a little ill since yesterday - nothing serious, just an upset tummy. I told Brooklyn all she had to do was say the word and we'd go home. She said she wanted to keep shopping but about a minute later said, "Maybe we should go home." In no mood to deal with a sick child in the middle of a large store, I quickly agreed that we needed to leave. My plan was to buy what I had in my cart, which included diapers since Madison was wearing the last one. I wasn't even close to done shopping, but I could tell Brooklyn just wasn't feeling well, and it wouldn't be that big of a deal to come back later once Sean got home from work.

On our way to the check-out line, a store employee approached me and told me that I could hurry to Caja 5 (check-out counter 5) and get through quickly because there was an emergency. I'm such a blonde. I said thank you and walked away wondering how she knew we had an emergency with a sick child and needed to get through the line fast! But then I mulled over what she had told me a little longer, translated it to English with a little more thought (sometimes it is easy to make what you were told in Spanish into whatever you feel like it should be rather than what it really was). She had said there was an emergency in the store - she wasn't referring to my personal emergency! He-lo-o-o-o.

That was when I noticed several employees and shoppers all making their way to the front door. And then I finally clued in to the message playing over the loudspeaker about calmly making your way out of the store as quickly as possible. I didn't have time to buy the diapers I so badly needed and was told to get out of the store asap.

I never did figure out if it was all just a drill or a real fire, but whatever it was didn't take long to take care of. As we were pulling out of the parking lot, I noticed people going back into the store. However, by that time, there was no way I was going to make Brooklyn wait and suffer while I tried to buy diapers and fruit, even if we did need them desperately.

We're home now. Brooklyn is sitting on the couch watching a movie. She doesn't seem too sick, but I'm still glad we left when we did. Madison, thankfully, went right down for a nap so hopefully that last diaper will last until Sean or I can go grab some more! We have just enough food to have some lunch, if I can be creative.

Now I have to go make my list all over again and drag myself to the store again later today.
It isn't a big deal, but the whole thing was just weird.

Well, hello!

Again, apologies for not blogging very often. Life has been a teensy, weensy bit crazy these days - more on that later - and, well, I've still been suffering without the computer during the day some too, which is just awful. AWFUL. I just have to say that.

• Being "computer-less" on Friday, I cleaned like a complete madwoman. Not that you could tell I'd done a thing by the next morning, but it did feel good. This house seems dirty all the time to me. And it is a lot bigger than I'm used to. And I have children. And children make an amazing amount of crumbs. Did you know that? Of course you did. Why did it take me 5 years of motherhood to figure out why I couldn't seem to keep the floor from getting all gritty? Sheesh.
• Our computer is supposed to come back to us sometime this week. Heard that one before.
• Our shipment is also supposed to come this week. Heard that one before as well.
• Madison is talking like crazy! It is so dern cute to hear her say, "got it" that I could just eat her with a spoon. And don't get me started on the way she puckers her lips when she says "shoe."
• Brooklyn had a lot of fun at VBS last week. She went every day from 4 to 8 p.m. and loved her Mexican teachers and the tacos they gave her for dinner every night. Maddie enjoyed having her parents to herself. I'm bummed that VBS is over - Brooklyn so loved the social activity - and, boy, did she need some activity.
  
• We went to Etla yesterday. It is a small town north of Oaxaca. We had fun and found the church that they used to film "Nacho Libre." Yup. Purty cool.
• It has been quite rainy here lately. Makes sense, being rainy season and all. I love it.
  

A Little Overdue

Last Thursday, we had another doc appointment. I'm just now getting around to posting the ultrasound picture. It has taken me a while to want to brave the use of our scanner. It's a pain.

Anyhoo.

At 15 weeks, the baby is doing fabulous. It is still just a touch early to tell if we're having a boy or girl. And I highly doubt this doctor would venture even an educated guess at the next appointment. She's very conservative.

Can you figure out which way the baby is facing? This picture is a little more obvious than the last time. Baby is about 4.5 inches long already!

I mentioned it earlier, but my belly is really starting to grow. Our shipment is supposed to get through customs by the end of the week (though I'm not holding my breath). Can't wait for that!

Just one more appointment with the doctor here in Mexico. After that, we'll be seeing our doctor in the States! I'm looking forward to that too. Sean so graciously informed me after our last appointment, that I had lied to the doctor when she asked me a certain question. Guess that makes sense, considering I never heard her ask the question Sean says she had asked. Who knows how many things I've missed. This lady talks fast and mumbles - and uses all manner of medical terms I'm not familiar with. She assumes I'm getting it, since I can hold a normal conversation with her, but when she switches to medical stuff I'm usually just barely holding on. It will be nice to talk to a doctor in English...though I have my doubts on my ability to communicate in my first language very well any more either.

All that really matters, is that the baby is doing great! We still find ourselves shocked that this is real. I know. We're weird. This is, after all, the third time we've done this. But every time it is such an amazing miracle and we are always humbled that God would chose to bless us with a child (and we usually ask Him if He's aware of our major ineptitude at this parenting stuff)! Even with all the morning sickness, the growing belly,ultrasound pictures, swollen feet, and innumerable aches and pains, I don't usually really grasp the meaning of all this until that soft little wriggling body is placed in my arms! Then, it is ALL worth it.