Wouldn't it be great...

On our long drive back to Tlaxiaco, Sam asked me, "Mom, wouldn't it be great if we could just push a button and be back home?" Ahh... the possibilities with that technology! I could push a button and be done with the dishes, the laundry, and the all other things that I'd prefer not to spend time on. Wouldn't it be great to have the time do the things we would want to do, like updating my blog every week instead of every 4 months? I still have yet to find a balance in my daily life that would accomplish all my tasks, participate fully in ministry, and yet enjoy each moment of my children's lives. Have you seen how big they have gotten? They are growing more rapidly every year and if I blink, they'll be grown with children of their own! So, I apologize for the lack of blogging (for anyone left who actually reads this :)), but I have recently decided the most important thing I can do each is day is to spend quality time with my children, watching them change and grow, and loving them every minute I can. Soon enough I will have plenty of time for other things like blogging. So, I will no longer feel guilty about not blogging more, but I will do so when I have the time, which may be few and far between.

I've always loved this following poem, and re-reading it again has made me long for the days when my children were still babies. But, since we can't take that time back, I'm going to enjoy them at each stage they are at.

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

Community Living

I thought this picture is a perfect way of describing our life here (at least it describes what it looks like every afternoon and evening). With 7 families and 16 children in the apartment building, it often looks like a party.

The kids are happy to always have friends available to play. Lizzy has especially found the joy of finding a friend that has 4 girls in her family - "Mom, look at all these girl toys!" I have to restrain Lizzy from living at that house, but she is often found down on the 2nd floor balcony, combing the hair of one of her friend's dolls. Lizzy has come up with more and more things that she absolutely needs to have for her birthday coming up. It's quite entertaining.

The boys, too, have some boys to play with on base this year, and they have been busy playing outside together. They made bow and arrows again, and have been conducting shooting practice. Together with the girls, they've been playing Robinhood and chasing each other all around. We do have to set strong rules for what they can and can't shoot at, ie: you can't shoot at another person or the dogs. I think it is hilarious that kids have a hard time grasping that concept. :)

Ahh.... Normalcy

The other day, I was driving my kids to soccer practice, and it hit me how "normal" I felt. After a summer of insane schedules, no routine, no normalcy, it feels good to feel "normal" again. Okay, so I had to add the quote marks around normal because, let's face it, I am not a very normal person. However, there are moments in my life that I feel normal. :)

Here are some pics of the kids at soccer practice:

Our trip to Puerto Escondido

Our staff retreat this year was at the coastal town of Puerto Escondido. In order to get there, we had to drive over a vast mountain range. Words cannot describe how beautiful of a drive it was. Nor can words describe how sick we all got! We were all warned that it was a difficult road, and we sure found that out. We first drove to Oaxaca City and then drove up the mountains about halfway to some cabins to spend the night. The cabins were, literally, on the side of a mountain. If we took just 6 steps from our cabin door, we would have tumbled down the mountain. It was breathtakingly beautiful, but a little nervewracking for this mom. I love how God uses these types of experiences to break me free from my fears, especially my fear of heights. When we first moved to Tlaxiaco from Oaxaca City, I told Dan that I wasn't ever coming off this mountain because of scary the drive was. But, now, the drive to Oaxaca and back is no longer fear producing, and I enjoy watching the way the road weaves itself around the mountains.

Here is a view of one of the cabins on the mountainside (notice we are higher than the clouds):



We drove 3 hours the next day to Puerto Escondido (we were certainly glad to be done with the twisty, windy, drive through the rest of the mountains). What a joy to see this view when we checked into our villas:

Um... can anyone say paradise?

I guess I should say that I have never been to the Pacific Ocean before nor have I stayed at anything like this before, so this was amazing to me!


Here's a picture of our villa (on the right)


The kids had a blast, swimming and playing in the ocean and the pool at our villas. We had meetings each day from 9:30-2pm and after that, we spent our time playing. One day, a large percentage of our group went on a fishing trip. Dan took Sam and Zach with him, and they caught a huge sailfish:


On their fishing trip, they were also able to see some large sea turtles. It was such a great experience for the boys. Lizzy and I stayed home and had a girl party with her friends - we painted nails, ate popcorn and watched a princess movie.

The whole week was such a wonderful time of fellowship and relaxation. We all had a blast!