Playing Outside

We had a great day playing outside yesterday. We had a dinner picnic in the gazebo and then ran in the sprinklers and went on the swings. It was fun to watch them. Enjoy.

Dandelions for Mama!

Sorry I have been gone--- I was in UB getting the finishing touches my teeth! I am done for the calendar year- and I came in under out allotted dental insurance amount!! WA HOO! In the last few weeks, I've had a root canal, temporary filling, the impression for the crown, a cleaning, and this week on Tuesday I finished up with the crown. SO it is all done- until hopefully Jan 1st or later when my dental insurance coverage renews!

The garden is growing tall, the corn is about 2 feet tall and so are the weeds!! All of this traveling has put me behind on weeding. There is a reason for that expression, "Growing like a weed!" I wish weeds were pretty and edible then I would be so happy with the way my yard looks! We have eaten lettuce, zucchini, and snow peas so far! Yum. Weston LOVES zucchini and said, "This tastes like mushy chocolate!" Funny boy. I also have had a breakthrough--- a morning glory has bloomed. I have a vision of these wonderful purple flowers covering my garden fence. They are rumored to be the easiest things to grow-- supposedly "like a weed," but I haven't got them to bloom here. I prayed so much while I planted them, so maybe this year is my year for flowers!?

The kids really are growing like weeds- S. wears a size 7 1/2 shoe now and W. finally grew out of some of his shoes too... he is a peanut! He still wears 3T clothes and so does S. now at 19 months! W. loves to talk--- like a crazy person! This morning he woke me up with a long soliloquy about how he got a fruit stick, then couldn't open it like "big strong mommy," then got a chair climbed up to find the scissors, then opened it up because he is so smart! He also made a salad all by himself the other day. He got the lettuce, washed it, got a bowl and tore it up for a salad! Amazing! S. is miss active. She climbs, runs, plays on swings, falls down all the time but gets up laughing... what a dare devil!

The Bible study here is growing more like a redwood tree--- hopefully. SLOW and STEADY. We had study last night and they wanted to go give clothes to the poor afterward so that was great to see their initiative. We visited two homes. One of the boys is a quadriplegic and has some kind of palsy and the other girl was in a wheelchair. Both families seem to be single parent homes and there is a true struggle for survival. The mother stays home to care for her son, but can't work, so they had to burn their fence last winter for firewood. That is very uncommon and it was difficult to see so much struggle in this family. It is good to see the believers here reaching out past their families concerns and showing love to these in so much need. I really hope it continues on more of a permanent basis.

Beautiful Day

It is the national holiday of Naadam. It goes from 7/11-7/13. All stores are closed and people are off work watching the wrestling, archery, and horse racing on TV. Some people actually go to the events, but they are in UB so many people just stay home and rest.

It was a truly amazing day today. The perfect temperature and cloud cover! The sky is sapphire blue and it is around 75 degrees. We spent the day gardening, changing the oil in the car, fixing the roof and having a nice slow day.

Then we had a picnic in the gazebo and the kids played in the kiddie pool!

Last year at this time it was so hot we had to stay inside behind closed curtains and in front of fans! This year they are not even on and the window is open!

No other news or thoughts...

Happy 4th!

We made a paper flag and had red, white and blue cupcakes!!! What a great day!
Happy Independance Day!

I'm an Englishman in New York... (i love that song!)

I’m reading a novel- Caravans by James A Michener.

It is about an American that works and lives in Afghanistan. Here is an interesting quote that I identified with today. He is referring to the foreigners that he hangs out with while there.

“I am still impressed by the intellectual pleasure we had when the snow was so high in Kabul. We were in a very real sense, cut off from everything that civilized men and women had come to take for granted: books, magazines, theaters, hotels, music. All we had were our own personalities, with what understandings and memories we had acquired through the years and it was reassuring to discover what a vivid social life was possible under those circumstances. Never have I know better wit nor more exciting conversation than in the crowded little rooms of Kabul. Never have a know a group of people to be so self-sufficient, so enchanting as human beings. In those years I used to see the same two dozen people night after night, and they were rewarding beyond expectation, partly because any escape from them or their individualities was impossible.” page 51...

It is truly interesting to be a foreigner! So many different personalities thrown together… like a deserted island sort of experience. Like mentioned above, I hang out with the same five people all the time. We speak each other’s language, so we grasp on to one another and hold on in a way we never would in our home countries. While living in one’s home country, if someone is prickly or bothersome one must just let go and find someone else to suit his/her fancy. Here there is no such luck, so you hang on through the good and the bad and come out with a deeper bond of true friendship because of it.

Sights

I woke up this morning and finally ran! I had a slump last week. I had given up, but last night I had a newsflash moment--- I don't want to give up!!!

As I got off the treadmill today, I was stretching and looking out the window... what do I see? Cows! I realized how different life is here. I wasn't shocked at seeing a cow--- it would have been more shocking to see a car drive by the window. When a car drives by, it is an occasion to look out the window! When I drive I rarely get over 40 mph and if I go any faster, it feels unsafe! When we arrive at LAX in two months, I think I will have to close my eyes as we get on the freeway!

When I go to the grocery store in the US, I will be totally overwhelmed too. The stores here are smaller than a US guest bedroom. They have what I need, but only one kind. That makes decisions very easy! I will be blown away by aisles of toilet paper, laundry detergent and oil. I won't know what to do!

I will also gasp at the prices. I even gasp here some times and a loaf of bread is 50 cents. That is up from 25 cents when we first moved here. I will be amazed that it costs $2-5 in America now.... does anyone have an old dusty bread maker laying around? :)