Our weekend getaway and Zach is 10 months old

Last weekend Daniel flew our family to the city of Timika to spend the weekend at the lovely Rimba hotel. This was our first real vacation since moving to Wamena 8 months ago, and it was fun to do something special together as a family. We chose to stay at the Rimba hotel because we heard that the pool was nice, and it didn't disappoint us. Zoe and Ariella loved playing in the water!

With 3 small kids, we kept our schedule very simple:

We woke up.
We enjoyed the breakfast buffet.
I went to the pool with Zoe and Ariella while Daniel stayed at the hotel room during Zach's morning nap.
Zach and Daniel joined us at the pool after naptime.
We went back to our hotel room to change out of swimsuits, and then ate lunch at the hotel restaurant.
Afternoons were filled with naptime and sometimes Zoe played outside at the playground or walked around with Daniel or with me.
After naps we went for a walk and then to dinner at the hotel.
Then we went back to our room, played games and read stories, and put the kids to bed.
Daniel and I hid in the bathroom for a while. I read while he worked on writing a novel.
And then we slept too.

Sisters "reading" together

The bathroom

I think that I would have liked to do other things (like sit by the pool in the afternoon, go for more extensive walks, etc) if I was there without my little ones, but this vacation was relaxing! And I really enjoyed the pretty flowers, butterflies, fountain and other lovely features at the hotel. Beauty is refreshing too!

"fishing" in the lily pond

pretty fountain!

I love these blue flowers (and this girl)!

Flying with Daniel to and from Timika (with stops at interior villages) was fun! Here is a photo of us at Qwijawigi.

Zach was their favorite person to meet.

Flying with my husband!

On Monday, the day we returned from our little getaway, Zach turned 10 months old. He is crawling quickly now, eating lots of food, and playing with everything. He is a champion hair-puller and loves to chase us around the house, sometimes trying to chew on our feet! Zechariah is continuing to grow, and weighs almost 25 pounds. I love how interactive he is, communicating with sounds, clicks, smiles, laughter, and hand motions. I am told that he pulled himself up a few days ago, but have yet to see it myself. He loves taking baths and playing with his sisters. I feel blessed to have had another fun month with my precious baby boy! (Though at the same time, I find parenting 3 kids to be very overwhelming!) You are special to us, Zach!

Fruit...yum!

So much exploring to do!

Let's take a photo all together....

Zach is 9 months old!

It's hard to believe that Zechariah is 9 months old already! He has now spent as much time out of the womb as he did growing inside of me. He is crawling now, playing with and getting into new things each day, and trying to eat everything he finds with his 6 teeth. He still loves his big sisters and everyone who looks at him and smiles at him. He adores the lady who cleans my house and babysits him when I go running. He claps his hands (and will do it when I sing "if you're happy and you know it!"), makes all kinds of noises, and yells when he wants more food (I guess that's how you get noticed when you have a distracted mom and 2 noisy big sisters), and grabs everything. We love this chubby, sweet baby so much!

Ordinary Beauty

My days are filled with small things...small people (my kids and neighbor kids), small steps towards growth (in patience, love, communication, friendship, physical exercise etc.), and many small delights (flowers, conversations, laughter, rainbows). Please enjoy with me a few of the ordinary things (in my home and around the area where I live) that I have noticed that are very beautiful.

Who can resist a baby's beautiful smile? :)

This is an amazing fern-covered fence!

Ariella with the beautiful fence.

A beautiful day! And fun on the swings!

The beauty of gently holding a baby rabbit.

Ariella is picking flowers with a very sweet Indonesian girl.

This is Zoe playing "airport"...a game where she brings her doll in her stroller to the airplane that she sets up (plastic chairs in front of the washing machine). The stroller is stowed under the sink, and then she and her baby (or babies) travel to Indonesia. One day when playing this I explained to her that Indonesia is where we live now...and she told me that Indonesia is her "favorite world." I think the beauty of her creativity and play and happiness to be here is delightful!

A rainbow seen from our back yard.

Daniel reading a bedtime story to Zechariah.

Zoe enjoying the beautiful fire pit.

I hope you enjoy these glimpses into my life. Life with my kids seems to take more patience than I have and some things in my life seem to take more courage than I can muster up. But I am trusting God to help me to be patient and brave. And gratitude for the beauty around me helps me as I slowly grow and learn. Where do you see beauty in the ordinary things in your life?

Six Months

This beautiful girl is 6 months old today! And she is already crawling. Now she can get the toys, bits of hair, and other fun things that she wants. In 2.5 days we will begin our journey to the US. I hope she enjoys travelling (her big sister does!).

When I don't know what to say

I am in the midst of packing up my home in Nabire, Indonesia to go and move to Idaho for a year or so. If that sounds sudden to you it's because it is a big and abrupt change. My husband Daniel and I have been so focused on getting to Indonesia, learning the language, aviation training, and finally settling into a home here with the intention of being here for many years. We're still hoping to live here for a long time...but now we're taking an interlude, going back to the US for counseling. (We are feeling burned out and Daniel is struggling with depression. He has written more about our reasons for going back to the US on his blog. ) Daniel will work at MAF headquarters in Nampa, ID.

People have been asking me how I'm doing. I don't know. Sometimes I feel exhausted, angry, and/or sad. Sometimes I'm encouraged that we get this great opportunity for healing. I am very happy when I think about getting to introduce Ariella to her grandparents and aunts and uncles. I feel worried about the finances involved in this move and about things like buying a car and setting up an apartment. I am also afraid: what if we don't come back?

Last night I read the final chapter in the book The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith (I highly recommend it). In this chapter Smith wrote about the importance of slowing down and being really present in each moment. Today I am thinking about Mary*, who sat at Jesus' feet and listened to him while her sister Martha was hurriedly trying to get a meal ready. I want to be like Mary, listening to Jesus even while there are many things to do and to think about. I want to have a quiet heart, even when my life feels like it's constantly changing. I can trust God to be with me, loving me, guiding me through these changes. 

So, when I don't know what to say I will try to listen to Jesus.

*I am referring to Mary and Martha who are Lazarus' sisters. You can find this story about them in the Bible in Luke 10:38-42.

On My Birthday

Yesterday was my 33rd birthday.

I woke up and chose to be happy. We have been struggling with discouragement and feelings of burn out, so I decided that happiness on my birthday would be my choice. Daniel left for his first flight, and I cared for and enjoyed my little girls. I decided to take a day off from laundry, except for diapers. When I went out to hang the diapers I found a present on my porch--cookies and a balloon! Zoe and I enjoyed the cookies for breakfast and she danced and danced around the house with the balloon.

I skyped for an hour with my parents and one of my sisters. I even got to say goodnight to my little niece! It was nice to "see" family on my birthday. While we talked, Ariella took a nap and Zoe played happily all by herself.

At 10am we went to my friend/neighbor/coworker Anja's house. She and I have the same birthday! She made a really yummy cake with berries in it to celebrate! After we ate cake we learned that there had been an airplane accident earlier this morning and the pilot Bob Roberts, with the Adventist mission, died. This was surprising and shocking to me. I know Bob and Jan just a little bit...I buy whole wheat flour and brown rice from Jan and enjoy her beautiful piano playing at the concerts that she organizes. I have heard stories about Bob and the dental work that he did when he had extra time. They have served and blessed people here in Papua for a LONG time! And now, suddenly, Jan is a widow. Their airplane--a Quest Kodiak, the same kind that Daniel flies--is broken into pieces and partly burned.

I wondered...should I still choose to be happy today when there is such a good reason to be sad? I could not come up with an answer to that question. A birthday is when we celebrate the gift of life, the presence of a person. Life is a wonderful gift, even though it can be so suddenly snuffed out.

I felt very serious yesterday (still do). In the afternoon I baked cupcakes and made ice cream. We went for a family walk on the runway before eating a dinner of leftover pumpkin soup, cucumber slices (Zoe had ketchup on hers!) and cupcakes. And that was my birthday. I enjoyed the cuteness of my little people, hugged Daniel nice and tight, ate more sugar than I should have, and was grateful that God chose to create me and helped my mother give birth to me (via. emergency c-section) 33 years ago.

You can read more about Bob and Jan Roberts here. Please pray for Jan, their 3 adult children, and their many friends. Much love to you all!