a rocha debrief, to be brief

from the ridge looking out towards winkler

Luke and I "debriefed" this morning in the Pembina Valley with a friend of mine from CMU. Susan and her husband are now working at A Rocha. I reconnected with Susan because she is teaching my pottery class on Wednesday nights. Susan is an open, exuberant, sensitive person who I am always at ease with. Susan and her husband are connected to the arts community in the area and are the type of people who are always brimming with ideas, projects, inspiration. It is inspirational for me to spend time with them, especially in such a lovely place. We watched birds come to the feeder, ate homemade bread, drank tea in the sunshine, went potty in the outhouse, daydreamed about pottery and painting, Luke even discovered deer poop and then washed his hands in the dirt. Very satisfying, very refreshing. Experiences like this solidify my confidence in the idea that God wants to use my interests and skills for his glory, and that the mundane is not meaningless.

Feel the burn

Dear amanda,
wish you were here.

I've been wandering around the house doing the usual things: dishes, making dinner, laundry, planting seeds, reading stories, playing ball, dishes again, making lunch, etc etc. I feel like I need a debrief after my vacation. Instead I got tossed back into the whole huge mess/responsibility that is having a family and a home, without a moment to catch my breath. To make myself feel better I am sticking with these California pictures determined to make something of them and not let them sit in this computer file until they rot. Hope you enjoy seeing some more CA photos.

PS- I planted sweet peas today. sweet peas. mmm.

Forgive me

I am not up for much today. My back is out, I slept badly, the cat chewed up all my bell pepper seedlings, and my patience is thin. All that California hopefulness and encouragement seems to have stayed in California.

Home again Jiggity Jig

On the last twenty minutes of Luke and my rather eventful travel day, Luke lost all patience. He strained at his car seat straps and shouted, "ALL DONE! ALL DONE!" and when I responded with a sigh and a nod he shouted, "HOME JIGGY-JIGGY!"

One of the many graces we were granted on our travel day was an airplane backpack packed by grandma and grandpa just for Luke. Grandma added stickers and bug finger puppets, and Grandpa added 3 toy tractors that turned out to be real winners. Luke drove those tractors all over the plane. And as we sat on the tarmac for two hours in a stuffy, overheated airplane, Luke showed his tractors to the flight attendants and the people in neighboring seats. Everyone was very impressed, even the captain - who, when he saw we'd be on the runway for a while, offered his front row seat to Luke and his tractors. Luke was very impressed with all the buttons. The tractors were miffed at being overshadowed.

This morning Luke and I were sitting in the living room playing with the tractors on the windowsill and Luke spontaneously hugged the John Deere and said, "A-guv-oo tractor" (I love you tractor), and planted a great wet kiss on it's hood. No John Deere has ever been so lucky.

Back to our routine today, and back to work for me. Meal planning really takes up a large part of my day, I had forgotten how stressful it is to be in charge of all the meals all the time! Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for all the wonderful meals and for the airplane backpack treats.

Speaking of airplanes, here's my latest project - just a rough draft. I'm having so much fun with it that I won't keep it to myself, even though I'm not even sure Nick and Melissa have seen it yet! But since it's a prayer card for their mission trip, I don't think they'll mind.

Encouraged

This Winter was long and dark, and I often felt like I lived in a tiny cave with a rabid bear who wouldn't hibernate. But after these two weeks in California I will be returning home on Saturday a healthier, happier, encouraged person.

Arriving in California really felt like coming home, and waking up to the birds chirping outside my window every morning felt like waking up in a dream. I have been relaxed in a great big bed with a fluffy blanket and cozy dachshund. I have been loved by family that takes joy in my son's conversation, and joy in breaking bordeaux bars together. I have been generously complimented on my figure by my Plain 'Ol Grammy (and how far a word like that can go towards enjoying just one more bordeaux bar, and extending forgiveness to myself for that extra helping of chardonnay chicken). I may be going back a few pounds heavier, but according to Grammy I could stand some fattening up. I have not planned a single dinner while I was here, but got to participate in the cooking and cleaning in ways that weren't tedious or nerve-wracking since there was always an extra pair of eyes to watch Luke. I was able to sit in the sun, listen to my son laugh while Grandma chased him around the kitchen, cuddle with my dog, plant tomatoes in the garden, read a magazine, take a nap on the couch, eat Thai food, and rediscover that I enjoy taking pictures - just for fun. But the best part of being home has been seeing my son being loved so intensely by people who rarely see him, and being told what a great job Derek and I have done parenting Luke.

We have encouraging, supportive family living nearby in Winkler, but hearing my own mom, dad, grandparents, aunts and uncles, tell me that they think my son is great and it is largely due to my hard work as a parent is a wonderful reward. These people who put a lot of effort and time and money and prayer into my own development think that I've gone and done something real good. This astounds and encourages me. I feel proud of my son, and pleased with the decisions Derek and I have made to get our family to this place. Yes, I feel honored, proud and pleased.

And when I hear the reports that all the snow has melted off the yard of 13 Roadrunner Bay, I am immensely encouraged.

Make Martinis, Not War.

My new hat says, "Make martinis, not war".

Brinks Deli.

One of my favorite views.

work and play - california style

Luke begs to go outside to dig in the dirt, and cries when it's time to go in and clean up.

Luke's favorite ride: the helicopters.

Blue helicopters only.

Where's J'mark?

a train ride

We cleared (with lots of help!) a great big woodpile out from in front of the pig pen so that we could plant those three pomegranate trees in the back of Dad's vegetable garden.

We found lizards and black widows and mice and toads, even a few little skeletons.