....and by home I mean our language house. We've had so many "homes" in the past 6 months that sometimes I get confused! So our week in Meeting City ended up going fairly well. I think it is best described as the Wilds (camp) for adults (minus the fun games!) mixed with a bit of family reunion and some first day of high school. It was a bit hard going through all the "meetings" with jet lag. At home we tried to stay busy all day long before we would crash at 8 pm. Sitting for long period of time doesn't really yell "STAY AWAKE" to my oh so tired body. However, we made it through (I might have fallen asleep during a pr-yer or two, but come on- you know you have too!) We didn't have much free time, but every chance we got we brought the kiddos to the pool. How crazy is it that we live in SEA but there is no where to SWIM near our language house! But hey there are other benefits to living in SEA- like the other night some ladies let me tag along for a ladies night out. I spent a whole $12 for an hour long massage!!! Wow my $40 manicure in the states (don't ask!) doesn't compare!
Today we flew back to Language City- who would have guessed that the same sugar passing out lady from Sunday would be on this flight, sitting right by us again! Seriously!!! What are the odds??? Anyway, her and her family are super sweet! Brooklyn fell asleep towards the beginning of the flight (such a blessing to have a quiet baby!) so we weren't given too much candy, but MJ was able to speak with the husband a bit (stinkin language barrier!) and they did switch cell numbers. Pr-y for that relationship (I'm pretty sure only G-d's hand would have put us on the same flight twice!).
One last thing, we were supposed to start language school July 5th, but our Visas still aren't ready :( Right now its looking like Visas will be ready on July 10th, we will take our Out of Country Visa run shortly after, and then start school in the beginning of August. Hopefully we will be able to get a language tutor to help us for the next month so we aren't here just wasting time for the next month. Oh yes, and MJ is supposed to be going to visit Final City with in the next two weeks if all works out! Keep us in your pr-yers!
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
One day at a time...
Sunday- travel to Annual Meeting City. I didn't type a post yesterday (Sun) for 2 reasons: 1-I had not had anytime all day to talk to Hubby (he's pretty high up on my priority list, like on top of blogging- by far!) and 2-I feared my constant flow of tears might ruin the keyboard! Yes, it's true - I hit my breaking point! We were just getting settled into Language City and 6 days later we need to take a 2 hour flight to Meeting City. Travel with 2 little ones is just rough- then throw in dirty bathrooms, carrying a stroller up several flights of stairs (no elevator in the airport- seriously!), and the non English speaking woman sitting near you continually handing your cute adorable children CHOCOLATE! After the flight, we had a 45 min car ride to the hotel. Due to all the distractions, Little B had not gotten a nap and decided to throw herself on the floor of the lobby as we are meeting our supervisor's wife. We finally got checked in and arrived at our room...our 4 person room...with only 2 twin beds...and it was on the second floor with no elevator! I know it sounds so dumb, but this was my breaking point! (As Big B saw me crying she asked why I was sad. I said "Mommy is just tired." She got all serious and said, "You cry when you miss someone or you are hurt- so which is it?" Boy do I love that girl!) Well despite my bad attitude, The Father still took care of my needs...or maybe this would be classified as a want! We were able to switch to another location- about a 5 min walk away, but it was a little 2 bedroom cottage. The hotel staff was going to get our room ready while we grabbed some quick dinner. Quick dinner turned into long dinner at Fancy Restaurant - did I mention Brooklyn's lack of a nap? When we finally were able to get to our new room, I noticed that Meeting City's idea of a crib was a little different from mine- not only was it a drop side, but the rail itself was only about a foot tall- I'm pretty sure Little B would have fun climbing out of it in the middle of the night, possibly splitting her head open on the
nice tile floor! At that moment Little B also thought it was a great time to grab this fun looking paper bag off the counter- the one with a glass hiding underneath it-SMASH!!! ahhhh!!! This is too much for Momma today! Again, the tears come! I just want to be home!!! I called J&J to help with the crib situation- they are awesome! Not only did they know where I could get a pack'n'play, but J also reminded me of something so important- despite all the craziness going on, The Father has a purpose for bringing me here! I know, I forget these obvious things so easily! When you are trying to remember how to say 'Sorry' in New Language (I can't tell you how often I need to apologize over here!), everything else just seems to slip your mind! Thanks J for that loving reminder! And thanks Daddy for using J to remind me!
Monday- day of meetings. Yeah, I know you want to read all about meetings- don't worry, I'll just skip to the good parts like when I showed up for the class I signed up for -'managing your budget' (you know, the one all the coupon mom's attend since they can't get free groceries in SEA) and realized that only men were in the class because its actually about managing business finances! Oops! And then the best parts of the day, when I picked Little B up from child care and she jumped up in my arms and squeezed me tighter than she ever has before and when we got to take our girls swimming in the BEAUTIFUL pool here (did I mention we are right on the ocean??? It's gorgeous here)! And it only took 45 min for me to sunscreen the girls up- no way I'm letting them get burnt!
Anyways, things are starting to calm down. We are slowly getting over our jet lag. And we are LOVING life n SEA! Thanks for lifting us up to The Father- He is taking great care of us! Oh and I do miss you all-- maybe that truly is the reason why the tears kept coming, after all 5 year olds do know everything :)
Saturday, June 22, 2013
So much too say...
Wow! I seriously should have done this months ago! I've never done a blog, but as I stood in my kitchen over whelmed by everything going on around me, I decided to finally give in! Yes, I am officially a BLOGGER!
So here goes- I'll try to condense the past week as too not overwhelm anyone else. Saturday-Monday is a big blur (minus when Betina threw up all over the airport in Germany- I remember that very clearly!) We arrived at our Language house with our 10 suitcases and began unloading (it was close to bedtime, but we were obviously NOT tired- 11 hour time change can do that to you!) Now...where should all the stuff go? These wardrobes have one shelf each and no drawers! How do I stack 12 pairs of size 2T pants without them toppling over? And only one little medicine cabinet for all my toiletries- who are you trying to kid? And the crib- doesn't anyone know the drop side have been recalled? This is the momment when my Father grabs me and says, "Child, its going to be OK!" Plus, didn't I learn in VA that things would be "different"- not wrong, not weird, just different! Deep breath! We can do this!
Tuesday - first trip to the market! Now when I was asked a few months ago if hubby and I could drive stick shift, it was never mentioned that the steering wheel was on the wrong...I mean opposite side of the car and that people here drive on the wro...opposite side of the road (well besides the crazy scooter...ehm...motorcycle drivers- they drive where ever they please! oh and here, they have the right of way! Yes when they pull out right in front of you and you need to slam on your brakes, its ok- thats NORMAL here!) Lets just say it will be a while before I become a taxi driver (or even a soccer mom- actually they like badminton (badmitten???) here so I guess its actually a batminton mom in SEA). OK Back to the market- At this moment the blurriness sets in again. Something about fish heads, weighing eggs in a bag, and $2 for a liter of milk! Maybe I'll figure that all out next time!
Wednesday- trip to Big City! Due to jet lag, hubby and I decided it was ok for him to go see a 2.5 hour movie (plus traffic driving too and from, so lets just round up to oh...6 hours!) with the guys while the girls and I were shauffered around Big City to get some nessesary items like a potty seat (potty training and squaty potties just dont mesh well), bath basin (my Little B doesn't really like water spraying at her face while J&J's tear free soap drips in her eyes- there were LOTs of tears!), and dont forget the salsa (I'm pretty sure my MIL put salsa in my hubby's baby bottles). We also were in search of an umbrella stroller (you know the $12 ones they sell at walmart?)- well the strollers here were about 1699900...so after I got out my handy dandy converter (dont judge!), I realized they were $170! Apparently its a luxury here to push your 28lb baby around rather than carrying her in a scarf wrapped around your body a few times! Oh well- Guess I'll carry her around and grab a Magnum Ice Cream bar for $0.99 instead (if you have never tried one of these- head to your local walmart immediatly! goodbye Dove bars!) My Father knew I needed to live in a place where ice cream was available 24/7! Thank you Daddy!
Thursday- time to rest! Our wonderful guide (she is the wonderful woman who picked out and furnished our house and has been sacrificing her time to aid this helpless family! she's amazing!) decided to let us rest a bit! Today was picnic day with some great friends! So glad J&J and Little G are here! I'm not sure what we ate for lunch, it looked...different (my new fav. word!) but honestly, it was delish!
Friday- first adventure without a translator! Hubby decided it would be fun to take a taxi to Big City (we might die if we tried to drive ourselves), so off we went! It was nice to have some family alone time and to go to a mall that made us feel at home (minus no one speaking our language- "Bathroom?"... "Oh Barfume!" motions for us to follow...to the parfume! (how can i communicate "potty break" without this being too awkward!) "Um...change diaper?" as I pull out a diaper..."Oh ok, follow" as she leads us to the diaper aisle... "NO! I have diapers, I just need to put my 2 year old on a potty now because we are potty training and she might pee on your floor!" No, I didn't actually say that! Eventually I found Little B a potty and she was still DRY! Mom on the other hand got soaked from the crazy faucet trying to wash hands- live and learn!) We did manage to find a taxi and get home safely- my man is wonderful!
Before I go, I wanted to add some encouragement to all this craziness! Big B keeps asking us how to say "The Father" in SEA language. Then she ran around the park saying "Daddy." (even if she cant tell her friends the whole story, she will tell them his name!) A few minutes later she asked how to say "heart." I asked her why she wanted to say heart- she looked at me with the most precious look and said "Because I wanna tell my friends at the park that Daddy hearts them!" Despite all the uncertainty going on around us, there is one thing I always know- Daddy hearts me! Thanks Big B for reminding me!
So here goes- I'll try to condense the past week as too not overwhelm anyone else. Saturday-Monday is a big blur (minus when Betina threw up all over the airport in Germany- I remember that very clearly!) We arrived at our Language house with our 10 suitcases and began unloading (it was close to bedtime, but we were obviously NOT tired- 11 hour time change can do that to you!) Now...where should all the stuff go? These wardrobes have one shelf each and no drawers! How do I stack 12 pairs of size 2T pants without them toppling over? And only one little medicine cabinet for all my toiletries- who are you trying to kid? And the crib- doesn't anyone know the drop side have been recalled? This is the momment when my Father grabs me and says, "Child, its going to be OK!" Plus, didn't I learn in VA that things would be "different"- not wrong, not weird, just different! Deep breath! We can do this!
Tuesday - first trip to the market! Now when I was asked a few months ago if hubby and I could drive stick shift, it was never mentioned that the steering wheel was on the wrong...I mean opposite side of the car and that people here drive on the wro...opposite side of the road (well besides the crazy scooter...ehm...motorcycle drivers- they drive where ever they please! oh and here, they have the right of way! Yes when they pull out right in front of you and you need to slam on your brakes, its ok- thats NORMAL here!) Lets just say it will be a while before I become a taxi driver (or even a soccer mom- actually they like badminton (badmitten???) here so I guess its actually a batminton mom in SEA). OK Back to the market- At this moment the blurriness sets in again. Something about fish heads, weighing eggs in a bag, and $2 for a liter of milk! Maybe I'll figure that all out next time!
Wednesday- trip to Big City! Due to jet lag, hubby and I decided it was ok for him to go see a 2.5 hour movie (plus traffic driving too and from, so lets just round up to oh...6 hours!) with the guys while the girls and I were shauffered around Big City to get some nessesary items like a potty seat (potty training and squaty potties just dont mesh well), bath basin (my Little B doesn't really like water spraying at her face while J&J's tear free soap drips in her eyes- there were LOTs of tears!), and dont forget the salsa (I'm pretty sure my MIL put salsa in my hubby's baby bottles). We also were in search of an umbrella stroller (you know the $12 ones they sell at walmart?)- well the strollers here were about 1699900...so after I got out my handy dandy converter (dont judge!), I realized they were $170! Apparently its a luxury here to push your 28lb baby around rather than carrying her in a scarf wrapped around your body a few times! Oh well- Guess I'll carry her around and grab a Magnum Ice Cream bar for $0.99 instead (if you have never tried one of these- head to your local walmart immediatly! goodbye Dove bars!) My Father knew I needed to live in a place where ice cream was available 24/7! Thank you Daddy!
Thursday- time to rest! Our wonderful guide (she is the wonderful woman who picked out and furnished our house and has been sacrificing her time to aid this helpless family! she's amazing!) decided to let us rest a bit! Today was picnic day with some great friends! So glad J&J and Little G are here! I'm not sure what we ate for lunch, it looked...different (my new fav. word!) but honestly, it was delish!
Before I go, I wanted to add some encouragement to all this craziness! Big B keeps asking us how to say "The Father" in SEA language. Then she ran around the park saying "Daddy." (even if she cant tell her friends the whole story, she will tell them his name!) A few minutes later she asked how to say "heart." I asked her why she wanted to say heart- she looked at me with the most precious look and said "Because I wanna tell my friends at the park that Daddy hearts them!" Despite all the uncertainty going on around us, there is one thing I always know- Daddy hearts me! Thanks Big B for reminding me!
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