Saturday, July 31, 2010

Attempt #3

Well we will give this another shot and see how it goes. I have both boys sleeping right now, but Josiah has been sleeping for almost an hour already and Levi is not settling very well today and seems to be waking up every couple of minutes..but he appears to be in a deep sleep now, so I will do my best to write a little bit about how things have been going.

Honestly, these past few weeks have been so busy for us that it is hard for me to point out the certain things that we did do and didn't do. I had a great birthday...as most of you saw on facebook. The ladies from the church prepared a nice supper for us here in my house and then on Sunday (my actual birthday) Jorge and I and the boys went out to a little restaurant in Yumbel for lunch. We had a really nice time and Josiah was excellent! This was a big surprise for both Jorge and I because for the last few months we have avoided taking him out to a restaurant because he would behave so badly and never eat the food we bought him. But this time he did the complete opposite, he was a little angel and ate almost a whole plate of food that we bought him, french fries and hot dogs...a meal fit for a king, haha. Anyways, then when we went to church they called me up to the front and brought a cake up to me and sang happy birthday, it was really sweet :)

On Monday we all went into Concepcion for the day and stopped in Cabrero to pick up our new Canadian friend, Esther for a day of shopping. Esther is going to get married to a Chilean who lives in Cabrero, his name is Alvaro, and his Mother is the teacher of a girl in our church, Katy...so we kind of got hooked up through her. Esther and Alvaro met in October of last year, when she came down here with a group of missionaries for a few weeks and they spent one weekend in Alvaro's parents church (his parents are the pastors of the Assembly of God church in Cabrero). After only seeing each other a few times she had to leave with her team and they exchanged emails and said they would keep in touch...and then they fell in love through skype and got engaged:) haha. He ended up going to Canada in February for three weeks to meet her family and now she came here to Chile for the month of July and stayed with his family and got to know them a little more also, and they will be getting married in Canada in January of next year. So it was cool for us to hook up...we actually became very good friends and I am excited for when she comes back to live here! We have a lot of things in common, both Christians from Christian, homeschooling families, both married to chileans, both enjoy scrapbooking haha. Esther LOVES scrapbooking and says in their new home that they have purchased in Concepcion, they have an extra room and she will make that her scrapbooking room and bring materials from Canada, YAY! I miss doing stuff like that with my Mum...even though I am not always good at focusing and actually DOING it, haha, but it is the relaxing time of just sitting and listening to a sermon or to music while cutting things out etc. So I am looking forward to her return. ANYWAYS, as I was saying, we went shopping for the day and she helped me pick out some new shoes and a couple of sweaters. This whole time here I had been still using my summer slim Merrel shoes and my feet were freezing .... so for my birthday gifts from Jorge's Dad and Jorge I got some shoes and a couple of sweaters. Esther and I had such a great time just walking around and window shopping...she was looking for things that they have here so she can know the things that you can and can't get here, so as to know what to bring from Canada when she comes. She is a great person to talk to and we had a lot of good conversations..I think she realized that I have really been longing to have someone to converse with in English, so I really took this time as a gift from God.

These past few weeks have been hard for me as I have really been homesick a lot. I cannot lie and say that everything has been happy and great when on the inside I have been struggling day in and day out. It was one thing being so far away from my family when it was the three of us, with Jorge and Josiah...but now with Levi growing and doing so many new things and Josiah growing also...I find myself just craving to be in the midst of my family, sharing these moments that will only happen once in their lifetimes. I have cried so much....many times during the day I will be doing something with Levi, taking pics of something he is doing and I come to the computer to see if anyone from my family is online...but no luck. That usually brings me to bursting into tears on the spot..and secretly praying, "LORD, please take me back to be closer to my family, please..." I don't know if that is the correct thing to be praying..I have struggled with it in my heart, because I do know that God told us to come here and trust Him, but there is a part of me that is just really struggling with the reality of that right now. But it comes and goes, I am still trying to enjoy every moment that I have with my boys and with Jorge, because I know that God is with us and that His will is exactly where we want to be. So if I must sacrifice being close to my family, I guess I must learn to do so with a thankful heart. But it is hard.

Anyways, back to things going on with us ....The construction in the church is now finished and the brothers that were working on it from Chillan left on Thursday, so we are thankful to have that finished...now we just have to pay for it *cringes*, but we are trusting that the LORD will bring that money in when we need it, so hopefully very soon! lol.

With the construction workers gone things are getting a bit back to normal around here. While they were here they were coming here for both lunch and afternoon tea, so we had Digna coming everyday to help me prepare lunch for them all...well, I say help, but the truth is, most days she just prepared everything, which was soo helpful! I am very thankful to have her working here with us. So now next week she will most likely go back to coming here two or three times per week. It still feels strange to me to have someone in the house, helping me clean, but it has been such a blessing, as I dont have time every day to clean the house thoroughly and prepare lunch and take care of both Josiah and Levi, so having her around allows me to at least focus mostly on the boys and not have to worry much about the housework and laundry etc.

Well Josiah is awake and I have him sitting on my lap, stroking my hair and begining to push it in front of my eyes so that I cannot see to keep typing, so I guess I should take that as a hint that he wants my attention and I should give it to him. Levi is beginning to stir also...so it looks like my moments of peace and solitude have officially come to an end. That's ok, at least I got to blog...mission accomplished.

5 comments:

  1. Aw, babe. I know it is hard but didn't realize hoWhard for you. I'm sorry I haven't been online as much lately - too many shifts/things going on, I guess. I frequently look for you, as well. I'm praying for you daily and I know that these are important days for your babies but we will, Lord willing, have future times when we are closer. Thanks so much for all the photo-posting that you do on FB - that really helps me feel closer to you.

    I love you sweetheart! I am so glad that Esther is coming to live close to you and that you have so much in common with her - God is good!

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  2. Sorry sweetie. Ya I know I miss you and Jorge and the boys too. I was out back reading my Bible this afternoon and was praying for you guys. Some times I get a bit lonesome when Mum is working long shifts. Then it is just me and Madison and she don't say much.ha ha. Oh well God know our hearts and he has a reason for everything, we just can't understand it sometimes.sigh. Love you sweetie.
    Dad

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  3. Awww....what a good blog Ruley! Thanks so much for sharing your heart when it comes to missing the family, I know exactly what you mean (although I don't have kids) but I confess I think I have prayed the same prayer a time or two! I always thank the Lord for skype and msn, and how even though it's not the same as being in person, at least its the next closes thing. (and it's free!!)

    I was wondering who Esther was...that is so exciting for you! I'm so happy God is bringing a new friend in your life...the scrapbooking sounds so much fun! That is one thing I have missed while being away the last 3 years and can't wait to get to be able to sit and do it! I think Mum and I will have to have some "scrapbooking dates" when I get back!

    Anyway...I see your blog background has changed?! Ask Tan, she should be able to help - she was the one that helped me with mine!!

    I love you so much Sister! Praying for you and miss you!!

    Love,
    KB

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  4. ** should be "closest" in the last sentence of the first paragraph of my comment ;-)

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  5. Oh! This theme works - I quite like it, Mandy! Do you? Was it the one you were looking for?

    I like it! Love you!

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