learned, 2.

While on my 25 day long US trip,


I learned that…

…Memphis summers are really hot and really humid (HELLO frizzy hair!!)

…Baking in the kitchen all the time for “old times sake” doesn’t seem like such a good idea when your family practically lives in cookie stores…and bring home plenty to taste!

…My favorite cookies are still all the “chewies”, YUM!


…I really seriously need to be in North Texas more than just a couple of days the next trip (shout out to Texas friends!!!)

…Even though I could talk about Casa de Amor in my sleep by this point, it was an interesting, new challenge to communicate the street work

…Memphis churches are passionate about local city outreach and are finding innovative ways to make a difference

…Road trips with family are still fun!

…US weddings are very lovely, very special, unique affairs (until my cousin’s this month, I hadn’t been to one since the 90s)

…never thought I’d say this, but Target is definitely a cool place to shop :)

...I am very fortunate to have lived in the same house 6 years and counting as a single (as my sister prepares to move for a 5th time, 5 years in a row)

…while it was wonderful to be with both parents again, in the same country, at the same time, the bond between sisters is extra special and I sure wish we could all four be together more often

TEAM!!!!!

This is what we're up to this week...

{ orientation }

First Baptist Church McKinney "Bolivia All-Out" Youth Mission Trip!

Back online later...

I love

Living in a mountain valley

Baking

My laptop

Anne of Green Gables

Babies!

Hillsongs Music

Casa de Amor staff & volunteers

Biographies

Colorful sunsets

Empanadas de queso (hot!)

Stimulating conversations

Texas thunderstorms

Movies that challenge and inspire

Adoption

Ice cream in hot weather

Quiet mornings

Having three sisters

Bach

Licuado de durazno

Shopping at Saturday morning market with a few little ones

US History

Cochabamba’s international community

Fresh fruit smoothies

Toddler kisses

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:19

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken...says the Lord.

Isaiah 54:10

hodge podge

Upon arrival to my family's apartment in Tennessee, one of the first things I noticed was how three cultures easily mix in the relaxed decor.

Antique Bolivia wall map
Cowboy lampshade

Painting given to us from some of our very first Russian friends in 1999

Painting from Bolivia (farewell gift for my parents)

Two enlarged photographs: Heather in front of St. Basil's, Red Square, Moscow (by me I think) and gates to a church in the outskirts of Kostroma region (made by our Dad)

Russia and adoption agency memorabilia
(yes, that's our Emma on the coin can!)

Pictures of our grandpa in a Texas rodeo

Bell from Kostroma, Russia

Painting from Bolivia
Matryoshka nesting doll from Russia


Painting purchased from a lady selling her original artwork on Red Square, Moscow
Magnets of pictures of my kids in Bolivia

four friends!

Amber M {3 time Bolivia volunteer & first CDA volunteer coordinator}, Haley M, Jennifer T, Heather T


Together again for the first time in...well, other than crossing paths at a conference probably 8+ years ago, we've never gotten together, just the 4 of us! Although if we can convince Heather to come to Bolivia next summer, then we'll be together again.

It was great seeing you again, Amber! The time went much too fast.

four sisters!

Jennifer (27), Emma (almost 11), Sarah (21), Heather (24)


Together in Texas! Just for a bit, but we savored the feeling of being all four on the same continent, in the same country, in the same room for the first time since March last year (when we were in Bolivia together).

Sarah Palin, Jr.

Pictures of Sarah Palin my awesome sister Emma:

(Notice the chick-fil-a? That's the only thing she consistently missed from the US while living in Bolivia 22 months)

Reading a woman's magazine?! (And yes, those are earrings, folks!! I have a whole new sister back in Texas/Tennessee)

Caption on this from my Mom: "Jennifer's board"
(I have two of those now, besides this literal "board" at a playground we helped build years ago in Coppell, Texas, before Emma was even born!)


Yes, she really misses Bolivia!

Still serving--sending boxes of school supplies to Africa!

Caption to these pictures: Emma was forcefully made to hold made the best out of holding the parasol. Sister Heather is standing behind Em.

My sister Sarah's 21st birthday dinner celebration in March

Now THIS is the Emma I know! She made it to the top.

Playing with our aunt's new cat

I miss Emma.

I am so glad I can look forward to her visit in July, with my Mom and sister Heather, yeah!!!!!!!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

So TODAY Rudy met his new parents from Spain!!!!!!!!! It was just as exciting as always. I never get tired of this!! Had to talk to myself to hold it together as I headed to get him and bring him into his new parents. Then unexpectedly (can I just say kids are so unpredictable?!), our Mr. Outgoing clammed up at the door and made a little scene before going to them. Seemed like an hour but was probably, hopefully, just a couple of minutes!! All the adults staring at him with cameras rolling must've scared him a bit....oops. But now everything is going wonderfully and it's hard to tell who is more thrilled--Rudy, his mother, or father. We all smile at each other so big our faces are liable to crack!

Then...today my very-healthy-till-now Grandma was admitted to the hospital for a possible stroke.

So today my Mom and sister Emma booked tickets back to Texas, for just 10 days from now. Ten?! What will I do!! Dad will go a week or two after them, straight to Tennessee I believe (that's where they'll live).

March would otherwise be a fun month around here. We have a constant stream of international groups, visitors, and volunteers arriving for short or long stays, which definitely keeps things interesting. Other adoptions are close to happening.

Now the rug is getting pulled from under my feet, quite literally. I'm a family gal. Homeschooling did that to me I guess. Or actually I've been told I'm kinda weird. I don't go out with friends, I go home to family.

I just can't think about how it will be, that first day when I get to the end of a 12 hour workday and realize......I don't have anywhere to go. The Baby Home will again by my first and primary home. I'll just walk down from the third floor office...to my room. Well with a detour to hold some babies of course, but not the detour to get a good homebaked dinner or leftovers, talk to my family (often in Emma's room as she drifts off after a full day), plan the next day's events, watch a little CNN on their comfy couches, bake, or entertain volunteers.

Not to mention weekends (the ones when I have free time, anyway).

It's just back to how things were 2004-2007, my first years in Bolivia. It's not like I haven't lived this before. So why does it seem so....overwhelming?

About the only plus I can think of is I won't have the constant tug-of-war that is work vs. family time. I can just....work. Night and day. Without worrying about not being with them, or getting there so late.

I will miss Emma SO BADLY it's not even funny. Those who know her will understand better than most. There's no replacing an Emma in your life.

And did I mention how much I hate change...??

Well now that I've gotten out all that dreariness, I think I can move on to my next meeting--the one with my pillow ~grin~. Early tomorrow we take the three new little girls to the doctor, so better rest up for that one!!

Sleeping through an earthquake, and other events of the week

Some of the anticipated items of this really full week, coming off a really full weekend of visitors, birthday parties, and helping with babies:

• Receive two important visitors from Texas who were here only 3 packed days (Monday morning through Thursday morning)


• Send off volunteer Melanie (Monday night)


• Welcome next volunteer Elizabeth (Tuesday)


• Put on a two-day nutrition seminar for about 16 of our staff members with two nutritionists (Thursday & Friday)...which, if I do say so myself, was a smashing success, woo-hoo!
  

Others I did NOT anticipate:

• Receive little lost boy, who now may or may not be temporary as was told us


• Sleep through 3 tremors, from 4.1 to 4.5 on the Richter scale, around 4am Friday morning (most everyone felt them except for me.....I'm a heavy sleeper but beyond that, it was an intense week, people!!) New addition to my list, since the experts are saying we could have a much worse one at any time: emergency plan for homes in case of major earthquake
  
• Find new house for HDA II after 11 months of almost constant searching?! More soon...


• Receive 26 emails on Friday, mostly personal...with nearly as many emails the other days, too

In other news, both of the local adoptions we have in progress passed milestones this week. We're trying not to get our hopes up, but maybe just MAYBE both of the babies can be in their new forever families by Christmas?? If not, the whole process is still well on track with NO DELAYS YET!! That is really a miracle, folks. I do not know of any other local adoption that is not derailed currently. I've heard that SEDEGES (the gov't agency we work with constantly) will change hands again in January, so it would be sooo much better if these adoptions could be done by then. It would also be better for other children, since we have a waiting list going for space in the Baby Home.

We also thought we were approaching a funding issue (i.e., not enough money in the bank to cover extra end-of-the-year expenses), but THEN we saw God working and we'll be fine, PTL!!

So, in a very small nutshell, that was my week, plus a Girl Scout award ceremony with my family and sister Emma last night and now this weekend is full of Emma's 10th birthday celebrations! As she put it last night, living 10 whole years is something to be happy about! She also imagined living 90 more years (to a 3 digit number, of course) and how many friends she would be able to make in that time. I admire that. If I think of living to be 100, I imagine all the things I could accomplish, haha. Like actually see my task list emptied and all those dozens of emails tended to.... Speaking of which, I really need to get out of this comfy chair and start my Saturday chores so that I'm done in time for Em's birthday party (which involves horses, of course).

My baby bear cub

Volunteer Melanie snapped this picture after church last Sunday while I held Baby J, about 3 1/2 months old. I had covered his head due to a drop in temperature, customary this time of year when it rains often (and thus, no blazing high-altitude sun).

My sister Heather picked out the outfit while my family was in Texas, with some credit they had at Gymboree. Great job, H!

Makes you just want to pinch his cheeks, doesn't it?


Then here's Twin E asleep on Melanie this Sunday on our way home from church and a delicious Thanksgiving potluck at the home of fellow missionaries (who just also happen to have 11 children).

Who knew riding in the car could provide so many cute moments? =)

What a Trip, What a Life

I had a MOST wonderful time in Texas! Any concerns about it being too strange to not go back to our former home (such a peaceful one in the country on “Farms Road”) were unfounded. It was both interesting and relaxing to follow Heather around, get to know her new life, see where Sarah lives, visit relatives I rarely see now, etc.

A lot of it was just gratefulness at getting to be back for the first time in 15 months, and my first Fourth of July there since moving to Bolivia. I usually can’t get away this time of year due to the stream of visitors/volunteers, but this time I could leave my parents in charge and take a quick escape! At my shortest trip back ever (2 weeks including several travel days), I made a conscious effort to savor every moment there. I needed the break in a bad way, since it's very difficult to get much peace and quiet while here, or to feel "away" from the work/staff/volunteers/kids. This time I was also in three different parts of Texas so got to see lots of different things and almost all of my relatives while there. The days were packed, but somehow relaxing too. Thank you so much to all who hosted me, and me and my sister, so that I could accomplish the most possible while there. We really appreciated it and had a wonderful time together!

Some highlights of the trip were being out on the lake, eating all the Tex-Mex I could hold, and…going shopping with my Grandma. Invariably, when I would get (supposedly) out of ear shot, she would begin telling anyone who would listen where her granddaughter lives and what she does. With her version, I come out like some sort of saint! The comments were interesting. One well-meaning woman in a shoe store gushed, "You must have the BEST JOB in the whole world!!" She was dead serious.

I'm reading a book written by the daughter of deaf parents ("A Loss for Words"). She said that growing up, her friends and other people tended to think her life was either much better or much worse than it really was. I get the same sense sometimes. The comments and looks say it all: my life is either romantic and exciting, or at best I'm really strange for doing what I do--and loving it.

As for the first, I always say thank the Lord that our life here isn't constant child rescues! Last year made that clearer than ever. A year ago this time, we were still dealing with the fall out from bringing in baby Juan Gabriel (7 1/2 months), very sick and cranky as a result of living on the street his entire life. It was a very exciting, rewarding thing to do--for a few hours. Then everyone from me to the staff to the youngest baby got whatever he had, in spite of putting him into strict isolation. After two days in the home, he was admitted to the hospital for two solid weeks (still an HDA record), but the harm was already done. I don't think I've ever been sick that bad and that long, with a terrible cough that made me develop a very painful muscle strain in my side that took months to heal and still isn't the same. Yes, very romantic life. The same baby's mother's boyfriend showed up at the Baby Home shortly after, high on glue, and created a huge scene by trying to escape with the baby while cussing us out, kicking a hole in our gate, only giving up when police arrived. (Okay, so my life may not be romantic, but it CAN be dramatic. ;-) )

As to the latter, the people who ask if we have running water or if we feel safe going outside or if we have food to eat...our quality of life just might be better than theirs! If they only knew how good we have it! We've lost track of how many volunteers have stayed on after serving at the homes. Generally speaking, the only ones who actually return to their home countries are those who have school or a fiancé waiting. And all the tragedy and sorrow surrounding our kids' lives is made more bearable simply by the fact that we are here and in the incredible position of being able to do something about it. As to being around at least a dozen kids at all times, and living and officing out of the Baby Home, it's not a bother to me. You can get used to just about anything, and nothing matters if you love it!

All that to say, this life IS pretty unique, with a ridiculous range of highs and lows which made the quieter time in Texas a huge joy! But I am so glad to be back with all the kids and staff now, and of course my family, and the current 4 volunteers. It was great to hit the ground running, as usual, and to be in the thick of everything within hours of getting here. Having stepped out and now back in, I have new eyes for observing, which is always refreshing. In particular I’ve noticed my Dad's interaction with the kids. I don’t know if his affection has grown or I wasn’t noticing before, but he definitely loves them and of course they adore him back. The highlight of their week is getting to go anywhere with him in his “big car” or even to be held by him a moment. It's great to see, and we appreciate having men in the kids' lives.

A couple of pictures from the trip:

We had a wonderful afternoon lunching with the Samsels, a lovely family with 5 children that is interested in moving to Bolivia to minister to children.

Heather and I enjoyed being with Amber again, long time Casa de Amor volunteer (here we are outside Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, in Prosper, TX).