A morning with the President

Ok, so I am new to this whole world of technology and perhaps I am just a bit inconsistent with this blog thing. Hopefully I will become more accustomed and keep you all up to date with life here.
Last week our school had a visit from a VIP. While digging into my normal morning routine of cleaning and laundry I started hearing cheering from the school. The power had gone out, but I had already washed 3 loads of laundry (continual thing here) and thought I would hang them up and get my trash ready before I picked up Jubilee from PreK. I figured that soccer game I had heard discussed recently got moved to our campus and the kids were really enjoying it. What I didn't know (and boy if I had I'd have been there!) was that President Micheletti had decided to visit our campus. The third grade had been to the Presidential Palace the day before and missed getting their picture with him, so he actually made it a point to see these kids-and while he was at it, why not the school?
Honduras actually has 3 Presidents (in a way) currently. There is President Micheletti who is legally running that office, then there's incumbent President Pepe Lobo, who will step into office on January 27th, then there's former President Manuel Zelaya who is still in residence at the Brazilian Embassy, but seems to have quit insisting on a return to power. Not often that happens. Here's a picture of the Senior class with the President and Harold, who is crowd control for the event-he didn't get the memo about wearing a suit jacket and never actually got an official photo as he was too busy policing kids. Sure was fun though.

So Beautiful Princess

Why did God make 2-year-olds? Because sometimes you just need that little word of adoring encouragement. This morning as I was getting dressed Tikvah looked at me and said, "Mommy, you are a so beautiful princess."
There are times I am incredibly aware of the fact that I am getting older....most of the teachers here are just a little bit older than my oldest child, before long I will have 3 boys in the states in college, and my own college sweatshirt is (pink tinged smile, yes I STILL have it) almost 25 years old....
We are beginning to enter a new stage and I am still clinging to the old one. I don't feel as if I have much sage wisdom, and I am still investing a lot of time in my own little ones, yet now I am the one offering encouragement to the new Mom,"keep it up, it gets easier..." Perhaps that's why God spread our family out over 17 years. I can still relate at many levels. While it would be nice to put the diaper bag away for good, I will miss the loving 2 year old who sees her Mom like no one else.

Thankfulness. It's our gift to God. It lifts our spirits, improves our attitude, readjusts our focus.... Too often we forget to do this simple thing (but you can be sure we don't forget to complain). So at our house we're counting down our blessings this month. Making gratefulness a habit. I saw this project on a crafty blog, and another one purchased from a fancy schmantzy store. Ours was made with what I had, muslin and some scraps that have verses. And yes I am thankful for a sewing machine and fabric scraps because they are coming in handy for Christmas gifts and such... And pictured are a few other blessings....Kids who are learning sportsmanship if not winning and our own little market on the mountain. God is good.
11. creativity that satisfies
12. our own little mountain store
13. BB tournaments
14. safety in travelling for kids
15. preparing for Christmas
16. brother's anticipated visit
17. sewing fun with my girls
18. orchids purchased from a needy neighbor
19. girls Mensajeres presentation
20. a day out with my Davita

winds of change

"Blowing toward the south, then turning toward the north, the wind continues swirling along, and on its ciruclar courses the wind returns." Ecc. 1:6

This morning it seems my scripture reading truely coincides with this day. The wind seems to bring with it a marked change, a stirring outside of seasons and inside my heart as well. I'm realizing that yet another birthday's approach means I am further into this adventure, yet I long to be "further up and further in" pressing on toward the mark of the high calling. (perhaps it's sacrilege to quote Lewis and scripture in the same sentence.) So much of my task is still incomplete. I long to do things and yet like Paul I don't. Often I am aware of my own lack of wisdom-you would think after this many years and children I would have gained SOMETHING yet like Solomon I could say..."in much wisdom there is much grief and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain." 1:18 This dust I am made of is quite frail (just brushing my teeth last night caused a chip in one). And wisdom makes me more aware of how often I fall short. So today is a good day to begin to make gratefulness a habit. Choosing to dwell in praise rather than pity. My goal will be to join those who are listing 1,000 just a few each day. Try it. I believe it will change us, one praise at a time. The button is in my side column.
#1 seasons of life
#2 He continues to work despite my frailties
#3 He preserves and protects...Josiah's head injury
#4 quiet mornings for meditation
#5 wind dried laundry
#6 work appointed by the master..dishes, sweeping, cooking
#7 children's faces reflecting His love
#8 a school community gathered in prayer
#9 one who cares to know my daily struggle
#10 head and hands to record

Honduras is going to the World Cup!

Now my boys have played soccer. Harold has coached. I've hauled kids to practice and sat through umpteen games, but you've not seen excitement over a soccer game until you're in Latin America. When Honduras won their game against El Salvador, and then shortly after the US tied Costa Rica there were fireworks, car horns, screaming people....people celebrated all evening long in the streets downtown, cruising the streets cheering and displaying the flag. It's the first time in 27 years that Honduras has won a seat. That fact called for a national holiday declared by the president. We're so happy for them and glad the US could do something right, even if by default. Watch the video link and listen to the Honduran announcers-it's great!

“Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes - The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning

As a Mom my days are very full. Things just NEED to get done in order for life to continue as normal. There must be clean dishes and laundry, meals on the table, a fairly orderly place to find pencils and homework. Children must be readied for school, make it to and from sports practice.... Even here in a foreign country, without a car, life can be very full. Yet I am learning how to slow down. Perhaps it's the realization that comes with age, or the fact that we don't have a TV. I can't possibly keep up. I will never have the time to read every book, learn every hobby, do every family activity, teach every bit of wisdom I want them to know.... I am finite. And yet life is not meant to be lived in a frenzied rush. There are times when we can't prevent the hectic nature of life, but unless we intentionally calm the pace the quiet never comes.

I read a story recently of a test pychologists did. They put a concert violinist in a busy Metro station, playing his Stradivarious violin in bluejeans and a ballcap. Out of over 1,000 people who passed, only 7 stopped to listen. And EVERY child tried to stop, but EVERY parent pulled them along past. What am I missing with my kids?

Maybe I'm just realizing that I will soon reach the 20 year mark in being a Mom. With my older boys my time of daily involvement is almost over. Have I spent this time so caught up in the activities of life that I forgot to be still, to hear the music all around me? Makes the monastic life somewhat appealing (of course then there wouldn't be any children...) But I want to stop picking blackberries (for some folks maybe texting on one?) and see the fire of God.

"Be still and know that I am God."

trash or treasure

You know you are getting more relaxed as a parent when you don't absolutely fall apart that your toddler is playing in the trash. Since returning to Honduras Tikvah seems to have a fascination with our kitchen trash can. It has a rolling lid and is right at eye-level. When she passes by she likes to inspect what's in there-or throw something in. Her siblings taught her the throwing in part, taking advantage of her curiousity they hand her their trash and she obediently runs to the can and comes back like a puppy looking for something else to toss. Of course, this can lead to silverware, toys and missing school papers that disappear into that gray oblivion...and usually they ask Mom to dive in and recover the missing item. Sometimes as I take the trash out, I'll notice a suspicious rattle and have to seek out it's source. I've recovered forks, plastic plates, dollhouse pieces...

Of course yesterday you would have thought I hadn't fed the child because as I cleaned the kitchen I had to keep taking away her munchies. First it was an ancient PB&J from someone's lunchbox, then the crust of cinnamon toast from breakfast, the remnants of a bag of chips, and apple core....it's when she comes chewing gum that it's really gross (she's not allowed any gum because she doesn't seem to spit it out, it just disappears). "Now just where, exactly, did you get that?" She's all smiles but no indication of said gum's origin.

My kids teach me so much about myself. I am quite similar to my toddler. Often I am quite content to scour the garbage when God's got the good stuff freely available. Somehow that garbage can look so attractive and easy to aquire. Or I throw out the useful life lessons in a rush to move on to more important things. I remember in college there were a group of guys who liked to go "dumpster diving." In Chicago, you could find all sorts of useful things that people could no longer be bothered with. They enjoyed finding good sources and scouring them on a regular basis. (This did cause a problem when one girl discovered that her boyfriend's beautiful boquets where flower-shop rejects, not hard earned paid-for-with- cash posies.) Sometimes it's just a matter of adjusting your perspective on things. When I look at my life with eternity's eyes am I focusing on the trash or the treasure?