7 months exactly

It’s hard to believe these past 7 months have come and gone.  Gabriel son, you have brought so much love and joy into our home down here.  I really can’t imagine our family without you!  Your smile is to die for; your eyes smile with you.  You carry a strong determination for such a little babe, and we can’t wait to see how you will change the world - you’ve already changed ours.  We love you so much…

and I have reason to believe that you are well taken care of around here.  No, I’m not the perfect mom nor do I claim to be, but luckily, you have two other little mamas that constantly tend to your needs… without hesitation.

Love, Us

P.S.  Gabe said his first word tonight clear as day – “da da,” and it was right after Jared returned from a 3-day trip away.  It was super special, definitely a tear jerker.

 

snapshots I want to remember (from Colonia, Uruguay earlier this month)

The Glistening Whole

I’ve had ‘text’ before – twice actually.  One lasted a total of 6 months, and the other time was for about 3 months.  I’m simple it’s true, but I must admit - I liked it. 

I’ve gotten so use to not having technology distractions in my life down here.  I have this big computer that I use for news and blog posts.  I guess it’s my little window to the outside world. 

I’m not really sure where I’m going with this whole thing other than the fact that I am grateful for the lack of distractions we have here, and I hope I can always remember that about this experience. 

Before coming down here, I envisioned my happy little self embracing a whole new world.  I figured I’d learn the new way of life quickly as I embraced the true adventure we were embarking on.  I pictured myself gathering my little girls around me while I taught them everything good and rich about the world…amidst the little bumps here and there (ha!). 

I read something a few months ago on The Boston Shumway Site (to which I give full credit) about living in a new country, and it’s stuck with me ever since.  The advice was to “live in anticipation of the memory”  because let’s face it, an experience like this is usually “glorious” in retrospect.  Yes, it’s possible to notice an idyllic moment in the moment, but most of the time, experiences in life – in anybody’s life – have a tendency to be mundane, blurry, frustrating, and down right hard. 

The idea though, is to realize that “it’s all part of the adventure.”  It’s all part of “the glistening whole.”  Our life is made up of lots of moments, trials, relationships, experiences, scenes, and situations that when looked at individually, they just don’t make a whole lot of sense. 

But I believe the real author of our lives chooses the individual parts carefully and crafts them to create a beautiful image that when looked at as a whole can be complete, understood, and glistening.  “Sometimes we just need to be (patient) and see them all at once.” 

As we’re approaching the last chapter of our time here, I’m realizing more and more the refining experience this has been for our family, and I’m grateful that even the not-so-little bumps are all part of the “glistening whole” that in the end will create a glorious experience we will cherish forever.