A Beautiful Life

I keep wanting to post pictures of our Temaiken Zoo venture, & I will.  I promise.  But  this week I’ve been thinking so much about my many friends, supporters, & exemplars - their lives, and the different journeys that we all go through here on earth.

I have a dear friend in Washington who is struggling.  Her little 4 1/2 year old girl, Elisabeth, is very sick right now.  My prayers are with her.

I have another friend who just welcomed a little girl into their family last night through the miracle of adoption.  I rejoice with her.

I read NieNie.  I admire her.  I think of her often.  Her story strengthens me.

It’s a beautiful life.  I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who is very aware of each one of us & our different lives.

The weather is turning cold, and we’re having heat issues; but today is warm, and we’re feeling good.  I’m back to boiling water & doing this:

Her smile melts my heart.

I love my little family of 4 (almost 5).  Little Captain Wolfley is getting bigger all the time, & we can’t wait  to welcome him into our family.

Birthday Week

This past week has been great.  My husband & my brother both had birthdays.  We celebrated with chocolate.

  Nothing like Duncan Hines creamy frosting & colored sprinkles from the States.

Jared & Nathan are almost exactly 10 years apart by one day.  (The candles have nothing to do with their ages – I put the girls in charge of that part.)

We took Nathan to Buenos Aires.  He started an International School there and will be staying with a host family for about one month.  I am so proud of my brave brother.  Here he is with Luz & Martin, two very good people who don’t speak English.

To our surprise, the house was full of seven other students from all over the world – Australia, Holland, Brazil, NYC, & England.  He’s in for an adventure, that’s for sure.  There was a common area outside & a very tidy itty bitty bedroom for Nate. ;)

 

We stayed in a hotel outside of Buenos Aires for two nights to make time for a Dr.’s visit, hospital tour, & a little exploring.  There was a storm the second night, and our power went out.  It was incredibly hot.  In an effort to cool things down we opened the door for maybe 1 minute, and mosquitos galore filled our room.  My face & AnnMarie’s left leg took one for the team.  I will not be posting pictures of myself (or AnnMarie’s left leg) anytime soon.

BUT we had so fun swimming in the rain and visiting the biggest & most beautiful zoo in South America on Jared’s birthday.

I have a lot of pictures to go through, but for now, here’s a glimpse of Temaiken ZOO.  Photo courtesy of my little photographer, AnnMarie.

Locational Thoughts

Our family has been here for 6 months now.  That’s amazing to me.

Although I’m not fluent in Spanish yet, I’ve come a long ways, & that’s all that matters. 

I’ve struggled.

I’ve learned.

I’ve grown.

I’m better at facing challenges head-on.  I see the world differently.  I cling to my husband. 

I listen more than I speak.

I pray more.

I have to. 

You see, I’ve never really wanted to see the world.  I’m not afraid to travel, but I’m content with documentaries. 

It’s funny how a healthy childhood draws a person to duplicate it perfectly.

Sometimes it doesn’t always work out that way.

That’s okay.

Being a mommy doesn’t mean being stationed in a certain location.  It’s the same routines, the same activities, the same demands. 

Thank goodness for that, right? 

I can be a good mom no matter where I live.  Not perfect, but good,

and that’s good enough.