Culture challenge for your week:

Go three to five hours a day without any electricity. (in the middle of your day, roughly noon till 5:30 pm, or 8:30 am till 2 pm.)
-you have a gas powered stove, water, and a laundry line
-you have a back-up battery for your phone and internet
When grocery shopping you can only buy fresh produce, long life milk (powdered milk in the US), eggs, mozzerella cheese, and some soup bases (powdered style), oh spaghetti sauce, tomatoe paste and most canned vegetables, especially anything pickled!! You also can purchase noodles, rice etc. But the main ingredients are fresh, and chicken only comes in whole chickens. (there's no broths canned).
Your children (if still at home) have coloring books, play-dough and some toys to entertain them. Around 11 am you need to do 'school' for 1/2hr.
Dump all water down the squatty toilet in hopes it will somehow make the smell stop! ( I don't know what you can do, maybe the bath tub?)
Shower only
One sink in the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Every other day go outside and wash off your patio, entrance way and driveway using a hose but without the nozzle.
No social outings except Sunday fellowship, grocery store, and maybe one other entertaining guests. (try some international dishes for your guests, Ann and Alicia this will seem natural for you!)
And my personal favorite, when communicating with those outside your immediate circle you can use only a kindegartners' vocabulary and sentence structuring, and for some reason you really struggle remembering the numbers above 11.
(giggle and snickering on my part)
Have fun! Let me know how the experiment lasts, what you think of it all. I think you will find somethings are a great relief, some feel good cause its healthy and some just drive you batty on those crazy days! I'll have more challenges to come, this is just to get you started! :)

Caramel roll inspiration

As I sit here at our dining room table, I can look out our big window and see a huge tree growing in an impossible situation. There is a cement wall about 10 feet high on its one side where the base is only a foot away from the wall, the power line (Iraqi style) is going through the tree, the house behind the tree has a balcony that reaches partly into the tree as well. And it is lush, green, full, and beautiful. I look at this tree a lot, and all I can think is how is that skinny little trunk supporting all that foliage and in such a small space, how has it not destroyed the foundation of the house or the fence at least? But it hasn't, and it provides me with daily inspiration, and hope.
I love nature. I love being in nature, hiking, skiing, backpacking, rockclimbing, kayaking, whatever. I love nature. And I live in a city, full of trash, squashed with people, no yard, and little opportunity to do the things I love to do in nature. But I can't help but think that tree is part of nature, and yet it grew there in its distorted environment, maybe someone watered it, nurtured it through the growth or maybe it was just there and they built up around it, either way its there and thriving.
The Creator of nature I love even more, so much more I am willing to live in a city, go through so much transition, lose my identity as a women and a nature lover, to embrace... what? I don't know yet, but He knows, and even now He is nurturing me, loving me, giving me the will to go right on producing beautiful fruit. How is it possible in this environment to thrive on such a skinny trunk of faith? I don't know. But the Creator knew where that tree was planted and it thrives, so if this is what a tree can do, what about me? After all I was made in the image of the Creator itself. Hmmmm, I guess we'll make it after all.

Oasis says thanks!! Zor Suspass :)

Some relief

I woke up today after taking another sleeping pill, only half of one this time!, and have felt some relief. My focus and eyesight is still 'off', but the pain isn't nearly as intense.
We are going to go to a doctor this afternoon that has been recommended to us so we will see if they are able to help at all. At this point I just want to rule out some things that give me stress and anxiety to think about :)
We've decided on the Swiss Alps for our vacation this summer. Many of you know vacations twice a year are mandatory for us now, and I can't help but feel a little guilty that we aren't able to spend the time with family, but I am SO looking forward to having a real vacation. This will be one of the first times we will vacation as a family without the added stress of meeting with someone, or being at a certain place at a certain time. We can just decide what we want to do and do it, or not! I know Cedar will love the train ride and Wes and I are so ready to be in the mountains, do some hiking, and feel 'free' again from expectations and burdens. Our friends Rachel and Rob are going to make the journey over to join us and I just can't believe we will get to spend time with them! It's so amazing how God provides! We won't be going until the end of June, beginning of July but we are having to plan and make reservations now so it has been something really great to look forward to. So if any of you find yourselves with a vacation budget and the time please come join us on our Alps vacation!! :)

Day 14 in Migraine Headache cycle

Many of you have been praying for us, thank you. I still have a headache that flares into a migraine at different times of the day or on different days. Thank God for medicine and the fore-thought to get the perscription filled before coming over. And thank God for a flexible work schedule. That is how I have felt throughout this process, thankful. Thankful for my husband, for his job and the flexibility it allows, thankful for help with our children that he has been able to provide, thankful he knows how to cook, thankful for people willing to hear me out and pray or me, just thankful.
The pain in case you were wondering, is usually a full pressure throughout my head, with occasionally going to the left side of my head resulting in tunnel vision, sometimes with a decreased ability to see in general. I can't talk quite normally, which is quite funny, and when I try to type I type my letters backwards and switched, also quite funny.I am super sensitive to the light, and have to wear my sunglasses or keep a eye mask on my eyes for most of the time. I GET SO BORED!! lol :)
All this time resting in my room away from light and noise has given me a much needed break from life here, and a much needed solid, loooooooong prayer time! Praise God for His neverending conversation and exciting stories that fill my head from His Word. However I battle a continuous feeling of guilt, guilt for not providing for my family as I should, for not cleaning our house, or getting the laundry folded, guilt for having it so 'easy' in my room while Wes is the 'mommy'. It's hard to allow others to pray for me while I am there, and it is REALLY hard to tell people I am not feeling well. It just isn't done in this culture, this is really hard to explain but it isn't all bad. Again God is our strength when we are weak. Again God is showing me how I try to do so much on my own strength for all the wrong reasons. So Lord I trust in You, I trust you will give me strength for the tasks You think I need to get done. I trust You will give grace to my family and to Wes that you will help Him to stay strong and not get discouraged by the ongoing pain. I Trust You to provide for my children where I can not and that they will turn to you in their little hearts. Thank you Lord Jesus that I can trust in You and not live this out on my own. Wow you are really amazing Lord.

Morning Musings

Most every morning I wake up to the tink tink tink of the propane truck as it drives by. The back of the truck is filled with propane tanks and their is a little boy that sits up on top of them banging a stick against one of the tanks, sometimes with a rhythm only known to him! :) And when I wake up to this sound it is a very real reminder of where I am waking up, and usually it is a stark contrast to what I was just dreaming about, home, family, friends.... ice cream :). But it is also a great opportunity to wake up praying. I love the mornings I wake up speaking with my Father. He alone hears all my joys, complaints and worries. He is my best friend. Even more so now that I don't have one to call in the morning and plan out my day. As I have been processing the last couple of hard weeks, I have been thinking on the idea of the 'old' self and the 'new' self. I read the verses, I listen to the teaching but it is still so difficult to put into practice in my life. When we moved here God gave me two lessons to remember, one was about Lots' wife looking back and turning to the pillar of salt, the other was the young apprentice burning his plow to follow the priest. We've burned our plow and released all our worldly possessions, but it is so difficult to not look back. We are a new creation in Christ, but it is so difficult to release that rotten, stinky, diseased flesh.
So on these mornings when I wake up sharing my heart with Jesus, I am able to keep my eyes forward, but I am also able to leave that fleshly self behind. I have to stop here, we will lose power soon :) Let me know what you think on this. I am struggling and could use some words of wisdom and insight :)

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The latest photos for you all. We went hiking one day this weekend. What a breath of fresh air, and for the soul as well. We all had a great time, the kids, Wes and I and our neighbors son. Who I think will be in trouble cause he didn't tell his parents he went with us instead of studying.. oops we spilled the beans on that one! Aw well, lesson learned, you shouldn't lie to your parents!! :)
There's some pictures from eating out, since many of you have asked about the food. It's difficult to explain so I thought maybe some pictures would help. I will try to get some more for you soon. There's also a couple of the kids from an outing we took to the Rand Gallery Mall here. It was good, and we found a coffee shop! Definitely worth the trip.
Sorry I'm not up for writing much tonight. Just kind of tired and worn out. I will try to write more real stuff another time...