Rich Times

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Tomorrow (Sunday in NZ), we'll be packing up getting ready to head home. I'm having a lot of mixed emotions about leaving New Zealand. This has definitely been an exclamation point in my life. Our time with Anna, Dalton, Isaiah, and Elisha has been precious. We've never had this kind of time with them before. When they're in the states, they're pulled in a million different directions trying to get time with all of their loved ones. So, it's been such a blessing to just live life with them for nearly a month. I've loved getting to see their favorite places, eat their favorite foods, and meet their favorite people. They have an awesome New Zealand family and it's been fun to be a part of it for a few weeks. We're really going to miss seeing them and talking to them on a daily basis. We're absolutely going to miss watching our kids play together and getting to know their cousins. Although, I'm afraid that Ford has taught Isaiah a couple of bad habits. It's been great getting to spend time with Isaiah and Elisha. They are adorable. Isaiah says things in the funniest way. It's like he makes a little song while he talks. Elisha is such a smiley, laid back little man. They are blessed to grow up in such an awesome community. This really has been one of the richest times of my life...good times with family and good times with the Lord. Spending time in the prayer room has been tremendous...just rich, rich times learning how to sit at the feet of Jesus. I would definitely be a better mother if I spent 4 hours a day in the prayer room. Sabbatical, in general, has been a rich time for our family. Just the fact that we've been together as a family every day for the last month and a half has been awesome. And, for most of that time, we've eaten 3 meals a day together, which is unheard of at home. I've loved it. It's just been family and Jesus...family and Jesus. Thank you, Lord. I know that the rest of sabbatical will look a little different with Joel going to Pasadena for a class and camps and all, so I'm really thankful for this time that we've had.

Even though New Zealand has been amazing and there are parts of me that don't want to leave, I think we're all missing some of the conveniences of the states, so that will make it a little bit easier.

The last week has been pretty low key, mostly due to the rainy weather. Anna had a get-together for us to meet some of their friends here, which was a lot of fun. She made her mom's famous chocolate peanut butter chip cookies (which I'm pretty sure that Robin has never made for me in the 17 years that I've known her, so she has some making up to do ;) ). One night, Anna got some babysitters and we all went to see X-Men. I wasn't into it at first because I hadn't seen the others, but I loved it. We had fish and chips one more time for Joel. Mary Kate and I have continued searching for avocados everyday after naps. Funny story...the other day during naptime, MK started freaking out saying "stranger, stranger." She could see a guy walking around outside. Joel knew who it was and knew that he was on THOP staff and lived next door. Later, Joel told him about MK being scared of him. It turns out that he was looking for avocados and was wondering where they all were going. He thought that maybe the season was over for them. Little did he know that a 4 year old girl was taking them all. Needless to say, we will miss the abundance of avocados and guac.