for nina. Monday, January 24, 2011     Thanks for the fun clothes!  

  i miss. Sunday, January 23, 2011   half and half. ice-cold 2% milk (that doesn’t taste funny). my dishwasher. Target. avocados. carpet for my kids to lay on. Blockbuster. plain Cheerios. sink faucets with hot water. our car. clean air.    

controlled chaos. Friday, January 21, 2011

  at noon.   Thursday, January 20, 2011 David left bright and early this morning for a day-long trip with some of the men he works with, and I found myself with Thursday stretching out before us, just the kids and me. Amie and I spent a quiet morning at home while Judah was in preschool, then at 11:20 we set out on the ten-minute walk to pick him up. It is mid-January and already our winter is slipping away from us.  The mornings are still cool, but at nearly noon the sun was blazing white-hot.  Amie stuck to me in the Ergo, and sweat dripped down my back, but…

  he says. Wednesday, January 19, 2011   Judah (sobbing): “Mommy, I’m sick, I need to go lay on the couch.” me: “Oh no, what hurts?” Judah: “My feelings!” She says. Richey: “Hadassah, who created the world?” Hadi: “David”    

  gratitude, #369 – 388. Tuesday, January 18, 2011   a nurse practitioner on our team a nurse practitioner who made dinner for us tonight because I’m still sick homemade mashed potatoes David and Richey found a hidden-away supermarket with Ritz crackers, vanilla extract, bread crumbs, and cream of mushroom soup! orange gerber daisies my kindle Colleen’s divine chicken Pho soup emails from home our four new plants: one for the living room and three for the balcony we are slowly getting things hung on the walls (which makes all the difference) Anju the smell of fresh-brewed Starbucks coffee, thanks to a friend from home our family spent a morning…

  the kiddos. Tuesday, January 18, 2011      

  another sunday. Monday, January 17, 2011   It’s Sunday night again. Tonight feels like a gleam of light in a dark week. Yesterday I laid in my bed and cried out to God, “I need your help.”  I am weak and miserable and my heart is so wicked.  I am beset by doubts and temptations I have never faced before.  I am sick with a wracking sinus infection.  I am unable to get along with my husband or go through one hour without exploding at my children.  I stare at my Bible – when I take time to open it – and the words run together and I am…

  everyday sights. Saturday, January 15, 2011      

  what i like. Saturday, January 15, 2011   Tangy dahi yogurt Everybody here thinks coffee should be drunk milky and very sweet Three supermarkets, a pharmacy, and various produce stands within walking distance of my home My kids never complain about the dirt Bold, hardy tropical plants What I don’t like Learning that fast food here is, in fact, made with MSG Bumper to bumper traffic at all hours of the day Watching my children inhale exhaust fumes Going to multiple supermarkets a week and never finding everything I need Looking straight into the eyes of a child beggar and knowing they are exploited