writing
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things that make me happy right now: gluten-free care packages.
A week of my favorite things . . . I am overjoyed by the number of people who learned about my new, gluten-free predicament, and have sent me care packages. Fun care packages! Yummy care packages! Full of things I can’t find here: like rice cakes and xanthum gum and GF all-purpose flour. With a cookie mix or chocolate cake mix thrown in for good measure. Priya is simply astounded by the influx. She said, “You have some very good friends!” Do I ever! It’s humbling, to be sure. 2012 has been a year of lows in the food department . . . until these last couple weeks when we…
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things that make me happy right now: city church.
A week of my favorite things . . . In November, we moved to the center of our city, because we wanted to be apart of starting a church here. You know, the fact that I’m saying “we” is a big deal. David has talked, dreamed and prayed for as long as I’ve known him about planting churches. It’s in his blood. And in college, as we were friends, then fell in love, dreamed about the future, got married, and dreamed some more, I always thought, subconsciously, This is David’s dream, and I’m going to support him in his dream. But I wasn’t very happy about it. He knew that,…
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things that make me happy right now: family day off.
A week of my favorite things . . .
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things that make me happy right now: homeschooling.
A week of my favorite things . . . Hmmm. Okay, let’s be honest, maybe a better title for this post is: “Things that make me happy right now: the idea of homeschooling.” I am growing, more and more, to love the idea of homeschooling, and to feel certain that it’s the right thing for our family in this season. So . . . I’m having a little trouble managing all the priorities in my life just now. But I’m enjoying the effort—in some ways, being more busy, not less, is a great motivator for me. And at least they’re fun priorities. Homeschooling typically seems to be first to go. …
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things that make me happy right now: teaching priya to read.
A week of my favorite things . . . “Madam, I’m sorry but I don’t know how to read,” Priya told me, one of her first days of work. I had, unthinkingly, showed her a spice label when we were cooking. And then, the first time she brought Roshen over to our house, she pulled me aside and said, “Madam, if you don’t mind, would you read a book to Roshen? I have always wanted to, but I can’t.” In that moment, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to teach Priya to read. So I did a little research, and that next week: “Priya, would you like to…
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things that make me happy right now: language study.
A week of my favorite things . . . We’ve begun week four and are closing in on our first month-long class. John and Alison and I will go on to start month two with Neetu, but it looks like David needs to find a different time slot (and therefore possibly a different teacher) due to his work schedule. We have class for an hour a day, five days a week, and I concentrate so hard for that hour that my brain hurts. Just when you think you’ve mastered reading/writing the alphabet and a couple basic phrases, there are endless lists of vocab and pronouns and declensions to make your…
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15 months.
I’m celebrating 15 months with my faithful companion. And with a blog post, of course. It’s moving on towards the end of February, and, in true South Asia-fashion, it’s getting hot. I can say things like, “in true South Asia-fashion,” because this is the second February I’ve spent in this country. That’s long enough to experience a full year of seasons in a place. To begin to wrap my head around the unfamiliar rhythms of a April-May summer vacation, the need to eat as many mangoes as possible in May and June while they’re at their peak, and what “monsoon season” means in our part of the country. I can…
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oak hill farm.
This past weekend, David and I escaped for a birthday overnight at Oak Hill Farm. John, Alison, and the boys were so sweet to offer to keep Judah and Amie for us. On Friday morning, we dropped the kids off, stopped for breakfast, then drove the hour-and-a-half to the farm. Here is my journal entry from Saturday . . . David and I are wrapping up our overnight visit to Oak Hill Farm. It is not exactly what I expected when we made our plans to come, but it has turned out to be a lovely experience. This farm is a little haven, an hour outside of our city, tucked…
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thirty things i’m thankful for on my thirtieth birthday.
1. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. 2. I am richly loved. 3. On my twentieth birthday, I had a crush on this hot guy I went to school with, and on my thirtieth birthday, he’s my husband. 4. Our firstborn son, Judah Stephen. Tall for his age, and lanky. Funny, quirky and confident, he loves people, but needs his alone time, and can occupy himself for hours. He’s at peace with the person he is and doesn’t have to follow the crowd. I envy this quality, and hope he never loses it. 5. Our baby girl, Amelie Claire. As beautiful and unique as…
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our granddaddy.
Today in Kissimmee, Florida, was the memorial service celebrating my grandfather’s life. I am heart-broken to have missed it. My mom says it was a very special service, and that my Grandma was at peace. I was asked to write something about Granddaddy, and one of the best parts of my month was sharing stories and memories with my cousins and brothers over Facebook in preparation for the writing, remembering together how special he was. I’m thankful for a chance to participate from very far away. I’m thankful for my cousin, Amy, who read this at the service today. I am thankful for my family, and I’m thankful to…