Today's thoughts.

 

"Will I believe you when you say, your hand will guide my every way?  Will I only see the words you say every moment of every day?  Well, I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see.  Well because this broken road prepares your will for me.  Help me to end my endless fears. You've been so faithful for all my years.  With one breath you make me new Your grace covers all I do…..well I will walk my faith even when I cannot see.  I am broken, but I still see your face, well you've spoken pouring your words of grace. "           –Jeremy Camp, Walk By Faith

 

This song really touched me yesterday as I went for my morning jog and I have had it in my head ever since.  I thought I would share it.  I am constantly learning what it means to walk by faith and am really trying to learn and live what walking by faith means.  It is a  hard thing to do when your mind tends to go to worry and fear rather than faith.  The bottom line is HE has me in his hands, He knows my desires, my fears, my struggles.  He has given me much grace.  My challenge is to walk by faith in every moment, even when I cannot see,  and to trust the Lord in my life no matter what happens, what comes my way, how little or how much we have, how much has changed or is changing.  We have God and that is what keeps me moving forward on this journey.  He sustains me, He guides us, His grace is a mystery to me, and his faithfulness is overwhelming at times!  So undeserving.  He is so good!

Evan is fearless...

So we have had a couple of incidents here with Evan and his lack of fear. It is either his lack of fear or his desire to test everything that mom says. If I say it is dangerous, he wants to know why and usually won't believe me until he tests it himself. The other evening he decided to climb a tree in the back area of our complex, well, he didn't just go up a little ways, he went to the top. Dom was out there and decided to snap some pictures as he guided him back down. He hasn't done it since though! He must have figured out that mom was right and there must have been some fear entering him a little as he had to figure out how to climb back down.

Can you see him hiding in the leaves???? LOL Thank you Lord for keeping him safe. Boys will be boys!

Family night and weekend.

I just absolutely love family nights!  They are just a little piece of heaven.  We normally do it on Friday nights, but this week we had to do it on Saturday night instead.  Friday night was spent at a meeting for one of our friends to support him and his business.  So we chose to do it Saturday evening.  We spent the day down in Tanger at a little basketball tournament that DJ was in with his classmates.  It was so cool to see him out there with his friends and playing so  hard.  He did his best and is really learning.  We just wish there were more opportunities out there for them to practice more and play more.  There aren't many or any good public hoop places.  At least he is learning with his friends and Dom.  Dom helped coach the team and the kids all enjoyed the day. 

 

After the games, we went to lunch with some friends and then drove back home for dinner and family movie night!  It started out looking like it was going to be a lame evening just because the kids were so tired and whiny as I was getting dinner together.  But, once the movie got started the whole mood in the house changed, the boys and us all snuggled together and we watched the movie.  The best part is just sitting there being together and then when there are funny parts in the movie, hearing the boys cracking up, especially Julian!  He seems to be so small to me to get really funny things, but when he does and cracks up, it just touches my heart.  Also hearing DJ and Evan enjoying our time together was awesome, it was so great! 

 

Now today, DJ and Evan woke up with fevers and not feeling well.  I woke up fine but now am struggling with a nasty tummy ache and Julian is kind of grumpy...poor Dom!  Hopefully we will be better by tomorrow!

Challenges.

There are great days and then there are rough days when you live overseas. Today was one of those days that was just rough. There isn't any real explanation, it just was. My attitude started last night and continued throughout today. Gosh, I want a fridge that doesn't drip water because the freezer doesn't work and is just filling with frost, I want a washer that works and doesn't take 3 cycles to get the soap out, I want things to go smoothly... I want, I want, I want...all what I cannot have right now! It is humbly and very stretching but also so good for me. In the midst of thinking about those things, I have to stop and be so thankful that at least I have those things to use and that our life here is overall pretty simple. A lot of the people here live very hard lives and work hard for everything they do. (have to handwash everything, no fridge, etc.) Really, at the end of the day I have nothing to complain about. HE has been so good to us thus far! I am blessed with a wonderful family! Today was just a challenge and need to get the right perspective! Just keeping it real!

The latest.

Well, It's June 1st.  I can hardly believe how fast time is going by.  We have 23 more days left of school and then are off for summer break.  I am sooooo ready for the break.  This month is going to be nice because the boys will be going from 8-1 instead of 8-12, home, then back from 2:30-4:15.  Needless to say, I spent a lot of time in the car when the siesta is in effect!  But this month I will be able to breath a little.  The boys are doing so incredibly well in school.  It is quite impressive at times.  Both Evan and DJ are one of the best students in their classes with mathematics and they are speaking and learning so much Spanish.  DJ is also learning and reading a little bit of Arabic too.  They are able to hold their own with their friends and are gaining more understanding everyday.  It shocks me at times when I hear them playing with their friends and how much they know.  Julian is a little ball of fire.  He has grown so much this year, going from a clingy 3 year old who wouldn't leave my side, to being excited to go and be with his friends.  His teacher has been great this year and he is understanding A LOT of Spanish.  It is really awesome to see the boys thriving.  We were really worried at the beginning of the year, because it was so difficult, but we have pushed through and so glad we did.  It is paying off for them and they are adjusting so much better to life here.

 

So, we may be having to move again.  We aren't certain, but it is looking that way.  Dom's office moved to Tanger and they are wanting him out there.  It is about an hour and a half drive and he does it now at least 3 days a week.  We have tried to get the kids into the Spanish school there, but it is a lot more competitive.  We had to be interviewed, the boys had tests that lasted an hour and a half and we had to turn in a bunch of paperwork.  We should find out this week if they are accepted in or not.  Once we know, we will begin the house hunting.  If they don't get accepted, it is likely we will stay where we are at and keep them in the school they currently go to.  It's a lot of unknowns, but that seems to be how life is since moving here!  There are pros and cons to both options so we are just praying that God would open the right thing and know what is best for the boys so we can make the right decisions we need to make.

 

My highlight, since we are unable to come home this summer for a visit (sigh) is that a friend of ours is coming and bringing her son with her (YAY).  Her son and the boys are really good friends so it is going to be a blessing for them to have a familiar friend and such a blessing for me to have a girlfriend to hangout with!  It will be a breath of fresh air for us and we are so excited about it.  She is coming in August and we can hardly wait!!!

 

Business, well is business.   It has it's highs and lows for Dom, but since he has taken all the management responsibilities there is a lot more on his shoulders.  The company is still fragile and the economy and everything is still effecting things, but all in all, it is good and Dom is learning a ton. 

 

Me, well I am doing well.  I go in and out of lonely spells, wishing I had something and someone familiar nearby but I am so thankful for the internet and Skype.  It is such a blessing having those things and makes me feel somewhat connected to family and friends.  My latest focus is my health.  I am trying really hard to lose the weight I have put on over all these years.  Since January, I have lost about 15 pounds and have another 30-40 to go.  It is a slow process and gets discouraging at times, but I am super motivated and trying really hard to do it.  I have been working out again and it feels so good.  Once we know were we are going to live, either here or there, I will then start taking language lessons and focus more on learning the language.  But for now, I am thankful for the time I get to workout a bit and focus on my health.  I feel so much better!

 

Well, that's it for now.  I will let you all know when and if we get accepted into the other school and what our plans are next!

Saturdays.

Play slideshow Save all photos Want to save all these photos at once? Learn how

Online pictures are available for 30 days

 

It is so nice being home on the weekends.  The rush of the week is done, we can sleep in, watch movies, play outside, have fun and enjoy our time together as a family.  Saturdays and Sundays are much needed in our home!

 

 

Get Windows Live Mail to create your own photo e-mails

Evan is 6!!!

Evan turned 6.

I can hardly believe that my little boy has grown so fast! We had a nice time. It was different, but we had a great time. Instead of the typical big party that I am used to throwing we just hung out as a family and enjoyed the day. I didn't even bake a cake, shame on me! I am trying to get over that, I have never not had a cake!

The morning started out by Evan waking up and not even noticing the presents that we put out for him. So, we covered his eyes did a count down and sang him happy birthday before revealing his bike and other gifts! He was so happy. Dom had to go to work for a little bit and when her returned we took off to go bowling and ended up spending the rest of the evening in Tanger. Evan didn't want to wait for his papa to get back before riding his bike so I took him outside and it took him like only 2 times of me holding the back to figure it out and he was off and riding! He is just so cool!

So, that's 2 birthdays that Evan has celebrated abroad. It is kind of a weird feeling for me now that we are starting to go the second time around celebrating birthdays and the holidays. It makes me miss family and friends and brings me to the reality that we are really living overseas. Anyways, we had a great birthday, and instead of the cake, he got his own huge ice cream sundae.