Mom Mamma Mama'

We interrupt this blog to announce that yours truly will be turning the big 4-0 in just less than six months. June, 24th in case you like specifics or love to give gifts. That's right somehow my 30's flewby and here I am in disbelief that I am somehow really just about to be 40.  Not unlike many before me, I see this birthday as a big milestone of sorts. I am not dreading forty as some do, but I have come to realize that I have some goals that I would like to achieve before I am "over the hill." As I was sweating during my first workout in to long a mantra of sorts popped into my head and as I walked speedily along three little words replayed again and again in my mind. The more they repeated themselves the more I realized that these 3 words summed up nicely what I hope to attain as a gift to myself this year. Forty, Fit and Fabulous. (Okay so it is 4 words, but and doesn't really count.) Not only will I turn 40 I have set a goal to loose 40lbs by

Having a 5 year old at Christmas means you get to experience Christmas through their eyes. My kindergardener's eyes are filled with, wonder and humor and of course excitement! Her joy is contagious. She has been playing with my Nativity sets since pulling them out of their wrapping. At first I wanted to say, "wait stop, be careful, don't break them!" Thankfully I caught myself and only asked her to be gentle. I am so glad that I let go of my need for a perfect Nativity scene because watching her lost in recounting the story again and again. Adding her favorite figurines and then even moving on to create new Nativities with other toy sets has been my favorite part of Christmas this year. Today we as we sat on my bed and played with Skwinkies and Shopkins we retold the story of Mary and Joseph from the first time the Angel visited Mary all the way the arrival of the Wise Men. I was amazed by her attention to detail and how invested she was in the story as

As weird as it was to leave home, it is to be back home. It is nice though, to return to the familiar.  I have missed our routines. Since mid October when everything here in Bolivia turned on it's head there has been nothing we could count on. As a friend shared this morning, it was very unsettling to not know what each day would hold. The sense of not being in control of anything left many turning to God as The Rock they could cling to in the midst of the storm of uncertainty. As I have mentioned, (in prior posts)witnessing a country turn to God in desperation and literally fall to their knees to plead for His hand of mercy was amazing! I hope that I never forget the ways I got to see God move through His people here in Bolivia. Though I like to think that my faith is strong, I know that I was at my own limit as to how much I could handle when we boarded the plane to Kansas. I found space to rest in Kansas but, Kansas was not home. And as much as I loved seeing family and took