I'm sorry...I simply couldn't resist! Sheesh.

Oldest Boy is Eight (or Where Has the Time Gone?)

What a Mighty Good Man

J arrived home this morning at 4:00 a.m. He looked deader-than-a-doornail because he'd spent four days painting our new apartment, buying furniture and appliances, and placating our new landlords. It was a full-time job.

I let him get a little rest when I went to class this morning. And then I figured since he was already in the groove of painting, I'd ask him to color my hair. He did so without a complaint and I look fab.

I love that man.

Far Country

Father Abraham
Do you remember when
You were called to a land
And didn’t know the way?

‘Cause we are wandering
In a foreign land
We are children of the
Promise of the faith

And I long to find it
Can you feel it, too?
That the sun that’s shining
Is a shadow of the truth...

This is a far country, a far country
Not my home

In the dark of the night
I can feel the shadows all around me
Cold shadows in the corners of my heart

But the heart of the fight
Is not in the flesh but in the spirit
And the spirit’s got me shaking in the dark

And I long to go there
I can feel the truth
I can hear the promise
Of the angels of the moon

This is a far country, a far country
Not my home

I can see in the strip malls and the phone calls
The flaming swords of Eden
In the fast cash and the news flash
And the horn blast of war
In the sin-fraught cities of the dying and the dead
Like steel-wrought graveyards where the wicked never rest
To the high and lonely mountain in the groaning wilderness
We ache for what is lost
As we wait for the holy God
Of Father Abraham

I was made to go there
Out of this far country
To my home, to my home

Andrew Peterson

Extra, Extra...

All the news that matters to me these days:

• Swallowing chewable de-worming pills whole does nothing to your stomach.
• My husband is painting our apartment as I type this and is taking extra time to do the edging right.
• I have enough money to order pizza for tomorrow's supper.
  
• I have one more day until the weekend.
• God really is faithful all the time (but that's old news).
  

Shaken, Not Stirred (as it were)

Ok, so recently J, the kids, and I have had to take 'worm pills' for, er, worms. Now before you quit reading because you're about to barf, notice I didn't say we actually have worms. I'm simply saying that it's a good idea to take the pills anyway if you live where we do--you know, as a precaution (and I'm also saying that I might have worms).

So anyway, I took my pill a few minutes ago and I felt nervous-but-good about it until D informed me that I should have chewed it first. Naturally, I clutched my stomach and ran to find J.

"What in the Sam Hill, J? Were we supposed to chew our worm-killers or swallow them?" My voice was unusually tight and high.

"Of course we were supposed to swallow them. Who chews pills? And stop freaking out. It says here...Oh great. We were supposed to chew them..." (J is my answer man. What can I say?)

"What's going to happen to us? What should I do now?" I demanded.

"Well, I know one thing," J offered helpfully. "You won't be chewing your pill."

What followed next wouldn't be edifying for you...But my question is this: What happens when you swallow a pill that was supposed to be chewed? Does anyone know?

To Be Continued...

Our Beloved Hindi Teachers

Motilalji, our Hindi teacher.

All-too-common looks on our faces: confusion and terror.

Kamlaji, our Hindi teacher's wife, in the background.

The whole gang together for the last time...

Kamlaji and me. She's like my older sister.
Motilalji and J

A common sight at Hindi class.

Watch out...

Right by the car.

The Times, They Are A'Changin'

Our official language class time is coming to an end, folks. I thought I'd feel some kind of relief that our break-neck pace is suddenly easing up. But you know what? I'm sadder-than-heck. And that's because I've loved language class--even though I understand that makes me a dork. And because I love our language teachers--which makes me human. Finally, it's because I really don't like change. But it's coming, bidden or not. It's coming...

Dinner With Good Friends--Indian-Style.

Dinner on Prem's bed.

G fit in quite nicely--and she had never met these girls before.

Prem's mom and me.

Twins.

Prem's brother and mom with J.

Prems' son--whom our oldest and middle son fell in love with.

Learning a hand-clapping game.

Can't tell which one is G, right? :)

I guess his thumb regained its flavor...

For Miriam

Thanks for the lipstick, babe. You are a lifesaver!

A Little Window In...

Just...uh...never mind. No comment.

Then he should jolly well work out like the rest of us.

Sign your cows up today, people.

Wait. How is it designed?

But at least, you know, they all seem to be getting along...

The Monkey On His Back

We've all regressed some since living in India. I've lost any organizational skills I may have possessed in my former life. J forgets to brush his teeth at night now and again. But it's our middle son, C, who has had the most visible, er, setback. The kid used to suck his thumb a lot when he was younger. I took away his blankie one day and that was that. He stopped cold-turkey.

Well, he's six now and has been 'clean' for two years, probably. But ever since we moved, he's been doing it again. He doesn't need a blankie anymore--just a loose bit of fabric from his pillow or a corner of a bed sheet and he's off and running. I've issued dire warnings of impending buck-teeth if he doesn't stop, but nothing I say will persuade him to cut it out.

Anyway, I was rushing to put makeup on before class this morning and C came in to the bathroom solemnly. He announced the following:

"I have decided to take a break from sucking my thumb for two reasons: 1) My thumb is starting to taste blank, and 2) I'm running out of saliva."

Whatever works, Buddy. Whatever works.

A Common Sight These Days...

Because Everyone Needs One Now and Then (click on the photo)

Me and My Friend C

Before life in South Asia...

And after

Going With the Flow (or not)

At 4:30 a.m. today J left to go to our new city. He was armed with his iPod, a backpack, and several cans of paint. He plans to spend the next couple of days holed up in our new apartment with nothing but music and paint supplies with the hope that we can move in around mid-October (with things looking closer to the way we'd like them).

I miss him terribly when he's gone. So do the kids. I woke up this morning with every intention of going to my morning class regardless and leaving the kids with D. But then two things happened shortly afterward: (1 We had no water coming out of the faucets (and still don't), and 2) Our oldest started to cry as he realized that Dad was already gone when he woke up. Oh! and then there's the fact that we have a dear friend from the States coming in on the train this afternoon. Amidst all these emerging facts, one thing became crystal clear. I need to stay home with my kids today. And that's what I'm going to do.

If you have a moment today, please pray that J will get everything he planned accomplished, and that he won't be an absolute zombie after he does. He's been looking awfully tired lately...Thanks.

PACKAGE!! (with sea animals)

Language

I read somewhere that learning a foreign language is supposed to make one's brain tired. Supposed to, as in if your brain isn't tired after spending x amount of hours at it, you're doing something wrong. If the inverse is true (a tired brain=good language acquisition) then J and I are stinkin' geniuses.

Normal

In the last 24 hours I:

• bought Levi's jeans for women with no hips (of which I am not one, but you take what you can get)
• ate at a Chinese restaurant
• talked to my dad and sister while they were in the car on their way to play a Beatles' gig
• closed the curtains and danced to music from our high school/college days until I was out of breath
  
• talked to a new Indian woman in Hindi for an hour and a half (it was full of mistakes but again, you take what you can get)
• hung out with friends
• explained the concept of swear words to my kids
• gave up Diet Coke and then fell off the wagon
• rode in an auto-rickshaw and saw my life flash before my eyes
• thought about Michael Jackson
• watched sea animals grow large in a bowl of hot water with J and the kids
  
• felt normal

It was a good day.

God of These Hills

We'd Vote For 'Em

Live

I have been very depressed lately. Truth be told, I can't point to one thing that's brought it on. It's probably a little of everything. I heard these words today, though, and I want to make them mine:

Did you come that we might just survive?
Did you come so we could just get by?
Did you walk among us
so we might merely limp along beside?

I was bound, I have been set free
But I have settled for apathy
Did you come to make new
And know I'd crawl right back into the skin you found me in?

It's where I am- not where I've been

You make me want to live
You make me want to live
You came to shake us
And to wake us up to something more
Than we'd always settled for
And you make me want to live

Live, Nichole Nordeman

To Maddy From Oldest Boy

The Latest Love of G's Life~Chai

Don't tell her, but it's mostly ginger and milk.