Now on with the crunchy, munchy, mixed-up life I lead…
- Suffering from seven straight weeks of strikes from separate sectors saturated the streets with unrest.
- Some settlements seemed to soothe certain folks.
- A semblance of normality, previously interrupted by the political demonstrations, has returned.
- I guess we interrupted the normality with a vacation, as well. We took the kids to Santa Cruz for a week.
- Just finished reading “On Writing” by Stephen King. I enjoyed it from cover to cover, or from click to click in my case since I read it on my Kindle. So good in so many ways.
- That was my first ever Stephen King book. I may read one of his fiction pieces. Any recommendations?
- My family gave me a perfect new desk chair for Mother’s Day.
- Southern Hemisphere summer comes at the end and beginning of the year. We are preparing for the cool months right now.
- Begrudged and betwixt might be the words to describe my state of being right now.
- Begrudged about the ordeal of renewing documents looming before us.
- Betwixt about the balance of duty and desire duking it out in my soul.
- I started a new blog site a week ago. If you want the link I’ll give it to you.
- Right at this moment I am finishing up watching the season finale of Survivor.
- I still smile at an idea my friend had a while back. She said, “They should do a reality show about us missionaries.” Ha! Could be called ‘The Real Missionaries of Cochabamba’. Trust me, it would be quite amusing.
A peek at my blooming backyard in this morning’s light.
(Click the pics for close up views.)
You hear it all the time. The old axiom for finding contentment in life: enjoy the journey. Here’s a little tip for learning how to do just that.
At one of our fancy buffet breakfasts at the hotel I asked my kids some questions. I did this on a middle day of the vacation. We had done some fun stuff and we still had fun stuff to do.
#1: What has been your favorite part of the vacation so far? (I tried to use the term “kodak moment” to describe this. Fail.) So they talked. Their voices raised as they remembered fun moments. We rehearsed lines from the Avengers movie in unison. Arms flailed describing the comical encounter with the sloth. We laughed together recalling chattering teeth as we swam in the rain.
#2: What do you miss about home? Our pets came at the top of the list; unanimous. Raimy missed her keyboard. Timothy had some video games awaiting him. Gabrielle wanted to hug her huge stuffed animals. Tyler craved gaming with his brother. Kaitlynn kept with the pets talking of our dog and birds. I missed my gourmet coffees and the specialized coffee brewers in my kitchen.
#3: Is there anything you have done everyday, including today? This rounded the conservation out and brought them back to the present. Their answers came from the buffet table. Everyone shared a food they ate everyday: cereal, salami, pastries, juice, etc. Thus my segway to talk about that day’s activities.
I learned a similar technique during the debriefing sessions of my short-term mission years. These talks took place at the end of the trip. I just felt like I wanted to do it with my kids at the middle of the trip.
An interesting thing took place. After the ten hour bus trip from Santa Cruz we awoke to a bright orange sunrise behind the statue of Christ in Cochabamba. From the bus terminal we took a cramped taxi ride to our home. Timothy led the discussion. His happy voice recounted almost word for word the deliberate discussion we had that middle-morning at breakfast. Instead of grumbling about returning to exams and the mundane, their minds sprouted seeds of good thoughts.
This can work at any stage in life. Take a moment to look back and be happy about good moments. Then remember the good in the daily routines of your life. After that, focus on the goodness awaiting you in the day given to you right now.
Look back…
Look forward…
Look now…
by @ngie on April 23, 2012
We love orphans. DaRonn also loves bowling!
This week, April 27th – 30th, he will be representing the city of Cochabamba in the first of three national bowling championships. They are competing in the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. In all he will be playing 24 games.
Would you like to help The House of Dreams Orphanage by donating an amount for each strike he makes during the championship?
___ $1 a strike. He averages 3 strikes a game. This means a commitment of around $72 to The House of Dreams Orphanage.
___ $20 for every game over 200. He averages 200+ in every 1 out of 6. This means a commitment of roughly $80 to The House of Dreams Orphanage.
This will be fun!
If you would like to participate simply leave a comment below and we can sign you up.
Also, we will be posting updates on facebook so you can get in on the fun.
The kids and I will be joining DaRonn to cheer him on… and enjoy a vacation!
on 
on 
on 
