January 1st again already?

Goodness, where has the time gone?!  I swear we were just welcoming in 2012 and now here we are already 2 days into 2013...is it just me, or are the years flying by?  I've seen posts about writing down what your kids are "in to" each year, asking them what they want to be when they grow up, and then you have it all there, each year to reflect on.  I think this is genius, and I wish I had thought of it oh, about 12 years ago!!  I want to remember these years, I want to enjoy these years, and even when I'm ripping my eyelashes out with frustration, I want to cherish these sweet times.  I don't want the years to fly by without at least thinking of a gazillion ways my kids make me laugh, or ways my husband makes me smile and feel loved.

So don't go by too fast, 2013, I need more time to love on my sweet family...

2013...ready or not

New Years Eve is the time to make those resolutions for the new year.  The goals that you want to accomplish, the diets that you want to go on, the races you want to run, and basically anything that you didn't do the last year.  So, here are the top 13 things I’m aiming to sort of get close to nailing right on the head in 2013 (in absolutely no order of importance):

1.  Being more intentional in calling people.  If you know me, you think I jest, but just you wait when I call you instead of emailing, texting, or Blackberry messaging…and don’t pass out.

2.  Saying “no” to the things that weigh me down. Vague much?

3.  Reading 5 non-fiction books.  Yes, this seems like a low number…but when the reality of living in Peru gets the best of me, I love to curl up with an FBI Thriller and pretend I’m an undercover Russian agent.  Maybe I’ll lower it to 4…

4.  Only go out for coffee 2 times a month (budget anyone?)

5.  Watch less on Netflix—I admit it, I love watching an entire 6 seasons of LOST one right after the other.  Hey, don’t judge--with 4 kids, carpooling in a city of 9 million to get the boys to school, no canned goods, and paying $4.80 for 8oz of imported cheddar cheese…I think I deserve one guilty pleasure, right!?

6. Complain less.

7. Run more.

8. Count my blessings. As in really literally count them.  By writing them on a piece of paper and posting it.  I’ll be forcing encouraging my kids to do this also.

9. Build up my toolbox of things to pull out when I have to try and understand my incredibly sensitive, intense, and spirited child.  A hammer is not an appropriate tool.  I know this.

10. Seek out service projects to do as a family—since moving to Lima, we don’t see the poverty in our face as much as we did in Abancay.  We want our kids to learn to be more giving.

11. Serve others.  

12. Be less selfish with my time and dare I say it, try to be more flexible. Ahhh, just typing it out has me gnawing on my arm with anxiety.

13. Spend more time devoted to the things that mean the most to me and that I’m passionate about.

One of "those" days

Ever have one of “those” days?  Yeah, you know the one I’m talking about.  The one where you wake up thinking you will conquer the world, but you end up burying your head under a pillow crying your eyes out? Yep, one of “those” days.  It’s not so much the fact that you ended the day in tears that has you scratching your head, it’s the fact that you thought everything was going well, dandy indeed, when all of a sudden, BAM!  Out of nowhere.  Those are the sucker punches that hurt the most.  And you know, it doesn't really matter who/what caused it, it hurts the same no matter what.

So what do you do when life gets the best of you?  I tend to want to make a cup of coffee and just feel sorry for myself, but with four kids and a husband, that isn't realistic.  These moments humble me, because I see my selfishness and the mantra I say to my kids over and over plays in my head, "Happiness is a choice."

I was reading something today by Beth Moore, she can be wild and crazy sometimes, but she was right on today.  Or maybe it was just right on for me.  She was referring to James' "consider it pure joy when you encounter various trials".  I can't for the life of me, imagine instantly finding joy in awful circumstances, it's just not me.  I'm more of an Eeyore than a Tigger, so those awful circumstances take me down for the count.  But she said this, "The word 'consider' calls us to a mental exercise.  Not an emotion.  James isn't telling us to have a knee-slapper over all we're going through.  He's telling us to think, to reflect, and to esteem the unalloyed joys available to us 'whenever [we] experience various trials."  We can't purposefully dive into a garbage dump and count it all joy...sometimes we just happen to fall in.

More of London! I can't get enough!

One way cool thing during my time in London, is that I was there 2 weeks before the Summer Olympics started!  The city officials had been busy posting signs all over the Underground and around the city letting people know the various routes to each Olympic venue.  The events themselves were literally held all over the city, so the city had to be "olympicized" to make it easy for tourists to get around, and tolerable for locals as well.  The Olympic fever was contagious, even without actually getting to go to any events!

You could swipe your cc and take a bike...only to return it in another location

Very cool post box

Genius--words painted to show you which way to look for traffic!

A view of the London Eye from across the lake near Buckingham

There were cute little Pubs on every corner!

I think I could take pictures of doors and window boxes all day long!

Parliament and Big Ben

And another clock...a super famous one!

London

There's no way I can do London justice with one post...not even 10 would do the job.  London was amazing, it was culture, history, color, uniqueness and drizzle all mixed up in one feeling of happiness. The only way it could have been better, would have been to have my family with me; so many times I thought of the fun we would have as a family--someday maybe.

Helen and I took the train into the city, dropped our things off at a friend's house and then set out to see as much as we could possibly see in just 24 hours! On my list was Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, the London Eye, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, Parliament, to ride the "double decker" buses, the Tower Bridge, and Westminster Abbey.  Would you believe me if I told you we did it--via walking, the Underground, and the bus we were able to experience this amazing city in less than 24 hours.  Our friend who offered her home, also blessed us with a night tour in her car!  She took us from one end to the other, explaining the history behind so many of the things we had seen--honestly, her willingness to take us out for a tour after we had all come in for the night is a memory I'll keep with me forever.

Enough talking already, just show us the goods!!

My crazy fetish with clocks

The Underground-"Mind the Gap"-I love it!

Palace Guards

I love this culture!

Flag is flying--Queen is home!

Cambridge--just wow!

It's humbling to be in a place where so much intellectual goodness has been.  How many times have you heard that so and so "studied at Cambridge", people like Newton, Darwin, CS Lewis, Erasmus, Wordsworth, and Wilberforce.  So you can imagine what it was like to walk through some of the Colleges where these famous people studied, worked, and laughed.  I think Cambridge was one of my favorite places to visit, it was pure academia and is a place I would love to return to with Jeff someday.

The Round Church

SIM UK and the Sea

It was an amazing week at SIM UK doing our workshop, Wetheringsett Manor is unbelievable and the hospitality shown to us by the SIM UK staff was such a blessing.  I enjoyed getting to know so many wonderful people, people whom I hope my life intersects with again someday.

During our week of training, we were able to have a day off and take a trip together to the Sea.  We went to the seaside town of Aldeburgh where we walked along the sea and also tasted their famous Fish and Chips!

Helen was one of the only brave ones to stick her feet in the sea

Fish and Chips!!!

Bury St. Edmunds

Arriving in Stowmarket and seeing all the beautiful little English houses was so much fun! I loved the doors on the houses and the fact that almost every house had a name!  I tried, unsuccessfully, to get into the drivers' side of the car a few times, forgetting that the drivers use the other side to drive. :)

Waiting with the crowd to see the Olympic torch run by

The first weekend I was able to see the Olympic torch pass through what is probably one of my favorite little English towns, Bury St. Edmunds.

I don't know why, but I love old cemeteries