Glimpses of Catching My Breath

Right now I am sitting on the back porch of our rented home in Antigua.... it is 10:45 am & I am still in my pajamas.  But unlike my typical life in Knoxville.... I am not still in my pajamas because I have not had time to change, but simply because I'm choosing to stay in my comfy pj's.  This is a big change for me!!  This weekend has been just our family in our house.... it's been really nice to just REALLY rest!!  We have read books, played games, watched cartoons in Spanish, and slept.   It's the first time that I have felt like I"m starting to catch my breath.  I feel like I have been running at a crazy pace since February when Mark came home & suggested we move down here..... and really since August 2006 when Dancing Beauty was born-- that's when life's speed really seemed to pick up & I feel like it has only increased since then.  However, today, I have caught a glimpse of what my sister's have promised is coming--- for about an hour this morning all my children were playing happily together-- all FOUR!!!  And Mark & I have been sitting, reading, drinking coffee.....????  What????  This seems so foreign I almost don't know what to do with myself.  And even still, Little Monkey is down for a nap, but the other 3 are still playing!!  It's a sweet glimpse that maybe, just maybe there is a chance that I will be able to catch my breath for real sometime in the near future.  Don't get me wrong, I love this season of life with little kids.... but it is very physically exhausting.  I have told Mark several times that this year, it seems we have been given a gift of time--- time to enjoy our children, time to teach them-- really teach them, time to learn another culture, time to breathe, time to really love people.  I know there may be times when we are bored (well, not Mark--because he actually has a job, but the rest of us).... but I can't tell you the last time I was bored, so I'm almost looking forward to it!  So, pray that we will use this gift of time well, savor it, and really look for what it is the Lord is trying to teach each one of us.

You can pray for us as we wrap up language school this week.  We will be leaving Antigua early Saturday morning, spending the day with Nina's family, and heading to Coban early Sunday morning.  Pray for us as we enter another time of transition.  We're not sure what internet will look like once we're there, so the blog entries will probably slow down significantly, but we'll still be posting as much as we can!