Blessings

Sometimes we don't know what we need until we really receive it. Lately, we feel that God is overwhelming us with blessings from him. Here are just a few:
* We get to go home to have baby #2. How sweet it will be to share that time with our family and friends. Wyatt came out healthy and awesome, but I'm sure that having this next one will be just amazing.
* Everything is in the clear for us to return to India. We are so excited to go home, but also looking forward to the moment we will return with a new addition to our family.
*Wyatt is just an amazing kid. He blesses so many that he sees. So many Indian families love him like he is their own and he loves them the same. Everywhere we go, Wyatt becomes the center of attention and he loves that.
*This pregnancy has been a little tougher than the last one, but overall not bad and I'm so thankful for that!
*I get to go home to celebrate my 30th birthday! Hooray! I love birthdays, and feel so blessed each year I am able to celebrate with those I love. The past couple of years, my birthday has been a blur and kinda pitiful. I can't wait to sit at my nanny's house with my favorite food in the world and just enjoy this special day with them.
*We get to be home for Christmas! This is the biggest blessing of all for us. Well, Levi would say that it is being able to hunt, but I do believe overall this is it. Where we are can be quite sad around Christmas time. No lights, no music, very few movies on t.v., no western church services, ect. The true meaning of Christmas is still celebrated...It is simple, beautiful and real...but I must say the shallow part of me longs for an all out, full-blown American Christmas....and we will not take the simple things for granted this year...no doubt about that!

Home for a day!

Yes, we have been out of touch for quite a while! The past month has been spent in language school and now we are home for a day and off again tomorrow for a week to meet some friends from MS and search into areas where we haven't been very often. Poor Wyatt is doing pretty well with the crazy travel and this new baby is making it. The rough roads still get me car sick, and I must say hiking these hills can get the best of me some days but we are thankful for open doors to learn how to communicate better and to go into the villages. We will be home for 5 or 6 days after this trip and then head to Delhi for a conference so hopefully I can catch up on blogging.  As for today, I am trying to get all the mold off of our clothes and Wyatt's toys and Wyatt is catching up with his long lost toys and the neighbors!

6 month old Wyatt!

 Wyatt has a little friend who was also 5 months old in this picture. She is so precious and Wyatt and I are giants next to her and her mama! But we do love to see them and play a little

 This is a great friend of ours. We love him so much and Wyatt loves it when he comes to visit!

 Kira came to visit and was so great with Wyatt! She was so gentle and kind and Wyatt had a great time with her

 Ezra isn't really into babies just yet but he had to get a picture holding Wyatt too

 Yes, Wyatt loves to bite his toes these days and I think it is so funny! The bad thing is that his teeth are sharp so once he bites hard enough, he realizes it isn't a very good idea to eat his feet.

Wow! So many things are changing with Wyatt these days! He shakes his head no all the time and thinks it is so funny. He still scoots around the house on his back but is now working on moving on his belly...crawling is on the way! He is picky and will gag on plain liquid rice so I have to put some bananas in it. He still LOVES people and if he has to take a nap or go to bed when others are here, he gets so mad! He has teeth coming and is constantly gnawing on his fingers.


We sure do love this boy and can't wait to see the new things he learns every day!

Mission of Motherhood

There is an article going around on facebook that encourages stay at home moms to see their work as a "field". This is not a bad thing, for in all things we are to abide in Christ and make disciples...our children should be our main disciples! But, I must step in and say that I believe as an act of abiding our hearts are geared to invest into the lives of the outside world. How will we teach our children unless we model for them what the love of our Father looks like? I believe even as moms we can change the world. Is it easy, no. It takes lots of planning, patience, and passion to get out of "mom world" and invest into the lives outside our family...but it is possible! We live overseas and two days a week I make myself step out and do something to change the world around me. Most of the time, Wyatt is right beside me. I am a firm believer that in order for him to learn to love others in a tangible way or to share the best story ever, he must be taught by his parents. Ok, there is my soap box! haha

The Burden-Lest we forget to pray

New Park!

There are no parks in Shimla and basically nothing for kids at all. But recently, a new company built a park and we make sure to go there as much as we can before everything gets broken (one of the swings is already broken after 2 weeks ;( So here is a pic of Wyatt at the park!

The day we took this picture, Levi decided to carry Wyatt on his shoulders. They were laughing and playing and then it happened....Wyatt spit up all over Levi's head! Levi was so calm because I was gagging and Wyatt didn't know what to do...so Levi went to the car, got a towel and cleaned up. He was so rattled, however, that he locked our keys in the car! A couple of men stopped to help us and after about an hour of working on the car, they found out how to break in. They just took out the back window! Crazy, but it worked! Now we can break into any Scorpio in India! What a crazy, but fun day!

Cooking it up!

The summer is an awesome time where we get tons of guests. If they are not staying here, they are probably eating here. That said, Wyatt, Levi and I spend lots of time in the kitchen prepping all our veggies and chicken, making bread, pie crusts and pizza dough and freezing it for groups that show up, ect. Most people that see us from the West are craving American, Mexican or Chinese food but our Indian friends only want Indian...so, I am learning how to make many of their favorite Indian dishes (and some of ours as well). I will make sure to take some pictures of our cooking days. I have a friend who is coming to cook with me this week and we are making some Indian meals for a friend who is travelling with Levi this week. When they get home, we will greet them with an Indian feast! (this means roti (like tortillas with wheat flour), rice, dal, and veggies (potatoes for levi). When Levi is gone (like he is right now) I make an Indian dish called kitchuri because it is easy to make and to clean up. This is how:
*in a pressure cooker, heat up your oil, then add some diced onions, garlic and ginger. Stir for a little while until tender
*add diced tomatoes and stir...when tender, add your chilli powder, salt, masala, and other spices
*stir in 1 cup of rice and 1 cup of small beans...then add 4 cups of water and put your lid on the pot
*wait for one whistle and turn the cooker off...wait 20 minutes and then it is ready to eat! makes enough for like 6 people! So good and so easy because it is only in one pot!

Marley (the dog) has a party!

This is the first birthday party Wyatt has attended so it was a pretty big deal to me! Here are some pics from the big event.