Shimla! Home away from home!

We are back in Shimla! Actually, we are in an area called Meshobra while we search for a house. After a week of searching, we have decided that we really want to live in an area. To find a house that has 3 bedrooms will take someone moving out of one so we are waiting...maybe until October! In the meantime, we are living at a friend's sister's house. She lives in America and bought this house to retire in one day. It is beautiful, and has been such a great transition house, but I must say that I LONG to unpack our bags and find a home of our own. In the meantime, it is time to get to work!

We have reconnected with old friends who are all pretty confused about Tate. When Wyatt left, he was not much bigger than Tate, so big boy Wyatt and baby Tate are catching some of our friends off guard! We are so thankful to say that many of those we left for 6 months have continued to go strong in the work and are seeing so many things happen!

Our boys are now old enough (and I am FINALLY not pregnant;) which means that we are heading into some of the villages that we (the boys and I) have not been able to get into. We are planning a trip soon. Right now, we are heading up to language school about 9 hrs. away to meet a new family that should be moving to our area in a year or so. They are from N. Carolina and have 3 kids. We can't wait to connect and encourage them as they trudge through this language time.

Wyatt- is awesome! ;) He loves it here in India and is always the center of attention which is his favorite place to be. When we go to our friend's houses, he gets any kind of food and drink he wants, does whatever he wants, and I rarely see him because he knows who will tell him no!  He is working on his namaste bow and hands, but everyone here is only speaking to him in Hindi so he will pick it up. He has blown me away by how comfortable he is with those he was close to before we left. When Tate wakes up in the mornings, Wyatt automatically wakes up and say's bubba, bubba. Yesterday he said, "Hey bubba" when I got Tate up from a nap. He loves to talk, runs around like crazy, and dances all the time. So much fun!

Tate- the sweetest baby in the world! He is chill, laid back and so precious! He loves for you to kiss him and every time you look his way he grins. He only cries when he is hungry and whimpers when he is sleepy. He sleeps from 7-7 and loves to nap all the time. He is so different than Wyatt! He likes to sit in the Bumbo chair or play with one toy. Wyatt was all over the place at this age and hated sitting still in the Bumbo chair! Wyatt hates to sleep and Tate hates to wake up! Tate will already sit and watch t.v. and Wyatt will beg to watch Elmo and sit for about 5 minutes at the most! But they are each so amazing and we are so thankful that they have already blessed the lives of so many here.

We are seeing all kinds of animals these days! Wyatt has already learned the word monkey and sees them all the time! We have way more monkeys than dogs around us! Levi's Hindi came back to him with no problems and I feel that he speaks better than when we left. Mine is coming slower (Levi says it is because I am always thinking about our boys and it is hard for me to concentrate) I blame it on my addiction to diet coke and how it is taking away my memory! :) Speaking of diet coke, it has finally come up the mountain to us! They have it in tiny cans and it is perfect way to start my early mornings off on a good note!

It is already cold! We are in the middle of rainy season so the monsoons bring the cold weather and we are in our jackets and blankets at night. Tonight we are staying in Chandigarh (a city about 4 hrs. away) and we are so hot we are sweating! The difference is crazy! Of course I am getting scolded every day because one of our boys doesn't have a hat on, or socks, or an undershirt...never fails I forget something that Indians believe is necessary for keeping these little ones healthy during the cold weather!

I guess that is enough info for now. We don't have internet in our house right now, so we can only get online at our friend's houses. My next post will have some pics...until then, may the Lord use you all to bring him Glory!

And here we find ourselves once again

We are so thankful for all the prayers during our travel back. With two babies and too many bags, we were very nervous about that trip. We just knew that we would have to tough it out, but it would be hard...God blessed us so much by letting our boys sleep on the plane and enjoy traveling through the airports. We only had one melt down at the London airport when going through security for the 3rd time that day. Poor Wyatt had had enough. But once we were through security, we let him play and all was well once again. That trip was just a miracle in itself.

Well, here we are again. While in America, I dreaded leaving family and friends to return here, but now that we are back, it feels like home. The smells, sounds and way of life are all too familiar and we feel as though we never left in many ways. Wyatt loves being here. He loves the noises, the people, the craziness of life...Tate is adjusting. The noise bothered him at first, but the bright colors and total chaos seem to be fun to watch for him.

Jetlag has been fun and we are all going through it together. We are almost a week in so the worst of it is over and soon the boys will be on a schedule. Levi and I have had to hit the ground running, meeting with company people, catching up with what has been going on since we left, and finding old friends once again. Levi is gone right now. He left at 5am to make the long trip up the mountain to take our stuff to Shimla and plans on returning in the morning. Bless him.

It is HOT in Delhi! 110 degrees feels like you are on fire when you walk outside! The apt. we are staying in this week had great ACs but the electricity is struggling to keep up so it goes out quite a bit. We are having to adjust and that may be the hardest part so far.

We are LOVING the time together as a family. We've had a few friends stay overnight this week, but overall it has just been us and that is the first time since Tate was born that we've had a few days alone as a family. The Lord is renewing our hearts and passions once again and it is so great to be bombarded with a lost world and away from all that distracts us in America. We feel that we are being pruned once again and I must say that it feels wonderful to refocus on the real things that matter in life.

Poverty overwhelms you when you live in India and it is consuming my heart and thoughts once again as I find ways to give without hindering those who receive.

As much as we hate being away from those we love so much back home, we know with all our hearts that this is where we are supposed to be. For His glory, to make Him known. There is no greater purpose, no greater passion, no greater plan.

The great sadness

Well, it is almost that time again...after an amazing few months in the states, it is time for goodbyes. One month left and I can feel it in every conversation, every moment spent with others, every time I eat...my mind reminds me that it may be the last time for a while. I believe that feeling has a noun...the great sadness...I find myself holding back tears as I have conversations with others,trying to avoid the great sadness that is hanging in the reminder that we will soon be apart again and all hearts will be broken. When alone, I find myself in tears as I imagine the lives of Wyatt and Tate away from the places we call home. Today, as I was wrestling with this incredible sadness these sweet lyrics came to mind; "greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city". Whew! So I fell before the lord... Wyatt has a small a vocabulary but one word he has learned rather quickly is "ouch". It doesn't take much more than that one simple word for me to find the hurt and do my best to help. Well, today in my brokenness, all I could say is "ouch". And then I felt him gently remind me that obedience is better than sacrifice and that he is enough...He was, He is, and He will forever be. blessed be the name. So we have about four more weeks and people keep asking me how they can pray. I can't tell them without crying so I just give generic answers, but the truth is to pray for strength to survive and find His joy and peace during this time of incredible sadness. Perhaps many of you reading this see it as dramatic and think...Lindsey, no one has died...good grief. But I do feel as if something is dying...it is time. The mourning is for years that will pass and the memories that will be missed and the death of dreams that our families will be able to enjoy the sweet toddlers that we will be raising for the next few years. Is it worth it? No doubt. Is it hard? More than words. So please prAy for this time of mourning as our families and close friends wade through the great sadness that surrounds us all as we face goodbye once again.

Been a while

Whew! what a whirlwind our life has been! Here is a quick highlight of our life:
Early Dec.- moved out of our home and in with Linda Sue for a few days while we get ready to head home
Dec. 14- fly home for Levi's cousin's wedding and Lindsey's birthday
Christmas- awesome time going back and forth with family and friends
January 19- sweet Tate was born and w stayed in the hospital for 4 days because Lindsey had a c-sect. and then had a spinal headache and had to get a blood patch (pretty rough)
-A few more weeks with Lindsey's family while Tate grew stronger and when he was 4 weeks old we headed to Levi's house for 5-6 weeks. Then we spent the rest of the time traveling back and forth between houses and speaking at churches.


What I won't forget about this trip home:
*It took Wyatt a full month to get used to riding in a carseat. He would cry so hard he threw up for that whole first month. I thought we would never get past that!
*We have been staying with our families and it has been wonderful and hard. A great bonding time, but I definitely feel like we are still in India and it makes me appreciate what joint families go through all the more.
* Tate spent many nights screaming with gas. I feel that everything the family missed with Wyatt, they have experienced with Tate. His newborn stage was exactly like Wyatt's was so it has been neat and hard to relive it!
*We have been sick since arriving in America! Craziness!
*I was overwhelmed with the amount of stuff in America and I still am. I somehow feel like I "need" everything in Wal-Mart and don't get me started on Target! America, the land of materialism, can really get my focus off of the main thing
*I had to leave big stores after about 10 minutes for the first few weeks. I would get overwhelmed so easily!
*On the way home from India, Wyatt would not sleep and Levi and I were exhausted so the airline stewardesses took Wyatt for a couple of hours so we could sleep. The fed him yogurt, the played with him, and walked him around. It was awesome.


I'm sure there are so many other things to write about. We have a couple of months left here in America and I will try to keep a better update on our life.

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!