Wyatt is now way 2 and 2 months and he always blows my mind! He loves to count to 10, knows simples shapes like circle, square, triangle, heart, and stars. He can't figure out colors and asks me about colors all the time. He also can't get letters yet so in every book we read, he wants to know the word, but also the letters of the word...needless to say our reading time gets old to mommy real quick! He's really into flipping these days and loves to try to roll on his head. He is crazy about people and thinks that everyone should be crazy about him as well. When he sees anyone, even if they are miles away, he yells hello to them in Hindi. If they say hello back he says, tk? which means "are you ok?" and they say, "tk. Ap tk?" and he bobbles his head and replies, "tk." When our helper leaves he says, "phir milinge" which means, "see you later." He normally says thank you and if you tell him thank you he will reply, "you welcome". He spends lots of time with me doing art projects, cooking, ect. He loves to help. Before we go for a nap or to bed at night we clean up all of our toys and he loves to do it. He Hates to sleep (always has). He's always afraid he is missing something and as soon as he wakes up he says, "I sleep all night mama". He loves Tate with all his heart and has taken his big brother role seriously. He bosses that poor baby around worse than anyone else! He wants to feed Tate, to hold Tate, to get Tate up in the morning, to sing Tate songs, read him books, and to kiss all over Tate all the time. Sometimes we will look up and see them sitting on the floor hugging. It is awesome!
Tate is such a mess! He is shyer towards people, but seems to be much more loyal. It takes him a minute or two to warm up. He still loves to be held and only likes one book in our house right now. It is about animals at the farm. He loves balls and loves to hit balls with sticks, hammers, ect. He laughs all the time at nothing! He has the ability to make me laugh so hard I cry. He still likes to hold things and walk, but is moving all the time. He no longer likes to cuddle or sit for very long. But he surprises you with these random moments throughout the day where all the wants to do is hug you and kiss you. It won't last long, but it happens and makes your day. He is very happy and loves Wyatt. His whole face lights up when Wyatt walks into the room. Tate loves to eat...anything, anytime, anywhere. He has no problem eating until he spits it all up. If he is having a bad day, just feed him and it will get a whole lot better. He still cries loud enough to wake up the mountain when he gets upset, but that is not too often. He gets mad and scrunches up his little face when he doesn't get what he wants when he wants it. He is so much fun to be around.
These boys are showing so many different qualities already, but so many that are alike. I see Levi shining through both of them so much it scares me sometimes! It is as if he created two little mini me's and I was just the deliverer! Blows me away!
Our Family
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
His Light in Darkness
I have always loved people. Trusted them, believed the best...until now. It is a matter of protection here. If you are a woman, you dress in long shirts and baggy pants to go places, you don't look at men, you never stop to chat, and you NEVER go alone. I think the freedom I had in America really killed me this time. Before kids, Levi and I did everything or I could easily run around with all the American girls that were here. Now I've got two little ones and life has changed a lot. Most would say that it is the weather. Because of the bad winter, I'm unable to get out and meet people where I live. This will last until the end of Febuary.
I have been feeling so lonely, so trapped, so bogged down with the lostness in those who come to my house every day and stay for hours. Why can't they understand the truth, the way? For the first time in my life, I was beginning to feel some weird form of depression....
THEN...we had several random visitors in a row...most were men, but one of the men decided to come back with his family. His wife and two boys. They live in a village that is not easy to live in and they are awesome. His wife was sent by the Lord to speak to me. To remind me why we are here. To show me His truth and His freedom. That night we stayed up to the wee hours as I poured out my brokenness in a different language to a friend I had never met, who hardly spoke English... that night she listened, loved me, and we spoke to the Father together. I've never needed a girlfriend like I did that night. He sent her just for me. As they spoke of all that He is doing in their village, in that area of the state, I remembered that He is moving...despite my frustration, my hardships....He is alive and I can trust Him to always provide....even if it is not exactly how I thought!
Monday, January 14, 2013
What a day in my life looks like
Well, this may be the #1 question I get while in America..."What does a day in your life look like?"
The truth is, the answer to this is always changing because my life is fluid...meaning it is NEVER the same. I enjoy a little structure here and there, so I try to set up some routine but we travel at least 10 days out of the month...so that makes life crazy...but while we are at home (we as in the boys and I) this is what my day looks like:
6am- everyone wakes up
6-8- diapers are changed, breakfast is eaten, the garbage guy comes by and asks for all our garbage, the newspaper guy comes and delivers our paper, and we play
8-10- Levi's office hours (if he is at home) This is when he goes into our bedroom and has time with the Lord and works on work stuff
8-9- we play in the play room
9-Tate goes to sleep and Wyatt and I do crafts, read books and sing new songs
10- Levi normally leaves to do what needs to be done and Rupa (my house helper) comes over and starts washing dishes and cleaning our floors (I know, biggest blessing of my life!) Wyatt and I play for another hour (sometimes this play involves laundry, cleaning the house, ect.) and most days our neighbors come over around this time
11-Tate wakes up and we all play with our neighbors, go outside, play in the playroom, ect.
12-we eat between 12 and 2
2-Nap time for Wyatt and Tate
4-Time to get outside and take a walk
6-we try to eat around this time, then we read books, sing songs, say our verses, and pray together before bed
7-Bedtime for both the boys!
7-9-my quiet time and office time
9-10 or 11- Levi and I get to hang out
Well, there you have it! This is an organized typical day of my life...What I can't write down is the daily unexpected visits where I drop all plans and serve a random guest, the long visits we have with shopkeepers on our daily walks where we sit, eat a snack and fellowship, the fact that we are NEVER alone as a family for a whole day...almost NEVER! ;)
I have always been one to really desire the unexpected, and living overseas meets that desire in EVERY way! I love the fact that my day never looks like the day before, that I plan my life out only to have it change every time, that I am always entertained by simple things such as taking walks because something random always happens! Although it can be frustrating, it is so beautiful and so much fun! I can't imagine leaving this life (the life we have known for 4 out of our 5 years of marriage) and returning to a life where there are very few variables. Perhaps it would be refreshing, but also a little boring! ;)
The truth is, the answer to this is always changing because my life is fluid...meaning it is NEVER the same. I enjoy a little structure here and there, so I try to set up some routine but we travel at least 10 days out of the month...so that makes life crazy...but while we are at home (we as in the boys and I) this is what my day looks like:
6am- everyone wakes up
6-8- diapers are changed, breakfast is eaten, the garbage guy comes by and asks for all our garbage, the newspaper guy comes and delivers our paper, and we play
8-10- Levi's office hours (if he is at home) This is when he goes into our bedroom and has time with the Lord and works on work stuff
8-9- we play in the play room
9-Tate goes to sleep and Wyatt and I do crafts, read books and sing new songs
10- Levi normally leaves to do what needs to be done and Rupa (my house helper) comes over and starts washing dishes and cleaning our floors (I know, biggest blessing of my life!) Wyatt and I play for another hour (sometimes this play involves laundry, cleaning the house, ect.) and most days our neighbors come over around this time
11-Tate wakes up and we all play with our neighbors, go outside, play in the playroom, ect.
12-we eat between 12 and 2
2-Nap time for Wyatt and Tate
4-Time to get outside and take a walk
6-we try to eat around this time, then we read books, sing songs, say our verses, and pray together before bed
7-Bedtime for both the boys!
7-9-my quiet time and office time
9-10 or 11- Levi and I get to hang out
Well, there you have it! This is an organized typical day of my life...What I can't write down is the daily unexpected visits where I drop all plans and serve a random guest, the long visits we have with shopkeepers on our daily walks where we sit, eat a snack and fellowship, the fact that we are NEVER alone as a family for a whole day...almost NEVER! ;)
I have always been one to really desire the unexpected, and living overseas meets that desire in EVERY way! I love the fact that my day never looks like the day before, that I plan my life out only to have it change every time, that I am always entertained by simple things such as taking walks because something random always happens! Although it can be frustrating, it is so beautiful and so much fun! I can't imagine leaving this life (the life we have known for 4 out of our 5 years of marriage) and returning to a life where there are very few variables. Perhaps it would be refreshing, but also a little boring! ;)
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Our surprise trip home
Because we left America in June, we were unsure if our return so soon was a good idea. We felt like we were letting down our friends here by not participating in Christmas activities, but we took the plunge and didn't look back...I must say it was worth every dime spent, lack of sleep, and weeks of sickness that came with the 4 weeks in America. When we went home for 6 months to have Tate, our life was a whirlwind and I felt as if I missed so many moments. I spent the whole time back living life as if I had never left. I was too exhausted to have hard conversations about my new life, the ways I have changed, or even different perspectives. No one asked about life in India, and I was ok with that. This time, things were different. I found myself longing to share, but unsure of how to do so. I didn't want to, but I do feel that I dominated conversations with family in an effort to cram 4 years of my life into 4 weeks of time....desperately trying to be sensitive, yet understood. Trying to love, yet be truthful about the things I struggle with in America and I found myself exhausted, yet in many ways finally able to express so many emotions, feelings, and ideas that have been trapped inside for years now.
A friend told me about a blog she read where someone said, "If America is blue and South Asia is yellow, then I am green." The lady didn't fit in America anymore, but would never truly fit in South Asia so she always found herself hanging in the middle. This is me. I am green!
A few pics from our trip to the states
Monday, August 20, 2012
just waiting
Have you ever felt like you were waiting on something in life? Well, these days I have a list of things we're waiting for! Here are a few of them:
1. A house- We have been living out of boxes and suitcases for 10 months! 10 MONTHS!!! We packed our bags in November to start our transition back to America for 6 months and all our stuff is still in boxes...I give myself pep talks that typically sound like this, "that stuff in boxes is just stuff" "You are hard-core, you don't need a home to be happy", "don't be materialistic, you don't REALLY NEED all that stuff"...and so far that has worked...but last week someone told us the house that we think we really want is about to be open so my hopes were up and then dashed when we were told it would be Sept. 15 before it would really be available...in that moment I decided it was time for me to have a bad day...Levi has a tendency to get bad days and I pamper and baby him because that is what a woman does...what does Lindsey get when she has a bad day? I get the "man up" speech....so, needless to say, I took the privilege of educating Levi on the importance of me being a girl and having a bad day once in a while and how he needs to figure out how to find ways to respond to a woman since there is only one in this house right now, but she can pitch a pretty good fit if I really need to!
2. The rain to stop- oh rainy season! So great for the crops here, but so miserable for us! I am finding ways to redeem the time we are stuck in the house by letting wyatt cook with us, play in every kind of mess I can think to put in the bathroom (so I can clean it easier), marching, jumping, dancing around the house as we sing silly songs and laugh, and then taking walks in the couple of hours the rain stops. We have seen many vehicles going off the road these days as the fog is awful and people don't always drive the best around here. Just last week a bus had a blowout and over 40 people died, so many more were injured because people around here travel on top of buses too...rainy season can get depressing for more reasons than one.
3. I am waiting for the Lord to quit beating me up about the poverty in this country and where I fit in that. I feel like the Lord has given me a plan for the homeless and poor but I still don't feel like it is enough. I know Levi is tired of hearing it, but it always tends to come up in conversation. I am thankful for this, don't get me wrong....but man, brokenness for the poor in a country where most are poor is a hard cross to bear.
4. Tate is waiting on the skill to crawl. He is trying so hard these days! He gets on all fours and falls forward to get what he wants...soon!
5. Wyatt is always waiting to do something! A "chill" day doesn't really exist in his vocab unless he is with his daddy. If Levi has to go get the car fixed, ect. I send Wyatt to tag along and he is perfect the whole time. The moment I enter the scene, Wyatt becomes needy again. I bet Levi gives him the "man up" speech!
6. Levi is so ready to get busy busy. He has lots of meetings and is on a 3 day trip right now, but he is just dying for rainy season to end so the roads can be open to do more.
And that is the run down of all that we are waiting for these days!
1. A house- We have been living out of boxes and suitcases for 10 months! 10 MONTHS!!! We packed our bags in November to start our transition back to America for 6 months and all our stuff is still in boxes...I give myself pep talks that typically sound like this, "that stuff in boxes is just stuff" "You are hard-core, you don't need a home to be happy", "don't be materialistic, you don't REALLY NEED all that stuff"...and so far that has worked...but last week someone told us the house that we think we really want is about to be open so my hopes were up and then dashed when we were told it would be Sept. 15 before it would really be available...in that moment I decided it was time for me to have a bad day...Levi has a tendency to get bad days and I pamper and baby him because that is what a woman does...what does Lindsey get when she has a bad day? I get the "man up" speech....so, needless to say, I took the privilege of educating Levi on the importance of me being a girl and having a bad day once in a while and how he needs to figure out how to find ways to respond to a woman since there is only one in this house right now, but she can pitch a pretty good fit if I really need to!
2. The rain to stop- oh rainy season! So great for the crops here, but so miserable for us! I am finding ways to redeem the time we are stuck in the house by letting wyatt cook with us, play in every kind of mess I can think to put in the bathroom (so I can clean it easier), marching, jumping, dancing around the house as we sing silly songs and laugh, and then taking walks in the couple of hours the rain stops. We have seen many vehicles going off the road these days as the fog is awful and people don't always drive the best around here. Just last week a bus had a blowout and over 40 people died, so many more were injured because people around here travel on top of buses too...rainy season can get depressing for more reasons than one.
3. I am waiting for the Lord to quit beating me up about the poverty in this country and where I fit in that. I feel like the Lord has given me a plan for the homeless and poor but I still don't feel like it is enough. I know Levi is tired of hearing it, but it always tends to come up in conversation. I am thankful for this, don't get me wrong....but man, brokenness for the poor in a country where most are poor is a hard cross to bear.
4. Tate is waiting on the skill to crawl. He is trying so hard these days! He gets on all fours and falls forward to get what he wants...soon!
5. Wyatt is always waiting to do something! A "chill" day doesn't really exist in his vocab unless he is with his daddy. If Levi has to go get the car fixed, ect. I send Wyatt to tag along and he is perfect the whole time. The moment I enter the scene, Wyatt becomes needy again. I bet Levi gives him the "man up" speech!
6. Levi is so ready to get busy busy. He has lots of meetings and is on a 3 day trip right now, but he is just dying for rainy season to end so the roads can be open to do more.
And that is the run down of all that we are waiting for these days!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Change
Change...a word that describes my life all too well, almost day-to-day! Right now our "schedule" has been home a week (when I say "home" I am still referring to my friend's house in Meshobra that we are living in until a house in the area we want to live becomes open, which means we are still living out of boxes and will be until around October), and gone a week. We have been on great trips seeing new friends who plan on moving to our area in a year. Right now they are in language school so we are just trying to encourage them, ect.
Wyatt is so much fun these days and Indians spoil him rotten as always. He loves going to our friends' houses and never seems too uncomfortable. He eats at the table with a spoon and fork by himself, he tries to put on his clothes, he still loves ball and is now really into books and coloring, he loves his brother and can't get enough of him. We are almost over the bottle. He loves juice these days and can't get enough of it. He is a big helper and loves to "cook" with us. We let him sit on the counter with his mixing bowls full of random things like rice, flour, water, ect. and he has a ball. We have a routine at night where we read 2 books, the bible, then sing a silly song and a worship song, then pray and tell everyone goodnight. he likes to pray by himself. It brings tears to your eyes.
Tate is talking all the time (bah, bah, bah), sitting up, and laughing so much. He loves to be kissed! He still sleeps great and has two teeth on the bottom. I thought he was going to be my chilled baby but these days he is moving like crazy. We will see.
The Lord has been working and convicting my heart to live a life and teach my boys to live a life of giving. So today we are packing some of our cold weather clothes and taking them to some kids that really need them. How excessive we tend to be! My kids have 2 winter coats a piece while the kids down the road have thin shirts on that will hardly keep them warm. So Lord, forgive me for my greed and break my heart to meet needs around me. How dare I as a believer fail to take care of those the Lord created? May they understand a God who loves them so much more than I can.
Please continue to bear with us as we have internet that is similar to dial up at the moment! I am dying to post some new pictures, but it will take time. Love you all and thanks so much for keeping up!
Wyatt is so much fun these days and Indians spoil him rotten as always. He loves going to our friends' houses and never seems too uncomfortable. He eats at the table with a spoon and fork by himself, he tries to put on his clothes, he still loves ball and is now really into books and coloring, he loves his brother and can't get enough of him. We are almost over the bottle. He loves juice these days and can't get enough of it. He is a big helper and loves to "cook" with us. We let him sit on the counter with his mixing bowls full of random things like rice, flour, water, ect. and he has a ball. We have a routine at night where we read 2 books, the bible, then sing a silly song and a worship song, then pray and tell everyone goodnight. he likes to pray by himself. It brings tears to your eyes.
Tate is talking all the time (bah, bah, bah), sitting up, and laughing so much. He loves to be kissed! He still sleeps great and has two teeth on the bottom. I thought he was going to be my chilled baby but these days he is moving like crazy. We will see.
The Lord has been working and convicting my heart to live a life and teach my boys to live a life of giving. So today we are packing some of our cold weather clothes and taking them to some kids that really need them. How excessive we tend to be! My kids have 2 winter coats a piece while the kids down the road have thin shirts on that will hardly keep them warm. So Lord, forgive me for my greed and break my heart to meet needs around me. How dare I as a believer fail to take care of those the Lord created? May they understand a God who loves them so much more than I can.
Please continue to bear with us as we have internet that is similar to dial up at the moment! I am dying to post some new pictures, but it will take time. Love you all and thanks so much for keeping up!
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