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.

From the heart

We've been doing a lot of thinking these days...about who we are and who we want to be...about how we've changed, about the Lord....and though I find it hard to write out these thoughts without rambling on and on, I will attempt to share with you the workings of our hearts, if you will. I must preface this by saying that we have a deep love and perhaps an increasing pride in the US. I am very, very proud to tell others here that I am an American and in no way do I ever wish to be part of another country. We have downloaded every "patriotic song" we can think of (we did this for July 4th) and they always end up on the playlist when we take long road trips. :) We are so thankful for the roots that we have and we plan on passing these "roots" down to our children as best we can. I believe many people get so confused when they see us living overseas and tell themselves, "oh, they just don't like America" or "it is so easy for them, they just don't have the roots we do" or even, "they are just closer to the Father than we are"....All of these ideas are very false. In fact, for Levi and I it is a daily battle to be obedient to where we know the Father has us. We MISS home so much. We LONG for our families, our friends to know Wyatt, to help us raise him well, to give us insight and advice....We still feel like we NEED that so much! We battle! But when we go before the Father he reminds us that "his grace is sufficient for us, for in our weakness he is made stronger" It is not that we are "closer to him" it is that we are weak here.

We are more needy than ever before! What do I do with the people that are living under tarps just a couple of miles down the road? How do I handle all the beggars in my face every day? How do I cope with the fact that every morning I see my landlords (who have become like family) lighting a fire and putting seeds on it as they pray to statues who will do NOTHING for them. How do I process the fact that everyone I have told good news to in the past 2 years have not accepted? What do I do with all the idols that surround me? How do I tell everyone that Wyatt will not be worshiped on the day where they worship babies? Life here is HARD and HUMBLING....because we struggle, because we battle every day. So many times I have this "idea" of the perfect America where life is so easy, and everything would be so great if only we were back...and then the Father reminds me of how this time on the battlefield has refined my heart, my soul, my spirit. I am not the same...WE are not the same. We used to fight over so many petty things and I would continue fighting just to "win". (I could always win if I fought long enough:) Now, the Father has brought that pride to light and I am able to hold my tongue and practice restraint ( a new thing in my life!) I understand that to live a life in Him means to have self control and to love others. I also used to be so vain. I was so consumed in the way I looked or what material possessions I could find...that has also been stripped of me here and I don't miss it at all. I see the world through new eyes now. I have grown in wisdom, in love, in grace.

So we are here because the Father has told us to come. He tells everyone in Matt. to be involved in one way or another...for us, it was this way. We knew it, he confirmed it and we have not been told to leave. So we will stay as long as he allows and tells us to stay. You may think, but you are needed in America too...we say, no...that is what you are there for! If He hasn't told you to go, then you are being told to stay so that you can fulfill the command in Matt. 28:19-20. We are all commanded to fulfill this in one way or the other. For us, it was a scary step of faith that took us across the world. What will it look like for you?

These days

Well, my angel baby has had a tough couple of days and his mommy is just keeping my head above water! Wyatt has both of his bottom teeth now. They have broken through the skin but are not fully in yet. Now I believe he is also going through a growth spurt. So if he is not crying in pain, he is hungry! Needless to say, our sleeping baby is not sleeping so well and this only adds to the crankiness!

Levi and I are on a diet of sorts because the people we work for make us do a BMI to see if we are too big and right now I am normal but Levi is obese. (the BMI says I am normal but I have pounds to lose for sure) Granted, Levi will never be "normal" by this scale so we will have to send in a picture to show he is just muscle...but Levi wants to send a good picture! haha so we are on a diet. This means roasted veggies (yes, I got Levi to eat roasted zucchini last night even though he whined about it at first), raw veggies, no fried foods, no sweets, and no drinks with calories...(yes, Levi cheats but he is a guy and can afford to, right?) this is not so easy on hard days like today! I realize how much we reward ourselves with food. We have a stock of chocolate and dr. pepper for days when we dread traveling or have those "really hard days"

To make matters worse, Levi left today for a 3 day trip. Before he left we were going to teach together but because Wyatt was struggling so, I had to back out. (tough moment for me) Right before Levi left our house, I found some wipes that had been ripped apart in Wyatt's room....and that means a rat is in Wyatt's room! AAAAGGHHH!!!!

So tonight as I was laying Wyatt down to sleep and every 10 minutes he was rolling on his back and screaming at the top of his lungs, I found myself stressing out. I thought, "oh great, your schedule is ruined", "oh, I should try to let you just scream it out and then you may get tired and go to sleep", "oh, I need a vacation", ect. ect. I stopped myself and remembered that this moment with my screaming baby is a gift from the Lord. "But God, this is not the gift I was dreaming of when I was preggo". In this moment, I have the chance to praise..."yes, I will praise you...for you are to be glorified in all things" So, as I stood by Wyatt's crib, I held him in my arms rocking back and forth and singing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus...there's just something about that name....and I remembered how sweet it is to sing his praises in all situations...for these moments will pass all too quickly and I can't let them go without praising Him.