Radha Bhavan and Old Age

Here's the view to the east from Radha Bhavan. If you click on this picture, you can see it much larger and if you spot the TV tower (located in the top center-right of the picture on the farthest ridge you can see), our school is located just below that and a little farther away. We go to church right next to that tower. You really should click on the picture and look at the up-close view of this- it is our town - sprawling across the mountain ridges. You can see how the houses and shops just stack on top of eachother making the most use of the space, and I'm sure that nothing is 'up to code' especially considering that the Himalayas are still active...

Anyway, of UTMOST IMPORTANCE here is that on the day that I took this picture, I had Will and Annie with me and my little 3-year old WALKED all the way home (yeah, from where I'm standing taking this picture to farther than that TV tower in the distance!) He's an amazing hiker!! Go Will.

This is Radha Bhavan- a huge crumbling mansion with a nice flat field where the neighbor kids play cricket. The picture is taken from a steep hill overlooking the mansion. The above pictures are up-close parts of the ruin.

Here are my kids- all dressed up for the Christmas Chapel service.

I often think how neat it is that though I won't be alive to see my children in their old age, God allows the very young to somewhat resemble the very old. This picture invites me to imagine Annie and Will as aged siblings in a retirement home someday. Only God knows the number of each of our days, but I think old age is a precious gift and I enjoy envisioning my children as great-grandparents someday long after I'm gone. :- )

ramblings

I haven't been posting much recently since we've been keeping busy wrapping up the school term here. I have some pictures of Radha Bhavan to post and some cute ones of Annie and maybe Will too, but this computer is too old for our fancy new camera so I'll have to do it later on Nate's computer. Anyway, as for happenings here, last night we slept well - each kid only woke up ONCE! It was a huge improvement on the night before when I got up, helped a kid, put him/her to bed, crawled into my bed, fell 'asleep' for a few minutes before being awakened again by crying. This cycle happened about 20 times in 8 hours and made me think I must have been out of my mind to ever want to have kids in the first place! But then this morning came and we awoke rested and the kids were happy and life seemed to have fallen back in place - ahhh, yes, kids are wonderful. I recommend them! That said, they're also a lot of work and we've joked about giving Annie away at next week's white elephant gift exhange. :0 )
Well, I don't have much else to ramble about, except to note that I didn't feel so bad today when I realized that all the blogs I check haven't been updated in awhile either... so I'm not the only one who's a little occupied. Here we're getting ready for a brief Christmas and a long trip to the beach! YEAH!!!

a week in the life...

The house is quiet this warm December Sunday afternoon. This afternoon we’ll head off to the Christmas Chapel with tea afterwards. This week has flown by very fast for me. Nate proctored and graded exams, finished up comments and other math department stuff while the kids and I had a string of social events. Monday was the regular ‘recover from the week-end’ laundry, dishes, cleaning, cooking, picking up toys, and the never-ending diaper washing (to name a few activities). Tuesday I packed the kids up and we joined several friends taking taxis to Radha Bhavan. I’d never been there before, but it is a huge mansion on the mountain ridge across town that now lies in ruins. Floors and ceilings have caved in leaving tall roofless walls sticking out of the seemingly fertile mounds of rubble. There were tall plants growing up in front of fireplaces and in doorways. At one point I wandered into the middle of several rooms, realized that the floor in much of that part of the mansion had caved in, and panicked slightly upon realizing that I wasn’t sure which way was out. I couldn’t see any of the people we came with, but managed to pick my way back to the outside carefully. I noticed several marks on the walls that match the electrical wiring and outlets, and made me realize that it couldn’t be that long ago that the place was lived in. Now it looks like it is hundreds of years old and hasn’t been occupied in ages. It was a neat outing. There was a hilltop where we could sit and see the view all around – the snow peaks lying on the horizon in contrast to the valley thousands of feet below us. We could even see our school buildings and TV tower in the distance on a far ridge.

Wednesday was our last Christian Fellowship time of the semester – it’s been a neat group to be a part of and we spent the evening praying and singing Christmas carols together. Thursday we had four senior boys over for supper. They had asked Nate if they could come over for supper and to study Calculus, and they also enjoyed looking at our books: MC Escher, optical illusions and magic eye. These are the most popular books on our shelf when the students come over (smile). On Friday, four junior girls joined us for lunch and we sat and talked about the upcoming holiday, exams that were over, and what next semester will bring. That night I was up late baking lussekatter – a Swedish bread served on Santa Lucia day- Dec 13. Will and I woke Nate up with singing, a candle, and tea. Will thought we should sing ‘happy birthday’, but by the time we got to Annie’s crib, he had caught the spirit of things and handed Annie a lussekatter saying, “here Annie- this is for you!” She happily sat down hanging her legs out between the crib rails, and bit into it- they’re both getting the hang of our crazy traditions. For breakfast/fika, we had invited neighbors over and a few other people we thought might enjoy the Swedish holiday. We all sat around for a couple of hours just enjoying hanging out, sipping warm drinks and eating home-made Swedish breads and cookies. It was a really nice way to start the day. We had a relaxing day (except for Nate who spent the afternoon grading), and then we went out to a restaurant with a group of friends for a birthday dinner. Will was such good company through it all, but Annie was distraught that she couldn’t be home in her bed sound asleep. If we think of it next time, we’ll get a babysitter, I think, but this week’s busy-ness got the better of us and we weren’t that organized this time.

Anyway, that should catch you up on life here, (since my mother at least is probably curious why we’ve been so out of touch!) Nate is so loving to host all kinds of events with me and attend even more events. (hahaha – Microsoft Word is telling me that I should write: Nate so loves to host…, but that wouldn’t be true at all!) Our honeymoon keeps going on and on- we’re nearly at 4.5 years of marriage, and it’s such a treat to be his girl.
Well, happy Santa Lucia day and 3rd Sunday of Advent! It’s been a good week here and I’d better start getting things together for going to the Chapel service in a couple of hours.

Youth

I love these young ones!






And as of today, my man is back to his youthful look (yeah, I robbed the cradle). It's been a couple of years since he looked this young, and he's just as handsome as ever! Will spent the afternoon saying, "Nice beard, Pappa", and Pappa would respond, "Nice beard, Will".

Advent

My sister sent me fall leaves and acorns last year, and I enjoyed decorating with them again this year - thanks! (also, I had to post this pic because I like how it captures the snowmen looking up to their superior 'HomeMaid' snowmaid-smile)

Lighting the first candle of advent.

Our 'advent' calendar Christmas tree- all decorated. Will has been thoroughly enjoying this new tradition.

Here's the tree up close and personal with Will unwrapping a gift in the background.

And every week we meet with several other staff here for a potluck and Bible Study time together. This week it was at our house and Uncle Pete let Will sit on his lap and play his guitar. We have been using a selection of Advent readings during our times together. So I've been thinking about Advent recently. I remember a little book that my dad read during Advent when I was growing up- it contained little devotionals about the significance of each candle of Advent. I wish I could remember more from it than I do. Advent seems to have slipped by me - what is the purpose, what is the meaning, why do we mark off the days?

The best summary I can come up with for now is this:
Advent- a time of focused waiting in anticipation of the celebration of Jesus' Birth.

Is that right? Since we don't wish to carry on meaningless traditions, we're still sorting out Advent at our house . I welcome your thoughts/suggestions/traditions/helpful readings on the topic. :-) Merci!

saturday chez nous

Our friends invited us to take a little hike out by Flag Hill on Saturday afternoon to collect some pinecones and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was fun and well worth it. Here are some pictures.

And on a side note, we are thankful that Will has been doing quite well on his current medicines. This week he is finally at the full dose of the meds he is on and we will be discussing what happens next with the doctor. He had one seizure on Nov 4, and then nothing until Nov 28 (such a blessing to have a couple of quiet weeks). His bad side effects are gone, except that he still has drop attacks sometimes. So we are thankful and hopeful that we will soon have the seizures under control.

Annie makes us thankful for many things. We are thankful for any time she does not scream at us, thankful for when she eats well, thankful when she and Will play nicely together, thankful for cloth diapers, thankful for a crib, and doors and cabinets that close and lock... and I could go on and on... here's a picture of a gate we're thankful for. :-)

and oh yeah, we ARE thankful for Annie too!

something helpful from Henri Nouwen

I just ran into a neat bit of writing on a stranger's blog (http://ladypunkmonk.blogspot.com/). She quoted Henri Nouwen and I thought I'd copy it here because it is helpful.

"Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply. You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant. Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence, or death, you are faced with a choice. You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds.The more you have loved and have allowed yourself to suffer because of your love, the more you will be able to let your heart grow wider and deeper. When your love is truly giving and receiving, those whom you love will not leave your heart even when they depart from you. They will become a part of your self and thus gradually build a community within you.Those you have deeply loved become part of you. The longer you live, there will always be more people to be loved by you and to become part of your inner community. The wider your inner community becomes, the more easily you will recognize your own brothers and sisters in the strangers around you. Those who are alive within you will recognize those who are alive around you. The wider the community of your heart, the wider the community around you. Thus the pain of rejection, absence, and death can become fruitful. Yes, as you love deeply the ground of your heart will be broken more and more, but you will rejoice in the abundance of the fruit it will bear."- taken from "The Inner Voice of Love"

catching up

I took some pictures and pasted them together in a panorama view of the snow-capped himalaya mountains from the top of our mountain. I think you might be able to see a slightly larger view of them if you click on the picture.

Here's a popular activity- doing mazes with a dry-erase marker. Mazes forever! ;)
And Annie has spent many days screaming at me until I relent and hold her (but she insists that I stand while holding her or else she will scream in anger!)

screaming screaming screaming, sobbing sobbing sobbing. Doesn't it just make you want to cry?!

This is how it feels to cut teeth and be sick all at once. Just ask Annie. Needless to say, our house has not had a very pleasant atmosphere for awhile.

So we escaped and dressed up fancy for a date to the Junior-Senior banquet a few weeks ago.
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Now it's Thanksgiving day and Annie isn't screaming at us anymore (something for which we are thankful!). In fact, we're all feeling better except maybe Nate who is just coming down with a cold and he's had to teach all day. For the record, I AM very thankful to God for far more things than I can count or list, so I'm not going to try to recount them today. Hope you enjoy the pictures from our lives here. We miss our families and friends during this holiday season especially, but we are well and we are thankful that God has allowed us to be in this place at this time.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Annie's 1st Birthday

Happy First Birthday, Annie!Keeping with tradition, we brought the Princess tea and cake in bed, but she just scowled at us as if to say, "Oh brother! What is THIS? I am NOT impressed. Couldn't I just have landed in a NORMAL family????!"
So we put the cake before her, but she acted like she wouldn't DREAM of getting her dainty little fingers dirty with THAT!
Presents helped to bring some cheer, and she did indulge in the cake eventually.

Now she's ONE.

Check out her 4 teeth! :-)
The kids liked the snowman I knitted for her and played nicely together with it. They are a lot of fun to watch grow together. I am so thankful to God for our family.

walk as Jesus did

A friend of mine and I have been meeting with a group of students to look at 1st John. We've been studying it as a series of Tests for Truth. What would show others that we are walking in Truth? Joyful lives, having deep fellowship with other believers, living in the light, obeying God's commands...
and then we ran into 1 John 2:6:
"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

What does it look like to 'walk as Jesus did'? I started to dig back into the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John which recount Jesus' life and teachings -in search of some concrete ideas of what Jesus stood for, how He "walked". Love your enemies, do good to those who sin against you, be poor in the eyes of the world, live dependent on God and people around you, sell everything you have and give to the poor, do not resist an evil person, give to the one who asks you, don't worry, do not judge, be a servant, be honest and trusting even when it hurts, forgive... the list goes on and on and on. Jesus brought a new perspective to the ways of this world and essentially turned the values we consider 'given' upside down.
This has been a refreshing study for me as I continue to see many ways I don't walk as Jesus did (so much chance to grow), and am encouraged in some of the ways I have dared to try to walk as Jesus did. He keeps challenging me as I come up with excuses -as if to say to me: "Just try it, and I'll help you be able to not judge, to love your enemies, to give, to not worry..."

I found it pretty simple to glance through Jesus' teachings and find succinct phrases that reflect His values. However, to stop there would be to miss out on seeing the full picture of how Jesus walked. We can't overloook the many stories of his life. Let me leave you with one last precious picture of my Jesus:
"The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark 6:30,31

When the whole world screams that "accomplishment" lies in being busy and exhausted, Jesus calls us to get some rest and be with Him. What would happen if we really walked as Jesus did?

end of november

Just thought I'd write for a minute about how things are at our house for those of you who are curious. We had a busy weekend - went on a long walk, came back and cleaned the house up in hopes that this wouldn't be the last time the babysitters offered to help us out, and Nate and I dressed up fancy and went out to the Junior-Senior Banquet. It was a decent event as far as chaperoning goes considering that we got a nice meal with it.
Annie spent all day Sunday, Monday and Tuesday screaming at me, so yesterday I dragged the kids to the health centre here and showed her to the nurse. We determined that she is not just teething, but also sick - probably with some vaginal infection so she's on antibiotics now but still isn't quiet unless I hold her. Will has been falling down a lot with the seizures called 'drop attacks'. We just keep waiting and praying and dishing out the meds to our two invalids.

On a side note, my amazing husband found some broccoli which he bought for me and we cooked up for supper last night. He got it from the organic garden here. I was really excited to have broccoli and ceremoniously lifted the lid of the pan as I told Nate how it "smells like thanksgiving in America!" Then we both looked closely at the little things floating in the water. I thought it was just some scum, but as we looked closer, we saw that it was hundreds of tiny little bugs. : -(
So we rinsed them off and wondered how a vegetarian would feel about eating organic broccoli with cooked bugs all over it. And I wondered why it bothered me to eat little cooked bugs so much when I'm happy to eat chicken or snails or beef or snake or termites or grubs (and many many more strange things I have eaten in my day). I still don't know why, but it bothers me. And we won't be having cauliflower any more for awhile either because I had to dig a worm out of my rice and cauliflower lunch yesterday too. Why DOES it bother me?

Some more random thoughts: Will just came up to me and said, "Mamma, how you dwaw a bwoccowi?" And earlier this morning there were monkeys all over our garden/yard and they scared Will as they came right up to the other side of the glass and made faces at him. So at one point I looked in at him and he was standing by his bed with his eyes closed earnestly praying that Jesus would send away the monkeys. They're gone now and the garden is quiet.
Annie weighs about 6 kg (13-14lbs) - they say that babies usually weigh about 10 kg by their 1st birthday. She turns 1 on monday.
And that's how things are going here. I'm off to collect my screaming baby who decided she didn't want to nap nicely. Thanks for your prayers! :)

Remembering

This weekend we were wandering through town and I remembered that just one year ago I was heavily pregnant and had no idea if our family would be growing by a baby boy or baby girl in coming days. There were many unknowns for me about giving birth in India, living on the side of the mountain - a long walk followed by a short drive away from the hospital. There was a pile of frustrations and disappointments with my job that were unresolved and painful for me. I was worried about my mom's arrival since we couldn't go and meet her. Then when she did arrive, we were worried about her lost baggage (which God was watching over). Worries, unknowns and waiting waiting waiting plagued our days. Yet, to look back at that and see how God took care of EVERYTHING brings so much reassurance and peace. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8) and I am thankful for last year's experiences that remind me that the God who provided for me and gave me such a short labor, safe trip to the hospital, and easy delivery of a healthy little baby girl is the same God who knows all our needs and will care for us today and forever.

We have such special memories of my mom's trip here a year ago. Thanks for coming and for loving and caring for us during that month, Mamma!
"Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you." Deuteronomy 32:7

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"Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land--a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you." -Deuteronomy 8:2-16

May we not forget what the Lord has done.

Our Pets...

Just kidding... (pun intended) We have been amused at how many of our friends and family have recently aquired pets. Pets, you say? Ours are free-fed, free-range, independent, cuddly, cute, fun, entertaining, playful, content, smart, busy, even creative, and we just love them! No, we've never needed a TV-we just sit around and watch our pets play.

Will and Annie each received a package from Mormor and were elated to find warm winter wear and tasty treats- thank you! Here are some pictures so you can 'see' how everything fits.

Here is a picture of Annie taking a step to her Pappa. Will is clapping and cheering enthusiastically.

And here are a few more from life around our house this week.