Like a five year old at Christmas

Hello All!!!

            How are you all doing, wonderful I hope! Feel free to drop a line if you ever feel like it. If you have questions, just want to say hello or have a prayer request. I would love to hear from you guys!

            Well this week was a low-key week till we got to Friday, then we had a marathon day. All week we had been painting the little house, trying to finish it. We are on the homeward stretch. Just a few more touch-ups and we should be all done with the painting. Yay!! Painting day after day can become a little hum-drum, but we keep it interesting. We like to sing Gaither music at the top of our lungs, we stop for snack breaks, we laugh, chat, point out how much paint we have all over us. Believe me, we have a great time.

            We had a family from North Dakota here for a few weeks. What a sweet, endearing family. I loved just chatting and laughing together. They helped paint, hung out with the kids, played around and taught. The wife taught on how grand and awesome our God is. How we overuse the word awesome and when we call God our awesome God we diminish what exactly that means. Rearranging our perspective, remembering how much He has done for us, He is our creator and our best friend. Then the husband taught on seeking God. He used Zacchaues as an example. He sought Jesus. He climbed a tree, just so that he could see Him. He was a wealthy man, not a man who would climb trees. People sought him, he didn’t seek people. Yet he humbled himself and sought out Jesus. I was convicted. I often talk to Jesus, but seldom truly seek Him. My pride gets in the way. I have been seeking God, going to Him throughout the day. And He meets Him. I will never cease to be amazed that He meets me where I am. That He truly does love to spend time with me, loves to talk to me. It has been a blessing to seek and be found.

            Friday, the family and a few of us had a goof off day in Bacolod. We went to the falls about an hour outside of Bacolod. The drive was beautiful! It is way up in the mountains. The views are lush, bold greens, bright flower hues. We were always pointing out something else to gaze at. Woman and children were cleaning their clothes in natural springs; cows, goats and pigs were tied up along side the road; rice was spread out in the road to dry. The falls were wonderful. A ravine separates the viewpoint from the actual fall, but it is so large, you can hear the roar of the water. After that we had a tasty lunch at Inasal. Followed by gift shopping at central market. We then ended our day with a casual stroll around the Bacolod ruins. It was a great day of gazing, eating, laughing and talking.

            After we got back from our fun day, I found my boxes from my family had arrived!! Two and a half months later and a few anxious days, they made it safely here!! Woot woot! I cannot express how excited I was when I saw they had finally been delivered. I actually hugged the boxes. Yup, that’s right, I hugged them J I want to first off say THANK YOU to all those who contributed to the boxes. They are two huge blessings!! When I was opening them, different manangs would walk in and say “wow”! And since, everyone has told me to say THANK YOU!! I had a little mishap while opening the second box. I was trying to cut the tape with scissors and it slipped. Myself and manang laura started laughing at me. I couldn’t even open the box. It wasn’t until I saw the blood on my pants and the box did I realize I stabbed myself in the leg. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt that much, well not until later. Our nurse came and cleaned it, we cleaned up the blood, breathed then opened the second box. And wouldn’t you know it, the first thing I saw was a package of very sharp scissors. Haha It was as if the box was mocking me. Other than that, I had such a fun time taking everything out. They seemed to be like a clown car, I kept pulling things out thinking I should hit the bottom soon yet I wouldn’t. We melted over the girl dresses, salivated over the cookbooks, excited over all the baby items and thrilled about the abundance of craft supplies. I was personally abundantly blessed by the bags of coffee from my mom yoga class. All the little personal notes melted my heart.

            So if you have ever wondered how much you can fit into two forex boxes, I have your answer. A LOT GID!!!

            -25 dresses

            -11 cookbooks

            -a big bag full of cloth diapers

            -30 feeding cloths (trapos)

            -13 aprons

            -8 bathing suits

            -a case of blank cds

            -15 muffin tins

            -misc cloths for me

            -foam pad

            -pillow

            -10 bags of coffee

            -9 boxes of snacks

            -2 baby swings

            -14 bibs

            -6 onezies

            -16 plastic diaper pants

            -24 wash cloths (seebins)

            -18 baby spoons

            -6 binkys

            -40 bottles

            -4 packages of safety pins

            -more craft and school supplies than I could count

My dad is truly a master packer. Again, the boxes are an incredible blessing to our family here. THANK YOU, Thank You, thank you!!!

            A verse I am learning the meaning of: “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” Proverbs 14:12

Love you all and thanks for the blessings!

Kels