Happy New Year!

GOOD BYE 2014!!!

      Time seems to pass so much faster! Last year was eventful, and I am glad to have it behind me. This New Year's Eve was quite different! New friends, new places, new experiences! Tonight we embraced Hungarian culture and ate hot dogs, played fun games, enjoyed chocolate Euros, and set off real fireworks. It was a great night! I realize that we were way too close to the fireworks we set off! I cannot believe they make the fuse so short! Needless to say, the last one began to shoot at us! It was strange to see what would normally be a firework in the sky right next to us! We all screamed and ran, then realized we were standing in snow...
      New Years often give us an opportunity to better ourselves. I feel like this year is going to be tougher for my family, but I am excited to see what God does in our life.       I am confident that He is going to be faithful. I am grateful. Even when I cannot understand or feel lost. Especially when I am surrounded by His blessings and reminded of who I am in Him.

      2015 will be a year of change for so many. Make the most of what God is calling you to do. My New Year's resolution: Love those that matter most. I have spent many a year giving away to those around me and forgetting the people that matter most. I will spend this year continuing to build up my family. I will continue to reach out to those I love and remind them of God's love for them. I will step out in faith, and watch as The Lord meets me. I will live life as if it matters. I will (at least for the next 5 months) slow down and appreciate all the things I have. The people I am surrounded by. Goodbyes are coming soon enough- for now I will sit and enjoy the fullness of this New Year!

A still shot of our firework show!

Games with friends

Happy New Year!

Silent Night

     Tonight, I am looking out the window at the snow falling; cascading down the beautiful New York Grand Hotel. Everyone is exhausted from the fun we had this week. Today we finished off our trip and are winding down amidst the tranquility that can only be experienced- not described.
     Sammy and I decided to go off on our own this evening. When we came to the train station, snow began to fall. It was beautiful, romantic, and serene. We texted the kids from the tram. When we got to the flat, Leah was ready. We walked out and the look on her face was adorable! It wasn't in the forecast originally, but I am so glad she experienced it here (and that it waited until we had seen everything!)
     Sometimes, our language cannot formulate the things we experience or feel. This is one of those times. Sure, there was talk of beaches, mexican food, and (of course) Coco, but the week was a great time of enjoying each other here. We did manage to find Jarritos tonight! While they may have cost more than 10 times their cost back home, it was a nice surprise for the kids. Now, to go back and get to work on the new place!

Merry Christmas!

Spending our Christmas a little different means trying to understand that people in other countries still close on the holidays. I cannot get it through Leah's head that NOTHING is opened. Congratulations America- we'e ruined our children! 

Tonight was a beautiful, cold night exploring the Hungarian castle district. The sight is breathtaking and no photo could do it justice. Walking over the beautiful bridge was quite an experience! The expansive culture and beauty is unreal! Finish it off with an amazing meal on the river to Christmas carols on a baby grand and I'd say this will be a Christmas for the books! What a strange change for our little family. I look forward to more experiences with them in the coming months!

As the new year comes and the time flies by, I am fighting to keep my perspective. It is strange, but it seems like starting a church was a lifetime ago! It has been 6 months since we left IB. I miss everyone, but I know they are in much better hands! I am no longer in a hurry to get back and start over. I think the comfort of belonging is starting to overtake the sadness of leaving everything behind (except Coco, she may be the only reason I am going back to San Diego).  

This week, we went to the zoo. It was so very different than back home. I was incredibly close to animals I had no right being that close to! The photos of animals and cathedral buildings was so amazing! The petting zoo had baby kangaroos and ostriches. They were adorable! (And a little bit scary to be followed by) One ostrich gave me a photo show! Pose after pose. It was so cute! Yesterday was ice skating. My kids love ice skating! Throw in castles and make it outdoors and it is heaven! I was not too thrilled, but this is all about experience- so I skated for 3 hours. I am still sore today! Tomorrow we go to the aquarium. Then the circus and the labyrinth. Maybe even a hike or two (despite the cold weather). This place is amazing! I keep having to remind myself that  we are really here. You'd think after 4 months it would feel real already! Nope! Maybe when we get back and settle in to a new normal, we will reflect on this time and realize how truly unique a blessing it is! I hope you all have a merry Christmas! 

For the Love of Chalk Paint!

Hungary has introduced me to many new things. My favorite: Chalk paint!!! "I'm in love! I'm in love! and I don't care who knows it!" I cannot wait to chalk paint all of my furniture back home! I can see it now! Somewhere between my BBC home design challenge show and the hours on pinterest  I became enamored. I also have an entire barn full of "misfit furniture" here at the college. It is a treasure trove! A barn full of outcasts that are made of solid wood! I am giddy with anticipation!  Today I painted the first coat of tiffany blue on the TV unit made out of an old wardrobe. I can hardly wait until it dries. It is a little bitter sweet to know that I will pour into the new place and it will be finished just when we are ready to go. The good news is that someone is going to have a cool house when they get here {which cannot be said about our arrival} I decided to pick color schemes that are way out of my comfort zone! I love them! I may have to make some changes when we get home {the black bedroom furniture being the first on the list}. I will post pictures when everything is through and in. I am having to stretch my calculated self and let go a little with this. I will have tiffany blue, barn red, and black colored furniture with oyster and red seating, all in the same room. I have tried to configure it so the colors alternate and what not, but it cannot work. I just have to let it happen. I guess I had to come to terms with that at some point. I am also super excited to try the vinegar/steel wool over tea stain on the furniture. If that works, I will also be taking that home and having a field day on my furniture! I just wish I had my sewing machine here- then I would be perfectly happy!
We have had glorious weather this week! The sun has been out {for 8 hours because apparently the hungarian sun is part of a union} and it has been in the 50's. God is so good! It has made the cleaning of our new place a lot easier. I will miss the beautiful sunset views from this place, but I am excited to look out and see the horse farm and SNUGGLES!
Often, when you come to the end of yourself and the end of what you believe to be best, you realize that you had no idea in the first place! I am there! I am learning that sometimes you have to be pushed out of the nest to prove you can fly. Somewhere between the fear and the shock of the approaching ground I realized I had wings. I just needed to use them. So, in this little village on the other side of the world, I am finding the faith to be what God is asking me to be. Me. I like the possibilities that brings. Back to the chalk paint!

A Christmas to Remember

Today we began to plan our christmas vacation. We had a couple of minor set backs this week with the knowledge that we will be relocating to a less-than-optimal place. While it will {eventually} be beautiful, it is currently not. I was not expecting that we would have such a short turn around on the move, but I know God will supply the grace to do it in the time frame. That said, we started to make our plans. They include feeding foreign zoo animals, castle dungeon labyrinths at night by lantern, indoor aquariums that house alligators, ice skating outdoors in the largest European skating rink- and it is outside of a castle, exploring castles, cave tours, and {of course} THE CHRISTMAS MARKET!!! The kids are so excited! {who am I kidding... I am SO excited}! One thing that I have really missed out on the last few years was connecting with my family. I was so busy chasing other people's ideas and taking a step back when I needed to step forward that I stopped taking my rightful place in my family. I became the observer. The one who was limited by, well everything. This christmas, I will ice skate {and probably fall}, go to the symphony, ride countless trams, and most likely get lost. Yet, I will do it all with my favorite people! What a great experience! Hopefully, we will see snow! It has been freezing and raining, but not all together. Today, however, the weather is quite warm! That isn't keeping the kids from their wishful thinking of a white christmas! We have made cookies, pumpkin everything, painted christmas nails,listened to countless hours of christmas music, and watched Elf so many times. It has been wonderful! Though it will be fun and memorable, I do miss home. The beach, movies, Coco- they all seem to be further away during this season. Leah and I have been sneaking across the street to cuddle the cutest doggy! His owners don't really pay him much attention, but he loves to be snuggled. It is sort of like prison, but I guess it works for now! I am counting down the days until we get to be with Coco though. I just hope she actually remembers us... 5 more months!

O Come Let Us Adore Him!

Holidays- how we rush around to find, well, everything! Fulfillment, hope, gifts, joy, happiness. A search for some feeling that is intangible or incapable of description. Everyone does it! We chase the season- feeling to feeling. Tradition to tradition. Sentiment to sentiment. All in search of what? 25 days (ok, maybe more) of decor, music, kindness, food, parties, gifts. Their intent? To find joy. To bring hope. To fulfill a longing. Yet, it is a facade. I am not against all of these things! I love (and miss) them ALL! The problem I am realizing is one that carries into so many other areas in our life. We get so caught up in the things we think are supposed to satisfy that we completely miss out on the point. This season is meant for celebration! By all means- celebrate it! But do so with this realization: Jesus came. Relationship is the gift this season has to bring! Relationship with the One who came down to be with us- who became one of us even! This year, I am given the opportunity to celebrate just that! No frills or traditions. No gifts or even special meals. Just relationship. I know that this year is unique and next year will not duplicate it, but I hope to take this reminder and infuse it into the busyness the season will surely bring. When I put up a tree (probably in November :0) and start to search for the "feelings" of Christmas, I will remember that it is found in the people I share it with. The community I belong to. The parties and gifts are a reflection of my desire to cultivate relationship and enjoy the people around me. That the true meaning of this season was given to us through the sacrifice of our Creator- who came down to save our souls. Christmas. God came down. Our perfect gift. No search for emotions are needed! They are all contained in this glorious reminder:  Luke 2:10-14   "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'" 

Have a wonderful holiday season! Enjoy your loved ones and make time for them! Put Jesus first and make room for Him in your celebration! 

When Adventure Turns

     One of my pleasures here in Hungary has been the miles of forests I have been exploring. I know I should be worried because I am in a forest- in a foreign country. To a degree I have had "wild boar" fear and been incredibly smart as to use my gps, make sure I had cell service, let someone know when I leave, etc. Today, I bundled myself up, started my gps and music, and set off to explore my new favorite place. I took the same path I normally take. I was listening to Christmas music, which makes everything better! I reached the turn around point 4 miles in, but I just wasn't ready to stop. So, I made the worst decision yet. I kept going. Then, I saw some of the most glorious landscapes I have experienced. It was so surreal. Jogging along the river, singing "Marshmallow World" without a care in the world. I stopped only to capture pics of my surroundings in case I got lost. When the woman on my app told me I had gone 6 miles, I decided I needed to turn around. At this point it was 11 and the sun goes down at 3:30 here, and I have an irrational {not-so-irrational} fear of getting lost in the forest and having to build my own shelter, and I forgot to bring gloves...
Jogging back, I looked at my phone and realized my gps stopped tracking me. I was a little nervous, but not too much. I just needed to get back to the lookout point in the meadow, then I would be home free. My app told me I had gone 8 miles, yet I hadn't seen the large wood pile {I know- who uses a wood pile as a marker in the forest!!!} I started to get more nervous. Not enough, but just a little more than before. I took the path I thought was right, but it took me along the the side of the river. My app told me I went 10 miles...
It was at this point that the cutest furry squirrel darted in front of me. Since I have an irrational {now rational} fear of coming face to face with a wild boar, I jumped. He ran up a tree and stared me in the eyes. He was sooooo cute. I laughed and thought to myself- "Okay, I am totally lost. I know I should be afraid, and I need to stop listening to music and save my battery." I turned around and came back to the spot I believed the wood pile to be. It still wasn't there. There was, however, a path that ran along a fenced off field of sticks. It was not very worn, but at this point, why not? Well, as I walked (because 11 miles in I was EXHAUSTED) the path, I realized this was really happening and I should be very afraid and start thinking about calling Sammy. I stopped and tried his number- only to be greeted by the recording of a woman, saying something to me in Hungarian. This normally happens when our minutes expire. WORST DAY EVER! I plodded on, and found a very untravelled path. I decided it seemed like the right way. {like I even had any orienting point to go off of at this point!} I turned. I was praying that God would show me how to get out of this predicament I found myself in. That, if I wasn't supposed to go down that path, He would show me. Well, in the next minute, my biggest fear became a reality. 20 feet in front of me was the thing I dreaded seeing... an enormous wild boar! I froze as he looked into my eyes. He looked like a hippo he was so big! I screamed {loud} and he ran into the forest. I took off in the other direction and ran until I came to a pig farm {oh irony}. 14 miles... I came to terms with the fact that I would die in the forest if I didn't find a way out and determined to try to break beyond the language barrier, or just use a phone to call the college and have a hungarian speak to them and save me. No such luck. The buildings were all closed. I heard voices in the field nearby, and ran to them. As I got closer, fear began to overtake me. There in the field, a group of gypsies sat eating their lunch. they looked like convicts. I approached them, praying I would not melt down and cry. We were able to establish I was lost {thanks for the news flash}. The answer? The {scary} man mimes me to get into his van. Now, I know what you are thinking- WHAT THE HECK!?! But you have to understand- it seemed like my best option. When faced with the wild boar/ freezing temps that were eminent, this seemed like I had no choice. Yet, somewhere along the journey with Laslo the gypsy through the forest, I realized my situation and just started laughing. How did I get to a place where getting into a van with a {drunk} gypsy and driving {what seemed like} deeper into the forest seemed like a good idea? What was happening in my life?                                    

The 10 minute drive through the rugged terrain seemed like eternity. As soon as I saw the familiar 2- lane road, I almost cried. He dropped me off at the castle, and I was never so happy to be home! EVER! A couple hours later, the adrenaline wore off. As I was describing the boar to Sammy, he laughed because he doubted it was that big. We decided to look online to solve the problem. When he pulled up a video- I started to cry. Apparently I was traumatized by it. PS... they ARE huge! They are 600-700 lbs. and 69 inches long, 43-48 inches tall. {so maybe he wasn't 6 foot tall like I said}. I will now be smarter when I go into the forest. I will not use wood piles as landmarks. I will still scream {louder} when I see a wild boar. I may ask for a knife for christmas... or a rifle!

When Your Life Goes On Without You

     This week has been wonderful. Making crafts with trash and creation has proven to give me more of a competitive nature and desire to figure things out. Christmas reminds me of all things home. Back home. It makes me a little sad to think of the festivities that have come and gone in my life. I have tried to picture what things will even be like next Christmas! I think that is why I have thrown so much effort into making this place seem like home.
    While being at the college feels far from missionary status, it does remind me of how lonely it is to be far away from everyone you know and love- indefinitely. This season has given me a grace for our missionaries that I may never have come to had I not been yanked from my comfort zone. Missionaries serve God just like Christians in the states do.  The difference? There is no "superstar" following. Many ministers are able to get up and keep moving daily because they see the fruit right in front of them. They are in warm buildings and offices, have people around them who "love their teaching", and are able to feel a connection to the body. Missionaries seem to go alone. Sure, they have "support", but it is hard for people to understand their new life. "Old" life moves on and they don't relate. Things seem so pointless in comparison to the reality that people are dying without Jesus.
    None of these things are new information to me- just a little more "real" being so far away. It also reminds me that I will be so different when I get back. I see it even now! As our time here passes (so very quickly), I know this season will be over. Gone just as quickly as it came. I will never forget the time here. God called my family out to focus on Him. He, a jealous God, wanted our entire heart. He has it. So, as life goes on back in San Diego, I sit here waiting as God makes new paths for us. This hymn has encouraged me recently because it reminds me that God is the one who calls us and leads us. As hard as it has been to be away this season, and with all the honing God is doing in our hearts and life, it has given me the proper perspective. "So I send you to lose your life in Mine". This has been a hard, hurtful reality- and it was almost too much to bear- except for this reminder: "So send I you My strength to know in weakness, My joy in grief, My perfect peace in pain". He is always there. Even when "my life" goes on without me, He is at work making my path straight!


So I Send You
So send I you to labor unrewarded
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing-
So send I you to toil for Me alone.

So send I you to leave your life’s ambition,
To die to dear desire, self-will resign,
To labor long, and love where men revile you-
So send I you to lose your life in Mine.

So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred,
To eyes made blind because they will not see,
To spend, tho’ it be blood, to spend and spare not-
So send I you to taste of Calvary.

So send I you by grace made strong to triumph
O’er hosts of hell, o’er darkness, death and sin,
My name to bear, and in that name to conquer-
So send I you, my victory to win.

So send I you to take to souls in bondage
the Word of Truth that sets the captives free,
to break the bonds of sin, to loose death’s fetters,
So send I you to bring the lost to me.

So send I you My strength  to know in weakness,
My joy in grief, My perfect peace in pain,
To prove My power,  My Grace, My promised presence,
So send I you, eternal fruit to gain.

So send I you to bear My cross with patience,
and then one day with joy to lay it down,
to hear My voice, “Well done my faithful servant
Come share My throne, My kingdom and My crown!”