Yesterday the weather was so nice and hot that we broke out the kids inflatable pool. The boys enjoyed a good 2 hours of strong sunshine in the pool. Abi was at grandma and grandpa's so she missed out this time.



We also planted our peas...

Then, this morning we watched in dismay as the weather plummeted to negative 3 degrees F...



So much for the peas. Or maybe not. That's weather for you in Mongolia. In the Spring, Mongolians say you can experience all four seasons in one day.

As I was marveling over this crazy Mongolian weather earlier today I wondered what my neighbors thought of this crazy American woman in her p.js., standing in a snowstorm, taking pictures of a snow covered inflatable pool.

New Curtains!

Yay!

Thanks to mom and her sewing machine (and her generosity for the material!), I have new kitchen curtains!

It took a lot of time for me to complete this project, since I had to work at mom's on the other side of town. But it was worth it to get exactly what I wanted. =)

Take a look!









































Here, Abi, Kenny and Nate are enjoying arts and crafts time with some goodies they received recently in a care package. Thank you Aunt Lydia and Aunt Tracy!

Seeing the Stars

Yesterday I came across a story that I thought was pretty neat. It was about a young bride during the time of WW2. Her new husband had been assigned to an Army base in the dessert of California and she insisted on going with him. Her family tried to convince her she'd be more happy at home back east but there would be no changing her mind.

The only place available for them to live was in a run down little cabin near an Indian village. Her husband was gone for weeks at a time and she was left to face the harsh desert conditions alone. She felt that she had nothing in common with the Indian women of the village so she kept her distance. It wasn't long before desperation with living conditions and loneliness set in. She wrote to her mother saying that she wanted to come home. A short time later she received an answer. Her mother simply wrote these words:

Two men looked through prison bars;
One saw mud, the other saw stars.

The young bride read the words over and over again and made an important decision. She made up her mind to see the stars in her situation instead of focusing on the mud. As she did this it opened up her world to new relationships with the Indian women and their customs. It filled her with hope for her little family's future and gave her a different view of the desert. Not that the desert had changed. It was still the harsh, wild land that she had so hated in the past. But now her attitude was different and that was all that had been standing in the way of her happiness.

I see myself in this little story. For the most part, I am happy with life but there are times when I start to focus on the mud and not the stars. Many times things don't add up the way I would like them to. Especially as a new bride in Mongolia, I came to the realization fast that life is what you make it. Life is not always easy (especially in a 3rd world country) and happy families and happy mothers don't just materialize out of thin air. My attitude and my ability to adapt were going to be tested and I'd better get a grip. This has caused me to grow up even though some days I wanted to hang on to the fantasy rather than see reality. But as I've matured as a wife and a mother I can see how I've acquired a spirit of quiet contentment, even when the mud seems more evident than the stars.

I'm still learning a lot. I am working on not complaining and not worrying about things I cannot change. Life is full of hurts and things that just suck. These things are beyond my control but one thing isn't, and that is my attitude. It's the one thing I can control. And I'm working on that.

Week 13 and the Darkhan Transportation System

I just passed 13 weeks and am slowly starting to feel a bit more energetic. However, one thing that's been sapping my energy lately (and I promised myself I would not complain about this!) is not having a car. We had to sell our car a few months ago and we have been using taxis and walking a lot. I don't mind walking, especially now that they weather has warmed up. It's actually quite pleasant out if you can manage to avoid the sand storms that are an inevitable part of springtime in Mongolia.

Walking as a family to church or to an appointment is another matter entirely. It takes so long to get from point A to B and sometimes something that would have taken us 10 minutes in our car takes us all afternoon. Getting a taxi is not very easy either. In Darkhan the taxi drivers pack as many people in their cars as possible and children under a certain age ride on their parents' lap for free. Well, when the drivers see a family of 5 on the side of the road they immediately think that we're not worth it because we have too many kids. So they don't stop.

Also in Darkhan all the taxi drivers work on a loop. They have a certain path they take and they don't like to go off the loop to take people to different destinations. I know, it's rediculous and so backward and it frustrates me to no end. When we do get a taxi we ask them to take us to our destination and agree on the fee. It's still very cheap and beats walking when we're in a hurry.

Ah, well, enough about that. Week 13 and feeling great! I'm getting lots of exercise and eating a lot. Nausea is almost gone but it comes back if I get a little hungry or too tired. Or if I smell the garbage can. Or the meat market. But those were pretty much an issue before the morning sickness, anyway.

Hormones are working at top speed, it seems. Physically, I feel a lot more pregnant than 13 weeks. Emotionally, I have to stay grounded in the Word of God to not lose my cool at the drop of a hat. And even then, I still fail. I feel mostly worried about everything. I've always had a wild imagination, always thinking of things that could go wrong. Staying in the Word and taking my thoughts captive helps. Prayers for me in this area much appreciated!

More on life in Mongolia coming soon...

Refining

The last few days have been filled with pensive moments for me. On the church front, we have been experiencing many changes, most of them sudden and quite unexpected. Some of our leaders and members have decided to leave us. Some for reasons out of their control and not related to sin or rebellion. Others, because of rebellion and a lack of will to submit to our leadership. It's a sad thing but we have been aware of God's sovereignty during this period and have felt His peace like never before. There have been some tears but we're still able to laugh and smile and move forward. We've realized that we don't get surprised as easily as we used to. We're learning to trust God more.

One year ago God rid our church of a spirit of adultery. As a result many people, including people who were in sin, left. Over the course of the year many others left. Now, God has showed us that this is the year for rooting out deceiving spirits. More people are leaving. And undoubtedly, more will leave as God continues to purify us. I believe He is more concerned with having us live a holy lives than giving us a large church. And that's comforting.

On the family front, Nate had to go back to the dentist this week. A molar with a temporary filling got infected and he developed an abscess. We took care of the infection by giving him lots of carrot juice to drink. The dentist was able to drain the abscess without cutting the gum and now we've been going for follow up cleaning visits every day this week. Hopefully the infection will go away soon and he'll be able to get the permanent filling.

Yesterday Kenny had his first visit to the dentist. He had some discoloration on his 4 front teeth that we wanted to check out. The dentist said it was the beginning of cavities (what?!) so she put some solution on them that turns the teeth brown, but stop the cavities from progressing. It doesn't look pretty but it will save him from pain and problems later on.

Abi's teeth seem fine but I haven't been able to convince her to open up for the dentist. I don't know why the boys, especially Nate, have had so much trouble with their teeth. My kids eat very little sweets and we only drink water at home and they brush regularly. The only thing I can think of is that maybe I could have benefited from taking fluoride while pregnant. But I've heard so many conflicting things about supplemental fluoride so not sure about that. Nate has 6 permanent teeth that are very strong and healthy so that's comforting.

Abi spent the night at mom and dad's. Kenny and I are going to make our way over there later on and mom and I are going to work on my kitchen curtains today.

Pregnancy is going great. I hit the 3 month mark today! The sickies are starting to subside but come back if I get hungry. So it's common knowledge at our house: keep the pregnant lady fed and no one gets hurt.

When you think about it, please pray for our family and the church. We are definitely going through a growing and purification period and we need God's grace and wisdom more than ever. Sometimes it feels like I have to be super human and it gets so overwhelming. Hetee and I appreciate your prayers!