overwhelmed

i have been almost overcome this week...thinking about how incredibly blessed i am...

i have the greatest...most patient...most incredibly helpful husband a drama queen like myself could ever ask for...God has truly given me a pillar of strength in my soulmate! i love you chris...

my kids are seriously awesome...there's just no other way to say it. abby is so full of life...and even though that life brings the occasional "challenge" in raising her (God only knows why He gave such a huge job to someone like ME!)...it's so worth it for every minute of hilarity, every witty remark, every sparkle of joy she brings into our lives and the lives of every person who has ever met her.

and cj is the happiest kid in the world...except when he has four molars coming in...which would be now...but i've never met a one-year-old who loves to laugh more or have more crazy fun! and he has the most contagious smile! my kids are unspeakably precious little gifts from above!

and as we face the cold of winter here...i'm reminded of how much i am blessed materially. there are people around me who can't afford the skyrocketing price of coal and therefore struggle to heat their homes at night...when it's -20* with an even more devastating wind chill. when i think of the material blessings i have...food to eat...a warm apartment...running water (MOST of the time)...not to mention all the comforts beside...it's with a certain sense of unworthiness and urgent need to give back...in some way...however small...every day. do i always?...no...but i guess that's the reason for the post...to remind myself...and those who read it...to be thankful for all we have...whatever we have...

forecast

check out our forecast for tomorrow night...seriously... -50* wind chill!???! i mean...doesn't it get to a point where you stop measuring and just say it's STINKING COLD OUTSIDE!!!??!!!

lazy winter

this morning we woke up to snow on the ground...which was beautiful...but i realize it's the SAME snow we will be looking at until...mmm...april maybe!??!

something about the winter here settles in my very soul and makes me want to do nothing but sit in my apartment and drink hot chai...all day...every day...until spring...seriously! and from the looks of it...it's affecting the whole family this way.

so what's a mongolian missionary to do? apparently fight lethargic tendencies for the next six months...because i'm pretty sure i didn't move all the way across the globe to perfect my chai consumption technique. might as well start by doing my mongolian grammar homework....

now...where's my mug....

picture update...

i decided this blog was WAY too wordy...so here are some pictures...


i honestly don't know how he carries those cheeks AROUND all day!!!...he must be exhausted!

abby playing the "ankle bone" game (made possible by the countless mutton meals eaten by our mongolian friends and neighbors)

abby and her hat...gotta love her!

cj...halfway through the process of preparing to head out into the cold!!

home...

ok...this is getting ridiculous! for WEEKS now i've been thinking...i have GOT to blog...

i think i've been waiting for some great epiphany or amazing lesson learned...buuuuuut...i got nothing!

it's not that God hasn't BEEN amazing over the last month and a half...or that i'm not incredibly excited about the ministry opportunities He has brought our way...

maybe it's that living here has just become second nature...just life...so i don't feel like there's anything interesting to share. i mean...not that it isn't PAINFULLY obvious how foreign we are when we are stared at on the streets, or every time we open our mouths and attempt to communicate in mongolian. but i can honestly say the adventures and challenges of living here are so everyday to me now. i think it's good...because it means i'm more at "home" than ever.

i no longer feel "homesick" really...instead i find myself wishing we could transport all our friends and family HERE. i'm not homesick...because i AM home...and so thankful because of it.