food wars....

picky eating is the battle of the hour with cj...

in recent weeks it has gotten beyond ridiculous so we decided to confront it head on...

did i really just admit to volunteering for this war!??

after several (disastrously) unsuccessful plans of attack, we decided on the final approach of putting the same plate of food in front of him until it is eaten. this week that meant taco meat....breakfast lunch and dinner...two days straight.

i couldn't believe the resistance...the enDURANCE of this kid...(i'm thinking he's navy seal material)

finally, last night...after another hour or so of sitting in front of his meat (by now slightly crusty and much changed from its original hue)...he spoke to me out of the side of tightly pursed lips...

"mama..."

(sigh of exhaustion) "yes cj"

" 'elp me...." (remember that final scene from the old-school "the fly" movie?)

now...at this point i had been TRYING to " 'elp him" (amidst much whining, crying, and clenched jaws of refusal)... for two DAYS...but miraculously i responded calmly...

" how do you want me to help you, cj?"

"ofen...my mouf"...

"what!?"

"ofen my mouf...."

was he serious!?...i reached out...pushed open his jaw for him...and the rest is history. he ate it...all of it...

i had to laugh (as i often do) at this kid...with a will so strong it became a power struggle with himSELF!!

oh man...i'm not sure i'm cut out for this...

i'm dreaming of a white halloween...

let me just tell you, i've been ready (mentally and emotionally speaking) for christmas since...like...august...

like ridiculously, desperately longing to hear the songs, watch the movies, make the cookies...for all the sights smells and warm fuzzies that surround the time of year...

and if anyone can offer a great excuse to put up the tree RIGHT NOW...i'll take it...'cause try as i might...i got nothin'...

today we went to the market in search of "pumpkin-like" gords (which we actually found) so we could carve jack-o-lanterns with the kids...it was snowing, roads were slippery, we were all bundled up... and i'm confessing i was wishing we were celebrating a different...more "yuletide" holiday...

but...alas...it is only october...and the pictures i have to post are not only "yule-less"...but not even very "halloween-ful". we did carve the gords...bought the kids a sucker...(trick or treat?)...and abby decided to dress up in one of her ballerina outfits as we settled in for a family movie.

happy halloween.

*note: no small children actually wielded knives in the carving of these gords*

we're back in the game...

we got back last tuesday from a great family vacation in beijing...and are feeling rejuvenated to jump back into life in the fast lane...maybe :)

there's not enough words or cyberspace to share all that happened...but here's the top 10 highlights for me:

* eating fresh at SUBWAY! (turkey how i've missed you)...hot fudge sundaes, papa john's pizza, auntie ann's pretzels, starbucks...

* cheddar cheese...on my lips...for the first time in TWO AND A HALF YEARS!!!!!!! (so amazing it deserves its own highlight)

* smiles on little faces enjoying days that are all about THEM

* smelling fresh cut grass

* strolling through peaceful parks

* the colors of flowers

* walking through the doors of an honest-to-goodness, real live MALL!!! (do you have to be a shopaholic to understand that rush?)

* retail therapy at IKEA...ahhhhh

* hearing my kids say "i miss mongolia" (missionary moms everywhere will understand why that makes the list)

* getting to mongolia...and feeling "home" again

stepping out of the everyday always gives a little perspective shift...and i'm thankful for that shift as i step back in...

brag blog...

i mentioned we're on the homeschooling adventure with abby...

there have been lots of adjustments...and some rough patches...but for the most part things are going well.

i am amazed at abby's ability to concentrate and pay attention to detail (WHEN something is of interest to her). but i'm most taken by her reading and drawing abilities. we are using a first-grade reading curriculum and she is 3-4 weeks ahead of schedule! She's brilliant with her artwork...sometimes it blows me away. check it out for yourselves...

reading time (this is the first time she's ever seen this story):




i seriously asked her if she really drew this bug...she's just turned five people!!! :

birthday boy...

i wish this weren't blurry :( ...

anticipation...

dinosaur cake...
(sadly resembling it's more amphibious decedents)

cj hung his head in embarrassment
throughout the "happy birthday" anthem...

then jumped to attention for the blowing of the candles...

friends.cake.ice cream. life is good...

cj tried to give some of his presents away...

why doesn't he share like that when it's appropriate?

little ballerina...

i found out there is a ballet school in town that has a once-a-week class on for young girls.

since abby is forever subjecting us to impromptu living-room recitals...i thought it would be a great way for her to get around some mongolian friends and keep up her progress in the language.

this weekend was her first lesson...she loved it...putting on the tutu...spinning and running around the room warming up. it's a little more disciplined than her free-for-all recitals at home, and she might eventually have to take her eyes off herself in that big mirror long enough to pay attention in class...but i think she's going to love it.

the teacher doesn't really like parents in the room during class, but i got special permission to takes a few pictures...of course the camera battery died on me...BUT...i think i got some fun shots all the same...

so....

it's been a really long time away from blogging...

i'm pretty sure the mounting pressure of having so many details to fill everyone in on gave me "blogger's block", so i'm letting myself off the hook, jumping back in, and just giving the highlights...

* we've started the homeschooling adventure with abby (that requires a bragging blog post of its own).

* chris preached for the first time in mongolian.

* we found out we had to get yet another student visa...meaning we've entered into yet another year of full-time language study. not that i'm not reminded daily that i still have so much to learn, but we're like the school's eternal students!

* abby started ballet lessons (again...a post of it's own)

* cj turned three this weekend, and in true boy form concludes most knock knock jokes with "my BOTTOM!!!!!" as the punchline...i'm finding it really hard to parent when laughing so hard i'm crying! :)

* this weekend also gave us the first snow storm of the season...it's gonna' be a looooong winter...

so that's the overview...and me...getting back into the blogging saddle...

papa and meme time...

we've had a busy month and a half...most of it was spent with my dad and mom who were able to come for a visit.

here's just a sampling of all the mongolian fun we got to share together!

the ger experience...


the new statue of chinggis khaan...



terelj national park...



not to mention the hours clocked shopping, story-telling, game-playing and introducing them to our life here! we're so glad they got to spend time with us on this side of the globe!

abby's last day of pre-school...

abby's last day of pre-school was friday...she is so excited for "summer break" (what does that even mean to a 4-year-old!??) and even for "homework" (aka homeschool) next year.

i have to admit i was a little sad to see it end, i've been so thankful for what the Lord has accomplished in abby through this school year...her mongolian is amazing...she is so much happier being able to communicate with people. she has faced some difficult things but come through them stronger and i love that about her (though the momma in me always wanted to wisk her away from them all).

there were no end-of-the-year celebrations, but i did get a picture of abby and her teacher, zaya bagsh:

quality daddy time...

the twirling dress...

cover me...i'm goin' in!....

mom for hire...

the following is just a portion of my job description over the past month:

1. potty-training a boy's boy: complete with the cleaning up of puddles in movie stores and fishing cell phones out of toilets. (ok i'll confess i was absent for the movie store incident...but the cell-phone escapade more than made up for it)

2. joining a 2 1/2-year-old in waving bye-bye to little poos that actually made it into the potty as they circle the drain.

3. refereeing countless nit-picky fights, most of which eventually include the whining drone of "moooooomma...cj's gonna' hit me"

4. endlessly repeating the words "cj...don't hit your sister with ________ (one can realistically fill in the blank with a myriad of material objects including, but not restricted to: toys, cooking utensils, cell phones recently fished out of toilets)

5. completing aforesaid disciplinary cycle by clocking countless hours waiting for the "time-out" buzzer to ring and explaining (again) why beating our loved ones over the head is unacceptable.

6. painting a kitchen to cover over various works of "art" and reminders of juice spills...accomplishing that task to abby's, "momma, it's SOOOO beauuuuuutiful" (did i mention i painted it WHITE!?...such an encourager.)

7. forgetting the "grind" of the everyday at the sight of cj watching "poo-panda" and demonstrating his kun-fu greatness in the living room...hai-YA....or abby sharing one of her animated narrations in intricate detail. feeling a small sense of accomplishment when i hear "nuv you abbee...i love you too cj"...or two little voices singing praise songs from the other room...(moments before another fight breaks out... :)

happy easter...

all i got was a shot as we were leaving church...but hey...everyone had easter "baskets" and we colored eggs...so not a total bust! :)

happy easter everyone...praise God for Christ, His risen life, and what it means to the world!!

busting at the seams...

so each week our kids' church has grown in number exponentially. 3 weeks ago we started with 4 kids...and today we had almost thirty!

we were seriously busting at the seams in our little building...reinforcing the fact that we have got to build another building on our lot...and fast!

it's always such a walk of faith going into it...and we are definitely learning as we go...but are so excited for the opportunity to plants seeds of faith in these kids' minds and hearts! thanks so much for your prayers!

humility 101...

the other day i had to call abby's pre-school to let them know she wouldn't be coming in that day...simple enough task, right?...wrong...i got butterflies in my stomach...asked for grace...and said a prayer of thanks after i'd been able to half-way communicate my thoughts over the phone...

i'm teaching a kids' church...something i've done many times comfortably...but add the intrigue of sharing thoughts and truth with children of a different culture and background...in one of the hardest languages on the planet...and i get a little shaky...

i'm not sure i can properly communicate what it's like to spend every day desperately needing the grace and power of God just to live...getting on the phone, shopping for groceries, getting from point a to point b, heck...sometimes just getting out the DOOR takes a supernatural empowering from the Lord.

yes...it is an amazing chance to be reminded of our complete dependence on the Lord every day...and i'm thankful for it...because i so easily forget that dependence in America, surrounded by the familiar. but i'm confessing that some days...it's simply humiliating and frustrating that the simplest task is such a hurdle to overcome. imagine spending every day of your life with the verbal and social abilities of a toddler...because essentially that's what we are as we learn to talk, interpret the culture, and function in the world around us...yet i have the responsibilities of a wife, mother and missionary (to name a few :)

it's difficult, for sure...but i really do love what i'm blessed to do...so i'm not writing to complain...just to give a little glimpse into your missionaries' world...and asking you, after getting that glimpse, to pray for us...in the big AND little things!

something big...

today was our second kids' church meeting...and what a powerful day...

powerful in that i could all but physically see the spiritual battle surrounding it.

today we pulled up to the building more than an hour before start time to see about 6 kids waiting on our arrival. by the time we got things rolling there were ten kids...i was so excited. one of the moms told us that they had gone to church in the city, but just moved to the neighborhood and were too far to attend there anymore, she was so thankful for a place to send her kids.

during the lesson, the battle began. i'm not kidding, EVERY time i touched on the topics of Christ, salvation, or our need for a savior, we fought distractions. it was unbelievable. and when all was said and done we went outside to discover that some shovels had been stolen from our entryway. some of the "potty breaks" had been used to orchestrate a heist. we pretty much knew which kids had done it...but not having actually seen it...we simply had to talk to all the kids about it.

there are so many emotions surrounding the situation...it's frustrating, hurtful, and heart-breaking...these kids are all of SIX years old and being taught ways of survival that do nothing but ensure their lives will go nowhere! (there's no way they could have done it alone...someone older enlisted their help)

but most of all...it's exciting..that may sound strange...but i say that because it's obvious to me that God is doing something ginormous and the enemy is ticked and terrified! i LOVE that...there is something monstrously huge going on in the spiritual realm here and WE get to be part of it...

there's nothing i'd rather be doing...thank you Lord, that You allow me to be part of it all...WOW!!

i'm emotionally drained after a day like today. it's hard to explain but with language and culture and battles on every side...i'm exhausted!

thank you for your prayers...keep them coming...we're excited to see what God will continue to do in "shar had".

she's so well-rounded...

introducing...spidey j...

these are his best attempt at the "spidey-pose"...when coupled with the "whsssssh"...it's pretty convincing... :)





























"it's been a long day fighting crime..."

oh where oh where has our little dog gone...

ok...

so i was asked for a little more explanation on our dog being stolen. i hate to talk AGAIN about the not-so-positive...but...i will oblige.

some of you may have read the blog and seen the pictures of our precious little st bernard...freckles...

basically...she started living at the manna site...which was her purpose in the first place. about a week later chris stopped by to check on her and feed her before we headed to church...then after church went back with abby to "tuck her in" for the night. it hadn't been three HOURS since his first trip...but when they opened the gate...she was nowhere to be found.

they searched for awhile...but she was gone...abby was heartbroken. in fact...after praying for freckles..she thought they should take a proactive approach and enlist the help of some birds...since they have a much better view and can cover ground a lot faster than us land-bound creatures. but to no avail...

everyone we've talked to says that dog theft is on the rise...so kudos to the guy who hopped the fence with a thrashing puppy in his arms. and since st bernards are a very popular breed here...we can take comfort in the fact that she was most likely stolen to sell at the market. honestly it's a relief...because some dogs end up dead at the hands of "dog bounty hunters" or worse yet...on some poor, unknowing soul's dinner plate.

so we've learned our lesson...and the next dogS (plural) to make their home at the yard will be mutts off the street...since there seem to be a pluthera of those and we would be saving them from death by a bounty hunter's gunshot...

live and learn...and all the best for you in life, sweet freckles...

our stupid car...

so...we've faced a little opposition as we've slowly gotten things rolling in the ger district...

a few months ago we bought a dog to be a presence there...she was stolen within the first 10 days...

our building is within yelling distance of a buddhist monastery, and as we were passing out invitations and talking with some kids about the Bible lesson...we had one of the young boys studying there pass by and yell at the kids..."don't listen to the crazy people!"

and the other day...in the amount of time it took chris to walk in and open the gate to put the car inside the fence...someone etched "teneg" into the paint of our car...



it means "stupid"...seriously...how embarrassing it THAT as we drive around town?...i'm thinking this weeks plans will involve a hunt for some kind of bumper sticker...

it can be discouraging...but stepping back and looking at the bigger picture we realize...that's what it's meant to do...discourage...

we are about to head into the heat of the battle with an enemy who knows his ultimate fate...so we recognize his tactics and we stand, not in our own strenth (physical OR emotional)...but in the strength of the One who will win that battle for us...

sometimes though...that's easier written afterward than remembered in the moment...so, thanks for fighting with us in prayer...

lots to tell...

until yesterday...we weren't able to access our blogs...for some reason google gave us a "you look like a spammer" message every time we tried...

so it's been awhile... and let me tell you...what a WHILE it's been...

today was our first kids' church at our future "manna" feeding center site. we are STILL trying to get all the footwork done to start the actually feeding, but the Lord knew and i think it's almost better we started with the Bible lessons first.

i'm sort of working backward...but that's how it works when you haven't been able to blog on a week like this one. as i met with monkhoo, our babysitter and friend who is helping out with the bible lessons each week, i sensed she was hesitant about teaching the lesson herself. she has never taught or even seen a lesson taught specifically for kids, so this week i realized i would be teaching the kids myself...in mongolian...about the Bible...for the first time...YIKES! i was more than a little nervous...obstacle #1...

twice we made invitations and headed out to the ger district...both times it was the coldest and windiest it'd been all week...the last day it was even snowing! needless to say kids weren't playing outside much and we were only able to hand out a handful each time, so going into it, i was honestly just praying that SOMEone would show...obstacle #2...

i wondered what the children would be like...would they talk to me or shy away from the foreigner?...would they know anything about Christianity?...would they even want to sing songs and talk about Jesus and God? i was teaching creation and i wondered what stories had been told them by grandparents and parents about the very same subject...stories so very different from the truth of the Bible...would they look at me like what i was saying is insanity?...obstacle #3...

not long before starting time...we heard little voices outside...and my heart got all excited. four little kids walked in and we got to know them for a little while before starting the lesson. no one else showed...but i have to tell you...it's the most fun i've had in awhile. they sang and did the motions to the songs...they interacted during the lesson...they answered my questions (whether they believed what i was teaching or not) and they had a BLAST doing the craft.

God is so faithful...i can't wait to see what He does next week...

produce on steroids...

ok...so i just have to share one of the many many things that are different about buying groceries in mongolia...how in the world does a carrot get this unnaturally large?...

84th school...

once a week i lead some conversation practice with a class at the 84th middle/high school. here are some pictures with some of the kids...

if you're cool in mongolia...this is how you pose for a picture...

the girls on my left used to come to our youth center...oyoka and yenjka

learning the essentials...

though i'm pretty sure we all love watching our kids more than anyone else...i know my parents and family will appreciate this video just to get a glimpse of CJ...

and i know our texas friends will be glad to know he's learning the essentials...

stars on ice...

use #359 for cardboard boxes on a cold winter day...

masks!!!

she wore this for hours... asking me to watch her "zoOm" out of the room...







obviously some technical difficulties with this one...which is why i had to bribe him with candy to get a quick shot while he wasn't screaming and tearing it off!





someone had to get some fun out of it...







and someone had to take that fun to a whole new level...

tsagaan sar (white moon or white month)

this is our second white moon festival since moving to mongolia...but we were blessed to participate a lot more this year...

it's the mongolian celebration of the lunar new year...and officially marks the start of "spring" (this year the first day of spring had a high of 5 degrees :)

there are endless traditions surrounding the holiday...but basically everyone spends three days (longer in the countryside) welcoming in the new year by visiting each other's homes and eating all the buuz (mutton dumplings) and dairy products they can handle (and then some). we were instructed over and over again to "eat...EAT!". one friend told me it's ok to eat so much because the body digests it more efficiently during tsagaan sar!

we enjoyed visiting with several families this year...here's a sampling of our time...

day at the blue mouse...

fun with food...

i seriously can't believe it's the end of february already. we have been keeping so busy lately that i had hardly noticed as the time flew by. and yet the winter seems to be CREEPING by for me...how is that possible!?

i'm at a loss as to what to share today...

so...here are some pictures from the international food day we had at language school recently!


sheep's stomache with blood stuffing...(i confess to NOT partaking!)









all things "innard"







cheese in dried sheep stomach ...













our contribution ...."black cows" (coke float)

for a moment like this...

the dinner-table prayer tonight went something like this:

"cj, you wanna pray tonight?"

"eeeeYAaaa!" (bows head and mumbles in indistinct garble only a momma and God could understand) "thank you for food, (jiberal jarbal jiberal) aaaan table aaaan my 'poon (jiber jiberal jarbal), aaaan (looking at sister whose eyes are wide open) abby! pray!" (said sister misunderstands and begins to pray herself) "nnnnNO!! i pray...thank you for food aaaan mama aaaan daddy, aaaan (list of visible items continues....)... 'men!"

i'm sure God didn't mind us giggling through the whole thing...i'm pretty sure He had a smile on His face too!

spring fever...

or is it the winter blues?...

however you look at it...i think we're all ready for spring! which is sad since we won't see warmer weather until...what?...may...maybe june!

granted we are in the middle of a heat wave...it's supposed to hit 20* this week...so maybe i should count my blessings and shut my mouth.

all i know is that i have every kids' movie we own memorized and it is going to feel AMAZING to throw on one layer of clothes and run out the door without the extended bundling session...ahhh...it's the stuff dreams are made of! :)

cj's photo shoot...

the other day i came in to the room and discovered cj (a TWO-year-old mind you) had parked himself in front of the computer, opened photobooth, and orchestrated a little photo shoot of almost 60 shots...

here is a compilation of the results...

remember bethoven?

yes we bought a puppy...a three-month-old st.bernard mix. she's not actually ours...and is soon to be staying at the children's center building...as soon, that is, as we can keep her from freezing her tail off at night there!

the kids love her...although they haven't quite learned that running and screaming does NOT communicate "please don't chase me" to a dog...which leads to much fear and trepidation!

her name is sevhee ("freckles") and though an 8th floor apartment is not exactly "ideal" for puppy care, she's a sweet dog and we're having fun with her while she's here. aside from cleaning all the messes...(let me tell you...a puppy that size makes some big ones) and worrying about her at night (who signed us up for a third kid!??!).

here are some shots of her first night with us...