Borneo Mama: Something to Smile About

Get up. Cook. Get the kids going. Go to school. Teach. Come home. Cook. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

That pretty much sums up the past few months for me. Throw in bouts of fatigue and a traveling husband and it's easy to find myself soldiering through the monotony of day-to-day life, head down, forgetting to remember the blessings. Here are a few things that made me laugh, sigh, or say, "thanks, Lord!" in the past few months:

I finished the "scarf" and who knew? All along, it really wanted to be a blanket for Zoe's babies. People, I try, I really do. But I am just not meant to be crafty. I'm sorry, Mom, but you won't be getting a scarf for Christmas.

This beautiful orchid bloomed in my yard. Not a huge deal, but it has brought me joy for a few weeks, and I am thankful for the beauty of it.

A new Kodiak arrived in Sentani, and this one is especially cool since it was assigned the registration letters "MAF."

We made a trip recently to the picturesque "Base G" beach. Love the blues of the water there.

This bit of English on a bread wrapper particularly moved me. "Return the nature."

David had the opportunity to go to Tarakan a few weeks ago for some meetings, and was able to visit with Orpa, our lovely friend who is like a daughter to us. She's expecting her second child and is doing really well.

Zoe turned 9, and to celebrate she wanted a party where she could dance with her friends. She was insistent upon dancing the Virginia Reel, which I felt was a little complicated for younger kids. But she was determined, and it ended up being really fun.

A really cool aspect of being part of a larger expat community is the concerts that happen twice a year. The junior class puts on a classical concert in the spring, and in the fall the senior class puts on a themed concert. This fall the theme was songs from Disney animated classics, and it was a blast. I dressed up as Jessie from Toy Story and sang "When She Loved Me" while Grace and Zoe acted out the part of Emily. It was fun to do it together, though I heard from more than a few moms that we made them cry. I'm always amazed at what the community can come up with far from costume shops, thrift stores, and other places you might get props and costumes.

What would you do for love? David probably wrestles with this every time I ask him to dress up in a goofy costume. He agreed to be Woody so Jessie could have a cowboy date, but he went the extra mile by shaving his beard into a handlebar. Isn't he great?

Words cannot describe how beautiful, how exquisite this road is to residents of Pos 7. The road before was mostly pothole, and driving it wrecked your car's suspension and could possibly have even shaken teeth loose. It was awful. But then a few months ago a paving project began and with joyful anticipation we watched it progress. It's officially finished from top to bottom.