Day Out Month 1: Fire Station!

The school room over in Guadalupe gets pretty crowded on Saturdays mornings. And the kids love to get out of the Valley for a day. SO we have instated a monthly "Day Out" with the kids. Our fiorst trip was to the park for tortas, and to the Ensenada Fire Station for a tour!

The kids even got a picture taken with Mario, and Dora and Diego!

Fun times!

Next month we hope to get a tour of the Sabritas Factory!! Woo Hoo!! Free chips!

Right Around The Corner

I got out of bed at 3:00AM and made 8 pots of coffee.
We drove over to the Alvarez' and packed the vans full. {And I mean FULL.}
After almost 5 hours, we arrived in what appeared to be Eastern Oregon.

The highest point in Baja, and we could even see both sides of the peninsula from the Observatory! It was magnificently beautiful.
And cold.
With even the slightest bits of snow.
In Mexico.
Crazy.

I am baffled sometimes by the places God takes us here.
We got to spend the day hanging out with a bunch of amazing brothers and sisters {some of whom had never been in snow before!}.

I'll confess though.
I despise snow.
And cold makes me cranky.
I love my warm, sunny Mexico.
Seems like God likes to show me visuals of where I fail.
I learn like a child.

I am at a place here in our ministry that seems cold and uncomfortable at times.
Desolate and quiet.
Like the desire inside of me to "do" wants to bust out of my chest.

I miss our students.
I am anxiously awaiting our team from Oregon.
I feel like I am always busy but never doing anything.

But God drags me up to the beautiful peaks of the Baja to show me that it isn't about me.
He wants me to find joy in every day.
He shows me His Majesty to remind me that my prize is Him.
He has me stand on jagged cliffs overlooking His beautiful Creation to remind me that there is beauty in everything He has made.
And this is the day that the Lord has made.
There is beauty in it.
Even though I spent all day doing schoolwork with my kids, and staring outside at the half-grey skies of the desert wondering when I will have a day to work in my garden, all the while neglecting the fact that it would be the perfect opportunity to clean my grungy house.

So I wait.
For our team from Oregon.
For my husbands family to visit.
For our Semana Santa Event.
For whatever God sends my way.....

Running the race

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb. 12-1-2

We are all running a race. You know. Some win theirs, and some don't.
Luke tells us to run ours like we want to win it! For the prize is heaven!
Everyday I pray that God would bring glory to Himself in all that I do. Everyday. I mean that.
Not in like a "Ya, hon, I'm praying for you..." kinda way.
More like in a "Seriously, Lord... I disgust myself when I act out in pride and selfishness... please purify me!" kind of way. But I am so easily ensnared.
The deeper I get into the Word, and the more I beg the Lord to teach me to be humble- the more clearly He shows me that it is impossible. He shows me that if I were able to become humble, and to have a true servant's heart in EVERYTHING I do- then I wouldn't need Him.
I need to be asking him to guide me, in His spirit, to be humble. If I were listening to the Spirit every minute of the day, then I wouldn't be falling into discontentment and pride.

My race is crazy hectic. Almost all of the time.
It's like those races you see on TV where 12,000 people all crowd together and the gun fires and people end up getting trampled.
And man oh man do I love it. Almost all of the time.

But there are those times when I get so tired.....
I feel like I hit the wall so hard.....
Like the last 50 meters of the 200.
Because that isn't an endurance race-- it's a sprint.
You are all out for the whole thing.
And just as you round the last loooooonnnnnnggggg corner to the finishline,
you feel like your legs turned to wet noodles, and your lungs are actually going to implode, and you start to wonder "Why the heck did I sign up for this again???"
It isn't the race that lasts for hours- but only seconds... but then you have to get ready for the next heat. And much of the time is spent in preparation. All for but 20 some seconds of action.
But after that 20 some seconds, you feel like you could sleep for days....

I feel like that right now.
I am pretty tired.
I want to have time to do things for myself once in awhile.
Maybe hang out with a friend, or go see a movie.
Have all of my girls around so we can go get coffee.
Run off for a day and do nothing.

But isn't our God great?
He never gives me more than I can handle.
He always calms my heart when I think it will just burst.
He reminds me of my prize, and of my blessings.
He reminds me how much I love this place, and the job that I do, and the people
that I serve with. And He reminds me that I asked for it.
This is the desire of my heart- to serve Him day in and day out- and He gave it to me.

So this week I am making it a point to lay aside every weight,
and to reach out and hand off my baton to my Lord.
And with it, the troubles in my heart, the wants in my soul, and the discontentment that I let creep in. I have all that I want, and all that I need, and in time He will provide for me everything that He has for me. Other people around me are running a different race. They have their own rules, their own prize, and their own judge.
Just like coach Jerry used to say: "Always look up, never to the side, never back- and run through the line."

Be blessed friends.

><> Shae

Copycat-er

Well....... since everyone else is doing it.......

I have been working on a food/daily life blog as per the nudging of several friends.

A place to post the recipies that I use, or invent, and a place to write as myself, on a slightly less professional level, about the things that I enjoy.

I haven't gotten around to actually publishing it -- partly because I can't even keep up with this blog, and partly because I was writing it over on Tumblr, and, turns out: Tumblr is lousey.

Since I live 20 feet away from my best friend, and partner in Crazy- and SHE decided to post HER food/daily life blog- I am going to copy her :-D

So tune in for a glimpse into our life as Mothers, Wives, Teachers, Creators, Concoctors (is that a word?), and Dwellers in a foreign land.

Fair warning: We aren't normal.

Mem's blog is over at http://www.everyday-oddities.blogspot.com/
Mine is here: http://www.onmywaytozion.blogspot.com/

Have fun!

><> Shae

October

Well we just got back from our biannual visit to Oregon. It had been 6 months since the kids had seen any grandparents, so you can imagine how excited they were to go! We are lucky to live so close to the States, and to be able to visit twice a year.

Oregon was cold. Very cold.

Strange to be acclimated to Mexico and go to Oregon in all of it's Autumn glory. Lows in the 30's, highs in the 40's. Slightly different than highs in the 80's or 90's, and lows around 60.

And rain. We actually missed the first rain at home. It hadn't rained in 5 months, and it rained good while we were gone. But we experienced our share in Roseburg, so no worries ;-)

Nonetheless, we had a good visit, got to spend time with many of you, and are now back home and expecting guests tomorrow.

We had a group come in October to do some work projects. We had a leaking roof on the Frosland's side of the Triplex which got re-roofed. We had a mess of a garden that needed some serious TLC, and thanks to Polly and Charlie that is mostly done too. We are almost ready to plant winter veggies! yay! :)

The group was here for a week, and they left the same day that we did for Oregon.

While we were gone, Luis left for Cuba with Travis and Noe. Ryan took Nate to LA today to fly to Uganda.

And just like that- we went from 16 to 7.

And tomorrow we will be back to 13.

{Ryan's Uncle and Aunt and cousins will be here for the weekend from San Diego, and we are being blessed with a week-long visit from Mike and Marlena from Oregon!}

That is my little wrap-up for now-- I will be writing a slightly more personal post soon.

Here is a photo of the "Fruit of Our Labor" ;-)

Glory to God! We are Blessed!

Summer Work Project

Starting in June, we set up a work program with Lance and Maricela and the kids from Valle de Guadalupe. The kids were no longer in school, and so they had lots of free time {which can be a bad thing } and they are always game to get out of the Valley for a day. It is generally 10 degrees cooler here at the ranch than it is in Guadalupe.
The goal was to teach the kids that giving is a heart thing- and just because you give, doesn't me you will always receive. They were also learning work ethic, responsability, and everyday trade lessons like gardening, planting, cement work and landscaping.
The girls came each Wednesday, and the boys each Friday. They came in groups of 4-6 so that they got more one on one time with us. Lance and Maricela would pick them all up in the morning, then be to the Ranch around 9:00 am. They would have breakfast or a snack and some Ovaltine and then do a short devotion. Then we would work until lunch, share a meal, then work or play for a couple more hours.
We had a great summer, we learned a lot of Spanish. We built relationships with the kids, and also got in lots of time with Lance and Maricela. I was really blessed to be a part of the project, and when it ended at the end of August, I was sad that I wouldn't be seeing everyone so often anymore. We had a big finale party for the kids one Saturday to celebrate the hard work that they had done. We had a hot dog lunch, swam in the pool, and played feild games. They had a blast, and so did we!
I have lots of photos from the summer, and I promise I will share them as soon as I can get a chance to upload them.

Bringing you up to speed....

OK-- here I am, trying to update the ol' blog again, and I see that I am months behind as usual.


It really is hard for me to sit down inside for very long, and now that we have started school, I have, like, negative amounts of "freetime" { Is there even such a thing for Moms??}.





So let me wrap up the summer:





In August we had three Interns: Kayla, Isaiah, and Josh.


The boys are 17, and Kayla is 18.


These kids worked their butts off this summer, and I can't thank them enough for making our summer amazing and fresh and fun and productive and anything but boring! The guys worked on our drain ditch/canal, and did landscaping and basic up-keep. Kayla and i canned a butt-load of stuff, picked, weeded, watered, and tended the garden, and cooked and cleaned. We all got in lots of kid time with Lance and Maricela's kids, and we went to the beach whenever we got a chance. The boys filmed a movie, and I can't wait until you all get to see it-- Isaiah is a Pro!





Let me just give you a bit of my heart on each of these kids.





Isaiah. Oh Isaiah.


You must be one of the most energetic humans on Earth. You can put away more food than a football team. You can cover more ground, and shovel more gravel than anything that weighs a mere 120 lbs should ever be able to. You should actually be legally considered a Gecko, because humans can't climb virtical structures like you can. You have a smile {and a laugh!!!} that makes everyone around you happy. You are polite, respectful, kind, considerate, and loving. You LOVE the Father- and it shows. You must have some pretty awesome parents ;-).


I'll have a dorm and a banana here for you anytime brother.





Josh.


You are a fountain of information {or maybe more like a sponge!}. I don't know how you can keep so many movie lines, song lyrics, and details of life events in your memory like you do- but I wish I had that gift! You don't like beans, or potatoes, and that is just abnormal. But normal is boring, and that is why I think you and Isaiah are two of the most non-boring people the world has to offer. You clicked with Isaiah like you two had been best friends forever {eventhough you had never even met}. You are one heck of a hard working kid, and i don't think I heard you complain about it ever. You were a blessing to have around, and we are so glad we got to meet you. Come see us again soon-- I'll put the beans on ;-P





Kayla Mae. {Oh great.... I'm already teary and I only typed your name....}


My other sister. My friend. My sidekick.


I love you like you will only know when you are older. God put you in my life two years ago, and I can't even begin to list the ways that you have blessed me. I love your smiley face. I love your crazy hair. I love your willing heart. I never could have had the summer I had, or accomplished all that I did without you. I think I would have killed myself trying, so thank you for helping me :). You are dear to my heart, and dear to my kids. If your parents would let me, I would steal you. If you come back to me, I will even let you wear my clothes. The coffee is always on kid. I'm just waiting.





I hope you all get a bit of my heart for this "Job" that God has bestowed upon me.


There is NO other place that I would rather be.





And that was August.


Photos soon @ Mi Picasa