San Diego Adventures

Since we've been in San Diego we've marveled a lot -
at the palm trees growing in the middle of desert bushes
at how quickly our children adjust to new places
at the beauty of the Pacific ocean
at how cold that same ocean is
at the "Pirate Ship" at the Marina that Alex wants to claim his very own
at the dropped jaw of Maya and Alex as they watch Shamu the killer whale make a jump
at the huge kites at Seaport Village
at Jack's giggles as his feet splash in the water for the first time
at the great (did I say great!) food at J Wok
at how nothing beats riding a tractor or a pony...or just the fun you can have on a farm!
at new friendships
at missing old friendships
at God's gracious providence
at how I really, really need my right thumb (yeah, well, I thought I didn't till I couldn't use it any more for a while due to an injury....what can I say, I learn the hard way and Chris usually gets to say, "I told you so!".....
and at how quickly time goes by.

Indeed we are "but a breath" like the Psalms have told me over and over again. But our moments here in San Diego will be like the rocks and seashells we've collected on it's beaches - beautiful, meaningful, and worth taking along with us.

Next stop: Augusta, GA! The main attraction there per our kids - THE DOGS - Titus and Gilmore! Alex wants to "wrestle with Titus".....we'll keep you posted on how that one goes....

A cork on the river of God's Providence

There are those moments every so often that all of us get an ache that if we don't distract ourselves quickly will become quite painful. The ache questions and doubts and wanders....
Did I make the right decisions? What would my life look like if I had just taken that turn instead of the one I chose? Would it have made a difference?
One can be left to count their mistakes, thinking of what the 'other life' might have been...

Those moments for me are not an issue of contentment but an issue of homesickness and longing: longing to sit by the edge of the Adriatic and look out at a sunset, the longing to walk the streets of Rovinj in the mid-afternoon bustle, the longing to have coffee at a bar overlooking fishermen coming back from a night's work or cleaning their nets as the sun slowly creeps up on my face, the longing to be there for important events in my family's lives, the longing to enjoy a good Istrian pizza bite by bite, the longing to laugh with old friends...

Longings - how good of God to give us this little ache that reminds us that we were not made for this world, but that our true home is yet awaiting us. In the meantime, the way I've come to look at my life is what a friend called "A cork on the river of God's Providence." It might take unexpected turns and where we would have turned right it turned us left, but His good and loving hand always guides, always protects, always blesses.

I look around me and I see an amazing husband who loves me and thinks I'm amazing despite of all my shortcomings, 3 children who make me laugh more than ever before and bring constant joy to my heart, a community of friends and family who are committed to help me grow and learn and who are with me no matter what, and a God whose presence never leaves me.

In my melancholy moments though as I learn to let the river of God's Providence lead me, Oliver Dragojevic always knows how to minister to my heart :)

Always learning.....patience

How does 45 minutes on hold sound? How about twice in one day? How about nothing is acomplished after all the holding??? It seems that customer service is a thing of yesterday and has been replaced with mediocre music and enthusiastic voices not telling you really why you should remain on the line, even though your call is important to them and it might be recorded for quality assurance purposes....well, I guess if there was a conversation to be recorded that would be possible, but alas!

So as I have spent all my free time today on hold, I have (yet again) a choice to make: will I be angry and in my imaginary world have a confrontation with whoever should be answering my call, or do I consider it a gift from the Lord and a chance to think, pray, collect my thoughts or just let my brain rest??? I confess that the former comes naturally and the latter is quite a challenge. I'd love to have patience enough to be aware of life's fleeting little moments that could count but I squander them in worry, anger, busyness. Good news is: I keep learning...sometimes is the same lesson over and over again, but I'm thankful that growth comes a bit at the time.

Speaking of growth, Jack is 6 weeks old now and a full 10 lbs. 4 oz. and doing well. I say doing well as he's been crying and unable to settle for the past 3 hours...another lesson in patience maybe????