Testing, testing...

After a long hiatus from blogging, we're back. (Guess we'll see if anyone missed us!)

The glow of our (fancy, new, straight-from-Thailand) mosquito zapping machine peeks into the office as I sit down to type. I consider myself an all-star sleeper, but I am routinely awakened these days by the buzzing of mosquitoes in my ear. The quickest way to alleviate the nuisance is to put your head under the covers. If you don't mind getting out of bed, you can turn on the fan (it's finally cool enough we don't have to have it on). But if you're really thinking ahead you can pre-treat your room with a healthy dose of the mosquito zapping machine.

Nathan and I were discussing the prevalence of termites right now. And I asked him,
"Nathan, do you know what termites like to eat?"
"Yes!" he said, "They like to eat wood and then it comes out their bottoms as dirt."
So there you have it. Unbeknownst to me, he had already been thoroughly educated regarding termites.

Noelle was rather upset this morning while playing as she tried to set up the table for tea. Esther wanted to take one of the plates and she didn't have enough cups. I took some of our melamine tea cups from the kitchen and brought them to her. Then she busily continued. Four saucers. Four cups. Four cushions on the floor to sit on. But she wasn't satisfied. Of course, those having tea would need some kind of activity. And, according to what she knows, she chose books. She covered every inch of the table, that didn't have cups and saucers, with books. Finally she was happy. Her little nest was arranged. (I have no idea where she got to be so particular.) How incredible that one so small would both desire for and know what it means (even in small ways) to make a home.

My own journey during this time has brought me time and again to the fundamental nature of "home". You can't fully appreciate the need for it or the loftiness of the goal until you are removed from much of what "home" has been for your whole life. At another's recommendation, I read For the Family's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. Excellent and inspiring. Though many have asked if I will be working at the hospital here, I have a different calling in life right now. I am a home-maker. By trial and error and with a grateful heart for the good insights I've received from others, I am learning what it means to be the creator of "home" for our family. It's a crazy, fun, sometimes overwhelming, wonderful role and some day I might have time for something in addition to that - but not now.