The past 4 months since we've started our business have been stretching in ways I never knew possible. The learning curve has been incredibly steep. We settled into some kind of a new normal and were getting used to our life somewhat. Besides running this business, I was also taking two online courses which further added to the daily stress. I knew that May 8th was in sight and I'd be getting a break so I pushed through. I cannot tell you what a relief it was to get on the plane Tuesday morning and fly away from everything for a 3-week pause. During that last week, besides keeping up with the daily grind at the Family Place, I had 2 huge final papers to write and we moved houses! By the time we left Tuesday, everything was unpacked and in its' place. The Lord provided us with a beautiful large house up on a hill overlooking the city that will allow us to host our large team that will be arriving in August. We'll give one of them our old house as it was also a very nice house. A wonderful young couple agreed to move into our center and take over running the business for these 3 weeks while we're gone. Hopefully they, along with Liz (our 3-month intern)will be able to keep all the balls in the air while we're gone. It's a LOT of work! For now, I'm trying to forget about all that and enjoy every minute here in the US with my kids and next week, our new teammates. It has been pure bliss spending hours with my daughter, shopping, pedicures, Chipotle, Olive Garden, etc. etc. Tomorrow she will graduate with a Master's in Clinical Counseling and I am so proud of her accomplishment! Today we will be joining the Phenicie family and scattering Mom's ashes in the park where she loved to go as a child. I'm sure it will be very emotional as we haven't had time to grieve her passing. Darrell will be giving an overview of her life and a challenge to the rest of the family, most of whom are not saved. In the evening, we'll be staying at a Bed & Breakfast run by our dear friends Bruce & Eva and spending a wonderful time with them, I'm sure! Next week we spend in Wheaton, getting to know our new teammates and spending time together. The final week will be vacation time and we look forward to just hanging out with our boys for a few days! God was very kind to give us this break and I know after 3 weeks, we'll be ready to dive back in! At least I won't have online courses to deal with on top of everything else. ***We have one really important need at the FP next year. We need someone to raise their own funds and come teach at the preschool for at least 6 months but preferably a year. Some of our new team members will help out but we need a fulltime person who will be the main teacher. The preschool is run in English and there are about 15 children, ages 3-5. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact us via email and we'll give you lots more details. Here's one of our preschool kids who should really be our poster child. Her name is Jemima and she's British. She took finger-painting to a new level:)
