Happy 2nd Birthday Zarah & Keziah!

The week before the birthday celebration another twin mom (whose twins are grown up now) told me that she felt life got a little easier once her twins turned 2 . . . SO HERE WE ARE!  Our lives are about to turn "easy", right?!?  If only life were really that simple.  The truth is we are still in a busy time of everyday learning and growing up.  I want to share with you our family birthday celebration this week.

Having a good time eating their Strawberry Shortcake, opening presents, and going out to Swensens for ice cream.  At this point both girls are excited about cake and ice cream, but when the time comes to eat...not so much into it...are these really my daughters?

 Here are our 2 beautiful daughters!  They are so delightful each in their own special way.  

Please check out my post from last year when the twins turned 1 year old.  It's amazing to see how much they have grown and changed (especially their hair!).  Their personalities are still very different when it comes to food and actions, and now those are just showing up in different ways.  Last year Zarah wouldn't get messy with her cupcake, and now that has evolved into activities like finger painting.  She really gets upset when she gets paint (or anything "messy") on her hands.  Recently I have been working on getting to know their Love Languages, and I think I have found for Keziah she needs physical touch from mommy every so often to be okay.  It is very nice to feel so loved.

As most of you probably know, I didn't grow up with any sisters (now I am truly blessed with 3 wonderful SIL).  Being a mom of 3 girls who are growing up with sisters is a new joy in my life. {insert tears forming in my eyes here}  I love to watch them interact, play, talk to each other, love each other, fight over toys (for now), and giggle together.  From a sisters point of view I probably have no idea what I am doing each day, so I am immensely thankful for the Lord's guidance! What I do know is that there is almost never a dull moment with 3 sisters, and I can say that I am learning to find the FUN!

And this is my life as a Traveling Mother,

Jennifer

I DID IT!...finished a whole book!

I have to be honest, I'm not a big reader.  But about a month ago I checked a book out from the local library and I finished it last night to return it today! That sounds super cheesy, right? ...unfortunately it's just so true.

Okay, so part of the reason for not reading books more might be due to being a mom of 3 girls under 5 years old...yea, that might be part of it.  But I would have to admit that my lack of reading is mostly because I struggle to really enjoy picking up a book.  My brain would much rather watch Survivor...or Mike & Molly...or American Idol...the list goes on.

So by now you are wondering what book I actually read?  It's a book I have been wanting to read for awhile called 'Peace Child' by Don Richardson.  After arriving in Chiang Mai, Don Richardson spoke at the church that we attend here.  I was able to catch a bit of his sermon and was impressed and encouraged by his experience serving God among the Sawi people group.  After finally reading his book, what I take from it is a new hope.  He found the common ground between what the Sawi people had already in their belief system and how God had prepared the way for him to link those beliefs to the Gospel of Jesus.  My hope is to look for this link among those that God puts in my path.  

Not long after hearing Don speak I watched this You Tube video to follow up after the years they had lived there.  It is SO encouraging to many serving in the Kingdom.  Whether you serve God in another country or your home, whether you are serving in missions or serving as a sender of missions; please take 15 minutes to watch this video and be encouraged about what God is doing among people.  

Click HERE to watch "Never the Same: Celebrating 50 Years Since Peace Child" video.

To be honest I am quite thankful that God has not sent our family to live among actual cannibals...right?!?  It can be so hard to be away from family and friends, but this is a great reminder how thankful I am for where we are what we have.

The final words in this video also ring true for me:
"What an incredible privilege it is to join God in His journey to the nations, and it makes me wonder how many people are waiting to experience what the Sawi have experienced"

One last thing...if you could pray for our family to be healthy.  Hope brought a little cold bug home from school and it is gradually working through our family.  It is so weird being sick with a cold when the temperature is 100F!

Thank you for reading and caring for our family.
This is my life as a traveling mother,
Jennifer

New Videos to Share

Last year about this time we unfortunately lost our video camera. It was a great little camera, and after searching through all of our bags and boxes and refusing to give up the search...I had to admit that it was gone.  We have taken a few videos with our regular camera, but they are very bad quality.  Now, thanks to a very "smart" phone, we finally have new videos of the little ones!

Click here to see our girls dancing and singing!

Enjoy!...oh, you may want to turn your speakers down a bit to begin with ;-)