I am tired!

I am tired. It is a good kind of tired in a lot of ways, but it is still tired. We are almost 3 weeks into our new way of life. Overall, things have been going so much better than I thought they would. There are moments, sometimes whole days, where I tell Darin I am packing up and heading back across the road with or without him and the kids. I vent my frustrations and troubles to a few friends and family and they remind me that change is always hard and it will take time to find a new rhythm. I try to remind myself of this when I feel like screaming and throwing things (like small children who want to constantly say “NO, AUNTIE JONNA”. Only kidding.)

I am learning new things each day. I have learned that peeling and cubing a medium sized butternut squash is infinitely easier than peeling and cubing a large butternut. I have learned that I can make meals for 10 or more people and they actually turn out. Yesterday I learned that chili powder here in South Africa is a bit hotter than the chili powder I used in the states, so hopefully my chili won’t be fiery hot the next time around! I have learned that little children need a lot of love and attention and an extra dose of patience, especially little ones who have experienced a lot of changes in a short amount of time. I’ve learned that it isn’t easy to juggle a marriage and the raising of our own two kids in the midst of the chaos that is now our life. This is something that our little family needs to figure out and we’d appreciate your prayers while we do so.

It has been unusually hot here over the past week, like crazy, uncomfortable, makes me feel queasy in my stomach hot. The heat is making all of us tired and a little grumpy. Darin said the heat is supposed to end tomorrow, which will be something we can be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day. Another thing I will be thankful for is not having to cook! Mama Joye is going to be cooking a meal for us tomorrow, something a bit more African than we are used to. I also don’t have to cook on Saturday as my friend Athena and her family are preparing Thanksgiving supper for the whole TYB family. Wow. Good thing she loves to cook : ) (As of this evening, it isn’t hot anymore. A rainstorm came through and cooled things down. I am sitting in the playroom with the doors and windows open just enjoying the feel of a cool breeze and no mosquitoes!)

Darin was out today, but arrived home with 2 sets of bunk beds. Tyson and Jori will be thrilled as I’ve told them no more stuff from the old house until the bunk beds are set up and there is more room for them to play. It will be especially nice for Tyson as he’s been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for the last couple weeks. (Tried putting the bunks into the T and J’s room this afternoon only to find out they won’t fit through the door. At all. Now both kids are on the floor as I already moved the other bed out.)

So, we are settling in, but there is still much to be done and a lot of details to figure out. Please keep us in your prayers and by us, I mean the whole lot of us living on this farm. We all need to learn the dance of the give and take, learning when we need to bend and when we need to hold firm. This is true of kids and adults and as with all things, it takes time and a bit of trial and error. For someone who likes to live a pretty orderly life, the constant changing and unknowns is  a bit distressing, but I’m learning to go with the flow.