Weeks 4, 5, and 6

Good evening, dear friends!

The other day Michael turned to me and said, "I think I like living in New Zealand." I replied, almost surprising myself, "Me too." We are settling in. We are enjoying a rather different (slower) pace of life here than our typical pace in Memphis. The kids and I have a lot of freedom to bounce from playground to city park, visit the nearby Auckland War Memorial Museum on rainy afternoons, and do a lot of math and writing and reading based on our daily outings. Nova is deep into writing (and drawing) a science journal of baby animals. Isaiah writes thoughtful and insightful reflective responses to the Old Testament lectures he attends of a local Bible scholar (his dad) :). Ames manages to make friends and take care of kids smaller than him at every playground, church event, and everywhere else. Oh, and we also all depend heavily on him to make friends (so we can all get a good look) with the many crabs that scuttle along the beaches at low tide. Jubilee often leads the charge in deciding which park or playground we will populate for the day; her favorite is the "Four Trees Park," (as named by Ames and Isaiah) or Albert Park (as it is locally known). She also has stayed busy honing her tree climbing and fort making skills, and her older siblings enthusiastically join in.

Thank you to many of you for your responses and your prayers. We are generally sleeping much better! In the days immediately after my last post I started sleeping so much better, and I know this is connected to many of you praying for me. Thank you so much. I am feeling much more like myself. I still feel bad at things, slower than I want to be, and like anxiety gets to me in quick bursts unexpectedly and in a big way, but it does all feel more manageable. And the Lord is just so faithful. He is so kind. He brings words to my mind and heart in the hardest moments; one phrase in particular: "Peace, be still." He speaks to storms in the world, and He speaks to the storms in my mind and heart. Thank you for your prayers for us. Please keep praying that we rest in His peace and provision. We are hoping to move soon (to a more permanent place), but are in limbo about exactly when/how this will happen. More on this next time I write I hope!

Here are some of our faves from the last couple of weeks:

Ukelele. Carey Baptist College student union put on a "Christmas in July" fancy lunch, and we were serenaded by Ames and others in a Christmas Ukelele Band.

Jam Time. Many of our evenings finish with the boys and Michael cleaning the kitchen after dinner, the girls and I cleaning the living room, and all of us jamming to raucous music. Often we finish strong with a loud dance and sing party with dad on the guitar, Ames on the ukelele, Isaiah break dancing, and the girls air guitar-ing and ribbon twirling. Surprisingly we have received zero complaints from neighbors.

Sibling Fun. The kids are enjoying being playmates, adventure compatriots, slide race rivals, and school mates. Speaking of school, we are... Reading in trees. Counting ducks for math. Writing cloud journals. Chasing (and missing) the bus coming home from the library. We're having a little fun, I guess. :)

Future member of the Society for Creative Anachronisms. These guys were sword fighting at a local park and Ames got a big kick out hanging out with them (and wielding a sword).

Just a day at the beach. We spend many afternoons at the beach, and occasionally can't resist staying through sunset. One night we left after dark only to turn around and see a gorgeous full moon on the other side of us.

Muriwai Beach. Gannets! These incredible birds mate for life and make home on the edges of cliffs so they can catch the wind and have easy access to great fishing in the ocean. There was a full on pirate cave, and also incredible shadow chasing to be had. Isaiah and I felt sad for a few moments as everyone else ran into the water, but then we were happy to be dry and warm(er) just seconds later. Well... Jubilee looks pretty happy, I suppose.

Trip planning. We are headed to the South Island (Aotearoa New Zealand is mostly made up of two big islands) next week, and Nova helped plan the trip as it is part of the way we are celebrating her 7-year old birthday. 

Much love,

Rebecca for all of us