Radical, Crazy Love

Our lifegroup is reading Radical. I haven't finished yet, but enjoyed the read. I'm also reading Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. They're actually kind of similar--both about God's awesomeness and how we should really be totally abandoned to Him... He's worthy of everything, and His amazing love for us assures us that He will take care of us. They also talk about what the Bible really says and whether we take God at His word, or try to explain away certain passages...

Kids got up a while ago; gotta go!

Over the Flu & a Sunny Weekend

Wow, this year we sure did get hit with it... kids had it for about a week. :/ Poor them. Thankfully, they usually felt pretty well in the mornings and after taking their medicine. Then in the evenings they were more uncomfortable.

Now other than runny noses and a little coughing, they are a lot better. Yay!

Friday was BEAUTIFUL and Saturday and Sunday were sunny too. We actually went to the zoo yesterday; Yvelle enjoyed seeing the animals and Josiah (hopefully) was enjoying being outside too.

Javkhaa and I enjoyed the sights but we were hoping the "Asia" section was open; no, we have to wait until April to see the new exhibit, which will have orangutans, some kind of noisy apes, and tigers (from the Cincinnati Zoo), among other animals.

I took the zoo train with Yvelle and she had a blast--she did NOT want to sit on my lap, but wanted to sit in her own spot. She certainly has a mind of her own. ;) Sometimes at school she joins in playing with the children, but other times she just sits on the sidelines with a teacher. I'm not quite sure what that's about but when I ask her, she said she likes to watch and listen...

April will mark 2 big events: Josiah (Bilguunee) will turn 1, and we will have been in Virginia 5 years. Javkhaa is more than ready to be back in Mongolia, and I am fully on board with that. So Lord willing, before Christmas, we will be living back in Ulaanbaatar. Not quite sure how the transition will look, but we are at this point appointees with an organization (Interserve) which sends people to work in their professions in a variety of countries around the world. It seems like a good fit for our bi-cultural family. :)

Appreciate your prayers!

thankful! (and pictures) ^.^

Thanksgiving is almost here and we have a LOT to be thankful for. God is good! Javkhaa starts a new, full-time job on Monday with the School of Government (here at Regent), which is a big answer to prayer. We SO want to come back to Mongolia, but don't have the resources to just pick up an go. So, this job, working with people he greatly respects and admires, is the Lord's provision for us during what we trust is a final season of preparation before he leads us back to the land of milk and mutton. ;)

Yvelle is almost 2 1/2 (going on 15). She makes us laugh every day. As many of you know, Javkhaa has a great sense of humor, and this seems to be rubbing off. ;) Last night as I was buckling her into her carseat, she said w/ a twinkle, "Let's leave Mommy! ...I'm just joking!" (Followed by giggles--this was before Daddy got into the car.) She turns toys into "ice skates" and a stool into a stage. "This is my stage."

Josiah is a smiley, happy boy who loves watching his sister. Her antics start him laughing and there's nothing more refreshing than being with these 2 when they are having fun together. (Of course, there are other times that are a bit more trying...!)

With J's new job, Yvelle is going to start school on Monday. What a big girl! We're still figuring out the logistics: I'd like to send her just for half-days but it would be great if she were there just a little longer into the afternoon. I'm required to work 30 hrs/wk (for benefits--once J gets them we can reevaluate the situation) and so the logistics of that and how many different child-care plans we have (and the various cost of each, plus what is best for the kids) is a puzzle we're still working on.

Met a wonderful couple yesterday who may be able to help us w/ taking care of Josiah... I can't wait till I can be home more with the kids but for now, we're praying for the best situation possible for each of them. And actually, I'm sure Yvelle will thrive in preschool, after she adjusts to the transition.

Next weekend we're visiting our church in Philadelphia. :) It's their annual global conference, and it will be great to see old friends and renew relationships. Tough to make deep connections in such a quick trip, but I'm hoping that the Lord will make the impossible possible. I'm so thankful that Pastor Bruce, Liz and the team there thought of us and invited us to come and be a part of things.

Honestly, as we transition to a new schedule and having Javkhaa working more, I expect there to be some stress simply from the adjustment... however, I really hope and believe that after a couple of weeks, things will settle down and we'll be able to breathe a little more easily. When I think back over the past 5 years, it seriously seems like we've been sprinting a marathon.

(Hmm.)

September, I think, marked our 5th year anniversary of coming to the States. Next month we'll have our 5th year anniversary. Next April will be 5 years that we've been in Virginia Beach. So within the past 5 years (approximately), we moved from one country to another, got married, J completed 2 degrees (in a 2nd language), we've had 3 children, we lost our first son, J's sister Oogii came and lived with us for over a year to study, his dad was with us for 9 months and took wonderful care of Yvelle, Oogii got married, J graduated, dad and Oogii moved away, we moved in with a wonderful couple after leaving student housing (where we are now :), and have become Interserve partners. It's good to look back and recall all the wonderful ways God has supplied our needs through these years.



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i

a little update

happy...sleepy...

turning into a great cook like her aunt oogii!

"i wanna make buuz!!"

egch duu 2

posing!

fun!

welcome to the world of this tired mommy! :) life is good, the kids are great--they're so much fun! yvelle is talking away and tells us exactly what she thinks, especially when she wants something "right now"! ;) josiah is a dear, happy boy who has the sweetest smile and a chuckle that puts a smile on everyone else's face.

since javkhaa graduated in may, we had to move out of student housing in early August. we weren't sure where to go or quite how to plan, since we are hoping to move back to Mongolia (soon, whatever that turns out to mean) and we didn't want to be locked into a year or even a 6 month lease, if such a thing could be found. the Lord put it on my heart and into my head to ask an acquaintance at Regent if we could stay with her and her husband. they had another family with 2 kids live with them about a year ago, and so i just thought it might be possible...

and here we are! it has been a great blessing to us in many ways. moving was an adventure... never moved with kids before. we're so grateful for the babysitting help we had that gave us a little extra time to pack, but even with that, it was down to the wire. without the LATE night help of a few angel-friends, we would have been in trouble. (Lord, please bless all the friends who cleaned, sorted, threw away, gave away, and moved stuff for us!!)

we're about 12-15 minutes from Regent now, so that makes our day a little more complicated than before. i was working in the am, coming home, j was going to work for a while, coming home, and then i was going back to work at the end of the day. that's not so convenient from here.

please pray for J to get a good job! there was one UNDP position he applied for in UB which would have been a good fit, but they didn't have a budget for relocation :/ and it is seeming like they went with someone else.

that's all for now, it's pretty early and i'm fighting a cold so i should go back to bed. :) it's a treat to have the quiet space to post something, though!

Welcoming Enkh-Bilguun Josiah!

Y is now often heard saying: my hold him, my hold him! baby CUTE! my here, no cry, my here. baby siah!

hee hee, oogii is very empathetic! ;)

proud daddy and big sister!

April 14, 8:47 am, 7 lbs 10.5 oz, 20.6 inches

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:) After being without internet for most of the week, we're back online. Thankful!

wow!! it's been far too long...

will try to post an update soon (before baby boy comes on the scene)! ;)

oh man...

wow, just saw how long since i've posted an update. can't write much now but it's one of my resolutions to get this back up to date!! (and before baby boy appears on the scene!) ;)

happy new year, happy mongolian/lunar new year, and happy spring (almost!!)!

becoming human...

To do for yourself the best that you have it in you to do-- to grit your teeth and clench your fists in order to survive the world at its harshest and worst--is by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened up and transformed by the holy power that life itself comes from. You can even prevail on your own. But you cannot become human on your own.

... Frederick Buechner (b. 1926), The Sacred Journey, San
Fransisco: Harper & Row, 1982, p. 46

Yvelle has a cousin! :)

Saruul and Ganaa's daughter, Enkh-Khailuun, was born about 2 weeks ago. What a cutie! I'll try and post a picture of her soon.

Yaasan muuhai huuhit ve! ;)

We're all doing well, though there are never enough hours in the day, it seems, to do all we need to do...

But God is good and life is beautiful.

Love to you all!

all better

well, i thought i'd better give an update... after about 4 or 5 days of fever and a couple days of a rash all over her face, arms and torso (poor baby!), yvelle is back to her perky self! :) and we're all happy with her.

today a big box arrived... i think it's the christmas present from my mom that we'll let her open for her birthday and play with a bit, till we pack it up and save it for christmas. (it's a Fisher Price nativity set--yay!)

looking forward to the big birthday in a couple weeks--the 19th. Hard to believe she'll be one! (Hard to believe that Enkhbeleg would be 2 and a half, too!)

It's HOT here in Virginia Beach but I'm oh so glad for the sunshine.

Take care!