Hope

Things are slowly coming together here. We officially have cell phone service in our apartment! What we were told would take 2 weeks, only took 11. The midnight run down our elevator into the alley to get reception will not be missed. And now, I have one less major inconvenience to groan about.

Two days ago it was 102 degrees. So many people were saying that it cools down in October, but I was starting to seriously doubt that. At it's hottest it was a comfortable 95 degrees today, and by the time I jumped into the pool at sundown I was actually cold! It got down to 81 this evening. I've never been so excited for a season change. I am ready to enjoy the 4 months of perfect weather I've been promised.

The last two days have been my lowest to date. I can't tell if it's the realities of culture shock or just awkwardness of figuring out how to be a good housewife that's bugging me. The line of discontentment has been blurry. And I really really hate being discontent.

There have been times when I've gotten overwhelmed in life. Usually it's when I am uncertain about what is going to happen next. This is when I believe God sends specific events just for me for encouragement. I'll call them "I think I'm going to be OK" moments. It is something that happens that doesn't necessarily fix the problem, but it brings about a sense of peace to help navigate through it. I've only had a few moments like this in my life. Things were getting so bad here, he had to send two in one day.

Yesterday while I was waiting for Avery's bus to arrive, I noticed that for the first time I could clearly see the skyscrapers across the corniche. It really looked beautiful. Stunning actually. It was the sort of skyline you would see on a postcard for Miami Beach. The sun was hitting the water at just the right angle to illuminate the buildings in a way that made them appear to be glowing. The palm trees along the walking path in the forefront looked so inviting. I couldn't stop looking at it. I kept thinking, "I stand at this spot everyday, and I've never noticed how beautiful that really is."

Later that evening as Avery and I were swimming, I watched the sun go down over the Gulf. I have never seen such vivid colors of Magenta and Violet. It reminded me of a cheesy sunset I saw on an old 80's T-shirt. Palm trees swaying in the breeze and all. The sunset on the Arabian Sea was so mesmerizing, I watched every moment of it until the last drop of color fell from the sky. Then for the first time since July, I felt cool breeze hitting me off the Sea and I thought, "Maybe this is the turning point. Maybe this could really work."

Of all days to forget my camera.

Culture Shock

"Yes! I am experiencing a little culture shock these days."

Hey Grandma!!! I'm REALLY 6 now.

Avery's birthday.

We had a great time on Avery's birthday. We started the day with a Krispy Kreme breakfast in honor of both his big day and the first day in a month that the restaurants were open during the day. Next, we went to our beach club and had jumbo squirt gun wars and chased eachother down the water slides. Avery and Jason built sandcastles and swam in the ocean, while Ethan and I cooled down poolside. For lunch, we ate in the hotel cafe where Avery was presented with a plain vanilla cupcake, a candle, and the "Birthday" song. Pleased with himself he said, "You know mom, sometimes things that don't look very good taste pretty good." Then it was back to the slides until we were so hungry we couldn't stand it. We ended up picking up Pizza Hut and coming back to our house for Baskin Robbins ice cream, cake, and of course presents. Thank you everyone for the well wishes on his big day. He is definitely 6--in size and in attitude. One week of being six and he's already being teased on the bus for "having a girlfriend." Yikes!

Modernday Superheros!

This is a photo from Avery's birthday breakfast. His number one choice: Krispy Kreme. We knew that we were about to partake in a calorie fest, but we weren't expecting to save countless people from utter destruction. (slight exaggeration) Everybody's seen the Krispy Kreme conveyor belts right? The one where you can see not only the doughnuts being fried in brown oil (the Krispy), but also where they are completely drenched in thick white oozing frosting (the Kreme). Avery was watching the dough slowly expand up and down the conveyor train, splash into the oil and then flip and repeat to the other side. He looked intrigued so I decided to watch along thinking this is the cheepest birthday entertainment ever.

Randomly, Avery asks, "Mom, Why are some of those doughnuts still white?" I look around thinking, "Those raw doughnuts are heading right for the frosting! Where are the employees?" Apparently with automated assembly lines there isn't much oversight. The employees were all scrambling around scrubbing floors and decorating doughnuts. Meanwhile more half raw doughtnuts are being pumped through the assembly line, creeping even closer to making it to the display case. Finally I call out, "Excuse me, I think there is a problem." and I pointed to the line. It was obvious they knew what we were talking about as employees came out from nowhere to fix the sticky problem. They pulled the raw doughnuts off of the conveyor just before they went through the frosting waterfall, and dropped into the decorating table. And to thank the Heros of the Day: Three free doughnuts. Unfortunately we had already eaten ours, so Avery wasn't hungry. Next time I think I will let Jason oblige their gratitude. Three Krispy Kremes is NOT the best way to start out a day at the waterpark!

More on Avery's birthday, including a slideshow to come...

Gooblins, Goblins, and real life Pumpkins.

Ethan may have a future as a face painter. All this mess, and I was the one holding the spoon! He did seem pretty pleased with himself. Carrots, Applesauce, Rice Cereal...it's all the same to him. He gets so excited when he sees his little blue spoon! Last week he weighed in at 17 lbs and 26 1/2". At four and 1/2 months, he's a hearty boy. We are so proud of our little real life pumpkin.