More Love Than I Knew

I've taken a while to post in the blog, mainly because I've been waiting for something profound or inspiring to share with you all.  The truth is that life in another country is just life.  We've done some really amazing things and each day has beauty and adventure, just like home.

Being a mama abroad doesn't afford time for blog posts and profound insights, and there is also some pressure from you mamas and friends who always wished to travel abroad and are living vicariously through me hoping that somewhere beyond your horizon is something better, more interesting or more important. 

Life in Quito is hard.  It isn't getting easier.  My children, especially Olivia are having a difficult time with school here for whatever reason.  It doesn't really matter, it's hard to support them when it just isn't a good fit.  I feel obligated to help out with my role as a volunteer in the school-but equally obligated to offer rest and comfort to my ninos-especially Olivia who is having her first mean girl experiences and just wants to stay in our home here.  My happy and capable girl cries because she doesn't have friends and really misses home.  She begs me to not go to school. This is completely new and completely overwhelming.

Life in Quito is also thrilling.  The medical care is affordable, my friends generous.  The kids love playing futbol, riding the bus and our weekend adventures.  Gladys and her family have been so kind and helpful and our neighbors offer assistance whenever they can.  We've seen culture, eaten new foods (not guinea pig!) and learned enough Spanish to realize we still need to learn more.  Each day offers a new connection, a new view and most importantly a new realization about ourselves and about people in general.

But really,  traveling this far for this long of time has made me realize what a sweet spot of the world we live in and how special my friends and family are.  It's helped my kids realize that their family, friends, teachers and classmates are in their lives for specific reasons and that they are all so much more important than a new toy or movie.

We are anxious for Clayton to arrive.  His arrival marks a shift in our experience.  We have plans to visit other parts of the country with him.  If our visas are extended, (which is a whole OTHER story!) we have a condo reserved in a small fishing village on the equator.  Olivia will take surfing lessons like she's always wanted and Jack will probably hop up there with her just to find out he's always wanted to know about it too.   Our family will be together and we will "reset" and decide whether the smaller community is a good fit or if coming back to Oregon is what we need.

One small note for those of you who will feel the need to encourage us or to say something to make it all better.  At home, Jack and I collect heart shaped rocks when we're out and about.  If they are small enough, we bring them home and add them to our collection.   When we find them we talk about how much God loves us and consider the hearts to be a love note from Him. We collect a rock every few weeks at home.  Here in Ecuador-it's getting ridiculous how many hearts we encounter.  Daily it's in the double digits-and we've stopped bringing them home because the collection is huge already.  We see hearts everywhere.  In a restaurant the other day-a perfectly good table cloth with a heart burned into it.  On the clean concrete wall, a single graffiti heart.  Yesterday in my soup, a heart shaped cauliflower.  It sounds so silly to you Stateside...I'm sure-but to a mama who is struggling to provide bacon for her kids (literally) and is living in the shadow of an active volcano...the hearts are God telling us it's exactly as it should be...for me in Ecuador-and for you who want desperately for something different than you have. 

So much more love for you than I knew,
Alyssum