Life these days having us just getting settled. I forgot to mention in my last post that it takes 7-10 days to get what you purchased from Ikea. So we are pretty much furniture-less (we have a table and a bed in our room). We will have a little celebration I'm sure when we get all that stuff in, but in the meantime it gives us one more reason to go with the flow and be patient. We are quickly learning if you lack patience things will not be enjoyable here as life just takes longer. Great opportunities for growth for impatient people like myself :) We are much more comfortable than we were just 2 weeks ago landing here in our city, wide-eyed and absorbing the unfamililar. We are more familiar with those unknown grocery labels, we know how to hail a taxi now (just have to be prepared to know how to say where we want to go and NOT in English!), getting to see some of the same faces as we go about life: market trips, getting water, grocery stops, taxis. I have what I like to call "alien moments" where I look around and cannot believe I live here (in a good way). I know this will most likely wear off at some point, so for now I'm glad to just see the glass as half full.
Our place is great, full of natural light and open. We love our location, across from a small grocery store and next to a bakery that sells western style breads with chairs to sit in. It's the new place for "daddy dates". Here's the view from our from window on a somewhat clear day. That means maybe 2x a week we get to see the string of islands, you can't see but two in this photo but as I sit looking right now I can count 7 including a few tiny ones - it's amazingly clear this morning. I can see small fishing boats moving around. It can get hazy or foggy here quickly. We can always see the shore but not always those beautiful islands out there. Those are apt.'s to the left, there are just tons of those high rises around us, we are in one of them. That also boggles my mind... so different from where we last called "home".
Here's my newest sidekick: my oven. It's like a little bigger than a toaster oven but it sits on your counter and fits a small 9x13 without handles. Cooking is going better and better. I just have to think through cooking a lot since I'm not always sure what I can get or not or if I need to make something from scratch (like bbq sauce, tortillas or maple syrup). A small freezer we bought from friends is going to come in handy so I can cook in bulk and freeze things to use in recipes.
We had a local friend over to show me how to make a few things. Our first local meal in our home. We love the food here! My kids have done amazing with the food too. Having had the rule of making them eat what mommy makes has it's benefits living here. They have not been picky - what a mercy.
Here's a shot of Job. The only semi-good one I had. He's doing great here. He loves the people here and practices the new words he's learned all the time. He's really a social, bold personality which has been good here. I am so blessed to be this boy's mom and give thanks specifically for the way this little one has been made. He's a leader for sure. I hope he grows to LOVE this place. 
Here's Phin. He's so quirky this one. The other night he asked me "mom, how do the covers get off of you at night when you sleep? Do they crawl off of your legs?" He's doing well here too, loves people watching out of our windows and notices details about things here. I love that. 
Felicity - her name encompasses it all. She is so happy, wherever she is. She goes with the flow and has done amazing sleeping on her bedroom floor while her bed gets built, eating new foods, missing naps. This one is a go with the flow girl. Always singing, currently wearing the ballerina outfit you see below. The locals here LOVE her. They say she's incredibly beautiful and ask if she looks like mom or dad (what do you think:)?
