The ride of our lives

Are what we need and what we want mutually exclusive?
Not always.
The Lord has been teaching us that He always gives us what we need. Not necessarily what we want. However, there are times when what we need is also what we want. And then there are times when what we need becomes what we want.
This has been our story for as long as we can remember. Yet, in the past month plus, God has given us an intensive course in this area.
In January we discovered we are expecting another baby. It was never part of our plan to have another baby after Joel joined our family 18 months ago. Sure, we dreamed of a van full of children years ago; but after three LONG years of infertility and three devastating miscarriages, we were thrilled with three blessings: Katrina, Samuel and Joel.
Apparently, though, The Lord has other plans for our family. It appears that His plan includes filling yet another seat in our van.
Are we thrilled? Absolutely.
Are we surprised? Undoubtedly.
Are we fearful? Yes.
When we were pregnant with Joel I was SO fearful. I remember telling Pancho, "I never want to do this again. N.e.v.e.r." He agreed. Because of some high risk tendencies I have to take a pile of pills each day and get a blood thinner injection each evening.
The Lord has used pregnancy as a vehicle to draw me into a place of deep, deep trust and intimacy. I was so thankful for the 6 opportunities He offered to bring me to this place. But I never imagined He would offer one more "ride" if you will, in this vehicle.
When we saw the double lines on the pregnancy test, our minds and hearts raced to many places. One of the first for me was a conversation I had only 2.5 weeks earlier with a dear friend. I had shared with her that we had always dreamed of having more children but it was clear to us that God was going to use other means to reach us (me, in particular) about trust and fear. She said, "Well, if the Lord wants to work on that area in your life, maybe He will give you more children." I smiled and nodded, believing deep in my heart that the pregnancy vehicle was "out of commission."
You cannot imagine our surprise when we saw those lines appear.
"God gives us what we need, not what we want." This rang in my heart and head. For too long I have believed that these MUST be mutually exclusive. He has used this time to teach me so very much. I love word pictures (vehicle?) and I have always enjoyed the idea that we must keep our hands open, not cling tightly to anything so the Lord can do what He chooses with that which is in our lives. Never, though, have I thought about keeping my hands open so He can place into them what He chooses. This same friend shared this concept that morning in late December. It was a new twist on my open hands word picture and I began to pray that my heart would be prepared for whatever God would place into it take out of my hands as I kept them open (which is a VERY deliberate action for me).
Am I fearful He will "see fit" to take the baby? Yes. However, I am so overwhelmed with the grace and goodness He has extended to me during this 7th "ride" that I choose to trust that He will give me the grace to handle whatever He sees fit to do through this pregnancy.
So, here is an up-to-date family picture. We are 11 weeks along and the baby is the size of a lime!

Cedula Rigamorol

In Venezuela each resident is issued an identification card called a cedula de identidad. Pancho has had one since he was a child and every so often it needs to be renewed.
Pancho's card had expired and he decided that he would have enough time to get it renewed. So, Monday we all piled into the camioneta and headed to a place where these cedulas can be renewed. We got there and began to unload and before we were all out of the camioneta, word came about that this particular office was not open on Mondays.
Typical, we thought. Pancho said, "We will try tomorrow." Joel was furious! He had not even gotten out of the car and we were all getting back in!
Tuesday the kids and I stayed home while Pancho and his mom went. Tuesday they ran into other issues. They tried another location because Monday's spot had a huge line that appeared to not be moving. The new location said they only did cedulas on Mondays. Go figure!
Wednesday arrived and Pancho and his mom left again, with us staying home, and they found the note pictured below.
"We are not working today due to some operations issues. We don't know where you can get the cedula."
Pancho sent me the picture in a text message. All I could do was laugh. Right. Out. Loud.
This is how life works here. Either deal with it or deal with a lot of frustration.
Praise the Lord they heard of a place in another city where he could get it. They went and got the cedula immediately.
We wanted to share that story to give a tiny flavor for what things are like. It's not bad. It's simply different and learning how to take the limones and make them into a delicious limonada is critical!

Loefling

A few days back we decided to go to the local zoo. It is very different than Katrina anticipated, but we all enjoyed it, even the 2+ mile walk in 90 degree weather.
We saw many birds, cheetahs, an alligator and lots of monkeys on the loose. The scenery was breathtaking.

Centro de diversión

We have been to the "fun center" twice during this trip. It's a great indoor park with several bouncy houses and a very large McDonald's-like obstacle course structure, a carousel and a train. Like I said in an earlier post, this kind of thing for children is not lacking here.
The kids love it. It took Joel a bit to feel confident enough to run in the bouncy houses, but once he figured out that he had to balance a bit more, he was set.
Sorry for some blur to the pics. Trying to catch the kids in action is tough with the iPhone!

Horseback riding

We went horseback riding today. Well, Katrina rode. Samuel has been talking about horseback riding for months and when we got there, he froze. He refused to ride, touch or even get close to the horses.
Katrina had a great time riding Rosalinda.

Car seats are a bit different here

There are different laws here when it comes to everything. Car seats and seat belts are not really enforced.
Yesterday, as we left our dinner spot, Joel was enjoying an ice cream cone and was covered in vanilla ice cream. I didn't have any wipes to clean him with so Pancho simply lifted the stroller into the back of the SUV and he rode home buckled into his stroller. Katrina and Samuel thought it was hilarious.

Update

This morning we are enjoying some strawberry juice. Fresh fruit and fresh fruit juice is a commodity here. The first full day we were here I saw a dump truck FULL of watermelons. Unfortunately I didn't have my phone to capture the image!
We had some ideas to make valentines day special for the kids but Katrina had some other ideas. It was a good reminder to me that it is important to love people in THEIR love language. Even if the way might not be the cutest or most creative, if it fills the love tank, it doesn't matter.
And Pancho and I took the car and went to get pizza for the whole family. It was wonderful because while we waited for the pizza to be ready, we had an opportunity to talk and debrief a bit. As much as we enjoy being around everyone all the time, I was surprised at how much we had to say to one another. It was a very good connecting moment.
We are still recovering from the bug that hit the family. Katrina was up during the night with belly and ear aches and I was up early with a belly ache. It appears that the throat issue is lingering in Pancho and me. We head to the beach, to Pancho's grandma's house, on Monday, so we are praying we will be healthy by then. It is a 6-hour drive and the 6-hour drives here are very different than 6-hour drives in the States. I will try to explain how after we go!

Bug

Today several of us have been dealing with a little bug. Stomach, throat and ear pain have been some of the complaints.
It's no fun feeling sick when you're not at home, even if you are at your home away from home.
We are praying that we can all sleep well, like this sweet little man (who everyone notices and smiles at down here because his skin is "so light"), and wake up feeling better tomorrow.

Coco Frio

Katrina had been looking and looking for a coconut tree that she could climb and get a coconut. Pancho had told her that when he was young he used to do that and she thought it sounded fun.
So, on the way home from church on Sunday we stopped on the side of the road and enjoyed a coco frio.
She didn't get to climb the tree but she did get to try the coconut milk, which she didn't care for.
It is pretty neat that you can get all natural juice/milk that quickly. The guy uses a machete to peel back enough of the green coconut shell to make a hole in the flesh and inserts a straw.
Hmmm, tasty.

Parque la Llovizna

Yesterday we ventured to the parque la Llovizna. It is a beautiful park here in po that many people frequent.
I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but some highlights were the monkey (see the picture of Katrina with a timid look), feeding the fish, and the beautiful falls. Another highlight was crossing the diamond rock path through the river. It was quite a feat, to say the least, with three small kids and a stroller (hence the lack of pictures!).
As we stood there watching the water break on the rocks and listening to the very loud sound of it all, I asked Samuel, "Samuel, who made that?" He replied, "God." It was a beautiful piece of creation to behold.