Caleb's first swim meet

Caleb had his first competitive swim meet a few months back, but I am finally getting to look at the pictures.  Caleb did really well for how young he was and because he has just started to swim well just this year.  It was a fun event to participate and it brought back memories when I (Tyler) was in Africa and competed in school swim meets.

 "Are we done yet?!?" ...and we have only just sat down

Caleb getting ready for his first heat, the backstroke

He did really well on his first heat and place 3rd, good enough to compete the next day

Starting the semi finals. Get ready...

 ...and they are off!

 We are so proud of you Caleb!

Parents filling the stands at the pool we regularly frequent 

Caleb did a great job, although he didn't place he gave it his all

  Who doesn't like donuts?!?

All smiles

Kampoeng Kopi Banaran

Kampoeng Kopi Banaran is a local coffee and cocoa plantation just outside of Salatiga.  It is almost like a small amusement park (not really anything like in the USA) with small rides, playground equipment, flying fox zipline, swim pool and coffee restaurant.  We had a few days off from language school so we decided to go with some friends and spend the morning there.  It was a fun time just to go to another place even though we were a little of the "attraction" because we are foreigners.

 Sharing a iced coffee with our friend Mariette

 Had the Wolff family join us too

Fun under the sun...no wait, shade!

Aaron having fun on the "flying fox"

Indonesian school field trip and they tried not to stare at us :)

Kids playing on the merry-go-round

Photo op moment

Sibling love

 Coffee berries just starting to grow along the stem, they should be turning red

around August and then harvested

One of the lookout points for "Lake Pening" a shallow lake just on the outskirts of Salatiga

 Kids are ready to take a tour of the coffee fields

 Still smiling after a bumpy ride of the mountain

 Then it started to pour like it usually does in rainy season here

Taking a little ride in the jeep

 We saw some coco trees too with cocoa pods already starting to show.  I didn't know they grew their own chocolate here

 Loosely translated means: "Drink coffee before playing sports can help women 'burn weakness or fat?' 31 percent more."  We saw some other really funny signs along these lines but I couldn't get a good clear picture of them.  Some of them said that coffee helps reduce cancer and have other  amazing health qualities.  So I should be living a long, 31-percent-fat-burning life, right? 

Walk through of our Tarakan House

While I was in Tarakan to unload our container and our crates into our house, I was able to do a late night walk through to help show you what it looks like.

Packing out!

We still may have around 2 months (give or take) to live in Salatiga, but we chose this week to officially pack and send all our furniture, appliances, and other belongings in a large shipping container to Tarakan.  In sending the container early, we are hoping it will get there in a couple of weeks so that I can make a quick 5 day trip to Tarakan to set up our house as much as I can before our family actually moves there.  This will be a big help as we transition with little kids and a brand new baby!  We are thankful we got all the packing done now and we can "breathe" a little before the next big thing...our baby girl arriving in May! Here is a quick look at the two days of packing, transporting, and packing again looks like.

Packing Day

Our front room with dissembled furniture

 Most of our furniture is wrapped in cardboard to help protect it from the long journey

 Having dinner while our couch takes a rest after being wrapped in plastic

 A bunch of teammates and friends came to help load items in a "truck" and transport them to the loading area.

 Almost all our earthly possessions are here

 View of our front yard with all our stuff

 View from our garage looking to the street

 Have curious and helpful neighbors come to see what this "orang asing" (me) is doing 

 Almost the last load for the day

Container Day

 We started at 6am with donuts and coffee

At least this guy came with a smile...

 We sat around yelling over the passing traffic and enjoying hot coffee and donuts while we waited for the container to arrive

At least it is nice and cool at this hour

 Here is one more helper!

And here is our container

 All nice and empty...and mostly clean

 Ok, no more donuts. Time to work them off

 First item is our chest of drawers

 It was heavy, I think that is why I was taking pictures of it instead of lifting ;)

 Things are coming along rather nicely, everything fitting in

 Almost half way done...

 But still a lot of stuff to fit in the container

 ...and more stuff.  Goodness who thought this was going to be easy?!?

 This is the part where I was getting a little nervous about items not being able to fit

 BUT it all fit!  We were even able to close the doors without having to take a running start

 See you in Tarakan!

1 Year and Counting

Sunset view of the mountains we live near by.

Well, we made it a year.  Technically, we've now lived in Indonesia one year and a month, if you count our first attempt to get here before we returned to America because of Tyler's knee injury.

This might sound strange to those of you in America, but probably not to anyone who's lived overseas before.  I think it's taken me this entire first year to finally accept that I now live in Indonesia.  Maybe because we had a rough start the first time, and then had so many difficult circumstances when we returned, I think a small part of me kept wondering, "how long til we go back?  Will I ever be able to move on and start living like this is our new home now?"  Of course, we still haven't even moved to our flight base location.  Once we get there, I know I will have to process and transition through this all over again, but maybe, just maybe, it will be a teeny bit easier the second time.  I told some friends the other day that I finally feel like I can say, "I live here.  In Indonesia." 

Now even though I can say that and accept it, there is still a lot about Indonesia that I am coming to accept and understand.  I'm sure it would take a lifetime here to have a very deep understanding of all of the inner workings of this 3rd-world country.  I also feel like I have only begun to experience and take in more of this culture in the last few months.  Quite honestly, our circumstances in our first 9 months of living here have always trumped dealing with Indonesian culture. But now our circumstances and situation have changed and we are able to focus and take in the culture. We can now experience more of the culture and relationships here with more openness and understanding.

One of the things I am most thankful for is the returning of a feeling of normalcy.  I am finally done with language school, and am able to be "mom" full time again.  Our family has a familiar rhythm now, and that feels really good.  I can enjoy the opportunities to bless others around me, and just be part of my kids growth and learning.

Our 3 growing "kiddos"

I have had to let go of some things, too (well, a lot of things, really....but here are just a few). I always imagined how hard it could be to raise my kids in a place where we don't have the same opportunities that I had growing up.  I wanted my kids to experience the same things I got to as a kid.  I wanted them to have the same opportunities to be involved with different things.  Unfortunately, there are limited options here, and even more limited once we leave for our base in Tarakan.  It is definitely a loss to me, but God is graciously teaching me that raising a family and training your kids isn't about what opportunities they have and being a part of Awana club, Sunday School programs, band, and sports.  I love those things and will miss those things for my kids, but God is continuing to teach me that He gives us everything we need for life and godliness.  Those other things can be good and used as tools but God will equip us to prepare our kids for life if we are faithful to follow Him with our hearts.  My kids are still little, and it does not take a lot to create fun and special family memories.  All these things I'm learning now will continue to be a part of how I process life in Indonesia, raising a family here, what is really important for them to experience, and will probably change for me as the kids get older too.

Building a rock dam in a small creek.

For now, taking one day at a time is the best.  Borrowing worries from tomorrow doesn't help with today.  In another year I'm sure I'll have a plateful of new lessons learned, new good experiences, not-so-good experiences, blessings seen, trials endured, and things suffered.  It is messy and uncomfortable sifting through life sometimes, but my heart is more burdened for those who have to do that without knowing the Lord.  He truly is the only Rock and stronghold we have in life.

Renae's Graduation of Language School

 School photo of graduates (well, expect for Tyler. He gets to study some more) 

Just this past week we celebrated with our language teachers, Renae's graduation from IMLAC (the name of our language school).  Usually when a student graduates they host a meal for the teachers over lunch and celebrate together their accomplishment.  We found out that the teachers really like KFC (yep same KFC as in America except they have rice instead of potatoes) so we decided to order that for lunch.

I (Tyler) was tasked with getting the food and completing preparations, so I hopped on my very "manly" scooter and meandered about till I found the place.  Usually KFC is packed but it was a few hours before lunch time so there were only a few people about the place.  I asked if I could order food for tomorrow and was directed to sit down.  At first I was confused why I couldn't just order from the register and then just leave, but I am coming to understand they do things a little differently here.  One of the delivery guys walked up to me and we started talking about what food I wanted and the quantity.  After discussing numbers, prices and when and where, I was finally able to communicate that I needed the food to be delivered to the school at 11:30 the NEXT day.  I say "NEXT" day because somehow he thought this order was for today instead of the following day.  Maybe I was speaking Indonesian with such a heavy Spanish accent that I was unbearable to listen to.  Ok, maybe not, but it is good to confirm things at least 3 or 4 times before you walk away from a store.  So, all in all I would say that I was able to communicate what needed to be said and the food arrived on time at the school.

The pelatih's (language teachers or coaches) enjoyed the meal and we had a good time of fellowshipping over crispy chicken, rice and soda.

Gathered around the table in the school's kitchen.

 Our banquet spread of KFC chicken and rice!

 All smiles about the food