The Latest….

I know our families love it when I just ramble about life here….so forgive me if you like the drama, because this post is just the day-in-day-out stuff.

Andrew has now survived a month in braces and to see his teeth in just one month, you would have a hard time believing this is the same mouth.  For over 3 years now he has either not had a front tooth or it has not come fully down.  In just this short period of having braces, the tooth has come into place.  Andrew has the joys of dealing with an expander and head gear also.  Orthodontics is being accomplished by flying to Jakarta (a 6-8 hour flight) 7 times a year.  However you look at the journey it will take at least a full 24 hours if not 36.  You can ponder that the next time your driving the kids to the orthodontist! : )  We are grateful that we found help and are hopeful that in the not to distant future a qualified orthodontist will move to Papua.  Because there are three more Boyd children needing orthodontic work!  Some will have to wait.

Darron is gone on a 10 day journey.  Groan.  Most of the time I can just put him in a little mental box and keep him there, staying busy.  This time, he kept popping out of the box and I couldn’t keep him contained.  Sorry I know that is a crazy analogy, but it is reality.  So it has been a loooooooooong 10 days.  I sent him a text asking if he liked me strong and independent or needy and whiny.  He answered very safely.  “I like you just the way you are.”  He had a wise mother, who taught him well! : )  Or maybe it was his two sisters?!  This trip was two fold….first to explore the validity in starting a boat ministry and second……I have no idea! : )  I can’t keep up with him and the four boys.

 

 

Darron on his 41st birthday….eating his favorite, English Trifle. : )

 

 

Perhaps why I have struggled more with Darron’s trip is I am also about to embark on a trip which means the total amount of days that Darron and I are together in February, is 6.  Eek!  I am going to Chiang Mai, Thailand for a 10 day medical conference for continuing education.  Last summer in America I listened to over 80 hours of lectures on line at every home where there was internet.  Somehow it didn’t exactly seem restful or conducive to visiting family while cramming in lectures.  So we decided that I would not do that again.  This conference I am attending happens every 2 years and is the place where many doctors and nurses who are serving in Asia, come and get their certifications updated.  I am meeting our Dr. from Papua there (she is currently on furlough in America).  I am so excited to go and learn.  Nervous about travelling on my own (spending nights in big cities, etc.).  Part of the next two weeks will be spent stocking the freezer with entries, granola, bread and staples to see the men through the duration of my travels.  Over the Christmas break I drug Aubrey into the kitchen (he gained his dislike for the kitchen from his father’s genes) and taught him all our breakfast recipes.  In the 6 days that Darron and I are together, I need to bring him up to speed on how/what to buy at the market.  And tips to surviving in the kitchen in Papua.  He has no idea!

I think that Princess, our golden retriever, should have puppies around my departure date for Thailand.  To add to the guys fun!  I think they are going to welcome me home…..

We have hired someone who is suppose to be getting all the paper work done on our vehicle so that it is legal.  We have now been driving around illegally for a year.  Crazy.  It has been so long, it almost seems normal.  Scary.

We are having a parking pad and turn around spot cemented in front of our home.  Mainly to cut down on the dirt that is trucked in and out of the house.  No big cement truck comes and pours the concrete, but it is all done by a cement mixer and wheel barrows.

 

 

Everything remains peaceful in Papua and at the aviation strip (at least in comparison to last year). 

I prayed for over 6 months that God would provide a tutor for Jacob, just so he could have someone other then “Mom”.  2 weeks ago, Mrs. Kreans’  entered Jacob’s life.  She is a delightful lady, who LOVES to teach.  By Jacob’s second session with Mrs. Kreans, he loved her.  So even here….God’s hand is not short.

That gives me great comfort.  May you feel His hand extend to you, in your situations.