Things are coming together...

My feelings about being 3 weeks away from heading back to the mission field...Wow! Anxiety! Excitement! Apprehension! Anticipation! AAAACCCCKKKK!

yeah

Can you tell I have mixed emotions?! On the one hand, I'm very excited about a new ministry, a new place to live, seeing all of our friends in Mexico again, getting back into full-time missions...on the other, I crave a more simple, stress-free life, I will miss all of my friends here (and I know my kids will miss their friends, too!), I know that there will be plenty of challenges, busyness being one of them...am I ready for all of this?! I am so glad that my sister Chrissy called from Ecuador yesterday (that was a God thing, for sure!) because she was able to impart great wisdom to me (they've been through 2 major ministry shifts recently!). She said that changing to a different field of service can bring up a lot of different emotions, a lot of them negative. She reminded me, however, that feelings are subjective and not necessarily the truth of the situation, so it's good to consciously focus on the positive, the good things and the truth. And this will help the kids transition better as well.

And this will be a huge transition for our family, mostly the fact that Micah and Gracia will be in school and not be homeschooled...we are not used to getting up early and going somewhere every day! I'm sure, though, that once we get into the swing of things, there will be much to appreciate...such as mornings with only 2 kids, being able to give more attention to Jojo and Jkaile, not having the extra work of homeschooling, structure for our family...lots of positives! :)

I sorted through all the kids' clothes today, weeding out the extras, packing their school and winter clothes. I feel like I have accomplished something! I have such a long list of things to do that it's overwhelming and it feels really good to get that done. Maybe that will motivate me to keep chipping away at the list little by little...I really hate that feeling of having so many things to do hovering over my head!

But in general, things are really starting to come together...not only do we have a house waiting for us when we get to Mexico, but they have nearly furnished it for us as well! Thank you, Lord! Our monthly support, while not exactly at the level we'd like to see, is coming along (I'm SO proud of Miguel for working so hard on that!) and we have the money we need for traveling and initial set-up expenses. The kids are enrolled in school and we have the school supply list in hand. It's neat to see how things are working out...they always do so I don't know why I bother to stress....