Life Unplugged

One thing David's parents noticed during their visit is how our girls "do life" without TV and other common distractions we enjoy in the States.

Something I initially viewed as a disadvantage about overseas living is now something I see as a huge blessing. When I first moved here, I felt the ache of not being able to offer our daughters all the opportunities that are available in the States (soccer games, ballet studios, fun movie matinees on Saturdays, etc).

But in the absence of these fun opportunities, our girls truly have undistracted time to invest in each other and in their friends. It's all about relationships. Unhurried time to invest in people.

We don't have any TV channels. We do use our television to watch DVDs but we don't get any channels. And so they play. Read. Create. Go on playdates. Frost cookies. =) The girls can disappear for hours playing house or coloring together. I love it.

Verity especially has found a hobby she loves. She comes from a family of authors. My grandfather and my mother are prolific authors ... it skipped a generation ;) ... and now Verity aspires to be an author. She churns out those stories! David found her early one morning still in her pajamas and starting on a new story (check out the sunrise behind her!)
God has blessed us with wonderful friends in this city. We may not have a movie theater we can go to but we do have a Botanical Garden! One Saturday morning, our friends invited us to an impromptu picnic there and we enjoyed the simple pleasures of life: friends, food, nature.
I come from a family who loves classical music. My mom always talked about how her father loved it and she passed on that love to me. I grew up playing a few instruments (piano, violin & flute) and wanted our girls to learn to play an instrument as well. Here is Annalise during her first lesson with Olga, our piano teacher.
One of my favorite verses is John 10:10. I love that Christ came to not only give us life ... but to give us an abundant life. We do enjoy our life here. We thank Him for all the simple pleasures ... like this sunset as seen from our balcony. Life unplugged.