One Month...

Yesterday, we celebrated one month in Mexico!  It is hard to believe that we have been here that long already.  We have so many blessing to count from this past month.  Thank you so much for your prayers and encouraging emails and messages.

A day at the pyrimids

We have learned so much this month and know that our learning has just begun.  We have learned that processes take longer here and bus drivers drive faster!  We’ve learned that bus number 29 GREEN does not follow the same route as 29 ORANGE.  We’ve learned that family movie night works just as well in Mexico as it did in the states.  

Family movie night in our living room

We’ve learned that a trip to McDonalds every now and then takes away a bit of the homesick blues.  We’ve learned to convert pesos to dollars in our head so we don’t have a heart attack when we spend $800 (pesos) on school supplies and shoes at Walmart (which is only about $60 US dollars).  We’ve learned that complete strangers can become family in a very short period of time.  We’ve learned to reheat pizza in a pot on the stove top.   

Setting up our fancy two burner stove!

We’ve learned that Skype isn’t a replacement for time spent with family far away, but it sure is a huge blessing to see their faces!  We’ve learned that sometimes all we need is an extra hug to make it through the day.  We've learned to love Puebla and the people who live here.  Most importantly, we’ve learned to trust God for everything.  

Being silly!

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

Trusting God - Lessons from Day 1

At the airport

Do you trust God?  Over the past two years God has taught me a lot about trust, but I know that I still have a long way to go.  Today was a perfect example of that ongoing lesson.  Today I learned that trusting God is seeing the face of a student you taught two years earlier waiting at the airport in an unknown city ready to help guide you to your next destination.  Trusting God is getting into a taxi with your two kids with some people that you’ve never met who don’t speak your language.  Trusting God is holding your three year old tightly in your lap in the back of the taxi while it is pouring down rain and cars are weaving in and out of traffic.  Trusting God is leaving your husband (and the only Spanish speaker in your family) at the bus station with half of your luggage while the other half of your belongings ride off in a car with another stranger.  Trusting God is walking into your new home with “basic” furnishings which happens to only include the kitchen sink in the kitchen (who needs a stove or refrigerator)! 

Our kitchen

Trusting God is waiting for over two hours for your husband and the rest of your luggage to show up at the home of these people you’ve never met before.  Trusting God is also sitting down to a hot, delicious Mexican meal after being on airplanes all day that don’t serve food.  Trusting God is being fed by perfect strangers who have, without hesitation, adopted you into their family because you are a brother and sister in Christ.  Trusting God is when these same people go through their belongings to make sure you have pillows, blankets, and sheets to sleep on the first night in a new country.  Trusting God is knowing that no detail is too big or too small for Him.  Do I trust God?  You bet I do!    

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all you ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Hometown

Yesterday, Kieran and I had the chance to take a ride down memory lane.  We were driving around our old stomping grounds here in Columbia, SC and I asked him if he wanted to drive by our old house.  At first he said no because he thought it would make him too sad.  Then he changed his mind and said that he thought he'd like to go by and see it.  We turned into our old neighborhood and he pointed out the sign that had been repainted.  Then we drove by the "casa linda" (pretty house) as the kids called it.  Actually, Kris and I thought it was probably the ugliest house in the neighborhood since it was painted boy scout blue with bright yellow trim.  Children are much more forgiving!  We turned the corner and Kieran said, "Our cul-de-sac!"  We drove to the end and parked across the street.  We saw the perennials that we'd planted in the front yard, the porch swing that Kris had built me for Mother's Day, and even our "Welcome" sign that still hung on the front door.  It looked like they were using the planter in the backyard as a garden just as we'd done for so many summers.  There were a few new things that showed the new owners were making this their home with many new memories.  When we drove off, Kieran said with tears in his eyes, "We probably won't ever live there again, will we?"  I said, "Probably not, but, Kieran, this will always be your hometown."

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2-3 (KJV)

Hightlights of our Year in Dallas - Part 2 (Elyse)

Our sweet, fun Elyse!

"Anything you can do, I can do better..."  This song often plays through my head as I see Elyse interacting with the world around her.  We moved to Dallas last year with a 2 going on 3 year old and we are leaving with a 3 going on 13 year old!  Like her older brother, Elyse has done so well with all the transitions of our family.  She misses her friends in South Carolina, but God blessed her with many friends in Texas.  She went from never going to preschool to going 5 days a week from 7:45-12:45.  She had wonderful teachers who helped her make this transition.  She can sing her ABC's and know how to count to 20 (the teens get a little mixed up, but all the numbers show up eventually)!  She can even write the E, L, & Y in her name (the S is still a little tricky).

Elyse has an imagination like no other.  In addition to her real life friends, she also has a slew of imaginary friends.  They have very interesting names like Mena and Kalenda.  Her favorite imaginary friend is "grandpa".  Grandpa often disagrees with mommy and daddy's rules for Elyse.  A common excuse we hear around here is, "Well, my grandpa said I don't have to (go to bed, take a bath, come inside, etc.)!"  She also has friends already set up in Mexico.  Speaking of Mexico, Elyse is ready to go!  Almost daily she asks when we are moving to Mexico.  We are so thankful that she enjoyed her time there last fall and desires to go back.

Our pretty ballerina

After Christmas, Elyse decided that she wanted to take ballet and thankfully, God provided a ballet class at the same rec center and at the same time as Kieran's Karate class.  We signed her up and a star was born!  Elyse really enjoyed her class.  She was very bashful at first, but I was surprised at how much she learned and remembered from week to week.  Whenever music is playing, she wants to be up and dancing.  Thankfully, she had the chance to perform in a mini-recital in March since we weren't there for the big recital at the end of June.  She said when she moves to Mexico, she wants to take Mexican dance lessons. 

Even though Elyse pretends to be shy at times, she is our fearless child who throws caution to the wind!  When we experienced our first tornado evacuation at the beginning of April, Elyse wasn’t scared at all.  She told Kieran, “Don’t worry, this will be fun!”  Even though her fearlessness has led to some bumps, bruises, and two trips to the doctor, we trust that God is preparing her for a life full of adventures.  Our prayer for Elyse is that she will continue to grow and learn and that we will have wisdom in parenting her strong-will! 

That's our girl! 

Highlights of our Year in Dallas - Part 1 (Kieran)

Transition...the word of the year around our house!  Our kids have traveled  more this year than they have their entire lives (put together), and we are so proud of how how well they have both done with these transitions.  Everyday hasn't been a cake walk, but we have all survived.  When we moved to Dallas, I knew it was going to be a challenge to go to school full time and start homeschooling Kieran.  Thankfully, God blessed us with a curious, self-motivating student.  He and Elyse went to childcare in the morning while Kris and I were in class.  We would pick them up around 12:45, eat lunch, and then I would start homeschool around 1:45.   Many days Kieran would come up to me and say, "Isn't it time to start school now?"  He definitely kept me on my toes!!  Kieran and I had so much fun this year exploring God's creation, learning about math, and reading all the time.  What a privilege to watch Kieran go from reading short, basic sentences to reading ahead in the Magic Tree House chapter books that I would read to him at night.  Because of his hard work, we finished kindergarten and half of 1st grade!  I get exhausted just thinking about it! 

We also signed Kieran up for Karate classes at the local rec center near our school.  We weren't sure if he would enjoy it or not, but after returning from Christmas break, he started back in the class.  Once he learned that it was possible for him to earn his gold belt before we left Dallas, he gained a new focus and started practicing all the moves he needed to memorize for the belt test.  He worked very hard and earned his gold belt one week before his final class!  Don't even think about putting him in a headlock...you have been warned!  

Even more exciting than the academic and physical things that Kieran has learned is the spiritual lessons that he has learned through this year.  Before moving to Texas, Kieran struggled with the spiritual aspect of our move and new career path.  We prayed specifically that God would make Himself known to Kieran through this transition.  We believe that God answered our prayers.  Soon after we moved here, Kieran prayed to ask Jesus into his heart.  Right before Easter, Kieran began asking questions about baptism and wanted to know if he could go forward to talk to the pastor.  The first Sunday in May, he told us he wanted to go forward.  He was ready to be baptized right then, but the next baptism service was not until June 3rd.  We are so thankful that the timing of this allowed for all of his grandparents to be there to watch him.  He was a little nervous Sunday and Kris said he was very chatty when they were in the baptism room getting ready (he gets chatty when he is nervous).  Afterwards, he ran up to me and said, "Mommy, I'm baptized!"  There is no greater joy for us as parents than to see our kids come to the Lord!  The next day, we saw Kieran in the tree in front of our house trying to reach the Frisbee that was stuck up in it.  Kris asked if he needed any help.  Kieran replied, "Dad, I'm a six and a half year old boy who has been baptized.  I can do this."  Our prayer now is that Kieran will continue to lean on God and look to Him for strength and wisdom. 


"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" Matthew 19:26

Sibling Rivalry- Brotherly Love

Welcoming new baby sister Elyse

I remember the moment very well.  It was less than an hour after Elyse was born and a 2.5 year old Kieran came into the hospital room.  He climbed up in the bed next to me and looked at his new baby sister.  He smiled at her and whispered, "I just love her."  It was the perfect moment, and I had dreams of these two always being the best of friends.  Well, fast forward 3.5 years.  Now we have an active 6 year old who loves playing with Legos and defending the neighborhood with his gang of boys.  On the other side of the spectrum we have an active 3 year old who plans to grow up to be a princess and a fairy, and, frankly, expects to be treated that way now!  She loves her brother and knows him so well that she know just which button to push to drive him absolutely CRAZY.  She wants to play with the boys, but comes in crying if they "shoot" her or attack her with a sword (seriously, what princess wants to be attacked?).  She pulls apart his Lego creations and jumps on top of him at random moments throughout the day.  He is rarely amused by her attention.  Sometimes they are at each others' throats all day.  I don't have any brothers so this sister-brother thing is new territory for me!

Elyse before she could get into his toys!

Every now and then, God sends me a reminder that my kids do love each other, and that He created them for each other.  Recently, we were in Whitney, TX visiting some new friends and (surprise, surprise) Elyse fell face first on a rocky, dirt road.  Of course, she got a small pebble lodged in her head.  Despite all our attempts, we could not get it out, and ended up taking her to a med center to have it removed.  Kris, our host, and Elyse headed to the doctor, and I stayed at the house with Kieran.  Soon after they left, I could tell that Kieran was upset.  He asked if we could go for a walk.  As we headed out of the house, he said, "Mommy, is Elyse going to be okay?  I don't know what life would be like without a sister.  She's the only sister I've got!  She isn't going to die, is she?"  I assured him that Elyse was going to be fine and we spent the next 20 minutes or so walking and praying for his sister. 

Thankfully, Elyse did survive the rock removal.  As expected, less than 24 hours later, they were fighting over sitting in my lap and trying to get on each other's last nerve, but I knew that deep down inside there was a lot of love between that little sister and her big brother. 

 Kieran and Elyse

Remember the Alamo...and other fun things in San Antonio!

To say that life is busy for the Toler family right now would be a huge understatement!  Date night has turn into late nights of grammar analysis and play dates have turned into "can your child come over and play with mine so that we can get some homework done?!"  The fact is, I don’t have time to sit down and write this blog, but as I turned the calendar over to May, I realized it had been a whole months since I’d written anything.  I decided that time goes by way too fast not to make a note of the memories that we’ve shared recently.  

 In between our 3^rd and 4^th session of classes, we had a 3 day break and decided to take off for a mini-family vacation.  The reality is that we will probably not be able to take off for a week to go to the beach or Disney anytime in the near future, but that is okay.  We had been wanting to visit San Antonio, which is about a 4 hour drive from Dallas and decided that it would be a doable trip for this amount of time.  I went on Travelocity and decided to be brave and try one of their “mystery deals” (kind of like name your own price on Priceline) where you don’t know the name of the hotel until after you make the reservations.  We ended up getting a 4 star hotel 3 blocks from the Alamo and the Riverwalk for less than $50 a night!  Woo hoo!  We had such a nice time cruising the Riverwalk, visiting the Alamo, exploring the Natural Bridge Caverns, and eating the biggest cinnamon roll ever!  Kieran said it was the best trip he has ever taken!  I’m so glad we took this time to relax and enjoy some good family time. 

We found a little piece of Oaxaca right across from our hotel.  Unfortunately, it was closed down :(! 

Yep!  That is one big cinnamon roll!

I'm not sure that knife is big enough.

Nothing like a nutritious breakfast to start the day! 

Little House on the Prairie

Still no basement in the Alamo.

This one needs a Texas sized nap!  She did fall asleep on his head.

Nothing says vacation like a hotel swimming pool.  It was a bit too cold for Elyse and mommy!

Dinner at the Magic Time Machine.  We had our own little house to eat in!

And our waitress was Daphne with her friend Scooby Doo!

We ended out trip at the Natural Bridge Caverns and saw the amazing caves and rock formations.