Fast Pace in a Slow Town

Catching up:
I haven't been very good about blogging these days. I hope in the weeks to come that I will regain some focus and order in my life. Right now, I'm just hanging on for Christmas and the move into our own place. We plan on moving into a darling home near the heart of Ajo's downtown plaza, by the weekend of Jan 2. No, we haven't sold or rented our house in SC, but things are in the works and we feel confident that things will be established soon. I will keep you posted when that happens. (In the meantime, please keep praying for the situation- we greatly appreciate it).

Daily life:
For a little town, there sure is a lot to be done here! On most days Cal leaves before dawn and says good bye while I'm usually too asleep to really acknowledge what's going on. Homeschool takes up the majority of our day. Then, at 4:00, we head down to the Parks and Recreation for Bry's basketball and Delainey's dance/cheer practice. Elle usually plays on the playground while the other two do their thing. On Monday and Wednesday evenings, I work down at The Ranch House (my parents' restaurant). Those days are especially hard because I don't get to really connect with Caleb but the tip money has been nice. I also enjoy helping out with the family business now that I'm here. It also makes me thankful that I've been able to stay home for the most part with our children all these years, because even working 2 nights a week feels demanding and hectic at times.

Where we are:
Life is good in this funny little town deep in the desert. I can honestly say, we are enjoying it very much. The weather has been simply amazing and I've fallen in love with the Sonoran Desert all over again (remind me of this when it hits 115 degrees this summer). This peculiar town of Ajo is home.

Caleb is also settling in very well at ORPI. We are so certain we are exactly where we're supposed to be. This is the career meant for Caleb and Caleb seems meant for this career. In many ways, I feel like my "Caleb is back". I see a spark of confidence and satisfaction that I used to see before when he was rangering. Plus, he looks really good in his uniform, which is always a plus. He will become the PEB coordinator for his park and will be receiving training for this position in February. He is very excited about the possibilities within this line of work that he loves so much. He also highly respects and enjoys his fellow rangers here, which is enjoyable and inspiring for him. Needless to say, being outdoors again is simply exhilarating for Caleb. He feels very blessed to be in a line of work and a place he enjoys so much.

As for me, I'm so much busier here than I anticipated between homeschool, working for my mom and everything else that pulls at my attention. Photography, I anticipate will also pick up very soon. I've been asked to do all the senior pictures for the local high school, which I'm very excited about. These kids were Caleb's first set of 5th graders here. I really like this group of kids and to do their pictures is a privilege. I also have a wedding in March and another in August. I need to gear up and make some room in my life for my love of photography.

Extras:
Somehow, I've been managing to fit some great reading in. I just finished "The Witch of Blackbird Pond", which I HIGHLY recommend. Bryant and I read it together and I loved all the wonderful lessons I could pull from this book and share with him. It was a Newberry winner and an all-time fabulous book. I'm so glad I got to read it with him and share the experience. It shined a brilliant light on the dangers of legalism and the hurt that comes with it. I became so connected with the characters and found myself cheering them on or wanting to jump in and defend them. I can't wait to read it with my girls in the years to come.

Currently, I'm smack dab in the middle of the book, "Is The Bible Intolerant?" by Amy Orr-Ewing. If you want a thought provoking, knowledge-growing book to wrap your brain around, this is a deep but very good one. It goes on to answer many questions such as, "Is the Bible.... Sexist? Oppressive? Homophobic? Outdated? Irrelevant?". I find myself squeezing in little reading sessions so I can continue to inch on through the pages filled with great information. My brain is absorbing so much right now, it is stimulating.

I've also just started "Hinds Feet in High Places" by Hannah Hurnard. It is a beautiful allegory that I checked out at the library, but I'm sure will want to buy a copy to add to my own library once I'm finished. It has been compared to "Pilgrim's Progress" but with lighter reading. I can't wait to complete this journey with the main character, Much-Afraid.

Christmas!:
We are prepping for all the wonderful Christmas festivities and have been wrapping gifts for the past few days. We plan on baking today and Tuesday to get all of our treats made. On Wednesday we plan to continue our family tradition of making tamales. (Tamales are probably my favorite food in the whole wide world) Delainey will march with her cheer leading squad in the Christmas Eve parade downtown. We will spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family. I can't remember the last Christmas that I was home. It has been years. I'm thankful to be here with people I love so much.