The Secret to Getting Up Early...

The house is cool, and quiet. Both are rare finds, but I’ve come to enjoy 4:30am wakeups because I get a few minutes of each. A steaming mug of coffee, a to-do list a mile long, a few minutes with Jesus, and boom – the day has started.

First Day of School

I’ve never been much of a morning person. After high school, I took an incredible job in Alaska and I had to be up at 4am….EVERY.DAY. We also went to bed at like 7pm so it wasn’t THAT hard, but I never would’ve made it through a morning with out at least 2 strong cups of coffee.

Since my stint in Alaska over 13 years ago – oh LAWD! I’m getting old – I’ve never been able to keep up with the early a.m. routine.

Marieta's 11th birthday

I’m married to a SUPER early riser, an almost non-sleeper, really. He basically doesn’t need sleep. His super power would be “no sleep required.”

But I’m just not wired for mornings…until I had to be. Many people don’t know, but Phil is actually back in the U.S. right now. With him being Stateside, I’m the lone ranger doing his usual morning routine duties, and I have to admit: I’m actually enjoying being a morning person. I know – I said it. 

For the last 2 ½ months, I’ve been up BEFORE 5am…yes, ME, up before 5am. I’ve been making breakfast for the kids before school, making lunches, mapping out my day, praying, meal planning, and handling the daily junk before the sun comes blazing in my windows. 

Then I walk the kids to the bus stop & have a nice little morning run before I come home and get the rest of the day started. This all happens before 7am...so the secret to getting up early is...I HAD TO! 

Swim Outing

Some days have been a little rough, like this morning. I woke up with an incredible bought of: Am I gonna throw up or did I just eat something weird?

I’ve been feeling a little wonky in the mornings for a few days now, probably due to lack of sleep & a recent round of malaria for me. Jojo just finished up chicken pox and she’s been mostly quiet and cool about the whole debacle, but as her mama, I can’t help but check on her a million different times and make sure she’s not scratching anything. (They’re pretty much gone, except for one spot on her leg.)

Monday Morning Bible study

Even with the lack of sleep, the unexpected bouts of chicken pox & malaria, and the hot weather, I’m still digging the early mornings. I can actually say I can run 2 MILES without stopping every 5 seconds. It took me 8 weeks to work up to it, but I can run 2 miles. I’m as slow as a turtle but hey, it beats where I was.

And the ENERGY I have the rest of the day, as well as patience, is amazing. I can’t miss a run or I just feel off. I think my kids like it, too. We walk to their bus stop together at the local YWAM base, and then I run and they go to school.

When they come home, I have more energy to help break up fights (insert laughing/crying emoji here), help with homework and baths, and make a hearty dinner. I think the kids are enjoying it as much as I am.

Since the beginning of the year, the early mornings have been a great source of peace and calm for me. We’ve had a lot of little challenges health wise – Marieta had a nasty worm in her hands that caused a terrible infection, Fatima had some kind of infection as well, JoJo has been teething off and on & now has chicken pox – and some other small injuries & accidents have come up.

Even JoJo was listening!

But we’ve also celebrated 4 out of 9 birthdays since the beginning of the year! So we’re doing our fair share of doctor’s visits and cake eating. A good balance, I’d say…

I’m also trying to manage a few projects around the house & center in general. Our backyard area has needed some TLC for a long time and we’re finally doing it. Our bricklayer, Abdul, is a super awesome guy who was recommended by a friend I would trust with my life. He’s a great man of God AND a hard worker.

We’ve spent the first few days removing some big rocks and now they’re leveling and setting up the boundaries of where they will lay rocks and then cement. Abdul is also adding a table for us so we can eat outside AND it doubles as a ping-pong table. Best idea EVER.

So while we’re praying for less time at the doctor and more time enjoying the soon-to-come cool weather, I could use your prayers that we all stay healthy & safe. I’m determined not to call the pediatrician or the grown up doctor any time soon!

Thanks for your continued support and love. I can feel it and so can the kiddos. We love you all and miss so many of you!

More updates to come and maybe a snake story or two…

Lots of love,

Laura & the littles   

Sometimes a Good Cry is All You Need

Dory got it right in Finding Nemo - "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming..."

Don't stop moving and you won't have to think, feel or reason. So keep moving, keep trucking along, and refuse to slow down.

As soon as I'm forced to slow down, it happens. E.V.E.R.Y. S.I.N.G.L.E. T.I.M.E. I start thinking and overthinking. 

It happened just last week. I actually had time to reflect at my favorite place on earth: the beach. The sand and sun and salt are all this girl needs. (Can I getta Amen?!)

But it turns out, I start thinking too much. And then feeling, ugh. It's so much easier to stuff emotions & feelings away for another day, another time.

Despite my best efforts to force the feelings back in the closet, I couldn't do it. Maybe it's been too long and I had some stuff to deal with. 

Either way, all the emotions from what feels like the entire year of 2018 came flooding at me. I cried and laughed and smiled when the whole year rushed over me in a 5-minute video reel through my mind. 

This year Last year was the hardest year I've had in a long time and definitely in my time in Moz. 

So many things made 2018 the year that almost killed me - a new baby alone is hard. Having a human being come outta your body and depend on your boobs for their total sustenance is freaking ridiculous. Hands down the hardest of all hard in the world. 

And let's not even talk about lack of sleep. Just (yawn) don't.

Pile on top of that growing an organization, growing kids, growing needs, and overall growing pains. And then there's a marriage, too, somewhere in-between all of that. Oh, and Jesus.

Add in a bout of near liver failure thanks to my least favorite friend of the year - malaria - and you may feel like I felt as the emotions rushed out: Beat. Tired. Crushed. Shaken. Relieved. 

I cried. I walked as far as I reasonably could away from my running, swimming, screaming, happy kids, and I cried. 

I cried for the lost opportunities, the lost time, the things I wish I would've done differently. I cried with relief and thanks that my liver didn't fail and I didn't die. 

I cried for the moments that I felt defeated, like I wasn't enough. I cried for the days I wished I was a better mom, a better wife, a better boss, a better follower of Christ. 

I cried for myself - how I'm my own worst critic and should be full of grace for myself first. 

I cried for the moments I missed with my niece who'll be 3 before I get to hold her.

I cried for the family gatherings we missed out on and the grandchild my dad has yet to meet. 

I cried for all the triumphs and joys and lessons and grace and love that God gave us last year. 

And you know what? It felt so good to (ugly) cry. It felt so good to let the tears go, along with all the feelings I'd untidily shoved into a tiny corner of my heart during the busiest, most challenging year of my life so far.

After a good 10-15 minutes, I felt cleansed and refreshed. Can you imagine how good 2018 would've been had I done that a few times - 15 minutes to take care of myself before anyone else?

That's what 2019 is all about for us around here. Wisdom.

Let me take what I've learned over the last 32+ years on this planet and put it to use. I'm going to take better care of myself so I can take better care of my little loves. 

I think resolutions are hard and overrated, but more wisdom is what 2019 is all about for me. 

"Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold."

Proverbs 3: 13 & 14

I hope you find your own silver for the year, too.

Cheers,

Laura 

Merry Christmas!

These are seriously the best we could do...

Christmas Eve is always a SUPER busy day for us as we have a huge party with the kids in our neighborhood! We typically we have over 100 kids and we cook all day, and then party all afternoon. It's pure organized chaos and it hurts the small part of my type A self that's still trapped somewhere inside my brain. The rest of me that's become some kind of type X loves it. I think I like type X.

Games with the neighborhood kids before dinner

We had a great time playing games, singing, dancing, praying and just enjoying this beautiful country and its beautiful children. All of the kids come dressed up, ready to have fun and excited for a hearty dinner. We tend to sugar them up a bit, too!

Seriously.........

 Our attempt at Christmas photos is pretty dodgy at best, but we tried! In true Moz fashion, the boys' capulana shirts weren't ready as the tailor just couldn't get it all done, but the girls and I loved our new dresses! 

More games and singing

I think it's safe to say we're all exhausted, with bellies full of goat meat, and heads filled with another year of awesome memories. This is year 3 of our Christmas Eve tradition, and I can't imagine spending the day doing anything else as we celebrate our Savior.

JoJo wasn't haven' it

Merry Christmas to all our loved ones, near and far, close in love & truth. 

Lots of love, 

Laura, Phil and our tribe