This blog is the story of life as I went from a world traveling pastors wife to a home-schooling mom of 4.

Getting on with Life

By Jen | August 30, 2009 | 5 Comments

I am so happy to finally be getting on with life. For some reason, while I am in transition, it feels like I am paralyzed and can’t possibly have a routine (not that I like them anyways) or meet new people or do anything really outside my comfort zone. It is almost like I just have to survive and for some reason, that is good enough for me. I’m not saying it is the right thing to do, but it is the way I naturally function. Now that we have arrived in Spain I feel like I can get on with life again. I have been so happy to meet new people and start making friends. Just today I visited with two different women that I met at the park Maisie was playing at. They happened to be “on holiday” and not living in Barcelona, but I chatted with them…

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Honeymoon stage

By Jen | August 29, 2009 | 1 Comment

I do realize that I am still in the honeymoon stage of cultural transition, but I am lovin’ it! We’ve been very busy “setting up home” without even having a home (as we are living in a temporary place right now), but living in Europe has allowed us (forced us almost) to spend more time together as a family. I think that’s probably what I am enjoying the most. Plus, Spain just feels right. We feel like we have found a European city where we “fit” and “belong” and that feels great!! Here are some pics of the last couple days.

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My Pregnancy Pains

By Jen | August 27, 2009 | 2 Comments

Such an adventure. I remember being about seven months pregnant with Maisie and literally running/wobbling full speed to catch a bus or metro in order to not be late for our appointment to look at an apartment. We did this for a couple weeks before we found the right apartment. This time around is almost no different. We are looking for an apartment again, but this time around I am six months pregnant instead of seven. It also feels like the the baby might just shoot out at any point when I try to run across a street or run to catch a bus. I don’t remember that feeling with Maisie. On just a normal day in “the OC” I would complain to my sister that “my regions hurt.” Yeah, she would make fun of me and tell me to be quiet because people could hear! Well, now I am…

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Random update and thoughts

By Jen | August 9, 2009 | 3 Comments

Because I haven’t written in forever, I’m going to give a quick update of our life. -I am now 24 weeks pregnant (which is about 5 1/2 months) with a little boy! -We’ve been waiting for Maisie’s visa to be approved so we can leave for Spain (a little later than our original thoughts of being there the end of July). -While we wait we are staying with my sister and her husband and two kids in their living room on air mattress and couch. -My roots are beginning to show like crazy and I am looking pretty whiskey tango (an important to me topic). -I have no idea where I will give birth in Spain and this brings a little bit of anxiety to the mix. -Maisie is supposed to start school in Barcelona in September, but we might have to hold off on that so she isn’t dealing…

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Missing home and not even gone yet

By Jen | May 21, 2009 | 5 Comments

I value honestly and authenticity and I know that can be dangerous, especially if I decide to be those things on my blog, but oh well, it’s who I am, so therefore, I have to be honest. I have to think that other people in ministry go through the same things as I do and so I will write about what I am dealing with these days. I’ve been REALLY struggling with the idea of going back to Europe this time. It isn’t that I don’t love Europe or don’t see the need to be in Europe or that I feel like God hasn’t done amazing things to get us to Europe. It is just that I am terribly afraid of loneliness in Europe. I am also feeling anxiety about having this baby in Europe (yes, I am 12 weeks pregnant!). Every time Justin and I (and Maisie too) have…

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