things here and there.......

i am not sure what to say other than things have been busy and exciting at the same time. it's a hodge podge of things of thoughts for this post.

school is moving along. we are about to the begin the 4th grade play which is always an exciting time for me even though there is added stress. i thrive in the throes of creative stress, i think. i love it. i love being a part of something artsy and magical that i can also share with my students. fun times. it is hard to believe that we are almost down to the home stretch of the last quarter. wow. time has flown.

otterball is doing well and paul stays pretty busy. they have something exciting events coming up. one of which is the tin pan shows in nashville which is like sxsw in austin. otterball is sponsoring two shows. i think it is the beginning of april.

sam, our lovely geriatric cat, is doing better. we found a new vet which is much more convenient to the house. there is one dr at the moment who speaks great english, but i think they are about to hire an korean canadian dr soon who will also speak great english. it is a clinic with many drs and specialties. each time we have been we seem well taken care of and that sam's needs come first. he is on the mend for now. just growing older and with that comes with all the lovely "getting older" symptoms.

india is spunky as ever. we have been opening windows lately since the weather has gotten nicer. she runs from window to window on a frenzy and feisty adventure. she is nuts, but this week did manage to lay in my lap for extended periods of time which is shocking. the first time i put her there and she stayed, but the other two times she sat down herself. i was shocked and happy too.

in about a week we will be on a plane going to visit our new home---phnom penh, cambodia. we are super excited. this weekend we are going to begin the process of going through our stuff and figuring out what we will move this trip. we have been told we can take stuff with us and leave it there until we return at the end of june. it is exciting. we have met more and more people that love cambodia and/or have lived there. cannot wait!

in other news, i continue to be addicted to reading blogs and following the lives of other folks that have similar beliefs, lifestyles, interests, etc. all kind of blogs and people. recently i found a few bohemian mommas that are blogging about their lives on the road in america. they have dreads, eat healthy and sustainable, believe in being kind to mother earth, unschool their children, and love jesus. it is awesome to read about their adventures. one of them lives with her husband and 2 small girls in a RV powered by used veggie oil. wow! she had a great blog about simplying and living an "alternative" lifestyle. no, not the weird drug filled and rock and roll kind of lifestyle, but just different than many, most americans. i found her blog entry here encouraging because paul and i definitely fit into the "alternative" lifestyle. we choose to live overseas and do things that most people don't want to or cannot. we choose this because we love it and find much freedom in the opportunities we have been blessed with. we do believe that God has us on this adventure for him which is great and encouraging in itself. i am not going to lie and tell you all that is it easy and always fun and exciting. sure it probably seems that way, but life is life--no matter where you are geographically. there are ups and downs, there are struggles, there are joys and it is riddled with stints of homesickness and a desire for life to be convenient. it is hard to be away from dear family and friends, but we know that we do go to houston or the states we are able to devote our time there to lots of quality time of loving on our people instead of lots of quantity. on the flip side, we know that God is teaching us and letting us share our stories with folks here. it is crazy to most, but we love being in the middle of it. we know God has a plan and that is reason enough for us.