Summer Break in the Caribbean

This is the little village we live in. 

[This picture is not mine. I honestly don't know how it came into my possession. Or who Bastiaan Janssens is. But the picture is absolutely beautiful.]

Things here have been an adventure as always. Yet a slow-paced, simple life, at the same time. When we came back from the States I thoroughly enjoyed the views! [These pictures are mine]

 It is breathtaking. Always. 

Sadie developed blisters. (Same hand as the hand she burned before her 1st birthday). But we have no idea what caused it. We are thinking she may have handled a blister beetle. It has since healed well. 

 In August Matthew had a break! We were able to celebrate his birthday and Thomas's birthday. We also enjoyed lots of hikes!

Swimming inn Gary's Pond (a small shallow dugout area to break the waves and have a easier entrance vs over rocks.)

Oh and more hiking :) 

 The kids were great hikers! One day we hiked for about 5 hours! I'm not talking about a stroll in the park either!

 We also got a glimpse of Dorian. We are so very grateful that when it crossed our path it was not yet a declared hurricane (winds at 70mph, Hurricane Cat 1=74mph)

 We have been diligent about school time, and the kids ask daily to do "learning activities." We are grateful the world can be our class room! 

 Also grateful for tile floors and dry erase markers ;)

 [Even if this is the only good thing about tile floors. haha]

 Hannah has begun reading short sentences with CVC words, is doing very well memorizing her sight words and enjoys simple addition and subtraction. Thomas is loving numbers! Counting and addition are his forte! Sadie just loves being involved. Especially if it includes dry erase markers and mommies attention. 

We take plenty of time to enjoy our surroundings, and Mother Nature. I think the best learning takes place here. 

 

A fort they built outside

And... a fort inside on rainy days. 

 Hop scotch with dry erase marker on the floor during rainy storm Karen 

Hannah got a Carnival costume from a friend leaving. It's nearly daily attire now for her... actually for all 3 kids. 

 And last but not least, a few more pictures of the view I will miss soaking up. 

Two Homes, Two Places!

I have concluded it doesn’t matter where you live. Home is what you make it and who you make it with! We thoroughly enjoyed our time in The States, and are even happier to be back as a family! 

Some things I love about the places we call home:

♥ We Love ♥

♥ SABA ♥

·        We love the amazing weather year round & playing outside from 6am to 7pm ALL. DAY. EVERY. DAY

·        We love the incredible views every time you look out a window or door

·        We love the experiences, hikes, excursions, adventures & travels we have in such a unique & blessed place

·        We love the minimalist life style we have come to embrace, the simple-ness, being down to earth, and even the hard work

·        We love the peace, quiet, & wholesomeness we find here with no distractions, no errands, no “commotion.”

·        We love having such a unique experience of church with just our family, in our home, with such an abundance of the spirit

♥ U.S.A. ♥

·        We love the unlimited water usage, long baths, and hot showers

·        We love that the cost of living is more affordable for our current income

·        We love having bug free homes… specifically free of mosquitos and spiders. Lol.

·        We love that we have a choice in our Child’s education and other freedoms we have taken for granted

·        Oh, and grass. We LOVE the grass. Haha

·        We love the abundance of things to do, and ease of stores close by. Mostly just the convenience of things we are used to.

♥ We love our friends & family in both places we call home! ♥

Okay, here is a REAL LIFE insight into the mind of Valerie for a moment. 

Writing those lists… I seriously was trying to make them an even amount…. And I had 6 things for Saba and only 4 for America! Ah! I was realizing more and more, that what I “love” about America is all material things that are just for “ease of life.” The things that made being lazy easier. That made spending money and “keeping up with the jones” a thing.  But what I love about Saba is the one-ness with nature, with God, with our family and ourselves. What I love about Saba is the hard work for the simple things in life, like dishes to eat on, clothes to wear, and even taking showers. But somehow the hard work is so strangely satisfying. It is rewarding to know “I can do it”.

It has reiterated to me what I’ve always known and wanted… that when we are back in The States, I don’t want to live in a real city. I want rural. I want farm. I want animals. I want hard work and real life. I want nature and a focus on what is really important in life.

Has being here been hard. Absolutely. It has been probably one of the most lonely times of my life. It has been a challenge feeling ostracized from the culture, or maybe not even welcomed into it in the first place. It’s hard feeling like I’m the only one different. To know that I don’t understand the culture, or the “English” language spoken here. To occasionally be the center of the gossip. To painfully buy groceries with prices that reflect the import cost. To have to get over my pride and hitch-hike a ride with me and 3 kids. To conserve water on a level I never understood before, and to lower my exceptions for “nice” and “convenient.”

 BUT… in the eternal scheme of things, those things are NOT so important. ALL of those things pass. And WHAT IS LEFT are those things that ARE important.

Has it been worth it? Absolutely. Has this journey, this adventure, changed me? I sure hope so! …I feel so! It has changed me for the better! 

I’m grateful for the wake-up call to life that Saba brought me.

I only have a few short months left here, and I will miss it greatly when the time comes to part our ways. When I leave, God be with you Saba until we meet again. 

(Just a Bonus picture for you to enjoy!)

Suprise! America!

Well SURPRISE! We are IN AMERICA! Wahoo! 

It may seem unexpected and spur of the moment, but Matthew and I thought long and hard about this trip! We bought tickets 6 weeks before leaving, and didn’t tell a soul! Okay… that’s a lie… we told 2 people… My Sister, and Matthew’s brother-in-law…only because we needed them to help carry out our plans to surprise everyone else!

And no… we are not here to stay… not yet at least. 

For my Saban Friends... This is what "America" looks like to me! This is what I call home! This is why if you have been to New York City, I say you don't know "My America" ;)

At Matthew's parents house

 Visiting my parents property

 Gorgeous pictures my brother took of my parents farm

 Just traveling from one place to another, in wide open flat spaces

April 23^rd (exactly 1 year from getting on the airplane to come to Saba) we got on the airplane to go back to the USA! Matthew came with us (it was his school break). We surprised as many family members as we could! 

 (Airport and travel excursions... 3 flights and nearly 24 hours!)

For 2 weeks we stayed with different family members for only a few days at a time, then going on to surprise the next person. It was fantastic to see everyone we have missed so dearly! It was hard on the kids (and therefore hard on the parents) to be changing places every few days, but it was worth the visits! In my effort to be present with those we visited, I didn't get many pictures! These are a few we got in some of the different places, though they are just of our family. I knew Daddy was leaving soon and wanted to capture some moments. 

During this time we got to surprise my Mom who was flying in from seeing another child and was expecting a friend to pick her up at the airport. Instead it was us! It was incomprehensible to her that we could be there! We were also able to be at Matthew’s Parents home when they come home from their 18 month mission! The surprise there was just as shocking and incomprehensible!

The time for Daddy to go back to school came all to fast! Emotions were high as we all said our tearful goodbyes. I can’t imagine Military Moms who have to be without their husbands for months at a time!

 (The picture of me holding a stuffed snake, is actually from a date we snuck in before he had to leave)

 (Driving to the airport)

 The kids and I stayed for a little bit longer. We were needed here for many reasons, and none of those reasons could be addressed in only the 2 weeks of visiting. So here we are, sticking around a little bit longer! We count Sundays. Those are the family days that Daddy doesn't study, that he has to get through until we are back with him. 3 Down, 4 to go!

It has been fun, enjoyable, and great to be here. Sure it has its own challenges, as everywhere does, we especially miss Daddy! It has also been a little culture shock all over again. I mean, wow! Have we missed how CHEAP EVERYTHING at the store is! How is it even possible to be so INEXPENSIVE! Haha. I also still have a hard time letting the faucet run and waste water. I definitely do NOT miss the bugs. I do miss the simplicity, and basic-ness there was to life in Saba. I can honestly say, Saba changed me, and I hope to hold on to some of those changes.

 A few fun pictures the first few days "on our own" after Daddy sent back to Saba

While we are here, we are striving to continue with our learning activities (homeschool), and daily outdoor play... when it's not too cold and rainy! I also am teaching online again in the mornings while the kids are sleeping (knock on wood!).

While we have been here, we have helped work on projects... and trust me, we only did a fractional part of these projects, but they were fun to participate in regardless.

 Pantry Matthew's siblings made for their parents before they came home.

 Bedroom at my parents house that had been started in December and we just finished last week!

We also enjoyed cousin time as we teamed up with homeschool activities (story time, homeschool skate, etc.), while their Daddy worked on the sheetrock or "one man jobs" from the pictures above!

 (Finding a butterfly, it is IN Hannah's hand)

And sharing lots and lots of story time

Having a Mommy-Daughter Date!

We’ve made sure to get in all our doctor appointments, dentist appointments and vision/hearing tests. Things are looking great and kids are up to date! Now just to get a few cavities filled, and a minor surgery done (Endometrial Polyps & Ovarian Cysts) before we head back! We are glad we came! We will go back just in time for Daddy’s last semester! December we are done and start the next phase of the Med School process. 

Here are a few more pictures of our sillies. 

Due to our time being short here, many appointments, as well as trying to maintain some sort of normalcy and routine, it's just not possible for us to visit everyone! I'm so sorry! If you want to visit us we would love it! Please don’t expect us to come to you; with all of the family and friends we love so dearly, we could spend 2 or 3 months just traveling to visit everyone. Unfortunately we did not go "home" to where we lived before (Nampa, ID) and are staying with my parents in SouthEast Idaho. Message me and maybe we can work something out!