Date #2 finally happened today....but during the day. It has been a while and we were so excited to get out and spend some time together. We took Chloe with us because we are beginning to “tomato stake” her and train for obedience. Since we were gone for four hours I really didn’t want the babysitter to have to discipline Chloe to stay in her bed for naptime. So….she had the honor to join us on our date day. We also needed to take her along to get her ears pierced AGAIN! When we pierced them the first time (when my mom came to visit) we had the unfortunate experience of losing an earring and having the holes close up. I went to church choir one night (the week they had been pierced) for only an hour and while I was gone, Dan wiped Chloe’s face after dinner and her earring flew out of her ear. He looked all over the apartment and couldn’t find it. By the time I got home from choir her hole had closed up. This time we had it done at a jewelry store and got her sparkly earrings that were smaller and fit her ears better. We are very happy with them and have high hopes that these will stay in. We started our date day by taking turns running in the morning….after staying up together until 1 am to watch a chick flick. Dan has always been so good at watching those movies with me. So we ran, showered and the babysitter arrived around 10am. Dan, Chloe and I got in the car and headed to Visalia (about a half hour away). We started out at the mall to shop for Mya and Chloe’s birthday. We found all of Mya’s gifts at Claire’s. We hit the 50% off rack and got her a purse and all the girly stuff to go inside (nail polish, lip gloss, hair stuff, etc.). It was fun watching Dan pick things out for her. He had so much fun. We ended our date at Red Lobster for lunch. I had crab legs and Dan had all you can eat shrimp. It was a glorious day of quality time spent with my husband. And Chloe too!
Now…on to some Donatini updates:
Many of my entries are dedicated to either talking about what I am learning spiritually or what we are learning about raising the girls. I haven’t spoken much about how travelling has affected our marriage. Let me preface this by saying that our marriage has grown and thrived on having just each other as companions and as a support system. And by support system I mean a physical support (I don’t want to discredit all of our family and friends from home that have been wonderful at calling or emailing to stay in touch with us….that has been amazing and is so important to us!) We are it for each other while travelling and that has done nothing but wonderful things for us. I highly recommend it to any marriage if even for a short period of time. It’s too bad honeymoons are only for one week, typically. Weren’t they like a whole year or something in bible times? I thought I heard that somewhere. Anyway, they should be longer because couples need time to just rely on each other. We have had some of the most amazing conversations with each other. I am learning how to stop worrying about things and have such a peace in my soul. And that peace carries through to my relationship with Dan. Our marriage is a sweet, sweet romance. We have always loved each other very much. But our marriage has gone to a deeper level as we have had the opportunity to be knit together even tighter. I attribute a lot of that to our spiritual growth and the blessings that God is bestowing on us. Both of our hearts have grown softer as we work on choosing to be selfless and put the other spouse first as often as we can. Dan has become very attentive to my needs and to taking care of me and the girls. As my heart grows softer I respond to him differently. Something big has happened to me since moving and it started with learning how to respond differently to the kids. It involved letting go of anger (by that I mean built up frustration) and irritation and ceasing the moments that I have with them. I have changed for good and I can’t believe how awesome God’s grace is. And I can’t believe the heart of my husband as he responds to my changes and allows God to work in his heart as well. I believe that this experience is God ordained for many reasons and we are seeing those reasons unveil right before our very eyes. And yes……we are going to return home…..to those of you that have doubts. We are so excited to return home when our travels are done. And we are excited to come home to share what we have learned.
Next month will be a busy month. Chloe turns 1 year old on October 6 and Mya turns 5 years old on October 22. Of course we have the fun activities planned like birthday parties, pumpkin patch and attending a church retreat. October is when we will also start looking at new placements for our third contract. We will either renew again here or move on the second week of December. Dan and I both agreed that this contract has gone very fast. We can’t believe our first month is almost over. Will we move on or stay??? That will be the question and it is an exciting one! We are learning to just trust in God’s plan for our life. After all, He lead us to pack up our car, travel across the country with the three kids (having no place to live), arriving in a new city and somehow it all worked out! I look back at the unnecessary stress that I was consumed with before we left. If I could give any advice it would be to really trust in the Lord Almighty. And truly give your heart to the Lord.
Mya took this one, which is why she isn't in the picture:)
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