New Growth!

My garden is started and the first sprouts are out! The yard was all thorns and most of the thorn plants have been removed but they're stubborn so it will be a multi year battle before our kids can play barefoot in the yard. Each time we enter the house we have to stop to scrape the thorns off the bottom of our shoes so we don't bring them into the house. Getting internet at the house has been a challenge that I have yet to solve, but I do have some ideas, it's just going to take time. Until then, we have to walk over to the school to connect through the WiFi. Even cell service here is spotty so we are really in no mans land with communication right now. (Please note, this was written weeks ago before we had internet service at the house and could start sending these updates out) I am pleased to report that after weeks of work, we are just now starting to get into a bit of a rhythm and routine. The kids are back to school and quickly catching up on the work they missed while in America. They have been working on fun school projects and playing with friends and generally being happy kids again. New routine for a new us. - Everyone has things about our selves that we want to change. Bad habits we want to break and good ones we want to adopt. Each new year, lots of people start resolutions to do just that, but ultimately, most fail to really make a change. Sarah and I have been trying to make changes to our diet, schedules, and exercise for years but with little long term success. This year, something has changed. I cannot credit will power, or a decision to change because we have tried all that before and failed. This year, the Lord has decided to make the change in us through our circumstances. We are quite naturally doing things that we have struggled to do in the past. We are eating much more healthy, (partly due to the heat) drinking lots more water, eating smaller portions, getting up very early in the morning,(because it's the only cool time of day), and getting lots of exercise (mostly due to all the work needed on the house.) I decided to fast from caffeine for a few months starting just before Christmas. It was hard at first as I really love my morning coffee. In fact, for the first month I really felt like I couldn't concentrate or focus clearly. I kept having Sarah repeat simple things that I should have gotten right away. By late January I felt my energy and focus returning and even increasing beyond what I'm accustom to. I'm not planning on giving up coffee and caffeine permanently, but to find balance which I equate to being off caffeine at least one or two days for every day that I indulge. Sarah has been getting up at 5 am every morning faithfully to have her devotion time which she is really loving. I usually get up at 6 now, which is an hour improvement for me, but 5 am is proving too much a challenge for me. Maybe next month! Now we are really praying that these new changes to our daily routine will result in a lasting lifestyle change for the better.