Taking time to be Thankful

As I've obviously been lacking in the writing department, I wanted to share a bit.  Nothing overly profound to share except that I find God is the one constant in my life no matter where on earth I live, no matter what time zone I'm in, and no matter if my day is good or hard. I realize when I feel distant it's usually because I've pulled away or haven't made time to spend time with my maker. He doesn't change and while we are in a season where things seem to only be changing, the very fact that He doesn't brings me much needed steadiness and hope. I'm also realizing the more time I take to think about what I'm thankful for, the more my heart changes, the more I can see past the fog that sometimes surrounds my mind. It's not a method or any gimmick. I just see that there's a reason we are told to count our blessings, to take time and see what we can be thankful. I see that it stills my anxious heart and mind and often fills me up with joy and hope. As we near Thanksgiving and Christmas, I find my heart missing family, missing friends, missing the comforts I've known since birth, and yet I want to say I'm so thankful. We've been blessed with a wonderful group of friends, both locals and internationals who love on us so well.  We also have an awesome Bible based church we are a part of and they are all just wonderful. We eat after church together and often get coffee afterward which makes for an all day event that we look forward too.  We are also hosts to one of the small home groups whom we look forward to seeing every week. We are even having our own Thanksgiving dinner with our group and one of our friends scored a Turkey so I'll be cooking up a turkey this year.  The language learning is going slow in our minds but we are blessed to live in an area where so many do speak a little English and we are more than able to get by.  We were able to get bacon close to where our friend lives this weekend and just ate some with eggs, toast and pancakes. God blessed us with tastes of home just when we were feeling homesick. Our kids love their friends and while they are honest when they feel homesick, thank God, they overall enjoy life here. Our baby is growing strong and kicking so so much.The doctor has checked twice and so far says we are having a Girl. The kids are thrilled.  Also, my friend and her mom, who use to be nurse, said they can go to the hospital with me when I go into labor so I can have people speak Albanian clearly with the nurses, which is one less thing I have to struggle through.  There's also wonderful news that one of our friends from our home church in California will be coming and will stay with us from January till mid-April. She will be working with one of our friends who works with the poor and marginalized. We are so excited and thrilled. We also have neighbors from Georgia who will be close by and are planning to visit late April for a few days which again is wonderful as the wife was like an extra grandma to our kiddos. This will be perfect timing as the three are adjusting to another life in the house and someone to compete for mommy's attention.  Our house stays warm which is a blessing as the air is definitely getting colder and while the fires are bothering my allergies, Sean's asthma is staying pretty controlled which I'm very thankful for.  So I guess my reason for writing is just to say we are thankful for friendships, friendships and relationships that span distance and time. We are thankful for the people God brings in our lives and we are thankful for each other. We are also so thankful for you. Here are some photos, well because who doesn't like photos? Happy Thanksgiving from the Quinns!

Face painting time 

 

The sun peeks out amidst the clouds and highlight the rooftops below. Cold air greets my outward stare but what I see warms my soul. (View from our home, Prishtina/Kosovo) 

Time with friends

Baby #4 growing strong and loved

Enjoying dad

Season of Change

Change. So many feelings come attached to this word. And as we actually experience it - these feelings ebb and flow. Change. I think of a roller coaster when I think of that word. Because excitement comes with it. Fear of the drops or "valleys" shall I say definitely come with it. Taking a breath as the ride plateaus for a break also comes with it. Grief when the ride is ended and the desire for more can also come with it. Or sheer terror at possibly going through it again can also accompany this word. So many feelings. And yet when I look back at these last few years, change has been one of my most constant companions. Our newest change has been arriving here in Kosovo. I can say that one of the most constant emotions on this chapter in our life as a family has been God's tender love for us. We are constantly being encouraged and provided for and loved on. There is hard but there is also good. There is bitter but there is also a lot of sweet. I thought I'd share some pictures on this journey to give you a glimpse of this new change that is happening around us.

A view from our balcony

Ok one more view from our balcony

Hugh helping mama vacuum our blue kitchen carpet 

Our first team dinner  and meeting - which included my grandma Mary's picadillo recipe. Yum!

Walking to my friend's house. Can you tell on my face I'm hoping I remember which street to turn onto. This was right before my head almost collided with a flying soccer ball.

As you can see I didn't get lost and was able to go to my friend's plays script reading. Such a fun evening and met more wonderful people

Huge answer to prayer! Our local friend's dad went with Gino and our team to a car sale area that our city has on Sundays. What a blessing and answer to pray. We have a van that we can use and that our team can use. So when you want to visit - here's what you will ride in.

I end with another answered prayer. With no netflix and hardly any TV our kids are growing a lot closer as well. Learning to get along in closer spaces and leaning on one another. Kayleigh especially loves her big brother. Whoever marries her one day has big shoes to fill as far as she's concerned.

While change is hard and there are times when we miss friends, miss family, miss what's comfortable, I hope we all can be encouraged and recognize the good and the sweet and celebrate each victory no matter how small....like getting a van, during these seasons of change in each of our lives.