Far from home

Sometimes dreams do come true.  For the past couple of years we quietly dreamed of taking a respite from work and life and spending a significant amount of time together as a family.  Time to slow and time to love.  We spoke of it to no one and simply waited until a door opened.  And when it did, we walked through each door, holding our dream with open hands, trusting that if it were meant to be it would unfold.  Then one day we found ourselves buying plane tickets to Chile.

So here we are.  Thousands of miles from home.  Far enough south that it is summer here.  No internet connection.  No grocery down the street.  No paved roads for miles.  Nothing familiar except the love of friends.  The kind of friends you can show up with your six children in tow and move in for a month.  The kind of friends with decades of shared history, the kind you can’t replace or replicate for anything.

Taking each day as it comes.  No grand plans but to experience life in a very different place.  To spend our days together.  Our friends have 30 acres of land and a beautiful house that is partway done being built.  I’m hoping to be able to write a little of our journey on here and post some pictures and stories along the way.

Turns out Finn is as enjoyable and entertaining here as he is in the States.  Last night our friends hosted a birthday BBQ for their son and Finn kept everyone smiling even across the language barrier.  As did his little sister.  Cute is a universal language.

A birthday dinner is really more of a nine or ten hour party.  And if people get tired they simply take a nap on your couch or in your bed – how wonderful is that?!  The pace of life is so different.  Adjusting to a new place and recooperating from over 25 hours of travel to get here is sure made easier by the exceedingly more relaxed pace.  We watched Audrey and another little girl walk around the house yesterday, teaching each other the names of items in Spanish and English.  We watched our kids learn Chilean hide and seek and adapt to different rules and try to understand a language that isn’t their own.

roasting a whole lamb which we purchased down the road the day before - no hamburgers at this BBQ!
roasting a whole lamb which we purchased down the road the day before – no hamburgers at this BBQ!
Karissa's iphone pics 2014 796
sunrise over our friends’ beautiful piece of land
Karissa's iphone pics 2014 798
Finn rocking the LA airport in style...
Finn rocking the LA airport in style…
Rylee with a stray dog that wandered onto the property - the kids named him Emmett
Rylee with a stray dog that wandered onto the property – the kids named him Emmett
Kids sleeping on the floor, about 20 hours into our journey, at the Santiago airport
Kids sleeping on the floor, about 20 hours into our journey, at the Santiago airport
The boys have to go out and fill the water tank every morning and and afternoon so that we have enough water at the house - we are going to draw straws for kid baths soon - none have bathed since we arrived :)
The boys have to go out and fill the water tank every morning and and afternoon so that we have enough water at the house – we are going to draw straws for kid baths soon – none have bathed since we arrived 🙂

 

the view from the back door
the view from the back door

More next week…no doubt new adventures await in the days to come!

 

 

Comments

Grammy

Thank you so much for news…have a wonderful time.

kelly

Super! We are praying.

Mendy

So happy to know you got there and are having a blast! The adventures are only beginning. What a way of life. I guess baths really are a luxury.

Relax in the slower pace and peace, sweet friend, and enjoy living your dream! Continuing to pray for you. Sending lots of love to you and the fam! We missed you today in CC. Tell the kids hi for us. I’m saving some stuff for them, so they’ll come home to some CC love.

PS: I’ve told several people at CC about your blog; I hope you don’t mind. 😀