Sometimes I miss...

I LOVE living here in Dominica. I love that Broc is getting the chance to pursue his dream to become a doctor. I love the amazing things that we get to experience because we are here and I would not trade this experience for anything. But obviously, living in a foreign country sometimes make me miss some of the little everyday things that made up our life before coming here.

So here are just a few of the things that have been on my mind lately (in no particular order):

Going out to eat at some of our favorite restaurants!

Getting ready! Wearing layers, high heels, jewlery and makeup (that doesn't melt off my face) and taming my mane with a blow dryer, straightener and curling iron!

Going to the MOVIES!

Good chocolate!.. Hatch's Chocolate!

These amazing people I get to call FAMILY!

The annual Durrant 4th of July Party- with amazing food, more amazing food, the best company and Morgan's unique firework display!

These beautiful faces {+ Jill + Cris}

Girls Nights with my sisters and mom!

Late night talks, eating (the best food- carmelitas, cream cheese brownies, leftovers- Mom always has her cupboards stocked with the best snacks!- endless goodness), LAUGHING until you are crying, or almost peeing your pants (literally for some of us :) and doubled over because your stomach hurts so bad from laughing so hard!!

Bear Lake and Random Dance Parties!

Costco and Target! Or any store really where you can purchase things in bulk or on sale- for a decent price. Here most things are at least double or triple in price of what it is in the states (unless it is home grown here). And the only time anything goes on sale is when it is expired. And yes, Broc did purchase an expired box of Fruity Pebbles because they were "on sale" for $12 EC or $5 US. $5 for a box of cereal is a steal!

Late night cleaning parties! After we had Crew, it was harder to find time to deep clean during the day and so Broc and I would randomly have a "late night cleaning party" to get stuff done. It was so great because we were together! Cleaning is way more fun this way- I promise!

Broc + Me + late- usually turned into us doing something ridiculous! We will do anything for a good laugh! Why is it that things are just so much funnier at 2 AM?

Don't get me wrong Broc is still an amazing help, and we are both usually still up late. Broc is just usually studying until about 2 AM- and I still hold my late night cleaning parties... (unfortunately, I am usually the only one who shows)!

A dishwasher!!! Life is so much easier with this around! Washing sippy cups by hand- bites! I feel like they are never clean!

{Crew when he was about 1 1/2 years old}

Going to the temple

OUR furniture and decorations (not that we have the greatest stuff, but it is the little things like having a couch you can sleep on or hammering a nail in a wall that I miss. Our walls here are made out of cement- so just forget about hanging pictures!)

My bed!

Homemade strawberry and raspberry jam! No berries here~

Our car and car seats! We walk everywhere we go- if you want a ride you have to wait for a transport (van). Planning an extra 30 minutes (at least) onto going someplace walking or waiting for a transport. There are no such things as seatbelts here! One of the craziest things for me when we first got here was bringing my 5 month old baby and not having a car seat for him. If we ride in a car somewhere, I hold Jack and usually try to keep a hold of Crew, as best as I can- and it is usually ok- in a transport from my house to campus- but when traveling to Roseau (a town about an hour away- super windy and bumpy road)... a little scary without seat belts! Just when I feel that I am getting use to it- we ride in a transport and they slam on the break and Crew or Jack almost go flying!
Traffic laws and speed limits. They just don't exist here. One day I was pushing Crew and Jack in the stroller to meet Broc up on campus. We were walking down a hill (for those of you who know the area- by Rituals) and a white car going about 60 to 70 mph down the hill (way too fast for the area). There are random cows everywhere here on the sides of the road and a baby cow had wandered into the street a little. The white car surely would have seen the cow but didn't start slowing down until he was right in front of it- then SLAMS on his breaks. Obviously, he couldn't stop in time. The car hit the baby cow, which sends it flying about 20 feet in the air then it landed on the side of the road. I saw a white piece of what I thought was the cow go flying across the street when the car hit it. It turned out to be a piece of the car. The sickest and weirdest thing I have ever seen in my life. And to top it off- the car didn't even stop. So ridiculous. Just after it happened, I stopped and turned to look and see if there was anybody else who saw it happen. Luckily there were some other people there. I thought the cow would have died on impact, but it was still alive! It had a hard time standing, so I am pretty sure it broke it's leg(s). The worst part was that Crew witnessed the whole thing. And for a 4 year old that is a pretty traumatic thing to watch. He was pretty upset and so concerned about the cow. He had to go over to see it to make sure it was ok. Bottom line- stuff like this happens all the time. People go way faster than they should, and pass when they shouldn't, and you just have to hope that you are out of the way.

Sidewalks!! We have a 30 minute walk to campus and pushing a double wide stroller while walking on a road with some crazy drivers (who can drive while drinking alcohol), especially walking around what we call the "turn of death"- makes me long for sidewalks. Sometimes I think we could be that poor innocent cow that gets hit one of these days.

A real life American DRYER!!! Oh what would it even be like to have soft towels again that smell clean and aren't crispy and scratchy from being hung out on the line? I really can't even imagine.

But mostly I miss HIM!

Obviously, I knew I wouldn't see him much during medical school, but I didn't think it would be as hard as it is sometimes. I miss getting him all to myself (well sharing him with Crew and Jack) when he would get home from work and then having him home all day on Saturdays and Sundays! He studies seriously a good 6 days out of the week- sometimes more- from about 7AM until dinner (where he is home for about 2 hours) and then hits the books again until about 2 AM. He also has a demanding calling as well. So our time together it limited. I am counting down the days until the next break- 12 DAYS!!! But in all of this, I still feel that we are growing stronger together despite our lack of time together.

Early on we titled this blog, "Finding Joy in the Journey" (from a talk given by President Monson). It has summed up our experiences over the 7 years of our marriage. Some situations in our lives have been far from ideal, but it has always come down to what we make of life. It really doesn't matter what situation we are in, where we live, what we have or don't have, what trials we are facing, we can always look at life as an experience and find the joy in everday. President Monson says, it best, "it is my sincere prayer that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey." I'm sure we are just skimming the surface of what is to come.

And yet amidst all of these things I miss, I truly feel that we are where we need to be. For whatever reason, whatever we need to learn. That is what life is... finding joy in the journey!