There is a season by Dana

A dear friend in Cochabamba gave me some good advice:  life comes in seasons. There's times when you give more, and later on, you are the one receiving.  There's a month when several people die, and you seem trapped in days of mourning; then a friend miraculous gives birth--two babies in fact.  And the doctors said she wasn't even able to conceive.

The sage advice to see one's present time as just a season of many, has helped me a lot.  When I just get stuck, it's not forever.  When things are going well, savor it.  Our family has seen several seasons lately: celebrations, saying goodbye, and pushing through.

Celebrations:  Ever the delightful day, Kellton and Astoria participated in their school's festivities for Cochabamba Day.  Kellton fell in love with the dance "Caporales" with its boot-stomping music and extravagant costumes.  Astoria learned the choreography of her classes' dance, and enjoyed Cochabamban food as well.  She also graduated from Kindergarten last week and her class performed a play my friend Paola (from Sparkle) wrote and directed to celebrate their accomplishments.

She loves the colorful costumes to celebrate Cochabamba.*

It's all about the boots, and their giant bells.*

Kellton's first grade classmates for the dance, Caporales

Saying goodbye:  Living as an expatriate has it's fair share of painful goodbyes.  Our family has enjoyed the Spies family from Australia.  Three of their four kids have been in the same classes as our kids, and we've shared play dates, meals, moms outings and baby showers.  All four of us will miss this dear family as they return to Australia for more schooling.

Astoria and Daisy Spies share a graduation moment,
plus the very same birthday this week

Pushing through:  Quinn currently has several project that take an extra measure of concentration and patience.  His upcoming workshops on business are pushing him to the next level of Spanish mastery--and the effort is uphill.

In the 1960's, The Byrds made the words of Ecclesiastes fresh again with their song "Turn, Turn, Turn".  Good advice today for any season you are facing**.

 Ecclesiastes 3:  A Time for Everything  

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

*A special thank you to Angie Washington for her photos

**Book recommendation:  For more on this topic of seasons,  I highly recommend Naomi Reed's "My Seventh Monsoon".
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