So after I wrote that post about the Philippines- I realized most of it was negative! I said I loved it, but didn't say too much about why. I think it's mostly because everyone understands the good things- there's not much to write about it and all the negatives are new things you never knew existed (like jumping worms in your fruit!) so that's what I chose to write about.

I love the Philippines. Granted- I live in this little bubble full of RICH PEOPLE in a GORGEOUS neighborhood that has guards at every entrance. We walk a few blocks and we're in this very beautiful area full of nice restaurants, stores, etc. Our backyard AND front yard are HUGE. There is a TON of room for my kids to run around. I love that it's sort of JUNGLY out there. All these groups of plants that are as tall as my kids and they can just hide in them and yell, "Mommy, can you see me?" so excited. I love that even though it's hot- we can always come out in the late afternoon and it's just right. There are two BEAUTIFUL very peaceful parks that we can drive to, completely avoiding traffic within 8 min (that is saying A LOT here!). I love the plants here. I love how intertwining the trees are- they are so different than the trees I grew up with. I think it's rad (and a little scary) that coconuts drop from trees in our yard and mangos will supposedly be dropping into our pool soon. I've grown really used to seeing lizards in our house- not that I like it.

I like driving here. It makes me feel kind of cool- like independent and capable. Often when I'm driving by myself, I wish one of my sisters was with me so they could be shocked and in awe of how I'm brave enough to drive in this crazy city. I always wish my family could see the life I live. See the things I see everyday and experience the day to day life. I grow so accustomed to it all, I often forget that it's different at all.

When Greg interviewed to come to the Philippines, we were hoping for Brazil (which Greg was super qualified for). But for whatever reason the interview was off and just didn't go right. Greg said the Philippines interview went SO WELL- he felt like we were SUPPOSED to go there. Everything was in sync and after that we were hoping for Philippines because Greg said it felt so right.

Now that we're here- I completely feel like God put so many details in place for us here. I see other people's houses, neighborhoods, and we have the best one. Even our SPECIFIC HOUSE- the exact location- makes it SO MUCH EASIER to walk to places. Being able to walk- and not drive- is HUGE. Driving is so horrible- it just defeats even WANTING to go out. And we're so lucky we can walk to so many great places just 5 minutes away.

We have friends. It doesn't seem like THAT big a deal until you don't have any for two years (Kyrgyzstan). Our ward is full of many great people, that we don't even get to know very well- because they live too far away or are schedules conflict- but there are so many great people here! Beyond that- our closet most favorite friends live closer to us than ANYBODY. Like 10 minutes away or LESS in good traffic. That is unbelievable here. Another one of those things were I feel like the Lord has just taken very good care of us here. Also- the majority of our friends are going to be here the same time as us! In Kyrgyzstan we were always making friends that were moving- or we were moving. It was hard to line up. Here we all seem to line up perfect- so no one has to say goodbye for another 2.5 yrs! It's magical! And a lot of these friends have kids that our kids love and they love them- it's perfect!

Help is CHEAP. Like less than $2 an hour cheap. So I have someone clean my house every week and do all my dishes, wash my clothes and watch my kids when I need to get a break. It's pretty marvelous. It always takes awhile to adjust to having someone doing all this stuff, but once you do- ahh . . . heaven. It is so nice to not have to do my dishes- did I mention we don't have a dishwasher? Also- that GUARANTEES Greg and I get a date night every week, which is SO NEEDED right now. We can't even complete sentences when our kids are awake. It's just pointless to try to talk to each other. And since we live to close to everything, we just walk to dinner, walk to a massage, walk to the movies- whatever- it's nice! I like being out on the town, seeing the people and lights. It's funny too- because we do everything in our neighborhood- and we stand out a bit- a lot of people recognize us. They'll ask where our kids are if we're out alone. Pretty funny.

Kids are never an inconvenience here. Filipinos LOVE kids. You wouldn't fully understand until you came here. Male, female, old, young- EVERYBODY LOVES BABIES. And I'm always overflowing with little kids, so it makes my life less awkward. In Kyrgyzstan I always felt so awkward with all my kids. People would just stare at me like I was a FREAK and here people are just ooing and aweing and picking my kids up and kissing them. They LOVE them. They always say, "Good job!" Like good job having 3 kids, good for you.

The love/hate part of living abroad is that it stretches you. You have to learn to flow with things or you drown. You just have to be ok with things or you will always be mad. And I love that it stretches me and I've hopefully changed for the better. The nice thing about here- is there are so many spots that are so similar to the USA. So it's not all horrible. You can go to lovely restaurants with amazing food and beautiful scenery and people speak english well and everything seems normal. And when I'm trekking through the nasty black smoke coming out of buses stuck in traffic and filthy people line the streets- as soon as I pass through the guards suddenly there is quiet and beauty and everything is lovely in my village and I'm so grateful to live where I do. I'm fully aware of the bubble I live in, but I love my bubble.