five on friday.

1.  As I type this, it is 48 degrees in Kirksville.  FORTY EIGHT!!!!!  And by 4 AM, it will be 37 degrees.  I did not sign up for this.  Where is fall?

2.  My kids were probably the only children in the entire city that wore fleece lined boots, gloves, and toboggans today!  Don't judge us.  We are fragile.

3.  We need a hot tub for survival.  Anybody?

4.  We'd buy our own, but these two are running up our grocery bill.

We are currently going through about $100 worth of formula EVERY WEEK.  Gray and Maggie- you can slow down on the drinking.  You are literally eating us out of house and hot tub.

5.  The good news is we are saving money on this new Walmart Savings Catcher thing.  If you haven't checked it out, you should.  You simply scan the barcode on your receipt and Walmart does the rest.  In a few days, they'll let you know if their competitors have lower prices on your items, and they return the difference to you in a savings card.  Can't beat that!  Now if I can increase my savings from $3.78 to $100 every week, I'll be in business!  Happy Friday!

five on friday.

1.  It's been a LONG week at the Marlin house.  One sick baby is tough.  Two sick babies is complete TORTURE!  We are finally on the up and up, but two nasty colds and a round of Fifths Disease just about did us in.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this isn't a sign of things to come this winter.

2.  We left our army of kids with a babysitter tonight.  She seemed unharmed and still breathing when we returned, but I'm sure this crew left a permanent mark on her!  We made a really uneducated guess on what to pay her, so it's likely we either paid her way too much or way too little.  What is the going rate for babysitting four kids these days?

3.  While the babysitter was wrangling our kids, we were out with some great friends enjoying a fabulous dinner and lots of laughter.  We also enjoyed their hot tub on a cool Missouri night.  This girl could get used to such a thing.  Anybody out there have a hot tub that they wanna send this way? We would take good care of it for you!

4.Tomorrow, our boys play in their first soccer games.  Jason is the coach of Jack's team and the assistant coach of Max's team.  They had ONE practice prior to tomorrow's games, and our little worrier, Jack, is a little apprehensive about the preparedness of his team.  He's been doing lots of extra practice on his own though to "help his team win."  The YMCA doesn't actually keep score, but I know three guys that will be counting goals!  May the best team win...

5.  And last but not least.... I got the bright idea to move some chairs to our front porch this week to make it feel a little more welcoming and home-y.  Today, I received a letter in our mailbox that stated I should "clear the approach to and exit from the mailbox on both sides" so that the carrier does not "fall of injure their self."



I'm D.Y.I.N.G. over this.  I'm generally a rule follower by nature, but I'm struggling with this one.  Is that chair really an "obstacle?"  Could someone really "fall or injure their self" on it?  I'm still on the fence about this.  I haven't decided what my course of action will be.  I like my chairs out there.  So I have three choices:  (1) Move the chairs, (2) move the mailbox, or (3) have my service suspended.   Decisions.  Decisions.

I'm closing this with nine minutes to spare.  The time seems to fly you're putting babies back to sleep a hundred times having fun!  Happy Friday.

five on friday.

1.  I have so much to tell you, but first... we've finally moved in to our first permanent home in quite a few months.  We still have a few boxes to go, but we are slowly settling in to life in Kirksville, Missouri.  We joined a church, bought car tags, have Missouri drivers' licenses, and attended a hometown football game tonight.  I guess you can call us Missourians!

2.  We are currently living in a home that one of our church members has GRACIOUSLY provided until we find a more permanent place.   If loaning us a house wasn't enough, our church members STOCKED it with everything we could possibly need.  Since we sold most of our household items prior to India, this was such a blessing.  Groceries, cleaning supplies, linens, diapers and wipes, and even toys for the boys.... we are so thankful for all those that pitched in on this effort!  We were blown away!


3.  The babies are growing.  They turned six months old nine days ago (huge sigh.)  They are changing daily, and watching them grow is so much fun.  Maggie continues to hold the lead on weight, and it's no surprise.  She can spot a bottle a mile away.  Here's a fun video of her trying to play, but something just keeps catching her eye.


I see a bottle. from Sarah Marlin on Vimeo.

4.  A few years ago, my mom bought us these dinner time cards with questions on them.  We actually have the biblical version, but I think there are others.  We saved them until our boys were a little older, because some of the questions require some thought.  It's our boys' favorite part of dinner, and they keep us entertained.  Last night, we tackled, "If Jesus came to your house, what meal would you serve and what would you talk about?"  Max (in all seriousness) said, "BREAD AND WATER!"  We pull out all the stops, Jesus, so if you're ever in our neck of the woods, stop by for a prison meal!


5.  The weather in Missouri has been so pleasant since we've arrived, but there were a few hot days this week.  A fellow church member posted this photo of his home last winter in response to some of the negativity about the warm weather.  I felt a very cold chill run down my spine.  Our family is going to FREEZE!

In the meantime, we intend to bask in the warmth and enjoy the weekend!  Happy Friday.

five on friday.

1.  We arrived back in the United States about two weeks ago.  These people were waiting on us when we arrived in Atlanta.



I was thrilled to see my parents, but this girl made my day!  Sometimes you get lucky enough to find a friendship that is deeper than time zones and distance!



2.  The boys changed quite a bit in those three years that we were gone.  It's bittersweet.


3.  In fact, THIS BOY turned 11 last week.   This week, I had to get his approval for the clothes I bought him.  What happened to the days when I bought it, laid it out for him to wear it, and he loved it!  Time, stand still!



And to make matters worse, THEY turned four months old last week.  Why is it that in the same breath I want them to grow up and learn new and exciting things, yet I want them still be those 4 and 5 pound babies that I first saw on February 20th?





4.  This morning, I had a cystocopy done to check my bladder.  And PRAISE THE LORD, I got a clean bill of health, which means no cancer this time!  I'll keep being scanned every 3 months, but every good report makes the cancer less likely to return!

5.  Tonight, Jason and I went on a "date."  We had two babies in tow, ate dinner, and finished off the hot date with a trip to Kroger, only to walk the aisles!  We are a sad case of missionaries that have missed American food.  Don't judge us!  Who knows what sort of exciting things we will get into next week!  Happy Friday!

five on friday.

1.  This happened on Wednesday.  It currently has a protective screen cover on it to prevent shards of glass from sticking in my face or fingertips.  Jason says, "It really isn't that bad."  Liar, liar. Pants on fire.



2.  My boys have been participating in random photo ops (as per their choice) for three years now, but it never ceases to be the weirdest thing to me.  Why would someone want a random picture of my children that they don't even know?  Crazy.  This guy got lucky-  Max doesn't give his photo away easily!




3.  We are having a yard sale tomorrow.  I'd be willing to bet that it will be the first one ever held in Bhopal.  Our plan is to start the packing process after the sale.

4.  Did I mention that we are leaving in 10 days?  Words like excited, elated, and ecstatic come to mind!  Now if those bags would just pack themselves.  I'm already praying that the "packing Nazi," otherwise known as Jason, and I can agree on what is important to take home and what is not... in other words, I need him to agree with everything I say!  That's fair, right?

5.  And some random pictures for your Friday...

Sweet eyelashes...



I need more hands...



A serious discussion with Daddy...



And two more...





The End.  Happy Friday!

if she were still alive.

If she were still alive, I'd ask her how surprised she was when she delivered, not one, but two babies some 67 years ago.

I'd ask her how she managed her six and three-year-old boys while taking care of those two baby boys.

I'd want to know if they always slept together or had separate rooms.

I'd ask her if she had to give up making homemade biscuits for a season until her life settled down a bit.

I'd ask her how she got it all done and still had time to shower each day.

I'd want to know her tips for getting them to sleep at the same time and how to soothe them when they cry simultaneously.

I'd ask her how she raised them together, yet loved them as individuals and encouraged them to be unique.

I'd call her often with stories that only a mother of twins could understand.

I'd want to sit at her table for big slice of her 15-layer chocolate cake, while she told me her stories of raising children.

I'd tell her how I always wanted to be "the one" that had the next set of twins in the family.

I'd have called her on that day when I first saw those two tiny blobs on the screen.

I'd ask her if she could see any "Dasher" in Maggie and Gray.

And I'd tell her how proud I am that one of "her twins" is my daddy.



My grandmother died almost 5 years, ago, but oh, how many questions I'd have if she were still alive.  As a small girl, I still remember her wondering which grandchild might have twins one day.  I NEVER imagined it would me be, but what a special bond I have with her.  I've wished a thousand times she could hold them just once.  So grateful that she was still alive to meet Jack and Max.  She was one in a million!     

changing course.

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~Anatole France



I've ventured out on a thousand new journeys in my lifetime, and change never comes easy.  The quote above perfectly captures the joy of embarking on new adventures, yet the sorrow in saying goodbye to the old!  Each road we travel molds us, changes us, and leaves lasting impressions on our lives.  They become a part of us, and we mourn the loss of them.



Almost three years ago, we sold most of our possessions, packed 20 bags, and boarded a plane for India.  We had never visited this country.  We'd hardly been outside of America.  But we stepped out on faith with a seven-year-old and three-year-old and tried hard not to look back!



The journey has been amazing.  We've experienced spiritual highs-- worshipping with nationals in a foreign language, yet experiencing the love of the God of the Universe.  We've grown together as a family and had the opportunity to do life together in a way that few people ever experience.  We've taken trips of a lifetime, that usually only make a bucket list, but never get crossed off.  We've worked with some of the most incredible teammates in our organization and soaked up a wealth of knowledge from each of them.  We've learned to live with less, depend on each other more, and be content when things are beyond our control.



But every journey has its struggles.  We've also experienced spiritual lows-- seeing our own sin like never before and finding ourselves longing to worship in our heart language.  We've missed our American relationships with family and friends, mentors and co-workers.  We've all said more tearful goodbyes than our hearts could handle at times.  We've lived in and experienced one of the most poverty-stricken places in the world, and we've found ourselves more than once becoming cold to the sadness that surrounds us each day.  We've longed for the comforts of home, missed funerals, births, and holidays, and felt the strain of one foot in America and one foot in India.



Thankfully, the Lord is gracious.  He carries us when we can't carry ourselves.  He reminds us to be joyful in all things, good and bad.  And He loves us when we are on a mountain, but just as much when we fall in the valleys of life.



In one month, we will say goodbye to this place.  But it could never be forgotten.  You CANNOT come to India and not leave changed.  You CANNOT worship with these people and not love our God more.  You CANNOT experience the heart of the pastors we've worked with and not long to draw closer to the Lord.  And you CANNOT see the darkness that inhabits the hearts of millions of Indians and not cry out for their hearts to be changed from the inside out!



So as we prepare to pack up and head back to America for a new chapter in life, we will spend the next few weeks reflecting on this place that has changed us for the better, loving the teammates that have been our family for the last three years, and praying for the hearts that so desperately need Jesus.  In 29 days, we leave this country with 24 bags, a ten-year-old, a six-year-old, two three-month-old babies, and a thousand memories that will never be forgotten.  We covet your prayers as we close this chapter of our lives!




Our plans after India--- We fly out of Delhi on June 10th and arrive in America on June 11th.  We will spend the month of June in Dublin, Georgia.  On July 3rd, we will make our way to Tupelo, MS, where we will spend July. After we reunite with  family and friends, Jason will assume the role of Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church, Kirskville, Missouri.  We are beyond excited about the coming months and all that is in store!