500 Loads of Laundry

500 loads of laundry. 119 days of home school. 26 Sundays of making coffee. Approximately 20 sleepovers (I've lost count, actually). 16ish trips to Pagosa Springs for theater class. 12 trips to the Jicarilla Library. 8 piano lessons. 5 Sunday School lesson plans. 3 doctor visits. 2 ski trips (with another one planned this week).

That's how long we've been in Dulce. 

Six months. It wasn't the calendar that I noticed, though, it was the dryer sheets. We bought this huge package of dryer sheets when we went to Farmington the very first time (along with many other things!). It had two boxes of 500 sheets each... And I finished the first one this week. 500 loads of laundry. More than 80 loads a month. That's almost 20 loads a week! That's crazy!

I thought it was time for a "check-in." How are we doing here in Dulce? What are we up to? What's next?

We are doing great! My husband is thriving as the pastor of the Jicarilla Apache Reformed Church. People have said that attendance is up. The church and parsonage are being used frequently for God's work. We are in the planning stage of beginning an AWANA children's program in conjunction with several other churches in town.

The list in the first paragraph keeps me pretty busy. Plus, I'm helping with the AWANA planning. And I was busy with glass through Christmas. I haven't done much since, but it feels good to have a break. I am working on a design for the centennial celebration of our church. It uses the Jicarilla Apache Great Seal as the basic design:

We are quite happy here in Dulce. We look forward to what God has in store for us here in the future. We know that He has called us here for His purposes; we are committed to working with His people here in the homeland of the Jicarilla Apache Nation. I, personally, am excited about the near future in starting AWANA. The children and youth of Dulce will benefit from the cooperation of the churches to offer such a great program.

Stay tuned for a glimpse of the centennial pattern, more about AWANA, and our continued adventures here in New Mexico!