While Googling my name, I discovered that Laurie Wells is also a Broadway star for Mamma Mia. I was quite curious about the movie since I shared a little bit of fame in a indirect way...tsk tsk.
So, I went last night and it was quite fun. I had no idea just how much fun. I won't spoil it and tell you what it was about. I had to go it alone as my "other half" wouldn't be caught dead going to such a film and took a jaunt to Gotham City to check out the events transpiring there. It was so odd, going to a movie alone but I tried it anyhow. An interesting Sat. nite. If you like singing and dancing and beautiful scenery, try it.

July 15th

Christania was quite a place. In July of 1973 I relished the summer days after a very hard winter and a bleak one at that. Winters in Denmark can be very cold but I think it was especially hard in Christania that year. Hippyism was at it's peak and that old army base housed so many kids from all over Europe that were there to find the Ultimate high or "whatever". You could find anything there. It was an exciting place to be and never boring. It was my home that year.

My typical day would start out by waking in the icy cold and trudging my way out of an old army barracks we renamed "New Jerusalem", to the kitchen where I prepared breakfast. I had to pilfer a saw to slice enough rock hard black Danish bread for 35 people in time for breakfast. I wore boots in case I would ever drop a loaf on my foot. My breakfast entertainment and distraction. was one of the neighbors that would zip past my kitchen window riding a bicycle stark naked. He came every morning no matter how cold, his long blond hair streaming in the wind. I then had to get over to the underground bunker where we kept the rest of our food under a heavy chain, lock and key. I had to check out the day's lunch and dinner possibilities and haul the fixings over to the kitchen. I specialized in "one pot stews" with an amazing assortment of vegetables.

After getting that done and taking nearly an hour to chew my piece of black bread, we had our "get together" time and devotions and planned the day- which consisted of taking care of the other inhabitants of Christania, from old Nehemiah, the founder, to just about anybody we could find that might be sick, on a bad trip or having another crisis of some sort. This included cleaning the communal toilets after we chipped off the icicles and other stuff. Back then I think the hippies thot that disinfectant and cleanliness of any sort, were signs of everything bad. People lived wherever they could and sometimes I felt like I was going through smoky opium dens and tunnels in ancient China. It was all so foreign and there were some people there that were in a very bad state. It was especially serious when it was real cold as people would bundle up and just space out in a stupor and would be in danger of freezing in some little corner. Things were better when spring rolled around. Everything just seemed brighter and a lot more hopeful. There were even flowers around the lake! Also, the toilets were icicle free!
I wasn't really in Christania all that long- just about a year. It just seemed very long as so much happened there and each day was so full. I lived a lifetime that year.
On July 15th of 1973, I got married there. I married a man,Abib was his name back then. He had such a bushy beard that I don't think I really knew what he looked like under it all. I just knew that he was the one I loved and wanted to spend my life with. We got married by the lake there in Christania and then went back to the barracks to celebrate with everyone- including a group of Egyptian students my husband met out witnessing. They were very poor but wanted so bad to give us a wedding gift. It was at a solemn moment in the wedding celebration where we were getting a talk about the "responsibilities of marriage" when they jumped up and did an Arabic "fertility" dance. I didn't know there was such a thing. It caught us all by surprise but was very entertaining.

Well, it was quite a day and night. We took off by ferry to Sweden to spend a bit of time away from it all. I had so much to look forward to but I missed Christania and all it's craziness and zany life. I don't think I ever went back after that more than just a short time. It will always be a part of my heart I will never forget.
I am happy to have started my journey of married life there. Somehow it made it a bit more special as even with all it's trying times, I had many dear friends there and everyday we touched people's lives- people that were at the life's bottom and reaching out. Our life together has been a colorful one also, full of exciting and growing moments. It was a marriage started in the midst of adversity and the Lord has helped us weather life's storms together and keep going through it all.
July 15th is a pretty good day....................I got a dozen of perfect red roses and a card that said such sweet things that it made me cry. Marriage is really worth it all! It's a beautiful life of love.

Just a quick note. James worked so hard on this project for me. I actually built and painted this puppy kennel (bottom half). It was so wobbly that he fixed that problem and proceeded to add a floor and a roof. I was just puttering around but he's a professional. It touched my heart that he did it during a visit when he didn't have to really have a working vacation.

That little fur ball is to one day be a mighty Standard poodle....small beginnings. greater ends.

She's having a birthday!

Well, 1975 was quite a year and will be forever remembered as a monumental year. I remember so many exciting things happening all around the globe while I sat at the top of the world (almost) eating reindeer sandwiches and smoked eel and strawberry yogurt, braving snowstorms and gales. Each day was a surprise as it seemed we were forever traveling that year. In the midst of all that, the Wells family also grew that year! Viola! Maya Moonbeam arrived.

That spring we crossed the sea to Gotland in what I can only classify as an Arctic hurricane- Maya safely sleeping and growing in my very over sized tummy as I rolled from side to side on the floor in the ferry's nursery room.

I do remember it being very cold in Sweden that year and there not being enough gas to go anywhere either. Sound familiar? It seemed like I spent an eternity sitting on those old wooden seats. Trains were not very comfortable back then and it seemed like anywhere we went took at least 24 hrs. to get there. Sweden is a very long country. Beautiful but long.

It was kind of nice when June finally rolled around and Maya eventually decided to join us. Either the Doctor was 3 weeks off in his estimations or she just hung out as long as she possibly could. I have to admit that Swedish doctors seem to be the most laid back of any country I have been in. They seem to flip coins to make their diagnosis and that was on good days. At least they got it right that I was pregnant. Anyway, June 23rd was the day!
Par for the course, everybody had vacated Goteborg to attend Summer Festivals in the North and dance around poles with colorful ribbons, sing old tunes and play flutes. At least it seemed the hospital was quite empty. The poor dad paced and wrung his hands while Maya made her debut. We really didn't have much help at all. Well, enough for the beginning!

I am not all that great at blogging so my pictures are all disorganized. Here we had 2 choices, Las Vegas or Death Valley. Being short on cash, we steered clear of Las Vegas. Maya always seemed to have coins jingling around her pocket so she was trying to get us to make an investment. Ha!







Five years in Japan can do a lot for a girl. Here she look a bit pensive but she was probably hatching some plot of some sort. Arg....teenagers! Ask Nadia if you get a chance. They had plenty of plots in those days.

Always quite the artist. This was the side of our trailer and Maya was one of our main puppeteers that year. We sure had fun!

I wish I could have found a modeling picture to put here. It seemed like each country we lived in, people were always wanting the girls for models. We were usually too busy but they did star in a Kodak Camera commercial as a young couple's happy children playing ball on a beach and did another commercial on Japanese TV for a Department Stores Spring line of clothing. I remember how they loved trying on the outlandish hats and what fun we had watching them on TV. Maya had such an infectious smile and still does.

Speaking of her smile, I have to comment that at just a few months old, we visited my sis in California. She was in awe that I had kids. She was married but had not wanted to have children. As a baby, you could never catch Maya doing anything but sleeping or smiling in a face cracking smile. People just melted right and left. It was then and there that my sister decided to have kids. Jake and Zac have Maya to thank for their existence- 2 wonderful cousins- Zac is now a Math Professor and Jake a California Firefighter. He parachutes into forest fires, which is a big need in California.

We lived on Cerro Allegre in Valparisio,Chile back in the early 80's and we were a happy bunch.

Our home overlooked the bay and we spent many hours traveling the hillsides in the outdoor elevators. We loved watching the moving lights. Nadia and Maya, always adaptable and adventurous, made quick friends with the neighbors, learned Spanish and spent a lot of time convincing me to let them do the shopping at the corner store. I won't divulge what exactly they came home with however, other than to ,that the kids all developed a taste for Chilean sweets. Learning a language at a young age definitely has advantages.

On a humorous note-Once we were headed home along a dusty Chilean street when Maya had the impulse to leap over a fire hydrant which was actually quite tall. She was a shorter little 8 year old. She ended up hanging by the hem of her shorts with her nose touching the ground and all four limbs flailing. The shorts bravely tried to hold together but were slowly ripping, Ah ha...want a unusual way to discover contraband. Her pockets gave up the goodies but I couldn't stop laughing as I rescued the poor little girl. She almost always took tense and embarrassing moments so well and in good humor.

Someday I can tell you about the exceptions!

About that same time, I came down suddenlywith Hepatitus A and was immobilized. My dear sweet husband and Nadia were traveling in the States for 3 months and couldn't easily be reached from the little desert city we were living in. I remember how brave she was and just jumped right in to take care of her 2 little brothers and me. She amazed me. This was before the days of cell phones. We were really out in the sticks and didn't even have a phone of any kind. Friends visited a few days later and kindly hired us a maid but Maya had stepped to the plate and rescued all of us til we could get in touch with their dad. It was a tough week but all turned out well. Tim was just 2 and at that age...... and especially in Tim's case, kids are a hand full.

To end my little travelogue, really just a grain of sand on the beach, Maya always had such a special place in our little family of missionary pioneers. I always admired her for her spunk and protective and caring spirit. Now that she's grown, I admire her even more. If I can anything about her, she is an OVERCOMER, a problem solver, a very creative person and a true care giver. I feel cared for and safe when she is around.

It isn't the easiest thing that she is in a far off place. She is a fantastic mom and the great teacher I never really was. I went to college to be a teacher but it sure seems that all my girls got the natural gift of "teaching from the heart" that can only come from a life of living for the Lord and following Him daily. Her 4 girls amaze me and I know it's because they have such a good mom that gives them her best. It's exciting to see her little family grow up and knowing they will continue to make a difference and make the world a better and happier place.

Happy Birthday and thank you for being YOU! Never give up!!!

PS

Bath anyone? It is a little rustic but the selection of shanpoos and brushes is great. Plus, there's plenty of fresh air and a great view.

This is a little glimpse of what I organized. It took a while but looked great for a few minutes. Actually, the stable is a lot of fun and we have made some new friends- both 2 and 4 legged . It's just so much work! ugh!

Why I have been busy....

I

This is the reason why I have not been on my blog as of late. I included a pic of a cat for those of you that don't like horses and dogs. Teresa is taking riding lessons this summer and unable to walk afterwards. I do all her chores while she sits around and encourages me to do a good job! Then these cute little furry things are not really Siamese kittens. They are actually Standard Poodles and there are 12 of them . That is occupying a lot of my time.

Pictures say it all!

Oh one thing I did do, we all went to the Theatre to see Gershwin's An American in Paris. It was great and a lot of singing and dancing. It was hard to sit still.

Happy Birthday Perla Renee!

This was in Hiroshima, Japan. She always been the leader of the pack!

A Preacher at a young age. She's always taken her work very seriously....

A few ballet steps on the sea wall in Japan. She didn't sing a lot but her feet were never long in one place.

I just wanted to throw in a few pictures from yester year. June 4th is almost upon us once again and my Pearl is yet another year older. I have been thinking of her for weeks- maybe as she is so far away and after her last visit, we all miss her so much. She adds so much joy and sparkles to the atmosphere where ever she goes.

I was thinking of how she actually started her life's journey in the driest desert on earth- the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile. It was such an incredibly unique place and that so well defines her personality. She was actually born during an exciting time, when Chile was under a State of Siege. Getting to the clinic under a white flag with minutes to spare, was exciting enough but then the table broke underneath me and I am not exactly sure how the rest of the delivery went. Then somehow I was convinced they had switched babies on me before I was able to see her. I was creating hovoc with the nurses and doctor. I was one frantic mom but then, at that time in Chile, there were some very wild stories about the government going around Chile. Fortunately, her daddy was right there, keeping a close eye on her and me at all times and assured me she was the "one". No mistake. Well, also she was the only baby in the hospital that night. Crazy me.

I so seldom panic.

Anyway,I have so much to say about her. I would be up all night and never begin to touch on all the joy she brought into our lives. I have seen over and over again how the Lord has had His hand on her life. She was actually born with one leg shorter than the other. The doctors informed me that they were going to put a cast on her at 6 months old and that she would have to lie still for a few months to get the joint back in place. It was a real case of- "As they went , they were healed."

I had a little Japanese cloth carrier (before the days of Baby Bjorn). She seemed to love being out of doors so I just strapped her to her dad every day as he went about the city, doing his work for the Lord. He carried her everywhere and she spent all day in that position, which turned out to be the healing factor. When it came time for them to put a cast on her, her legs were the same length. No cast needed. We were jumping with joy and Perla has been steaming ahead full blast ever since.

Her love of reading always amazed me. I have never seen a child ride a bike while reading or mowing a lawn while reading like she did. When I was a kid, I refined the art of horseback riding with a book in hand. To my credit, at least the horse had good eyes.

She would be hanging upside down from a tree" reading," rollerblading" reading" and when she got older, hiding a book beneath her school books "reading". So, I can honestly say, her knowledge always stunned me. If there were no books about, she would pick up anything available. I had to keep taking phone books away from her. If I needed to know something, I just asked Perla.

Well, now I hear she is writing. I can believe it.

She is so genuine, loving and kind. Wherever she is, and whomever she is with, you are blessed . However I do have to say, I miss her more and more as time goes by.

Happy Birthday Perla, just 1 day early!