A Lamppost Flickering

Last Post on Lampost

2011-03-22T00:54:00.003-04:00

Public service announcements:

#1: I have the best husband ever. More on that later.

#2: This South Texas wind and humidity are brutal to this girl's already confused "Am-I-Straight-Or-Am-I-Wavy" head of hair. Haven't seen a good hair day in days, y'all.

#3: Apparently, when I first started this blog several years ago, the source I used to check the spelling of "Lampost" was not inerrant. Yes, I, with my Bachelor of Arts in English Education, and as a former member of Triton High School's renowned Spell Bowl team, have been living under the dark shadow of a MISSPELLED blog title. Can you even begin to imagine my humiliation? The source I used has scurried away into oblivion, and I'm left with my mouth agape in horror as I face the accusing stares of every other dictionary and spelling resource who did not pass on incorrect information. My sister, who was also a Spell Bowl contestant, noticed, though she failed to red-ink me. She thought I had a good reason for the misspelling. Something quirky and mysterious.

Nope. I just plain old misspelled lamppost. And then didn't notice for years.

I hope we can still be friends.

And this will be my last blog post at A Lampost Flickering. It is time to say good-bye. You can find me in better spirits at A Lamppost Flickering instead. In addition to the gross misspelling incident, Blogger has made new and improved updates, of which my old blog has not been able to partake, so I will enjoy the benefits of a restart. I've imported all my posts and pictures and comments over there in the land of Correct Spelling. Feel free to spell check them as well.

Last announcement, relating to #1 is this:

#4: My husband just gave me the BEST birthday slash anniversary slash Mother's Day present ever. All three of those special days fall within three weeks of one another, and the pressure is on every year round that time. He got an early start this year, and just couldn't wait to present me with his gift.

Okay, so are you ready for me to untie the bow and lift the lid?

A new camera! Oh, and it's not just any ol' picture-taker. It's the one I've been a-pining and a-longing for. I feel like a little kid with a big kid toy. I was so surprised. I may have squealed, "Are you kidding me????" I may have jumped up and down. I may have squeezed the stuffin' out of him. I may still be glowing.

But....oh. I've been playing. And learning. I'm rediscovering the love of photography.

He sooo got it right. I love him for getting me.

So you're now invited to hop on over to Lamppost to see some of today pictures.

Excuse me while I blow out this Lampost for good...

What? It's March? You're Kidding Me.

2011-03-13T21:01:00.000-04:00

February has so few days--a whole two or three fewer!--so maybe that's why that mini-month slipped away so quickly. All I know is my head's dizzy from the speed at which the earth is spinning. Our last spring in Texas is here upon us now, and I'm trying hard to savor every mild breeze soaked in delicious sunshine before hot, hot summer, sears its mark, "S" for sizzling, on our backs and foreheads.

So before one more month whizzes past me, I'm unloading on y'all. Here's what you missed:

*We started and finished a season of Upward basketball with Caleb and Gabe. (A quick aside: I can't say enough good things about the Upward program. Our beginner athletes had a great season pushing themselves to do their best, learning basketball fundamentals, and placing God at the center of it all. I'm already looking forward to next year's season.) We're so proud of our boys.

*We celebrated Lily's 5th year being a Fasnacht. What a privilege it is being her momma! As she gets older, she asks to know more details of the story that is hers alone, details that sting and create more questions than they answer. One question she asked that I will share with you: "Why didn't someone else adopt me?"

She and I stared deep in each other's eyes for a frozen-in-time moment. What did she mean? Did she wish she had a different mom? She actually told me that recently. I tried to keep my heart steady as I asked her why she wanted a new mom. "Because I want to meet new people. I already know you." She is a social butterfly, but it's hard to think that she might see me as just a name on her dance card, both sides of which she hopes to fill. "Sweetie, mommies are forever. You can't switch mommies." "Oh. Okay. But I do like to meet new people." And then she went off to play.

I searched the black depths of her eyes, this child that is so mine and so not mine at all, all the while speed-fingering through the note cards in my "Tough Answers to Tough Questions" file. I didn't have a note card for that question. What was she really asking? Was it: "Why didn't anyone else want me?" Or : "Why couldn't it have been someone else?" Or maybe: "Is it possible that someone else could have been my parents?"

I felt such a heart-searing, painful kind of love at that moment. A tight, squeezing, breathless hurting love. I wish I could fully answer that question for her. She doesn't know that she only had two days to find a family before her file was sent back to China, perhaps forever nulling any chance at adoption. But I DON'T WANT her to feel rescued. The last thing she is is a damsel in distress. The only answer I had for her: "Because I'm the mommy God picked out for you. And you're the daughter God picked out for me." It's rock solid truth. And it's the only answer I have for her right now. I'm so, so glad He did, though the hurtful part of that truth is the abandonment and great loss that had to come before God brought us to each other.

And the scary parts of that truth are like holding your child and looking over the edge of a cliff or at a busy road or at an angry, swirling river just on the other side of the footbridge and shuddering. What if I would not have checked that adoption agency's website until after the weekend? What if another family had chosen her first? What if we had thought about the financial battle and medical unknowns and hesitated? What if...we had missed those two days and somewhere in a sterile Chinese orphanage a little seven-year-old jewel, my precious Lily flower, waited day after day for what would never come? Shudder.

And so we celebrated Gotcha Day 2011. We did our usual dinner at a Chinese restaurant, Lily's choice. She took her choosing very seriously, and decided firmly on our old favorite, despite pressure from her brothers (and maybe a little from her mother) to try a new one that recently opened just down the road from us. She glowed with sweet resolve. We also gave her a gift that we had been saving from our trip five years ago, a beautiful tea set that I picked out in Guangzhou at a shop filled ONLY with tea sets. She loves it, much to my great delight.

*And immediately following Gotcha Day is Valentine's Day. Not much to say about that. Just a whole lotta love and card-makin' happened.

(Card-making ideas courtesy of Family Fun magazine, found here and here, with a few modifications.) And we had to drop Rob off at the airport in the morning for his week-long chaplain conference in sunny San Diego. The day of red was a little blue for this lonely heart.

Oh, and I made cupcakes. With funky chocolate hearts. Only they weren't supposed to be funky, but it turns out they had already made up their mind to go the way of funky. I went with it.

*Next on our backwards glance is Gabriel's 10th birthday on March 3rd. TEN. YEARS. OLD. I'm not sure I was ready for that one to hit as hard as it did. But his birthday came like a locomotive and then stayed in town for days. I'm talking parties and outtings and friends and more cake and cupcakes than perhaps all of his last nine birthdays put together. His gift from us was a trip to see the San Antonio Spurs play the Miami Heat with Rob and Caleb. He seemed to enjoy it. And the Spurs won, so it's all good. The heavy celebrating took the sting out of having to say good-bye forever to single digits, because we were birthday hung-over for like a week.

Happy birthday, one last time this year, to my happy Gabe.

I think you're caught up, now that your eyes are burning and your brain is numb.

Oh, and one more tidbit. My sweet sister started her first ever blog, Alphabet Momma, which is the absolute cutest title, considering she is a homeschool teacher and her six kids' names begin with the first six letters of the alphabet, even though abc order and birth order don't quite line up. Which means that they didn't plan it that way, until they discovered that baby six, Baby F, was coming along. Boy, were they happy she was a girl, because cute boy F names are a challenge to come by. Anyhoo. She has challenged me to be a more faithful blogger. I accept that challenge, Alphabet Momma.

And, just for making it all the way to the end, I'm going to give you a hint as to what is coming soon...my very first ever blog giveaway!

Stay tuned!

"Depraved Indifference"

2011-02-04T20:15:00.002-05:00

There's this blog I love to haunt called A Place Called Simplicity.

This woman is a.m.a.z.i.n.g. She has such a heart for the orphaned child, so much so that she has filled her home with former orphans. She homeschools them all, God bless her. And she is a pastor's wife. Let's just say she sets the bar high, high, high for the likes of me. Oh, and she deals with M.S.

I wanna be like her when I grow up.

I dare you to watch this and not be moved to do something.

Christmas Newsletter Gone Digital

2010-12-24T01:23:00.002-05:00

I think this year gets the award for “Fastest Flier.” Can you believe that it's already Christmas? I feel like it was just last month that I was churning out our 2009 Christmas newsletter, and here I am, at eleven o'clock in the pm, reflecting over the past year and praying over what to share with you for 2010.

We anticipate this being our last Christmas in Corpus Christi, as we expect to be moving to a new duty station next summer. We have been told that we will be moving to Jacksonville, North Carolina some time late next summer or early autumn, but as anyone in the military will tell you, until Rob's orders are in hand, there's just no guarantee when or even where we will rotate.

So we do what we have learned to do: enjoy where we're at while we're here. Bloom where we've been planted.

We have loved our two years in Corpus Christi, TX, and although we look forward to the new adventures that await us, we will all be a little sad to leave our home on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Rob and I have been so blessed this year. We can't begin to list all of the ways that God has tenderly and mightily moved on our behalf. We see His hand of mercy all around us, in the lives of our precious children, in our loving family and friends, in our church family.

Rob's job as a chaplain in the Navy has stretched his faith and increased his desire to know God more. We have loved this ministry.

My job as a homeschooling mom of four fabulous kids has increased my reliance on the God of all wisdom, which He so generously lavishes on all who ask of Him.

2010 saw us:

::serving in the music ministry of our church. Rob plays guitar while I lead the worship.

::taking our first real family vacation in five years to Orlando, FL.

::training for and running the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon in November. (Rob ran the full and I ran the half, and we both did our personal bests!)

From

Caleb:

We went to Florida to see my best friend Jeremy in May. We swam in a pool, we played hide and seek, we played video games, and we played baseball. Gabe and I watched Jeremy play baseball, and I got to keep track of the innings and points for everyone to see with pride. We also watched a space shuttle launch! My new friend Nick has a new baby brother named Kaleb, pronounced Caleb, and he is about three weeks old.

Merry Christmas! I hope you get everything you want, and if I could give you a present, I would give you a hug! To me, Christmas means joy, because Jesus was born!

From

Gabriel:

This year I got to see my best friend. He lived in Florida, and while we were there, we went to the pool almost every day.

And here's Gabe's gift to you, an original poem, by Gabriel Fasnacht:

Hang up your stocking, put up your tree,

Christmas is almost here for you and me.

This year I'm going to give something to my brothers,

My sister, my dad and my mother.

But why do we have it on this cold month of December?

Why not some time else, like in November?

Well, the 25^th is when we celebrate Jesus being born.

December is also when coats have to be worn.

His last line made me laugh, because he doesn't have to wear a coat on many of our South Texas December days.

From

Lily:

I love Jesus. He does things for us. This year we

went on trips. And we also took beautiful pictures.

Merry Christmas, family! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

And Lily's gift to you is a verse from a song she sang in the children's choir for Christmas:

“Baby in a manger ere the break of day,

Baby in a manger sleeping on the hay,

Hear the angels singing joyful at thy birth:

'Gloria! Gloria! Peace on earth!'”

From

Seth:

In school we get to do crafts and we do math. I do not like math, because there's so much work. I like to hear stories.

Christmas means giving presents to all. God's Christmas present to us is: Jesus!

Seth's gift to you is his favorite verse from another song they sang in children's choir:

We got a chance to sing at church. I sang,

“I did not live in Bethlehem that Christmas night of Old,

Or travel with the wise men there to bring him gifts of gold.

But I can give a greater gift than any earthly gem,

For all my heart and all my love will be my gift Him.”

From all of us:

We pray your Christmas this year is full of God's gifts for you: hope, peace, joy and love.

With Love,

Rob, Jody, Caleb, Gabe, Lily and Seth

The Evolution of a Camo-Cast

2010-12-01T10:37:00.004-05:00

I couldn't talk my all-boy boy into a Christmasy candy-cane cast.

The camo makes him smile. Which makes me smile.

And now his arm comes with a bludgeon.

Dx: Fractured

2010-11-30T13:56:00.004-05:00

Don't let Mr. Serious fool you. He's feeling fine. As fine as you can be with a broken arm. He says his arm doesn't hurt right now, and he using it to scroll around on some computer games as I type.

Interesting tidbit: attached to his broken arm is his beloved sucking thumb. With the right cast, we may have stumbled upon a thumb-sucking intervention program. (Is that mean?)

I do, really, feel bad that his arm has been broken for three days. But even the doctor was shocked at Seth's lack of pain...or his super-hero level of pain tolerance. Not sure which. He was laughing and smiling and teasing. I can't hang on to guilt too tightly.

What I Did Today: Play By Play

2010-11-30T00:26:00.006-05:00

3:36 a.m. I awoke to a feverish nine-year old tunneling under our comforter from the foot of the bed to the pillow end. He used to do this--as stealthily as possible--as a toddler. I knew something was up, and my Sherlock senses were affirmed when he proceeded to unstealthily leap out of my bed to puke.

6:04 a.m. Gabe finally appeared to sleeping peacefully, this time on the couch with a puke bowl at his side, and I shuffled back to bed.

6:05 until 9:08 a.m. Assylum-worthy dreams reeled through their crickety film projector behind my eyes, one after another. I would have rested better not falling asleep.

9:10 a.m. I prayed a blessing on Rob for leaving me with some coffee, just enough to give me the clarity to brew another pot. Function level: minimum.

9:20 until 11:00 a.m. I turned off the cartoons that kept the kids occupied while I slept in (don't judge!) and got everybody breakfasted and dressed and started with school. Gabe still felt sick, but he listened to a couple of books on tape as he sprawled on the couch. I rebooted the laundry. Showered. Made the bed. Pulled leftover Mexican Turkey Soup out of the fridge for lunch, except that it is too spicy for anyone but Rob and me, so the kids would just have to have pb&j. Old faithful.

11:00 a.m. until about noon: Rob came home for lunch, at his usual time, and enjoyed his warmed up Mexican Turkey Soup, with fresh avocado and cilantro with me. It was fab. (There is a whole stockpot-ful to share; come on over. You'll have to BYOA, though, because we finished up the last avocado today.) Oh, and Rob, upon finishing his soup, took a look at Lily's 2nd loose tooth, and persuaded her to let me pull it out. Pop, out it came with barely a tug.

And before I forget...AGAIN...I'll be right back. I need to make sure the Tooth Angel (Lily says fairies aren't real and therefore it's the Tooth Angel that brings her a dollar) has come. Sit tight...

As it turns out, she just came. Whew, won't Lily be so excited that she wasn't among the last on the Tooth Angel's rounds this time. The Tooth Angel made it here before breakfast, before the very regretful and guilty looking momma finds Lily in her bed sadly holding her tooth instead of a new dollar. Before the momma must assure her that sometimes the Tooth Angel runs a little late and that she should check again after she eats her oatmeal.

Noon until, oh, I can't even remember: Read to Seth and Lily, American history: our freedoms and our country's symbols. And we practiced saying the Pledge of Allegiance. We don't say it every day here, and I realized that my little ones didn't know it. Well, we'll fix that. Then they went off to work on something fun in the back yard, and I decided to melt some old candles and fill up some jars and votives with the melted wax. Surprisingly, I had a stash of wicks for just this purpose. I've probably had these candle wicks for seven or eight years. I can't even remember where or when I got them. They came out of a box that I just recently happened upon. I've never used them before today. Most days, I have no idea why I've hung onto something...and I'm a big sucker for anything crafty that I might be able to craft into something else crafty...but today, I'm glad I didn't give away the wicks, because look what I made:

And what else? Oh, then I made dinner. (Lumpia rolls, fried potatoes and salad.) I worked off the lumpia with a two-mile jog in the dark, my first since the race; I felt pretty good. I showered--again--and then watched Chuck with the hubs. And now we circle back around to where I am, on the couch with my little netbook, updating my blog.

Hasn't my day been exciting? This is actually the only day this week that I don't have errands to run, and that reminds me, I need to either renew my library books online tonight or turn them in to the library in the morning before it opens to avoid a hefty fine.

Tomorrow will begin, hopefully not with puking, but indeed with a call to the doctor and here's why: Saturday, Seth fell down outside of the chapel and landed on his arm or wrist. He bawled, and he's tough kid. He has a very large bump on his bone, and though he doesn't complain of pain when he moves it throughout his day (and he seems to have full motion) he can't climb up his bunk bed ladder, and he can't hold anything, and he winces when the big bump is touched. The bump has not gotten any smaller since Saturday. We were hoping it was just a goose egg, but now doubts are creeping in. Time to call in the experts.. I will feel A.W.F.U.L. if it turns out to be broken.

And if Gabe is still feeling miserable (his fever never fully broke all day and he ate very little) then we might as well make it a family trip to the doctor.

Add to that tomorrow: speech therapy, children's choir practice, adult choir practice, and Christmas program practice. (In addition to more laundry, more schooling, more meal prep.)

It's going to be a two-pot coffee day, I can tell!

All of this day, all of tomorrow, all of the next day, I'm giving to God. It's His. What a relief that it's not about me, because of me, for me or to me. In that, I can find shiny nuggets of joy and peace, because they are there, let me tell you.

Get your sifter out and shake away the sand and grit and find yours, too.

The 2010 Halloween Reveal

2010-10-31T15:52:00.003-04:00

Dress-up

2010-10-24T19:21:00.010-04:00

Dress-up is serious business at my house.

Christmas 2003, Caleb--4, Gabe--2 1/2

It started early on.

Dowagiac, MI, September 2004

Caleb, tenderly aged five, played the part of a little orphan boy our town's reenactment of the Orphan Train Riders, which made its first stop in Dowagiac, MI in 1854. Caleb had one line, "Do you think I could go, too, sir?" He was so dang cute, and even now, I'm haunted by his little voice squeaking that haunting line, and I hear the phantom voices of the thousands of children who needed families. Most of the children who rode the Orphan Train were never adopted.

Christmas Parade of Lights float, Dowagiac, MI 2004

(Please forgive the poor quality of this photo: poorest of lighting and crappy camera. I'm surprised it turned out as well as it did!)

Seth's first role in a play. His role at two months of age? Baby Jesus. Please disregard Mary's out-of-character black gloves. She wasn't prepared for how bitterly cold it is atop a flatbed trailer on a windy, Michigan evening. (BTW, our tiny church's simple float won the Chamber of Commerce award for best float. I sincerely believe it was because of the little red face sticking out of the swaddling clothes. Good job, Seth!)

March 2007, Gabriel's 6th birthday party (Couldn't you just drown in the chocolate pools of his eyes?)

Autumn 2006...maybe.

Lily turns three...so December 2006

And I know she is in a princess dress in this photo, but for the most part, she has always been happiest dressing up in bizarre layers of gloves and armbands and belts and headbands.

Michigan, 2006

These two cuties. Scrumptious, I tell you. How did they grow soooo fast? I thought those days were lasting forevah, and than zip. They were just gone.

And sometimes, it's still fun to play dress up.

Corpus Christi, TX, 2010

All dressed up for the Navy Ball.

And none of these photos are from Halloween. So you can imagine the excitement as we get ready for a time when they are not the only kids in the neighborhood dressed up. What are their disguises this year, you may ask? Well, you'll have to stay tuned until after this weekend!

Wisdom

2010-09-26T22:03:00.004-04:00

"Give us wisdom."

Recently, as our family prayed around the dinner table, three of the kids made this request of God. My heart flooded with love for these precious gems of mine who felt prompted to pray for wisdom before digging into dinner. I don't think they prayed for wisdom because school was a little hard that day, or because they wanted to impress Mom and Dad with grown-up sounding prayers.

They prayed sweetly and earnestly. And God spoke to me through their prayers. At once He reminded me of this precious promise found in James 1:5:

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

I lack wisdom. I surely do. And I need to be like my kids, and remember to ask for it before the crisis hits, throughout the common parts of the day--like dinnertime.

Lord, I lack wisdom, and because I know that you are generous, I ask for You to bless me with wisdom. I also ask for godly wisdom for every precious soul reading this today. Give us the knowledge of God in Christ and protect us from depravity of mind. Amen.

The Back-to-School Post, And It's as Wordy as the School Day is Long

2010-09-12T16:29:00.011-04:00

School's been going on strong from my four little scholars for the past three weeks.

This is the first year in six years of homeschooling that we "officially" started school before Labor Day. What was the difference this year? I don't know. Often the seat of my pants flies before me, and I just follow along.

Actually, the local public schools started on the 23rd, two of our close homeschooling family friends decided to start up, and it's just too bloomin' hot here right now to do much else.

I don't have any cute pictures of them climbing on the bus or dressed up with their oversized backpacks and squeaky new shoes.

But perhaps a few candids from inside our classroom might stir-up some nostalgic back-to-school feelings.

So this is what it looked like in front of my chair for the three weeks prior to school:

Every year our school changes flavor a little bit to match our family. Or because something we did last year didn't quite work, or because one kid has this weakness, or because another kid as that strength. Or because our family has this schedule. Homeschool brings new, glorious meaning to the Individualized Education that public school routinely fails to deliver. It's hard enough in my class with one teacher and four kids, absolutely impossible with one teacher and 30 kids. This is not to say that every family should homeschool their kids. This is what God has asked us to do at this time, and we humbly and prayerfully accept the monumental task of laying a rock solid spiritual and academic foundation for our precious kids so that they can be the best at who God created them to be. I am NOT critical of those families who choose to the public education system for their families. My husband and I are both products of the public school system, and we're okay...sometimes!

This is the first year that all four kids are doing school together at the same time, Seth in Kindergarten, Lily in first grade, Gabe in fourth and Caleb in fifth. In case you're wondering, we use the classical approach, with a large smattering of Charlotte Mason thrown in for fun. (Well, I think it's fun anyway.)

And back to the tour. Here's our main classroom, with students:

I would LOVE to have a school room, but for now, the dining room table is it. I do love seeing all four kids hard at work, together. Our dining room has ditched the normal dining-roomness, and has become the backdrop for this:

and this:

(which is our verictal timeline of the Medieval Age using the AMAZING resources found on the yahoo group Hannah's Homeschool Helps . Love her stuff, which correlates perfectly with the history component we are using.)

And in our classroom, you will see a whole lotta this:

Who knew our dining room could hold so much stuff? There is a downside to this arrangement. Do I have any volunteers to be my classroom aid who cleans up the dining room each afternoon so that we can use it for dinner? Anyone? Anyone?

Seth's very first day of Kindergarten:

What a cute little student he is! And I couldn't resist one picture of his busy feet, momentarily stilled in study:

Let the awwwwwww's commence.

And because our week is filled with appointments for speech therapy and doctor's visits...mostly for Lily, we're gettin' pretty good at schoolin' on the go.

In the car:

and various waiting rooms:

This is only a sampling of our school, and a small one, though if you've made it this far in today's post, you may be shaking your head in disagreement.

But really, my favorite classroom exists outside these four walls.

Take the ocean. We are blessed to be live ten minutes from the Gulf of Mexico. You can read stories and poems and articles about the ocean. You can watch documentaries about it on the Discovery Channel. But a week of reading and watching will not give you nearly as many clear lessons as standing on the sandy shore and feeling the cool water lap your ankles and the waves steal away the sand right from beneath your feet. And in what book can you taste the salt from the water and hear the rhythm of the waves as they stir up wonder and awe along with sand and hermit crabs. Can you imagine Jesus walking right on top of those waves? And then commanding them to be still...and they obeyed? God is...BIG. And He cares for you and me. And he has orchestrated the details of history and created order and beauty. That's worth spending a lifetime studying.

And I hope to plant those seeds of wonder and love of learning in my kids hearts that they can take with them far into childhood and adulthood so that they will never stop learning and loving the God who created it all.

So that's our school. For now. Time to prepare lessons for tomorrow...

Waving 'Bye to Summer

2010-09-05T20:14:00.017-04:00

I took a bit of a bloggy break, but I'm back. I think. I'm sure all three of my readers (I'm counting my mom twice) will appreciate that.

Well, Labor Day has come. Labor Day has gone. Gabe woke up yesterday morning and chirped, "Happy Labor Day, Mom! And I'm the only one who remembered." Meaning, no one else in the family burst forth with the greeting. I'm sure he hoped there would be some kind of gift exchange, but he contented himself with enjoying a day without formal schooling. (In a house of learning, I hesitate to say we had no school, because I firmly believe that much meaningful learning happens way outside the confines of curricula and lesson plans. But that is another blog for another day.)

The kids have been memorizing a Bible verse each week, a verse to correspond with each of our 26 alphabet bits. Maybe the ABC mnemonic will help us to keep those precious jewels from God's Word hidden in our hearts for good.

This week, C is for: "Come to me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28." What a perfect, wonderful promise for the week of Labor Day.

So Happy Labor Day! And God's promise of rest is His Labor Day gift to you.

Onto our summer farewell.

We've summered til we just can't summer no mo'.

Except that summer just won't go away here in South Texas.

At least not when I think I need it to.

Don't get me wrong.

We summered good.

And hard.

But all good summering...

...must come to an end.

Bon voyage, Texas Summertime. You were a hottie. I've said my good-byes. I'm going to ignore you now and pretend you're not still here overstaying your welcome.

But I do like that you rub shoulders with winter on your way out of town and tame his blustery heart with your Texan warmth and charm. You can keep on doing that.

Cloudy Day

2010-03-24T11:51:00.002-04:00

I'm not usually one to dwell on challenges and depressions, especially ones that are spiritual or personal. I don't like to air dirty laundry. Writing that sentence on this spring day in South Texas does make me desperately miss my clothesline in Michigan and the fragrance of freshly laundered and country-air-dried sheets. Ahh.

Oh, back to what I was talking about. Dirty laundry. Physical evidence of the day's/week's/month's toil. Oh, look, she had pasta again, I can see the marinara spot on her white shirt. Hasn't she had enough pasta? I mean, does she know how many carbs are in a plate of penne? This is all figurative of course. (And I did make a YUMMY whole wheat baked penne this week, with chicken, zucchini, red pepper, onions and garlic, but that's clearly an aside.) Oh, she's been grumpy with her kids? Feels distant from her husband? Lacking in her prayer life? Trouble sticking to her Lent fast? The chaplain's wife?! Dirty laundry indeed.

I don't like to only write about lollipop and cotton-candy kind of days. It may seem that way, because, when the days are hard and my heart is heavier than usual, I tend to slip away into an introspective grey cloud and try to figure out how to get that spot of marinara out by myself.

I don't often call friends when I'm having a rough day. I don't usually want to talk about it. I withdraw. I hope it doesn't come off as snobbery and snootery. I just want to wait until the sun comes back out and I'm feeling better, and then maybe I'll talk about it in past tense. "Oh, man, last week was rough. But I'm doing great now!" It's a character flaw, perhaps, that I close up and slip away into my own cloudy corner during the stormy times. Oh, if you've got a problem or need something, I'm there, baby. I'm really good at avoiding the conversation about me.

And I don't know how to change that. There's the dirty laundry for today.

I'm sure there'll be more tomorrow, but maybe I'll secretly tuck it into the hamper.

So today I'm waiting for the wind to blow away these clouds. God has lessons for me in the series of disappointments and mini-rejections that have piled up and made a nuisance of themselves.

I'm reminded of God's constant love and acceptance and pursuit of me. I'm so glad He knows I need those things from Him. And He never fails to deliver. He doesn't wait for me to come through the cloud, though; He won't let me slip into aloneness for even one minute.

Today, we celebrate Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the "city of peace." In Sunday School, the kids and I read aloud Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem from each of the Gospel accounts. Luke's account in chapter 19 included a few details left out of the other three. When the people began shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" the grumpy ol' Pharisees commanded Jesus to rebuke them. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." He is the true King, and he WILL be praised. I remember one song from church camp...I think I learned it as a counselor, not a camper:

"Ain't no rock

Gonna sing in my place.

As long I'm alive

I'll glorify

His holy name. "

That song is running on repeat through my head now.

Another detail that Luke captures for us:

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of the God's coming to you."

I don't know about you, but I want to know now what will bring me peace. I don't want to know later, after the time for finding peace has already passed, ya know? This prophecy from Jesus was fulfilled in A.D 70 when Rome besieged Jerusalem, using the layout of the land against it, but I also know that for us TODAY is the day of Salvation.

This isn't the first time Jesus was heart-broken over the lost city of Jerusalem. A few chapters earlier in 13:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"

So tender and beautiful is Jesus love for this people who would shortly after torture and kill him and refuse to accept His gift of salvation.

So tender and beautiful now is his love for you and for me.

That alone is enough to make these peevish clouds small and manageable.

Hosanna in the highest!

Beauty

2010-03-07T20:28:00.005-05:00

"Beauty is visual but also exists in sounds, scents, tastes and touch." (Etched on a wooden sign at the South Texas Botanical Gardens.)

We journeyed in search of beauty,

vibrant color,

signs of spring

and new life.

We found it, God's gentle breath of life in the wonder of His creation

as we gazed and marveled at colors found only in flowers and dreams

and touched baby soft petals

and inhaled crisp air dampened by rain and made rich by earthy spring.

If this is only a shadow of the beauty found in Heaven, what glorious treasures await us there!

Tallies

2010-02-20T18:48:00.002-05:00

Number of years we enjoyed our minivan: 4

Number of times I thanked God for a reliable vehicle: countless

Number of months it's been paid off: 10

Number of carseats/booster seats it has carried simultaneously: 4 (down to 2 as of last month)

Number of miles we drove the green machine in the four years we owned it: 80,000+

Number of songs sung, giggles laughed, tears cried, reprimands given, naps taken: untallied

Today:

Number of hours spent scrubbing and sweeping interior of van: 2

Number of minutes spent writing description on Craigslist (including everything I could think of that was wrong with it, in detail) and posting pictures: 30

Number of inquiries I received in the first fifteen minutes of posting: 2

Number of minutes later that prospective buyer was test-driving the van: 35

Number of miles I walked home vanless, with cash in pocket and license plate in hand: 1

Could that be a record? My head was spinning.

Goodbye little green minivan. May you press on for thousands more miles and keep all the babies who ride in your seats safe and sound.

Hello, big white Expedition. It's all you now.

I can't tell you how glad I am that the car searching, car buying and car selling drama are over.

Number of times I've thanked God for a reliable vehicle: I've lost count again.

Lily's journal

2010-02-19T10:27:00.003-05:00

Lily has been begging for a new journal since she filled her previous one several days ago. She writes some, she draws a lot. She scrutinizes and observes her world and the records it for her own reflection and inspiration. She is far more consistent with journaling than I have ever been. (This is a confession, ya'll. And a pledge to do better.)

My dear friend Shannon gave me a sweet little nature journal for Valentine's Day. It's cute, and I'm a sucker for all things paper, but Lily was completely enamored with it. So I gave it to her. She danced and cheered happily, hugging her new journal to her heart. (I hope Shannon doesn't mind my regifting her gift.)

As soon as she finished her happy dance, Lily took her journal, found a "perfect" pen--boy is she like her mother on that point!--and personalized it. What she wrote on it warmed my heart to its very core.

Nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, fills me with more joy than when my children spontaneously express their love for Jesus. And I love how she writes her love note directly TO him, not just ABOUT him. "I love you, Jesus." And she signs it, "Me." So tender and personal. She knows he knows her. She trusts him to accept her. I don't have to sign a note to Rob, "Sincerely, Jody Fasnacht." I can sign it, "Me" because he knows who "me" is.

How much more so does her Savior know her? I know it, but now I know that SHE knows it.

My heart is glowing with love for her and for the Jesus we both love.

The Under-Appreciated Carnation

2010-02-18T08:26:00.006-05:00

You are delicate yet resilient.

You bend with the wind and the rain in silent submission yet raise your face to the morning sun with delight.

You take no notice of your under-appreciation. While lovers head straight for the regal rose, you wait contentedly for just the right person who needs the joy you bring.

You are beautiful, but simple and humble. You give full credit to your Creator for your beauty and trust Him to meet your needs without toil or worry.

Little carnation flower, I want to be just like you.

Fasnacht Day Revisited

2010-02-16T10:31:00.004-05:00

It's true. An entire day of the year is named after our family. Or your family, too, if your last name is Shrove.

Last year I actually made Fasnachts, and I wrote a photo essay to document the event.

Step one: Find a couple of cute guys to be your sous-chefs.

Step two: Mash some 'taters. Lots and lots of 'taters.

Step three: After all the mixin' is done, think, "This is way too runny." Reread the recipe. Add another cup of flour.

Step four: Melt several galoops of lard. (That is an official culinary measurement.) Feel your arteries harden and your waist begin to bulge. This is the authentic frying agent of choice, for the whole point of fasnachts on Fasnacht Day is to rid your pantry of lard before Lent begins the following day. Of course this really is a moot point when you actually have to go out to the store to buy lard for the first time ever just for the sake of the donuts and never, ever keep it on hand.

Step five: Decide that you don't need to follow the recipe which says that you must roll out the gooey dough and cut it into squares or rectangles. Surely, you can just drop them into little dough puddles in the lard.

Step six: Realize when fasnachts come out raw in the middle that perhaps recipe writer knew what she was talking about after all and make the big, big mess needed to roll out gooey dough. Cut into squares (representing the four Gospels) or triangles (representing the Trinity). Holy mess.

Step seven: Sigh with relief when the next batch comes out golden brown and fully cooked.

Step eight: Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar so that your blood sugar will rise and your heart will race, pumping your blood at a high pressure through the arteries, thereby counteracting the effects of the lard.

Step nine: Distribute four fasnachts to your Four Fasnachts.

Step ten: Fry up all your dough until your kitchen smells like a truck-stop and your shirt and floor are covered with flour and lard and you are left with a donut mountain.

Step eleven: Wonder where in the world the sous-chefs ran off to now that it's time to clean up.

So what to do this year? After revisiting my essay, I'm fairly certain that we're going to skip the authentic fasnachts this year. Are you disappointed?

It's all about pastry, right? Why limit yourself to just one kind?

This year's pastry of choice: cinnamon rolls for lunch. And then to complete the day in Fasnacht style, waffles and authentic maple syrup for dinner. And a trip to the gym tomorrow.

Hey, Fasnacht Day only comes once a year!

Lily's Special Day

2010-02-14T15:32:00.005-05:00

Four years ago, a two-year-old walked into the upstairs room of a government building in southern China and changed our lives. Those years seem like a whole lifetime. Not because they have been difficult, but because they have helped to define my life, a life that would be incomplete and gray without her.

We celebrated Lily's Gotcha Day anniversary yesterday. I asked her what she wanted to do to celebrate her special day and she requested to walk the dog to the park. So that was certainly high on our priority list. "And open presents." Well, it is like having two birthdays when you celebrate such an important day as becoming part of a family. Much to Seth's dismay, who is NOT happy right now that he was born in mommy's tummy and his Gotcha Day and birthday are on the same day. "I NEVER get a Gotcha Day," he cried. It's been a rough weekend for him with all the attention Lily has gotten. I've been extra patient and cuddly with him.

Lily and I also went to the salon to get haircuts together, her first salon visit. We went from all one length to short bob with bangs for her, and a haircut that wasn't quite what I had in mind and feels much too short for me. Lily's looks adorable! She looked at herself and said, "I'm a Japanese girl!" Her cut does accentuate her beautiful Asian features. I wonder if she thinks Japanese is more Asian than Chinese.

I do know that she has to work hard to find her unique place in this world. I do everything I can to guide her on her own personal journey. Not an easy job for a white mom and dad with three white sons and one Asian daughter. We met a Korean family at the playground this week. She really wasn't overly interested. Should I be concerned? I can only offer her opportunities and choices, and it's her own job to find her own path among them. I will be with her every step of the way.

Later yesterday, we all went out for dinner at our new favorite Chinese restaurant, China Garden, the same name as our favorite restaurant in Michigan. A little taste of what used to be but no longer feels like home. Not only did we celebrate Gotcha Day but Chinese New Year as well. There are no local festivities in our corner of TX, so we just spent the day with our own little family.

We also gave Lily a few gifts consisting of several books about China and children in China and the *last* silk dress that we purchased for her when we were there. I guess it's time to go back. I would jump at the chance, believe me.

Happy Gotcha Day, sweet Lily. You are a gift in every perfect sense of the word. You are amazing, and I hope someday to be as brave and smart and beautiful as you are. We love you!

A glimpse into Christmas 2009--LONG

2009-12-29T11:31:00.019-05:00

Every year I say I'm going to have a simple Christmas. I really do try. I want God's Gift to be the radiant star that shines down from the top of the season's Christmas tree.

I decorate a little. Since we live so far away from most of you friends and family and I don't get to have you over for coffee and sugar cookies, here's a tiny Christmas tour.

I love to give and receive Christmas cards, and I display them joyfully. This year, mine were sent out in batches. Um, I'm still working on getting that second batch out. I know. It's a splurge, but please don't stop sending Christmas cards just because you can just more easily FB or txt or email or digitize a greeting or because it costs more in postage than the card itself! Christmas cards are very special. I even love receive the late ones!

A few sprigs of green with a few merry berries.

A surprise poinsettia from a friend. I no longer have to worry about toddlers eating the beautiful yet poisonous leaves, though I can't remember any of my toddlers chowing down on any of my plants.

I love homemade ornaments, especially ones the kids have carefully crafted. Our tree is as eclectic as I am. I like to have red-beaded and white-pearled garlands draped around it. And no matter how much the kids beg, I just can't bring myself to string on multi-colored lights. Gotta have the white ones that do NOT move about or twinkle or do anything to make me feel dizzy while I'm basking in their soft glow in the living room with my cup of hot coffee/tea/cocoa.

I even put a sprig of merry around the oil painting Rob's mom did of my kids. Don't they look festive? Have I ever shown this painting to you? Isn't it gorgeous?

The entertainment center gets a little holiday makeover as well. Just a little. Nothing over the top. I really like bringing in a bit of red to my spaces. It's only for a month. It makes me happy. Our Nutcrackers were especially appropriate since the kids and I got the opportunity to see the ballet performed here this year. It was as wonderful as I imagined.

Even the guest bathroom gets a Christmas kiss.

Isn't he cute in his fancy sleigh? My sister Jamie made him for me from a wooden post and an old sock. He's adorable, and he promises not to peek.

Okay, I have to say that creating a massive gingerbread house, er, church, is not even on the same side of the planet as "keeping it simple." Believe me, I know this full well. But by the time I discovered it, I was well committed to the project and had to see it through to completion. We had fun family moments assembling this beast, and all of the kids and the hubby want to make this a new tradition. I'm still licking my wounds and cleaning sugar off my kitchen floor. Ask me in a couple of months. Right now the smell of ginger makes me throw up a little in my mouth.

My favorite part was the little gingerbread and fondant Nativity. Sure the stained glass windows, peppermint stick fence and ice-cream-cone steeple were cool, but this is the only part of the whole humidity-sagged monstrosity whose lack of permanence I'm sad about.

Okay, okay, this isn't simple either. But Lily was really concerned about how Santa was going to come down our chimney...if we didn't have one. So we made a fireplace out of corrugated brick paper and taped it to the half-wall separating the kitchen and dining room. Caleb crafted the log and fire. You can almost hear it crackling and feel its warmth. We needed a place to hang our stockings anyway, right? A stocking for each of us six, one for the dog, and one for:

Right inside the front door. Baby Jesus shows up at first and then...goes missing. I wait for the kids to notice. And then we talk about how Mary had to wait for his birth, how God's people waited thousands of years for a Savior, how we're still waiting for him to come back.

Meanwhile, I wrap him up in a tiny brown box, and he becomes the first present opened from under the tree on Christmas morning.

I think I did manage to keep Christmas simple this year. At least here in our home. Our schedule flurried with activities, from homeschool partying, Christmas caroling--which comes with cookie and cocoa making, field tripping to the Nutcracker and the museum, more cookie baking and giving away, Christmas carding, post-officing, budgeting, shopping, children's choir concerting, and planning for the Christmas Eve service, in addition to all the other responsibilities we are already blessed to keep. I'm sure you all experienced similar surges in your schedules. I hope your homes and hearts were able to find joy and peace and simplicity in the midst of it all.

Christmas Eve we led a candlelight worship service at our little chapel. No one caught the old hymnals on fire, not even Seth when he bent down with his candle over the hymnal pocket. The service was lovely. Then kids performed in a nativity play, whose purpose was two-fold: 1.) Tell the story of Jesus' birth, 2.) Allow parents to take adorable pictures of their kids.

Seth, the happy wise man.

An angelic Lily. I could just eat her up. I know she must taste like spun sugar and caramel.

Gabe, the reluctant narrator. He had a lot of reading for his part--which he was at first excited about--but when he found out he had to stay behind the podium and did not get to interact with the other characters, he wanted to be a shepherd instead. I didn't let him back out of his commitment--tears were cried--but he was allowed to dress up like a shepherd. He was only slightly mollified.

Caleb, the gentle shepherd. His favorite part was the shepherd's staff, which he gleaned from "favorite sticks from Michigan" from our back yard...in TX. Yes, folks, we brought a walking stick with us from MI, packed with all our outdoor toys. I'm sure it wasn't the only thing the movers shook their heads about.

"Glory to God in the Highest!"

The cutest little wise men worshiping the newborn King.

"Joy to the World!"

After the Christmas Eve Service and Nativity play, we delivered 300 cookies to various commands around the base who had servicemen and women on duty Christmas Eve and Day. Then we dressed the kids in their PJ's and headed out to Rob's aunt's home, 30 minutes away, where she hosts an annual Christmas Eve open house. Lots of merry-making, and we enjoyed Rob's uncle's original Louisiana style gumbo.

Hang in there, you've almost made it through to the very end of this post, which is as long as the month of December. Christmas morning, we enjoyed our usual homemade cinnamon rolls and stockings and giggles and torturing the children by making them wait to tear into the gifts. I'll leave you with just a few images from our Christmas morning:

We didn't get the kids very many gifts, just three: a gold gift to treasure (something they've been wanting); a Frankincense gift to help them to know God more (devotionals, Christian-themed books); a Myrrh gift, something for their bodies (jackets, sweatshirts, slippers.) We didn't want God's Gift to get lost in the piles of wrapping paper and shiny new toys.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! God bless you! (And if you haven't gotten a Christmas card from me and you usually do...batch #2 will go out soon!)

Soccer Season

2009-10-17T12:48:00.005-04:00

We're blessed that the base offers a decent soccer program for kids ages, 4-9. That left Caleb as too much of an old-timer to play, but Gabe, Lily and Seth are playing, Lily and Seth for the first time. There's something about little kids in baggy soccer shorts, long socks to the knees, and cleats that radiates cuteness.

Since there are a few too many miles between most of your houses and mine, and you probably won't make it to any of the kids' games, here are some video snipits so that you can cheer from the other side of the computer screen. These first four show Gabe in action...or inaction. Whichever. :o) He's on the gray team, "The Sharks," number six.

*I apologize for the poor quality video.

And on the Navy blue team, ironically also, "The Sharks," we have Seth, number one, and Lily, number ten.

Today, Lily ran down the field, dodged many obstacles, and scored a goal! The funny thing is, it was such a little deal to her that she didn't even remember after the game that she scored! She was more impressed with a big save she made as a goalie. Seth also scored a goal, but he was so excited about all his defensive blocks and goalie saves. Of course, none of this is captured on any of the clips above. Gabe does a great job playing defense, but he doesn't like it as much as playing goalie, which he isn't particularly great at, which he readily admits.

We're very proud of our little soccer players, for their good sportsmanship--Seth did wiggle his bootie at one of the opponents after he blocked a shot...we discussed why that's not okay after the game--for their discipline and for their endurance--a couple of the games and practices have been played in 100+ heat index weather.

Go Sharks, all of 'em!

Five years ago...

2009-10-04T22:50:00.008-04:00

*God surprised me with a brand new, red-headed, warrior-spirited, gentle-hearted son.

*God blessed me with wonderful home birth. It was a beautiful autumn day, and I was surrounded by my favorite people in my home. It was perfect.

*I became a mom of three sons! Three!!! I felt like I'd just won the jackpot on a slot machine! Three sons in a row!

Today, he left babyhood behind forever. Five.

Here are some pictures of his journey so far:

Labor day. I got to meet Seth face to face about two hours after this pictures was taken.

First snuggles with daddy.

Here I'm getting my first real good look at him. I'm in love.

Caleb and Gabe meet their new brother just moments after he was born.

Three days old.

A week old. This is my view of him in my sling, where he spent about the entire first year of his life!

My little pumpkin.

One month old. I caught a cute little sleepy smile.

Two months old. A gift from above.

First Christmas with three boys!

One year old today!

Two!

Almost three.

I'm four years old!

And today:

His wish before he blew out his candles: "I wish to be a worker when I grow up."

Today is all about him.

Happy birthday, big guy. I'll never, ever, ever, ever, EVER stop loving you. (These sweet words Seth exclaims to me almost every day.) Sigh. I'm the most blessed momma ever.

Living Dangerously

2009-09-23T16:07:00.003-04:00

I'm grabbing life's bull by the horns and taking no prisoners! (Do you like how I just grabbed random cliches that are completely unrelated and mixed them together with my bare hands?)

In the past two days:

**I mowed the lawn...with an electric lawn mower...in a thunderstorm...by the ocean. Yowza! Can you feel the adrenaline?!

**I allowed my kids to paint for hours at the dining room table. Seth and Lily included! My heart was a-racin' indeed.

**I baked 5 dozen cookies and one loaf of beer bread...and I only ate one cookie. I washed it down with a glass of Slim Fast. Bring it!!

Now I'm on fire to see what other damage I can do!

How have you lived dangerously this week?

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

2009-09-21T14:09:00.000-04:00

Okay, so this update is long overdue.

June:

Beach Days

Swim lessons

July:

Independence Day

We adventured on a three-week vacation from Texas to Missouri to Indiana to Ohio...back to Texas. We survived. Thrived. And I have pictures to prove it.

Oh, and Rob had to work, so the four kids, one dog and one mom drove up without him. He was to fly up and meet us in IN the second week. I feel like I accomplished something significant in simply getting us all there in one piece. And...the first leg of the trip was without A/C. It was 107 in Austin when we drove through, if that gives you any indication of the heat factor. But, good news was in the works.

First stop, Denton, TX to crash on my sister-in-law Stacey's house. Great things happened here. 1.) I saw my awesome nephews Bill and Kelly. They are great. 2.) I got to meet Stacey's kind and handsome boyfriend, Sean. 3.) Kind and handsome boyfriend finished fixing the A/C on our van, making the remaining hours of July travel far more enjoyable.

Here's a picture of Stacey and Sean:

Next stop, Halfway, MO, my place of birth, and where my parents, paternal grandparents, and a few aunts and uncles and cousins live. My mom had to work the evening we were to arrive, so we just stopped at her restaurant, grabbed dinner there with my dad, and visited while she finished up her shift.

Isn't she the cutest waitress?

Then we visited with my parent for three days. We relaxed, played, visited. Great times were had by all.

My favorite picture of my dad:

It was hard to say good-bye to them. I have been gifted with very supportive and loving parents. They are a great blessing to us.

Next stop 12 hours later: Etna Green, IN.

I saw siblings, nieces and nephews, friends, more friends, and my precious maternal grandparents.

After Rob's conference, we headed out to Ohio to visit with Rob's family. Lot's of R & R was had by all. Just what we needed.

Our last stop in OH was to good ol' Ludlow Falls, where Rob went to Teen Camp as a youngster and where he and I counseled as older youngsters. We thought the first night of camp meeting was to take place on our last night in OH, but alas, we were a day early. We explored the creek instead.

So, I may have overwhelmed you with pictures. Not much different from old vacation slides, but believe me when I say that I spared you, because I still have HUNDREDS more. Just wanted to give you the photo-synopsis and not the entire manuscript. Maybe you can come on over for dessert and coffee sometime and I'll show you the rest!

And though we had a wonderful time, we were so happy to be back home. For the first time in eight months, Texas really felt like home.

August

Besides trying to get caught up from being gone for three weeks, the highlight of August was Caleb's birthday...but he deserves a post all to himself, so I'll write that at another time.

Threadspinner

2009-09-12T11:44:00.002-04:00

Long-ago friends of ours from college have an awesome band called Threadspinner. Jon and Sarah Ziebarth moved from Indiana to California several years ago (like ten, maybe?) so Jon, who is now a brilliant research scientist, could attend grad school at Stanford. Jon used to play in a band called Fresh Cod, and they practiced in our musty basement in South Bend. Good times. Sarah is a beautiful vocalist.

They just released their first video "Night Chorus" this last week. I love it! It's sweet and artsy and beautiful. I know you'll enjoy it, too. Check them out!

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I-FAQ's (In-Frequently Asked Questions)

2009-06-28T09:56:00.004-04:00

As mom to many, I must face an invariable list of questions every day. Several times a day. Some examples include:

Mom, can I have candy?
Mom, can I watch a show?
Mom, can I have a snack?
Mom, how many more minutes until lunch?
Mom, what are you making for lunch?
Mom, is this lunch or dinner?
Mom, can I have a snack?
Mom, how many more minutes until dinner?
Mom, what are you making for dinner?
Honey, how many more minutes until dinner?
Honey, what are you making for dinner?
Mom, can I have a snack?

Sigh. There does seem to be some paranoia in my home about food.

People! I feed you. Several times a day. I never forget. Don't worry!

Anyway, this week, I decided not to focus on the countless questions that may very well do me in, and instead highlight the more unusual questions that came my way, some of which hurt my brain.

Here's a sampling:

Rob: Are you wearing a girdle? (His way of telling me I looked svelt, I guess.)

Seth: Does God have a belly button?

Lily, to me as Rob was leaving in his dress blues to officiate a wedding: Is Daddy getting married?

Lily: Does Jesus stay up all day AND all night?

Caleb: Did Jesus use his own powers or God's powers? (Think about that one...)

Caleb: Do you think that I'll discover a secret power I never knew I had? I know it's not flying or super strength.

Caleb: Can I have an R2D2 cake for my birthday?

Rob: Is our ceiling leaking? (Why, yes it was.)

Gabriel: How does a seed turn into a baby, and how did it get in your belly anyway? (After several rounds of, "Go ask your father," and "Go ask your mother," Gabe decided to go to ask.com, at which point I officially intervened and forbade him from asking that question on any web browser.

Seth, loudly, as a young man with beautiful, long black hair helped us as Walmart: Mom, is that a boy or a girl?

Okay, off to get an ibuprofen.

A Peek Into Our Week of VBS

2009-06-28T09:20:00.002-04:00

We just finished up Vacation Bible School at the base chapel. We had a great time and I know the kids' faith was renewed and built up. As well as my own. A friend of mine put together a slide show for which her two awesome boys took all the pictures. You can catch glimpses of all of us doing our VBS thing.

Seth is wearing a ball cap in most of his pictures and may be harder to spot, especially if you're looking for his tuft of orange hair.

Click here for VBS slide show

I hope this works...

My World Is a Backstage

2009-06-13T10:47:00.004-04:00

One day of work for my husband...four costume changes.

He had to rush from one costume to the next before the scene changes.

I felt such a rush of adrenaline when he raced out the door, onto the stage. We made it just in time. And he didn't miss any lines.

My work as a stage hand was done. For the day.

Now I have to go pick up his next costume from the Tailor Shoppe for tonight's show.

*I only have pictures of three of his costumes. The first one was his PT gear, and, well, no one wants post-workout pictures posted on the internet. And the first costume, his khakis, he actually had to wear that two different ways with two different hats and two different pairs of shoes. Seriously.

Neglect

2009-06-13T10:40:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry, lonely and neglected blog. You wait so patiently for me to come to you when I finish with Facebook. Always hopeful. You understand that it takes more effort to write a full thought than to come up with a shorty, like "is weekending." You are painfully aware of your lack of immediate feedback and community when competing with such a vast networking site. You know that I have over 200 friends there, and here...maybe four. Yet here you sit with a sigh, hoping that I'll get bored and return to you. Such a faithful little blog you are.

I still like you.

Big Plans

2009-04-07T20:27:00.003-04:00

You may never know how a simple word of encouragement can blossom in a child's heart.

Lily proudly proclaimed to Rob today: I'm going to be a doctor when I grow up, because Mom says I have steady hands.

May I never let an encouraging or hopeful thought go unsaid.

Dream away, baby girl. I got your back.

Catching Up...With Pictures

2009-04-03T14:25:00.004-04:00

I'm behind. Again. We've been sick with bronchitis, pneumonia, allergies, sinusitis.

We've

My wild scientists at Wild Science Week at the Corpus Christi Science and History Museum.

Caleb excavating a "dinosaur."

Archaeologists use dental tools for precision. We started out that way, but after an hour of scraping away plaster of paris with a tooth pick, we asked for a hammer.

My kids, along with two of my fellow homeschooling moms' kids, enjoyed an impromptu rock lesson.

Caleb was chosen to participate in the Museum's annual Wild Science Week Turtle Race. He held a mealworm in front of the turtle, named Henry, and urged him to victory.

We were all thrilled when Henry won, especially Henry who happily devoured his breakfast, which he worked hard for.

A friend invited us to her condo complex which has a pool in the back yard. The first of many spring/summer swims.

We were all at the doctor's office 4 times in 10 days. We tried to keep our good humor, especially when at this one, we had to wait in the examining room for an hour before the doctor came back from his lunch break smelling like tacos and peppermint gum.

When Rob finally got back from San Diego, we went out to eat and we all shared this humongous, glorious, decadent ice-cream/chocolate chip cookie/mocha syrup treat. Gabe ate as fast as possible and was not fun to share with. Can you see the wild, sugar-crazed look in his eyes?

How My Kids See Me

2009-03-11T12:43:00.001-04:00

Copy this note, ask your kid the questions and write them down exactly how they respond. Tag me back - I'd love to hear the answers.
(Man, I learned a lot LOL)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Caleb: You may play on the computer.
Gabe: You love me.
Lily: I love you.
Seth: God makes us be happy.

2. What makes mom happy?
Caleb: This (then he gives me a kiss and hug.) Yep. He was right.
Gabe: When I give you a hug.
Lily: Kiss!
Seth: Reading me a book.

3. What makes mom sad?
Caleb: When Lily lies to you.
Gabe: When I disobey you.
Lily: I know. Jingle Bells, Monkey smells. (They were forbidden from singing this song...over and over and over.
Seth: Doing wrong things.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Caleb: I don't remember. (Gee, thanks. Pause for a moment while I hold my son down and tickle him.)
Gabe: When you told me that joke. It was funny. The one that goes, "Why did the hamburger chase the cheese? Because it wanted to 'ketchup.'"
Lily: Funny jokes.
Seth: Tickle me.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Caleb: How am I supposed to know? I'm not a time traveler.
Gabe: Uh, maybe, beautiful and pretty. (Awwwwww. Wait, I need to kiss him.)
Lily: You had two dollies that you gave me.
Seth: Dollies, I think.

6. How old is your mom?
Caleb: 32 (He's only off by a year...I'm not telling which direction.)
Gabe: 34 (Oh. He's off by a year too. The wrong direction.)
Lily: 33 (She got it right!)
Seth: 33 (He overheard Lily.)

7. How tall is your mom?
Caleb: About a head bigger than me.
Gabe: That's a hard one. I don't know. Three feet?
Lily: Big! (Thanks, sister.)
Seth: This tall (measuring with wide arms.)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Caleb: Spend time with the family (That's definitely on the list.)
Gabe: Be with her family.
Lily: Make everything and give us our drinks.
Seth: Read me a book, maybe.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Caleb: Clean, do computer, work, or watch TV
Gabe: Be with Seth and Lily.
Lily: Exercise! (Sure, that's it.)
Seth: Find me. (This is so, so true.)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Caleb: Cooking and Singing
Gabe: Loving God.
Lily: Love.
Seth: Famous cause she's so pretty. Right, mom?

11. What is your mom really good at?
Caleb: Cooking
Gabe: Being a good mom and cooking.
Lily: Helping me make snowflakes and snowman. And the computer.
Seth: Running. (Obviously, I spend a good portion of my day chasing him.)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Caleb: Video games (Tru dat.)
Gabe: Taking care of all four kids at the same time when we all ask for something. That makes you frustrated.
Lily: You can't do something while your sick. And you can't give me a sling backpack. But you can give me a hug and brush my hair.
Seth: Jumping. But I am very good at jumping.

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Caleb: Take care of her family
Gabe: Take care of us
Lily: Taking care of us.
Seth: Going to Sunday School at church.

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Caleb: Chinese (Oh, yeah.)
Gabe: Spaghetti
Lily: avocados (Smart, observant girl!)
Seth: Candy, I think.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Caleb: Just one? Because there's a lot of things I can choose. (You bet he's getting brownie points for that one.) That she's the best mom in the world. (And for that he gets actual brownies.)
Gabe: For being my mom.
Lily: Happy!
Seth: Being a good listener.

16. If your mom were a character from a book, who would she be?
Caleb: the author (I like this kid!)
Gabe: Red Riding Hood (I do like to bring food to people...)
Lily: Mom. (Who else could I be?)
Seth: Mom! (Obviously can't see me as anything other than mom. That's okay!)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Caleb: Sometimes shopping, which I do not like at all, or go to a friend's house.
Gabe: Sometimes play outside doing sports.
Lily: Cook. We are good cookers, don't you think?
Seth: Run together, I think. (Again, me...chasing...him. LOL.)

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Caleb: We've got the same brown hair.
Gabe: We both have the same parts of the body. I don't remember which ones. (LOL!!!)
Lily: We are two girls.
Seth: Freckles on us.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Caleb: She's a girl and I'm a boy.
Gabe: I'm a boy and your a girl.
Lily: That's cuz you don't have any clothes on. (Ahem. Correction: I'm still in jammies and she is dressed.)
Seth: We don't look exactly the same. (But we're pretty darn close.)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Caleb: Because of her actions, for cooking for us every day and night.
Gabe: Because I'm your son.
Lily: You read me a book.
Seth: Read me a book. (Okay, this is definitely the way to his heart.)

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Caleb: Our house.
Gabe: Church.
Lily: Chinese restaurant.
Seth: McDonald's.

Still Gotcha, Lily

2009-03-04T12:41:00.002-05:00

I know this post is long overdue, but here it is. Just a little blush at being late.

February is a big month for us around here. Nah, it has nothing to do with Valentine's Day, but everything to do with love.

On February 13, we celebrated Lily's adoption three years ago. Three years! That means that we first saw her picture and fell in love with a chubby toddler across the world nearly four years ago! That was such a defining time of our lives. We still talk about it and relive the experience in our hearts and share excitedly with others about this miracle of adoption, the miracle that is Lily.

You can read about her adoption here. But that's only the travel journal, and it doesn't fully chronicle the journey our hearts took, are still taking.

No one who meets Lily leaves untouched. She is a remarkable child with a strong yet gentle heart; fiercely independent, yet trusting; longs to be nurtured, yet quick to nurture those around her. I love this child with my whole heart.

We celebrated Lily's adoption with a trip to a Chinese restaurant, new to us. Bamboo Gardens. Very yummy, but much to the kids' dismay, not a buffet. "I like it when I can pick out my own food," Gabe sighed. But the food was superb. Rob and I may have to go back sans children.

Then we presented Lily with some gifts we had picked out for her. A new silk dress and hair tie purchased three years ago in China. (I only have one left! We'll just have to go back and get some more for subsequent Gotcha Days!) A pearl bracelet with real freshwater pearls from China. A renewed promise to love and cherish this child was gifted to us forever and ever.

My prayer for our sweet daughter:

Lord, thank-you for bringing Lily to our family. Only you could graft her into our family so beautifully, the same way that you graft us, your adopted children, into your family. If I love her this much, I can only imagine how much you love me. Wow. Please keep her safe. Protect her heart from disappointment, doubt and despair. Remove from her heart any loneliness or empty longing. May she always feel the love of her family and extended family. And I pray that she will especially feel the sweet embrace of your love for her. I pray that she will grow up knowing and trusting Jesus and that she will find him to be wholly satisfying. Use her life Lord and reveal to her your purpose for her life. And, Father, please be very near to the millions of children around the world who do not know the love of a family. Dear God, make yourself known them as their Father, and raise up people who will seek them out and bring them into loving homes. In precious name of Jesus, Amen.

Happy Gotcha Day, Baby.

All About Gabriel

2009-03-03T12:04:00.005-05:00

E I G H T

I can barely believe it.

Where did those years fly off to? When we brought him home from the hospital, a week after his precarious birth--you can read about it here--he changed the dynamics of our entire family. Caleb became a brother. We became parents of multiple children. Going from one child--who is the center of both parents' attention and devotion--to two children was a big leap, one that was as miraculous as it was difficult. We wouldn't go back for anything in the world!

Quick Gabe trivia: We didn't have a name picked out for him until he was several hours old. He was this close to being named Carter Robert, but he just didn't look like a Carter.

Today we celebrate Gabe and thank God for his precious life.

We've always lived just far enough away from family that it had been difficult to have family parties every year for everybody's birthdays. So even though we sure missed all the aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents, we had a fun time with a few close friends. God has been SO GOOD to provide good friends for our children and friends for Rob and me as well.

Gabe has the most sensitive, precious heart. But he is also all boy. He wrote a joke today, and I'll risk posterity by sharing it with you here:

"Where does an action figure go potty? Give up? A Toy-let."

The funniest part of the joke: he was inspired while taking too long in the bathroom, avoiding his math. Some of the greatest epiphanies in our family have come while spending time on the throne. That's what happens when you live with a houseful of boys.

When he shared it with Caleb, he told him, "Usually Mom just pretends to laugh at my jokes, but this one really made her laugh." That made me chuckle at his perception and start honesty, but I also felt bad. I vowed internally to really laugh at more of his jokes.

Anyway here are some birthday party pics:

*By the way, the big skid marks on Gabe's head--he ran full speed down the sidewalk and tripped. Poor kid!

A Little Family Outting On President's Day

2009-02-22T19:34:00.006-05:00

*Note: I'm very late in posting this, even though I started writing it last month. Just to avoid any confusion.

Rob got today off from work! Woo Hoo! As a chaplain, he doesn't get the same kind of weekend days off as most, and many times, we find him working lots of days in a row without a full day of respite. Still, after our very difficult year where he was working four jobs at one time--and still not making ends meet--we feel so very blessed to have whittled it down to one good job. Thank-you, Lord.

So, we decided to take the family to the USS Lexington, a carrier that is no longer operational and has been converted into a museum. We all loved it. Our intention was to go to the Texas State Aquarium, which is only blocks away from the Lexington, but when we parked the van, and the kids saw the Lexington up close, a 3-to-1 vote changed our plans. And the one nay-sayer had a quick change of heart once we made our way up the massive ramp to the ship's entrance.

The day was WINDY and cold.

We climbed up lots of narrow and steep stairways/ladders as we explored.

On the flight deck, as we tried to keep from being blown overboard by the vicious gusts, we found a cool "Blue Angel." The Blue Angels are coming down here in April for an air show. We can't wait.

The kids and Rob are standing in front of a case of ships flags while Rob explains to the kids how each flag represents a different letter of the alphabet or a different message.

Exploring the men's berths. The sailor's each had a bed, and a small drawer and locker to keep their personal items in. Pack light!

This plane, "The Dauntless" crashed into Lake Michigan and was recently exhumed. It is now being restored on the Lexington.

Seth explores the inside of a missile. You know. It's Seth .

A beautiful stained glass display near the chapel.

Rob may one day be assigned to a carrier. That is not my hope, but if that is where God places him, I'm glad the kids had a chance to see this with him now. It's quite a bit different now that it is a museum, but it gives us an idea.

One Museum Down...Four to Go.

2009-02-11T09:23:00.006-05:00

February is museum month here at Fasnacht Academy.

Rob's Dad and step-mom sent the kids some Christmas money...a while ago, considering that it's February...and instead of getting the kids each more toys that they didn't need, we decided that we would look for a membership of sorts for them. We didn't know the area well enough to make a good choice, so we've been hanging on as we research.

One of the memberships that we considered was to the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens. We were just there, remember? But we considered the number of months here in South Texas where it is unbearable to play outside in the middle of the day, so we ruled it out, even though we greatly enjoyed our visit and will go back.

But, while we were there, we saw this sign:

Oh, we're all about free.

Yesterday, we hit the Museum of Science and History. Loved it. And Seth only broke one display, so it was a good day. We decided to get our yearly membership there. Thanks, Papaw Bob and Grandma Carol!

We parked at the wrong end of the building, but we were so glad we did, because we would have missed this awesome feature: The Watergarden. The kids were all ready to dive in.

It was one of our favorite spots, a feast for the senses as our ears pounded with the sounds of cascading waterfalls, the air was moist and smelled fresh and clean, and of course it was beautiful to behold.

Right inside is a play/learning center. We could have spent all day there, and you can bet that we'll use our membership to come back and play/learn.

Always looking for adventure and drama!

We found lots to do, appropriate and fun for all the kids' developmental ages. I loved watching them glow with the excitement of discovery.

They've got the world at their fingertips. Surely they do.

Another favorite exhibit of the museum featured two replicas of the Pinta and Santa Maria ships, sailed by Spain's infamous adventurer Christopher Columbus. Here's what the museum website says about it:

The ships are reproductions built by Spain to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyages to the New World. They took five years to build and cost $6.5 million. The three ships embarked on a tour of the Mediterranean and Atlantic ports of Europe in 1990 and 1991. After a successful tour of 18 United States ports, they arrived at their permanent home in Corpus Christi in 1993. The Pinta and Santa Maria are located at the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History. There are no guided tours of the Nina, moored at the Corpus Christi Marina, but can be viewed from the dock.

You can see one of them there in the background, big and black.

Cast of characters: Diego (a little boatswain?), Queen Isabella, King Ferdinand, and Christopher Columbus himself.

And right off the deck of the Pinta, we could look across the bay and see the USS Lexington, large and stately, a stark contrast to Columbus' wooden sailing ships.

Next up for our field trip pleasure, we have, in no particular order, the art museum, the Texas State Aquarium, the Asian Culture Museum and a tour of the USS Lexington we just saw.

February, may be the shortest month of the year, but we're going to cram in as much art, history, science, culture, botany, oceanography, EXPERIENCE as we can! So Field Trip Fridays have just evolved into Field Trip February.

I love homeschooling.

Shoot For 2, Put It Through!

2009-02-02T11:53:00.006-05:00

Caleb and Gabe are playing basketball this winter with the Morale, Welfare & Recreation (MWR) department and the youth activities center. They were desperate for coaches, so despite our busy schedule, Rob was blessed to be able to coach their team. They love having Dad as coach (on most days!). I'm just happy that they are both on the same team so we only have to go to one game on Saturdays and one practice throughout the week!

They are starting to understand some of the fundamentals of the game, and they both enjoy it greatly. Gabriel is so, so excited whenever anybody of his team scores, just as excited as if he himself shot the winning basket. What an encourager! I'd want him on my team just for that! And Caleb has a smile on his face the ENTIRE game! He loves being part of the action, even if he doesn't get that much ball time.

Neither of them are the superstars of the team. And we're all okay with that. They are learning the meaning of teamwork and following instructions and being aware of the players around them. There's a lot of coordination that goes into playing basketball, and I can already see improvements in that area, too!

I'm having a hard time getting any good action shots. It's a combination of poor lighting and a camera that doesn't handle both poor lighting and action. Maybe I'll try to get some video next Saturday. So far, blogger doesn't like the format in which my camera video tapes, so I'm working out the kinks on that one.

Anyway, I love cheering my little stars from the sidelines. Baseball starts in a few months, and Gabe wants to play. Caleb is still undecided.

Another Field Trip Friday

2009-01-29T19:10:00.000-05:00

This time we visitied the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens and Nature Center.

Loved it!

We met our new friends, who also homeschool, for an afternoon surrounded by God's beautiful handiwork, carefully cultivated into a delightful discovery of gardens and trails and observatories and habitats.

First things first: picnic lunch.

One of my favorite from the rose garden. Gorgeous! And so fragrant.

The kids brought their journals, and I encouraged them to sketch or write about their discoveries. They stopped often to observe and sketch.

The rose garden also inspired Gabe, and he took a moment to capture some of it's beauty.

All of the kiddos, forced into a group pose by two camera-toting moms. This stone seat was covered with a colorful tile mosaic.

Caleb and Seth peering over a two-story lookout tower. They were disappointed that Gator Lake had no 'gators. (And with the current Texas drought, not much lake either.)

It is always such a joy to watch my children learn and make new discoveries.

One of my favorite spots was the Arid Garden, a little corner with a wide variety of cacti and desert foiliage poking out of the hard soil. This garden felt like Texas!

God is so good to add such color and beauty to even the most desolate of places. We can't wait until springtime when blooms and blossoms will spring out from what we thought was dry and dead.

A desert congo line?

And this was my favorite picture of the day. Isn't she just lovely, my sweet Lily flower, bursting from among the rose bushes?

Whispers

2009-01-28T15:40:00.003-05:00

I woke up this morning with a sweet, chubby four-year in the crook of my arm. His fingers caressed my arm as he whispered in my ear:

"Jesus called them...and immediately they followed him."

Pause.

Then, "Jesus said, 'I am the resurrection and the life.'"

Then he repeated both verses again.

His memory verses from the past couple of weeks at AWANA Bible Club.

Sweet. In its purest, most virtuous form.

"In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation" Psalm 5:3

Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-26T23:16:00.005-05:00

We celebrated:

With decorations. (I bought this flashy silk lantern at a shop on Shamian Island in Guangzhou, trying to spend the last of our yuan before leaving the following day.)

With little red envelopes the kids and I made. I printed out a host of Chinese characters, and the kids each picked out their favorite one to put on their own envelope. Caleb picked "Fun," Gabe picked "Fire," Lily picked "Love," and Seth picked "Happy." They all wanted Rob to have "Father" and me to have "Mother." Inside each envelope I tucked a few coins and placed them all alongside their dinner plates, in addition to a special candy treat.

With a big meal, mostly Chinese fare, with American twists: Jasmine rice, General Zso's Chicken, egg rolls, steamed dumplings, fried dumplings, and ginger and garlic green beans. Yum!

Chopsticks are a must! Of course, by the end of the meal, each of the kids had requested a spoon and/or fork. At least they got a little practice.

Our Chinese New Year Prayer for you: May God bless you with a long life, good health, great love, and financial blessings to spare this coming year, in Jesus' name!

Field Trip Friday

2009-01-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

First stop: the library. . .for a book on the shells of coastal south Texas.

Because this is what the beach on the base looks like.

A few extra finds, like beached jelly fish and hermit crabs, add delight to the day.

And what would an afternoon at the "shell beach" be without a Black Hawk fly-by? (Seriously, these things are amazing!)

Sorry the light is really harsh on this one, but I wanted a group shot with before we left.

Who knows where next Friday will take us?

How did you spend your MLK Jr. Day?

2009-01-20T10:45:00.002-05:00

A Backwards Glance at 2008

2009-01-16T15:03:00.003-05:00

I know that 2009 has been here for quite some time. I mean, you've all probably stopped writing "08" on your checks by now. Maybe not. Sometimes I still write "99." Don't laugh. That was the year I became a mother, and we all know that children suck brain cells away like X-Men's Rogue (who, by the way has the coolest name AND the hair of the gang) sucks away others' powers.

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to go through the beginning-ish sentences of some of last years blog posts and see what kind of story they tell.

January 8 Okay, it's been almost forever since I've talked to you.

Today was a little hard, but not too bad.

January 9 I thought today would be harder than it is.

January 10 Today I spent a lot of time searching.

January 17 Last week was really hard.

January 24 Today is Day 17.

January 26 Caleb: "You know what Jesus is working on right now?"

February 7 "Gong Xi Fa Cai" or Lots of blessings and prosperity to you!

February 13 Two years! How they have zipped right on by.

February 20 40 days of prayer and God speaks...and this is where he is leading.

February 22 I just had to share this picture of my youngest two with you.

February 26 The kids begged me last weekend to let them have a cook-"in," so we rigged some wire hangers and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores over the fire in our woodburner.

March 3 "Gabriel is transforming...into a seven-year-old!"

March 5 Last week, on a Sunday afternoon, our neighbor called.

March 13 For Lily's third birthday, my brother Josh and his wife Lana bought her a cute Barbie doll, all decked out for the beach in her fairly conservative bathing suit, wrap and big, beach feet.

March 27 I LOVE Easter. Love it.

March 31 Is your refrigerator running? You'd better go catch it! Hee hee.

April 9 Such a glorious, warm, sunny, earthy, springy weekend we were given!

April 18 I hate coloring my hair.

April 21 I gave my little blog a face lift today...do you like it?

April 23 So it's not as golden as I thought. Rob's new job is not going to work out.

April 24 I know it's officially spring, because literally overnight my weeping cherry trees erupted into full blossom.

April 30 Today Lily and I met my sister Jamie and her daughter Emmaly for a day of shopping (low budget!), lunching and just being together.

May 6 Seth Sightings

May 12 Why I love being a mother. A small sampling.

May 22 My heart is breaking today for a fellow adoptive parent.

This morning the kids and I drove out to Russ Forest to walk the trails.

May 23 I've taken Jeny's yellow challenge.

May 30 What happens when you leave your firefighters in the drier too long.

June 17 Right now, as I type, Rob is in Washington DC, either waiting for his turn to interview with the Navy Chaplain board or actually in the middle of the interview.

June 30 "Lieutenant Fasnacht." It's official!

July 8 I recently joined a yahoo group for military families who homeschool.

July 18 Have I shared with you Caleb's obsession with berries?

July 27 Yee Haw (Picture of Texas license plate, indicating that we will be moving there.)

Okay, so Friday my doctor found an "abdominal mass" the size of a softball parked in my midsection.

July 28 "Dog Show At the Fair" Gabe did really, really well. Disney...she decided she was not a performing monkey and chose obstinance over obedience.

August 5 I've had blood drawn, and I underwent an ultrasound and just yesterday a CT scan. They think it's a cyst, but I'm still waiting for the CT scan results to come back to confirm that's all it is.

"Horse Show" I'm so proud of my little cowboys.

August 11 "My Weenend In Photos and Captions" (Included are photos of Caleb's birthday and Rob's commissioning service at church.)

Blood tests for cancer: normal.

August 13 The Good: The OB surgeon is AWESOME. The Bad: Okay, I'm going to be cut open from above my navel, around my navel, and then down below my navel. The Ugly: 17 cm X 13 cm X 9 cm. Yeah, that's how big this growth is.

I have a surgery date: Tuesday, the 19th at 2:00 p.m.

August 19 "Today's the Day" (Surgery.)

August 21 Hi. I'm home. Very glad to be home.

August 22 Wanna See? ***Warning Graphic Medical Photo

August 31 "Rob's Gone: Day 2"

September 8 I'm still mending, but much to my boys' chagrin, a little tiredness on mama's part does not stop school from coming to our house.

September 17 "The New Justice League" Evil-doers beware!

I told the kids to go outside for "recess" and ride their bikes.

September 18 Pretty Lily

September 23 "Cardboard Testimonies"
::Watch this only if you want to feel so thankful to God for what he can do in a broken person's life::

October 9 The kids and I just returned from a 2100 mile round-trip road trip.

October 24 These autumn days are all running into one another.

November 3 I'm answering Jeny's pink challenge today.

Gabe's first toothless smile in seven years!

November 14 "Two." That's how many days I have left until the movers come and start loading up our stuff.

December 2 The bird has landed...and the mama bird is reassembling the nest. (Okay, that sentences really doesn't make that much sense, does it? Sorry.)

December 15 We're starting to get settled here in TX, though it's kinda hard to feel Christmasy when the needle outside points to 72 degrees.

* * *

A crazy kind of year. I've noticed lots of reasons to be SO thankful to God. I can clearly see His hand throughout it all. I can also see lots of areas that need improvement in my life...and in my writing patterns. We'll work on those things together, you and I, dear reader.

How was your year?

Decking the Halls

2008-12-15T10:25:00.010-05:00

We're starting to get settled here in TX, though it's kinda hard to feel Christmasy when the needle outside points to 72 degrees. I can't say I'm not enjoying it though, because I am! We all are! I felt a little down this weekend as my family celebrated together with my Grandparents at their annual gathering. The first one I've ever missed. My sister called me and told me about the feast and how everyone was doing, and everyone shouted, "HI, JODY!" so that I could hear them. I felt a little better.

Last week we were able to locate the box labeled "Christmas Tree" and then the boxes with the ornaments, and we set our tree up last week. The kids and I had fun making the house look festive, even if it's only one corner of the house. The other corners are still decked in brown boxes!

We even made a few batches of cookie dough together.

I'm also working on our Christmas letter. First up, I needed a family picture. I had outfits in mind. Rob had a great idea for a location. We stopped by after church, since we were all dressed up. Unfortunately, the wind didn't give pause to our plans, so we'll try again later, maybe later today. This is an actual, untouched picture of the wind and my hair duking it out. Definitely NOT Christmas-card worthy.

Saturday, the youth activity center had a Christmas party for the kids. There were pony rides (of which all but Lily said, "No, thanks." Not a novelty for the boys, but Lily, a girl after my own heart, can't say no to anything equestrian.)

Of course, they all got a turn sitting on Santa's lap. Even Caleb and Gabe, who had eyes only for the goody bags he was handing out. Seth ran in and grabbed Santa in a huge hug and shouted, "Hi, Santa! I would like a toy robot!" A little too enthusiastically for this mom who is trying to teach her children to embrace the true meaning and spirit of Christmas. Yet I happen to know personally that Santa is looking for a robot to fill a certain red-head's stocking.

That morning the children from our chapel performed some Christmas songs for the crowd, and they repeated the performance Sunday morning. The crowd favorite: "Go Tell It On the Mountain." Gabe is a natural, and he performed like a Broadway star. Caleb played it coooooool, man. Great fun was had by all.

And as the children shared the true meaning of Christmas by song, their sweet, precious hearts kindled in me the hope and peace Christmas brings, even without the Currier and Ives view out my window. Even with family and friends who are so precious to me miles and miles away. God is near, WITH US even, and there it is, the Christmas spirit my heart was looking for.

The bird has landed...

2008-12-02T16:12:00.002-05:00

...and the mama bird is reassembling the nest.

We made it. The cable guy just left so we have internet...hooray! The movers got here this morning around 9:30, unloaded an unbelievable amount of boxes for about five hours, tipped their hats, and left me surrounded by mountains of items I have no idea where to tuck away. This is the first house we've had that does not have a room designated as an office, so I'm having to redefine our living space. Not necessarily a bad thing, but an overwhelming task, to be sure.

Our home is adorable and we all love it. It's very different having neighbors just a few feet away and a backyard that is barely big enough for the dog, much less four children. But we are adjusting already. I think we're really going to like it here.

Today's weather in Corpus Christi: Warm and sunny. It feels like we're on vacation...for the winter. I feel chilly for my friends and family in the northern midwest who are hunkering down for winter's fury. I wish I could just bring you all down here with us. You'd have to bring your own towel, though, because I can't find mine yet.

Or the coffee filters.

Or the bedding.

Or the vacuum cleaner...which is supposedly coming by freight any day now, along with several other items that would not fit in this shipment.

I would love to send you a few pictures, but we don't have all our computer parts put back together yet.

I just wanted to let you know that we're here and doing well.

We miss you!

I'll update more soon. Back to the boxes I go...

Two

2008-11-14T20:37:00.000-05:00

That's how many days I have left until the movers come and start loading up our stuff.

I'm ready. As ready as I'll ever be.

I'm so tired. I have some funny stories and I remember thinking, "This would be a good blog entry to entertain the masses." But I have no energy to share tonight.

And our internet will most likely be disconnected sometime Monday. Let's call that time of world wide web detachment "The Dead Zone." I hope I can cope.

Don't be alarmed if you don't hear from me for a little while. I'm probably in a van with many children. In the next two weeks, I'll be logging in 3557 miles. Some by plane, most by van.

I'm a travelin' woman.

See ya on the flip side!

All I Want for Chrith-math...

2008-11-03T14:22:00.004-05:00

Gabe's first toothless smile in seven years!

(He's actually already lost two bottom teeth, but the adult ones were already there to fill in the holes, so we didn't get any of the fabulous toothless smiles that I cherish so.)

The other front tooth is getting pretty loose, too...I can't wait!

He asked me afterward, his brow furrowed with concern, "So, how'm I s'pose' ta say the letter 'z?' It doesn't sound so good."

He's so cute and sweet he makes my heart ache.

Calling All Pinks

2008-11-03T13:57:00.004-05:00

I'm answering Jeny's pink challenge today. I must say that nearly everything in my home that blushes in any shade of rose is of Lily. I just don't gravitate towards pink. But Lily LOVES pink, and as mother of three sons...I love that I can bring pink into my home.

Lily loves her pink camera. And boy, does she have an eye for detail!

I see pink toes peeking out of the pink blanket I bought for her when she was still waiting for us. We took it to China with us so that she would have something familiar to cuddle when she came to her new home.

This is the pink section of a gorgeous portrait Rob's mother painted of all of my children. She gave it to us on Lily's first birthday home with us. It is a family treasure.

These are some of the pink squares of fabric I've collected from family and friends--and some strangers from adoption groups--to make Lily's 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It's a tradition from Northern China. I have many different colors, but I just pulled out some of the pink ones to show you. Hey, some of you haven't given Lily a square yet. I'm hoping to finish this for her next Gotcha Day (in February). I would love to have an 8 inch square of fabric from each of my family and friends, along with a wish or prayer for her written on a card to go in an album with the quilt. It will be an heirloom for Lily to treasure, to know how wanted and loved she is.

Blogger Vacation

2008-10-24T13:22:00.003-04:00

I took one. A long one. But I'm back. I hope ya'll didn't give up on me.

These autumn days are all running into one another. Only 27 more days until I fly out to be with Rob for his graduation from the chaplaincy school. Only 30 until we're all together as a family! Woohoo!

The boys do have a trick-or-treat date set up with a friend of ours who works for a local nursing home. Caleb and Lily's costumes are finished. Gabe's is going to be the most work, but I should be done soon. And Seth...well, he said that wants to be a "blue cat with blue stripes who's a "NINJA MASTAH!" Um...Can we say redirection? If not, we'll figure something out! I do have some blue face paint and I know we have ninja costumes from the boys' dress up box. I may be able to make this work...

We carved our pumpkins two days ago. The experience was a study of the effects of sibling birth order in action. Does anyone else find that as interesting a topic as me? We have a little loop-d-loop in our family, since Lily joined our family last, but she is older than Seth.

Caleb, the oldest, set about making an index of all the possible jack-o-lanterns he could think of. List-maker. (When thinking of a Halloween costume, he also drew out all the possibilities so that he could pick on.) He probably drew about 10 different jack-o-lanterns. I thought, "No way are the rest of the kids going to want to pick one of his ideas." But true to his take-charge leadership skills, he convinced all the other kids that he was actually doing them a favor by designing all the jack-o-lanterns, that there really weren't any other viable options, and he was being gracious enough to allow them to have a choice at all. I kept quiet to see how this would play out. They all sat down together outside to draw their designs.

Gabriel, middle child #1, was happy to go along with Caleb, to make him happy, people-please that he is. However, he added a couple extra features to make it stand out and be unique. Peace-maker. Yet he still wants to make his own mark in the world. (This is the same kid who carved last year's jack-o-lantern face upside down so that it would stand out from everyone else's.)

Lily, middle child #2, picked out a traditional face for her "pumpkin night-light" but didn't want to use Caleb's list. Caleb convinced her that she needed to. She also wanted to add something unique to hers, in that she wanted hers to be a girl and have hair, which of course Caleb did not include in the list of choices. She went to great extents to blaze her own trail, separate from the others. She definitely wants to do her own thing, follow her own ideas, rejecting other good ideas, just because she's not the one who came up with it.

Seth, baby of the family, picked out a face, but he wanted to pander off any of the work, like carrying the pumpkin to the table or scooping out guts. He also wanted me to draw his chosen design. He couldn't help, he said. He was "too little." Yep, he played the baby-of-the-family card and got out of all the work somehow. And somehow, I let him.

Road Trip

2008-10-09T09:44:00.002-04:00

The kids and I just returned from a 2100 mile round-trip road trip. We journeyed out from Michigan to Rhode Island to witness their dad graduate as a Naval officer. The trip there was full of excitement and anticipation, and the kids behaved so well. My mom and Rob's mom came out with us--I doubt I would have been able to do this without them--and we drove Rob's jeep to him so that he would have transportation during the next section of his training. So we divided the kids between the two vehicles to ward off conflicts. It worked. On the way home, all seven of us were crammed in the van, and there wasn't a lot of fighting, but OH, THE NOISE. It was quite the challenge to drive through NY City and then down the New Jersey Turnpike with squeally Lily and yelling Seth and giggly Gabe. Caleb was the quietest one...unless he was sitting by Lily, who engaged him in her loud and physical play.

But other than the noise, the kids did great.

Oh, the joy of that very first glimpse of Rob dressed in his summer whites. Hubba hubba. Caleb and Gabe tried to leap out of the moving van. Lily and Seth screamed and laughed. My heart was full and my smile was large.

The first words out of Seth's mouth: "Dad! You're a captain!" (Not quite...) Later he told me, "Daddy wears a pilot's costume!" Seth and Lily clung to Rob the whole time. Seth especially couldn't stop touching him. Lily said, "Can we please bring Daddy and his red jeeper home with us? Pleeeeeeeease?"

We had the best time with him. His graduation was as full of pomp and promenade as you can imagine there would be in a Naval ceremony.

Our time together sped by, and too quickly we had to say good-bye.

Seven more weeks...six and a half now...and we'll be a family together and not apart.

We're so proud of him and the sacrifice he is making to answer God's call.

The sadness of departing Rhode Island (a gorgeous, highly under-recognized destination) mixed with excitement about our next stop: historical Philadelphia.

WE LOVED IT! Standing in the same room that held so many American Greats gave me goose bumps. Being so close to the bell that rang out its announcement of FREEDOM! swelled my heart with thankfulness to the God who gives true freedom and the people who have sacrificed so much so that my children can live in a free country. In the midst of economic unknowns and election-year divisions, still I must stand up and say, "God bless America, land that I love!"

Cardboard Testimonies

2008-09-23T11:30:00.002-04:00

::Watch this only if you want to feel so thankful to God for what he can do in a broken person's life::

He uses cracked pots. And we're all cracked pots.

He delights in redeeming prodigals. We have all at one time or another left the side of the Father who loves us to seek out our own desires...and failed.

He loves to lift the humble. If only I will humble my heart in obedience, He will do miracles in my life.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Praising God today,
Jody

Haircut

2008-09-18T10:45:00.003-04:00

Before...

After...still wet

Pretty Lily

Peddling Pedals?

2008-09-17T13:45:00.008-04:00

I told the kids to go outside for "recess" and ride their bikes.

They decided to play store with their bikes instead. Each bike was a different mechanical booth. Spin the pedals which spins the wheels, and out pops a treat. Very Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang-esque. I was wondering why they asked me if I wanted to buy a cookie.

This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I sent them out to get some exercise...

The New Justice League

2008-09-17T13:45:00.003-04:00

Three of these crime-fighters are my sister's.

Conversations heard throughout the day:

"Have you seen Super Lily?"

"I Spiderman!"

"Mom, Seth took my gun!"

"I am NOT a bad guy! Mom, Caleb says I'm a bad guy!"

"I need a cape, too!"

"Can you help me with my mask?"

Plus multiple sound effects including flying, shooting, swording and webbing.

::Evil-doers beware::

My Little Wild Man

2008-09-08T19:46:00.006-04:00

*Notice Lily in the second frame trying to get away from the inevitable splash.

Don't you just L.O.V.E. the goggles???

"Again!"

School

2008-09-08T19:02:00.004-04:00

I'm still mending, but much to my boys' chagrin, a little tiredness on mama's part does not stop school from coming to our house.

Caleb's says: "Hmph. I hate school."

Gabriel says: "I can't wait until summer vacation so I can get back to my real life."

Lily says: "Mommy, can you help me with my school?" while poking me with a pencil out of a deep sleep at 6:00 in the morning.

Seth says: "I don't have any pencil sharpeners," grinning and holding all four of them behind his back.

I mailed copies of these pictures to Rob so that he could see them all hard at work.

They are too precious. I SO love being their mom. When I die, if these children are all I have to show for a life's work, my life will have been full to overflowing and completely successful.

Rob's gone...day two

2008-08-31T22:15:00.001-04:00

Two exes on the calendar.

Two colorful, construction-paper chain links clipped away.

Only 33 more until we see him again.

The kids and I are doing okay.

Lily asked on the way home from the airport, "Is Daddy going to church with us tomorrow?" "No, honey, Daddy will be in Navy school." "What?!" she exclaimed incredulously. She asked if we could go back to the airport tomorrow and pick him up. She keeps asking for confirmation that we are going to go see him on Seth's birthday, which we are. Over and over she asks. I gently reassure her over and over.

Seth said, "I miss my daddy. He's my favorite kind of daddy." I'm with ya, buddy. Then after church this morning, my mom picked him up from his class. Rob usually does this. Seth asked her, "Where's my dad?" She told him, "He's in Navy school." He didn't say anything, but just looked straight ahead, suddenly remembering.

Caleb said, as we watched Rob's red and gray plane fly off into the blue, "This is the worst day of my life." He posted to his blog: "Today my dad left to Rhode Island for Navy training. I feel a little down, but I'm glad he's going into the Navy, because the Lord Jesus told us to go." Rob's obedience is having a tremendous impact on our children.

Gabriel posted to his blog today. His post is titled "When Dad Left" and it reads simply this: "Dad left. It was hard. I was sad." He's mostly quiet and introspective about his thoughts, but on the page he expressed himself clearly and effectively, nearly breaking my heart.

We miss him. I still sleep on my side of the bed and reach over for him in the fogginess of early morning. Then I suddenly remember, too. 33 more days.

When Rob got to the Newport naval station, he checked in, got his orders signed, and was then told that he is on leave until Monday night because of the holiday weekend. His lucky roommate only lives an hour from the base, so he checked in, and then he went home to spend the weekend with his wife and child. I am happy for the leave time, because at least Rob can call me when he wants to. Here are a couple tidbits from his new experience: the food is not good, he is surrounded by water and noisy seagulls, the dark of evening comes a lot earlier in RI than MI, and he can't seem to find a coffee maker anywhere on base. God have mercy! He's got another whole day of nothing...and then he's going to be thrown into the deep end.

I'm doing better. I'm down to needing pain meds only a couple of times a day. For me the worst part is how easily wiped out I get. I hate the blah feeling of exhaustion with nothing to show for it. I have a post-op doctor's visit this Friday. I can then talk to my surgeon in length about my surgery and the cyst.

Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We're still prayer needy...

Wanna see? ***Warning: Graphic Medical Photo

2008-08-22T21:14:00.005-04:00

I'm still recovering. Feeling a little better sometimes, a little worse others.

You know, healing pains.

Did I tell you that I sent my camera into the operating room with one of my nurses? She took some pictures of the mega-cyst they removed from my midsection.

I was curious. Maybe you are, too?

Can you believe this thing?

I was seriously wondering why my pants kept getting tighter. I think I figured it out.

What do you think?

Home

2008-08-21T19:26:00.004-04:00

Hi. I'm home. Very glad to be home.

My mom drove up from MO to stay with me for as long as I need her. I'm so thankful. Boy, do we need her.

Rob and the kids are taking great and gentle care of me.

I'm laying in bed right now with my sister-in-law's laptop propped up on a pillow. Ah, I feel connected after three days of hospital isolation.

All is going well. Wow, I'm really sore. But God is so faithful.

I'm off to rest...

P.S. Thanks to all my faithful pray-ers out there!

Today's the day

2008-08-19T09:00:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I'm showered. I have several books stuffed into my purse. I have toothpaste. I'm not able to enjoy a cup of coffee because of the pre-surgery fast, but I can at least smell it. I'm doing some last-minute laundry. I think I'm ready.

I'm ready for it to be over.

My sister is coming over today to watch the kids while Rob takes me to the hospital.

My mom is coming over Wednesday before I even get home to stay for as long as we need her.

I'm holding tightly like a little child to my Father's big, warm hand. He's very near.

I'm feeling a little blue that I'm going to the hospital and I don't get to come home with a baby. (What am I, nuts?! Maybe a little...)

On the Calendar

2008-08-13T19:11:00.004-04:00

I have a surgery date: Tuesday, the 19th at 2:00 p.m. I'm really nervous about it now, more nervous than I ever was giving birth. That was natural. This is not.

I am, however, thankful for the gift of medicine and technology that God has given to talented individuals. I'm thankful for insurance coverage. I'm thankful that my family is stepping up to help in whatever way they can. I'm thankful for Rob's support and kinds words of encouragement that keep me light-hearted.

God is very good.

I'm really feeling sad about Rob leaving...in 17 days.

The Good, the Bad, the really Ugly

2008-08-13T14:45:00.002-04:00

The Good: The OB surgeon is AWESOME. I love her. I just accepted whatever referral my family doctor gave me, 'cuz we're in a bit of a time crunch here. And if I were given a hundred smiling, scalpel-wielding OB's, she is the one I would have picked. Also, she is going to do whatever she can do to get my surgery done before Rob leaves. Thank-you, God!

The Bad: Okay, I'm going to be cut open from above my navel, around my navel, and then down below my navel. Rob's getting ready to leave for Naval training, but I'm the one who stuck with navel warfare. (Get it? Navel? Naval? Oh, never mind.) Anyway, it's a huge surgery. Three days in the hospital. Three weeks of no driving, little or no stairs--good thing I live in a ranch house--no laundry, no standing and cooking for any significant length of time, significant pain, and lots of bedrest. Six weeks of no lifting or vacuuming. Help.

The Ugly: 17 cm X 13 cm X 9 cm. Yeah, that's how big this growth is. No wonder my pants are tight despite aggressive dieting! (Okay, aggressive is relative.)

I'm expecting a phone call this afternoon or tomorrow telling me when my surgery is going to be. I'm collecting reading material now. And getting caught up on laundry. And planning some serious freezer-meal cooking.

Another appointment

2008-08-11T13:57:00.002-04:00

1. Blood tests for cancer: normal.
2. Swab test: normal.
3. Ultra-sound: looks like a cyst.
4. CT Scan: still looks like a cyst, but with the addition of some solid parts that look a little ominous. Yet, see number one and number two above, so don't be too worried.

Next step: Another appointment on Wednesday with a surgeon/specialist.

Still praying to get this taken care of before Rob leaves for Rhode Island.

In 19 days.

Keep posted...

My Weekend: In Photos And Captions

2008-08-11T09:13:00.007-04:00

My baby is 9/Nine/Nueve/Neuf...growing too fast!

Celebrating Caleb's birthday at the playground with friends.

"Oh, no! Rain clouds up ahead!" This time she was right!

Jeremy and Caleb: best buds.

Wonderful commissioning service for Rob at church, with Lt. Carmichael.

Just gotta slide.

Movie-star smile.

My Lily. Forever.

Skater....with blankie.

Horse Show!

2008-08-05T08:06:00.005-04:00

I'm so proud of my little cowboys. They did so well! Suzie, too. There were some beautiful animals there at the fair, but I gotta tell, Suzie was still the most spectacular looking to me. She is just a gem. The day after the fair we drove her out to my brother's, who is graciously boarding her for us until we get settled in TX and can get her down there.

Caleb was asked: What are you most excited about moving to Texas?
His response: Getting Suzie back.

Ditto, buddy.

Caleb doing showmanship.

Gabe so adorably waiting for his turn.

Gabe doing showmanship.

Caleb showing in the "lead line" class and blowing his mama a kiss as he passed by in the show ring. Please don't let him outgrow that, Lord!

Cute!

Two cute!

Dx?

2008-08-05T07:58:00.002-04:00

A quick update on me:

I've had blood drawn, and I underwent an ultrasound and just yesterday a CT scan. They think it's a cyst, but I'm still waiting for the CT scan results to come back to confirm that's all it is. I have a consultation with my doctor on Friday, probably just to refer me to a specialist.

Now, you know as much as me! They don't like to give you too much information. Maybe they're afraid you'll explode.

Boom.

And I feel fine.

Dog Show at the Fair

2008-07-28T10:39:00.005-04:00

Gabe did really, really well. Disney...she decided she was not a performing monkey and chose obstinance over obedience. Too bad it was an obedience class...

A rare moment of Disney sitting. I assure you she was looking for an escape route.

The end of Gabe's show. Disney couldn't get out of the ring fast enough.

Getting ready for "long sit and long lay," which Disney didn't tolerate for very "long" at all. Gabe did great, though!!!

"Are we done yet??? Please???" (As soon as they kids lined up with their dogs--after waiting over four hours to show--the announcer for the older kids began speaking and they had to stand still for another five minutes before they could even do the "long sit and long lay" which are two minutes apiece. That's a long time for a little kid and an anxious puppy!)

Gabe and Disney showing off their "Everyone-Wins-In-Pee-Wee" blue ribbon.

On Dusty Trails

2008-07-27T14:24:00.005-04:00

Okay, so Friday my doctor found an "abdominal mass" the size of a softball parked in my midsection.

Blah.

At least I have something to blame for my tight pants. Honestly, I've been trying to shed a few pounds for the last month, and nothing fits looser like I had hoped.

Double Blah. All that sacrifice for nothing!

I actually knew something weird was going on, hence the doctor's appointment. I'm waiting for blood tests to come back Monday or Tuesday and then I have more tests Thursday and possibly Friday.

I appreciate prayers.

This news came minutes before we got THE phone call telling us that we're going to be moving to Texas. (You did get that last post, right?)

We're thrilled. TX was our first choice.

Bring on the Tex-Mex.

I'll keep you all updated on our many happenings! God's timing is always perfect, and we are resting quite comfortably in His very capable hands.

Yee Haw

2008-07-27T14:10:00.004-04:00

Berry Delicious

2008-07-18T10:27:00.003-04:00

Have I shared with you Caleb's obsession with berries? It doesn't matter what kind, as long as he can gather and eat them himself whenever he wants to. I imagine that his dream life right now would be to live in a tent surrounded by berry bushes. Of course, the tent would have to house a television serving cartoon network and a computer offering high speed internet and some drawing paper. A pool out front would be nice, too. Yeah, it's a simple life.

We have a couple of mulberry trees and quite a few blackberry bushes around our property. The birds and Caleb never leave me enough to preserve, but the joy and pleasure Caleb receives from gathering his own sun-warmed, God-provided snack far outweigh the delight a single berry pie would bring.

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food" (Genesis 1:29.)

I looked out the door one day and saw Caleb's bike parked in front of a mulberry tree. Where could he be? If you look very closely, you can see his profile amidst the tree leaves...

Yep, there he is. And he'll stay in this tree for hours at a time...

The purple aftermath...

My new theme song--I Love this!!!!!!

2008-07-08T11:20:00.002-04:00

I recently joined a yahoo group for military families who homeschool. It's a great wealth of information. One of the ladies had this video embedded in her blog. I snatched it up to share with you:

Lieutenant Fasnacht

2008-06-30T21:24:00.004-04:00

It's official!

THE letter:

Taking the oath of office:

The children behaving so well and witnessing their dad step into a new role as an officer in the United States Navy:

Anchors aweigh! Open sea ahead!

Next dock: Rob will be leaving in September for Officer Development School and then Chaplaincy Training. That's only two months away!

A Seth story for ya'll: the final paperwork and swearing-in took about 45 minutes, and the above picture of the children behaving like angels lasted all of 10 minutes (which is still pretty good), but it didn't take long for Seth to turn his engines to full throttle. As we were leaving, I sighed with relief that the recruiter's office was still intact. I said good-bye and thank-you and turned my attention back to my children, who suddenly numbered only three. Then Lily piped up, "Mommy, Sethie has a revolver." (I didn't even know she knew that word.) And sure enough Seth had slipped into a neighboring office and was playing with an antique revolver--was it real? I couldn't tell--that was sitting on someone's bookshelf.

Can anyone please tell me why I have so many gray hairs????

On my gift list for next Father's Day...

2008-06-17T19:30:00.001-04:00

Last Hurdle

2008-06-17T09:37:00.005-04:00

Yikes! Have I really let two weeks go silently by since I last posted here? Oh. Sorry!

This is a BIG week for our family. Right now, as I type, Rob is in Washington DC, either waiting for his turn to interview with the Navy Chaplain board or actually in the middle of the interview. My heart just quivered nervously as I typed that. It's the last hurdle left in Rob's Navy trail. He left Monday morning at about 2:45...yes, that's anti meridian...to catch his six o'clock flight to our nation's capitol. (Oops, I almost spelled that capital.) My devotions this morning were from Acts 11. The title of the selection in my book 5-Minute New Testament is "June 17/Day 168, Acts 11:1-30 When God acts, He breaks down the boundaries and overcomes the objections." That is exactly what I've been praying for from the moment Rob pulled out of the driveway in the dark of early morning. Today's Word confirmed that I am praying in the right direction and encouraged me to keep praying against any potholes and obstacles that may hinder Rob and us in traversing this new path.

The house felt so empty when Rob left. I couldn't fall asleep until after six in the morning, praying that he'd made his flight okay, listening to the hollow echoes in the house, feeling the cold spot on his side of the bed. I chatted with God for about an hour, and then I finally got up and watched a mind-numbing movie. He called me around 9:30 when he'd landed and was waiting for his luggage. (Unless you want to take no toiletries on board, you must check all your bags.) Sadly, the fresh blueberry muffins I stowed away for his breakfast were trapped deep in the belly of the airplane.

The kids have all expressed "I miss Daddy" in some form or another. Lily was the saddest: "I miss my dad," complete with trembling lower lip and tears dropping spontaneously onto her cheeks. Of course, I had just announced naptime, and Rob usually doesn't make her take a nap, but we had a long evening ahead of us, and I needed her not to be grumpy. He'll be back tonight at ten or so, in enough time to at least catch the last quarter of the Celtics-Lakers game tonight. It's going to be hard, hard, hard when he leaves for 13 weeks.

Tomorrow, I have to attend a CPR class from 10-4 at a local elderly assistance home with whom I have been recently been employed. Oh, yeah. I got a job. It's only part-time, but it will help whittle some of the more pressing bills away until Rob leaves for training. I'm looking forward to it actually, except for the part where I leave my husband and kids during the day or night. I'm a 2nd & 3rd shifter. There are many blessings in regards to this. We can't both work, so Rob will stop looking for work at this point. He will get to spend a lot of extra time with the kids, which will be precious to him and them as he prepares to be separated from them for several months. Another blessing: the home I work for is only 6 miles away. That is very, very close, considering we live in the boonies, and places of employment are often 30-40 miles away. The pay is okay for a part-time job, and I feel a great sense of peace about it. I prayed about it a lot before I even applied to any jobs, and when I felt the go-ahead from God, I applied to about ten various positions across Michiana. I only heard back from one company, who was nice enough to send a "no, thank-you" letter. Then I was offered this job, which was actually my first choice. Rob's not thrilled, but I think he's getting used to the idea. It just wasn't what we had planned. At this point, when is it ever???

Tomorrow night we leave for a camping/music festival trip. Doesn't that sound fun? Friends of ours are running one of the stages as well as a coffee bar for the Pro-Life Music festival click here. We're going to be helping them out and camping alongside them. I'm really looking forward to being away with my family. I do have to come back...twice, actually. Once to take Lily to a cleft clinic appointment that we couldn't reschedule and then again to work on Saturday with the dad for whom I supervise his parental visit. At least I'll be able to feed the dog and horse and don't have to worry about finding help in that area. Bright side. Oh, and it's supposed to be a gorgeous week. Last year, a couple of the campers at the festival were indirectly struck by lightning. One of them was okay, but the other sustained serious burns. Horrible.

On a brighter note, Rob taught Lily to ride her bike sans training wheels this weekend. She learned in one day! We weren't terribly surprised, because she has better balance than any of our other children. My heart was bursting with pride for her and also a motherly ache for all those children who will never have a mom or dad teach them something as joyful as learning to ride a bike. 143. million. orphans. I'll leave you with some pictures of Lily's cuteness.

She started out on Gabe's bike, to see if she was remotely ready for us to remove her training wheels. She was ready!

In a few short minutes, she was off by herself, albeit a little wobbly, but able to quickly recover and balance! Go Lily!

A glowing Lily, so proud of herself, ready for a refreshing popsicle.

Stubby and Squatty: Little Heroes

2008-05-30T11:24:00.003-04:00

What happens when you leave your firefighters in the drier too long.

Yellow

2008-05-23T13:47:00.005-04:00

I've taken Jeny's yellow challenge. I'm not nearly as good at creating still-life shots as Jeny is. This is more photojournalistic. This is what my day today looks like.

This is the children's new pet, whom Caleb named Chrys--short for chrysalis, hinting towards his future state of being--and the magnifying glass they use for observation.

A rare, unplucked dandelion from my yard. What's so rare about it? Like I said, it's unplucked. The children lovingly bring me handfuls all day, until there are no more left in the yard.

A gorgeous quilted hanging my grandmother made for me. She made one for each of her granddaughters in different colors. She couldn't have chose a better palate for mine. I LOVE it.

Laundry: what I'm doing today, and almost every day. I love to hang it out to dry on sunny days.

Childhood is calling...

Snack of choice

This treasure belonged to my great-grandfather, who loved clocks and collected them. After he passed away several years ago, my great-grandmother held an auction, and my parents bought each of their children one of his clocks. It is a beautiful heirloom.

A little corner of Lily's room.

Map

2008-05-22T19:07:00.003-04:00

This morning the kids and I drove out to Russ Forest to walk the trails. I had planned on going for a bike ride, but Gabe's tire was flat.

We even brought the dog, who smiled the whole time, pulling at her leash and whipping her happy tail back and forth. I brought out my camera, lined everybody up on a log next to the dog, and pushed the button. Too bad I forgot to put the memory card in. Drat! It would've been a good one, too.

The trail we chose took about 45 minutes to walk from start to finish, and about halfway through it, Seth began to doubt my leadership. He said, "We need a map!" He produced his little, pale blue New Testament from his pocket--I didn't even know he brought it--flipped it open and studied it for a few long moments. Then he snapped it close and shoved it back into his pocket. "Yep. We need to go this way!" he said, marching on with confidence.

I immediately thought of this verse:

Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."

I certainly needed that reminder from my little one today, a day when my heart feels lost and anxious and burdened.

Tragedy

2008-05-22T18:46:00.003-04:00

My heart is breaking today for a fellow adoptive parent. Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife just lost their five-year-old daughter, Maria, to a horrible, unimaginable accident. A parent's worst nightmare. Their teenage son was pulling out of their driveway and accidentally ran over her.

Please remember their family in your prayers.

I hugged my children a little tighter today and prayed for them a little more feverishly. I've been chasing away the tiny pricks of fear that are threatening my heart all day.

Psalm 91:1, 2

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."