A Whole Bag of Stuff

Because I can’t stay still for very long, I sometimes start random projects. Having been gone the past few nights and looking forward to company this weekend, I thought it was time to fold the two baskets of laundry in my dining room.

Then my hard working husband walked past. Without trying, he lured me away from my task.

I went outside to join Ryan on the driveway where he was replacing a broken back board on the basketball hoop with a new one. I stood for a few minutes while my feet grew weary of standing on a hard surface once again.

Maybe helping Ryan will cause a disconnect between my brain and the pain.

Like I can really be of any help! Clamping the pieces together with my bare hands caused increased back pain, I don’t know where to find his extra battery for his drill so he retrieves it, and while he’s gone doing that, I manage to kick over his jar of supplies which promptly breaks and the pieces go all over hiding themselves in the crevasses of the rough concrete and unwanted plants growing up through the cracks.

I’m mechanical, not a ditz. I love to be outside, not in the house. I accel at things I try. This is apparently not my day.

Since I can’t stand still, I begin to clean out my trusty old van (which has joined the 100,000 mile club). I open the door and find a mess. God, did you make any of my children to be anal organized like me? If you did, they surely don’t show it in here (or anywhere else for that matter). I sort through all kinds of stuff. Some of what needs to be pitched and certainly some of it is my mess too. Like those ipod speakers that have been in my van since April sometime, and those old Arnette sunglasses that are missing an ear piece but I just can force myself to throw away because I paid so much for them… 8 years ago. As I dig around and make piles of stuff to be tossed and stuff to keep, I find an old vonmaur paper bag with handles. Perfect. I can now put my nicely organized piles into the one bag I have (because I’m certainly not about to spend my energy going in the house for a second bag).

As I toss out a crusty old French fry I think to myself: seriously how do three children create such a mess?

When all was said and done, I had a bag full of stuff – some of which needed to be pitched and some of which needed to be kept. Scott now has only two ninja turtle toys to play with while he sits solo in the back seat. I don’t think Bethany and Judah were left with any toys to fight over each morning. I carried the bag inside and sat it down by the front door where all other crap gets thrown. One of these days I’ll have enough time in my day to fold the laundry, clean out the van, and put the stuff away. For now it sits in its place on the 100 year old wood floor next to a variety of other things. I immediately grab my laptop out of its place so I can share this randomness with you. As I peer over to it, a used (and even recent) family fun magazine sticks out the top of the bag and I wonder how many random things were taken from the van tonight. I thought I’d share just a few with you:
- A twin air mattress and pump
- rubber t-rex
- at least 5 childrens books
- toy lantern & binoculars
- two pairs of flip flops
- toy bed from a Dora play set
- miracle bubbles
- old Sunday school handouts
- mini magna doodle
- multiple Mickey D’s toys
- half inflated floating device
And of course there were a few things I had to leave in the van:
- 3 camping chairs because they would need to go in the garage and I’m lazy
- those old arnette sunglasses – you can make them work if need be
- several pull-ups for our little guy
- the ice-scraper because taking it out would just require putting it back in the van in a few months.

As I close out so I can finish folding the laundry… or join my hubby upstairs, I’m curious to know two things about you:
1. What’s the most random thing in your vehicle and
2. What’s one thing that should come out of your vehicle but you hang onto it

Bucket List

Having recently returned to work, I feel like there’s so much that I didn’t get to do while I was on “maternity leave”. In fact, I feel a little robbed of my hard earned vacation. The time went quickly and because of a back injury (I hope to hear back about my MRI tomorrow), there was a lot I didn’t get to do. In the quietness of my day today (yes, all of the 3 minutes I spent in the bathroom counts as quietness) I started thinking of those things I didn’t get to do. Those thoughts turned into other things I want to do. I thought I’d share a few:

- Host an African theme night at the church
- Create a t-shirt for orphan awareness
- Host a party for all my country neighbors (I’ve lived there for 7 years and still don’t know them)
- Learn more about graphic designing
- Sing songs with my family while playing guitar
- Grow a BIG garden
- Home school my children… I think
- Memorize more scripture
- Run a 5k with my girlfriends
- Run a 5k with my husband

What’s holding me back? Why haven’t I done those things? Like most people, I can come up with a million excuses but are they legitimate? What’s really holding me back? As I look at each item above (and it’s by no means a complete list), I think of reasons why I can’t. But with each item I read, I come up with self doubt. African Theme Night – what if no one comes? Orphan t-shirt, what if no one buys? Neighborhood party, what if they don’t come? On and on it goes.

Seriously, why do I doubt like that? Is it healthy? Is it true? Because really, if I would cross some of those things off my list, there is such a reward. African theme night – bring an awareness to my community of what its like other places. Orphan tshirt – raise an awareness and raise money for a future adoption (ours or someone else’s). Neighbor party – love my neighbors.

As my maternity leave quickly passed, I did get some things done. I adopted a child, traveled to two foreign countries, hung out with my dad and nephew, pudle jumped with my kids, hiked a short trail with my kids, co-hosted a purse party for www.haitiancreations.com, hung out with various family members, etc. Though I got some things done, I feel like I could have done more. I want to watch Zack play baseball, take my kids on more picnics, live life. I don’t want to look back on my maternity leave, or my summer, or a year, or a life-time and feel like I wasted it ya know. I want to keep learning, keep serving, keep loving other so I better stop typing and start something…

I would love to hear what’s on your “bucket” list.

Tell me all you know about Nahum

For those who are church attenders, you might recognize that as a book of the bible. For those who don’t attend church, you’ve likely never even seen the word before. Because I attend church and have (at one time thanks to pledge semester of Alpha Delta Chi), I memorized the names of the books of the bible as they appear in the bible. At one point I’ve even read that book. But hearing the request to tell someone all I know about Nahum, I sit there and say “ummm, ummm, well I think it’s one of the minor prophets. It falls after Micah and before Habbakuk…”. Yikes, this is the second time today I’ve felt like I have a total lack of biblical knowledge. How well can I give an answer for what I believe? Am I saying you have to have Nahum memorized to give an answer? No, but the point is that I’m feeling convicted about my knowledge of and my time in The Word.

As I continued to sit and listen to an i-tunes sermon, I had to turn it off. I minimized i-tunes and opened up e-sword. Listening to a message on God’s Word is good. But my conviction was to know and spend time in scripture. I opened up to the 34th book of the bible and began reading the 3 short chapters. Go read Nahum. It isn’t pretty. The books is about Nahum’s vision concerning Ninevah and man am I glad that I’m not living in Ninevah. After a brief and sad read, I wondered what was up with Ninevah. Why did God have such anger here?

It’s amazing to me how much I sometimes have to force myself to spend time in the Word. Yet every time I open up this book, aka e-Sword - the Sword of the Lord with an electronic edge, I just can’t get enough. This has been a good lesson today. Are you convicted of something in your life? What are you doing about it today?

Happy Birthday Princess!

Super Mom here. Okay, okay, it’s not about me but honestly today I felt like I was (expected to be) Super Mom. Mostly I didn’t mind so it was okay. Back to my Princess Peach though.

Today my sweet Bethany turned 3. Happy Birthday Miss Bethany. I love my sweet little thang. She’s a doll. We celebrated off and on throughout the day. Since she recently told me I was the best muffin maker, I started the morning crawling out of bed to make muffins for my girl. While those were in the oven, I went to build the castle cake. Only I realized that I didn’t have frosting. That’s a separate story in itself.

Some Sunday mornings are a little rough and stressful. Today was no different. This time because our sweet girl wasn’t feeling so great. She was all dressed up in her sweet princess dress and princess shoes but her normal glow was clouded over with constipation. Poor thing. We were to church, only 10 minutes late, and were greeted by the Pastor who said “don’t worry about sitting down”. I went from the back of the church to standing next to my seated (and timely) husband, to the stage where Judah was given his “new baby in the church” rose.

Back to Miss Bethany.

After church we made a quick run to the grocery store where Ryan bought the items for home-made ice-cream (he didn’t like my store bought stuff which is good because the freezer pushed open and the contents thawed) and I bought frosting.

If this is how our whole day is going to go, I’m going to need a nap.

At the house I threw together a oriental rice stir fry dish. Only I had the wrong seasoning packet which also meant I had no directions but I was plenty hungry. I made lunch as best as I could recall from the one other time I’d made that meal.

This is how our day is going to go isn’t it?

The birthday girl, she wasn’t going to make it to the table and went straight for the nap. That was okay with everyone at the table! Princesses need their beauty rest after all. While she rested, I managed to put together thee ugliest castle cake ever. Seriously.
Normally that would make me crazy. Today, not so much. I knew Bethany would be thrilled even if the corner of the castle had fallen off.

Post nap, my gleaming little beauty had bed head and was in her comfy clothes. She was so cute in her Mexico soccer uniform that I didn’t want to change her. But, pictures were in order and our princess needed to be all beautified.

While Ryan froze ice-cream, I threw together a quick dish of baked chicken alfredo and rolls. I managed to pull that off quite well just as the ice-cream was finishing. Our family plus the grandparents all sat down for a meal together. Before we were done, Bethany was distracted in the other room with a pooping extravaganza. Poor thing. Who cares if she didn’t eat lunch and didn’t eat much supper, let’s eat some cake and ice-cream. Wait, wait, the girl has to blow out some candles and hear all of us sing to her first.

Like clock work, all three of my kids were having issues. Bethany was screaming and pooping as I walked through the room to take Judah to the toilet. Scott had the bathroom occupied and when questioned informed me that he’d pee’d and pooped in his pants. Nice. Got that dealt with and took Judah to the toilet where he did both numbers. Yes, my youngest son is apparently the only one who can sometimes potty on the toilet. I disgress.

Cake and ice-cream was great and I was summoned to the chair to snuggle a sweet little girl while the grandparents helped clean up. The birthday party was about over when I caught this sweet little boy smooching his Grandpa in the kitchen. We ended our night watching Alvin & the Chipmunks while I edited a few photos.

Where did that nap go? Oh yeah, those don’t happen or aren’t needed when you’re a super mom. Happy Birthday to our Super daughter, my very own little Princess Peach.

6 more months

I heard someone say: today is 6 more months until Christmas. First I was interested in entertaining that idea. Wow, it really is only 6 more months until Christmas. Then I wondered if it really has any influence on how I plan. Seriously, why do I even entertain this idea. I love gift giving and watching people open gifts. But really, there is so much more to it... I don't want to spend 6 months planning on the gift giving part all the while not focusing on other important things in life.

bowels, not bowls

I originally sat down to write this post after putting the kids to bed. The boys went down great. Bethany, not so much. It was partly my fault. Each night we put her down and as I’m walking out the door she begins to whine like a baby. Each night I stop and to figure out what her deal is. It’s the attention but she always seems to have some other excuse. So each night I give her another kiss, or more water, or cover her up again. Always something. Tonight I’d had enough. I told her she was fine and that she needed to go to sleep. I gave her fair warning that if I had to go back into her room, she would get a spank. Not wanting to follow through with the spank, I sat at my computer for a few minutes catching up on your blogs and then proceeded to ignore her desperate cries for attention, even the negative kind, by going downstairs.

By time I finished folding 4 loads of laundry, I’d almost forgotten that I wanted to blog. Now what was it that I wanted to write about?

Ah yes, my kids and their bowels. I know this topic interests all of you [read sarcasm there]. I’ll try to keep it brief. Kid #1 has bowel issues that have existed from day 1. Today he failed at being a big kid and pooped in his undies and didn’t tell anyone for 6 hours. Hello, can we saw “raw bottom”. And he still hasn’t learned. His sister continues to follow in his footsteps. She’ll be 3 on Sunday and still won’t go on the potty. She refuses and right now its not worth the battle. Lately she’s been going well on her own (we’re eating lots of fruit) and is pooping and getting wiped a lot. Hello, can we say raw bottom for her too! Child #3 does great at pottying. Only he doesn’t tell you when he has to go. And unlike his siblings who were dry through the night at 6 months, he’s still not dry at night. Setting a timer has been helping me remember to take Judah. He sits to potty and soon we hope he learns to stand to potty.

Why do my kids have bowel issues? As if that’s not enough, I read on facebook that a buddy of mine pretty much trained her son in 2 weeks and is done with diapers. I, on the other hand, have a 3 year old who won’t sit on the potty without a fit. Nice. I haven’t even really tried with her cause I don’t want her to have a negative impact on her little brother. This hasn’t been a fun learning experience for anyone in this house. I would love any ideas in the potty training arena if you have them.

No belt

I got to work today and realized I didn’t have a belt on. Hmm, that’s not like me, especially when I wear slacks. Fortunately, it was no big deal. I apparently don’t need a belt with these slacks. Maybe it has something to do with the 7 to 9 pounds I’ve gained since we left for Ethiopia. Hmm, now what? Thankfully I realized this before I packed my lunch. It would be so easy to eat less, only it’s not so easy. Last week on the days I went to work, I felt like I was starving all day. A light lunch was too light. And no “snack time” left me hungry. Am I really hungry or have I just trained my body to eat all day long? This morning I packed a crab salad wrap, a little pasta salad and some fruit before I headed to work.

By 10:45 I was hungry. I busted out a crystal light packet, dumped it in my water and took a drink. My goal is to drink something when I feel hungry and maybe that will hold me over for a while. Do you think it will work?

Its 1140am and I’m thinking that noon can’t come soon enough.

I’m not all about diets but I am about eating healthy and treating my body like it’s God’s Temple. If I like to make sure my house is clean before and while I have company, then why wouldn’t I do the same for my body as the Holy Spirit resides in me?

Thank you Lord for the noon whistle in town. I’m free to refuel. Only now I’ve been sitting for an hour listening to a net replay at work. My body hurts from sitting and I desperately need a standing break. I decide to work at my standing work station cause I know that I’m not really starving.

Whether or not I lose weight, I certainly plan to change the shape of my body. Did you know that during a recent visit with my aunt, she asked me if I was pregnant. I so need to work out again. I so need to be accountable about what I eat. I so need to change the shape of my gut so that no one else has to ask me if I’m pregnant :)

At 1215pm I eat my modest but filling lunch. That was awesome. I wanted to go outside and enjoy some warmth and sunshine but I didn’t want to take an official lunch break. Being there a short day today, I needed to keep trudging along.

I got home shortly after 5pm and I still wasn’t hungry. Amazing. I went right into the kitchen to put dishes away and clean up a few leftover dishes from last night. I also managed to eat 5 oreo balls. At least they weren’t dipped in chocolate. Maybe I consumed only 25 grams of fat instead of 37. Yikes.

What was it I said about treating my body like God’s temple? Man did I fail on that one today. I guess its time to get back up and try again tomorrow.

Service

Yesterday our pastor shared a message on service. I wish it was up on the web already so I can share it with you. It was a good lesson and certainly applicable to me. His challenge at the end was for us to ask ourselves where are we serving in the church and where can we be serving in the ministries of our church. I first thought about it and couldn’t really come up with anywhere that I was serving. I was taking a break from the youth because my kids are young and can’t be involved in youth. I was taking a break from some activities because I was busy working on Judah’s adoption. I guess I really need to step it up don’t I. It didn’t take me long to realize that I am involved. I was the co-chair, and recently named the chair, of the Missions Committee in our church. I’m also the person who runs the business meetings of our church. So I guess I’m not doing too bad. Regardless, I’m sure there’s an area where I can step it up, right? Yes, there is.

I have one problem with this whole idea. The first thing Pastor said this morning is that some people have served so much that they’re burnt out. That is something that’s on my mind all through the sermon. No doubt we need people to step up and help out in different areas. But that the same time, we’re still a small church. Do we really want to have so many activities that we don’t have time for ourselves, for our families? No doubt I support most of the ministries in our church but I think there’s also a point where we as individuals need to step back and look at the big picture. Yes, take Pastor’s challenge and see where we’re serving. But we also need to remember that we’re human and we have limits. Where can I serve? I can serve in the church but I can also serve my family. After all, my kids are my responsibility to raise and to guide them towards Christ. So when I ask myself how I can be involved in a ministry at church, I also have to ask myself how that will take away from my family.

I’m not at all knocking Pastor’s message. In fact, I was convicted by it and thought it was perfectly appropriate. Jesus did serve his followers. But we also need to acknowledge when we’re doing too much. What are your thoughts on this? How do you find time to serve elsewhere (since many of us serve at work, in the community and/or at church)? Do you take the time to judge how it will affect the rest of you? What questions do you ask yourself?

A Quick Update

All’s well on our journey. We’re all transitioning quite well considering the events of the last month. We’ve travelled on a day trip to see family and run errands, a weekend trip a short drive away, and a 5 day trip a long way away. We’ve also enjoyed having my dad here this past week. In the time we’ve been home I managed to do something to my back which has gone on for 3 weeks now. Loving on kiddos and keeping up with a home quickly becomes a difficult task when you physically can’t lift or bend over. So, our transition, and my “maternity” leave, has looked quite different than I expected. The back issue has been a great way for Ryan to connect more with the older two kids and attach more with Judah.

We’re all doing great really. I’m so thankful that God knows our limits and doesn’t push us beyond them. Some days I think God is taking me right up to my limit though. It has been a good and difficult lesson as I train and love Judah to recall how patient God is with me, a sinner.

Scott is a wonderful big brother and continues to be in Judah’s face much of the time. Scott is a big helper with Judah and life in general. He’s had to grow up a bit which has been good since he can be a tad bit dependent with things he should be independent about. Bethany is doing well too but taking a little different journey through adjustment. If she loves Judah, she certainly doesn’t show it in an obvious manner. She makes sure to let us know that she needs some focus time too. While she’s dealing with constipation and a raw bottom today, her sweet little brother has had five NASTY diapers. Nice. Judah is doing quite well. He eats like a champ. And if you give him something he likes, he is a bottomless pit. Tonight it was mixed fresh fruit and I had to cut him off. Judah is doing mostly well with toileting. I can see it being an issue of control for him so for now we’re trying to be super encouraging when he goes on the potty.

Seems like we’re holding up too. One of the questions Holt asks us in our follow up questions is about getting enough time together as a couple. Yes, we’re getting time together each night – otherwise known as Ryan watches a TV show on DVD as he winds down and I’m too tired to wind down so I fall asleep next to him. Seriously. I’m looking forward to the new “normal” whenever that happens so we can adjust our time as a couple to that. Since you already know we’re not perfect, I’ll share something else you already know. We have left some room for improvement in our marriage. I could do a better job at respecting my husband, we could improve on praying for and with each other, etc.

I’m thankful for the progress we’ve made as a family and know that we will continue to adjust and move forward; hopefully becoming more like Christ each day. Ya know I pray daily that my kids will love God and love others more each day. It’s

Thanks Janel

So we all know that I've been out of the blog loop lately. Yesterday I managed to jump online long enough while visiting with my friend Michelle to read an update on our friend Janel's adoption progress. It was so good to read what's going on in their journey. Janel, as I read it aloud to Michelle, I had to stop reading because my emotions got the best of me and I started crying. I turned the screen towards Michelle and we both read. For those of you who aren't following Janel and Jake's journey, check them out: http://team-sullivan.blogspot.com/

Today when I came to town to run a few errands (all 4 kids were quiet if not asleep) while Dad was in charge so I could get a quick break, I popped in on Janel's blog again. It was so fun to read her post about the journey bags. I want to link to it so you can read but I have to preface the link: first let me say that this is by no means a pat on my own back. I don't think I'm some amazing person or that I did such a good deed. I'm me. A sinner saved by grace. A wife who fails miserably but has an understanding family. A person who loves others. Yes, I made a few bags but it's more than that. God has given me the ability to do certain things. All I did was say "yes" to using my small little gift (I'm really not a sewer for those who want to know) and offerring it up to God. I did this by sewing up a few simple bags and praying for the individuals who would receive them as I sewed. True, these bags are going on a journey, but the glory and the credit goes to a God who cares enough about those specific villagers in Ghana to use a nobody like me to cut and sew some fabric.

Now, with that said, I would encourage you to say yes when you feel a tug at your heart to do for someone else. It could be as simple as a meal for a new mom, some potted flowers for an elderly lady, or a visit to a shut-in. Okay, now if you're super board you can go over to Janel's blog, skim through the post about the journey bags as you scroll down and read the real stuff - what God has been doing in their lives as they say "yes Lord, use me" .... http://team-sullivan.blogspot.com

Time Flies

We've been home a month with Judah. The month has been a busy one. We've seen lots of friends and family both far and here at home. We've been so busy it makes my mind swirl.

Just this week we've seen lots of people. On Friday my Aunt Janie, Aunt Anna and Uncle Johnny drove in for a weekend visit. They've been on a road trip and I'm thankful they made it up our way. I love getting to spend time with my family.

On Saturday I drove to Iowa City to run a few errands and have a "big girl" lunch at Panera with Tera and Betty (a huge thanks to Uncle Mike for taking the boys to McD's so the girls could have a quiet lunch. Another huge thanks to Uncle Mike for meeting me in Iowa City to switch vehicles so I wouldn't have to drive all the way to Prairie City to get my van back!) I left the home of the Hawkeyes and headed to Cedar Rapids where I met my dad and nephew at the airport. It was so good to be able to pick them up. Of course I drug them with me to run a few more errands, before driving home in a downpour.

My Aunts and Uncle who drove in left on Monday morning. My dad is here all week. Last night my nephew came home with us and we played a bit. Today we had plans for a picnic at a local park but we've had a gentle rain all day so we've all been stuck inside.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the week and hoping that the weather man is wrong since I read that we have a half decent day tomorrow and then showers the rest of the week.

new computer

I have a wonderful hubby who bought me a new laptop for our anniversary.  Thanks love.  Now you'd think I'd be able to get all caught up on blogging and such but that isn't the case.  I'm currently sitting at the motel parking lot using their wi-fi.  I had to come to town earlier for xrays on my lovely back issue.  Then over to the pharmacy to pick up my muscle relaxer which they wouldn't fill because the pharmacy in DesMoines said they gave me more than they really did.  Gotta love the locals, they called right to DM and had them fix it with insurance so I could get my sanity, I mean, muscle relaxer.  So as that's getting ready to kick in and do it's job (well, sorta kinda), I'm heading back home to rest while mom keeps the kiddos.  Thanks mom.

                              

 

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The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with Hotmail. Get busy.

My 3 kids

Our [mostly] sweet girl:
and our [mostly] sweet boy:
and our wonderful big brother "helping" his little brother:

In other news, my back still hurts like mad and now I also have ring worm. Nice.

Long Overdue

This morning I rummaged through Scott's backpack and found a notice from the library that his book was due back in April. Whoops. It's not the only thing long overdue around here. My blog needs a little attention too. I dropped Scott off at school and the two little ones off at mom's and stopped by for a quick read through my email. Then I took a look at my blog. Well, it needs a little update, especially the family picture at the top. I thought about doing that while at the clinic quick but the whole point of dropping the kids off was so I can clean my house. That's been hard to do with a certain little boy attached to me and with all the running around we've been doing.

So, my goal is to play on the net a while (I have limited time since I didn't bring my cord in for the laptop) and then get home and clean. If I finish that before it's time to get the kids (or more realistically, if I give-in first), then I'll work on some blog updates.

In the mean time, know that I'm loving my time home with my kids. It's been a huge test in patience (which I suck at). Scott has been a great little trooper, Bethany has some minor drama lately and Judah has lots of drama. But, they're kids and it can be expected. I could definitely use some prayer during this time of adjustment and so can the rest of the family I'm sure.

Here's my cute little milk mustache baby...

Update from Ethiopia

Okay, well this is the first day we have a chance at internet - because we drove 20 minutes to the Hilton where we're also enjoying a nice meal.
 
We're in Ethiopia and loving it.  Judah is absolutely beautiful and we love, love, love him.  THe first day he was quiet and was content in our laps.  The next time we saw a smile.  Then today, he laughed and laughed when I tickled him.  It's wonderful getting to know him slowly.  Tomorrow we take custody of Judah so we have him 24/7 after that.  Tommorrow we also go to the embassy where we're praying they'll give us his passport so we can go home.
 
We've been to traditional meals and tribal dances (this white girl can't dance but I tried), and saw the countryside.  We traveled 6 hours to Durame and got to meet Judah's birthmother.  Very emotional and I'm thankful to Ethiopia and Holt for  making that happen for us.
 
It's warm here.  Sometimes there's power, sometimes there's not.  No toilet paper in the toilet, the water is slightly colored when it comes out of the faucet, etc.  But the people are beautiful and we're so thankful for the time we're spending here.   With that said, we're ready to get home too!
 
Please share with others.  Keep praying.  Thanks!!!

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The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with Hotmail. Get busy.

Judah

We met our son for the first time yesterday. Head on over to our adotpion blog www.journey4hope.blogspot.com to see if we had a chance to post any pictures or text about our day.

Cori

Did you think I'd forget? Of course not.

Happy Birthday Cori!

Welcome to the 30's!

Amsterdam Day #2

Let me just start by saying that day #2 was much better than the first. Part of that was due to sleep. Another part was that even though I woke up way too early, I played around on the internet and was refreshed with a facebook convo with Chrissy. It was great to talk about adoption and other stuff. Thanks Chrissy!

Once Ryan woke up, we got ourselves ready and headed to breakfast. After breakfast while standing on the balcony, Ryan captured this photo. If you look close enough you can see Curious George. My kids love CG and so the letters I wrote to them for each day that we're gone have something that CG was curious about and wanted to share with them (ie: map of our travels, pics of an Amsterdam canal). So, we brought CG along, he's a puppet by trade, to take some pics for our kids and to use at the orphanage. So, this is for you Scott and Bethany: here's Curious George at the Art Gallery Hotel in Amsterdam, Holland.

This next photo gives a great overall view into our day - us and the Dietz' being shown around Amsterdam by a very good and knowledgeable tour guide, Ruud Stuurman. It was great today joining them with a little sleep under our eyelids and with Shonda and Travis along. There's a draw bridge off in the distance which isn't very obvious. But across the river there is where the Jews settled. During WWII, these draw bridges were drawn up making it easier for the Jews to be captured. What a sad part of the Jewish history!

I was going to show you a pic from the Red Light District but forgot to upload one. Don't go google the RLD unless you want it to show up on your x3watch as porn. The RLD was originally started for the navy men's entertainment. Apparently the regular ol citizens also enjoyed the entertainment because it is very much alive today. We were there during the day so we didn't see ALL the smut (thank you Lord) but we saw more than enough. A beautiful part of town with the "old church" but every window front is either "toys" or women in lingerie selling themselves. I wouldn't have really caught on to it all but walking past one window front Ruud said "the curtains are closed so they're busy". Seriously? Why do they do that? It was sickening and sad and we kept having to encourage our hubbies to not look inside. This area had nothing on the chocolate anatomy I saw in the stores yesterday. Oh my. God's wrath on that situation will be worse than Sodom and Gomorrah. How log will He, the One who created those people to bear His image, allow that to continue?

We also saw outdoor urinals. Kinda like porta-pots but only for men and not completely closed in. It looked kinda like a phone booth really, you could see the person from shins down and shoulders up. Really odd. We have a pic of that too that I didn't upload.

This next pic is a clean one. It's a view from the canal ride. Did you know Amsterdam was built on a canal system. The history here is amazing. The buildings date back to the 1600's and have this built new but built to look old look. Ryan laughed when I said that about the buildings because I'm so used to the new to look old... these are just old. Funny.

And finally a picture from yesterday that I had to share. This was an orphanage back in the day (there were several in the city). The details are small but the box shapes were boxes that held the clothing of the children. It's like an outdoor dresser. Very interesting.

Okay, there was much more to our day but I'm tired and ready to peel my contacts out of my eyes. we leave tomorrow morning at 1035am for Ethiopia. Our schedule says we're to land at 905pm. I'm getting super-duper excited to get to Ethiopia and meet our son.

Thanks to our friends and family who've kept our kids so that we could have 2 days in Amsterdam before going on to Ethiopia. A big thanks to Ruud and An for showing us around the city the last two days; we look forward to meeting up with you in July in beautiful Northeast Iowa.

Amsterdam Update w/ pics

(Ruud & An, Ryan's dutch relatives and our local guides)

Lots to see here... sometimes more than you want to see in fact. One of the first places we took a picture was here at the Buiten cafe. Considering Ryan is Dutch and we're in Holland, finding something with part of our last name was of particular interest. In talking with Ruud about it later, we learned that Buiten means outside. So this was the outside cafe. We also learned that our name, Buitenwerf, means outside the warf. It was likely derived from the area that Ryan's family was from... outside the warf. Pretty cool huh?

We've seen some other cool things too. The Anne Frank house was pretty cool. Reminded me a lot of the Holocaust Museum. Only this was the actual place they hid out and still has the pictures she glued to the wall, etc. We didn't get any pics there but it was very humbling for me.

We also saw the Palace (I'm sure this isn't the real name). It was beautiful and the details of their work was impressive.

And we went to this really old church that has been running since 1605. It was beautiful too and had some rich, cool history. One thing that we found interesting is that people were buried in the floor so the concrete slabs you were walking over, were the graves of people.

This morning when I was awake at 5am and chatting on FB with Chrissy, I shared with her a little else of what we've seen. It just dumbfounds me. We were in and out of a couple of open air markets and souvineer shops. The market was cool and I really wanted to buy and eat some fruit. The souvineer shops surprised me. Apparently Amsterdam is known for and takes pride in their prostitutes, marijuana and chocolate covered male anatomy. The souvineers bragged of this stuff... not something I want to take home to my children but thanks anyway. The other option for gifts has been wooden clogs and or soccer jersies. So far we haven't purchased anything besides our food and drinks.

It's common practice here to sit on a terrace (patio) and have a drink and people watch. I wonder if anyone works. We'd walk a while and then stop for a refreshment. A 10-ounce bottle of coke or water runs almost $2.75 in USD. I've debated on buying a soccer jersey but they run 35 euro (almost $50 USD). That's just crazy. This tight budgeted momma would way rather buying things that cost way less in Ethiopia!!!

Speaking of Ethiopia, in just 25 hours, we'll be on a plane heading to Et. So exciting. It has been fun to get to know Shonda and Travis a little more. We didn't see them yesterday after checking into our hotels but we plan to get together with them this morning and spend part or all of the day together. Tomorrow night we'll get to meet up with Jamey and Andrew which is way exciting!

Netherlands

We arrived at the hotel (a converted old home, not a Marriott) and the kindly let us check in super early.  We have LOTS of bags and the men at the desk asked us if we were moving in :)
 
We enjoyed our first breakfast in the Netherlands - simple and quick.  Headed out with a camera in tow and hoping we don't get lost!
 
Met up with Shonda and Travis from www.godwiilladd.blogspot.com in Detroit.  They were in the seats behind us... hoping we can connect with them while here so we can hang out some more.

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Headed out

We're headed out today. We hope to be able to post some while we're gone. I have a few scheduled posts over at our adoption blog www.journey4hope.blogspot.com. Click on over there and follow us on our trip to Ethiopia via Amsterdam.

Gotta Love Creative Minds

Apparently this is what happens when you have 3 kids under 3 playing together. I love these little ones and their families.

I also love those in our small group bible study that don't have kids.

Today I'm especially thankful for one of them who came over and helped me with my flat tire last night when I was on my way to the women's retreat. He was there before Ryan could get there and didn't mind getting his hands and clothes all dirty to help me out. I love that we're all a family like that... and that those 3 guys (another friend came too since I was at his house) dealt with my tricky spare tire while I left and rode with Tracy to the retreat.

Journey Bags

The bags are done. Yipee! I finished them up just before midnight last night. Lots of thanks are in order because I didn't do it myself!

• Thanks to Denise: for being patient and allowing me to be working on bags while visiting. And also for getting the bags to Janel.
• Thanks to Ryan for putting the tags on and for sewing one of the edges of a bag (he's a rockstar with a sewing machine).
• Thanks to Aunt Janie for helping with cutting fabric and purchasing some of the canvas.
• Thanks to mom for letting me use her sewing room and machines when I didn't want to work at home.
• Thanks to my mother in law for helping and sharing some cute fabric.
• Thanks to Mabels Labels for donating the awesome tags that are associated with each bag.

When all was said and done last night, I had 24 completed bags all looking different. I have been so blessed to make them for such a good cause. It has me thinking of a new little project... I'm considering making more bags. My sewing room will have to get moved from the dining room to the spare bedroom but it would work. I'd like to make and sell bags. For each bag I sell, I'll donate one to someone in need. If I go ahead and pursue this idea, you'll hear from me!

Cuase they're cute...

Lots to do so a quick post to give a little insight to two of my favorite guys:

Ryan:
On Sunday he asked me if I would make him a little something for our trip to hang around his neck and hold his passport. I told him that I could but that I felt like I had 100 other things to do so I didn't want to commit to making one. Shortly after that conversation I left the house for a few hours. When I came back home, my manly and handsome hubby proudly showed me the little something that HE sewed together to hang around his neck and hold his passport. I was super impressed!!!

Scott:
He's really growing leaps and bounds in multiple areas. He loves to pick out his own clothes and get dressed like a big boy (yes, he's almost 5 and we've babied him a little). This morning he came down stairs dressed on his own. From the bathroom, I heard Ryan ask "honey, did you tell him he could wear sweats?" I laughed and confirmed that I did indeed tell our son to pick out his own clothes. I'd seen the light cotton pants with the stripe down the side that he laid out on his bed. What I hadn't seen was the thick striped shirt that he grabbed to go with it. It's a school day today. Oh dear!

And a little something about Bethany so she doesn't feel left out:
this child is testing my limits but she is precious... how can those two things go together? She's solid in her independence yet she wants me to carry her around and snuggle her at night... how do those things go together? She's beautiful but can show one mean face. Yes that's my daughter and it all goes together for her. Bethany's world is about to get rocked when Judah comes home and she knows it!!!

weather

Just checked the weather for Amsterdam. Ten days is a long ways out but currently it shows:
high in low 60's, 40% chance of showers.

And in Ethiopia:
high's in the mid 70's, lows in the low 60's. Now that's what I'm talkin about!

Are you Packed?

I've heard that question several times lately. No, of course I'm not packed. I have a long ways to go before I'm packed. Even if I was packed, I'd likely have to re-pack because of my OCD, and because even though I desire to pack light, I will re-define the term "light".

I haven't even pulled the suit cases out of the spare bedroom closet yet. In fact, when I cleaned the spare bedroom before church (amazing what you can get done when your kids are gone), I piled some more blankets in front of said suit cases. We have company coming this week and I figured she doesn't need all the winter blankets and I don't need to be packing while she's here. In the meantime, the corner of our sitting room (which still isn't put back together following the make-over) is being taken over with supplies for donations and for our use and consumption while gone. Pack light, pack light, pack light... I gotta get this in my head!

I did manage to borrow a few suit cases from some dear friends. I borrowed her money belt too. I'm so glad they're such a giving family. We don't have luggage that we need. I also plan to borrow the power adapter/converter from another friend which saves me some cash (thank you Jess). Now all I need is to come up with a GPS unit so I can GPS our trip and be able to plot it on a map. Anyone have a GPS they'll let us borrow?

10 more days and I'm emotional

In ten more days we're leaving for Ethiopia. I've been busy and am getting more excited each day. I'm also a bit sad to be leaving my kids but know they'll be in good hands.

I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve and I think that's increased in the last few days. God's also been softening my heart in some areas. Last night I felt so broken as I heard about a guy who's battling cancer and has a young family. I couldn't imagine what they're going through. Today, they continue to be on my mind as I pray for them.

It was an interesting day at the office. Business interspersed with time for prayer and encouragement. One guy in my office today shared with me about doing missions work in Cuba. How cool is that!?!? It's been a good time of prayer and reflection for several people today including Ryan's grandpa who had a successful gall stone removal, my little buddy M who had his adnoids and tonsils removed, my friend J who's battling and beating cancer.

I'm so thankful that we have a God who listens to our prayers.

Hi/Low

In our small group bible study, we start our evenings with a hi/low.  I wanted to share with you my hi-low emotional rollercoaster for today and ask for prayer.
 
Low: Friday several families were contacted by Holt about being in the travel group for the first week of may.  We were not contacted.  I was a bit dissapointed but trusting in God's timing and thankful for how He has provided.
 
Hi: At 5pm, I sent an email asking a few people to pray about our travel opportunities and taking a friend with us.  I hit send and refreshed my inbox and had an email from our agency.  We are in the travel group for the first week of May! 
 
I'm so excited my heart is pounding out of my chest and I can hardly type!  We're going to Ethiopia.  And this is no April Fool's joke! (I told my small group that we were going on April Fools).  My emotions are all over the place.  I was and am trusting in God's timing. I had resigned myself to not travelling in the first week and was thrilled with the possibility of Kara travelling with us (she can't go the first week), getting to go on a free mini-vacation to the Dells (scheduled for May 6th), and having more time to prepare.
 
Today is the 12th.  We have to be in Addis on the 29th.  That's 17 days people.  Pray for us please... it will be a wild two weeks!!!  Okay, now I have to go read the email from Holt about the actual travel :)

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Bare Your Sole

Just one day without shoes.

Most children in developing countries grow up without owning a single pair of shoes. These children aren't out walking on four-foot wide sidewalks either. The infections and parasites that come from not having shoes is painful to see.

How many pairs shoes do you own? That you actually regularly wear??? When I answer that question for myself, it convicts me. I've already been thinking about taking my extra shoes to Ethiopia and leaving them there.

Today, I would encourage you to go without shoes to serve as a reminder of how blessed we are. Maybe you can't go all day without shoes because of your work environment. But you can spend some time today without shoes to remember all the children of the world who don't even have a simple pair of shoes. Let it not only serve as a reminder, but a call to action on our parts.

Tom's Shoes is sponsoring http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com/.

Forgetful

Yesterday I forgot all about the potato casserole for Easter dinner so it should be no surprise when my friend Jen didn't want me to bring anything for our gathering of families tomorrow night.  When I told Ryan that she wouldn't let me bring anything, his reminder of the potato casserole was humorous when he said "we'd probably forget anyway".  Yesterday that wasn't so funny, today it is!
 
Speaking of forgetting things, don't forget to
                       
Buy Quilt Raffle Tickets online at
www.quiltedforacause.blogspot.com
to help support our Ethiopian Adoption.
$1 buys 1 ticket
$50 buys 55 tickets
$100 buys 115 tickets


Last week I traded a haircut for that dollar value of tickets.  What a great idea!  If you would like to trade for tickets, I will pay the dollar value of your item for tickets and put your name on them!

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The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with Hotmail. Get busy.

Ouch!

You realize how much you touch things with the edge of your thumb when you slice into it with the quisnart blade. Thank you hubby for getting a band-aid on my owie and helping me zip up my pants this morning.

Oreo Truffles

Have I written about these before? My first encounter with Oreo Truffles (aka oreo balls) was around Christmas. My co-workers fiance sent some home with him and they made it to the office. The second encounter was the Sweetheart Supper where Kara made them and explained how easy they are. Indeed, they are an easy and scrumptious little dessert. They're rich enough that one is enough but yummy enough that you have to grab two!

I made a batch and took some to Easter dinner. Finished up the rest tonight to take to a friends tomorrow. Only problem was that I had 5 left to dip and remembered that our friend is allergic to peanuts and I used the PB oreos! Ryan was a good sport and at 10pm helped me make another batch so that our friend could also enjoy the richness of my dessert. Since it's late, the'll have to chill in the fridge over night and I'll finish them after work tomorrow.

Here's a simple recipe: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-oreo-truffles-95085.aspx. The only thing I do a little differently is use chocolate almond bark (not white chocolate as shown in the above pic). If you google oreo balls or oreo truffles, you'll come up with lots of recipes

Overwhelmed

Let me just say that I've had a rough few days. Do you want the details? I think not. I have too much going on and not enough time in the day. I don't like when I forget things that I'm supposed to do - like bring the potato casserole for Easter. I also don't do well when I get called names. I know, they were just playing, but I didn't care if they were just playing, I didn't feel good and didn't want to be playful.

I typically love to play and joke. It's my nature. But I've also been trying to hold my tongue. The combination of not feeling well (sinus infection???) and watching my words affected my overall attitude.

I'm learning that I have too much going on. I'm trying to cut back some. It's hard. Ryan reminded me last night that I love to do for people even when it requires me to sacrifice myself. But how much sacrifice can I give before I give too much? At one point do I take care of me?

I want to have a warm and welcome home. It's warm and I'd gladly welcome people in but I'm so behind on keeping my home, that I haven't invited anyone. Last week I made an effort to serve my hubby by making him supper. This too came with a price because after dinner I was too tired to do anything else. Laundry is still on the couch, the kids' rooms still aren't completely organized, I still have journey bags to finish, etc.

Oh how I could use a weekend to be home and do those things. But as usual, our weekends go by so quickly when you're doing a million things. Maybe I need to learn how to say "not right now, I need some time to keep my home healthy". I'd like to get back to playing my guitar, playing outside, and having clean home. Is that so much to ask?

Our trampoline no longer looks like this:

Friday we had a wind/rain storm around here. The protective netting acts like a sail in the wind. Our trampoline sailed away on Friday. Ryan found it down by the barns where it got caught on a "t" post. Ryan managed to drag it back up the hill to the house. The netting is destroyed but hopefully the trampoline itself can be salvaged. Scott cried and cried about it because the whole way home we'd talked about playing on the trampoline while I fixed supper.

Darn thing. It was just a few weeks old and provides lots of exercise and entertainment for my kiddos! Hopefully we get it back to working or get a new one quickly!

Late Update in Pics Plus

Okay, well I just got pictures last night from my dear friend Kara (shown below). Thanks Kara for sharing your amazing talent of photography with so many.

Would you pray for Kara, that she would be able to join us on our trip to Ethiopia. We've asked her to join us so that she can photograph our experience of adoption, teach the care-givers the basics of photography, etc. We're trusting that God will have her join us for His glory!

Back to my update of pics from our time with Isaac at the end of February. In no particular order:

Ryan and I snuggling on the couch... do I really have that double chin???

Our quick snapshot as a family... not sure what Bethany is doing but Ryan looks like he's trying not to smile.

Scott, Isaac, Bethany and Noah sporting their team Mexico soccer jerseys.

Mexico Team together again... in the US this time.

Playing in the snow, I have a wonderfully amazing hubby who carries me when I'm weak... or lazy :)

Got snow?

And a little more recently, because I've not been blogging lately:

It's been a fun but tiring week. I tried to every night for a week to fix my family supper. Ryan's the usual cook in our home. Ryan got two nights of cooking simply because of scheduling. Cooking takes time and while I've been busy in the kitchen, Ryan's been having fun playing out on the trampoline with the kids.

We had parent/teacher conference for Scott. What fun! We're proud but also realize that our child has lots of room for improvement.

Last night we had an amazing time at bible study. We talked about the last supper, the death and resurrection of Jesus, did business with God and had communion. I love that our group is close enough to have communion together.

Our house is being attacked by those crazy little asian beetles. Only near the windows... it's so frustrating. Lots of cleaning to sweep up those little buggers. Good thing is that once they get inside, they quickly die of starvation.

Today I had lunch with Lisa from www.jockandlisa.blogspot.com. It was such a blessing to meet her and her little babies that she brought home from Haiti. Our time went too fast. I look forward to meeting up with her family again sometime!

This weekend is another busy weekend. Ryan works this weekend. The kids and I are helping some friends move to Elgin. We're excited about that. I need to get food together for that. I also need to dye a few eggs for the kids, make oreo balls for Sunday, and other normal cleaning. Hoping for a long day tomorrow so I can get all those things done in time that really doesn't exist. Sunday of course we'll be celebrating the resurrection of our Savior!

I just wanted to share quickly that I have the most "helpful" little daughter ever. Though I kept asking her to go play, she wanted to help put away clothes for her new little brother, try on his shoes, and arrange his drawers. I was getting annoyed that I was trying to accomplish something and she was in the way. Ryan gently reminded me that she was just trying to help.

Oh Lord, help me to find great joy in those "helpful" little moments with my kids.

So, I’ve neglected blogging, I know. It’s been busy; crazy actually. Wednesday is a huge deadline for me to get contracts signed at work so I’ve been there longer hours which is normal but considering that I’m also preparing to bring a child home, I could use some time at home too. I also haven’t posted much because I like to break up the text with pictures and until this weekend, my camera had been in hiding and on vacation. Friday night after the fish fry, Ryan hung out with the guys to watch the UNI guys in the basketball tournament. I took the kids home for some snuggle time. We watched a movie in my bed and S&B were snuggled up together which was cute but my pictures were less than cute. They were in bed by 845 and I was asleep by 9 which was lovely. Now, apparently I’ve trained my body to function on 6 hours of sleep so by 3am on Saturday I was wide awake for two hours. So much for sleeping in.

Note: this is a little lengthy, you might wanna grab a cup of coffee or read it in two parts.

My house is chaos. My dining room has become a sewing room and needs to be organized and picked up. No, it needs to become a dining room again by time we bring our son home. Before that though, I have some flannel blankets to whip up quick (much quicker than the journey bags I’ve yet to finish) for the kids’ easter baskets. The floor of my walk-in closet has disappeared and the closet is shrinking as things get piled in there. The kids’ rooms are under re-organization/construction. Over the weekend, we turned Scott’s room into a room for the two boys. That meant kicking Bethany out of Scott’s room and into her own. In Scott’s room, we went from two twin beds back to bunk beds where the bottom bunk was manipulated to fit a queen size mattress. It looks kinda like a dorm bunk. We bought some storage things and put those together to help with clothes and toys for the two boys. In Bethany’s room, the crib was taken apart and the base of it which was drawers is now the base of her big girl bed. She’s been in a twin bed for a long time but now the mattress is in her room with a different frame so its all new to her. The asian beetles that invade us every spring and fall are hiding in the window sills and will soon be removed when I finish cleaning. Crib parts will go the attic along with some other baby items that I’ve held onto. B3’s clothes need to be moved from Bethany’s room to his room. Both of the kids rooms need to be fine-tuned with cleaning and organization.

In the midst of the chaos upstairs yesterday, I had to run my in-laws truck back to their house. While there, I needed to stop at wallyworld to pick up a few things I’d missed the day before after having lost my shopping list. To say I was in a hurry and acting impatient was an understatement. Waiting at the fabric counter, I even decided to help myself. I had bought the same fabric the day before and watched the lady scan it, plug in the yardage, and print out a label. It couldn’t be that hard right? So I scanned and cut the first yard of fabric. While folding it up, an employee walked by and let me know that she’d be right back. I waited for her to come back, but not long. Being naughty, I finished cutting what I had started and she walked up just as I was finishing. She was, rightfully so, not happy. Now, I’m not trying to justify myself completely, but I did wait twice. They didn’t have anyone nearby in the store. I knew what I was doing. The part of me that shows that I need work, is that I was in a hurry and didn’t want to wait. Bad me. I’m sorry Wallyworld lady that I royally ticked off. I should have waited longer for you to come back. In fact, I should have searched for you the first time and not started at all. One suggestion though, maybe have a little bell ringer or some way that a customer could try to get the attention of an employee would be helpful so momma’s on a mission can receive help quicker. Yes, I’m admitting that I’m not perfect!

Speaking of my lack of perfection and things I’m working on, the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking through 3 different verses, one at a time. Each verse needs to change my life, I need to own it. These are not verses that I’ve come up with as a self-help type of thing. Each verse has come out differently. For example, one verse is something that my friend encouraged me with, one is a verse that my small group encouraged each other to memorize. All 3 have been good for my life right now and verses that continually need to impact my life.
The first verse is from James (chapter 1 I think) where Paul is saying that we should be slow to speak and quick to listen. When I stop and really consider that, I realize how quick I am to speak. And how worthless the words are that come out of my mouth. I certainly haven’t perfected this one yet and have a long way to go. I’ve found myself lots of times realizing after the fact that I wasn’t slow to speak and quick to listen. It’s a process for me.
The second verse is in Proverbs (19:13) where it refers to a nagging wife like a dripping faucet. This verse came to mind one morning while praying for my husband. The dripping was ANNOYING. I so don’t want to be like that annoying faucet. And besides annoying, the dripping is wasteful. I don’t want the words out of my mouth to be wasteful.
The third verse is Ephesians 4:29 which says “do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen”. Man, if you break that verse down, there’s a ton of stuff in there. But the way I’ve simplified it in my mind is “no unwholesome talk, only what builds others up”. Wow, do I also have a long way to go on this. I’m realizing that even fun little jokes, aren’t useful for building others up.

So basically, it’s a process all across the board. The house is a process and things are coming together for #3 to come home. I’m in the process of doing a better job at bearing the image of Christ. The weather is a process too and it won’t be long before I get the garden planted and begin fighting weeds!

Quilt Raffle - please join us...

Buy Quilt Raffle Tickets online at
www.quiltedforacause.blogspot.com
to help support our Ethiopian Adoption.
$1 buys 1 ticket
$50 buys 55 tickets
$100 buys 115 tickets

Helping Orphans in Nepal

Bizarre chaos surrounds me. Needing a quiet break, I retreat to the only place in the building for 5 minutes of peace and quiet. No phone calls, no contract questions, no emails about necessary training to complete. Having worked through lunch, I knew that 5 minutes would be refreshing. The place I found rest: the two-stall, air conditioned bathroom. I even locked the door.

Since I needed quiet and not a bladder break, I checked out a little magazine on the back of the toilet. I skimmed through it to get caught on a particular story. The headline read: "Helping Orphans in Nepal" and had this picture

Anything related to orphans right now catches my attention. If I'm willing to dig into it at all, it also tends to tear open my emotions and suck me in.

I was able to read these few paragraphs before my silence was distracted while someone was jangling on the locked door:

Conor Grennan crept along a cliff wall, the yellow beam from his headlamp the only light piercing the black Himalayan night. He could hear the icy rush of the river far below him and knew that one misstep could send him plunging off the narrow path. His knee throbbed with pain from weeks of trekking, but he pressed on.In the remote mountain villages of Nepal, even natives avoid walking at night. They had warned the 32-year-old American that it was far too treacherous. But Grennan offered two porters double pay and insisted he had no choice. This wasn't an adventure. It was a mission.

I'm not one to sit and read on the porclain throne. I've done so on occassion when our home is quite chaotic; but not at work. After reading this intro, I was hooked. I found myself wanting to go back for another reading break. Today was one of those times. I read a few more paragraphs and was totally impressed with this guys willingness to give of himself to those in need. I want to be like that when I grow up! Today, I couldn't justify the reading break when I have contracts to get done. So, I came back to my desk, googled the guy's name and found the article online at Readers Digest. Tamara Jones (nice first name, don't ya think) wrote the article and I thought you might enjoy and appreciate reading... from your computer screen and not the porclain throne. Here's the link to the Helping Orphans in Nepal article.

Trampoline

My dad bought the kids a trampoline for Christmas. Since we are no longer covered in snow, we put the trampoline together for the kids last night. They were so excited that they circled around us the entire time asking if it was done yet. The neighbor boy was even there to play and they played on the swingset/treehouse for all of 3 minutes before circling around us again like a pack of wolves.

It was freezing cold last night when we finally finished but that didn't bother my kids. Bethany climbed onto the trampoline and pulled her socks right off. The high 30's temp didn't seem to bother her at all. I, on the other hand, was shivering so I climbed on to warm up. Bethany informed me that she didn't want me jumping, that it is her trampoline.

Thank you Dad for buying Bethany (and the rest of our family) a trampoline.

Scott has already invited Aaron over to jump tonight and is planning his first camp-out on the trampoline!

What a weekend!

Our weekend was full of random activity. Tiring but enjoyable. Busy but relaxing.



Friday was Ryan's birthday. The evening was a bit of a rush having left work early. I grabbed the kids, ran home, picked up Ryan, and headed to The Barrell Drive-In. It's always a treat to go there and since it was Ryan's birthday, it was the perfect place. Since we were having a late supper with some friends, Ryan and I had a snack and ice-cream and the kids had their usual hamburgers.



We left The Barrell and headed to our friends house where we all gathered together with two of the international students for Nigerian food night. It's always interesting when you have food from another culture. When I taste tested the chicken half way the process, it had good flavor with a fishy after taste. I must say that ground crayfish, canned mackeral, and some other Nigerian additions weren't my type of meal. I certainly didn't enjoy the meal quite like Ryan who ate the meat dish and Tom who ate two bowls of it! It was great to interact with the guys and Michelle got some excellent video of them which was fun.

Saturday I spent the morning hanging out with my kids: reading books, giving Scott a haircut, etc. Around noon we headed to mom's. Bethany was entertained with sweet slumber while I worked on journey bags and Scott played in the floor. Mona (my friend Nick's mom) came over around 2pm and helped me for a few hours with my not-so-little project. That was really cool to have her help since I hardly even know her!

I had so much going on this weekend that I don't even remember the details of Saturday evening. At the clinic, we packed up the kids' big trampoline that dad bought them for Christmas. It's in the back of the van and needs to be put up so the kids can burn off some of their wild energy! After my family settled into bed, I headed downstairs and started on another bag. This time, it's for me. I made it different than the others and hopefully that bag will get finished and make it's debut here on my blog in the next few weeks. When I finally decided that I should head to bed, it was midnight!

Thank you honey for letting me sleep in on Sunday morning.

I skipped out on Discipleship Hour but made it to church. Wild ones in tow and apparently NOT on their best bahavior. Scott even got to leave the sanctuary to have a little chat in the bathroom regarding his behavior. Following church I headed back to mom's and continued working on bags. Cutting the strips out for the handles, I made one mistake that cost me some time for sure! But that's no big deal and the handles are coming together well. I was able to finish 4 bags before leaving to hear a wildlife imitator.

What's a wildlife imitator you say? First off, he's Jess' dad. But he's also a very cool guy that makes lots of weird animal noises. Picture being in Hollywood, getting ready to go on the Letterman show, standing outside a ritzy hotel and all of a sudden, this wildlife nut from Missouri starts calling in the crows that are up in the palm trees. The crows came in like crazy and other people were a little nervous about all the birds. He's amazing at what he does and is a wonderful story teller. I had a blast hearing him. Check him out online at www.ralphduren.com or check out his videos on you tube. He's worth the time for sure!

We got home last night after a fun but late night. Gave the kids cake for supper (it was healthy cake) and put them in bed. Though I really wanted to go downstairs, I headed to bed too. So much for my goal of getting a good night of sleep, that didn't happen. We'll see how the work day goes today!

Also, wanna mention that I love to see how God shows up. Our church purchased a building recently. We put it to the congregation to raise money for the building. We prayed about it and asked God to show up. Man, oh man. At our special offerring yesterday, we were able to exceed the goal for the congregation. How cool is that? I'm so thankful to be a part of that. And also thankful for the humbling that I received knowing that God didn't need my measly gift to help meet the goal. He exceeded it, He's God. Yes, Lord, thank you for keeping me humble!

Okay, better get ready for the day! Things at work are major crazy with 10 days to finish contracts we've not started on... yikes!

posting my thoughts from earlier today....

A computer glitch at the office had forced me to take a quick break from the craziness. The orange in my purse doesn’t provide for much of a lunch so I ran to the kitchen and scraped up some bottom-of-the-bag Doritos, melted some cheese on top, grabbed a few baby carrots and a cup half full of flat diet caffeine free coke and half diet pepsi. Boy, is this an incredible lunch or what!?!?! There’s obviously no need to sit and ponder how wonderful my meal is and since my mind is currently not at work, I have time to think.

I just don’t understand how men can be in their “nothing” box. I don’t have one of those. Do they exist for women?

Anyway, I wanted to share a little of what my wild mind has been processing in the last few minutes:
1. I’m so thankful to have a group of adoptive parents to connect with. Right now I’m especially thankful for 3 moms in the group: Kandace, I’m praying for you as you travel to get Tucker in Ethiopia. Especially praying that you and Mike can experience Ethiopia and its beautiful culture while Mike plays it safe in the food area. Thank you for your willingness to take a book to our son. Jen, I’m praying for you too while you’re also in Et getting your kiddo. I can’t wait to see an update on your blog. I’m praying especially for your trip to Durame, that you will be blessed and be a blessing! And my new friend, Megan. Sometimes the posts I read on your blog (except for the book review ones) are as if I wrote them. It seems like we’re a lot alike. So today I’ve been praying that you will pass your first court date and accel at super speed so we can travel together.
2. Thinking of girlfriends, I want to share about another friend of mine, R. She’s a great friend and someone I can confide in. Someone I know will pray for me. And this week I found out that she’s also someone who’ll call me out on my bad attitude. Thank you dear friend!
3. My world seems to revolve around our adoption right now. And I think that’s okay for the most part. As we tell more people about our adoption I keep hearing “you’re doing such a noble thing!”, etc. I’m really, really, at a loss for words when people say this. I by no means want to pat myself on the back but at the same time, we are doing a good thing. So, I don’t always know how to respond. Also in regards to that, I want to tell people that they too can do this. We’re not extraordinary parents. We’re not rich (by American standards). We just see the value in caring for the orphans and acted. For some sponsoring a compassion child is enough. For us, that was easy, too easy and God has called us to do more. I wish more people would act in obedience. The end of James 2 says faith without deeds is dead. Dead friends. I don’t want a dead faith.
4. Was I crazy to volunteer to make 25 bags for Ghana right now? Yes, maybe. But I acted… funny how that works. So, I’m in the middle of making these journey bags and this process has so incredibly blessed me. It’s not about me at all! I love it. I’m already trying to think about making more and have bought some additional fabrics but need to finish these bags first so Janel can take them with her to Ghana soon!
5. I’ve been having an amazing prayer time lately. One of my friends has challenged me to begin praying for my husband. Well, I do that already but I don’t prioritize a time to do that. It’s been great. We’ve been ending our work out session a little early to spend some time praying for our husbands. I’m so thankful for her challenge/encouragement. Praying for Ryan early in the day just puts him on my mind throughout the day to be praying for him.
6. Speaking of Ryan, oh how I love him. I’m so glad I’m his wife. I still have a lot to learn in this arena and I’m thankful that he shows me patience! Happy birthday tomorrow honey!!!

Okay, that’s it for now…

I need to get to work...

so I'm making it whirlwind quick:

- Just read a cute phrase in relation to eating lots of fruits and veggies, the person would be a "rabitt dying for a hamburger". Thought it was funny.

- Talking to my son last night, I thanked him for doing something. His reply: "your pleasure mommy". Ah, I love the manners son but next time you should say "it was MY pleasure mommy".

- Trying to teach Bethany to pray last night, she wanted nothing to do with that. She wanted her typical cutsie prayer where she says "thank you for my mommy and daddy" and maybe adds something else in there and then says "amen". I tried getting her to pray again and asked her to obey me. She said she didn't like God. Oh Lord, that you would find humor in my two year old who doesn't know what she's saying. It was 10, I was tired, and didn't want to deal with her cuteness so I said okay, you don't want to pray? That's fine. I covered her up and walked out. she CRIED: I'm sorry momma, I want to pray. Stinker.
As this was happening, Ryan was coming in the door from church choir practice. I went back in there and prayed with her and asked her again to obey. She apoligized for being naughty and then her daddy came in and saved the day - for both of us!

Work

I don't like having to work. I like serving others. Today was a little of both. I always enjoy working with one of my cattle ranchers because he challenges my intellect and makes me think outside the box. Other parts of the day were more like "work" that wasn't quite as enjoyable.

I have a new boss today. Great deal so far. One problem though is sitting with him realizing how far behind I am, how far behind we are as an office. Wishing I knew more about all the programs that I typically run but have let go of while being overwhelmed with other things.

It was a wonderful Monday at the office. Typical craziness but followed by a great weekend with my family. We had an afternoon with Ryan's family and supper on Saturday. In our time there I played outside with my kids, cut some more journey bags out and made oreo truffles. Sunday I tried really hard to make it an actual day of rest even though there were a million things I needed to get done. I snuggled with my hubby and watched a movie while the kids napped, took a long walk with the kids and played outside. Got muddy out on the swing set with the kids before we all headed inside to eat and get cleaned up. Visited with some friends for a few hours just cause. It was nice.

I managed to rest until we got home. While waiting for Scott to finish in the bathroom, I started folding a load of laundry. It turned into folding two loads and putting four away. I almost made it a whole day. It was certainly progress for me and not at all work.

I'm looking forward to a quiet night at home with my family, more laundry and working on bags after the kids go to bed... woo hoo!

Mabel's Labels

The other day I posted about this really cool company called Mabel's Labels. As of yesterday, their coolness (is that a word? it is today people) reached a whole new level. I mentioned in my post that I had contacted Mabel's Labels about potential labels for my journey bags and they got right back to me. We had a brief email conversation and this was the last email I received from Martha over at Mabel's Labels:

Hi Tamara,

I just read your blogs – we love it! The whole Customer Service Team has read about Journey Bags and we decided we’d like to help.

Send me your address and we’re going to send you 25 Bag Tags for your Journey Bags – how does that sound? The best part – no charge! Mabel’s Labels would love to help with this project! We think our Bag Tags will look fabulous hanging from the handle of your Journey Bags and we hope you do too!

This is a picture of our Bag Tags. Let me know what you’d like them to say.
You can even pick an icon from our list of 47 and we’ll include that too!

Talk to you soon!

How cool is that? Very cool! I originally contacted them about the labels because I'm considering making the bags to sell in the future. I'm looking for a label like the one on most t-shirts. I wanted them to say "journey bags, stitched in prayer" or something like that. The donated labels will be going on the bags to Ghana. I'm trying to decide what to put on the labels that will be meaningful or encouraging to the children in Ghana that get the bags and labels. Got any ideas? In the mean time, go on over to www.mabel.ca to help me show appreciation for their donation by purchasing a little something.

The Real Me

Bible study is at our house tonight. Will I let them see the real me? The me who hasn't done dishes this week cause I haven't been home one night this week? The me who has laundry, albeit clean, left in baskets next to my bed? The me who had the wood floor refinished in one room but have yet to put anything back in the room? The me who hasn't found my son's Awana book for 3 weeks because I haven't looked? The me who will probably open a package of oreos for snacks that I really want to use for oreo balls instead because I've not planned anything else? The me who bought clothes for our kids, albeit on the clearance rack, even though saving every dollar for adoption is critical right now?

Or will I leave work early to run home, quick clean the living room, grab something for a snack (funny that I accidentally typed nap instead of snack first), and put on a face that will fool the world? They're my friends, they know I'm a crazy busy mom. Am I only fooling myself?