2012: The year of the newborn

Eleven years ago, my husband and I joined a nearly/newly married Sunday School class.  Within the next few years,  there were at least a half dozen pregnant bellies in our classroom at any given time.  Our ladies' social events every single month (or so it seemed) involved planning a baby shower for one of our class friends.  Babies kept coming for years after that.  We eventually perfected the baby shower routine yet never repeated the same game or favor throughout all those showers.

Fast forward 11 years.  I am now tired ...and  old.  Everything hurts.  Baby shower invitations don't arrive as often.  I must be moving past the baby phase of life...or am I?

I consider myself very blessed to have so many mature, Christian friends who take the Bible quite literally. 

Genesis 9:7
As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”

These friends are amazing parents who are raising up awesome warriors for Christ.

Psalm 127:3

Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.

So they are still bearing children and are now up to their 3rd, 4th, 5th...or 9th.  God bless um'!

And since I also like to "hang" with some young-guns (saintly "Timothy"s), some friends are carrying their first child and only beginning the parenting process.

That said, 2012 is the year of the newborn.  During the past month, I have celebrated the births of six new babies to local friends with many more due this spring.  I've also enjoyed helping host two baby showers within the past six weeks. The first shower celebrated the pending arrival of this adorable little sweet pea who arrived a few weeks later on January 24.

BeasKnees Photography

The next shower was easy to host because all the family asked me to do was open the front door.  The family to whom this precious expectant mom belongs to is very dear to us.  As much as this family has loved and cared for our two babies, I can't help but love and celebrate this new baby as if she were part of our own family.

 Our kids crashed the party after their basketball games that morning.

Adaptation

My husband and I recently made a decision regarding my health that will involve seeing a doctor 30 minutes away three times a week for the next 1-2 years. So I have been searching for ways to free up six extra hours each week.

A wise roommate and friend of mine once compared a person's daily schedule to a wagon.  Some people seem to have very large wagons while others' wagons can only hold a few small bricks.  Large wagon people "seem" to be able to handle very busy schedules without compromising relationships, their physical health, or those precious daily quiet times with the Lord which preserve spiritual health.  She noted that bricks will get thrown onto our wagons without warning, so if we always keep our wagons loaded to maximum capacity, when one unexpected brick falls onto our wagon, the wagon will break.

While our family is currently plodding through the busiest time of the year for us, this new health commitment should not break my wagon thanks to the flexible nature of my work.  Had I not retired from my full time engineering career, my out of balance wagon would surely capsize.  As a freelance writer and very small business owner, I can work when I want and as much or as little as I want.  And as a homeschooling mom, I can work wherever I want.  My doctor and his wife homeschool their five children, so he understands my need to bring my children with me to appointments.  He has established a children's play area at each of his offices filled with developmental toys and activities. We also bring our schoolwork with us.  

*Having a son in kindergarten, when school is fun and gets done very quickly helps, too!

 

The duffel bag method is so much simpler (why bother with an organized formal classroom anyway?), and my son seems to enjoy the changes of scenery that come with a mobile classroom.

Do not worry about who moved your cheese.  Embrace change, but never forget to leave an open buffer or warning track on your wagon.

Valentine's Day Celebrations - Part 1

Grandma made the girl's dress

The kids began celebrating Valentine's Day early this year with a valentine exchange at our homeschool co-op.  I have heard friends talking about lots of great valentine ideas they found on Pinterest, but I am one of the few moms on earth who has yet to register with Pinterest.  I don't really need another on-line time sink, but if someone will kindly send me an invite, that may be all the incentive I need to take the plunge.

So, without Pinterest for inspirational valentine ideas, this left-brained mommy had to dig deep into the recesses of her dried up imagination well for any creativity residue that may remain.  While out shopping, I found mini heart shaped balloons that automatically inflate upon opening.  During my engineering days, we used a lot of compressed air during the manufacturing process, so those little tacky hearts appealed to me.  With the help of Picasa, I designed this little inspirational Valentine for the kids to attach to the inflating hearts and then decided that was enough creative exertion for one day.

Unlike their mother, our kids are very creative.  So, when a local author and her talented illustrator invited homeschooled children to help illustrate the author's next children's book, our kids wanted to participate in the contest.  After learning about the book series and receiving a brief introduction to the illustration process, the students were given 10-20 minutes to create an illustration for her next book, which is about adoption. 

The kids exchanged valentines and treats before, during, and after this event.  When my ~ three dozen PE students came to my health and PE classes later than afternoon, they were buzzing on sugar.  As their health and PE teacher, I simply could not offer them more candy, so I filled up a basket with lots of fruit and Valentine's themed notebooks, pencils, erasers, and bookmarks and let them take whatever they like. I expected them to turn their noses up at my healthy alternatives, but they swarmed that basket like ants at a picnic.

Our kids also received some early Valentine's Day cards in the mail last week.  These cards were stuffed with cash.  Despite our many lectures about saving and investing, money usually burns a hole in our 5-year old's pocket until he spends it all on Legos. So when I asked him how he planned to use the cash in his Valentine's Day card, I was shocked to hear him reply, "I'm going to save it so I can buy a convertible when I'm 16."  That boy is fascinated by convertibles and "wings" (aka "spoilers").  

Perhaps the best gift our son received this past week was a basketball win.  His poor team is comprised of the smallest, youngest kids (6 boys, 2 girls) in the league and were a poor match for some of the more serious teams they faced.  Their record was 0 for 5 games going into the game on Saturday. For the past two games, their head coach has been out of town, so my husband stood in as head coach without an assistant coach to help him. All the mismatched games and losses were wearing on him as well.  Yesterday, while my husband was coaching, they not only won, but they won by about 14 points!  My boy was beaming as he told others about the time the opponent he was guarding bounce passed the ball to him (oops...I suspect his opponent just dribbled in the wrong direction), and then he ran the ball down the court and scored.  For a boy who rarely pays attention during the game, this play was a true accomplishment.

Last night, my husband took our daughter to a Daddy-Daughter dance where they enjoyed great music, dance lessons and refreshments with friends while supporting an adoption fundraiser.  I was a tad jealous when I heard they would be learning line, ballroom, and swing dancing, since I love all those dance styles.  Each lady in attendance also received a long stemmed rose. Our little girl was glowing when she came home.  When she's much older and suitors come to call, I pray they will treat her as well as her daddy treated her during their date tonight.

Our next Valentine's venue will be hosting a Valentine's Dinner for couples in our church life class.  The  tradition of having the guys prepare a fancy dinner for the ladies for Valentine's Day began about ten years ago.  We are renewing that tradition with our community group this year, so it will be interesting to see what the guys plan at the last minute.  I suggested these bacon roses as a way to impress both the women and the men.

Things I never thought I would hear at the dinner table

Before children, meal times with my husband were calm, relaxing, and filled with both encouraging conversation and spurts of laughter.  After children, dinner time with the family is not always relaxing, and encouraging conversations are often interrupted by children who can't wait their turn to speak and by spurts of "loving correction".  I am appalled at some of things I hear at the dinner table.  Here are a few soundbites from our family's dinner table:

From my mouth:

• You know you are a redneck if bringing a baked ham to a family gathering requires duct tape. 

• No shoes, socks, or feet on the table please. 

• You have chili on both sides of your mouth and on your chin, nose, and neck.  

• Please do not talk like a hick. (They thought I said 'hiccup'.) 

• No potty talk at the table please.

• Never burp at the table.  Excuse yourself if you must.

• Why, children, I think your handmade craft makes a finer centerpiece for our kitchen table than the one I bought from Pier 1.

 

• If you continue to make messes around and under the table like farm animals, then you will eat your next meal outside in the barnyard. 

• You get what you get and you don't throw a fit.  

• Please put the book down.  No reading during dinner.

• Wait honey, let me get that bear hair off your plate.  I must have missed that one when I washed the raw bear meat.

Roasted bear with mushroom sauce, spring vegetable medley with cilantro & lime, and slow cooked whole grain Wehani rice,

From the mouth of the 5-year old babe:

• Are you ready?  Drumroll......PLEASE....muwah! (kissing sound)  

• You are the best cook ever! (Whenever I serve something overly processed that only requires quick heating before serving) 

• No way am I eating this! (Whenever I spend hours preparing an elaborate, nourishing meal)

•  Can we go to Cici's?

• How much money do I need to save to buy a convertible? (Too bad he just blew his savings yesterday on a $75 Lego set.)

• Dad, can you believe they STILL haven't fixed that truck we see propped up on a jack every day on our way to school.  It's been like that since school started!  (See previous post for details)

From the 7-year old this evening:

• Mom, that knife looks like the Bowie knife we studied in class for our unit on the Alamo.  Can I bring it to class tomorrow?  (Her school may be unlike any other school, but I seriously doubt knives would be welcome there.)

From both kids, repeated multiple times, after every dinner:

• I ate my vegetables.  May I have a treat PLEASE!!!

After reading this blog post, I have a feeling I'm not the only mother who has experienced a change in the nature of dinner conversations since adding children to the family.

A child's observations

When you live in the boonies and have a family with entirely too many extracurricular activities and outside commitments in locations spanning three counties, you spend a LOT of time in the car.  I think I promised myself during my single years when I had time to read books by James Dobson and Kevin Lehman that I would take their advice and NEVER allow our children to take on more than one activity at a time per person...OOPS!  While I do not enjoy paying our gasoline and automobile bills, I do cherish the time in the car with our kids.  While driving from place to place, we listen to books on tape, sermons, and memory work or rehearse songs for our daughter's next musical.  In addition to listening, we also have some very good talks.  While I'm focused on the road, the kids stare out the windows and tell me all about the world around us as they see it.   Some of the observations my 5-year old has shared with me over the past two days during our commutes include:

• "Wow!  That car will get a speeding ticket for sure!" 

• "Now that car really needs to get moving because the light has been green for like three minutes or something." 

• "He really needs to fix up his yard." 

• "Will they ever fix that truck?  They've had that rear tire up on jacks forever."  

• "Check out those cool straight line clouds in the sky, Mom.  I see at least four of them.  Wait a minute....there's a jet up there making all those cool clouds." 

• "Hey, Mom!  That car looks just like Dad's except it has wings (aka, a spoiler) on the back." 

• Upon seeing a large industrial crane today, he pointed to it and said, "Look, Mom, my friend Tyler has one of those!"

• "Mom, I thought you said you would never EVER shop here again!" (as I pulled into the Walmart parking lot)

• While riding in the car with the new pillow Nana gave him, he snuggled up against it and said, "I really like this pillow because whenever I sniff it, I smell Nana."

The pillows that smell like Nana & look like alien hats

After some confusion over some Facebook posts in which friends refer to their parents by their first names, I asked my husband if it is more common now for adults to call their parents by their first names.  Overhearing me, my 5-year old then immediately called me by first name with a jesting twinkle in his eyes as if I had just given him permission.  My observant boy never misses an opportunity to tease me.

Even though we earnestly want our children to learn to respect their elders, obey us, and be good stewards out of love instead of fear, I became so frustrated with the constant need to purge my daughter's room of needless junk that I let her watch the first episode of Hoarders to show her how bad her room could become without regular cleaning.  My desperate attempt has been working.....like a charm!  Today, while we were out and about, she saw a car crammed full with junk with only a narrow space cleared out in front of the steering wheel where the driver sat.  So our daughter cried out, "Look! That driver is hoardering!"

Some of the kids' observations make them sound wise beyond their years.  For example, this past week my 5-year old, while danging from my neck, squeezed my neck so hard that I begged him to stop because it hurt.  He replied, "Love hurts, Mom".

In addition to making his own observations, my son also leads me to make some observations of my own.  Last night, he asked me, "When I was in your belly before I was born, did I eat what you ate?"  So I explained how God marvelously designed the mother's body to filter out all the nutrients the baby needs from the food she eats, and then those nutrients get transferred to the baby through the umbilical cord.  The mother's body naturally puts the baby's needs before her own during pregnancy and nursing, so the baby gets the best of all the mother eats. This design by God clearly shows how much he values the life of the unborn child. 

January is Sanctity of Human life Month, and Obama observed the anniversary of Roe v. Wade by defending Roe v. Wade as a way for "our daughters" to have the same chance as "our sons" to fulfill their dreams. (Read more here.)  He spoke without considering the great potential and lofty dreams that the unborn son or daughter might have. 

The world mourned the loss of Steve Jobs who revolutionized technology. Steve Jobs was given a chance to pursue his hopes and dreams because his birth mother chose to give him life (abortion was illegal at the time) and then place him for adoption.  I have also had tremendous opportunities in life enriched with blessings and eternal fruit because my birth mother chose to give me life (only a few months after Roe v. Wade) and place me for adoption. If God so clearly values the life of the unborn, why does our nation still so passionately defend those organizations like Planned Parenthood which deceive desperate young women in crisis into believing that the nine months of inconvenience involved during pregnancy and delivery (plus any short term emotional issues that follow) in the case of adoption would be worse than abortion (a brutal, murderous act which has been shown via ultrasound to cause excruciating pain to the unborn baby) and the lifelong emotional pain and physical problems that often result from having an abortion?
 
Oops...soapbox moment.


I'll close by noting that our 5-year old, whom we sometimes refer to as "Echo", loves to repeat information he has heard.  After church on Sunday, he ran up to me and said, "Mom, did you know that Hardees makes their biscuits fresh every day?  And did you know that when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the firey furnace, not a hair on their heads was singed..only the ropes were burned...and did you know that a 4th person, JESUS, was in the fire with them?" 

I just love his enthusiasm.

Early pioneers, religious wars, submarines, and Doritoes

I'm not sure what it is about January, but this time each year, I rarely find time to write and don't have as much to say, so my blog and editorial columns usually see little activity. However, our kids always have plenty to say, so in this post, I'll mostly share words from the youngins.  

Soup or Soap?
Our 7-year old is quick to express her honest opinion, like it or not.  When I served organic portabella mushroom and beef soup, she exclaimed, "Mom, your soup looks like the slimy brown soap early pioneers used."  My how she does flatter me.

One friend asked me how she knew what pioneer soap looked like, and I explained that she had not ever seen it with her eyes, but she did see it with her ears through the descriptive narration found in Laura Ingalls Wilder's books.  We have noted that Laura Ingalls Wilder probably learned to paint such vivid pictures with words while describing the world around her to her blind sister, Mary.

Yesterday at breakfast, both kids told me the kitchen smelled wonderful, "like Grandma's kitchen when she's baking", so at least I'm making progress.

Q&A
I am amused by the questions preschoolers ask.  Here are a few questions my 5-year old has asked me recently:

While studying John 2: 13-25 together one morning (this passage describes Jesus cleansing the temple), he asked, "Mom, why does God need a temple anyway?"  That boy knows that God is "SO BIG" that He cannot be contained.

While riding in the car late one evening, he noticed the reflectors in the road and asked, "Mom, why are there lights in the road?  Don't those break if cars run over them?"  Just then, a car in front of us drove right over a reflector, and my boy just shook his head in confusion when the reflector did not shatter.

"Mom, if the gas from burning coals moves the piston that causes the wheels on a steam engine to turn, how does the driver steer the train and keep the wheels moving in the right direction?"

I also enjoy asking our children questions and watching their reactions.  While studying the Thirty Years (more like 41) War together, I asked them questions that were far too deep for their ages because I clearly do not get enough adult conversation, yet their responses via word or facial expression amazed me. Some of my questions included:

1. Was religion the reason for all this fighting or was there something more?  (The 7-year old answered, "They wanted more power and control" and then she rolled her eyes knowing that lust for power is often the root cause of war.)
2. How does God feel about all this fighting, brutality, and bloodshed done in the name of religion?
3. Is God more interested in making us religious or in drawing us into a personal relationship with Jesus in which we eagerly desire to know Him more each day?
4. Does Jesus prefer that we follow a list of religious rules out of fear of punishment or out of sincere love for Jesus which compels us to want to please Him?
5. When you surprised your dad by cleaning his office for him, did you do that out of love for him or out of fear?  
6. How did it make you feel when you saw the look of surprise and delight in his face?
7. Do you obey me out of love or fear?

Perhaps their next school assignment should be to watch this video entitled "Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus" and then discuss.

I guess this rabbit trail example illustrates why homeschooling takes SO much longer at our house than it should.

The Art of Persuasion
While it is a well established rule that parents should never try to reason with a toddler, I find it quite amusing when my preschooler tries to reason with me, fully expecting that his justification will convince me to let him have his way in the matter.  He usually begins his 3-point sermons persuasive presentations with "In the first place..." which makes him sound so much older.

"Mom, since we've been studying the Louisiana purchase, and the Cars 2 movie has characters in it named Lewis & Jeff, who make me think of Lewis & Clark, I think I should be allowed to watch the movie every day as part of school." (Joey, age 5)

He also provides his rationale or the "why" whenever he expresses an opinion.   He recently announced that he wants to receive his college education from the United States Naval Academy as did his father.  That would be his father's dream come true but my worst nightmare.  

"I want to go to the Naval Academy because I love guns and want to live on a submarine". ~ Joey

It's a good thing he pronounced this goal when he did because the very next day, the good friends (more like family) we had hired to paint Joey's room blue also decided to add some additional artwork to make his room look like the inside of a cabin on a ship.  He was thrilled with his room makeover.

The framed puzzle like pieces were designed by his dad.

Basketball
Joey began playing team basketball for the first time this season.  His dad is his team's assistant coach.  I find it amusing that the name of his team is the same name that became my nickname (dubbed by guys who like to tease) when I ran track in high school.  Go Lil' Flash!

Right before his first game

After his first game, I asked him if he enjoyed playing basketball.  He responded, "Yes. They gave us Doritoes after the game!"  Sometimes his rationale reflects misplaced priorities.  


Here are a few other quotes I have come across over the past month that I want to remember and hope my children will learn well:

"Most men prefer pretty over hot." ~ Pat Archbold (Read his full article, "The Death of Pretty", here)

"With Christ beside us, we cannot be conquered or cowed -

never forget that the power of God working

through a faithful servant

is a mighty thing."

-Turning Points Devotional, June 2011, Day 13

New Year Wishes

Happy New Year!

Photo taken at Myrtle Beach on December 31, 2011

My husband and I send you best wishes for a healthy, happy new year!

With temperatures in the low 70s, low humidity, and sunshine overhead, I could not have asked for a better weekend at the beach.

I love flowers that bloom in the winter!

Our accommodations were quite affordable, but we had to share our lodging with a postpartum mama and her eight newborns!

Our daughter didn't seem to mind too much.

As each year comes to an end, I like to take time to reflect on the past year, remembering what went well and what needs improvement, counting our blessings, and dreaming about the future.  I do my best thinking and praying while running outside.  I especially enjoy running and thinking at the beach.  My battles with chondromalacia patella have made running outside virtually impossible over the past 15 months, but I was at the beach on New Year's Eve this year, and I refused to let that injury stop me from running on the beach. So I prayed, reflected, and praised the Lord for His goodness while running here:

Oh how I miss running! The sand was so much easier on my knees than grass or asphalt, so I was not distracted by pain at all during my run. I guess the only solution for me is to move to the beach! While I usually need my son to walk on my back on a daily basis, my back felt fine after that run.

Walking out the knots in my back after our drive to the beach

Every year after dinner on New Year's Eve (or New Year's Day this year since we were at the beach on New Year's Eve) our family discusses the goals and dreams we feel God has placed on our hearts for each family member for the upcoming year.  While it would be nice to sound spiritual and call these wishes "prayer requests", we don't usually pray over these goals specifically or think anymore about them after we write them on a slip of paper and place them inside the New Year's wish box.  (Wishes that are also burdens of the heart, such as the salvation of the lost, will be prayed for all year long although we may forget that we included them on the wish list for the year.)  It may seem silly to set goals and then not review them regularly to keep them at the forefront of our minds, but these are not resolutions to strive for all year. Instead, these are hopes that only God can accomplish, so this is our way of placing our dreams in God's hands instead of trying to manipulate circumstances in our own strength.  This box remains closed until the following New Year's Eve, and the wishes are entirely forgotten by then.  I have usually forgotten what I wrote on those slips of paper by the following week!

During each New Year's dinner, we will open the box and reread the wishes from the previous year.  Then we write down any progress made or God's response to those goals during the past year.

It is always amazing to me how specifically God has responded to each tiny request over the years.  For example, one item on my husband's 2011 list was that he would assume a new service role at church.  He had never even thought about serving as a deacon, so he was surprised when he received a letter that spring announcing his nomination. Assuming this role has not only satisfied his longing to serve, but it also helped meet another spiritual goal on his wish list as well.   His 2011 list also included a desire for an improved employment and commute situation.  God answered this one in a way that we could have never dreamed or imagined.

Among our top hopes for our son in 2011 was for his salvation and spiritual growth.  On February 16, 2011, he came up to me out of the blue and asked me how to become a Christian.  He prayed that day to receive Christ and to have Him be Lord over his life.  His faith has grown so much this past year.  I would like to give special thanks to his Sunday School and LAMBS teachers and to his Cubbies leaders for allowing God to work through them as they joined us in encouraging our little boy in his faith walk.

One of the top items on our 2011 list for our daughter was that she would persevere in her school work and renew her love for learning.  Numerous blog posts over the past year record the dramatic transformation that has taken place in her attitude toward school work.  We never imagined last New Year's Eve that God would establish a brand new private, Christian, classical school only 10 miles away that uses all the same homeschooling curriculum we have used and love while providing a unique schooling atmosphere where our daughter can flourish.  Now she loves all subjects, not just reading, and even excels at math.  School is one of her favorite places to be. Wonders never cease.

I have seen progress in all five of the goals on my list from last year.  In each case the progress came as a result of God's intervention, not any effort on my part.  For example, one of my goals was to become more relaxed and at peace about our kids' schooling.  With our daughter at the new private school and our son, who thinks more like I do, being such a joy to teach at home, great peace has filled my heart regarding the kids' education. God sent us a wonderful community group which has also helped satisfy another desire on my 2011 wish list.   One of my dreams for 2011 was that God would open new doors for ministry, and doors opened in two unexpected areas I never would have considered on my own.  Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness.

If God is so faithful to satisfy the desires of our hearts that we do not even pray over as we should, imagine what He will do when groups of committed Christians join together to pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)  Would you consider adding my friend, Jon, to your prayer list?  He and his wife are both dear friends of mine from college.  We were all involved in the same college ministries.  They have three sons and an infant daughter.  Jon has a tumor covering half of his brain, but his faith is unshakeable.  He is able to face this challenge without fear while encouraging (and amusing) others because of his complete trust in God.

The big white blob at top is the tumor.

Doctors cannot believe he's alive, much less walking around without much pain or loss of brain function.  He is having surgery to remove the tumor this Thursday followed by radiation to get the rest.  Please pray that the surgery is successful and that he suffers no loss in brain function as a result.  Pray it is not malignant.  Thank you.  You can follow his story here.

A year of remembrance...

When I first started this blog,  I noted that I initially thought about naming the blog, "Remember" and referenced an awesome song, "We Will Remember", which speaks of the importance of remembering all the wonderful works God has done and then worshiping Him for all He is and ever will be.  Remembering His faithfulness builds our faith and draws us into worship.  I wanted this blog to be a journal of God's work in our family and in my heart so that we can look back in remembrance and be filled with faith, inspiration, and praise.   What I did not realize at the time, however, was that the theme for 2011 for me would be remember.

• A running injury has been plaguing me since October 2010.  While I've rested from running and endured lots of physical therapy, I have reflected on how I began running. In January, I wrote this post as a remembrance of how I fell in love with running.  Since writing that post, I have reconnected with several people from my high school cross country and track teams.  In May, I met one of my old teammates in my home town where she did a photo shoot of our family.  Some of her photos now comprise the header for this blog.

• Just before Valentine's Day, my husband and I began making arrangements for our 2nd honeymoon in celebration of our upcoming 10-year wedding anniversary.  Those preparations led me to a time of reflection over how we first met and what an amazing testimony our love story is of God's gracious sovereignty.  I was reminded of the importance of waiting on His perfect timing instead of following after our own desires.  I wrote a 10-part blog series to record those memories, and those posts became some of the most popular posts on this blog to date. Our love story starts here.

• Also in February, my mother celebrated her 70th birthday.  In preparation for her big surprise birthday celebration, I did a lot of reminiscing while compiling a scrapbook of 70 fond memories I have of her for her birthday present.  That period of reflection prompted me to write a series of blog posts which recorded some of the life lessons Mom has taught me by her example.  That series begins with "Lessons From Mom:  They're Gonna Remember This." 

• In April, I reflected on my adoption story as I prepared a talk for the adoption seminar offered at a women's conference in our area.  While preparing and collecting photos from my childhood days for the presentation, I could not help but give glory to God for His protection and sovereignty.  At the foundation of the world, He knew each of us before we were born.  He always knew I would be placed in this loving home, and He even molded me to look just like my adopted parents.  Friends have told me that they know Asian children who were adopted into American homes who eventually grew to look like their adopted parents.  Only God can do that! 

  

  My daughter, Mom, and me looking so much alike!

• In May, my husband and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary. Since we went on a 7-day cruise to the eastern Caribbean for our honeymoon, we chose a 10-day trip including a 7-day exotic cruise around the western Caribbean as our 2nd honeymoon.  During that trip we savored so many sweet memories from our courtship and early marriage years.  Over the past 10 years, my husband has exceeded all the hopes and dreams I had for him back then, and I just can't thank God enough for him.

• In June, my husband traveled to his rural hometown for his 20-year high school reunion where he did some reminiscing of his own.  Meanwhile, I took the kids to the beach to visit my college roommate and her family.  We laughed about our college memories and the stories of how we each met our respective husbands while we were freshman roommates.  We talked about our career aspirations back then.  She is now living her dream as a successful prosecuting attorney who regularly rescues innocent young children from their perpetrators by ensuring that these kids' abusers get long prison sentences.  I've always admired her spunk and passion.  Meanwhile, I'm home with my children having forsaken my former career aspirations for a vocation that is exceedingly more difficult (for me anyway) than the one I aspired to back then.  I wrote about that career change here.

Enjoying the beach while vising college friends

• In October, my patient husband joined me for a fun-filled 20-year high school reunion weekend in my hometown.  So much reflection and remembrance took place that weekend!  Friends I had not seen in over 20-years felt like close acquaintances again.  It was as if no time had passed since high school when we all gathered together that weekend. It sure was fun feeling 18 again for a few days.

• In late October through early November, we took a family trip to Disney World.  The last time we went, our daughter was not quite two years old, so it was fun to watch her enjoy it so much more this time.  Our son got to experience the magic for the first time.  Disney World conjured up lots of childhood memories of family trips for both my husband and me. 

• On the way back from Disney World, we took a five hour detour to visit old friends.  We spent one night at the home of my husband's college roommate.  They remained as roommates throughout their years at the United States Naval Academy but had not had much time to see one another since graduation.  They enjoyed catching up on the past 16 years while I had a blast watching all our kids play together.  They were all kindred spirits who share so much in common as do their fathers.

• As we continued our journey home, we stopped in the beautiful city where I spent the better part of my career to visit old running team / work friends.  The memories that warmed my heart that day were so sweet, and my husband left with several potential job opportunities should my desire to move back completely overtake me.  Thank you, Lord, for such precious friendships.  

• When we returned from our trip, we had just missed the fall color peak for our area.  Yet the leaves on our trees were still so beautiful.   We have been trying to sell our house on/off for the past 3.5 years, and while I have separated myself emotionally from this house, I know I will always miss the gorgeous fall colors in our back yard.

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• In November, our kids played in a fall piano recital.  I have really enjoyed watching both children express so much interest in piano as I did at their age. Like me, they aren't thrilled about practicing their assigned pieces but will play fun songs of their own choosing quite often.  At the last minute, the piano teacher asked me to play a duet with our daughter for the recital.  I had not played in a piano recital in over 20.5 years, so this bit of nostalgia made me a tad nervous, especially since I did not have time to practice.   

When December came, we were faced with more major decisions.  This past year of remembrance has influenced our decision-making and has reminded us once again that God is sovereign.  When our plans don't work out as we think they should or as reason says they should, God is still in control.   He is fashioning all things to work according to His perfect plan.  We can't understand His ways, but we must trust Him. How wonderful it is when He chooses to let us see, eventually in retrospect, how all those crazy, frustrating periods of waiting and wondering were an essential part of His perfect plan.

One decision we needed to make before the second semester tuition payment comes due was whether or not to continue sending our daughter to the school she loves so much after this first semester trial. That choice was easy because regardless of academics, she has renewed her passion for learning and is extremely happy there. She is the type of student who needs more social interaction to thrive, and this school's unique educational approach found nowhere else is a perfect fit for her.  I cannot imagine sending her anywhere else.

We also needed to decide what to do about the house.  Do we re-list it at a still lower price even though it was already priced 30% below market value?   Our Christian realtor noted that if it isn't God's will for us to move, then we could price the home at 80% below market value, and it still would not sell.  God is ultimately in control, and we must remain surrendered to His will, not ours.

I said on more than one occasion that what we really needed to help us offset the crazy loss on this house is a relocation package.  My husband briefly looked at jobs in undesirable locations all over the U.S. just in case that might be God's plan to get us out of this house.  In this down economy, surely companies don't offer those types of relocation packages anymore, we reasoned, so he discontinued his search.

We had been wanting all these years to sell our current house so that we could move northwest where we would be closer to church, friends, my husband's workplace, better schools, and my family.  However, this new school our daughter loves is southeast from here.  Moving northwest would put us entirely too far away from this school for her to continue attending.  So, we took the house off the market, so we could refinance at a  lower rate while giving us more time to decide what to do about selling the house.  During the month that our house was off the market, four homes sold in our neighborhood after years of no activity whatsoever.  Hum...

Then in the middle of December, my husband received an attractive job offer from a company located approximately 60 miles east of here, and a phenomenal relocation package was included!  We prayed over this relocation package, ran the numbers, and figured that the move would cut our losses by over 50%.  However, we would need to move to smaller city in the eastern part of the state.  All of a sudden, moving did not seem like such a great idea anymore, and for the first time in years, we felt truly grateful to live here.  The commute would be about 20 miles longer than my husband's current commute, but it should not take much more time to drive due to less traffic congestion in that direction.  Had we already moved northwest, the commute would have been 20-30 minutes further than it is from where we live now.

Did God keep our house from selling so that our kid(s) could attend the one school that is so ideal for our family and so that my husband could take this great career opportunity? It seemed so.

But then....circumstances changed again and again and yet again.  It's all too complex to detail here, but the end result was that we could see numerous benefits from not selling our house and feel very blessed to be where we are.  God's ways are so much higher than our ways.

Country Christmas Bookends

One of the first Christmas gifts I received this year was very unexpected..  My husband gave me a country Christmas music collection.  We love Christmas music, and our music room is filled with Christmas CDs by Christian artists and classical Christmas orchestrations, but we did not have any country music.  It's not that we don't like country music, we just don't prefer it (unless Scotty McCreery is singing in which case I do prefer it).

I have really enjoyed the CD collection, and it has proved to be an especially valuable asset in our weight room where I sometimes find myself curling barbells and doing the Texas two-step at the same time.

Then over New Year's weekend, we received some belated Christmas gifts with a country theme.

I've decided country isn't so bad after all, especially when I'm wearing those boots while doing the two-step or riding horses with my horse loving family!