1st Day of School (August 2013)

School started early this year for our daughter who transferred to a new school that operates on a modified year-round schedule.  We were all a little nervous since this new school is so much more structured than her previous school.  The new school has a strict uniform policy and formal positions and postures required within the classroom when working, listening, speaking, etc.  The rules are very precise regarding manners and behavior with swift discipline administered as needed.  They offer grace to new students as they adjust but after that initial grace period, students are expected to follow all the rules. As one teacher put it, "We extend more grace than mercy here."  I was scared for her as I considered her exuberant energy level and unbridled imagination.  Her previous school, which she absolutely LOVED, was much more laid back and would even let her stand on her head while taking a test if she preferred.

Saying goodbye on the last day of school at her former school

There is a place for catering to unique learning styles, but there is also a time to learn self discipline and structure.  The real world certainly doesn't cater to learning styles or unique bents, so I think this training will be good for her in the long run if it doesn't suppress her love of learning.

Aside: 

Our kids' love of learning flourished so much at their previous school, which had a no homework policy, that as soon as they got home on the last day of school, the started working through the math workbooks their teachers let them have after our kids begged to take them home so they could do math all summer long!

Doing math problems at home after the last day of school!

I could see the nervousness on her face when we arrived for orientation.

 After meeting the teacher and seeing her new classroom, she mustered up a small smile.

We were both nervous the next day when school actually began.  Thankfully, a friend had taken me on a dry run through carpool a few weeks earlier because drop-off and pick-up at this school are much more complicated than at the previous school (which was less than 1/8 this school's size).  It was a rainy, dreary day, but we made it into the right carpool line the first time around (Gift #358), and she had a fabulous first day (Gift #359)!  She loves her teacher who has an endearing sense of humor (Gift #360), and our daughter seems to be adjusting to the new structure miraculously well (#361).  All the teachers have been so wonderfully supportive, and our girl is making many new friends (#362). The kinder-buddy program is great outlet for our voracious reader's energy and creativity.  She loves spending time with her designated kindergartener every week as she reads books to her and discusses the book or life in general with her little friend who our daughter claims is just as independent and strong-willed as she is. (#363)

Since the dress code is so strict, from the clips in her hair to the socks and shoes on her feet, her only opportunity for self expression is her backpack.  So while it may clash with her uniform, it matches her new bedroom decor in our new house (which still doesn't even have any footings yet) perfectly.

The school did not have any openings in 2nd grade, so our son started homeschooling with me again on Monday.  When he started attending school last year, he cried a bucket of tears at drop-off only to fuss at me for not sending him sooner by the time I picked him up.  He loved that school, so I feared he would be upset about having to be homeschooled again this year.  Yet, his attitude has been amazing ever since we realized he would have to be educated at home.

However, when his sister told him how much she loved the new school, he then realized it is not as scary as it seemed during our interviews and screenings.  He went from hoping he would not ever have to go to that school to praying another 2nd grader would move so he could have his or her spot.

We started homeschooling on Monday after he finished an awesome week of science camp.  This year's topic was genetics, and I loved watching his eyes light up as he explained all that he had learned to me.  He and I both learned lots of new ways that he takes after me, even though everyone says he is his father's mini-me. 

On our first day back to home schooling, we sat down at the table together and began with Bible study and prayer. As I read the beautiful words of John 1 with him, he burst into tears and ran into his room. I guess that's when it finally really hit him that his sister was going to school while he had to stay at home.  After that episode and a few other brief cries, schooling has gone well, and I'm enjoying it more now than ever before.  I'm sure my excitement over home schooling again will wear off as our schedules get busier, but I feel blessed to have such a sweet, loving, studious, little pupil and for the privilege to be home with him. (Gift #364)

In the last house, I had a large bonus room dedicated to homeschooling with  school desks, tables, computer desks, file cabinets, and closets and shelves filled with supplies.  I had two different computers available for typing, spelling, research papers, and other subjects necessitating a computer.  Here, all I have is a small corner in the breakfast room with a few rolling carts of supplies, a kitchen table with 4 chairs, a laptop and a printer.  And I did not even have internet access for the first 3.5 weeks we were here.  I have found that schooling goes more quickly in such a small space and with less stuff to manage.  It's working out much better than I anticipated.  (Gift #365) One week down...who knows how many more to go!

Top 10 observations since moving into an apartment in the suburbs (and some kid quotes)

1) With 90% of the kids' toys in storage, they occupy themselves with the following:

• Playing a lot of UNO, tag, monkey in the middle, and hide-n-seek

• Riding on bikes, scooters, and roller blades for hours of exercise and several injuries each day
• Running after the ice cream truck

• Feeding, bathing, brushing (with the sibling's hair brush - ugh!), and loving on their bunny

• Enjoying picnics and Bible studies (led by our 9-year-old, Bible-toting evangelist!) with their new friends and the community's most popular resident, our bunny.

 

2) Apartment living trades privacy for the presence of kids on your patio, knocking on your door, or in your dwelling whenever the kids are home.

3) I can outsource helping my daughter with her homework to the neighborhood kids because they will gladly call out spelling words just for the pleasure of spending time with her.

4) I can survive if the dishwasher, dryer, and toilets don't work.

5) I can swat 12.5 bugs a minute with my bare hands.

6) The tenant above us shares approximately one gallon of water with us every day through a leak in the ceiling. 

7) The library downtown looks just like the one I frequented as a kid and makes me feel happily nostalgic.

8) Life without internet* would be tolerable if the rest of the world did not revolve around it. 

*What should have been a simple, seamless transfer of internet service took TWC over three weeks with us spending hours on the phone (usually on hold for hours) each day begging for assistance, waiting on servicemen who never came, trouble shooting, driving to the stores and back, replacing modems, and after all that, TWC raised our monthly fees 35% for no apparent reason.

9) Apartment life builds community like they had in the good old days thanks to close proximity to one other, sharing similar sufferings, and hearing others' conversations and footsteps through the paper thin walls, floor, & ceiling.

I keep asking myself, "Have I relocated to a new community or have I traveled back in time?"

10) Living in an apartment gives perspective. Circumstances may seem less than what we may have had before at a much greater cost, but a house does not make a home. No matter how much is broken in the apartment or how few things fit inside it, there is always room for what matters most. What we have inside this apartment is infinitely valuable and very rare. We have a happy marriage rooted in covenantal faithfulness and unconditional love. We have relatively healthy, loving children, and all four of us share the strongest bond in the universe, the bond of faith in Christ. God's love reigns in our home, and He will never fail us. This world is not our home, but with His Spirit dwelling in us, our home here, even if it's a hut with a thatched roof, can be a taste of heaven on earth.

As a postscript to this post, I'd like to share some recent quotes from our resident theologian, age 6.

Occasionally, my husband has to work on Sundays, and lately he has had to work some seven-day weeks.  We understand the value and necessity of the Sabbath, and if this type of demand at work happened often, he would be looking for work elsewhere.  IT guys have to fix or improve systems when no one is using them, hence the Sunday work, but at least he hasn't ever had to miss church because of it.  Even so, whenever he has to go into work after church, our son pronounces loudly as we walk down the church halls, "Daddy is breaking the Sabbath today!"

This past Sunday afternoon while my husband was at work, I was very impressed by my 6-year-old's understanding of eschatology when he said "I'll be so glad when the New Jerusalem is established."

When I asked him to tell me why, however, he answered, "Because then Daddy will not have to work so much."

My son doesn't realize how many children grow up without a father physically or emotionally present while other kids' fathers have to travel all the time for work.  At least his father is home at night to tuck him in, read him books, lead him in Bible study, and pray with him.  Our kids are blessed more than they realize!

~~~~~~

The kids have noticed that whenever we sit down to say the blessing at meal times, our bunny will start drinking water. So, when my son just happened to notice our bunny drinking water, he said with all seriousness, "Cody must want us to pray now."

If you are struggling in your prayer life, you are welcome to borrow our thirsty bunny who will regularly remind you to drink the water that will quench your thirst forever.

John 6:35

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Search for perspective and some quips and clips from daily life

When the routine and comforts of daily life are turned upside down for a time, chances are that God has some important lessons for us to grasp in the midst of it all.  We've been so busy with necessary "to-do" items that my prayer has been that I would not miss those lessons, making every effort to learn from Him through the chaos.

As soon as we moved into the apartment, I immediately recognized a ministry opportunity before us, but one disaster after another has befallen us keeping us very distracted and increasingly frustrated.  So I ask, "Does Satan use the same types of distraction tactics so commonly played by elected officers in Washington, DC?  Are these trials sent from the enemy of our souls to keep me from sharing the greatest news on earth with those who desperately seek it?"

So this morning, I remembered to put on the armor of God.

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
¹¹ Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
¹⁸ Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:10-18)

As I was exiting my apartment today, that neighbor I have been wanting to get to know better and show kindness to surprisingly extended a warm greeting to me despite our cultural differences.  That was the reminder I needed to stay focused on loving Christ and on loving my neighbors while He takes care of all the problems.

So, I have learned through these trials how imperative it is that I remain armored up at all times because on my own, I am weak, easily frustrated, selfish, and volcanic.  Thank you, Lord, for your Spirit who comforts and guides us (Gift #341), your peace through any storm (Gift #342), Christ's righteousness which covers us (#343), the shield of faith which protects us (#344), and for Your truth, our greatest and only offensive weapon (#345).

My momentary contentment is strongly correlated with my focus. With so many petty problems within my current surroundings in need or remedy,  I must ask, "Am I seeing God's gifts or am I only concerned about my own selfishly rooted irritations?  Are my own light and momentary trials or financial frustrations distracting me from being the hands and feet of Jesus to those facing exceedingly more difficult trials?"   Right now, a close family member is at a Hospice facility waiting to die as his devoted wife of 48 years sits by his side without having had real sleep in over 10 days.   As I grieve over a childhood neighborhood friend who got hit by a drunk driver while she was out walking for exercise and recently passed away after an extended hospital stay and a tough fight against all the resulting injuries, am I faithful to lift up the husband, family, and friends she left behind?  What are my little trials compared to the agony of a dear friend who stood by her father (physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc.) every moment as he courageously endured the cruel, harsh, rigorous battle against brain cancer only to have it take his life?  As I listen to the story of the vibrant youth pastor and his pregnant wife who were killed before their young son's eyes while driving home from youth camp, just one mile from their church, and consider the mother who also died in that wreck leaving her adoring husband and five children behind, how dare I complain about anything?   Is my focus on God and His presence or on my temporal circumstances?  As the frustration with how each day seems wasted as I attend to problems that should have never happened, I must remember that no work done OF THE LORD is in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58), whereas work done only to please oneself is.

"You aren’t wasting your life when you’ve poured out for eternity — wherever you are....There are a thousand ways to be stretched thin and it’s the stretchmarks that a soul wears gratefully that can be these thin places –that give us more of God." Ann Voskamp 

For whom am I working and in whom am I seeking contentment?  Look to Jesus, and bear it all for His name's sake.

2 Corinthians 12:10 (KJV)

¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

All these changes have had me thinking much about our missionary friends.  Various families we know well and love deeply, one with a baby on the way, another with four kids under six, or yet another with six kids under ten (and so forth), have each sold all their belongings except that which could fit into one shipping container and a few suitcases. My homeschooling supplies alone could fill up a container, and they homeschool six kids! They sold their cars, home, and possessions and used the proceeds to pay for their expenses on the field.  There they live and work in wretched conditions  compared to what they knew in America where the language is foreign, electric power is intermittent, the economy is weak, food selection is minimal, medical care is inadequate, and their physical safety is always at risk.  Love of God and people and a firm grasp of His vision for their lives compels them and helps them persevere.  I have heard their stories, watched their videos, and felt what I thought was empathy, but I have not truly tasted any of their sufferings, not that they would call them "sufferings" for it is all joy when endured for Jesus.  Now that I have lost a few modern comforts (internet access at home, operational household appliances, pest control, functional toilets, relatively large living spaces) and faced minor inconveniences like a bathroom that floods once or twice a day and bugs the size of my head (okay, the size of my head when I was much younger) for a rental payment 50% higher than our mortgage was at our previous home which was three times bigger than this apartment, I think life has suddenly gotten more complicated when I should consider how the MAJORITY of the world lives.  How would I like a one room mud hut with NO appliances, no running water, lots of bugs in the home which must serve as my DINNER (eek!), and a weekly salary of $2?  I have it good y'all.

When I returned back to the apartment today, I saw a note indicating that a maintenance crew had actually been there to address some of our smaller concerns.  They even offered to replace the brand new dishwasher which is defective with a new one, although no replacement date was set and there is no assurance the new one will work either, but at least I can wash dishes by hand with a little more hope now.  There's no telling when the pest problem will be addressed, but at least it isn't the swarm of locusts we all deserve.  I'm not sure if the flooding in the bathroom and resulting mold/mildew concerns will ever be resolved, but there is comfort in knowing this living arrangement is only temporary as is all of life in this world. (1 Chronicles 29:15)  I'm so glad this world is not my home. (Gift #346)

I also wish I could stop following the news (not the corrupt, fake, mainstream news..but more reliable sources) which makes our circumstances seem more desperate, but I simply cannot keep my head in the sand or remain apathetic when my children, your children, unborn children, the basic freedoms that so many brave patriots fought and died to preserve, and God's precepts which were the foundation of this country are cursed, destroyed or enslaved.  When my children are paying back the outrageous, immoral debts incurred by my generation, when their very lives are at risk for uttering the name of Jesus, when food is rationed as a result of socialistic leadership, they will not be asking, "Why did Mom just let this happen?  Why didn't she care about our future?"  They will know that I did everything within my power to resist those who hate the one true God and the freedom endowed by God for each of us.  My predictions sound outrageous now, but it seems all those things we feared would happen before but progressives assured us could not happen in America are happening now.   Prophecy is unfolding right before our eyes. America is not immune to the cycle we see in so many other civilizations:

1. Slavery of the masses + national poverty 
2. Christ's Gospel penetrates the culture.
3. Rise of committed Christ followers
4. People gain courage to stand up against the tyrants and seek independence.
5. Freedom is granted and protected.
6. Free enterprise results in great national wealth and prosperity for the masses.
7. Greed corrupts leaders who lust for more power.
8. God and His absolute truth are denied in the public square so that the people will begin relying upon the government instead of God for their daily bread and for solutions to all their problems.
9. The government increases its power by giving hand-outs, funded by the hard working taxpayers, to the new "gimme" generation whose supreme value is entitlement.
10.  As the government gains more power, the people become more dependent.
11. Freedom is abandoned as the greedy populace votes itself down the road to slavery
12. The economy falls apart as the masses are impoverished by greedy dictators. 
13. Return to step 1.

That we are following this cycle should not surprise me, yet I trusted that the balance of powers and efforts to preserve freedom in our Constitution were sufficient.  I misjudged the power of the sin nature.  Now we're on the downward spiral back to slavery, but the gross immorality characterizing our nation and applauded by her people has me completely astounded.   When I read of pedophiles gaining support in DC in their efforts to pursue the same rights as homosexuals in a culture where sinful choices are exalted by society, lest anyone feel any shame or guilt, just as other sexual sins like those of Anthony Weiner and Bill Clinton are treated as perfectly normal and even expected.  Every day it seems a new scandal, involving crimes worthy of life long jail sentences, emerges, but our citizenry, which values tolerance over justice, simply ignores or denies them while those who are tortured mercilessly and murdered as a result of such scandals (ie, Benghazi), rot in their graves.   I thought killing innocent babies through the well played scam case, Roe v Wade, was as bad as things could get in America, but now we have college students petitioning to make 4th term abortions legal.  Yes, 4th term, as in the baby is born, alive, and thriving, yet since they baby is unwanted by whoever birthed him/her, they suggest that killing that baby should be perfectly legal.  Good grief! The world has gone mad.

When the government exalts and MODELS lying, cheating, stealing, killing (Benghazi and Fast n' Furious in case you need examples), and sexual immorality (Clinton, Weiner, San Diego Mayor Filner), what will happen to our civilization?  It certainly did not bode well for Sodom and Gomorrah.  And when a country caters to America's enemies and all haters of God while turning against God's chosen people, the nation of Israel, all readers of Biblical prophecy know what happens. It ain't pretty, folks.

So, the times are bleak, but praise God for the hope followers of Christ have in Jesus.  He fights for us.  We are on his side, and He wins! (Gift #347) He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). (Gift #348)  We are HIS forevermore and nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:39)!  (Gift #349)

Aside:
Unfortunately the majority of mainline churches in America do not preach the Gospel at all.   Instead, they mislead their flock, making them think that if they are relatively decent, they will be saved.  Friends who are regular attenders of such churches say to me, "I am pro-gay marriage or pro-choice because God says we should love everyone" (without ever considering that true love does not encourage destructive life choices).  Or he may say, "I don't think I'm any less of a Christian because I don't believe everything the Bible says"  Hello!  Maybe he should turn to the last chapter in the Bible and read Revelation 22:19.   Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, and today.  His truth never changes.  And we cannot pick and choose which of His teachings we will accept.  It's all or nothing with Him.  He is either Lord of your whole life or your enemy.  We each get to choose.

I don't care much for politics because in today's translation, the word "politics" is all about deception and corruption.  What I care passionately about is the TRUTH.  Unfortunately, progressive politics and extremely misguided leftist groups like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU are out to destroy everything in our society that is good, holy, and right by distorting God's absolute truth.  So as long as they teach people that actions do not have consequences, if it feels good, do it, you are accountable to no one, put your own interests first, truth is relative, there is no God, you are entitled to whatever you want even if you didn't earn it, parents do not have authority over you, yada...yada...yada, I will continue to correct such lies with the God's truth.  God's word is not progressive.  It doesn't change with each new administration or cultural trend.  Take it or leave it but don't try to feign Christianity because if you are lukewarm, He will spit you out of his mouth. (Revelation 3:16)  If your church does not proclaim the whole Gospel, if it distorts or ignores any part of God's word or denies the deity and resurrection of Christ in any way at all, if it teaches salvation by works or some form of prosperity gospel, if it exists more as a country club than as a base for equipping all its members for active ministry service, if it does not care about reaching the lost around the world for Christ, if it prioritizes tolerance over real love, then get out and find a gospel centered church.  Your soul is at stake. 

-End of rant

And if that (our hope in Christ) weren't enough to encourage us (it is!), reading articles like this one by Judge Andrew Napolitano reminds me that plenty of Americans still get it.  (Gift #350) They know what freedom is about and what it is worth.  Every voter should fully understand the principles outlined in this article before being allowed to vote IMO.

Thankfully, God is still alive and at work today!  During one weekend of great discouragement, God reminded me during church worship that He is still in control.  Our church commissioned 75 people on five different missions teams headed all over the world during that one service after sending out many other teams throughout the year. (Gift #351) Our boy's spiritual maturity astounded me that morning as he explained the significance of the bread and the cup and demonstrated an understanding of the attitude with which it must be taken.  (#352)  And after months of rain which was delaying the grading for our lot and making it nearly impossible to close before our rate lock expiration date, the sun actually came out that day!  (#353)  A church friend with kids at our kids' new school offered to help me shop for uniforms so that I don't waste money on items our daughter will not wear, and she also showed me around town and took me on a test run through carpool at the new school since it is so much more complicated than our kid's previous school.  All these blessing that day reminded me that  no matter how fallen the world may be, God is still and always will be GOOD, and His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3: 22-23)! (#354)
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of my sources of frustration since moving into the apartment has been that rascally rabbit of ours.  We had to move him inside while we are renting, but he tends to kick his hay, litter, and poop balls outside of this cage.  They eventually get circulated around the apartment by our cooling system and fans, so I end up sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting at least five times a day to keep it under control.  It's impossible to keep his paws clean in that small cage and with his daily hops about the tennis courts, so he needs regular baths which are so messy.  Cleaning out the cage (at least two times a week) is an atrocious chore which creates a huge mess.  And when I hold him, he usually scratches, bites or pees all over me.  He's already scratched my favorite pieces of furniture.  When I get irritated with him,  he'll do something exceedingly cute like beg, hold up his paws in his trance position, wash his face, or some other precious pose to manipulate me into spoiling him again.  And when he takes a bath, he looks so pitiful, I can't help but love him.  The little stinker.

I'm not sure if it's the need to file his ever growing front teeth (apparently the chew sticks aren't enough for him) or the quest for freedom that drives him, but he spends much time each day chewing on the wire rungs of his cage.  As he chews it looks like a Houdini bunny, feverishly trying to escape.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another frustration has been various illnesses.  The day after having to take both my daughter and I to the chiropractor where I spent another $1K on yet another treatment plan, I had to take her to the doctor for swimmer's ear and me to a specialist for some annoying skin rash inside my eyelids (probably due to stress or the air quality in our apartment).  Of course, we are living in a new town now, so I had to search all over the internet for new providers in the area, calculate travel routes, call to find someone who could see us on short notice, transfer all medical records, designate a new PCP for each family member, and fill out all new paperwork with each new provider.  But the gift in all that is that in one day, I established our family in our new town with a pediatrician, GP, eye doctor, and pharmacy. (Gift #355)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The kids are taking a genetics class this week and looked at me closely to see if they got their dimples from me. While tracing the laugh lines in my face with his fingers, my son said, "You have big dimples, Mommy!" All these recent family changes and stressors have physically aged me, but praise God for the eyes of a child that can't see the wrinkles of an aging, weary woman. (Gift #356). 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of genetics, I keep finding more ways that my daughter is like me.  For most of my life, I have been lovingly teased for my tendency to multitask.  I did 90% of my reading/studying for my engineering degree while working on out cardio equipment at the university gym.  Now I do most of my blogging, freelance writing, scrapbooking, reading, emailing, banking, and misc. other laptop work while working out on my elliptical trainer.  When my friends hosted a baby shower for our expectant first born, the shower games involved mommy multitasking, complete with stopwatches, supply carts, and standard operating procedures as any good old fashioned industrial engineer would expect.

So when I saw my daughter rollerblading around the tennis courts outside our apartment while reading a book, it was if looking in the mirror.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inspired by the genealogies found in the Scriptures and a youthful imagination, our 9-year-old wrote out a series of genealogies for each of her brother's stuffed animals. Instead of the Biblical pattern of "{Name} begat {name}. He lived {#} years and died.", her version went like this:

"{Stuffed animal name} found {funny made up wife's name}, and they came together, fell apart, and had {son's name} who was {character adjectives describing the son}. Then {wife's name} died." Repeat until you have many sons, lots of coming together and falling apart, and a heap of dead wives.

Thank you, Lord, for giving my daughter an extra dose of silliness. (#356)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We have decided to keep our kids at the same gymnastics studio even though the move put us 35 miles away from it, and we must go there 2-4 times a week.  During all that driving time, the kids ask crazy questions.  Last week they asked, " How old are Oldsmobiles?".

Gym classes last 2.5 hours, so the younger siblings of all the gymnasts keep me amused while I wait.  Last week, I got to listen to a first grade boy explain to my 6-year-old how to tell if a hamster is male or female.  He also said that his mom wishes his pets would stop having babies, and then my boy explained how we stopped our bunny from making baby bunnies. Both boys are very naive, yet they were accurate in their observations using descriptive language so innocent you might hear it at church. You just gotta love the innocence of a child. (Gift #357)

May we never lose sight of your many gifts all around us, dear Lord.  Keep our eyes fixed on You and our hearts innocent before You through your perfect work of redemption and free gift of sanctifying grace.
    

Summer 2013 - Short and sweet...and sometimes stressful

Summer has been a whirlwind for our family with our trip to Ireland, the kids' trip to the beach with Grandma and Grandpa, multiple trips to Nana & Pops' house, selling the house, moving into an apartment, and beginning construction on our next home. 

Speaking of building a new home, aren't you impressed with the progress they've made since we signed our contract with the builder five weeks ago?

Me neither.  While we have purged the house (giving away over $10,000 worth of items to charity while selling another $1000 worth), packed up boxes to fill two PODS, an extra large storage building, and a 3-bedroom apartment, moved all these items, completed the rigorous process of applying for a new private school that made college applications seem like a cake walk in comparison, set up the new apartment, and selected every last detail and option for the new house, the builder has done...well...nothing except to apply for a permit.  Apparently the town administrators really took five weeks to issue a building permit.  We meet with our builder on Friday and are eager to see some real progress on the house as we deal with one maintenance issue after another in the tiny apartment.


Despite all the changes, the kids have squeezed in some fun along the way.  Both kids took golf lessons this summer.  Our daughter doesn't love it, but she will learn to play golf if she wants to keep her surname.  And she plays quite well for her age.

Our son enjoys golf more than his sister does, and I look forward to seeing him on the golf course with his dad, both grandfathers, and three golf enthusiast uncles in the future.

The kids attended a fabulous VBS program near our house where one of our neighbors served as our son's teacher. She has a boy our son's age, and they live only a few houses from us.  They are a precious family who ended up buying our piano before we moved.  Oh how I wish we could have met them sooner instead of just two weeks before we moved out of the neighborhood.

The theme for this year's VBS was trusting God.  The kids learned to overcome fear by trusting God and to embrace the changes life in this roller coaster world brings.  The messages each day were perfect for our kids as they faced the changes associated with moving into a tiny apartment temporarily and then into a new home in a new town and moving to a new school for our daughter and back to homeschooling for our son.  The final presentation ministered to my heart as well as I have struggled more emotionally with this move than any other (and I have moved MANY, MANY times in the past).  God's way of giving us the precise word we need at the moment we need it most astounds me and reminds me of His nearness, faithfulness, and love.

Our son's class performing for the parents

Our daughter's class performs for parents

During our daughter's class song, our son sang along with them using his hands and voice.  His teacher (our former neighbor) sent me this video:


The kids' shortened summer also included play dates, slumber parties, pool outings, and community group gatherings..

Our daughter's new school operates on a modified year-round schedule, so their summer was about 25% shorter this year.  Even science camp will be truncated next week since school starts next week!

New Life Camp Firsts

Our daughter finally got to attend New Life Camp for the first time this summer.  This camp is one I have heard so much about that I even published an article about it.  In fact I spent one night there when I served as a bridesmaid to one of my dearest college friends who met her husband at New Life Camp where they both served as counselors and who got married at New Life Camp.  All the bridesmaids bunked in a cabin the night before the wedding. It's a place where kids have loads of fun, learn new skills, venture out on their own away from Mom and Dad, receive sound Bible training and counsel, eat too much junk food, and most importantly, have profound encounters with the living Lord.

Our daughter spent six days and five nights there, and has not stopped talking about it since we picked her up on the last day.  Camp staff advise parents not to call or visit, but we are welcome to write the campers letters.  What a blessing those letters were because while my daughter rarely ever seems to listen to me when I am at home, she read every word of my letters, over and over again.  She even reread them again today, weeks after camp ended.  And I took the time to communicate meaningful information and love to her each day in those letters instead of all the nagging noise that too often falls from my lips as a I try to train her to become a responsible, independent, God fearing young woman.

What happens at camp, stays at camp, so I'll not say much more except to post pictures I took during drop-off and pick-up and that I copied from the New Life Camp Facebook page.

Okay, so I will add one brief comment that our daughter nailed the center of her target during riflery practice at camp.  She amazes me with her precision when shooting a gun.

So many changes...even for the bunny

Our family is undergoing a season of many changes right now.  We just moved out of our house into an apartment 1/3 the size of our home after storing entirely too much of our junk in various PODs and a storage building.  After we had purged and packed every room in the house and filled up the two PODS we had ordered to the brim, we were plum worn out. That's when we remembered that we had stuffed tons of old things into our "tiny" attic.  By the time my husband had pulled out everything from the attic, it filled up the entire third floor, and the movers were coming the next day.

Loading the first shell

At that point of utter frustration and exhaustion, I likened "stuff" to cancer.  It grows and grows, hidden from view, until it manifests itself in horrible ways after it's just too late to shrink it much.  We spent the next day hauling truckloads to the dump, but we still ended up needing a third storage unit.  When you consider how much most of the world owns, our excess is utterly shameful, and I was ready to torch it all.

Very last load

Some of the stuff in the attic were "keepsakes" Mom had kept for me all these years.  My parents are of the generation that kept everything, and with an attic the length of their ranch home, they had room for it. (Our next house will not have a usable attic at all which is the trend these days for our throwaway culture.) For example, when we were home for Father's Day, we mentioned that our daughter had outgrown her bike and needed a larger one.  My dad disappeared for about three minutes and returned with the bike I rode when I was her age. It was missing the brightly colored tassels and had faded, but the banana seat was as beautiful as the day I first rode her. 

Whenever my mom comes to visit, she usually brings a load of gifts for the kids and a few boxes for me as they gradually purge their attic.  I had forgotten about all those boxes, so during my frantic purging of our own attic I chuckled while glancing at old diaries, my prom corsages (yes, dead flowers she preserved all these years), high school graduation announcements, high school pom-poms from homecoming and so forth.  She also included a fold-out poster of John Stamos, my childhood crush, from those old pre-teen Bop magazines.

John Stamos poster from Bop Magazine (early 1980s)

The kids were shocked and amused to hear that I had a crush on a TV pop star, and I STRONGLY discouraged them from admiring anyone except God Himself, but they were at least relieved to see such a strong resemblance between John Stamos and their daddy when he and I first met.

My husband (circa 1991)

And at least John Stamos was modestly dressed in the poster compared to what some pin-up models wear these days.  Lawsie-me...what ever happened to modesty and decency?  And as one friend noted, when it comes to my fold-up poster, at least I "know when to hold 'em..when to fold him...when to walk away." ("The Gambler" written by Don Schlitz and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers).

We finally made it into the apartment after more trials and tribulations than I could possibly describe in this blog post, but I will mention that the last hurdle in selling the house was the roof, the roof which only needed a few shingles replaced for purely cosmetic reasons according to the due diligence report signed by buyer and seller. However, when one roofing company falsely claimed the shingles were defective and part of a class-action law suit, the buyers insisted that that we replace the entire roof.  All these negotiations went down less than a week from closing, but if the roof really was defective, we wanted to do them right by paying to have it fixed with the hope that we could collect a small percentage back from the lawsuit pay out.   The day before closing, another roof estimator came out to get us a sample shingle for the lawsuit payout. When we actually crawled up on our roof (unlike the other two roofing representatives who only judged the roof from the ground, he immediately determined that these are not the shingles in the class action law suit but standard shingles easily purchased at Lowes.  He also offered to write a guarantee that the roof had many more years of life left.  So we will not be collecting any payout from lawsuit, and we are out much more cash than we ever expected when we signed the due diligence, and I wish they realtor had sent out the roofing company I requested initially, but at least the house is sold, and the buyers have a nice wad of extra cash in their pockets.  We no longer own a home, and better yet, a home no longer owns us! (Gift #337)


I wish I could say that the move to the apartment went smoothly, but it has been one headache after another. I won't go into that in this post, but I will say that were it not for the amazing support of our church friends who helped us load the PODS and my parents who lent us their truck and took our kids for a few days during the move, the move would have been much more disastrous.  We can't thank God enough for all that support. (Gift #338)

All these changes have affected our bunny, too, who had to be neutered for apartment living.  His swelling from the surgery finally went down so we were able to give him his first bath. He didn't like it much, but he was so cute in his towel and sat so peacefully in our daughter's lap as she worked on her Latin homework while his fur dried.  He's such a sweet pet. (Gift #339)

While we purged and packed, he enjoyed hopping into Easter baskets he found in my Goodwill pile.  We got him a new indoor cage, and though it is much smaller than his outside hutch, he really seems to like being inside where he can beg for food (more dramatically than any dog) whenever anyone walks by.   Once we got to the apartment, our daughter made him a leash using scrap felt, and old headband and a carabiner.  She takes him for walks around the tennis courts, creek, and pet play area many times each day.  A bunny on a leash just isn't something you see every day, so he has attracted lots of kids in the new community who have become new friends for our kids. (Gift #340)

Gymnastics - Summer 2013

After wasting a year in the beginner class at another gym because the instructor failed to assess our daughter properly, we decided to try out a different gym this summer in another county.  We thought it might be worth the drive since it was so highly recommended.

I can't say enough good things about this gym.  It's owned by a super talented gymnast who makes prayer and devotions a priority before each class.  His staff is amazing.  They all have a passion for Jesus, kids, and gymnastics.  Unlike most gyms in the area, they offer competitive programs for boys and girls at all ages.  Our son loved participating in an all boys' class while our daughter got her first experience on a girls' competitive team.

Gymnastics is our daughter's passion despite inheriting my inflexibility which she is working to overcome.  I wish we had discovered her passion sport sooner as she is getting a late start, but she is eager to make up for lost time.  I am deeply saddened that we only got to be a member of this gym for one month. It is located much too far from our apartment and residential lot to continue taking lessons there though I am tempted to drive 90 minutes each way if it were feasible. It's the best gym ever!

After her first two weeks there, she flipped her first back handspring. She needs to clean up the frog legs, but she mastered the hardest part, and that is worth much celebration!  Way to go, my girl!

July 4 - Celebrating what freedoms we have left

I found it difficult to celebrate our national independence on July 4 this year as I have witnessed countless American liberties yanked from the American people by a fascist minded administration.  Surely the founding fathers are weeping for this nation as the freedoms they sought to protect through their brilliant drafting of the U.S. Constitution are being ignored or overruled by executive order.  The brave military personnel who honorably risk their lives and sacrifice most earthly comforts to serve the cause of freedom are now being persecuted for their faith and abandoned in combat while veterans' pensions are being confiscated by the government.  First Amendment rights are being withdrawn, and radically violent religious groups who hate the cause of Christ are killing, raping, and terrorizing children.   This story from Britain is an example of what is coming here if we continue to persecute those who follow the one true God who defines love and peace while cowering to radical terrorists, even arming the Muslim brotherhood. The Egyptian people hate our administration.

“Whoever is an avowed enemy of God, I scruple not to call him an enemy of his country.”

- John Witherspoon 

Illegal immigrants are given every financial incentive to continue breaking the law.  Terrorists have been welcomed here even after being warned by other nations of their insidious plans to destroy America.  Then they were offered government protection after coordinating a deadly bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Yet, a virtuous Christian family who came here legally seeking asylum and freedom to home school their children are deported.  America, the only bastion of freedom in the world, has joined the ranks of the rest of the enslaved world, captured by smooth talking, arrogant tyrants.

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”

- Patrick Henry

Yet, when I hear stories from my friends who immigrated here from communist led countries (stories like this one below and I strongly encourage you to take 11 minutes to watch it), I am encouraged by the Christian foundations and liberty loving heritage of our nation. (Gift #334)

So, our family celebrated Independence Day by praying for America and crying out to God to send us bold patriot leaders to steer our beloved country back to those freedom principles which made her great.  America has fallen from greatness as she has chosen greed, sexual immorality, lying, murder, and one scandal after another over honesty, integrity, virtue, and honor.  America is under judgment by our Holy God, and I pray these judgments will wake up our nation, showing her how much we need our Great God, Merciful Savior, and Loving Lord! 

“The Bible will also inform them that our gracious Creator has provided for us a Redeemer, in whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; that this Redeemer has made atonement “for the sins of the whole world,” and thereby reconciling the Divine justice with the Divine mercy has opened a way for our redemption and salvation; and that these inestimable benefits are of the free gift and grace of God, not of our deserving, nor in our power to deserve.” - John Jay

My parents drove up on Independence Day to let us borrow their pickup truck.  They also assisted us as we took two loads of boxes to the new apartment.  They are so good to us.  During one trip, we forgot the key, so my precious parents sat on the steps (even in their 70s) and waited with our stuff for over an hour while my husband drove back to the house to get the key.  I wanted to be the one to sit there, but they insisted I take the kids to the pool while they wait.  They are saints, I tell you!  I'm so blessed by the way they give and serve. (Gift #335)  The move has us all stressed a bit, so the pool was good for all of us.  I'm so glad this apartment complex has an indoor and outdoor pool!  It will make living in such a tiny space feel like vacation. (Gift #336)

The next day, a dear friend and teacher from our kids' previous school invited the kids over for an all day play date.  They had a blast in their pool and just hanging out with such an awesome family while I purged and packed for the move. I'm so thankful for good friends who offer hospitality when needed most. (Gift #336)