Day in DC

We decided to finally take the girls into DC for a Sunday of fun. We've been telling them about this church that meets in Union Station, so today we took them. We met up with an old friend, Kellan, at National Community Church, and fed the homeless. I think the girls really enjoyed that. Then we went to church - it was awesome!! Loved the worship, loved the speaking, which was on video. We didn't have a chance to really meet or talk to anyone but spent some time with Kellan and another old friend, Taylor. It was really sweet.



Mark Batterson is the pastor of National Community Church, which started at the theater in Union station and now has three more locations, each at a major metro (train) station movie theater as well as their coffee shop, Ebenezers, located next to Union Station. Strategically, it doesn't get much better than this. Easy access, no building ownership (something we've been questioning ourselves), other than the coffee shop, multi-site, reaching out... and the homeless ministry? We went up one escalator, walked out to the street and the homeless came to us. This is an easy, regular connection with these folks - just amazing. They serve dinner with a Bible study on Wednesdays, lunch on Sundays and they know many of those they serve by name. Great venue.



After our NCC experience, we took the girls on a DC Duckboat tour. That was fun, informative and not nearly the aquatic adventure I assumed it would be. I believe we spent about 10 minutes on the Potomac River.... but at least we got T to go! We also got these cute "quackers" that amazingly the girls haven't completely annoyed us with! The price tag was outrageous, but if you like that kind of thing, you'd likely enjoy it. Of course, if you visit DC, we'll tell you everything we learned on that tour - for free! ;-)

Happy Birthday, Tony!

Yup, today's the day. Today marks the first day of T's last year in his 30's. Kind of weird. I guess it's time to start getting all those things done that we wanted to do before we're "over the hill"! We had talked about a bunch of things we wanted to do to mark this day, and instead have opted for a day at home, burgers on the grill and cupcakes - T's favorite! It's a beautiful day out and we're hoping for the same tomorrow. We're planning to visit National Community Church, hopefully take part in their homeless ministry on Sunday mornings and then, if it's nice enough, we're going to try a duckboat tour of DC. I'm really excited!!

SPACE Commander Extraordinare

This is going to be a year of change for our family and I'm excited for T to explore some more options which hopefully feed his passion for developing world changers. We are also excited to have our girls input in some of things we're thinking about. There's nothing better than a kid's view of the world and what it needs! =) Their ideas make for some interesting conversations, some stimulating ideas and many chuckles!! For today, though, it's Birthday Central around here. Off to ice those cupcakes!!

Politicking

I'm not going to comment on the on-going presidential race between Obama and Palin... I mean, McCain. I did, however, find this a very interesting read. I think it's well-written and speaks to both sides of these health, science and technology issues. Very good information without much opinion - really, hardly any. Some of the issues brought up were not ones I'd even thought of, which is why I despise the negative campaign tactics of late. Let's get to the important issues that matter to us!! I mean, really... who is going make the world a better place! LOL

Knee How

I know that's not how it's really spelled, but I figure just to make my point more clear. I don't speak, write or understand Chinese. About once a year, someone calls here and starts rattling off a bunch of jumbly jum to me... and I have to say, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Chinese." They are typically stunned and finish the call with, "OK, sowry!!" That's it. It's funny being a Sheng (with blonde hair).

Migration

Oh, birdies in the sky
Why doth you fly so high?

Won't you stop and wait for me
To join you in your flight so free?

I'd only have to pack my earthly belongings
But then I'd not glide lightly with bogged down wings

Migration is a heavy plea
For one as weighted down as me

(Written while longing to head to warmer lands!)

Go Two

Last week, I implemented a "behavior" chart in our house. It's actually a "positive reinforcement" chart with the added advantage of peer pressure!! Since we are home to an ultra-overachiever and a don't knock the status quo adherent, I decided we needed to address both personalities in a way that I would receive the optimum results.

I made it pretty simple, and thus far it has had some positive results. Each child has three "behaviors" they can earn stars for. For overachiever, the tasks are behavior oriented - washing the dishes, cleaning her room (specific goals here) and making lunches. Because she is so highly motivated, she has already earned her 20 stars and the monetary award that came with that achievement, $10. For status quo chick, we needed to focus on academic behaviors, so completing all her schoolwork at school, using her best handwriting and also cleaning her room (with specific goals). As an added motivation that only one child has taken advantage of, they are allowed to barter for stars. One night the girls made dinner for a star each (overachievers idea), overachiever has also cleaned the bathrooms, emptied the dishwasher and set the table. Needless to say, I'm wondering why we didn't start this last year!!

I have heard no complaints anymore about someone getting rewarded and someone else not, how unfair it is for someone who needs little effort in completing work to get rewarded when the other is not, etc. I think we've chosen achievable behaviors and people are choosing to complete them accordingly! So far, a success. I'm quite happy to have a clean kitchen sink, lunches made and kids awake to make them (=)) and no extra homework!! All in all, it's created a much more disciplined and happy household. Yay!

Oh, right... the title of this post. Overachiever has translated her encouragement to go the distance and more in all aspects of her life. Because she is now getting up early to make lunches for that star, she has time to practice running for the 1 mile Pumpkin Run. She and her friends are "training" at lunch and at home. Yesterday, while I sat in my car at the bus stop so I could head off to work, she came up to my window talking a mile a minute...

"So... last night I needed to do this book for school and I had 4 pages left. L (our babysitter) told me I should do two pages, so I remembered this verse "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." (Matt 5:41) I decided to do all four pages instead so it's done!"

I realized that that is the key to overachievers - doing more than they are asked and having this passion to go the distance and farther. And the motivation? It's internal, but it's increased when the effort is recognized. Reminder to self: keep the chart simple so your 10 year old doesn't get burnt out!!

All Time Low

If people are now hacking into AND posting publicly Palin's personal email account, I'm thinking the American people/media have hit rock bottom. Is anyone safe at this point? Hmmm... Maybe her rivals are. I hope this is the last of it, but I'm seriously doubting it. Pathetic. I do hope the perpetrators will be brought to justice swiftly. They had the gall to call her daughter's cell phone. Geesh.

Church

I subscribe to the Swerve blog by LifeChurchTV - some really cool posts. This one was intriguing to me:

"I would never use Google if it required me to leave my house and travel to an unfamiliar building on Sunday only once a week…listen to 30 minutes of unrecognizable music, followed by a person talking for 30-40 minutes, and still possibly have to try to find a person who looked “official” just to find “results” for my search. That would be absurd! But, that is a substantially abbreviated version of what so many churches put people through who are searching."

So true! Very, very interesting. You should read the whole post! Or just read the blog!!

Amused

In high school, I scored big on my math SAT's and was very distraught to see my extra test set was English. I was never a GT English student and barely an honors one. In college, I believe I received a C in my English composition class. That C and the one I received in Economy were my most pitiful college grades. These coupled with the fact that I'm not really an avid reader, nor am I a journaler makes for some amusement, and complete and utter embarrassment when anyone even suggests I'm a good writer. It sort of makes me cringe while I'm giggling. I feel somewhat like I'm pulling the wool over people's eyes - really!! Communication is somewhat of an issue for an introvert like me. I wonder now, if people really do like my writing, if I could actually speak if I were ever able to muster up enough courage to give it a try. Don't even ask!!!

"Open House"

That's kind of a funny name for what amounts to a ~yawn~ night out with your child's teacher.... and 200 other parents! This is our first year the girls have different open house nights, so tonight was my turn. Second grade. It was the same mix of surprising, disturbing and terribly boring information!! I guess some of the boring was the PTA business, the long and monotone explanation of the idiotic spelling "curriculum" and the half of the parents who clearly wanted to be elsewhere, as demonstrated by their inability to stop staring blankly at their blackberries! The good news? Em seems to be doing quite well. Hopefully that lasts until the interim reports! The bad news? The classes have 25 or more students each in them, which qualifies us for another teacher... but it doesn't appear the county will allot one to us. Lame.

Lipstick on a Pig

As an aside to my earlier post on the campaigns, I guess now that my disgust needs to be directed to the media. This article is just disturbing, and it makes me want to discontinue reading anymore reports about this campaign. I believe my mind is made up - so all the twisted media claims will just have to be set aside for this voter!

Season of Rest

That's where we are... at least that's what I've been told! It doesn't really feel like that yet, but hopefully at some point it will. I guess when you just start a new teaching job a season of rest sounds a little suspicious. When you start a new job and your kids start school and all the extracurricular activities that accompany school and you are coordinating and driving them to and from various locations a season of rest seems like a distant dream! I think we'll get there.

For five years, T has been developing a program for students at our church to create globally, culturally and missionally aware individuals who might someday choose to live abroad in a strategic location to further God's kingdom in a unique and effective way. It has been fun, exhausting, exciting, educational, amazing and rewarding all rolled into one package. Each year, after a long summer of organizing, planning and executing trips designed to catalyze these future leaders, we sit back and wonder 1. why we do this, 2. how we do this, 3. if we can do this anymore, and 4. most importantly, is this really what God wants us to do. Most summers, T gets to the end and says, "I am never doing this again!" This summer, he did not say that, but instead had already developed a plan for next summer. It scared me a bit!

After much thought, soul-searching and some new missions initiatives at our church, we have surprisingly decided that this program has come to an end. T stepped out of that position because we recognize that it can no longer exist with the same initiative that sparked it's inception. Sometimes, when things change, everything changes. This was not an easy decision to make, but we both think it's for the best. Other opportunities that we had decided against pursuing due to time constraints are now options, we now have the freedom to explore what all these new changes would mean for the youth ministry at our church in the area of missions and we get to see more clearly what our team members from this past summer can do to shape their environments at home based on what they learned. We don't always have time for all these things, but this year, we do!

Sometimes God has to close doors to make you try new ones, with different opportunities, different stretching experiences and new connections you might have passed up otherwise. While it's not comfortable or even preferable in some cases, it is a comfort to know that God orchestrates these times in our lives with our best interest in mind and with the lives and experiences of others. I already miss SPACE and sometimes it's depressing to think that we won't do that again. Many very significant people and experiences came out of that for our whole family, so it's a difficult thing to give up.

As for a season of rest, it's much needed in our home. Especially for T, who worked tirelessly and endlessly in pursuit of excellence in every area of that ministry. There were many times over the last 5 years that I wondered if I indeed had more than one husband because he was working two full-time jobs. Nobody has the time to do that AND be a husband and father. He did things that were physically impossible - and that was one of the ways I could see God's hand in what he was doing. His passion for the mission and for developing student leaders was not like anything I've ever experienced before. At least not from a database engineer! Having him home again will be nice. For a while. But let's face it, a life without ministry for someone like T is no life at all.

We would certainly appreciate your prayers as we find our way in this time of transition and searching. It's an odd place for us. Since before we were married, we've never really had a time like this. We never adhered to the "drop out of everything for a year when you have a baby" rule because we feared a newfound love of having no commitments might keep us inactive. This is new territory for us and we have identified few nagivational tools to help us. Pray for our middle/high school students, that opportunities for them to serve in amazing ways will continue. Pray for our leaders who are scattered around the United States and abroad in various schools of higher education, that they would be catalysts in their schools for change in the world.

I am so exhausted from this week of craziness - new job, no SPACE, new extracurricular stuff, Six Flags today (I'm totally sunburned!) and new opportunities for T. I don't feel like it's the beginning of a season of rest, but I'm going to count on it! Actually, I'm counting on a season of family growth. And for real, I hope that for each of you, too!

The Truth

I think this website will be saving me a lot of time! =)

Factcheck.org

"Stupid" Smear Tactics

I have tried to lay low on the political commentary on this blog because we all know I am far from educated on politics!! As far removed as I am from politics, I know a "stupid" smear campaign when I see one! And I see two, but one is far more disrespectful than the other. I don't take too kindly to Obama constantly calling me "stupid"... he's winning zero points with me each and every time he uses that word. AS IF I would feel any smarter to just unwittingly vote for him because I think that will make me smarter... in his eyes. I'm offended.

What the media and Obama campaign has done to Sarah Palin is just truly asinine. It's quite shameful and I have no desire to be connected to them in any way at this point. They demand respect for themselves and smear to the end a woman who is completely threatening to them. Talk about grace under fire - that's what I'm seeing in Palin, who is much stronger than I had ever imagined she would be. For me, the Obama camp is digging themselves to China - I don't look forward to a president who thinks I'm stupid!

As for politics, I'm becoming more clear on the McCain/Palin agenda - some things I like, some things have me wondering... I'm becoming more confused about Obama/Biden - some things I like, some things I don't like at all and then the message changes. I'm not sure what to think anymore. I keep listening, waiting to see if McCain/Palin flips on anything during their campaign... that remains to be seen.

Again, Glen Beck has a great piece on this very topic. Also, an open letter to that smear campaign by another journalist. I admit it - I like to read this kind of stuff. In the end, though, I'm going to vote for more than change. I'm going to vote for whoever starts talking about the things that matter to me... and just for the record, they don't include lipstick or action figures!! Let's hear some substance!

Seasons

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

~Ecclesiastes 3: 1-14

Pro-choice

For once in my life, I can honestly say I'm pro-choice. I'm having old facebook envy tonight! When I signed on this morning, my old facebook format had been deceptively slipped out from underneath my feet and I'm left wading through a very disorganized mishmash of a "new" face on facebook. The links don't work, my wall has been meshed with lots of other junk, I can't find anything I need. It's a mess. I hate it!!

T just signed onto his tonight and it's the old format!! I am ever so envious of him because he gets at least another day or two of old times while I'm stuck drowning in the new discombobulated one. I'm actually just going to stay signed into his account for the evening so I can dream of times past. Why don't we have a choice in this facebook matter??? I want to be heard.

Sorry for those of you out there who are living in yesteryear and have not bothered to ever check out the old facebook - you'll never know how good it was. =(

"Resources" Teacher

That is my new title at my new job. I tried to tell the badge maker it was "Resource" teacher, but he insisted, so it's resources. I'm basically a 1st and 2nd grade remedial reading teacher, but I didn't want him to try to put that on my ID card!

I'm excited about this job because in actuality, I'm not especially trained to do this job. That's one of the perks of working in a private school. When someone thinks your a great teacher and they have a job that they are sure you can do, they hire you. I have this opportunity to work with two highly qualified special education teachers. My direct supervisor basically has two masters degrees, and when we "chat" about the job, I take notes!! I have learned more in the past two weeks than I have in the past ten years. I'm convinced of that.

The past three days I have been observing potential students for my groups and it's fun to be back in a classroom. It has been a very empowering experience so far, since coming into it I felt like a total dinosaur. I'm now wishing I was there to help the teachers, because I have this terrible habit of thinking of 10 betters ways they could do something. So arrogant of me! But really... it's just the way I think. Bad, I know. In many, many ways I wish someone had done that for me when I was starting out as a new teacher.

One of the greatest benefits for me, I believe, will be understanding my own second grader and her oral and written language development. I know there's something I'm missing there, so maybe throughout this year I'll have a better understanding of how to evaluate that. Hopefully, we'll make some leeway this year for her!

OK - I have to go print out that reward chart for my girls... it's a start!

A Post to Read

Everyone, whether you have a special needs child or not, should read this post. Thanks, Deana! Many blessing and prayers your way!

Working

Well, going back to work, albeit for one day a week (divided by three days!) is an adjustment. I actually enjoy coming home and putting on my "stay-at-home-mom" clothes in the afternoon. The work clothes feel weird. It really is a privilege to stay home, especially when the kids are in school! LOL

Bummer

My life just got exponentially worse. New bus driver. Not NEARLY as nice as the last. Nobody is happy. Even when I reminded them they had two really fun weeks, it was just no consolation. I was so looking forward to happy faces coming off the bus all year - bummer!

Ditto

Is this term even relevant to newer generations anymore? I mean... all us old folks know what a ditto is. We nearly all had the experience of a ditto headrush after our teachers ran off hundreds of them on the "ditto" machine, purple ink and "ditto" fluid. We know that "ditto" means an exact duplicate. The reason I ask if it's a relevant term is because for years, we've said "ditto" to mean "exactly the same"... and I think everyone knows what it means, they maybe just don't know why... which might explain why, today, I saw someone use the word "dido" to mean... "ditto". If they can't spell it, then they have no idea what the word they are trying to use really means. Maybe we should just start saying "copy" or "xerox"... right?

I'm Forgiven

I'm forgiven,
because You were forsaken,
I'm accepted, You were condemned,
and I'm alive and well your spirit is within me,
because You died and rose again.
(I'm forgiven)
I'm forgiven,
because You were forsaken,
and I'm accepted, You were condemned,
and I'm alive and well your spirit is within me,
because You died and rose again.

Amazing love,
how can it be,
that You my king would die for me?
Amazing love,
I know it's true,
and it's my joy to honor You.
(Amazing love)
Amazing love,
how can it be,
that You my king would die for me?
Amazing love,
I know its true,
and it's my joy to honor You.
In all I do I honor You.

~Rebecca St. James

This is a really simple song we sang today at church. It's one that I love because I think it's just so basic, yet so humbling. I think it highlights the unbelievable part about Christianity, or unbelievable parts, the ones most often misunderstood. We have few examples in the world, I can't actually think of any right now, of a king or leader or ruler giving up his/her life for his people. Especially not in the way Christ did. Of course, none of them can offer what Christ did in exchange for his perfection - eternal life. It's difficult for me, a believer, to fathom what Christ did. I'm not even sure, in the best of my efforts, I could even come close to honoring what He did for me. I fall short more often than not.

Is It Already That Time Again??

For my longtime readers (all three of you!), you might remember last year someone putting my blog post with my 2005! Christmas letter on their "Christmas Letter Tips" website, generating close to 10,000 blog hits just last December. It. Was. Crazy!! Well... I guess it's still up there, and apparently there are some over-prepared peeps out there. I've been getting about 10 hits a day from that site. Are people really thinking about writing their Christmas letter already? I mean... I'm still wearing flip flops!!

Tropical Storm Remnants

We decided to head out for dinner at Mimi's Cafe. Tropical Storm Hanna had nearly passed, but it was still a bit windy and rainy. On our trip home, we saw so many different kinds of clouds floating about with bands of brilliant blue. The sun was streaming out of any opening creating fans of lights among the bands of stormclouds. Just as we were arriving home, we noticed a brilliant rainbow, then a second band, both of which were full. I was able to capture part of it - but the cameraphone pic isn't nearly as clear as what was seen. People were actually pulling to the side of our busy thoroughfare just to catch a glimpse in real life. Kt reminded us all of the meaning of the rainbow, God's promise to never destroy the earth, mankind with a flood ever again. It was really glorious. And then the rain clouds swept it all away again. What a funny storm!

Tony Childs

Someone, who shall remain obvious, is trying to make croissants today. He first asked if we had any yeast, then went out and bought a ton of it! Didn't buy any butter and decided he could make them minus a full stick of butter that he couldn't find.... I'm guessing he knows little about croissants, except how to buy them and eat them. This should be interesting!

Hanna

Well, so far, it's just a day of rain. Not even much wind. I'm certainly thankful she seems to have spared my sister in Savannah and even the Outer Banks. I guess we'll just be stuck inside for the day. At least everyone down south is ready for Ike! (I hope!)

The Governor

Tomorrow, the governor is visiting the girls' school. It's a little strange, seeing as he's the governor and my girls are kind of... apathetic towards his visit. I don't know if the school has been unable to instill a sense of awe for this visitor or if they are just as apathetic! Unfortunately, for this governor, he has a schedule (I have no idea who made it, but if they know anything about our school then they are just moronic!) that has him visiting the second grade lunch shift. Just to give you an idea.... and yes, Em is in second grade... today, while I was subbing in there, the principal came in to talk to the kids about their visitor tomorrow. It took some time for them to settle down, and they never got quiet, but the principal kept on going as if the kids were listening. When he was finished, he made his way out of the cafeteria, kids screaming, running around and one even sliding behind him on the floor to throw away his lunch.... The principal never even noticed. And we wonder why these kids are so out of control!! Good luck, Mr. Governor! (YIKES!)

Palin Power

I'm watching Sarah Palin's speech... I don't usually watch these boring things, but I didn't want to miss this one. Obama has put this woman through the wringer this week, so she must be deserving of some kind of attention. I mean... if everyone is so worried about her, she must be special. Right?

I don't know how anyone could be unimpressed with that. Wow.

Recycling

FINALLY! Our county is going to provide recycling carts. We have been the worst recyclers. When we first moved in, we noticed that most of our neighbors had a recycling bin. Except us. The former owners of this house didn't have one or didn't leave one. (We've since noticed one of our neighbors has two... fishy!) Anyway, we called the county about this and they told us to get one ourselves. Translated: Recycling is just not a priority around here! We have done a meager job recycling - collecting what we can in plastic bags and leaving it all out, but we've been quite lazy about it. It appears as though the county is rethinking the recycling effort. We should have our new cart soon, and you bet your bottom dollar we'll be putting our address on it! ;-)

Hap, Happiest Season!

It's that time of year again - signing families up for the Salvation Army Christmas program. I did this last year and it's very humbling, very eye-opening, very interesting. Anyway.... they are always looking for volunteers, so if you live near me and have Thursday morning free next week, come with me! It'll provide a lot of entertainment - I promise! =)

Omnipresent

On Labor Day, we took a back road that we don't normally travel. As we drove by a tiny little church, Kt let out a belly laugh. Of course, we all wanted to know what was so funny. She responded, between giggles, "That sign said 'Holy Spirit, Come!'" T said to her, "Why do you think that is funny?" I think we were both a little perplexed. But she said, "Well, don't you think it's funny they are asking him to come? He's already HERE! He can be everywhere all the time!" Uh, duh, mom and dad! We sort of shrunk in our seats while she continued laughing, not really realizing how silly we felt.

Today I was reminded of that as I was listening to WGTS, the local Christian radio show. The DJ was interviewing a member of the group Sonic Flood, who was preparing to lead worship at a prayer breakfast. The band member mentioned that one of their songs, God Is Here, is a great example to them that He doesn't need an invitation into things we often invite Him to, like politics or our lives. Interesting thought....

God is Here

In Your presence there is fullness of life
Healing flowing for body soul and mind
God of the impossible, God of miracles is here

God is here let the broken-hearted rejoice
God is here let the sick say I am well
God is here let the weak say I am strong
God is here

In Your presence there is perfect peace
And in stillness I behold Your deity
God of wonders, God of power is here

His wonders to perform

Oh His wonders yes His wonders
His wonders to perform
Oh His wonders yes His wonders
His wonders to perform 

So, now every time I sing a song to invite God, His Son or the Holy Spirit, I'm probably going to laugh!

Lucky 7

I've been contemplating this post for a long time. There are some things I avoid writing about on my blog because I don't really want to post things about my kids that may come back to haunt them, but I also appreciate when people post things that are not easy to talk about but may be helpful to some.

This has been a huge year for Em. It's impossible to have two girls and not compare them, but my two girls are so different that I'm learning there is just no comparison at all. One glaring difference is in development. Being a first time mom, Kt's early development sort of made little impression on me until Em came along. =) I've learned that there were things Kt did at a very young age that I just can't expect from Em. At the same time, Em's laid back attitude and compassion have been a reminder to me that I need to slow down and smell the roses once in a while.

A year ago, I had a six year old first grader who struggled with handwriting, was more interested in who she sat with at lunch and played with at recess than what reading book she was being forced to read and who still was unable to make it through the night without wetting the bed! The first two I chalked up to development, the last, however, was really starting to have me very worried. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I'd still be buying Pull-ups for my first grader! Nor did I think I'd have a 6-year-old who would be OK with that, to the point of having anxiety over not wearing a diaper to bed at night. We had tried nights without them, she would either wake up in the morning very proud of making it through the night with several stained spots on her stinky bed, or she'd get herself a towel and change her own clothes without even getting us up.

I had my own anxiety issues over this issue. I'd thoroughly researched the many possible causes of this problem and was a phone call away from getting my daughter into some kind of program for kids with this "problem". I knew it was only a matter of time before she would be invited to sleepovers and not be OK with wearing a Pull-up at someone else's house. I knew we would soon be facing the taunting of "friends" who could not believe she was a bed-wetter. I knew I did not want to be purchasing diapers for a seemingly normal child, especially since she was already outgrowing what was available to us in the store!

Finally, on her seventh birthday, something changed. She was the first one to call it her "Seven-year-old miracle", but that phrase is something we refer to less frequently now. I don't really know what happened, but she began to be able to make it through a night. Even she was shocked and delighted. Since her 7th birthday, I think I can count the number of accidents she's had on one hand. This past summer, flying overseas overnight, she did not freak out about whether or not we'd allow her to use a Pull-up on the plane. She didn't have an accident in a hotel bed. She has been dry all night for almost a year - and I finally feel like I can celebrate a bit!

Not only that, but about 2 weeks ago, we all noticed a marked difference in her handwriting. It seriously was an overnight improvement without any effort on her part. I don't really understand how something like that can transpire, but not only is she having an easier time with handwriting, she is actually wanting to write. While we fought all summer through her summer packets, arguing over how many sentences she HAD to write for everything, she is now adding words in here and there to make her sentences "just right". I am so excited, because it's giving me a feeling like I may not have to spend another year fighting with her to complete homework and all her incomplete assignments for the day.

On top of all that, she came home last week and happily announced that she was the ONLY one in her class who volunteered to be in a Gifted and Talented book club that meets Fridays during recess to read the book Frindle. I didn't want to completely squash her enthusiasm, but she is far from that reading level. Even Kt, who was many levels above Em at this point, did not join that same book club until May of her second grade year. T and I decided to allow her to try it out with the condition that she drop out if she felt it was too difficult. In order to prepare her for the possible embarrassment, I had her read the first page of the book for me today. She read the whole page with almost no help from me - and I have to admit, I was shocked. Something has happened - I have no idea what!

This year is shaping up to be a much better start than I'd anticipated. Maybe having lower expectations helps, but really being pleasantly surprised by my 7 year old is having a bigger impact on my outlook for this year. She amazes me! I am hopeful this won't be short-lived, but I'm writing about it to remind myself (and her someday) of the growth she made in leaps and bounds in her lucky 7th year of life. Wahoo!

Gustav and an Open Invitation!

Here's the latest from our friends about New Orleans:

September 2, 2008

Gustav Sunday Night - No electricity, but we have Power!

Back Home! I'm sending this letter out from City Hall, Mandeville. Our councilman, Jerry Coogan, kindly offered to let me tap into his access. In the big scene of things, compared to Katrina, we dodged a bullet. In the short run, there is a lot of clean up to do. Here's my eyewitness report of our area:

1. 1.7 million people are still evacuated. Schools are out until Monday. People are being urged not to return for a couple of days.

2. 1.5 million people in Louisiana are without power. All of our area, and New Orleans, are without power.

3. Covington (the town where our church is located) is evacuating 1,000 people today because the Tchfuncte River is cresting and is expected to flood homes.

4. The Mandeville Lakefront and street is 2 feet under water.

5. One of our neighbors has a pine tree through his home. Most of the pines that fell, however, missed homes.

6. Mark Lewis and the Compassion first-responders are working in Houma this week. This is where Gustav first hit. There is a lot of work to do over the next 4-6 weeks.

7. John Gerhardt and Castle Rock Church are being housed in an Evangelical Free Church in Birmingham. There is a possibility that they will stay one night at Trinity before gaining access back into New Orleans. We'll see. John is a terrific shepherd.

8. Trinity Church survived Gustav. There is a lot of debris in the parking lot, a few trees down and a big puddle in the nursery, but the water has been swept out of the door already.

9. Moody Broadcasting with Chris Fabry called today to get a first hand report. We are thankful for the PR.

10. We have heard that there is a levee breach in Plaquemines Parish, but all of that you probably have more information than we do since we have no television!

11. We have had lots of storms today, and there are still tornado threats.

If you want to come with a team, please come. There is a lot of work to do. Check the website at www.trinitychurchonline.net and www.efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com for more information.

Betting the Farm on God,

Michael

Please keep them in your prayers!

Absentee Ballot

I'm applying for one of these. We are hoping to go away for a few days and I don't want to be rushing home to vote. But also... during the last presidential election I was really offended by the voting site stalkers. You know what I'm talking about... I took my then 3 year old daughter with me to vote and there were many people handing out pamphlets and flyers for their candidates. Some of them were cordial, and I appreciated that. Others, however, were bipolar. One seemingly warm, nice woman, when I didn't take her pro-choice pamphlet (in fact, I didn't take ANY because I didn't want them!) started yelling at me, in front of my three year old, that I should be ashamed of being a woman who would stifle the rights of other women. Now... she had no way of knowing I was that woman. I wasn't taking anyone's propaganda. I did have a child in tow, but there are plenty of pro-choice women who have children. I just couldn't figure out what prompted her really embarrassing, really rude outburst towards me. I'm not interested in living through that again, so I'd just as soon vote at home! =)

Readers of All Ages

Yesterday my uncle, an elder at our church, told me that he tried to read my "blob" but it was too long. I told him to try Tony's sometime. LOL

Gustav Prayer Request

I just received an email from our friends in Louisiana. They are heading back home to assess the damage and begin their relief efforts in full force - what they have been talking about and preparing for from their experience with Katrina. Here's part of his email... his prayer request:

Pray this prayer for Trinity and our Disaster Response Ministry. Pray we mobilize a dangerous people into the highways and by-ways of life to wreck havoc on the enemy. Pray we are not caged, tamed, or domesticated church people, but are adventurous, loving, "a do whatever it takes" set of Christ-followers with deep seeded longings to walk in the spirit and enter into the Great Commission.

Betting the Farm on God,

Michael

Now... don't you want to go work for THIS guy!!

Labor Day

The name of this day always confuses me, since most people spend the day laying around on the beach or picnicking! Back when we first were married, T and I used to spend this holiday weekend with my parents. We would meet half way between here and there, ended up in Ocean City, NJ, Atlantic City, Lancaster, PA... I was such a fun tradition. I am pretty sure that I honestly thought we'd all do that for the rest of our lives. And I think we did that until my dad got sick.

Last year we had a four day weekend so we went to my mom's... and sat on the beach. =) This year, I really wanted to pull the girls out of school and head up to CT. We also thought about going to the beach, but that was too expensive. So, we stayed home. Boring. I know. T is "laboring" on Kt's room, painting it, taking off the baseboard and now pulling up the carpet. It's now a funky green color and T is going to attempt to put down a laminate floor for our asthma suffering 10 year old. We did take some time to go to the pool, and tomorrow a couple of picnics. It's the beach I long for, though. Just in case you didn't know that already!

Message From New Orleans

This is a message from our friend, Pastor Mike Sprague of Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Mandeville, LA. We knew Mike and his wife, Donna, from our years at our former church. They have one son who was one of my first graders! He's now in college. (I feel old, yes I do!)

Please pray for them and that the three years they have invested in preparing for such a time as this will pay off. They were in a position after Katrina to pull together resources to assist in a way only churches have been able to effectively do long-term with short-term teams in the New Orleans area. When we send teams, we send them to him.

This church has organized a Disaster Response team that will come in very handy over the next few weeks... It is a huge undertaking. Pray for safety, resources and workers. Resources most importantly as this area is just now finally recovering another hit like this may cause many to turn away.

Our prayers with them!


August 31, 2008

Gustav Sunday Night



Here we go again! I'll try to keep you posted as long as we have communication ability. Donna, Fluffy (our dog) and I rolled into Birmingham dead tired - not much sleep last night. We had just gotten to sleep around midnight when we received an emergency call from the Mandeville Mayor saying that a mandatory evacuation of our town of Mandeville had been ordered. Finally, after getting back to sleep we got another emergency call, this time from our Parish President Kevin Davis (county executive to all those not from Louisiana) at 2:30 am saying that a mandatory evacuation had been ordered, beginning at 7:00 am. Great emergency system - except for the sleep interruption. Anyway, Donna got up at 3:00 am and I got up at 4:00 am and we were on the road by 5:00, along with 1.8 million people. With all of the mandatory evacuation we decided to cancel our Trinity services to encourage cooperation with Parish officials and to promote safety.



We will be staying with EFCA District Director, Ed Kaylor. We are very appreciative for the hospitality. John Gerhardt's entire church (73 people) from Castlerock/Urban Impact is evacuating today to the Birmingham area as well. The city of Birmingham is expecting 4,000 refugees from the Gulf Coast. Mark Lewis and our disaster relief staff have evacuated to Pensacola, Florida.



At this time, we hope to be back early Wednesday. Donna and I, as well as a few key disaster responders at Trinity, have the Homeland Security clearance required to get back into the Parish anytime as first responders. My heart is to be back as soon as possible in order to be ready to serve.



We just saw the latest Fox/CNN report that Gustav could be bigger than Katrina. We watched reporters showing the 9th Ward, Business District, and referring to Lake Ponchartrain and New Orleans East. We heard Senator McCain commit to making a significant portion of the Republic Convention focused on service and resource raising for New Orleans. We got here, shaking our heads at how much attention our little neck of the woods receives. It is nice to know so many people care.



Right now, the need of the hour is prayer.



1. Pray now for our new Governor, Bobby Jindal and all the emergency personnel - National Guard, Fire, Police, Red Cross, Military, etc. They are heroic folks.



2. Pray for God's Kingdom Soldiers from churches across the country to come in droves to New Orleans and serve with our disaster response ministry. We need cooks, counselors, evangelists, skilled tradesmen, encouragers and lots of plain old servants. Pray for an abundance of financial resources to lead the ministry into the fall. Please pass the word to your friends and church leaders.



3. Pray for the ministry of the gospel. This, I believe - "The hope of this world is a blood-stained cross and an empty tomb." One man's death 2,000 years ago on an old tree, in an obscure part of the world impacts the destiny of every person who has ever lived. Some call this foolishness, but I am confident it is the power of God to salvation to every person who believes in Jesus Christ as Savior. This we believe - this we live - this we share - this is what it is all about.



Betting the Farm on God,



Michael



P. S. - You can sign up teams, or get additional information at www.trinitychurchonline.net and www.efca.crisisresponse.blogspot.com (this one may not work for a couple of days).

Flawed

For real, Michael Moore? You would celebrate a Cat 4 hurricane on an already devastated region just to celebrate the potential impact on the Republican National Convention? Really? And this proves to you that there's a God in heaven? I think that's a rather flawed and sick sense of reason you're portraying here. And what if there had been the very same during the Democratic National Convention? What would that have proved?? (Oh, wait... Faye hit Florida during the Democratic Convention... 5 times... and they kept on partying!)

Fortunately, for your sake, there is a God in heaven and he, miraculously, loves you. He loves me, too. And He offers forgiveness and redemption for those of us who sometimes lack reasonable judgment and say really stupid, regretful things. Yup, we all do it, some of us more than others! Of course, in order to receive that forgiveness you would have to practice humility and admit you were wrong and admit that you actually need forgiveness.

So, if you can take a break from your celebratory mood while the rest of the United States of America is praying to a God in heaven for restoration, healing and that He spare New Orleans from again being devastated by nature and the imperfection of human effort, I'd do what's right here. Set your mind straight and join with the rest of us in hoping for the right thing, being remorseful in our selfishness. I'm certain there isn't a soul in New Orleans who shares your heart during this fateful time.

The Heart Thing.... Again

So, last spring a heart condition sprung up in my life. After being tested by a cardiologist, the conclusion was that it was something that is not treated, not life-threatening, just really annoying. The cause? Probably anxiety/stress.... and it was surely annoying.

Oddly, the day we left for Europe the heart thing disappeared. And until today, I haven't had it at all. It was so odd that my doctor and I began to suspect a possible link to medication. I get a generic brand of my blood pressure meds and the incidence of this heart thing began and ended with an odd three month supply. We really didn't know, but I was quite happy not to have that irritating extra heartbeat.

Well, it's now back. Just today. And I'm annoyed! I can't believe it's stress/anxiety related due to the fact that it went away during one of the most stressful and anxiety filled times of my life. Now I am completely perplexed and thoroughly annoyed. Did I mention how annoyed I am? It's one of those things that I can't ignore, nobody else knows but I have to live with all the time. UGH! Maybe I'm just allergic to this house!

Katrina to Gustav

Today is really a very sad day for the people of New Orleans. I'm praying that all their preparation will be unnecessary, that people won't lose their homes a second time, that the levees won't fail again, that Gustav will spare that region another three, four, five years of devastation. I was pleasantly surprised to read how Baltimore is supporting this effort to evacuate and maintain order in NO by sending out teams from the city fire department. Hopefully this time around, help won't be more than a phone call away. In fact, wouldn't it be amazing if a phone call wasn't even necessary? If the country just rallied to send support now?

Summer Missions

Last week was our summer missions wrap up at church. In truth, the mission continues because over 150 church members came home with life changes that will hopefully impact everything they do from this point on. That is part of why we go, that is one of our goals... change.

Our trips this summer church-wide included:

1. Trip to New Orleans - two of them, in fact. And adult team went and one of our SPACE teams went, both working with Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Louisiana. We prayerfully watch as Gustav threatens an area of the country where many of our church members have left a piece of their hearts!

2. A trip to Baltimore - while close by, there are many things for us to learn in urban centers. A trip to Baltimore, or any city near you, is highly recommended, eye-opening and challenging.

3. Peru - three people from our church joined a medical missions team to Peru. Half the team worked in an orphanage that provides medical treatment for Indians served in the jungle by a missionary couple, the other half visited a thriving Indian village that just 7 years ago was deteriorating.

4. Uganda - our church has a partnership with AOET in Uganda and we had a team visit there and work with AIDS orphans.


5. Hungary - the team our family served on was serving a group of church planters living in Europe. What we brought home was a desire to serve beyond ourselves, to be a light where none exists and the realization of what families give up to do this. It was a such a pleasure to work with the children of these missionaries, to bring a little fun into the daunting (yet amazingly fruitful and satisfying) lives of believers forging the way in spiritually bleak cities in Europe.

6. Jamaica - this team from Grace served a couple orphanages with a VBS program as well as providing needed services God revealed upon arrival!

7. Tecate, Mexico - this team from Grace met up with a larger team from Illinois to serve an orphanage in this bordertown. They came home truly blessed!

8. England - one of our SPACE teams joined up with a church planter in Manchester to talk up and perform at a Outreach Music Festival. Many wonderful conversations, many decisions made for Christ and a great experience that will hopefully bring some liveliness back to our teens at home!

9. Cameroon - our last SPACE team to return. This team provided, for the first time ever in Navigator Cameroon history, childcare for the women of this ministry. Many Nav families traveled very far to join together in worship, reporting and planning for a country-wide ministry. Most of these Cameroonian women have never met even though their husbands work together within this organization. It was an amazing opportunity for them and their children to come together. Historic, and quite an experience for our team!

Here's a video the church put together you might enjoy with pictures from each of these trips. We have more trips scheduled for this fall and currently have a Grace family in Uganda for the year while the director of AOET and his family is here in MD, attending AU classes on international leadership. It's an amazing partnership!



For this first time ever, our teams were not fully funded. We're working out some of the reasons why this may have happened. We covet your prayers on this matter and the impact it will have on future life-changing trips. Thanks!

Sarah Palin

She's not Condi, but she'll do! =) She's a mom, former FCA president at her high school, mother of a Down's Syndrome child (could there be hope in the future for the glaring inadequacies of NCLB for special ed students?) and I think she's a great choice for McCain. I'm feeling a little more hopeful with this pick, for sure. My daughter will be thrilled about the dog-sledding! LOL Her 19-year-old son leaves for Iraq on September 11th. Wow.

UPDATE: I have to admit to the three people who read this blog. I'm actually giddy about this VP candidate. I haven't been giddy in a very long time, but today John McCain made me a very happy person, even if it's only for a couple months. So worth it! hehe I'm going to go sign up for that absentee ballot right now!!

Storm Preparations

Most of our friends, close ones anyway, know that my husband is a major preparedness freak. We've had our Y2K stash, our bird-flu stash, our dirty bomb plastic sheeting and duct tape stash and we always stock up for storms of any variety. My "storm" preparedness focuses on other things rather than just canned food, toilet paper and bottled water. I'm looking ahead, to the possible Obama tax storm, and wondering how and when to prepare for the takeover of my money!

I'm so thoroughly confused by all the opinion out there it's just getting really overwhelming. I've heard that 401K's are not safe, or that they're super safe. I've heard RothIRA's are better, but you better move everything fast. I've read that anyone making over $75,000 better protect their income in 401K's, that tax margins are the same or different, that percentage increases won't make a difference because tax cuts disappear..... yadda, yadda, yadda. I'm completely stumped. I need "Obamanomics For Dummies" at this point!! The plan sounds super confusing. I just want to know... should I not get a job? because that will make our double income just over the crazy taxable income bracket? Do we need to protect our 401K, because even with Obama I'm still not betting there will ever be Social Security benefits for me someday, let alone Medicare? Nobody agrees, and nobody can give me a straight answer.

I'm realizing there is no way to prepare for this storm of events that may or may not happen. I'm reminded that sometimes we overprepare, which is why I still have tuna and baked beans in bulk in my basement without a sign of the bird flu anywhere in the world. If you need a bandaid, chances are there's one hiding in our basement, along with all the Neosporin you couldn't find at CVS when you needed it! While it may seem silly, and we joke about it now, the day may come when, as my neighbors say, "We're heading for YOUR basement!" I guess we just need to be wise and try to make the best informed decision we can. Meanwhile, if you know the answers to any of my questions, I'd love to know!!

Daily Politics

OK - I'm going to throw in my little political rambling for the day... I have been really enjoying Glenn Beck on CNN. Not only do my thoughts/ideas resonate with him (I'm conservative, not really a Republican), but I think he's hysterical and a great writer. I'm not a radioshow fan - can't listen to anything - so I just read his pieces on the web. I think I've linked to him before, but I've read this one a few times. Interesting and chuckle worthy. Enjoy... if you like that kind of stuff!

Hilarious

My mom sent me this email yesterday entitled "Why Middle Aged Women Should Stay Home" and it was hilarious. The scary thing was that I kept thinking to myself there are so many times when I think I'm really half my size and age... and could see myself doing some of these very same things with disastrous outcomes! (Well, OK, not the first one!!) Anyway, enjoy!

Vote Now!

If you feel so inclined.... we are debating two crazy ideas in this house, neither of which are political. So don't get all wound up. I'm not asking you who you're voting for in November... just where you think we should go for election day! LOL (I think we'll be voting absentee!)

We are throwing around two ideas, and I forgot to check Wednesday airfares deals. Probably because of that stinkin' virus I had on here yesterday. Totally threw me off. Anyway, the girls have Monday, Nov. 3 off as well as Tuesday, Nov. 4. By that time, it's conceivable that T will have 2 vacation days saved up after earning back the three he was down when we got home from Europe. Our two options we are throwing around, which are, interestingly enough, almost equal in cost:

1. Flying to Ft. Myers, staying at a somewhat primitive "hotel" on Sanibel Island for a few days, beaching and shelling.

2. Driving up to NYC, staying in a swanky downtown hotel (the Super 8 in Times Square - doesn't get much swankier for this family! LOL) and going to see an overpriced Broadway show and some sites downtown, including but not limited to the American Girl store (def. not T's idea, but he loves NYC). Of course, one night is about all we could afford, so we'd be staying in CT and taking the train in and out.

So, what's your vote? Because I'm having a difficult time choosing. I personally love the beach, but flying these days is a pain. NYC could be fun, but the last time we were there in November it was FAR from beach like. In fact, we were FREEZING!!! So, two very different options.

Of course, we could just stay home. So vote!

It's Viral

There are many viruses going around our house right now, including one on my computer!! In fact, I have a feeling my computer was infected by more than one virus... we've seen VirtuMonde, Trojan, BackdoorTrojan, etc..... It's quite creepy. I'm not sure my old laptop will survive. Thankfully, we have an even more ancient computer that might have bitten the dust the last time it contracted a virus other than the fact that it happily runs on an external hard drive now. You'd think if a computer guru lives in your house you'd be immune. I'm here to sadly admit that that just isn't the case. We're now quarantined!

"Everycouple"

I read this very witty, very interesting article today. It seriously had me in stitches while I was scratching my head.

"He had dropped me off in front of a restaurant, prior to finding a parking spot. As I crossed in front of the car, he pulled forward, happily smiling back over his left shoulder at some random fascinating bit (a sign with an interesting font, a new scaffolding, a diner that he may or may not have eaten at the week after he graduated from college), and plowed into me. The impact, while not wondrous enough to break bodies 12 ways, was sufficient to bounce me sidewise onto the hood, legs waving in the air like antennae, skirt flung somewhere up around my ears.

For one whole second, New York City stood stock-still and looked at my underwear.

As I pounded the windshield with my fist and shouted -- "Will, Will, stop the car!" -- he finally faced forward, blink, blink, blink, trying, yes, truly trying to take it all in. And I heard him ask with mild astonishment, very faintly because windshield glass is surprisingly thick, "What are you doing here?"" (Ellen Tien)

Very well-written, but a sad rendering of mid-life marriage. I sure hope we can do better than this! I definitely have days like some (not all) of hers, but I didn't get married in the first place so that I could wonder what life would be like unmarried. Marriage is not easy, it takes a lot of work and I hope it never becomes obsolete!

Disturbing

I am a total skeptic when it comes to Barack Obama. I'll admit it! I cannot see him being an "agent of change", so to speak. I agree, America is ready for a change, for bipartisan cooperation that will hopefully lead to a better America. I just don't think that is what Obama is setting out to do. Call it a gut feeling, but I don't trust the message.

A friend of mine posted this link on his Facebook. It's interesting, and I'll admit that I know little about the source. Here's a quote, though, that I find bothersome:

Obama's record of reaching across party lines is, as his own answer to Rick Warren's recent Saddleback Civil Forum showed, pretty thin. His paper trail is surprisingly thin, too. He has left no papers from his Illinois senate days; he hasn't listed his law firm clients or provided more than one page of medical records; the papers of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which he chaired and in which the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers was heavily involved, were suddenly closed to National Review's Stanley Kurtz by the Richard J. Daley Library at the University of Illinois.

Mainstream media, with the conspicuous exception of ABC News's George Stephanopoulos, have shown little curiosity about Obama's connection with Ayers. It will also be interesting to see if there is much coverage of Obama's 2003 vote in Illinois against protecting infants born alive in attempted abortions, now that his campaign has conceded the bill was virtually identical to one that passed the U.S. Senate 98-0 in 2001. (Michael Barone, AEI)

So, why is he not releasing any of these papers? That's the kind of thing that makes me wonder if this guy is being truthful or not. Is he trying to hide something? What is he hoping people won't find out before November 4?? The shroud of mystery he tries to create is an issue for me. I wish I could reconcile his message of "hope and change" with the person he seems to be, but I'm just not able to do that. I want more for a president than someone who can make a good speech. I want someone who demonstrates what they are speaking about in deed. Maybe it's the inexperience? I'm not sure. Something just doesn't add up for me here.

OK - enough on politics. I need to go do some laundry!! ;-)

8/26 - This just popped up on Foxnews. Funny.

Caterpillar Pace

We are moving along this year at the pace of an insect. Not quite as bad as a tortoise, but not nearly as fast as a hare! I don't really know what the girls will be doing, and the activities range from our church's girls club, to tennis, ballet, swimming.... piano lessons. On my docket - a new job as a resource teacher (6 hours divided between 3 days a week), organizing a parent volunteer program at the girls' school and subbing? I really don't know. I had considered taking a graduate class, but again, without knowing who is doing what on what day, I just can't seem to bring myself to commit to one more thing!

Why the slow start? Well, it's a long story, and I'm not getting into it, but it caused us to make few important decisions and now I'm feeling kind of suspended. I have kind of a hard time with this amount of uncertainty. It's weird! And while I'd like to take a nice, long vacation, I'm seeing how that would delay the inevitable task of making these commitments. I wonder what a year without any extracurricular activities would look like?? Probably much like my childhood - come home, watch TV, play outside, do a little homework while watching TV, talk on the phone, eat dinner, talk on the phone, go to bed. =) Not so bad. LOL

First Day of School

Someday, when my summer pics get loaded onto the computer, I'll post a pic for this post!

The girls both went off to school this morning. Kt is on azithromycin for an ear infection, Em is now at the clinic tonight for what we are guessing is the same. Poor things!!

Just as we suspected from the wildly different bus number, we had a new bus driver. That's seriously about all I know from today. Here were the highlights of their days:

1. There's a new bus driver.
2. His name is Kevin.
3. He lets them ride in the back of the bus. All 9 of them!
4. The back of the (nearly empty) bus is very, very bumpy and FUN!
5. They both liked school and their classes.

There you have it. Kevin is a rock star bus driver and for the rest of their year will provide the necessary stress relief on the ride home to alleviate any and all drama that occurs while in the confines of my daughters' educational institution. I'm thinking of reserving all teacher gifts for Kevin this year - he'll certainly earn them! ;-)

Air Quality

I'm catching the end of the closing ceremonies. I'm also going take a stab in the dark and suggest that the people in the bird's nest can't breath!

Kt has an ear infection. T's off to the only 24 hour pharmacy that has the meds she needs - she's allergic to penicillin - we think. It's quite a hike out to the pharmacy. I hope they really have it!

So, this should make for an interesting first day of school!

A Weak Moment

I don't usually advertise for Democrats... LOL... but one of our summer leaders has been given the opportunity to be a runner for a CNN cameraman (father of one of our SPACE students) and he's at the Democratic Convention in Denver. He's keeping a blog of his fun times, so if you're a fan and want some inside scoop stuff from an intern's perspective, here it is!

Closing Ceremonies

I'm sure I'll miss them, but the pictures I've seen already look amazing! I am going to admit that I have watched almost none of the Olympics since Michael Phelps won his 8th gold medal. I'm such an Olympic slacker!! It truly bothered me that it's likely the Chinese women's gymnastics team used underaged gymnasts and won't fess up. Even T's parents (who are Chinese) think they are underaged. What a total shame! I won't get into some of the cultural conclusions one might come to over this only than to say that for a country with so much national honor, I'm shocked.

Tomorrow is the girls' first day of school. They have both been miserably sick for over a week. I'm debating taking them to the doctor for fear they may have sinus infections or something!! I'm hoping they make it through the whole day tomorrow and am not looking forward to our first week being a full 5 days. It's kind of sad - end of the Olympics = end of summer. =( Of course, lots more free time for me I hope!

shift

here's an eschoolnewsletter i just received:

school bus routes for the 2008-09 school year

in previous years patuxent publishing company provided a comprehensive list of hoco public school system bus routes in each of their five publications. this year, the howard county times continues to have a complete list but the other four papers the laurel leader, the columbia flier, the view of western hoco and the view of ellicott city, only include the schools within their region. information for every address in hoco, visit the school system website *** under quick links.

posted by the hcpss public information office

i guess our school system doesn't know where the shift key is. and these are the folks i'm entrusting my kids' education to??? (changes to the county name made by me)

On Stewardship

My entire life, I'd had this dream. It's about something I've always wanted, and it has shaped some big decisions in my life. Not a lot of them, just a few key ones. As a kid, I had actual dreams very consistently and apparently vividly (because I remember them to this day!) about this particular dream. I still have dreams about it.

Recently, we were made an extremely generous offer by some good friends and it's something that would have actualized this very vivid dream. In reality, though, it's probably something we have to say no to for various reasons. One glaring reason is that we have been terrible stewards of something God gave us. If we were better stewards, I think we could pull this off, but the truth is, we haven't been.

It's really heartbreaking for me. Fortunately, I'm the only one with the dream so nobody else is really heartbroken. Maybe the girls a bit, but not for the same reasons. It is tough to swallow and there's no easy or cheap fix to this one. If we can't be good stewards of all the Lord has given us, then we won't be ready for more!

Define Rich

This is a question from the night with Rick Warren that could have been answered in any number of ways. For Obama, the magic number seems to fall somewhere in the $250,000/year salary area, a far stretch for most Americans is my guess. I was listening carefully to his answer, though, because he often talks about two numbers, the aforementioned one and another somewhere in the "below $100,000" range. The haunting question in my mind.... what about the in between? It has been this vacuous area that he fails to talk about.

McCain answered this question in an odd sort of way, not so much defining "rich" but talking about his philosophy of taxing. Basically, if you earn it, it's yours and the less of it you give to the government, the better! He then threw out a number, $5 million/year, and quipped about that comment being blown out of proportion. It was an interesting answer, to say the least.

In relation to the discussion of riches and taxes, I'm recalling a conversation with some folks we met at the beach as well as my sister-in-law, who is a social worker. I'm really starting to see that the solution to many of the social issues today is not higher taxes and more programs, but a complete social welfare reform. If we keep pouring money into the existing system, we're just creating a larger problem than joblessness (often caused by a cap on earning to receive aid), housing (which many time involves a lower income to qualify) and extreme poverty (which is cyclical based on above mentioned issues). That's way oversimplified, but the issue at hand cannot in any way, shape or form be solved by raising taxes and paying more into broken systems.

So, the vacuous salary range?? I found this article yesterday that might answer my question, if only I understood it! YIKES!!! Some scary stuff, if I'm reading it correctly. I'm not the best person to be talking economics, which is so not my forte. But reading this article really made me nervous for many reasons. I call for "no taxation without reformation"!

New Teachers

The girls got their teacher assignments today. I have no idea who Kt's teacher is, but she seems OK about it. Em is not happy at all. Personally, out of the four teachers in second grade I had one I really loved and we didn't get her. I'm pretty bummed. I guess I'll have to start researching all those homeschooling options. Ick.

Blue

Describes many things right now - the shirt I'm wearing, the color of the sky this morning, the color of the pool the girls are going to beg me to take them to today and the mood I'm in. I am really missing my dad right now. 5 1/2 years doesn't erase a need to hear some sound advice, to be able to call on someone you trust, to have someone who will take care of the list of things you need done now and provide one more wise male role model for your children. In many ways I'm OK with my dad being in heaven, but in so many ways it's just not OK.

13 years ago, after a year in our townhouse, my mom and dad came down and helped me strip the most hideous wallpaper off the walls in my kitchen, then my father meticulously cut and put up a chair rail for me and helped me paint the room. After we moved into this house, he was too sick to do anything really handy other than hang everything on the walls for me. Instead, he came down and entertained my 4 and 1 year olds while I painted and decorated. Then he walked around and admired my work as if we now lived in a palace fit for a king!

I'm pretty sure there isn't anyone who could take the place of my dad. Nobody has even offered! =) I think losing him was the biggest roadblock to any momentum in my life. There are so many things I want to do, so many big decisions I've bypassed, just because I have nobody really urging me to do anything. I can remember one summer during college, after arriving home from working my two jobs, that my dad was sitting in his chair with the newspaper open to the "Help Wanted" section of the paper. Not before long, I had three jobs that summer!

My dad wasn't a go-getter, he wasn't very authoritative (although he was a disciplinarian), and he was never dripping with encouragement. In other words, he reserved his praise for things that were praiseworthy in his eyes, and for me, losing that left a huge hole in my self-esteem, I guess. There are many things I don't do today because I know they won't matter to a soul. They would have mattered to him, but now they would only remind me that he's not here.

The most difficult thing about this problem is that I don't know how to fix it. I'm pretty sure I've spent about 5.5 years trying to find a band-aid, but there isn't one. I love Jesus, but He doesn't paint walls, hang post lights or change out bathroom faucets. He might be calling me to do something big, but I might have been silently grieving to the point I just didn't hear Him. And I've done a really good job keeping busy enough that I don't often feel this kind of pain anymore. Just when I really need my dad!

What's that smell?

I say this often, especially around my house. But just now, I swear someone must have used my vacuum to clean up something rancid. Pretty much the moment I flicked the on switch I could smell it. Gross! That means the entire inside of my vacuum must be, well, fumigated. Hmmm... Lysol? Any ideas out there? (We're talking the thing smells like poop - EWWW!)

Last Week

We are now 7 days from the beginning of the school year. Friday is the oh so chaotic Open House. I just reread my report of that day from last year and it has created a bit of dread in my heart! It's about 87 degrees outside and sunny, and while we should be enjoying our last week at the pool, I just spent part of the afternoon cleaning up the swing set in our backyard and doing laundry. Life doesn't stand still for the pool - and right now, it's just too much of a hassle to pack up everything and go only to have to clean it all up again AND lose a productive afternoon.

Things I hope to see happen this school year... I would love for Em to learn how to ride a bike, write neatly and to be excited about school. I would love for Kt to be more independent with(from) friends, to be confident about going to middle school and to not feel so overwhelmed with extracurricular activities. I would really like to establish something on a regular basis for Bible teaching - it's a huge failing of mine that I'm feeling like I need to address.

Things I'm looking forward to: we have a huge Christmas break this year, and while I'd love to go away somewhere warm, I've decided to stop hoping for that. For one, prices during those two weeks are outrageous, and two, I'm pretty much the only one in my family who wants to go away. I guess it'll be Christmas at home, for an extended period of time! I'm also looking forward to starting a very part time teaching job at the school I formerly taught at. I just attended a breakfast today with them and saw many familiar faces. I think finally having a job of my own will be good for me. Granted, it'll be equivalent to one day a week, at least it's something that I'm trained to do!

Things I'm not looking forward to: second grade. It was our least favorite year for Kt, so I'm really leary. Winter... I'm already missing summer! My mom working again. I was secretly hoping she'd retire so I'd have at least one year of fun with her before I make any big decision about the rest of my life. I thought that would be fun, but she's back to school again, and if things go the way they are talking I might have more responsibilities next year at this job. Maybe we'll both be teachers again together! We'll see.

Well, I'm off to vacuum and straighten up AGAIN. It's an endless job, and for as much as I've been plugging away at trying to make a dent, as soon as I turn around everything is a mess again. It's hopeless! But this is it... the last week of having two hurricanes living 24/7 in my house! =)

The Downside to Family Short-term Missions

We have been blessed as a family to serve together for the past two summers. We also enjoy opportunities to serve all year long together, and we know we're creating a lifestyle and experience for our daughters that not many children even imagine. Someday I'll try to list all the benefits of doing this sort of ministry as a family, but right now I'm realizing the one (and really, I can't think of many others!) downside to doing what we do. We don't really get a break.

Really, this has been a challenge of T's since we embarked on this crazy thing we call SPACE. T spends hours of time investing in students, planning events throughout the year, networking with missionaries/organizations about training, trips and purpose and all this while he's working a full time computer job and raising a family. It's a big deal, and there are a few things we've tried to institute to help with the stress level for him.

Some of those things include allowing him a budget and time for reading. He could literally open his own library at this point. He enjoys reading, takes notes, shares all he learns with me and anyone else who will listen and we can honestly say that much of what he's read has shaped his philosophies of missions, leadership development and church models. We've also tried to build in some down time each week for us. We're not always so great at doing this, but I need it, the girls love babysitters and if we didn't do this, T would be setting up meetings nightly with students. Gotta make him take a break!!

While we haven't intentionally chosen to do this, another way we've allowed for T to do what he does is for me to work very part time jobs as opposed to going back full-time to work. I've been really hesitant to go back to work for several reasons, but it has really given him the flexibility to do many things he enjoys doing. He loves to attend different conferences, loves to travel with at least one or two teams over the summer, he puts in just enough hours at work to free up more time with students. All those things are made easier by me being home most of the time for our girls. I can also say him changing jobs 18 months ago freed up a huge amount of his time - another choice we made so that our lives could include SPACE.

All this being said, our past two summers have left me feeling a bit of grief over not having a family vacation. Some of the reason for this is the fact that T has no vacation time left. Last year he had just started his job, so we had decided that we would just forgo our family time. This year I don't really know what happened, but there's negative vacation time left. It's a bit depressing.

To put our trip into perspective from a family point of view, the reality is that although we travel together on these trips, I would hardly call it a family vacation. I saw very little of T on our trip and even less of Kt. Out of 23 meals we were served in Hungary, I ate 3 of them with Kt and I believe just two of those were with our entire family. Most of the time, I had no idea where my kids were or what they were doing! And while that may sound glorious to many moms, while they were all off having fun, I was fulfilling my end of serving by watching the babies, which was fun and exhausting. The time spent with my family was spent with little energy.

For our little stint in Paris I actually asked T for some family time, and it was fun. It consisted of us running through Paris, taking as many pictures as we could, T on the phone every 10-15 minutes with various other team members, checking on a van for our luggage, trying to figure out what we could do for our sick team members and us rushing to meet up with the team from Cameroon that never showed up! Having a world phone is nice, but it definitely ate up our family time!!

So, in processing all this I was remembering past summers minus the family missions trip. Most of them involved me and the girls doing something on our own for about 10 days, sometimes having no contact with T, sometimes getting to talk to him once or twice, almost always having some kind of major disaster while he was away and being relieved and excited when he came home. The one thing each of those summers had in common, though, was T's great desire to spend a week or two with just his family, no students, no SPACE. And I have to admit, we needed that. These past two summers I haven't felt we've had that same break for various reasons. It almost feels like we've just hit the ground running when our plane landed.

I think next summer will look really different for us. I'm not sure how, but I'm really hoping for something that affords us all a break from ministry. I think we might have forgotten how to be a family in the past two years, and maybe that's a good thing? but I doubt it. We have not built in anything for just our family this year. Even the few things we're talking about for the end of this year all revolve around something ministry related. I'm so glad we took the girls to Europe because they have had an amazing experience, they've seen things many kids their age only dream of and they had an opportunity to serve other families like us. I think it's time for a furlough, though!

Florida Keys

I'm kind of sad about Hurricane Fay hitting the keys. I'm glad we went last April to Key West and I seriously can't imagine such a tiny island surviving a hurricane!! I'll be watching this closely. =(

McCain, Obama and the Great Equalizer....

Well, OK, not really. I feel like I'm being bombarded by Rick Warren. Friday, while waiting an unbelievable amount of time for my doctor's appointment, I read an article in Time about RW - very interesting, intriguing... I then came home to an email invitation to hear RW speak in NYC. Then later I heard about this interview! YIKES!

I thought it said something in that article about him wanting to focus on more unifying topics, not "sin" oriented ones. I'm pretty sure that's not so much what happened tonight, but I can still appreciate the questions.

I missed the first 15 minutes of Obama - bummer - and I wasn't really surprised by anything after that he said. Several months ago I watched the same type of forum at Wheaton College, and his answers are basically the same. The question running through my mind, however, was, "Is this what he really believes? thinks? or is he trying to figure out how to answer this question for this audience?" I guess in some way, I wasn't really feeling much authenticity. Just a little more wishy-washy than I prefer. Some of his answers seemed a bit contradictory (states should be left to define what marriage is but government can define who is "rich") and others he hit right on the nose (can't think of an example!).

McCain sort of surprised me, and while many of his answers resonate with me, I wish he had let RW finish asking the questions! There were definitely a few in there that he didn't answer, and I would love to know what he thinks about teacher salaries based on merit. I have to admit, I felt a little more secure following someone who thinks like my dad, older, wiser, more experienced. I think McCain is fascinating, he's comfortable in his skin, he's willing to make tough decisions even when they don't benefit him. He seems to have a story to tell for everything to illustrate a point, and when all is said and done, you know more about him, the way he thinks, the way his heart leads...

As for the Christian aspect, Obama felt a need to express the way he sees his Christianity and what it means to him but not to express his views on other religions, their legitimacy or force in the world. This could be a purposeful elimination so as not to allow any of his remarks to be used against him - understandable. McCain didn't feel that same need to keep reiterating what he believes. Maybe it was clear to the audience? Who knows, but I did pick up on that difference, still processing it.

Up to this point, I have not really been interested in voting, although I feel like it's an exercise of freedom, so I'm sure I'll vote. More events like this will help, but I sort of expected more from RW. I'm not sure what, but I guess more futuristic, more about a vision these men have and not so much what they believe. We kind of already know what they believe. I'm glad they both agreed to do this and I hope they are each happy with the ideas they were able to express.

My one question. Most of the media reported that the audience was mostly evangelical Christian, but I'm wondering if that is really so. Did you need tickets for this event? Was there some kind of selection to be chosen to be in the audience? Were most of the audience, in fact, from Saddleback?? I'll have to check into that. It almost appeared to me to be pretty split.

Finally, if I were choosing a president who I thought would really work bipartisanly, across the aisle, for the good of all Americans, I'd have to choose McCain. I don't believe for one second that Obama is interested in doing anything "republican" at all. The whole "everything in the past 8 years is wrong" just doesn't sit with me - I just don't see that at all. For real, that guy scares me. Personally, I'd rather not live in a country that is run by Obama, his wife, his grandmother and a Kennedy. It's a bit too dictatorial for me! I mean, isn't that what the Clintons did? (I'm just way too conservative, and I should stop right now!) What I really want for president is someone who is truly different. I'm thinking not republican or democrat at this point. I just wish that person would show their face sometime before Nov. 4! And no, I wouldn't vote for Rick Warren! LOL