Exhaustion?

Two weeks ago, today, I went to the Fall Ball at Just Scrap It. The fall ball is an amazing time set aside to scrapbook and be creative for roughly 30 hours. I had a great time, and I got a lot accomplished. Feeling creative for that long was awesome. I came home, did a few creative things, and then I hit a wall like a Mack truck. I find it hard to get enough sleep. I find it hard to think of something to fix for lunches and suppers. I find it hard to operate beyond auto pilot. I'm almost depressed. Could being crafty and creative have taken so much out of me? Did I over do it? Could scrapbooking really have taken me to the brink of exhaustion? I'm not sure, but it is something to ponder.

The evolution of dance

This guy is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg

A Run in with Deer and Nat's 1st Day of School

Little miss Natalie started Kindergarten today. She only went for the afternoon, and on Thursday, she has her first full day. She loved it. When she walked in the door after school, she was all smiles and asked for a snack. It made me laugh!




We were on our way home from Ryan's parents home on September 8th, and a deer ran out in front of our van. God protected us. There is no doubt in my mind about that. Ryan was able to slam on the brakes, and we almost missed hitting the deer. The deer had a fairly large rack on it's head. If we hadn't been able to stop like we did, the damage could have been so much worse. I believe that angels stopped our van for us. There is no way that we could have stopped that quick without some divine help. Very little damage was done to the van, although we still have to replace the hood, the bumper, and the complete light fixture.

Free Hugs

I thought that this was very neat.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

She's Here!

Our family has expanded! My sister, Julie, gave birth on September 5, 2007. Beautiful Emma Faith arrived safe and sound at 9:00 am weighing 6 lbs, 7 ozs, and is 20 inches. Congratulations John, Julie, Maddie and Davis!

The Girls Birthday and Em's First Day of 3rd Grade

The day after we got home from Mexico, our girls had their birthdays. We had a party with about 25 people for supper. Auntie Katrina helped each of the girls make their own birthday cake while we were gone. Thanks Auntie! Each girl picked the colors, and got to help decorate the cakes. Emily was able to quite a bit on her own. They turned out great.

Natalie chose for her cake to be a princess.

Emily chose a butterfly for her cake.

The Birthday Girls...Emily 8, Natalie 5.

Em's first day of school. I can't believe that she's in the 3rd grade already.

Adventures of Juarez, Mexico, Missions Trip

Our adventure began on August 7th at 9:30 p.m., when we loaded up the bus in Warman, SK, and started our journey to Juarez, Mexico. The 14 of us started out on a journey that, in the end, knit all of us together. As I've had time to "decompress" from the trip, I never expected that I would long to go back to Juarez. I didn't anticipate that this trip would impact me this much. I will try to give you a glimpse of our trip through a few stories and a few pictures.

On our way down, we had trouble with our bus. We made it to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and had to stay there for the night. We had planned to travel to Colorado Springs our first day. We were leaking oil, and upon further inspection, our exhaust pipe was split in half, a fan belt that ran the back air conditioner was shredded, and the oil compressor needed a gasket fixed. We were able to get the first two problems fixed, and then continued on to El Paso, adding oil as we went. It finally was fixed while we were in Mexico. Our guys took the compressor off, Leonardo took it to El Paso to be reconditioned, and they reinstalled it. We had no trouble on the way home.

When we left Cheyenne, we picked up a family of 5 (and a baby on the way) that was hitch hiking to Denver. This was way out of my comfort zone. Mom told me too many scary stories about hitchhikers (thanks Mom!). They had just gotten settled when we stopped and picked up another guy. I kept thinking that they were crazy to pick them up. But it turned out to be the first opportunity that we had to witness to a group of people.

One of the hardest things to get used to while in Mexico was "Mexican time." If we wanted to leave to go somewhere at 10 a.m., we would be lucky to leave by 11. That was fairly frustrating.
We had a great time in Juarez. It was hard leaving the kids for that long. I knew that they were in good hands, but it was still hard. Next time we go, we are going to have to find a way to either take them along, or something.

One of the bonuses of this trip was getting to spend the night at my Uncle Mike and Aunt Linda's house in Garden City, Kansas. My Grandpa and Elvira (his girlfriend), my Uncle Dennis and Aunt Elaine, and my cousin Jason, all came to see Ryan and I. It was a very special time...short, but so special.

Here are some pictures of our adventures.

One of our stops on our way to Juarez was at the Focus on the Family facilites in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is a neat place to visit. They have a great book store. This cross is made up of the different names of God all welded together. It was so beautiful.

We stayed at the El Camino motel in Las Vegas...New Mexico.

A view of the pool at our hotel in El Paso.

Getting into Mexico was quite an ordeal. We had gotten in the wrong lane going through customs at the Mexico border. We had to turn around, go back to the US, through US customs, and cross the border at another crossing. This picture was taken after we had butted in line headed into the US. See the chartered bus on the far right of the picture? That is where we needed to get to...across 5 lanes of traffic. We then had to take our luggage off the bus, walk through US customs, and reload the bus. The whole ordeal took about 2 hours, when we finally crossed into Mexico.

Our room and our roomie, Jodie! There are 5 rooms that each have a sink and double bunk beds in them. A hard adjustment for me for the first 24 to 36 hours or so. After that, it was home.

We had the chance to go to an orphanage called La Vid, which means The Vine. It is a heartbreaking place to visit, and at the same time it is an amazing place. These children can stay at La Vid until they marry. Other orphanages kick them out when the kids reach the age of 15 or 16. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me. The little girl in the white shirt is Naomi. I was hardly through the gates of the place, and she launched herself into my arms. It was all I could do to leave her there.

Rachel with Lolita, aka Lola.

Dallas with some of the kids.

Armando and Laura, who run La Vid. I asked her if the children called them Mom and Dad or Grandma and Grandpa. She said no but that the children call her "Beautiful."

Adventures of Juarez, Mexico, Missions Trip cont.

Praying over the land the house was to be built on, and praying for a safe build.

The building crew on their lunch break.

The house we built, almost completed. It is 20' x 25' with three rooms. Very basic. No running water, no carpet, no paint on the walls. The family will make it their own and paint the house as they see fit. This is the second house that Christlike Ministries has built on their own...that is without the help of another organization. They built the house in less than 3 days.

This is the family that we built the house for. The house provides a physical need. Bill is handing the mom a Bible that they encourage the family to read daily. The Bible provides a spiritual need.

Frank handing the keys of the house to its new owner.

A church at kilometer 33 that is run by Pastor Luis and his family.

Adventures of Juarez, Mexico, Missions Trip cont..

Our precious friend Fernando. He brought so much joy to our trip.

These are the kids from the Commidore. Most of them don't know who their dad's are because they are the product of prostitution. The kids are picked up via bus on Saturday mornings and are taught about Jesus and given a meal. We had the chance to hang out with the kids and give each one of them a soccer jersey.

Missionaries Leonardo, Rita and their children Rebecca and Daniel. They are amazing people who rely on God to provide for their needs, as they are in Juarez without the support of a missions organization.

It is very common to have as many people in a vehicle as possible. In fact, we had 13 people (12 adults and 1 child) in a 7 passenger, Ford Windstar van.

Bill, Frank, and Robert helped Pastor Rudy baptize 6 people the last Sunday we were in Juarez.

A picture of the scorpion that bit Ryan as he was brushing his teeth at our hotel room in Seminole, Texas. We were sure glad that it wasn't poisonous.

We spent a day doing some touring around the Black Hills of South Dakota on our way home. We stopped in Deadwood, for about 30 minutes. Our bus could find no place to park, and kept driving up and down the streets of Deadwood. A man who was performing for a crowd on the street, stopped singing in the middle of his song and proclaimed, "There goes the Jesus bus!"

What a difference a haircut makes

We had Boo's hair cut last week. There have been a few who haven't recognized him at all. One even wondered if the kid in the backyard was a new kid that I added to my babysitting roster. Many say that he has grown up so much in the past couple of weeks. No...it is just my darling son. You are just forced to see him more, sort of like he was hidden by his hair. One really notices his big, blue eyes. He is such a funny kid. He loves to laugh and crack jokes, he loves to play with cars and trucks and dirt, and he love being Daddy's #1 helper.

Tommy's Story

This was sent to us by friends at our church. I hope you will be blessed by Tommy's Story.

Father John Powell, professor at Loyola University in Chicago, writes about a student in his Theology of Faith class named Tommy
Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith.
That was the day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his shoulders.
It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long. I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that it isn't what's on your head but what's in it that counts; but on that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped. I immediately filed Tommy under "S" for strange...very strange.
Tommy turned out to be the "atheist in residence" in my Theology of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility of an unconditionally loving Father/God. We lived with each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was for me at times a serious pain in the back pew.
When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he asked in a cynical tone, "Do you think I'll ever find God?"
I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. "No!" I said very emphatically.
"Why not," he responded, "I thought that was the product you were pushing."
I let him get five steps from the classroom door and then called out, "Tommy! I don't think you'll ever find Him, but I am absolutely certain that He will find you!" He shrugged a little and left my class and my life.
I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever line -- He will find you! At least I thought it was clever. Later I heard that Tommy had graduated, and I was duly grateful.
Then a sad report came. I heard that Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted and the long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy. But his eyes were bright and his voice was firm, for the first time, I believe. "Tommy, I've thought about you so often; I hear you are sick," I blurted out.
"Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It's a matter of weeks."
"Can you talk about it, Tom?" I asked.
"Sure, what would you like to know?" he replied.
"What's it like to be only twenty-four and dying?"
"Well, it could be worse."
"Like what?"
"Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals, like being fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real biggies in life."
I began to look through my mental file cabinet under "S" where I had filed Tommy as strange. (It seems as though everybody I try to reject by classification, God sends back into my life to educate me.)
"But what I really came to see you about," Tom said, "is something you said to me on the last day of class." (He remembered!) He continued, "I asked you if you thought I would ever find God and you said, 'No!' which surprised me. Then you said, 'But He will find you.' I thought about that a lot, even though my search for God was hardly intense at that time.
(My clever line. He thought about that a lot!)
"But when the doctors removed a lump from my groin and told me that it was malignant, that's when I got serious about locating God. And when the malignancy spread into my vital organs, I really began banging bloody fists against the bronze doors of heaven. But God did not come out. In fact, nothing happened. Did you ever try anything for a long time with great effort and with no success? You get psychologically glutted, fed up with trying. And then you quit "Well, one day I woke up, and instead of throwing a few more futile appeals over that high brick wall to a God who may be or may not be there, I just quit.
I decided that I didn't really care about God, about an after life, or anything like that. I decided to spend what time I had left doing something more profitable. I thought about you and your class and I remembered something else you had said: 'The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to go through life and leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you had loved them.'"
"So, I began with the hardest one, my Dad. He was reading the newspaper when I approached him.
"Dad."
"Yes, what?" he asked without lowering the newspaper.
"Dad, I would like to talk with you."
"Well, talk."
"I mean. It's really important."
The newspaper came down three slow inches. "What is it?"
"Dad, I love you, I just wanted you to know that." Tom smiled at me and said it with obvious satisfaction, as though he felt a warm and secret joy flowing inside of him. "The newspaper fluttered to the floor. Then my father did two things I could never remember him ever doing before. He cried and he hugged me. We talked all night, even though he had to go to work the next morning. It felt so good to be close to my father, to see his tears, to feel his hug, to hear him say that he loved me."
"It was easier with my mother and little brother. They cried with me, too, and we hugged each other, and started saying real nice things to each other. We shared the things we had been keeping secret for so many years.
"I was only sorry about one thing --- that I had waited so long. Here I was, just beginning to open up to all the people I had actually been close to.
"Then, one day I turned around and God was there. He didn't come to me when I pleaded with Him. I guess I was like an animal trainer holding out a hoop, 'C'mon, jump through. C'mon, I'll give you three days, three weeks.'"
"Apparently God does things in His own way and at His own hour. But the important thing is that He was there. He found me!
You were right. He found me even after I stopped looking for Him"
"Tommy," I practically gasped, "I think you are saying something very important and much more universal than you realize.
To me, at least, you are saying that the surest way to find God is not to make Him a private possession, a problem solver, or an instant consolation in time of need, but rather by opening to love. You know, the Apostle John said that. He said: 'God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.'
Tom, could I ask you a favor? You know, when I had you in class you were a real pain. But (laughingly) you can make it all up to me now. Would you come into my present Theology of Faith course and tell them what you have just told me? If I told them the same thing it wouldn't be half as effective as if you were to tell it"
"Oooh. I was ready for you, but I don't know if I'm ready for your class."
"Tom, think about it. If and when you are ready, give me a call."
In a few days Tom called, said he was ready for the class, that he wanted to do that for God and for me. So we scheduled a date.
However, he never made it. He had another appointment, far more important than the one with me and my class. Of course, his life was not really ended by his death, only changed. He made the great step from faith into vision.
He found a life far more beautiful than the eye of man has ever seen or the ear of man has ever heard or the mind of man has ever imagined.
Before he died, we talked one last time.
"I'm not going to make it to your class," he said.
"I know, Tom."
"Will you tell them for me? Will you ... tell the whole world for me?"
"I will, Tom. I'll tell them. I'll do my best."
So, to all of you who have been kind enough to read this simple story about God's love, thank you for listening. And to you, Tommy, somewhere in the sunlit, verdant hills of heaven --- I told them, Tommy, as best I could.
If this story means anything to you, please pass it on to a friend or two.
It is a true story and is not enhanced for publicity purposes....

Misty, Rainy...what happened to the sun

Every now and then, I enjoy a misty/rainy day. They are the kind of days that are great to cuddle under a blanket, reading a fabulous book. The sort of stay in your pj's the whole day, watch a great movie, eat a bowl of soup kind of day. But when you get like 5 of them back to back...it gets sort of depressing. Not to mention what it does to my hair. It looks like I found the nearest outlet and plugged myself in. One or two days - blissful. More than that - suicidal! Just kidding...mostly.
De

Are You Serious?

As I sat down to write something deep and profound on my blog, I hear the kids start fighting with each other. I go to find out what is the matter, and one is upset at how the other one is breathing...literally. One is upset because she has her mouth open and is breathing too loud. Can you believe it?

Mother's Day

My Mom sent this to me, and I thought it was too precious not to post! Have a great day.

Subject: Mother's Day

So, we had this 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died. Jack was

a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing

ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in

our bathroom.

Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3

years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves

chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it.

So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick

and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right

back in the drawer when he was done.

Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try

to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys

are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little

one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and

everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and

the amazing job that is motherhood.

We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am

looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner

to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick

very carefully to Jack's . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and

said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their

little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to

mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was

the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth.

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that

no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures,

there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your

chapstick on the cat's butt.

I've Been Tagged?

I am new to the whole tagging thing...I find it kind of crazy. Keli tagged me, and now I guess I'm it. Too funny! Anyway, here goes. 7 random things about me.

1. I've learned that I like to know a lot of people and have lots of people around me, but I only keep a few around who I really share my heart with. It is safer that way.
2. I wish that I could get into the whole dollar-rama thing. I just don't like the store that much...it smells musty, and the stuff is dusty. Not my idea of a good time.
3. The last bible study that I've participated in was a Beth Moore study called "Breaking Free." I learned so much about God, my relationship with him, and about myself. I am going to take the summer to review my workbook, so that I can internalize the things that were so profound to me.

4. I love to hear the joy in my kids laughter as they play with dirt and water in the backyard. So pure. So happy. So much a piece of heaven.
5. Ryan is an dad/husband. When he comes home from work, he plugs right in to what is happeining here. He is so hands on with the kids, and I know that I am truly spoiled to have his as my very own.
6. I've got a scrapbooking bug again. I've got this feeling that I have to get to JSI, because I know that they got more stock in after the spring fling!
7. I hate folding socks. It sucks. Ryan has so many pairs of black socks. If they were plain it would be simple, but I have to make sure that the lines and ribbing match. It is a pain in the ... well you get the idea!

Dove Evolution

The following clip is quite amazing. I borrowed it from my sister's blog (Thanks Julie!) Keli, I think that this is the ad you have been telling me about. It is sure amazing what they can do with all of the technology that is readily available these days. The last line of the video clip talks about how much of the beauty ad campains are distorted from what is actual truth.
Of all of the things that I have been learning, one of the things that keeps coming to my mind is just how much we are deceived. It is the biggest weapon that Satan uses. The more we buy into his lies, the more we are held in captivity. We need to break through all of the deception with the truth. The truth is the Word. John 8:32, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Blessings!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

The Flood/River of '07

The pictures above are of the flooding of the small creek that runs through town. It is getting deep. I saw a half ton drive through a very little bit of the flood, and the water was about 2/3 of the way up his tire.

This is the backyard of a family that lives a block south and 1/2 block east of us. They are sandbagging to try and stop the water from getting into the house.

Our Drama Queen

Emily finally lost her front tooth. She screemed for two weeks, literally, before we pinned her down and yanked the darn thing out. When it was done, she said, "It wasn't that bad." No kidding. Shocking. So what was all the heart burn and gas about?

Em and I had a Mom & Daughter morning. We both went to get our hair cut. Then a quick trip to Costco for a few things and lunch. We were home just in time for her to go to school for the afternoon. Tonight, after Natalie had a bath, I decided to cut some of her hair off. She wants it to be much shorter like Keli's. I'll have to take her to someone if we get it cut that short.

My Precious Ones

At church this next week, we are having Vacation Bible School. The week is about God's faithfulness to us. It should be a good week. I am part of the decorating crew, and I painted the backdrop for the front of the church. I am happy with the way that it turned out. As you can see, it has a tropical theme.

The kids got into the spirit of things and decided to have a beach party this morning as Ryan and I were making palm trees. It is the beginning of April and we still have quite a lot of snow on the ground. It will be a long time before swim suits can be worn outside.

On Wednesday, it was wacky hair day at school. Emily loves school, and her latest report card was excellent. She has two top teeth that are loose, but she is a chicken and won't wiggle them out. She is afraid it will hurt too much. One of her teeth is so loose that you notice that it is out of place. What is funny is that she won't wiggle her tooth with her finger, but she will wiggle it with her lip. So crazy.

Natalie is experiencing something new. As of this afternoon, she has her own bedroom! She is starting to demand some independence from her big sister. She's quite excited about having privacy. I am not too sure about Em and Zach sharing a room. I just wonder if some of the fighting will cease, or if that is wishful thinking.

Zach was in his room and asked Ryan to "Come and see me Daddy!"
He had put a dolly's shirt on his head. What a ham.

Zach was positive that he did not need a nap one afternoon. He fell asleep in the middle of the living room floor just before supper. He is so stubborn, but he is starting to be quite the funny guy.