Whatever Comes To Mind...

Realistic Optimism: Lessons from a Seven-Year-Old

2011-07-06T01:03:00.006-04:00

Earlier today, I was explaining to the kids that I want to try out an Ergo baby carrier with Claire in it (one of our local stores has them in stock and allows you to test them with your kiddos). Ladan replied, "Cool. I guess if it works, you can use it for Claire when we walk too far for her to keep up. And then, if our baby doesn't die, you can use it for the baby too." Just that matter of fact. Yes. Precisely. And WOW!

I love that he doesn't take things for granted and at the same time isn't fatalistic and woeful. We have walked through some tough situations with friends who have miscarried, friends who have had stillborn babies, friends who have had children die shortly after birth, and friends who have had children die at very young ages. As it turns out, several of our friends are dealing with trials like these right now. We explain to Ladan what's happening and how we can pray for these families throughout. Ladan has learned not to just assume that everything is always going to be fine. He tears up when he learns about the death of a baby. And he prays for the families he knows are struggling as they grieve the loss of their little ones.

At the same time, he can maintain a balance that also does not assume that something WILL go wrong. As he is fully aware that things can and do go wrong sometimes, he is also consistently looking at the bright side of things and remembering all that there is to be thankful for. He can do this in a way that doesn't make light of horrifying situations and at the same time doesn't minimize the great things that are happening. It's a pretty great characteristic for a barely-7-year-old, I think.

It's the kind of approach where you truly look forward to what's ahead and can be genuinely and overwhelmingly thankful if and when things go really well... because you know that it didn't have to be that way. You know that things could have gone really wrong. But they didn't. And that is not to be taken for granted. But what if things go wrong? Well, you knew that was a possibility. And as much as it still stinks to high heaven when you're in the middle of it, and you could be gasping for air to breathe because it's so hard, you know that there must be SOMETHING to be thankful for. You just have to find it. It might take time, but you'll find it if your eyes and heart are open.

It's realistic optimism, and I love it! It's just a hunch, but I think the Lord also delights in seeing this kind of thinking in the mind of a 7-year-old He created.

My Brother

2011-03-23T13:16:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was my brother's birthday. My sister-in-law, Amber, thought it would be a really great idea to get 31 people to write him letters of encouragement on his 31st birthday. Fun! Most people who know me at all also know that I'm pretty close to my brother and that I think he's one of the coolest people I know. I thought I'd go ahead and share the letter I wrote him so you can see why I think he's so great...

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Well, HAPPY 31ST BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

In honor of your special day, I decided it would be fun to list 31 really great memories I’ve shared with you. There is a rough chronological order, but since I’m nearing my elderly years as your much older sister, my dating is a bit foggy. I’m sure you can forgive me. Here goes…

Watching you play baseball and soccer… and many other sports.
Seeing you in the stands (or beside them running around) while I played softball and soccer… and many other sports.
The first time we got to go to the concession stand by ourselves to purchase a pretzel or the ever-so-coveted chili pie (or whatever that mix of Fritos, chili and cheese was that we hardly ever got to eat) at the field.
Enjoying the Cosby Show every Thursday at 7pm… followed by Family Ties, Fresh Prince, and whatever other show filled in the fourth slot. No television lineup will ever be as good.
Playing NERF basketball in that teeny tiny bedroom of yours.
Breaking into the house after school through the bathroom window when we would forget our house keys.
Riding our bikes or walking to Taco Bell to break up the boring summer days at home.
Playing wiffle ball in the back yard with Greg, John and Dad.
Going to that water park in Waterloo, IL where they had the super-fun waterslides.
Swinging upside down on the monkey bars at Salem. First the little ones, then the big ones, then the really big ones where we all played that strange dodgeball game knocking people off the bars.
Grand Haven. Getting our clothes totally soaked the first day we arrived and couldn’t resist running out into the waves. Russ’s. The pool at Days Inn. Walking the pier. Running down the sand dunes. Taking our rafts way out into the lake and then seeing how far the waves would take us before we reached the shore again… and realizing that sometimes it would take us much farther than we had anticipated. The day you dug a hole in the sand as tall as yourself while I made a mermaid beside it. Watching the sunset.
The long car rides to Michigan and back. Stopping at the same truck stop restaurants in the middle of the night every time: Brazil and Tecumseh. Ordering a cheeseburger and fries every time no matter what the hour of night was and knowing you thought I was a little crazy for it.
Running into you and chatting for a minute between classes in high school.
The day we went to the riverfront right before you left for boot camp. Sending letters back and forth during boot camp. And better yet, the day you came home from boot camp!!!!
Hearing about the Lord’s work in your heart and seeing you IMMEDIATELY begin to run hard after Him.
Writing the first check to help you fund an overseas mission trip. Then seeing missions become your life. It has been more than amazing to see all the Lord has done throughout the world as He has used you as an instrument!
New Orleans!
My wedding weekend. We laughed hysterically at all manner of silliness during the rehearsal. There aren’t many people who have such a fantastic laugh as you. Then on the wedding day, you carried the train of my dress all around the Botanical Garden so it wouldn’t get dirty. Even when other people offered to carry it, you took over and made sure to do it yourself. You take care of me just as well today, even if it’s from far away.
The first time you told me about this girl you met in Houston and then proceeded to hand the phone over to her so we could talk directly. She was great from the start!
Spring break in Houston and Galveston. I remember standing off to the side with Amber and Chet praying as you shared the Gospel and a few dollars with that homeless man we encountered.
Going shopping for Amber’s engagement ring with you.
Praying for you the December day you proposed… and then getting really excited when you told me how it all went down!
Your wedding weekend. Do you remember when all you guys were hanging out the night before the wedding, and Chet decided to drive the Corolla over a speed bump? Then there was that Sesame Street character that flatulated quite loudly at the push of a remote button. Oh my word. On your wedding day, I got to help you get wrinkles out of your shirt, watch them reappear just minutes later, and then try to get them to go away again. Then we had the joy of watching you forget all about the wrinkles when it was time to demonstrate to everyone watching that marriage is a picture of the Gospel.
Laughing with you on the phone when you repeatedly suggested that we attempt to simultaneously conceive. And finding out within a couple months that we got pretty close!
Thanksgiving in the mountains of New Mexico. Remember that porcupine on the post high in the air? Weird. Remember how the wind was so strong that it blew all the smoke from the super-cool fireplace back into the house, and we all had to sleep with wet washcloths over our faces so we had some humidity to breathe? HILARIOUS!
Getting to walk through some of the hardest times of our lives TOGETHER. Mom and Dad’s divorce. Dad’s death. Relationship struggles. Marriage struggles. Parenting struggles. Personal sin struggles. And then getting to celebrate together as we’ve witnessed God’s grace to help us and sanctify us in and through each of those situations.
Seeing you hold Ladan just a couple days after he was born and watching you smash his cheeks to your own. Seeing Gabe’s cheeks squish between your fingers. Seeing Claire’s cheeks jiggle like Jello when you shake her high in the air. Knowing that you love them like they’re your own… and not just because they have great cheeks!
Talking to you as you nervously drove Amber to the hospital to give birth to Titus. And then talking to you in what seemed to be only about four-and-a-half minutes later when he was born! Receiving texts in the middle of the night when Justus was on his way and seeing photos of his sweet face just minutes after he was born. Then getting the opportunity to love on your boys like they’re my own.
Titus’s and Ladan’s first birthday party when we ended up washing the icing off them in the waterfall at Forest Park. Hiking with the kids in and along the creeks in Benbrook. Taking them all to the beach in Grand Haven and hiking up the “cliff” at Gram and Ken’s. Watching the boys do science experiments together and then watch football with you to insure that they both get to share what they’re most interested in with one another. Enjoying the similarities and differences of all our kids and appreciating how God has created each of them to be unique and still equally loved.
Getting iced/snowed in at your house during moving week, resulting in opportunities to help you load your vehicles in snowy 1-degree weather, watch those hilarious comedy videos on YouTube all smashed on the couch, eat pizza that was literally swimming in butter, and wave to you as you drove off.
Throughout all these stages of life and specific memories, we have had almost daily contact no matter how far apart we are geographically. We may not remember the exact words of most of these conversations—and there may not actually be a whole lot of words spoken in a given conversation depending on the day and how many millions of things we’re doing—but you’re there, and I’m here. And that’s a pretty great thing to remember.

The Lord not only gave me a pretty great brother, but He gave me one of the best friends a person could ever hope to have. I love you more than words can say.

Happy birthday, Bro!

Love,

Phyll (a.k.a. Sister… and later, Phatty)

A Long-Awaited Perrin Twins Update!

2011-03-02T11:13:00.005-05:00

SO MANY of you have been praying for and asking about our friends, the Perrins. I have had good intentions of writing updates, but they haven't materialized over time. Earlier today, I started a new blog entry and added a title just so I was that much closer... but I was wondering how I'd think through and write an update that is helpful. The Lord knew. I just sat down to start typing as much as I could in a few minutes, and I had an update written by Chris in my e-mail! Praise the Lord! Here are his words:
I haven’t sent an update in awhile, but since the babies will turn 7 months old this week, and we have some more medical hurdles to clear in the next couple of weeks, I thought it would be a good time to update everyone, and solicit some more of your prayers.

Both Hayes and Bailey are doing really well since settling in at home, and we’ve managed to keep them both healthy to this point through flu and RSV season which is a major accomplishment considering the weakened status of their immune systems. We were even able to get through a scare a couple of weeks ago when Emily was diagnosed with the flu, thanks in large part to the help of good friends and family who stepped up to help out when I couldn’t be there so that we could keep Emily quarantined long enough to get better so she didn’t spread it to the babies. Luckily we caught it early enough that Emily was able to get back on her feet in 4 or 5 days, as daddy, grandma, aunt, uncle, and good friends’ love just isn’t the same as mommy love! We visited the pediatrician yesterday for the final round of flu/RSV shot for this season, and the pediatrician said that she thought both babies were doing great… what a huge praise!

Bailey is now 22.5 inches long, and 10 lbs 12 oz (from 1 lb 9 oz at birth), which puts her at about the 25-50th% in length, and 10-25th% in weight for her adjusted age of a little over 3 months… if any of that means anything to you. I don’t think she could be a better baby. She is so playful and expressive, and really very calm most of the time… especially compared to Hayes… which might not be the best comparison for “normal” baby behavior (he is very fussy). Speaking of normal babies… we finally got Bailey off the oxygen! Her breathing test was during the time that Emily was sick, so I took off work to take her. I think it was more a test on me (and my patience), as she had to lay in a crib for 4 hours, and I had to try and keep her relaxed, and keep her from kicking off her monitor equipment… those of you who have seen her live in action, know that if she is awake she’s moving. She only kicked or pulled the monitors off twice, so I think I passed my test. More importantly, she passed the breathing test and has been off the oxygen for two weeks now… no more helium sized oxygen tanks with 50 feet of tubing running through my house, no more dragging a tank with us everywhere we go, no more taping a nasal cannula to her face and trying it in her nose when she keeps trying to stick it in her mouth and suck on it (gross). She’s been doing great (as far as I can tell) since she has been off of it, and will have a follow up appointment in a couple of weeks for the pulmonologist to check how she’s doing without. Please continue to pray that that goes well, and she continues to breathe well without any additional support.

Hayes is now 23 inches long, and 12 lbs 1 oz (from 1 lb 7 oz at birth), which puts him at about the 10-25th% in length, and 10-25th% in weight for a boy at his adjusted age of a little over 3 months. So they are both a little undersized, but Hayes is in the 50-75th% weight for length percentile which means he’s a good weight for his size. Unfortunately Hayes has not been as laid back as his sister. We are hoping that this is largely due to the pain and discomfort of the double hernia he was born with. They didn’t want to fix this until he got older and stronger, so he has required a lot of attention most of the time to try and keep him calm… a lot of holding, bouncing, rocking, shushing, etc. We have been told that because of his brain damage he wouldn’t have the self soothing abilities of a normal baby, so we are hoping/praying that his issues have less to do with that, and more to do with
the hernia because he has finally reached the point where they can do surgery. The surgery is scheduled for 8:30 tomorrow morning.... Earliest possible time and place we could get this scheduled for, and since we’ve been praying for this day to get here for the last three months it can’t get here soon enough! Dr. Bloss (who performed all of Bailey’s surgeries) will performing the procedure, in addition to circumcising him as this wasn’t done at birth (I assume due to risk of infection or something… don’t know why they didn’t do this at birth). It’s supposed to be a fairly routine procedure, and of course we have the utmost confidence in Dr. Bloss, but we would still appreciate your prayers. If all goes well, and he’s able to come off the vent fairly easily and timely, we should be able to take him home later tomorrow afternoon/evening. If not, they will keep him over night, and should be able to come home on Friday. So, in addition to praying for the surgery procedure, and for Dr. Bloss and the rest of the medical staff, please pray for his recovery, and that there aren’t any infections, side effects, or setbacks.

Also pray that this is able to help him relax, and be more comfortable, and that the issues we’ve been having with him aren’t all brain related. Of course we also continue to pray for his brain, and for miraculous healing to take place there, and that remaining portions of his brain can take over some of the responsibilities of the damaged portions. By all accounts he has been able to do more than the average baby who has suffered the degree of damage that he has. Unfortunately because of the discomfort from the hernia, the early childhood development (ECD) specialist has not been able to take him through all the motions, and really assess how he’s coming along. Bailey on the other hand is doing extremely well with her therapy, and we praise God for that! Hopefully we will be able to get a better idea of where Hayes is at next week when ECD specialist work him out again. In addition, he has an appointment next week with the neurologist who diagnosed him following his first MRI. Pray for a positive report there as well.

I know everyone has been asking for more pictures so attached are several of the latest. Maybe it’s just the stress level and sleep deprivation, but they really do seem to have a lot of personality and are a lot more fun to interact with than I thought they would be. I hadn’t spent a whole lot of time with babies before, which was a conscious effort on my part, because I just thought that all they did was eat, sleep, poop, and pee. I was pretty much right (only with less sleeping and more pooping/peeing than I ever could have imagined), but every now and then, in about 10-15 minute increments, they can be pretty fun.

Thanks again for everything you’ve done and continue to do,
CP, Em, Hayes, and Bailey

I am amazed daily at how the Lord has grown these babies! They have squish! They smile! Hayes is upset for much of the day, but he does smile! These kids LOVE their family, and they know that they are loved by their family. These and many other things are miracles that are not to be taken for granted.

Please continue to pray for the Perrins. Pray for Hayes tomorrow as he goes in for surgery. Pray for the physicians. Pray that he experiences relief from his discomfort. Pray that his brain continues to develop. Pray for Bailey's continued growth and development as well. It's always a bit scary to even enter a hospital with your children, knowing that it's a germ factory. Pray for protection from illness for everyone in the family so that there is nothing else getting in the way of the babies' wellness, healing, and growth.

PRAISE the Lord for all that He is doing in their lives! Praise Him for preserving the lives of both of these babies through so many major obstacles. Praise Him for using this whole situation to draw the Perrins and countless others closer to Himself, the only One in whom we have any hope!

Perrin Update #5

2010-11-16T12:37:00.014-05:00

To those of you who have been following the story of our friends, the Perrins, for the last 104 days... big things are in store this week! PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!!!!!! Here is an update Chris sent on Friday along with some photos of these growing babies:

Hayes and Bailey are 14 weeks old, and today is their 100th day with us… pretty big milestone given their condition 100 days ago… especially when you think about the fact that they weren’t even supposed to be here until almost TWO WEEKS FROM NOW. God has been good!

They weighed Hayes over night, and told me this morning when I stopped by that he is now at 5 lbs 2oz (remember he started at 1 lb 7 oz). He is now taking 6 of his 8 daily (24 hour period) feeds from a bottle (the other two through the feeding tube still). He still hasn’t mastered this completely yet. It’s frustrating because some days, like last Saturday when I fed him, he’ll gulp it down in 10 minutes (which is a record by the way… we make a great team… just wait until those father/son potato sack races when he gets older). Other times, we’ll struggle for 30 minutes, and he’ll only be able to take a quarter of the bottle. He never has a problem with sucking, but sometimes he just refuses to swallow. The nurses aren’t sure if this is due to gas, reflux, or just simply a consequence of the brain damage that he has, and that he might never get this down 100% (they initially thought there was a high chance that he wouldn’t be able to swallow at all due to the extent of brain damage he suffered). Despite these issues, he is doing a great job at breathing on his own now for more than a week! That’s right, breathing completely on his own, the same way you and I do… no breathing tubes, no oxygen, nothing! He hasn’t had any apneas or needed any additional oxygen since they took him off. He’s also regulating his temperature on his own now just like a normal baby. The only thing keeping him from going home right now is the bottle issues. Please continue to pray that he can master this so we can get him home without any additional attachments (i.e. feeding tube).

Bailey is now a couple of weeks completely infection and bacteria free! She now weighs 4 lbs 8 oz, and is slowly getting bigger. She has started working on bottle feeds as well this week, but has struggled more than Hayes did initially. Because of the infections, surgeries, and setbacks, she has become a little more used to not having to “work” for her nourishment. Yesterday the occupational therapist worked with her, and she seemed to do better with last night’s bottle. Today the speech therapist (didn’t know they did stuff like this) will also work with her on mastering the suck, swallow, and breathe all at the same time issues she’s been having. They are also going to do an x-ray of her lower intestines (which haven’t been used in three months) to see what kind of shape they are in, because they have scheduled surgery for her for next Thursday (11/18) to reattach her intestines! We are excited about this, because we were not looking forward to taking her home with a colostomy bag that doesn’t seem to want to stay on (this thing is disgusting by the way), and we weren’t looking forward to taking her back to the hospital after having her home so they could do the surgery. In addition, getting her back together is going to help her grow because it will give her intestines more time to absorb all the nutrients and calories from her meals. So, they are going to transfer her again on the 17th to Texas Women’s in the Med Center to prepare her for surgery on the 18th. If all goes well, she should be back at Clear Lake about a week later. Please pray for this, and for no more setbacks because if all goes well, we should be able to take both of them home by early December!

Both of their eyes seemed to be doing better, and by better I mean no worse. They are still getting regular eye exams and treatment as needed for the ROP eye issues they both have. Please continue to pray for this as well. Likewise, we still don’t really know the full extent of the issues Hayes is facing with his brain damage, and won’t for months/years down the road. We still pray for a miracle, and at the same time for peace and comfort in whatever God’s will is for him. Continue to pray for Emily. She is doing great physically and emotionally with everything that is going on, but I know things are going to be getting more difficult as she prepares to bring them home, and possibly having one home and one in the hospital, and all the attention that everyone needs (including dad J) throughout this process.

(Left--Bailey all cute and happy; Right--Hayes and Emily)
Most of all, don’t forget to praise God for all he’s done for us, and Hayes and Bailey to this point. It truly is a miracle that they are still with us, and doing as well as they are considering where they started and everything they’ve been through. The Lord has already used them in a mighty way to touch so many people, and we praise Him for that. Thank you so much for your continued prayers, love, and support. It means so much more that we could ever express, and we hope that you know that.

Attached are some great pictures from the last week. They have so much more personality, and look cuter and cuter as they continue to get bigger and develop… especially Bailey, but she’s a girl, and girls are always cuter than boys… Sorry Hayes, you’re still my favorite though… as parents, we’re supposed to have favorites, right? I’m still new to this.

Thanks again,

CP and Em (Hayes and Bailey)

Y'all this is such great news! There is so much to be praying about for this family, requesting help and mercy from the Lord. At the same time, this last 104 days should provide motivation for all of us to drop to our knees humbly before the Lord THANKING HIM for all He has done! Please pray over the next couple weeks as Bailey is transferred, has her surgery, heals, and moves back to join her little brother. Please pray for endurance for Chris and Emily as they care for two babies in two different hospitals. Please pray for Emily's mom (Barbie), who is in Houston with them helping them take care of the massive number of details that have to come together every day to make all this happen. And pray for the rest of their extended family members... all those who would love to be right there with them but can't. Pray that everyone would grow in his/her love for and trust in the Lord. Finally, pray that the Lord will use this family's situation to impact YOU and help YOU grow in love for and trust in Him!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER

2010-11-16T10:45:00.001-05:00

Have you downloaded it yet?

Whole Grain Pumpkin Flax Pancakes

2010-11-15T21:33:00.006-05:00

I made a large batch and saved a bunch for later. Here's what I did to make about 32-33 5-inch pancakes.

Ingredients:

4 cups (1 quart) buttermilk

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 2/3 cups whole-wheat flour

1 2/3 cups almond flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I use sucanat)

2 tbsp. coconut oil (olive oil is okay too but not quite as nutrient-dense)

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (I made my own by following the directions listed as part of this recipe)

1/4 cup flaxseeds, ground (use the coffee grinder)

1/4 cup whole flaxseeds

Preparation:

Mix buttermilk and oats in a medium bowl; let stand for 15 minutes.

Whisk whole wheat flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in a large bowl.

Stir eggs, brown sugar, oil, vanilla and pumpkin puree into the oat mixture.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; mix gently until just moistened. Fold in ground flaxseed and whole flaxseed.

Cook as pancakes or waffles. Works equally well with both.

Top with coconut oil and real maple syrup for a tasty finish! Almond butter seems like it would also be delicious.

All It Takes Is ONE

2010-11-05T00:55:00.005-04:00

All it takes is one. All it took was one strand of E.coli to be processed into one hamburger patty, to make it to one burger king, to one mom, whose one son, took one bite and the one life he had would then be over. All it took was a series of one events to lead to one of the biggest recalls on beef. Because of one situation America has never been the same.

In 2001, one man, Vernon Burger (my brother), who had, one passion, that being Jesus, took one trip, to Southern Sudan and connected with one bishop, who was trying to love and spread the gospel to many who were orphaned by the civil war. Since that one trip in 2001, HIS VOICE GLOBAL has been in an ongoing relationship with the EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church), 10 years and three orphanages later they seek to continue the movement to open a fourth.

You might ask the question what makes this place so special? Sudan was in war for over 20 years before signing a peace agreement in 2006. Until the peace agreement this was the longest civil war to date in human history, leaving over 2 million dead and many children without parents. So what makes this place unique!?!? Many things but one is there are many who have teamed up, like HIS VOICE GLOBAL and The Village Church, to be a gospel centered presence through proclamation and practice. While The Village Church has sent many teams to train pastors, equip leaders and love the children in these orphanages in Yei, HIS VOICE GLOBAL was the door that God used to bring a gospel centered presence from the west into this area of the world. Now there is an opportunity for you to be a part of this continued movement of Christ in this region for as little as a dollar.

This past September a group of 13 from all walks of life from Reach Records, The Village Church, Red Revolution, Collision Records and HIS VOICE GLOBAL partnered under The Village banner to go and minister to those in Southern Sudan. They ministered through teaching, medical, music, and loving children who were victims of the Civil War that now live in one of the three Orphanages sponsored by HIS VOICE GLOBAL. Moved by the fruit there and continued need, Tedashii, Lecrae (Reach Records artist), Swoope (Collision Records artist) and Jai teamed up to do a single to raise awareness and funds for a fourth orphanage in Southern Sudan. The single, which is slated to be released November 16th under new label Collision Records is called Actions Speak Louder. This single and symbol seen above calls believers to move beyond awareness and put their prayers in motion, to quote the song. The symbol inspired by the scriptures that say a strand of three cords are not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12), the exclamation points showing the immediate nature of the call to apply the gospel (Luke 4:18-19), the highlight of one exclamation point showing the power of one to change and lead others and the patch like design showing the reality that there is strength in numbers, calling believers to action, an action beyond themselves.

So leading up to this date will you be the one to blog, the one to tweet, the one to put a twibbon on your twitter account, the one to Facebook, the one to lead and allow you actions to speak as loud as your words. The average number of songs downloaded per day are close to 10,000,000 yes that is correct 10 million. Come November 16th HIS VOICE GLOBAL only needs over 250,000 one’s to download this amazing song (which is not even 10% of the daily average) to complete and have a fourth self sustaining orphanage. We are not asking you to change your lifestyle just point your efforts toward something that will last. The amazing thing about this whole campaign is that 100 percent of the profits from the song will go toward this fourth orphanage. All it takes is one!!!

Fun Things to Hear Your 6-Year-Old Say

2010-10-22T14:29:00.003-04:00

Ladan just wrote his first journal entry. He wrote:

"I love to play with my frends. Please help my frends. I love them. My best frend is God."

After he was finished, he said, "Mom, I don't want to follow Satan, so I've decided to believe and trust in God. I'm going to repent when I'm sleeping, and then I'm going to do right things. Because Jesus wants me to do the right thing." [Not too sure what he means about repenting while he's sleeping. I think he just means that he's going to try to do better tomorrow.]

I was cutting a pear for him, and when I handed him the plate, he said, "Thanks, Mom! Hey, Mom! I said, 'Thanks,' right away! I did what honors God right away! Satan tried to trick me into not honoring God, but it didn't work!"

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While watching the theme song to the PBS show Word World while the gas man was here fixing our gas leak last week, Ladan heard the line, "Nothing's better than a letter." He stopped and looked at me and said with surprise, "Mom, they just said, 'Nothing's better than a letter.' But that's not true. God is better than everything. He's better than a letter. Why do you think that they think letters are better than God?"

I responded, "It's possible that they really do think that letters are better than God, and that would not be good. But maybe they just mean that nothing on earth is better than a letter. Since nothing on earth right now is better than God's Word, and the Bible is written with letters, then I guess it could be true that nothing on earth is better than a letter, huh?"

He replied, "Oh, right! I hope that's what they mean, because it would not be good at all if they thought that a letter is better than God."

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"Mom, I like you a lot. But there's someone else I like more. God. He's better than any person, so I like him more. But I still like you a lot. Just not as much as God."

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While doing math the other day, Ladan said, "Mom, sometimes I write my 3's backwards. But it doesn't mean I'm going crazy. Sometimes I just forget." Then he moved on to the next problem as if he hadn't just said anything funny at all!

Perrin Update #4

2010-10-20T15:45:00.018-04:00

It has been a while since I've had a chance to write an update about my friends, the Perrins. A lot has happened in the last three weeks, that's for sure!

Let's start with Hayes. Chris was able to hold him for the first time on September 28 (Day 55), and they had all kinds of great conversations about sports. Chris is the director of game-day operations for the Houston Texans (in addition to his full-time job as an accountant), so he had all kinds of things to share with Hayes about that week's game. This is something that Chris has been so eager to do with a son--talk about "the game"--so this was no small blessing! Considering that Hayes could have died on multiple occasions already, we know that this is a MIRACULOUS blessing and one that is not taken for granted! Check out his SWEET face!!!!!

Since that day, Hayes has continued to PROGRESS (also a word that the doctors didn't really expect to use to describe Hayes' condition). He moved from continuous drip feeds through the feeding tube to bolus feeds (where they dump a feeding's worth of milk through his tube at once instead of a slow steady drip). He handled this really well and was required to practice sucking at the same time he was being fed so that he would begin to associate the sucking motion with feeding. Shortly after, he began to drink from a bottle!!!! This is again totally miraculous, because the doctors told Chris and Emily to expect that Hayes would NEVER be able to move off the feeding tube to a bottle or other form of feeding, because his brain most likely wouldn't tell his airways to shut off to push his food to his stomach! AMAZING!!! The next time you swallow anything... a drink, food, saliva, your gum... you'll know that this is a GIFT!

Chris heard that reggae music is stimulating for babies' brains, so he did his good daddy duty and played some Bob Marley for Hayes on the iPod. Hilarious!

Hayes is now almost 4 pounds. He continues to struggle with some apnea episodes, and while it's definitely an area that we hope improves, this is normal for a baby in his stage of development. He is completely off the ventilator and is just relying on the nasal cannula for a bit of supplemental oxygen... something else that the doctors told Chris and Emily not to expect he'd ever be able to do for any length of time.

There is still so much that is unknown about how long or how completely the Lord will allow Hayes to develop. He is amazing people left and right though as He works to grow this little boy. Our merciful Father is granting Hayes the ability to do things that no medical professional thought he'd be able to do.

A couple months back, I gave this little guy the nickname "Tank", and when you see this next photo of his handsome face, you'll see that this nickname is seeming more and more fitting every day! If you scroll a few blog entries back and see his tiny, very frail self just a couple months ago, you'll know how HUGE the details found in the last few paragraphs are!!!! The Lord has performed miracle after miracle in this little man's life! We have reason to HOPE in our strong, perfect, wise, and purposeful Creator! Please continue to pray with great hope that the Lord will continue to work miracles in Hayes' life and that the 25% of Hayes' brain that is remaining will be used in astounding ways as he develops further. Please also pray against further infection, especially as we enter cold and flu season.

And on to Bailey. Throughout this whole ordeal, Bailey has definitely dealt with a greater number of physical issues (recall her ruptured intestine and surgery, necessary heart surgery, collapsed lung, and a couple smaller infections). Despite this fact, her prognosis has consistently been more optimistic than her little brother's. She has an ostomy bag until her intestine repairs enough for it to be reattached, and this has slowed down her feeding progress compared to Hayes. She has had to be fed smaller amounts and has progressed each step a bit more slowly, because the tear in her intestine was so high that they have to be careful not to rupture it again. The problem is that the ostomy bag, while helpful as her body heals, is an additional site for infection to enter her body.

Bailey began to regulate her own body temperature, and so she was able to start wearing clothes. (Hayes did this as well several days after Bailey.) Here she is in one of her super-cute flowery outfits next to her Beanie Baby so you can get an idea of her size. Chris estimates that she's about 12-14 inches long max. He also joked that if you had to wake up to a life-size Beanie Baby, you'd quickly see how traumatic this whole experience has been for the babies! Ha!

Bailey moved from the ventilator to the nasal cannula a few days after Hayes. And finally on day 65, Chris was able to hold her too! Can you even imagine waiting 65 days to hold your baby girl!?! I cried when I saw the photos. I imagined how happy it must have made Emily to see Chris have the opportunity to finally hold both the babies. As a mom, it's fantastic to hold your babies... and it's equally fantastic to see them all snuggled up in Daddy's strong arms.

You probably noticed Emily's awesome hair in that last photo. She always has GREAT hair, even if it's in a ponytail! Probably not the most important detail, but it's definitely noteworthy.

Anyway, back to Bailey.... With regard to feeding, she was on continuous feeds through the feeding tube, getting less than Hayes so that her intestine didn't rupture. She got extra calorie supplements as well so that she would keep growing. She was moved to bolus feedings, getting smaller amounts than Hayes at each feeding, and went through the same sucking-while-being-fed practice with the hope that she too would be able to move to bottle feeds and have her intestine reattached (she needs to be able to tolerate bolus feeds before this surgery can happen). I told Chris it was a little bit strange to pray that his kids would suck... but I agreed to do it in this case. It won't be the last time we pray such things for them, I guess, so we better get used to it. Bailey was progressing, slowly, but surely.

"Was" is the key word in that last sentence. Sadly, Bailey came down with an infection several days ago. They backed her off the bolus feeds and went back to the continuous drip-style feed. She was put on antibiotics. Then stronger antibiotics. It wasn't working well. Chris and Emily went to the hospital yesterday morning, and she looked very sick (see the left photo below). By the time they went back in the afternoon, she had been put back on all her monitors, had her cute clothes taken off, and was back on the ventilator (see below right).

Today, it seems as though her infection is getting a bit better, as her spinal tap was clear. Can I just stop and say that I've had just a couple needles in my spine throughout my life, and they were not fun! I had a spinal tap when I was about five, and I still remember it. I don't remember a lot of details about being five, but I DO remember that. I know that these things have to be done, but it makes me sad for these tiny little ones. They have these kinds of things done REGULARLY. They are troopers! Thankfully they won't remember ANY of this!

The goal for Bailey is to change her antibiotics again tomorrow to something stronger, re-start the bolus feeding (as a reminder, that's when they do a feeding of several ounces all at once through the tube as opposed to a slow drip through the tube)... and as soon as she's healed from infection and tolerates the bolus feeds, then hopefully they'll get to reattach her intestine to get rid of the ostomy bag and eliminate this entryway for infection. There are also discussions about whether or not they will remove her PICC line (a central IV line), because that too could be an entry route for infection.

Somewhere during the last three weeks, Chris and Emily learned that Bailey has ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). There are several levels, 4 being the worst. She's at level 2. This could mean nothing really, except that she might need glasses. It could also be worse, and could end up leading to complete blindness (that's usually a level 4 issue, from what I understand). Basically, it's too early to tell.

If you have followed all the way through this note, you are able to see very clearly that our bodies are very complex and that, in order for life to go on, so many things have to right all at the same time! Bailey's and Hayes' bodies have had some pretty crushing blows in the last 11 weeks or so since their birth... but overall, SO MANY THINGS HAVE GONE RIGHT!!!! We have reason to praise the Lord, and we have reason to HOPE in Him!

Please continue to pray for both babies, for Chris and Emily, for their other family members who do so much to support them, for the doctors and nurses caring for Hayes and Bailey, and for their church family who is walking through this with them helping them do things like mow the lawn and clean their house in addition to holding them up with prayer and encouragement. In the midst of this trial, Chris and Emily have already had countless opportunities to share their faith with others, pointing many people to the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are not only speaking of the hope they profess, but they are demonstrating it daily! As you pray for the babies, pray not only for their healing, but that the things the Lord is doing in their lives will continue to change the lives of many and that He will be glorified!

Thank you to those of you who are concerned and praying for our friends! I will leave with this simple truth from Scripture as Job is talking to God:

I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
--Job 42:2

Amen! May we all be reminded that the one true God can DO ALL THINGS! He is the ONLY One who can do all things! Every one of our prayers is heard by this infinite God. Let's appeal to Him on behalf of the Perrins with increasing HOPE, trusting Him fully!

Perrin Update #3

2010-09-28T13:51:00.009-04:00

Wow! So much has happened since my last post asking for prayer for my friends, the Perrins! Chris wrote an update yesterday that pretty well sums up what's been happening. I'll post that here and then leave you with some super-sweet photos of Hayes and Bailey (I stole the captions from their mommy and daddy).

Before I do that, I'll stop for a minute and tell you that I tear up just about every single time I look at these babies. Not because I'm sad... but because it is just apparent that they are wonderfully created. Try to pay attention to their little features. Their hands and feet are what get me every time. Those tiny little fingers and toes are amazing!

Throughout the last several weeks of watching and listening from afar (we're states away from the Perrins), I have at various times felt like throwing up, singing songs of praise, and sometimes both at the exact same moment. Like I wrote last time, this is REAL LIFE, and we can't run away from it. People struggle daily, sometimes with more intense trials than others... but people struggle daily. The only hope we have is in Christ.

Chris's words:

Bailey is doing great. She's 2 lb 9 oz now (which is a full pound since birth). She's on 5 cc's of continuous feeds, which is all she can tolerate right now due to how high the perforation in her intestines was. They've upped the calorie supplements though so that she will get big enough that they can begin to feed more, and that she will be able to absorb more in the short track of intestine before you colostomy bag. Once all of this takes place, they'll be able to go back in and re-attach her intestines. She is completely over the infection that started Labor Day weekend, and is completely off antibiotics. Outlook is really good for her going forward, but she is still less than 32 weeks from gestation, and about 8 weeks from being a full term baby. She continues to need prayers as she is still about two months from going home even if all goes well.

Hayes is doing great physically, which continues to make the brain issues that much harder to swallow. He is now 2 lb 8 oz, which is more than a pound gained since birth. He is on full feeds of 20 cc, and the full load of calorie supplements, so he's growing very quickly. He's also breathing well. Two nights ago they put him on a breathing cannula (sp?), which is exactly what you see elderly people with (the tubes in the nose connected to oxygen). This is really good because it means he's breathing basically on his own. He's breathing well, eating well (through feeding tube), peeing and pooping, growing, and moving all over the place. His only issue right now is the brain issue, and if not for that, his prognosis would probably the same as sissy's.

So, more on the brain... since the news from the neurosurgeon last week, we've sought out many second opinions. Our friend who is a nursing director at the NICU at Memorial Herman (which is one of the best hospitals in the world) took Hayes' records for the medical director there to look at. He basically confirmed what the neurosurgeon said, and added that his concern was that Hayes would never be able to close off his throat and prevent food, liquid, saliva, etc. from going directly into his lungs. This would not only mean feeding tubes, but constant suctioning of saliva and mucus. It would also mean that if he gets sick and throws up, most will go into his lungs, and on top of whatever illness he has, he will also have to fight pneumonia.

We have another friend from church who passed Hayes' story onto a friend of her's who is a neonatologist at Texas Children's (which is one of the best children's hospitals in the world), and she said that based on the info she had, that Hayes would not develop much past that of a three month old. Meaning, he would behave like a baby his entire life.

Finally, Emily's family has a friend who is the medical director at the NICU at Cook's Children's Hospital in Ft. Worth (also one of the best in the world.. and he trained at Texas Children's on top of that) who was in Houston on Friday. He agreed to come to the hospital and meet with Hayes' doctor, get all the details he could, and then meet with us, and give his professional assessment, but also talk to us as someone who has followed this whole thing from the start as a friend, and who has been praying and aching for us as well. He was very helpful in that he reinforced the level of care that they've gotten at Clear Lake, and the course of treatment. He said he wouldn't have done anything differently to this point. He also started from the very beginning, and explained in detail how we've gotten to where we're at, and how we've really already defied many of the odds. Unfortunately, he also reconfirmed Hayes' outlook.

It was good to hear him explain everything in such detail, and to have someone with that level of expertise weep with us and have a deep level of care for us than just that of doctor/patient. We haven't gotten any opinions that have given us any hope in not just a positive outcome, but in any kind of "quality of life" for our son, or any kind of longevity to his life because of all the complications and medical procedures he will require.

At this point, we continue to pray for a miracle, but also pray that God will give us the wisdom and strength to face the outcome that we've been given. We've already been through so much, and I know there's nothing we can't handle, but ache for our son. We ache that he isn't going to be able to do the things that "normal' kids do, and that he probably won't survive past childhood. We're grateful for all of the insight, and grateful to have such consensus in what he's up against, but it is heartbreaking to hear about him.

We know God has a plan, and that we don't always understand it, so we just pray that God will use the lives of Hayes and Bailey to glorify Him, and to make Emily and I better parents, spouses, and people. We thank everyone again for their prayers and support, and ask you to keep it up. We cannot thank everyone enough, and cannot express enough the way you all and your prayers have lifted us up through all of this.

Thanks again,

CP and Em (and Hayes and Bailey)

Hayes - Day 45 You sure you're comfy? This is how he wanted to lay.

Bailey -Day 47--Crazy hair after snuggling with mom and oh so sleepy

Bailey - Day 48--Nap time

Hayes - Day 48 -- Almost seven weeks old. 31 weeks from the beginning.

Breathing and eating well. Need a miracle on the noggin though.

Bailey - Day 49 --Posing for her upcoming hip hop album cover... Fo shizzle

Hayes - Day 52... Hook em horns! -------- Bailey - Day 52... M-I-Z

Hayes - Day 54-- We had a staring contest. I won... Get used to it son

Romans 5:1-5 and Psalm 73:23-28 are scriptures that come to mind MULTIPLE times a day as I think about Chris, Emily, Hayes and Bailey. May these scriptures be an encouragement to you to lean fully on the Lord and hope ONLY in Him as you encounter trials of every kind. In the end, the purpose of it all is the GLORY OF GOD! There IS purpose in these trials, and it's bigger than we could imagine! Right now, He's working to cause many (thousands just through this story alone) to humble themselves and lean on Him, to hope more fully in Him alone, and to be THANKFUL even if they're crying at the same time.

I told Chris that it's the hope of every parent that their children will impact lives and change the world around them. Already, in these short 7+ weeks, the lives of Hayes and Bailey and the stories of those who are caring for them are impacting generations! As people are drawn to their knees and learn more and more what it means to hope in the Lord, literal generations will be changed. And that's just PART of the really big picture! How great is that!?! May God continue to be glorified through the Perrin family! Please continue to pray for them all!

Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Psalm 73:23-28
Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

Please Continue Praying for the Perrins

2010-09-18T23:53:00.001-04:00

Hayes (left) and Bailey (right) on Day 45. Bailey is now up to 2 lbs 8 oz.

I talked to Chris tonight. Let me just say first that he and Emily seem to be thinking SO WISELY about things and are unified. The Lord is their strength, and they are understanding what it means to lean completely on Him in a totally different way than ever before. They are being changed forever as they walk through this trial.

Chris and Emily (and Emily's mom) got to meet with the doctors again this morning. According to these doctors, the outlook for little Hayes is very bleak. The neurosurgeon's estimate is that there is a 90-95% chance that he will have SEVERE developmental disabilities and a 5-10% chance that it would be anything better than the worst case. The neurosurgeon put it in perspective and told them that he only sees cases this bad 3 to 4 times a year. Considering that this doctor is on staff at a large hospital in a large city where he cares for many patients, we can see that this news is worse than horrifying.

Unfortunately, one of the doctors who has been present for some of these discussions is one of the less helpful neonatologists on the team of three that rotate through (the same doctor comes every day for a week, and then they rotate) to see the babies. It seems like so many conversations they have with physicians are complicated because of language or cultural barriers. In fact, only one of the doctors on their team speaks fluent and clear English and communicates descriptively and thoroughly. It just doesn't seem like they've got a full picture of what's really going on and what the possibilities are just yet.

Thankfully, next week one of the more helpful neonatologists on the team will be visiting the babies each day, so Chris and Emily are eager to get this doctor's perspective on what they've heard this week. Chris and Emily will also be sending a copy of Hayes' file to some doctors at another very advanced children's hospital in another city hoping to get additional information from these doctors about what they recommend as next steps for Hayes' care.

Hayes is scheduled for another ultrasound on Tuesday to see what's going on in his brain. Please join me in storming the gates of heaven with hope-filled prayers that a miracle occurs and that there is clear re-growth of brain tissue, that the fluid in his head will be replaced by healthy brain matter that is reconnecting. My thought is this: If God can redeem a people for Himself and turn wicked sinners into Christ-followers, if He can part a sea for those who are trusting Him, if He can form a man from the dust of the ground, if He can save entire nations of people from destruction... then He can most assuredly grow Hayes' brain tissue back again and fill that tiny little skull with healthy, connected tissue.

Please pray with Chris and Emily that they will have clarity, wisdom and discernment as they hear additional opinions. We are praying that there is no confusion about how to care for Hayes and that there is unity on all fronts.

Of course, we are to be praying for all things in accordance with God's will. But how in the world do we do that when it seems like there are so many complex issues involved? How do we even know exactly what to ask? This is real life, so we know we can't just pretend like it'll all just go away or that we can delay and come up with ideas some other time. It's happening now, and we can't see the big picture. Praise God that He knows the big picture and has provided His Holy Spirit and His Son who are interceding with and for us! What amazing comfort!

Romans 8:26-39
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 4:14-16
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Psalm 33:20-22
Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

URGENT Call to Prayer... Hoping You'll Join Me

2010-09-17T19:50:00.013-04:00

Joel 2:15-17
Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly; gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders;
gather the children, even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.

Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

------------------------

On August 4, two tiny little people came into this world at just 24 weeks gestation. Bailey and Hayes Perrin were born to my college friend, Chris, and his wife, Emily. They were about one-and-a-half pounds at birth and were whisked away to the NICU before Emily could even see them. They were TINY, and they were fighting for their lives. They have had many others fighting right alongside them.

Bailey --Day 2-- Hayes

Hayes --Day 4-- Bailey

Bailey and Hayes are now 44 days old, and they have gained almost 60% of their original body weight. They are receiving their mother's milk. They open their eyes. They rest easy when their mom holds them and throw fits when she has to put them down. Their daddy's hand on their back helps keep them warm and comfortable as they sleep. They have come SO FAR since that first day!

Hayes --Day 11-- Bailey

Bailey--Day 19 Hayes--Day 20

But... there have also been set-backs. For example, in Bailey's second week of life, her intestines ruptured necessitating a move to another hospital for immediate surgery. Her intestines have been by-passed while she heals. She has a colostomy bag at this point, and her intestines will be surgically reattached once she gets bigger and has healed more. A couple days later, she had to have heart surgery to repair a valve. It was several days after that second surgery that she got to join her little brother again. A while later, little Bailey's lung collapsed, and it had to be re-inflated. It seems fine now.

Bailey being held by Emily for the FIRST time--Day 21

While Bailey was healing from surgery, Emily got word that she was going to be able to hold Hayes for the first time the next day (this was about Day 11 if I remember correctly). Well, overnight, Hayes came down with an e.coli infection, and he was SICK. He puffed up with fluid and was bruising. It was so sad to see photos of his stretched out little skin and to know that Emily hadn't been able to hold him. I cried... and I'm not even his mom. I can't imagine how disappointing and heartbreaking that would be! Shortly after, the doctors learned that Hayes was not only fighting off the e. coli bacteria, but he also had meningitis. Let me just stop and say that even one of these things could have wiped him out completely... but he survived BOTH... at the SAME TIME! That, my friends, is what we call a miracle!

Hayes --Day 29-- Bailey

Due to the infections, however, there were some pretty harsh things going on in Hayes' little brain. Fluid was building up, but the worst offense was the fact that his blood pressure was so low that there was not enough oxygen going to his brain. As a result, brain tissue was damaged and died. The neurosurgeon informed Chris and Emily earlier today that Hayes has about 25% of his brain tissue remaining, which he predicts will lead to some serious developmental issues. He suggested that Hayes may not walk, talk, or even be able to sit up.

For those of us who are trusting in the One True God--the maker of heaven and earth and sustainer of all--we know that these assessments are helpful in that they tell us what we're dealing with. But we also know that this is NOT the FINAL WORD for Hayes. Only God has the final word. He can bring dead people back to life, heal the lame, give sight to the blind, and cause seizures to stop. When we look at where Hayes and Bailey were in those first pictures and see how far they've come, we recognize the Lord's hand clearly. He spoke these babies into motion, and He is the only One who knows His plan for them.

EYES WIDE OPEN

Bailey--Day 34 Hayes--Day 40

So, where does that leave US? On our faces before the LORD. Praying. Hoping. Trusting. BELIEVING. I am asking that you join me in praying for the Perrin family.

Pray for Hayes, please pray that the Lord would re-grow his brain tissue. Pray that there will be new paths between brain cells developed and that his brain can be re-mapped. Pray that he will grow to love and honor God with his whole heart, soul, mind and strength.

Pray for Bailey as well. She is just getting over an infection that doesn't seem as bad as Hayes' was, but these babies are susceptible to so many things. Pray for continued growth, that her intestine would heal well so she can start receiving more of her mom's milk, and that the re-attachment of her intestines will go smoothly when it's time for that to happen. Pray that she also will grow to love and honor God with her whole heart, soul, mind and strength.

Pray that both babies are protected from future infection, especially as we enter cold and flu season.

Pray for Chris and Emily. Pray that the Lord will uphold them and that His strength will shine right through their weakness so that others will KNOW the hope they profess and will give glory to God in heaven. Chris and Emily have a meeting with the physicians again in the morning to discuss next steps for Hayes. Emily's mom is on her way to be with them at the appointment, and Chris and Emily are spending tonight formulating questions. Please pray for wisdom, discernment, clarity and unity regarding Hayes' care.

This time is crucial!

I am asking as many people as are willing to FAST with me throughout the night tonight and the day tomorrow (or longer if you desire) and PRAY. Please join me in supporting Chris, Emily, Hayes and Bailey this way!

Hayes and Emily --Day 41-- Bailey and Chris

To motivate our prayers, I'd like to leave you with a couple passages that are so encouraging.

Pray in faith, believing that the Lord can do more than we're even asking of Him!

Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

James 1:6-7
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord

2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

Redeemer Church Launch

2010-08-30T16:00:00.005-04:00

Wow! What a great weekend! Redeemer Church had its official launch yesterday, and it was FANTASTIC! Seventeen months after our arrival in town, thirteen months after the start of core team development, nine months after our first Sunday gathering, and one week after the start of the new semester at the University of Illinois, Redeemer Church is off the ground! Chet, Ladan and I were some of the last people to walk in to find our seats, and as I looked around, I think I said out loud, "Oh, wow." It was humbling and exciting! Jim's welcome was enthusiastic, Chet's sermon was excellent (no bias involved... it really was great), and Caleb's very intentional design of the order of worship was super!

There was much activity leading up to yesterday's service, and so many things went on behind the scenes before and during the service that I can't possibly list them all. I'm guessing Chet probably has that list somewhere on his computer, but checklists aren't the point really. The point is that many people stepped out, took risks, were forced to trust the Lord to provide help when they didn't know what to do, and relied on the Holy Spirit to speak through them when they didn't know exactly what to say. As a result, I'm assuming that these people are the ones who noticed the most joy and satisfaction yesterday morning. Joy that is not based on their own efforts, but the shear joy that comes from participating in the LORD's work as He unfolds His plan. There's nothing like it!

We're not super-focused on numbers, so I don't think anyone took an official count. However, somewhere along the way, someone counted 81 present. Here's the great part about that. At the end of the service, Chet took a poll and asked people how many came because they received a door hanger at their home. Answer: ZERO. He then asked how many came because they saw the Facebook ad. Answer: TWO. He then asked how many came because they received a personal invitation from someone they knew. Answer: HALF THE ROOM.

The lesson is this.... Most of the time, people come to church or demonstrate interest in things of the Lord because a PERSON shows an interest in them and invites them. Let this be an encouragement to all of us to build relationships with others, share the Gospel, and INVITE them to join us in our pursuit of the Lord. Don't get hung up on whether or not they're rejecting or accepting you. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with God. They're rejecting or accepting Him. If they accept the invitation, praise God (not yourself). If they reject the invitation, pray for them, knowing that they are not ultimately rejecting you, but the Holy God who created them and who offers the only lasting joy and salvation they can find. And don't be afraid to invite them again just because they said no one time.

It will be exciting to see how God decides to use Redeemer over the course of the next weeks, months and years! To those of you who have participated in bringing this body of believers together (either from a short or long distance), THANK YOU!

Hopefully some photos will follow shortly.

Salsa Recipe

2010-07-18T23:01:00.006-04:00

It's about that time.... Time to make the first batch of SALSA this year. And this year I get to eat it! Last year, I had all these awesome tomatoes that were transformed into yummy salsa. I spent quite a few hours making it. I burned my hands on the peppers because I forgot to get rubber gloves every time I went to the store. I chopped and chopped, boiled, chopped some more, stirred, poured... and then STARED at the salsa... SO wanting to eat it but realizing that Claire would literally revolt if I did. Considering the fact that it would be unfair to my newborn to indulge, I tasted just one bite per batch, and that was it. Well, this year will not be the same! I will likely eat it by the jar-full! Okay, that's extreme. That would also be punishment of a different kind. The point is that I'm excited about this batch of salsa. I think the tomatoes are perfectly ripe, and it's going to be AWESOME!

For those of you who'd like to try to make it also, it's actually fairly easy. I started with the "Chunky Salsa" recipe from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book and adapted it as I saw fit. It makes about 5 or 6 pints of salsa.

Here's what you need:

7 pounds ripe tomatoes (20 medium--or any grouping that comes to the equivalent). Some folks say Romas are the way to go. I found last year that it didn't matter what kind of tomatoes they were as long as they were homegrown and ripe from the garden.
10 fresh Anaheim or poblano chile peppers, seeded and chopped (abt. 3 cups) I use Anaheim peppers, mostly green with hints of red. I only seed about half of them... partly because I don't want to take the time and partly because the seeds help add spice and flavor, so I don't want to throw them out.
3 large jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped. I only seed about half of these peppers as well. If you like your salsa extra-spicy, you can substitute serrano peppers for jalapenos.
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped. I did actually seed this well, because it was easy and fast.
1 cup chopped white or yellow onions (1 large)
2 cups chopped green onions (the whole onion except the tips and end of the bulb)--I found that the green onions from my garden were really lots better than the onions from the store
1/2 cup snipped fresh cilantro
1 cup vinegar
1/2 of a 6 oz. can (1/3 cup) tomato paste [I use organic tomato paste]
5 garlic cloves (minced)--I went for fairly large cloves, so if you have only small ones, add more than 5
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
Rubber gloves for chopping those peppers... they really will burn your skin off

Now here's what you do:

Seed, core, and coarsely chop tomatoes. I actually wasn't too concerned about the seeding part. I did get the tough core out, and I scraped away the seeds that were easy to reach, but I didn't have time to worry about all of them, and it worked out just fine. You'll have about 14 cups of tomatoes.
Place tomatoes in a large colander. Let drain 30 minutes.
Dump drained tomatoes into a large heavy stainless-steel stock pot or cast iron kettle. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add all peppers, onions, cilantro, vinegar, tomato paste, garlic, salt and pepper.
Return mixture to boiling. Then reduce heat.
Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Can or freeze as necessary... if you have any that lasts that long! FYI--This salsa does not last as long in the refrigerator as store-bought salsa... because there are no preservatives.

Now, what are YOUR favorite recipes for garden-fresh tomatoes?

"My Hope and Treasure Lies Above"

2010-07-13T23:15:00.007-04:00

This summer, I am finishing up the 1st grade portion of the Veritas Press Phonics Museum with Ladan. I have learned and been challenged a good deal as he reads the included books aloud to me. Many of the stories are brief accounts of true historical events. The most recent book he read was a biography of Anne Bradstreet, a Puritan poet.

Anne was well-educated. She married in England at the age of 16 and moved to New England with her husband, Simon Bradstreet. They had eight children. Her husband was a governor and traveled a lot as a result. Anne's life was challenging. She worked hard. She encountered many trials. Through it all, she maintained a strong faith in an unchanging, faithful, just, and GOOD God. Her poems reveal her heart as she experienced life and a very real relationship with God. I've been captivated by her writing the last several days. One poem was written in the wake of the complete burning of their house. Keep in mind as you read it that they did not have insurance as we do today. They had to start completely over.

Verses upon the Burning of our House
by Anne Bradstreet

In silent night when rest I took,
For sorrow near I did not look,
I waken'd was with thund'ring noise
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
That fearful sound of "fire" and "fire,"
Let no man know is my Desire.
I starting up, the light did spy,
And to my God my heart did cry
To straighten me in my Distress
And not to leave me succourless.
Then coming out, behold a space
The flame consume my dwelling place.
And when I could no longer look,
I blest his grace that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust.
Yea, so it was, and so 'twas just.
It was his own; it was not mine.
Far be it that I should repine,
He might of all justly bereft
But yet sufficient for us left.
When by the Ruins oft I past
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast
And here and there the places spy
Where oft I sate and long did lie.
Here stood that Trunk, and there that chest,
There lay that store I counted best,
My pleasant things in ashes lie
And them behold no more shall I.
Under the roof no guest shall sit,
Nor at thy Table eat a bit.
No pleasant talk shall 'ere be told
Nor things recounted done of old.
No Candle 'ere shall shine in Thee,
Nor bridegroom's voice ere heard shall bee.
In silence ever shalt thou lie.
Adieu, Adieu, All's Vanity.
Then straight I 'gin my heart to chide:
And did thy wealth on earth abide,
Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust,
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
That dunghill mists away may fly.
Thou hast a house on high erect
Fram'd by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished
Stands permanent, though this be fled.
It's purchased and paid for too
By him who hath enough to do.
A price so vast as is unknown,
Yet by his gift is made thine own.
There's wealth enough; I need no more.
Farewell, my pelf; farewell, my store.
The world no longer let me love;
My hope and Treasure lies above.

This stuff is RICH! I'm reading this on the heels of several weeks of meditating on the truth that my home is not here on earth. It's good to work toward the goal of being a good and godly homemaker, and it's good to hope that we and others will consider our home to feel like "home". But it's all too easy to begin to count on the treasures of this world and to desire comfort here on earth to the point where disappointment comes up when those things fall short, when things are uncomfortable, when things are in process, or when things change. Scripture is an excellent reminder of where I need to place my hope, but sometimes there is something very real and very helpful about "experiencing" these truths with another person who is learning them as well... even if that person lived 400 years ago. So, for what it's worth, may these words serve as encouragement to you as well.

The truths that encouraged Anne have not changed. She served the same God that I serve today. It matters that we know who God is. It matters that we believe Him. It changes our lives, our responses, the way we think, who we are. And hopefully, by His grace, His work in our lives will impact the lives of others.

Additionally, things like this paint just a small picture of what it is like to worship the ONE TRUE GOD with the church universal. I cannot fathom what it will be like to join in praise with all believers in Christ when we are raised up together in heaven. This is definitely a foreshadowing of things to come... and I can tell it's going to be FANTASTIC! Beyond expression.

For more info on Anne Bradstreet, including more of her poetry, please see http://www.annebradstreet.com/. "The Flesh and the Spirit" is definitely worth reading and contemplating if you only have time for one.

Our Curriculum Choices

2010-06-05T13:04:00.005-04:00

Several people have asked me what curriculum we've chosen to use. Here's what we've picked....

Age 3
I spent about 15 minutes a day several times a week doing some kind of sticker book like My Giant Sticker Activity Book. We went through it in order. This helps develop just small bits of discipline and helps a child develop a willingness to work through each page to get to the next one he's most anticipating. It's also super-fun and allows kids who don't have well-developed fine motor skills to complete a page without getting frustrated.

Age 4

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Kindergarten

Saxon 1 with associated manipulatives
Veritas Press Phonics Museum, K-1 Combo (We got as far through this as we could... about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through first grade)
Random science reading and learning, including watching caterpillars grow into butterflies and tadpoles grow into frogs.
Catechism and scripture memory program we started at Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville

First Grade

We'll finish up the 1st grade phonics curriculum in July before we get into the school year full-swing.
Art: Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes; Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters
Bible: Big Picture Bible Timeline; the catechism and scripture memory program; and scripture reading.
Geography: Legends and Leagues by Ned Bustard; Geography Songs CD
Grammar: Shurley English Level 1
History: Mystery of History, Volume 1 primarily, and The Story of the World, Volume 1 where it fits; Kingfisher History Encyclopedia; The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History
Literature: Veritas Press First Favorites 1 and 2 with Comprehension Guides. He'll also read books from the library to support history learning depending on what we're interested in reading more about. I'll use the resource lists in The Well-Trained Mind as a springboard.
Math: Saxon 2 with associated manipulatives
Music: We may start piano lessons. In the fall, Ladan will be taking a class called Music in Motion at our homeschool co-op (if he gets his first choice for that hour). A mom will be teaching the children about music and will incorporate physical activities into their music learning. FUN!
Physical Education: Probably soccer in the fall, and he'll likely take swimming lessons in the winter and spring. We'll see what our options are when we get there. This will also be included in the music class mentioned above.
Science: Apologia Exploring Creation with Astronomy. If he gets his first choice, he'll also be taking a co-op class where they'll do astronomy experiments and projects as a class based on this curriculum. It will be fun for him to see the results that other kids get, so I love the idea of him doing this with a group of kids.
Fun extras: Lyrical Life Science; The Farewell Symphony; Bach's Goldberg Variations

There are TONS of really GOOD choices. These are the things that excite us and seem reasonable for us to use. Some families do a lot more of their own curriculum development, which is great. I don't feel like I have time for that right now. Some families are more or less structured than our family.

The key is to find out what the law requires in your state, decide what's going to work for you and at least meet the legal standard. To learn what the laws are in your state, you can go to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association web page: http://www.hslda.org/. We are choosing to do MUCH more than the law requires at this point. We're not even required to school the kids until they're 7. My reasoning for that is the simple fact that kids are sponges at this age, and the better foundation I can give them in a wide variety of subjects, the more they'll have to build on as they get older. Learning is loads of fun for them right now, so it's not like I'm having to act as a slave driver all day long. The great thing is that, while we're incorporating a lot more content hours in a day than public schools do, Ladan gets a LOT more free play time than kids in school do. It's like the best of both worlds. Since we're part of the homeschool co-op on Thursday mornings, he gets a class once a week and gets to hang out with friends then. Nice!

As for scheduling the school year, we'll organize ourselves very similarly to what is described in this blog entry. Obviously, since it's just first grade, there will be LOTS of guidance from me and LOTS of redirection when things get off course... but this is the general idea. Every year, I'll hand over a little bit more of the scheduling responsibility to the kids so that by the time they're in junior high or high school, I'll have some sort of syllabus with due dates, and they'll be dividing up their lessons and determining the best way to get their learning goals accomplished.

So, for those of you who are interested, this is what we're doing for now. Hope it helps!

They're Only Little Once

2010-06-05T00:40:00.003-04:00

I just finished kindergarten with Ladan today! He took his last math test this afternoon. He finished his kindergarten phonics/reading/handwriting/art/art history curriculum much earlier in the year and has just a bit of the 1st grade curriculum left to complete, but we're taking a break from that at least until July so we can enjoy the weather and his 6th birthday (June 15). Not bad for a pretty young kindergartener, I guess! And given that we've had quite a few things that have thrown us off course this year so that we squeezed our 176-day school year into 133, I'd say it's even better!

While Ladan celebrated by running through the sprinkler with his neighborhood friends, I was online purchasing next year's curriculum! I can't wait for it all to get here! :) Next year we add grammar, geography, literature, science, and lots more history to the mix. I feel like I'm going to need a month just to get myself organized! It is so much work, but it is SO WORTH IT!!!! I love it! I never thought I'd say that about homeschooling. I never even thought I'd homeschool my kids.

Claire is starting to roll all over the place. She is seriously the sweetest baby I have ever met, and I don't just say things like that about my own kids without warrant. I started to question whether or not I was just oblivious, but it's confirmed by almost everyone who meets her... everyone except the strange still model in Neiman Marcus we encountered a few weeks back when Claire was screaming her face off as we trudged through the store just to get somewhere else. For the most part, she shocks people with her good nature. The first few months with her were VERY hard when she was puking on everything in sight... but she's past that now, and it's just a memory... though sometimes I feel like I'm still recovering!

And Gabe... well, he's just a ball of life. The other night he just wanted to go for a ride in "the white car". He kept saying, "Come on, Mom. Let's go!" I had no idea where he wanted to go, and he didn't either. He just wanted to get out and see something. So I cleaned up the dishes, got Chet settled with Ladan and Claire, and I went for a drive with him. We rolled the windows down and drove into the sunset. No music. Just talking about what we saw and enjoying the night. It was refreshing and amazing! That's what I love about that kid! He knows what he wants, and he goes for it! He's got fire in him! It doesn't always turn out to be very convenient when I want him to do something that gets in the way of his personal plans, but we're getting things figured out slowly but surely.

I made cookies tonight while Chet gave the kids baths. When they were all clean, the boys came running down to me and were so excited about their cleanliness! They just had to show me how nice they looked! Funny! I got them each a cookie, and I probably heard four or five times from each of them how yummy their cookies were. I wish I could describe the look of sheer satisfaction on Gabe's face when I walked toward him with his second cookie. He closed his eyes, smiled as big as he could, drew his hands into his chest, and held his breath until his cookie landed on his plate. Priceless! Neither of the boys really knows how to fake enjoyment, so when they are extra thankful and excited about something I've done, I know it's coming straight from their hearts. Encouragement to a weary mom is what that is!

There is so much work that goes into being a mom, and there are so many things that I would absolutely love to be doing and learning that might seem more fulfilling at certain points. But I'd say that I'm learning all kinds of things right where I am, and I'm fairly certain that there is nothing else I could learn or do that is more fulfilling or rewarding in reality. Not every day feels like a reward. MANY days feel like I'm being hit by a truck and I'm crumbling. But these days. Well, they make all those other days worth it.

Some of My Favorite Products

2010-06-03T18:31:00.005-04:00

In no particular order....

OLBAS OIL
It's good for all kinds of things, including congestion, ear infections, coughs, muscle aches and pains, the list goes on.

THE FOOTPRINT TILE
We have gone to a paint-your-own-pottery establishment with each of our kids and made these tiles, including the baby's footprint, name, meaning of name, and a scripture that we're praying for that child based on his/her name.

THE CAMELBAK WATER BOTTLE
Everyone in our family has one. The kids' were in their bedroom when I took this photo, but they have smaller kid-sized bottles with fun designs on them. We all know which one is ours, and we drink lots of water in the day because it's just readily available. We take them everywhere, and they don't spill.

TRADER JOE'S ALMOND BUTTER WITH ROASTED FLAX SEEDS
All I need to say about this stuff is that it is DELICIOUS! Love it!

HAPPY BABY ORGANIC PUFFS

Found at Target, these are fantastic! So much less sugar than Gerber or other brands, and Claire loves them. The Greens variety has spinach, kale, and something else, and she thinks they're great!

PHASE 10 FOR KIDS

This is a simple, yet fun, card game. Fun at home or on the go. I keep it in the diaper bag or my purse, and when we're out and have to wait somewhere, we play the game. I have to say that I had no idea what Yo Gabba Gabba even was until long after we had this game, and I still don't know much about it, so don't read this as a plug for that show.

SNACK TRAP

These little cups are so helpful! They clip to the side of a bag or the stroller with a caribiner, there is a spill-resistant lid as well as an outside sealed lid, and the kids can easily hold them. We've had two of these for nearly three years, and we still use them regularly. They have been very durable. We found them at Babies R Us, but I know they can be found online as well.

STARBUCKS SUMATRA BLEND

Don't need to say much about this.

What are some of YOUR favorite products right now?

Rebellion, Repentance & Deliverance

2010-05-20T00:14:00.004-04:00

The boys have been in one of those stages where they argue a lot with each other, me, Chet, their friends... pretty much everyone except for Claire who they still think is the cutest thing on earth.

Tonight we needed to run some errands. Our plan was to eat a small snack on the way to Lowe's, get what we needed there, eat pizza somewhere, and then go the grocery store for a few quick things. Let me just say that they were NOT in agreement with one another as we went through Lowe's. For some reason, and I don't know what it is, they freak out in that store and start arguing with one another about the craziest things... whose hand gets to be on which side of the cart, who gets to touch Claire's cute feet, who gets to hold the roll of tape or bottle of Krud Kutter, etc.. It's ridiculous. And then they want me to take time to let them sit on the tractors/lawn mowers. I had to take a bunch of time to correct them or reign them in about every 29 seconds as we walked through the paint supply section, so they did NOT get to ask for time to sit on tractors.

When we got to the car, I got them situated and then explained that if they argued again or disobeyed in any fashion, they would not have further warnings before consequences would be meeted out. This was serving as their reminder of how they were to behave. As I suspected, a whole minute did not pass by before they were arguing about something silly like who saw the goose on the side of the road first.

So when we stopped at the restaurant, I moved myself to the back of the vehicle and delivered their consequences. This is how Ladan responded (picture him with a very contemplative expression):

"Hmmmm... You HAVE said before that he who hates God keeps right on sinning. And he who loves God turns from his sin and turns toward God. Well, do you know how many more times I'm going to sin? ZERO!"

I explained that this is an excellent thing to strive for. And if we believe and trust that Jesus came to earth, lived a holy life without sin, died to take our punishment and rose again to defeat Satan, then He does deliver us from our sin! And He does give us an opportunity to completely turn from particular sins. However, since we're human, there are new sins that He is faithful to uncover, and this happens for our whole lives. Basically, we we are always in need of Jesus and always in need of His grace.

I could tell by his facial expression that he wasn't exactly sure what to think about that. It was clear that he really wanted to be freed from the desire to sin once and for all. I do too! In the meantime, I praise God for the grace He continually extends toward me. I pray that His grace is extended to all of my children and that they love Him more than anything else. And I look forward to the day when my sins are not only covered by the blood of Christ, but I am finally free of any inclination toward sin at all!

All of this draws me to think about Romans, chapter 8 in the Bible. The entire chapter is worth meditating on, but here are some portions that directly correlate to the discussion Ladan and I had tonight:

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have receied the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
... [W]e ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
(Romans 8:3-17, 23-25)

I'd be curious to know how these big questions of life and eternity impact others. Are you living by the flesh, or are you living by the Spirit? How do you know?

Hummus Recipe

2010-03-30T16:50:00.005-04:00

I had some requests for the hummus recipe I use. I don't technically use a recipe and kind of change up each batch just a little bit for variety, but this is the general idea of what I do to make 11 cups of hummus:

Ingredients...

32 oz. dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1-2 cups lemon or lime juice (divided)
1 cup olive oil (divided)
4-5 peeled and sliced garlic cloves
Seasoning Options: sea salt, black pepper, lemon pepper, ground cumin, garlic powder, cilantro, chipotle chile pepper, or anything else you like

Night Before...

Sort (pick out anything from the bag of beans that isn't a bean--I don't usually find anything) and rinse 32 oz. dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
Dump the beans in a large stockpot and add water until the beans are covered by 1-2 inches of water.
Bring the mix to a boil.
As soon as the water has boiled, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it soak overnight.

Cooking...

Drain the beans and cover with fresh water two inches above top of beans.
Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the beans are starting to soften up a bit (though not squishy), adding water as necessary to keep beans covered. You'll notice the skins peeling off the beans. I pick some of these out as they float to the top, but don't waste time trying to get them all out.

Blending and Seasoning (repeat these steps until you've used up all your beans)...

Using a slotted spoon, transfer beans into your blender until the blender is half full (to about the 24 oz marker).
Add 1/8 to 1/4 cup lemon juice
Add 2 tbsp. olive oil
Add 1 peeled and sliced/grated garlic clove
Ladle out cooking water from the stock pot and add to the blender until it comes almost to the height of the beans in the blender.
Blend on highest setting until smooth, adding cooking water in small amounts to keep the blender from burning up and to thin the beans. If you get it too thin, just add more beans from the pot. You'll get the hang of it after a couple tries.
Transfer the contents of the blender into a mixing bowl and add seasonings to taste. The great thing is that you can make up five or six different varieties with one pot of beans. The following are some sample combinations I like (these are all estimates, because I just kind of throw things in):

1/2 tsp. sea salt; 2 tsp. McCormick's Grill Mates Roasted Garlic & Herb Seasoning; 1/4 tsp. black pepper; 1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. sea salt; 1/2 tsp. chipotle chile pepper; 1 tsp. ground cumin; 1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. sea salt; 1/4 tsp. black pepper; 1 tsp. ground cumin; 1/2 tsp. garlic powder; 1 or 2 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning

You can freeze hummus in glass or plastic containers or Ziploc freezer bags. To use after freezing, just defrost in the fridge and dig in when it's not frozen anymore. Easy enough.

Let me know if you have any improvements or if you find any great seasoning combos!

One Fine Day

2010-03-10T23:15:00.006-05:00

Today was the first warm day this year, and it was fantastic! It rained early in the day, but the clouds parted, and the sun came out! Ladan said, "It's sunny! God thought it would make us happy if He made it sunny outside! He had that idea!" You can tell we haven't seen the sun in a while!

We worked on math early, and the boys were outside enjoying the nice weather by 10am. They played while Claire took her morning nap and I cleaned. When Claire woke up, we went for a walk through the golf course across the street from our neighborhood.

We spotted all kinds of birds and a bunch of poop. Yes, that's right. Poop. If we hadn't seen a very brightly colored mallard, I'm pretty sure that the poop would have been the highlight of the walk. And really, the mallard only tied with the poop, I'm sure. The boys looked for poop on the sidewalks. They looked for it in the grass. And they even leaned over the bridge and looked for it in the water. They found it in all of these places, and every time they exclaimed, "Eew! Poop!" Let's just say we saw enough poop today to prove that there are plenty of animals in our area with healthy bowels.

The golf course... and a poop sighting:

After we got home, we ate lunch and all three kids were tired. Gabe and Claire went down for naps. Ladan did some of his reading, but he was out of it, so we saved the rest for later in the interest of a nap for him too! For about 45 minutes, all three kids were laying down quietly AT THE SAME TIME! I cleaned the kitchen in peace. Nice!

Claire is now 7 months old, and to date, she has only eaten solids a couple times with VERY LITTLE success. She also refuses to take a bottle, but that's another story for another post. Two nights ago I tried giving her solids, and she was literally sobbing with huge crocodile tears streaming down her face acting like I was ripping her arm off her side or something. Last night Chet tried, and she didn't scream at him. Instead, she just stared him down with her cute little face and held her mouth shut.

If you know me, you know that when a challenge presents itself, I do not give up easily... and may try even harder. Well, I tried again tonight, and I finally got her to eat about 3 whole tablespoons of rice cereal mixed with pears! I was pumped!

It was one fine day! Thank you, Lord!

Adoption Conference: April 29-30, 2010

2010-03-08T16:42:00.008-05:00

With Haiti’s earthquake drawing global focus to the plight of orphans, Christians from across America and beyond will gather in Minneapolis, MN, for the Christian Alliance for Orphans’ Summit VI on April 29-30, 2010. The objective: to inspire and equip Christians to “care for orphans in their distress” through adoption, foster care and global orphan care ministry rooted in the local church.

What you can look forward to:

Featured speakers will include national champions of orphan care and adoption, including John Piper, Mary Beth Chapman, Tom Davis, Doug Sauder, Stephanie Fast, Jedd Medefind, and Al Mohler. Compelling voices from the global church will join as well, from Africa to Central America.
Music will be led by Steven Curtis Chapman, Peder Eide, Desperation Band and other artists.
More than 50 workshops delivering nuts-and-bolts for adoption, foster care and global orphan programs – designed for both laypersons and leadership.
Orphan care resources for church ministries, as well as personal orphan care and adoption journeys
Breakouts will also include 5 “Hague Hour” Credits for Adoptive Families.
Q&A sessions and networking opportunities with respected adoption, global orphan and foster care organizations and veteran ministry leaders.
For Christians stirred by the plight of orphans, Summit offers the biggest and best opportunity of the year to learn how to act upon conviction. To learn more and register now, visit the Summit website here.

A taste of breakout topics:

Haiti and the Local Church: What’s Next?
Bridging the Great Divide: Building Positive Relationships Between Church Ministries and Government
Understanding Childhood Development of Overseas Orphans
A Lifelong Love: Keeping the Gospel at the Center of Orphan Ministry
Church-Based Orphan Ministry 101
Fundraising for Orphan Ministry
Starting in the Right Direction: Helping Pre-Adoptive Couples Make Sound Decisions
Now What? Helping Children Age Out of Foster Care
The Financial Challenge of Adoption and How the Local Church Can Respond
Engaging Church Leadership
A Child’s Journey Through the Foster Care System
How Does It Work? Models of Global Orphan Ministry Based in US Churches
Practical Ideas of Orphan-Focused Events
Understanding HIV/AIDS and the Orphan
And many more…

And there’s more! Five sessions will provide pre-adoptive families with needed Hague credits.

Adoption and Orphans: Becoming a Multicultural/Multiracial Family
Adoption and Orphans: Attachment and Trauma (Part I and II)
Adoption and Orphans: Grief and Loss
Adoption and Orphans: Acclimating to a New Family Member

“American Christians are stirring to the needs of orphans both at home and abroad as never before. What’s thrilling is that even small ministries in local churches can make such significant impact. There are millions of parentless children worldwide, but a single statistic matters more than any other: it only takes one caring adult to make a lifelong difference in the life of an orphan.” - Jedd Medefind, President, Christian Alliance for Orphans

A Noteworthy Week

2010-02-21T22:23:00.006-05:00

Monday I took Claire to the doctor. She was 6 months, 9 days old. She weighed in at 12 lbs. 10 oz. She's still a little one!

Monday evening we were able to have Holly over for dinner. Holly is a U of I student who is relatively new to Redeemer, and it was so much fun getting to hang out with her more!

Tuesday Claire got her first tooth. Later that evening she ate her first solid food. She made some of the cutest expressions while she was eating!

Wednesday was a "normal" day, which is noteworthy in itself! The funniest part of the day occurred several moments after my head hit the pillow. I was in that state of semi-consciousness halfway asleep... when suddenly I heard in my head the sound of Claire spitting up! What!?! I started laughing and then hoped I wouldn't wake Chet up. It was pretty hilarious, actually. I couldn't tell if it was funnier that I heard the sound in my head or that I actually recognized what the sound was immediately!

Thursday, we started the day at the Family Center (the homeschool co-op that we joined in the fall). Everyone had a great morning! Ladan's really fun morning quickly turned to "THE WORST DAY EVER" when he found out that his friend, Meghan, wasn't going to be able to come over that night. She had something come up, and it just wasn't going to work out. He was SO DISAPPOINTED. He cried. Several times. And repeated several times that it had become THE WORST DAY EVER.

Quick! Good response needed from his mom! I agreed with him that it was definitely disappointing that Meghan wasn't going to be able to come over and assured him that we would reschedule. He was still pretty upset. Here's how it went:

Me: "Ladan, who created everything?"

Ladan (whispering): "God."

Me: "So who is in charge of everything?"
L: "God."

Me: "WHY did God create everything, and why does He decide to do things?"

L: "For His own glory."

Me: "So why do you imagine that Meghan can't come over today?"

L: "Because it will glorify God."

Me: "That seems strange, doesn't it? That something so disappointing can be glorifying to God. And yet we know that it's true, because He says it is. Let's watch to see if we can see ways that God is glorified because He is working things out this way."

Fast forward a few hours. We had finished the school stuff we needed to do from home. Gabe was napping. Claire had been fed. I needed to run some errands, so I decided to take Ladan out for a night with Mommy. He was able to decide what he wanted to eat. Shockingly, he chose pizza.

We went to Monical's. On the way in, Ladan held the door for an elderly lady, and then she held the other door for us. It was very sweet! We enjoyed our pizza, and then we ran errands. Our final stop was Target where our goal was to find a new backpack for Ladan. I so wish I had taken an mp3 recorder to catch everything that he said throughout the night. It was one of my best nights as his mom, I'm sure. He's getting so big and is so much fun to hang out with. These are some of the things I heard from him in no particular order:

"Mom, do you know who I love? YOU!"

"Mom, when I get to be 19, I'm going to be an adult. And I'm going to be able to drive when I'm 19. [Me: You'll probably be able to drive when you're 16 if the law doesn't change.] Yep, but I'll still be able to drive when I'm 19. And then I'll get married when I'm 21. And I'll have to take care of my wife and kids. I'm working hard at school so I can provide for my wife and kids."

"Mom, what if two of my kids are fighting over... our DOG? I guess I'll have to discipline two of my kids. But I won't want to. But God says I have to, so I guess I'll have to do what he says because I love my kids."

"When I grow up and have a wife and kids, I'm going to have to protect them, Mom. What if there's a coyote coming after my wife with its chompers? I'll have to send my dog out to scare away the coyote. My dog will have to be big enough to scare away the coyote, but it can't be as big as Clifford, because then my family won't be able to fit inside our house with our dog. And if our dog doesn't scare away the coyote, then I'm going to have to FIRE him! That means that I'm going to have to shoot him DEAD! I canNOT let him get to my family and hurt them with his chompers!"

Walking through Michael's, Ladan noticed that there were some baskets that were out of place. He found where they went, and I praised him for helping the employees out by putting the baskets away. He exclaimed, "It wasn't hard to put them away! I did the right thing, Mom! It's FUN to do the right thing!"

Here are several things he said as we walked through Target:

"Mom, LOOK at all these cute dresses for Claire! She would look so CUTE in THAT ONE, Mom!" [We didn't buy any, but it was an act of sheer willpower.]

We looked at a little felt headband that had felt flower petals sticking off of it, and we determined that it would be a fun photo prop for Claire. He said, "We should get it, Mom! But you know what Dad will say. He'll say, 'You guys are CRAZY!'"

"I just really like this place. They have comfy chairs to sit in. They have food. They have clothes. They have fun things to look at. I hope we can come here again."

On the way out of the store, the electronic sensor on his new backpack caused the alarm to go off while he was wearing the backpack. He stopped dead in his tracks and wondered what in the world all that noise was about. I'm glad he didn't freak out. On the way home, I explained to him that the sensor is there because some people steal things, and the sensor allows the store employees to check to be sure that people really bought the backpacks that they're walking out with. I explained, "There are people who take things without paying for them, and the store loses money that way."

His reply: "Oh, Mom. Those people are NOT loving God then. When they take something like that, they are thinking only of themselves. That is NOT good."

"Mom, I'm still a little bit sad that Meghan didn't get to come over, but this was a really great day!"

Agreed. It WAS a great day! And it wasn't over. When we got home, Quinn (another college student that has joined Redeemer recently) was over hanging out with Chet, so we were able to join in the fun as well. We always have fantastic conversation with Quinn and are so excited to see how the Lord is using him to build the kingdom.

The grandmother of one of our friends died earlier in the week, so we made the quick drive up to Chicago on Friday evening for the visitation. The kids did so well! This was their second visitation this month. We have had some fantastic opportunities to talk about what happens when someone dies and to talk to our kids about God's judgment, salvation, the gospel, etc.

Yesterday, Chet had to work at the Y, and Ladan and I had to catch up on a little bit of school that we didn't get done during the week. I got a lot done around the house, and he did a great job with school.

Throughout the week, Gabe and Ladan have been playing so well together! They have these crazy imaginations and just have a blast! It's so much fun to hear them playing together and to hear them figure out how to work together.

Talk about a full week! It was full of blessings, leaving me overwhelmed by the very specific ways that the Lord is caring for all of us!

Does My Child Have ADD?

2010-02-05T13:01:00.002-05:00

Many of you know that Gabe is all over the place most of the day. He's a high-energy, highly motivated kid. He's persistent in most things, whether it's disobedience, a new skill he's trying to learn, or asking for something he wants to have or do. He has a hard time sitting still at the dinner table and might get out of his seat four or five or more times when he should be sitting down eating. If I'm talking to him, I might have to remind him three or four or more times to look at me while I'm talking to him. If I ask him to do something, he gets easily distracted and will stop in the middle of carrying out his task to do something else instead.

These and other "indicators" are often determined to be signs of Attention Deficit Disorder. So does he have this disorder? Hmmmm...

After hearing people suggest this a couple of times or hearing them compare Gabe to their children who have already been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, I began to think about this a bit. After weighing it out, here is my conclusion: I do NOT think that Gabe has something called Attention Deficit Disorder, and here is why.

He does focus on things. For example, he'll play with two toys in a sink full of water for HOURS at a time. Often he's just focused on something different than what I want him to be focused on. When he's supposed to be sitting at the table and is getting up four or five or twelve times, he's focused on something else... playing. He doesn't care about eating. He wants to play. He's persistently going after what he's focused on. He's disobeying, sure. He needs consistency in correction and training so that he is able to submit to authority even when he doesn't want to.

It may be irritating, because I want my dinner time to be quiet and relaxing and free of interruptions so that I can talk to Chet or just take a break from parenting. But I don't always get what I want, do I? Just as Gabe isn't getting what he wants (to focus on playing), I don't always get what I want (a dinner time set aside to focus on conversation and relaxation). Just as Gabe is sitting there struggling to focus on his assigned task (eating dinner), I'm struggling to focus on my assigned task (to parent him and train him up in the way he should go). In the end, we BOTH want to be doing something else, and we can both very easily be frustrated by the mandate handed down to us by the "one" in authority. In either case, there is a departure from the Lord's will. We're both sinning, because we want something other than what the Lord has given us.

Do not read this as an excuse for my child's behavior. There are no good excuses for dishonoring God-given authority. I'm simply suggesting that he doesn't need to be medicated into doing what I want him to do. He needs to be trained up to do God's will, which is to submit to rightful authority... which means that we, as his parents, often have to submit to the authority of the Lord who commands us to do the hard, labor-intensive work of focusing on training our children... even when we'd rather be doing something else.

Lessons About Haiti

2010-01-15T16:25:00.004-05:00

Many people are buzzing about the 7.0 earthquake that happened in Haiti a couple days ago. The devastation is widespread and tragic. SO MANY PEOPLE have died or are dying right now! I took the opportunity today to teach Ladan a little bit about it. Here's what we did:

I showed him a map of the earth's plates and the various ways that they move against, toward, and away from each other. We talked about the effects of this movement. Then we built a Lincoln Log house on a flat square lego plate, put some people and animals inside, and shook it. The house crumbled on the plate, and then everything fell off. The people were trapped under the rubble, and we couldn't even find the mother. We talked about what that would be like if I were trapped underneath our house and no one could find me. We talked about the poverty that existed in Haiti long before the earthquake and how that impacts their ability to recover.

Then I showed him real pictures on the internet of the people and places in Haiti. He did see piles of bodies, which may be a lot for a five-year-old... but it's real... and it's what five-year-olds there are dealing with. We didn't stare at the images for a long period of time like the kids there are having to do, but he did get a glimpse of what has happened.

We talked about all the kinds of ways that people in Haiti are going to need help, the most important of which is to know and trust the Lord of heaven and earth for their help and salvation. Then we prayed for the people of Haiti. We prayed for the people who are helping them. And we prayed that we would know if there is any way that we can help them.

And now Ladan is sitting in his comfortable, stable home making disgusting sounds with his Flarp. It is yet another reminder to me that one of the biggest dangers we face in America is complacency. We like to think we know what's happening in the world because we get a 30-second report on the evening news. We like to think we know something about poverty because we sometimes have to choose between buying a new accessory or a dinner out... and can't have both at the same time. To put this in perspective, I was listening to a missionary pilot talk on the radio yesterday about how quite a few people in Haiti eat mud just to have something in their empty stomachs. THAT is poverty. And that was BEFORE the earthquake.

May God be merciful to the people of Haiti as they attempt to recover!

For an interesting read, check out the following article by Dr. Albert Mohler: "Does God Hate Haiti?"

And if you're looking for a way to help the people in Haiti, may I recommend that you consider giving to one of the following organizations, who will not only help provide physical aid but will provide the people of Haiti with the Gospel of Jesus:

Baptist Haiti Mission

Samaritan's Purse

Missionary Aviation Fellowship

Compassion International

For His Glory Adoption Outreach

There are many others out there, but these are a few I know about and am convinced will make good use of the funds they receive to help with aid efforts.

2010 Reading List

2010-01-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

Update: I added one more at the end of my list. I don't know why, but I forgot to add it when I made the original list.

It's my goal to read the following books in no particular order in 2010. Hopefully I'll be able to read more than this, but I'm being realistic here. Actually, I might be unrealistically hopeful that I'll even get all these read. I'm going to give it my best shot!

Idols of the Heart: Learning to Long for God Alone by Elyse Fitzpatrick
Look, No Hands by Brian Gault
Knowing God by J. I. Packer
Desiring God by John Piper
The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis
Will Medicine Stop the Pain?: Finding God's Healing for Depression, Anxiety, and Other Troubling Emotions by Dr. Laura Hendrickson and Elyse Fitzpatrick (In case you're wondering, I don't particularly struggle with depression, anxiety and other troubling emotions, but I know SO MANY people who do that I'd like to see if this might possibly be a good book recommendation and am hoping that I'm better equipped to encourage others through their struggles as a result of reading this. And you never know how much reading this might help me deal with any future struggles should they come my way. Always better to be prepared ahead of time, huh?)
Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney
The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv

Starting School

2010-01-12T00:27:00.006-05:00

Well, we started school again on Thursday. Ladan is now working on his 1st grade phonics/reading/handwriting/art program; Saxon 1 Math; his catechism and scripture memory program; and some fun and random science stuff. He's so fast at learning new phonics rules and figuring out new words! He's also great at addition and subtraction and is beginning to learn how to tell time on a "real" clock along with some very basic fractions. I was pretty surprised at how quickly he dove back in after two weeks off. Well, at least with regard to his understanding. He's still a bit distracted by his desire to play, which hopefully he's figuring out ends up stealing his time to actually play with the things he's pining after. Isn't that so true of many adults though? We sit and stare at what we want to be doing, and rather than just getting the mundane stuff over with so we can move on, we sit motionless chewing our fingernails and staring out the window. Well, I don't chew my fingernails, because I think that's gross, but you get the picture. The point is that he's doing great for the most part and just has to get back into structure mode.

One thing that's been really fun is that Ladan has been running up to me giving me totally random HUGE hugs much more often than normal for about a week now. I don't know what it's all about, but I'll take it!

He's learning to make sense out of so many things in the world, and his conclusions are often very observant and entertaining. For example, today he was eating an apple for his snack. He was just walking around the kitchen while I was doing dishes, and he said, "Mom, I really like apples because they're crunchy and sweet. And they have vitamins that are good for my body. But the seeds are NOT the vitamins. They're the part in the middle that we eat around and then throw away so we don't choke!" And a couple weeks ago I told him I needed to dust the television, and he said, "Don't you mean 'undust', Mom?" Well, yes, I guess that does make more sense, doesn't it?

For Christmas, Gabe received a copy of My Giant Sticker Activity Book. I went through this book with Ladan when he was three, and it really got him moving in the direction of paying attention to instructions and learning quite a few basics about spelling, numbers, vocabulary, fine motor skill development, etc. Well, when I started school with Ladan last Thursday, Gabe ran to find his new sticker book because he wanted to "start school" too! And boy, was he serious! He went from A through N in the alphabet section of the book, breaking only to run up and show Chet his "work" every couple pages. I finally had to stop him and tell him we'd do more the next day. He was so excited about it. My favorite part was when he got to the letter M. He said, "That's a letter M! It says 'Mmmmmm'. Marvewous!" I love that my three-year-old boy exclaimed "Marvelous!" all on his own. His great-grandma would be proud. It's one of her favorite words.

Sure enough, on Friday, Gabe went running for his sticker book to start school again. He finished the alphabet and was ready for more when I had to stop him again. Today he did the same thing. I was so disappointed that I couldn't help him with it today because so many things were going on, but I'm going to make it a point to work with him at least 3 times a week. It seems like he may be ready to start Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons this summer. For sure he'll be ready by the fall. I'm so excited that he's so excited! The only two things that can hold his focused attention for longer than 10 minutes are "doing school" and playing in a sink full of water (that still wins by a long shot seeing as how he literally will play in the sink with three toys for 2 hours or more at a time).

Gabe is a drama star! His favorite thing to do when he has the attention of a crowd is to recite the lines from Bambi when Thumper says, "Eating greens is a special treat. It makes long ears and great big feet. But it sure is awful stuff to eat. I made that last part up myself." He says all of this with the appropriate motions and then dives into a recitation of a monologue given by a caterpillar in the Veggie Tales move, Jonah. It's something about how Jonah is going to chase off a band of camel thieves, and in the process, he's going to break the heart of the woman he loves! [Huge gasp!] He has all of the appropriate motions with this as well. It's my goal to get this on video this week before he changes the way he does it. He's such a fun kid!

Claire is still a remarkably happy baby. She still throws up often enough, but it's SO MUCH BETTER than it was! She's very easy-going, which is a lifesaver for all of us. Just tonight, I found Gabe happily slapping her in the face with her new Sophie Giraffe, and she was just sitting there like nothing was going on at all. Thank goodness Sophie is made of very soft and pliable natural rubber, so she wasn't getting pelted in the face with something harmful... but you'd think that she would have at least tipped me off that something was going on. I guess Gabe's cheerful smile was enough to calm any nerves that may have been frazzled by the onslaught. She's starting to laugh every once in a while, and it's so cute! I hope we can get it on video soon.

As far as her motor development goes, she's able to grab and hold onto quite a few things. She definitely knows when she wants something and will go for it. My favorite is when she sees me and reaches out to grab both sides of my face and pulls me toward her so she can give me a big sloppy kiss on the face! She absolutely cannot stand tummy time, and she's content to just lay still on her back for LONG periods of time playing with the same toy or just staring at something, so she's not in any hurry to roll over it doesn't seem. Unless some major shift happens, she's definitely not going to be crawling by six months. And to that I say, "Praise the Lord!" I'm not ready for her to be mobile yet, so I'm fine if she wants to take her sweet time like her oldest brother. Well, actually, a balance between her two brothers would be ideal, but I'll take what I get as long as she's okay. She's starting to get better at holding herself in an upright position in her exersaucer. I still have to pack a little blanket in around her so she doesn't tip over, but she's able to stay up for a minute or two before I have to support her.

I regularly find her laying on her back with her left leg stuck straight out at a 45 degree angle. Random and kind of funny. She loves it when we tickle her feet and will stick her feet out to us when she wants to play. Speaking of her feet, they are some of the cutest little baby feet I have ever seen! They're so dainty! Claire is dainty herself, I guess. I take her in another couple days for a shot visit and a height/weight check, so we'll see how big she is then.

That's a little peek into the recent educational/developmental milestones the kids are making. We are so blessed to have healthy children who are growing and learning new things all the time! I do not take that for granted and realize it could change at any moment. We thank God for every day we have with these little ones! They are amazing! They point us regularly to the grace, mercy, and glory of God. Who else could create such intricate and unique individuals?

My New Favorite Parenting Helper

2010-01-10T14:52:00.003-05:00

Can you guess what my new favorite parenting helper is? Yep, it's the microwave timer! I found myself using it twice yesterday for different purposes.

When Gabe has to take a few minutes to collect himself, I have him sit in a chair. The problem is that he REPEATEDLY asks OVER AND OVER AGAIN, "Can I get up, Mom? Can I get up?" He has a high-pitched voice, and while he's cute and all, it can drive a person up the wall quickly. So I set the microwave timer and tell him to listen quietly for the beep, and then he'll know he can get up. It doesn't work perfectly every time, but it's loads better!

The microwave timer is also handy when giving kids choices. For example, I asked Ladan if he wanted to put the silverware away "now or in 5 minutes". Often enough I ask my kids to do things immediately, so when possible, I like to give them some options about the unfolding of their day. It's Ladan's new job to put the silverware away, and he was in the middle of playing, so I gave him a choice between stopping what he was doing immediately to put it away or playing for 5 more minutes before doing his job. He chose to wait 5 more minutes. So I set the timer, and he knew when it beeped that it was time to get to work. It also freed me up from watching the clock and seeming like I was nagging him to stop and do his chore. Nice.

2009--A Year in Review

2009-12-20T14:49:00.007-05:00

What an eventful year for our family! We have seen the Lord work in our lives in more ways than we can count! There has been LOTS of change for each of us, and through it all, God has provided everything we needed... even if it hasn't always been exactly what we WANTED.

In March, we moved to Champaign-Urbana, IL to start Redeemer Church. For many reasons, one of our main concerns as we considered planting a church was having a team to labor alongside us. The Lord not only provided a team, but He gave us a FANTASTIC group of people with whom we could join efforts and just walk through life. We give thanks to God on a daily basis for these people!

We bought our first house in March. Because of the state of the economy, we were able to buy a home that is not only big enough for us, but it has allowed us to host quite a few guests. I had been wondering if we would ever use as many bath towels as we had accumulated... and the answer is that indeed, we would! How exciting to not only have more space but to be able to share it with others! As if that wasn't enough, we have amazing neighbors who have been such a blessing to us as we've gotten settled!

Our move from Louisville to Urbana has brought so many blessings, but it has also been challenging. One of the hardest days I had was the day that Ladan finally mustered up the courage to go introduce himself to some kids down the street, and they told him that they were having a private party and would have to play "later". He cried. A lot. He just wanted his friends from Louisville. Then I cried with him. It was so hard to watch him go through this! There are tons of kids in our neighborhood, but it seems that their schedules are so packed with school and extracurriculars that they are very rarely available to play. We prayed together and thanked God for being here with us. A few weeks later, it was the birthday of one of his super-great friends back in Louisville. So we opened his window, he stuck his head out, and he screamed "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANIEL!" at the top of his lungs... and then wondered how long it would be before Daniel could hear the message.

One thing that both our kids have learned through this transition is that your friends do not all have to be exactly like you. You can have friends who are your age, but you can also have dear friends who are VERY different in age, stage of life, gifting, financial status, etc. It didn't take long before the boys started cheering when they heard that our friends were coming over--our adult friends. And they called them their friends too. The Lord had provided friends for them, but only a few of them were their age. It definitely didn't look like what they had expected or originally hoped for, but they love these people more than they had expected or originally hoped for! They still talk regularly about their friends in Louisville, but it's with less heartache and more anticipation as they look forward to when they might get to see them again.

Later in the year we started homeschooling Ladan and joined a homeschool co-op in town. On Thursday mornings, they go for their kindergarten and toddler classes and get to hang out with lots of kids their own ages. This has also been a fantastic opportunity for me to meet some other women in town and seems to have been very helpful as we make connections with people and resources here. I have been very encouraged by the ladies I've met!

Chet graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in May with his Master of Divinity degree. What an accomplishment!!! Seminary was a learning experience for all of us, not just for Chet. We will be forever grateful to the Lord for the training, discipleship, and genuine care that we experienced during our time in Louisville at Southern and especially at Clifton Baptist Church!

When we left Louisville, Chet also got to QUIT WORKING AT UPS!!!!!!! Can you join me in saying WOOOOOHOOOO!?! He did take a part-time job at the YMCA here, and his hours cause him to miss a bit of sleep. However, he thoroughly enjoys the people he works with and all of the members who come in to exercise. He has the early-morning shift, so he has been able to enjoy seeing all the "regulars" of the older generations. They are really fun and give him plenty of opportunities to show off pictures of the kids!

August 6 was the day that hot pink stars went flashing all around us as Claire Ellise made her entry into the world! Oh my goodness! What a blessing this little girl has been to our family! There's something pretty amazing about seeing a daddy with his little girl. And there's something equally amazing about watching two little boys love on their baby sister! Ladan and Gabe to this day cannot walk past Claire without giving her at least one hug and kiss. They call her "sweetie", tell her she's cute, and run to her when she cries. They protect her. They thank God for her when they pray at night. They adore her... even when she throws up all over them. They LOVE her! And I love her! Did I mention that hot pink is pretty great?

Ladan turned 5 in June. He learned to read fairly well by then and has gotten better and better throughout the year. Last week he sounded out the words "Appomattox" and "Manassas" in his reader about the Civil War. What fun to see his face light up when he read them correctly! He's also becoming quite the mathematician. Homeschooling is a little bit chaotic somedays, but I'm so thankful that we made the decision to educate him this way this year. Not only is he learning all kinds of things, but Gabe is benefiting as well. Ladan is a servant at heart and is a life-saver to me! He's still a sports fanatic and dreams about the day when he can play football and baseball on real teams.

Gabe turned 3 in September. This kid has some spunk! He has been aptly described as "exuberant". To date, I don't think there's ever been a time when we've wondered how he has felt about something. He has been through his fair share of changes this year. In addition to everything mentioned above, Gabe moved to a big bed, learned to use the potty, moved into a room with Ladan, and gave up his place as the baby of the family. We're still working on getting him to give up the pacifier when he sleeps. One thing at a time. He's learned his letters and their sounds and is beginning to be able to determine what letter words begin with. He gets really excited about the small things and greets me every morning with the sweetest "Hi, Mom-mom!" you've ever heard. A couple weeks ago, he was playing on the floor with Claire sweetly saying, "Jesus loves Claire!" He is persistent in almost every way... when he's trying something new, when he wants something, and when he's disobeying. He'll probably grow up to be some sort of Washington lobbyist or something. That is, if we can break his persistence to disobey and help him maintain it in the other areas. May the Lord be merciful to help us!

Planting a church has definitely been an adventure for us! Throughout the 9 1/2 months we've been here, we have been challenged in ways that we never expected. Our marriage has been stretched. We have been stretched as parents. We have taken on roles we may never have otherwise chosen, and we're learning new things all the time.

Mostly, we have learned so many new applications of the Gospel that we can't possibly count them. We have been challenged to extend and receive grace more freely and more deeply. The fact that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross covers our many sins is more and more precious to us daily. It is our only purpose for being here, and it's our motivation to keep going. It has changed and continues to transform us, and our prayer is that the Lord will somehow use us to share the richness of His mercy and love with others... and that there will be many who BELIEVE!

As we reflect on this year, it is clear that we were not alone. Our heavenly Father was with us every step of the way providing everything we needed. Through growth, joy, excitement, trial, conflict, restoration, disappointment, accomplishment and transition, we have been SO BLESSED! The Lord is our strength and our song indeed!

Conversations with a Literalist

2009-11-06T22:39:00.003-05:00

Ladan is our resident literalist. Here are a couple of conversations we had with him today....

[On the way home from Kids' Night at the Smiths']

Ladan: Mom, I'm kind of hungry. I think I need a snack before I go to bed.

Me: Okay. Maybe we can get you some cereal when we get home.

Ladan: No. I was thinking about eating one of those twisty fruit snacks. [Referring to Clif Twisted Fruit--VERY yummy]

Me: Well, I don't think we're going to have any of those tonight. I told you when we got them that we weren't going to eat one every day. You've had one every day since we got them, so we're not going to have any tonight.

Ladan: Well, Mom, we didn't have one every day.

Me: We had one yesterday and one the day before, which is every day since we got them.

Ladan: Mom. [Read that with an "I need you to pay attention" tone] This is not a day. This is the middle of the night. We did not have one in the day, so we did not have one every day since we got them.

Me: [Laughing pretty hard but trying to keep it quiet]

Ladan: Mom, you should not be laughing at me. That makes me nervoused [yes, with an "ed" at the end]. You should stop laughing because I don't like that very much.

Me: Ladan, I like that you're five. This is fun!

-----------------------------------------

[As Chet was leaving the room when the boys were going to bed]

Chet: Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite. I love you. See you in the morning.

Ladan: But, Dad. There are no bugs in my bed.

Chet: Oh, that's right, Buddy. There are no bed bugs in your bed. That's just a saying. It means sleep good.

Ladan: But, Dad. There are no bed bugs.... Right?

Chet: No, there are no bed bugs. Sleep good.

-------------------------------------------------

A couple days ago I was talking to Chet as Ladan was quietly playing with cars on the floor. Here's how that went down...

Chet: I'm so tired today. I can't seem to wake up.

Me: I hear that. As soon as I hit the pillow last night, Claire woke up and needed something... twice.

Ladan: Why did you hit your pillow, Mom?

I love my kids! They're awesome!

Orphan Sunday--November 8

2009-11-04T23:32:00.004-05:00

Well, I haven't written in a LONG TIME, but this is just the reason to get back to it!

Did you know that this Sunday, November 8, is Orphan Sunday?

Did you know that it is Orphan Sunday ALL OVER THE WORLD... not just in our little American corner?

Did you know that my brother and sister-in-law started an amazing ministry called His Voice for Sudan several years ago to do what they can to help care for orphans in Southern Sudan? Since they started their ministry there, they have partnered with the Sudanese people to open two orphanages housing over 190 kids, employing 84 local workers, and providing education for 220 other community children. The Lord has been so faithful to raise up godly men and women among the Sudanese to help care for and teach the children. But they need help.

Did you know that you can participate in the ministry to the people of Southern Sudan? You can pray for the leadership of His Voice for Sudan. You can pray for the children and leaders of Sudan. You can receive e-mail updates and you can follow the His Voice blog. You can financially support their ministry. You can spread the word by telling others or by having my brother come and speak at your church or other organization.

Here is a short video showing some of the beautiful faces of the kids in Sudan....

His Voice for Sudan from Amber Burger on Vimeo.

And here's another really great Orphan Sunday video...

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Please take a minute to think about all that we have been given and determine if there is anything you can share. Maybe it's giving your time to pray. Maybe it's giving of your financial resources. Maybe it's giving your life to welcome an orphan into your family. I can pretty much guarantee that the blessings will far outweigh the costs.

What Do I Know?

2009-09-25T01:17:00.002-04:00

Things have been a bit busy around here. I'm still trying to figure out how to get into any sort of routine with a newborn again and with the addition of homeschooling. I'm exhausted most of the time. I'm struggling to get into a groove of spending regular, meaningful time with the Lord in His Word. Before Claire and homeschooling, I did this in the afternoon when Gabe was napping and Ladan was resting. That time is no longer free. I know that the best thing I can do for myself and my family is to take this time no matter what, but as soon as I think that's going to happen, one of said family members needs my immediate attention to clean up some bodily fluid, make them food, teach them, discipline them, proofread something, pay bills before they're late, etc., etc. So, rather than getting lengthy periods of time in the Word, I have to settle for shorter bits. And I have to realize that while they might not seem as meaningful as what I was getting, it keeps me going. I may only have a little bit of time to sit with the Bible open on my lap, but I can meditate all day long.

So, what have I been meditating on? In our community groups here at Redeemer, we're working through 1 John. What do we see in 1 John? The gospel. God's holiness. A reminder that our joy and our eternity rest on whether or not we believe the gospel and are being transformed to be more like Christ every day. Assurance that if we do know God and believe the gospel, we will be changed, we will have joy, and we will have eternal life. I'm writing it here like it's just that simple, and it is. At the same time, I'm sitting here looking at the words in 1 John with tears in my eyes because it's HUGE! Seriously, do you understand the weight of this? There is JOY and ETERNAL LIFE that comes with knowing God and growing in holiness! There is hell and destruction if we don't know God and grow in holiness. I want to KNOW God. I want to grow in holiness. I need to know what holy looks like.

I keep hearing the song "What Do I Know of Holy" by Addison Road on the radio, and it stirs my heart every single time. Just when I think I know who He is, I get a greater glimpse of who He is, and it brings me down to my knees. Really, what do I know of holy? More than I used to, but in reality, I know nothing. How's that for motivation to stay in the Word no matter what? Even if it's just little bits at a time that I can think about all day. In the event that someone else might be spurred on by this song, I'm posting it here. And if it's been a while since you read the book of 1 John, I'd encourage you to read it again very soon while this is fresh in your mind.

She's SMILING... and Ladan's First Painting

2009-09-20T15:40:00.005-04:00

Here are some photos of Claire in her little church dress. Actually, it's a dress that I wore when I was a baby. She's 6 weeks old, and she's SMILING!!!! All these girly things are so much fun!

Ladan Painting a Purple Pansy using Pointellism!

Well, Look at You!

2009-09-16T01:12:00.004-04:00

Gabe has been hilarious lately! This morning I had on an old t-shirt that my dad got me YEARS ago to wear as pajamas. It's basically an extra-large t-shirt with dolphins on it. When I got up from feeding Claire, I helped Gabe go to the bathroom. He was standing on the toilet while I washed my hands. He suddenly looked over at me and said in his very expressive voice, "Well, look at you! You got whales all over your shirt!" If you know Gabe's voice, you'll know how funny this was... and if you don't know his voice, I wish I had a recording for you.

When he doesn't like something that someone else says--like when you tell him to eat the chip in his mouth before he gets another one--he puts on his best stern face, points quickly to the stairs, and says in his best stern voice, "Go to yo' bed!" Today I told him that he wasn't going to be able to watch Tom and Jerry, and he promptly told me to go to my bed. If only I could have obeyed him! I needed a nap!

Other updates....

I took Claire to her one-month appointment last Friday, and she weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz. and measured 21.5 inches long. Still lighter than both the boys at birth with an extra half inch compared to their birth measurements. She's a skinny little peanut. She's growing just fine though, and the doctor didn't even mention her size as an issue at all. She had a lot of catching up to do after she lost nearly a pound in the hospital.

She's starting to lose the hair on the top of her head. We'll see if she loses the rest. She's gripping things pretty well and held her first toy today and waved it around all by herself for quite a few minutes. I can tell she's about ready to start smiling here in the next week or two. She's got these huge bright eyes when she gets excited, and today she was starting to move her mouth in the direction of a big fat grin... but it's not there quite yet.

Ladan is doing really well with school. Handwriting is not his favorite or best thing at all, but many of his lessons require quite a bit of writing practice. He's getting loads better, but we were both tired of spending so much time on this every day. So he does all the writing associated with his math every day. However, I decided to only do parts of the assignments in his phonics curriculum so that we could skip ahead to the parts where he's reading. Since he's already a reader, I felt like he wasn't being challenged in this way, was getting bored, and was getting a bit discouraged as well. According to my projections, it was going to take us through the end of October to get to read a book that he's already read on his own, which seemed crazy to me. So I'm going to rearrange the order of quite a few assignments in order to spread out the handwriting stuff and pull the reading stuff forward. It's working MUCH BETTER so far. I guess that's the cool thing about homeschooling... I can totally rearrange things to keep pressing ahead in areas where he's very strong and give him more time to work on the things where he needs more work.

I'd say that homeschooling is going very well so far. But there is not yet a pattern to our days. I'm so thankful that I didn't expect any kind of routine at this stage of Claire's life. I look forward to the day when things are just a little bit more predictable... and for now, I'm just fine with the fact that I may not get a whole lot done other than school, feeding my infant, playing with the kids, communicating with my husband, keeping the clothes and cloth diapers clean, washing dishes, buying groceries, preparing meals, paying bills, spending time with Redeemer folks, and reading the Word... oh, and sleeping occasionally.

Chet's been working like a mad man getting all manner of things prepared for when Redeemer starts having services every Sunday. We will finish up core team development by the end of October and begin weekly services on November 1. There is much to be done between now and then, but we have an excellent team, and things seem to be trucking along. While there's some work left to be done on our website, it is live now. Check it out at http://www.redeemerchurchcu.com when you get a second.

Exciting things are also happening with His Voice for Sudan, the ministry that my brother and Amber started several years ago!!!! Their blog is in transition, so they have two right now: http://www.sudanskids.blogspot.com and http://www.hisvoiceforsudan.blogspot.com.

Well, my bed is screaming my name, so I'm going to try to get there before my infant is screaming my name again.

Our Sweet Baby Girl--One Month

2009-09-10T00:32:00.008-04:00

First Days of School

2009-09-03T01:04:00.006-04:00

Ladan on the first day of kindergarten. We are homeschooling this year, and it's all an adventure. Ladan absolutely loves school! I'm so thankful!

Here are some photos of the boys on the first day of homeschool co-op, Sept. 3. They each have a class, and they both had a blast the first day! Ladan helped Gabe get his backpack on, which was super-cute. And I had the hardest time getting Gabe to stand away from Ladan to get individual photos. He just wanted to be next to his big brother!

Things I'm Thankful for Today

2009-08-16T21:42:00.005-04:00

Tiny baby bodies
The nap I got to take this afternoon
The fact that this is the easiest of the three c-section recoveries so far. I stopped taking the prescription pain medication on day 6 and have just been taking ibuprofen as needed since. Don't get me wrong. It's still not easy, but it's been so much better than the first two.
My husband. He's been so helpful, which is a huge blessing to me!
Chet's mom came to help us for 10 days!
Gabe is almost completely potty-trained and will even go when we're out somewhere strange.
Both the boys LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their baby sister! They take such good care of her!
I've been able to lay on my side for the last couple of days when I sleep (as opposed to only being able to lay on my back). This means that when the boys come downstairs in the mornings, they can lay by me on the couch for a few minutes.
I've lost almost 23 of the 28 pounds I gained... without doing anything except take care of our family and avoid a bunch of junk food. I do not necessarily expect that the rest will come off at the same rate or that my abs will be flat right away, but we'll see. It's not like I can exercise at this point. I'm still limiting myself to no more than two trips up and down the stairs each day, and we all know that two trips up and down the stairs is not exactly a good cardio workout. Speaking of cardio workouts, I was just telling Chet yesterday that I am so pumped that I should soon be able to walk briskly or even jog for longer distances again! I can't wait!
Our friends here are awesome! Their help getting things done before the baby came has helped so much now that she's here!
When Claire does that involuntary smiley thing that tiny babies do when they're just waking up or dozing off. She's so cute! I think it's the Lord's way of giving us the joy of seeing a little glimpse of what it's going to be like when they're smiling on purpose and even laughing!
Our neighbors blessed us with a bag of really awesome stuff for Claire tonight! Our power went out in a storm this afternoon, so we were all out on the front porches hanging out when they gave it to us. Linda (the wife) cried when she got to hold Claire. She's a grandma and a neonatal nurse, so she said she can't help it.
While we were out on the porch, the boys were running and splashing in the puddles of rain that blew up on the porch. I love watching them have so much fun in puddles. Usually I run with them, so Gabe said, "Come on, Mom! Run!" I explained that I couldn't run because my tummy hurts still. He replied, "Can you walk?" So I started walking, and he stood on the other side of the porch leaning over, clapping his hands, and saying, "Come on, Mom! Come on, Mom!" in his best encouraging voice. It was so funny!
Our laundry is on the second floor where our bedrooms are. At first I wasn't too sure that this was superior to having it on the first level. However, I can just barely make it up and down the stairs carrying my pillow and a few other miscellaneous items... clearly making it impossible to carry baskets of clothing up and down. Needless to say, it's great to have it all right there.
I finally get to have hot pink, lime green, orange, yellow, turqouise, and all manner of bright colors decorating a room!!!! It's not my own room, but it's a room in our home that doesn't have muted colors, and I LOVE IT! Anyone who knows me well knows that I thoroughly enjoy color and would like it everywhere. However, Chet prefers more muted shades (which I like okay, but I wouldn't choose them over bright colors)... and until we can afford new furniture and paint for our walls, we have a ton of beige everywhere in our house... but not in Claire's room. It makes me happy every time I walk past her door. I can't wait until she can use her room more!
There were quite a few things we needed from the grocery store last night. However, after a trip to the splash park and Campus Town to get ice cream on Friday and then swimming lessons and a visit to Target on Saturday morning, I wasn't exactly up for walking through the grocery store. So we went to the store as a family, and Claire and I both took our first ride around on one of those motorized scooter carts while Chet pushed the regular cart with the boys in it. It was lots of fun to go to the store together, and we actually got everything we needed without me doubling over in pain by the end of it! I'm always blessed when Chet and I can do something together as a team, and he absolutely hates going to the grocery store, so this was particularly fun for me!
They gave me an elastic binder to go around my mid-section when I was in the hospital, and it's amazing. It holds my muscles all together, and it helps keep things away from my incision. As I'm losing my baby belly pretty rapidly, it's starting to get a little bit less comfortable simply because my incision is right there next to it all the time, but it's still a DRAMATIC improvement over having my clothes hitting it all day. If any of you ever has a c-section, and they don't give you one of these in the hospital, you have to go out and buy one yourself (well, have someone do it for you). They carry them at Motherhood Maternity and Babies R Us for sure.
Cameras. I have so much fun taking photos of our family! I can't wait to post some of the recent photos I've taken of life around here. They're not all fabulous photography worthy of an award of any kind... but they will definitely be the type of photo that brings good memories in the future.
Claire is eating lots better, and I can tell she's filling out at least a little bit. She's still a sleepy little thing, which is very different than both the boys.
I just heard Chet go into the boys' room after the power was restored for the second time tonight. I'm pretty sure he was showing Ladan how to use the flashlight if it goes out again. As he was leaving the room, I heard Ladan say, "Okay! I can do that! I'll obey right away, Dad."

Well, there are many other things I'm thankful for today, but I'll stop with these for now. I'll try to post more photos soon.

Here She Is... Claire Ellise

2009-08-09T23:09:00.012-04:00

We are SO EXCITED to announce that the Lord has blessed us with a precious baby girl!

Claire Ellise was born August 6, 2009 at 10:02am.

She weighed 7 lb. 11 oz. and measured 20.5 inches in length.

She has tiny little features; dark blue eyes (we'll see if they change); long skinny arms, legs, fingers and toes; squishy little cheeks; a super-cute face; and two big brothers who ADORE her!

Here's the story....

We arrived at the hospital at 6am on Thursday. We were scheduled for 8am, but we had a slight delay because there was a woman who needed an emergency c-section ahead of us. I was that woman needing to bump someone else five years ago, so we didn't mind. It was nice to have the extra time, actually, because I had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic they gave me and needed some time to let the Benadryl take over. Here we are waiting.

Things were in good shape after they gave me the anesthesia and got me past the associated nausea and super-low blood pressure leading to cold sweats and lightheadedness. I know that those things are going to happen, so I warn them, and they have the stuff ready to remedy things and get me back to normal quickly. This photo was taken during the surgery. Kind of funny, huh?

And here is Miss Claire making her entry into the world! They invited Chet to look over the curtain when they had just her head out, but for some reason, he declined and waited until this moment! :) Seriously, I'm pretty sure I would have passed out on his behalf if he had actually looked over that curtain. Smart guy!

Ladan and Gabe were in good hands with Chet's mom and sister back at the house. They were very excited to meet their baby sister! Ladan was very quiet and reserved entering the room, because he knew what had just happened to me and that I'd be pretty sore. He crawled up into the bed with me very gently and asked if he could hold his baby sister. He is AMAZING with her! He holds her so gently, gives her kisses on her cheeks and forehead and tells her he loves her all the time. He will literally hold her for an hour, and he asks multiple times a day if he can sit with her. It's so great to see him protecting her and caring for her this way!

Gabe loves her too! He wants to give her hugs and kisses. He also enjoys messing up her hair and saying, "Crazy hair!" to her. He was thankful to hold this little dog that my mom sent for Claire. He took care of the dog while Ladan took care of Claire. It was really fun!

Here are some of Claire's visitors...

Aunt Megan, Keith Sparrow (Claire is the first baby Keith has held, and he was FANTASTIC with her!), and my mom (Stephanie)

Chet's mom (Glenna), and of course another one of Mommy and Ladan with Claire.

The sleeping girl. She loves to sleep, that's for sure!

We spent quite a bit of time like this in the room... me holding Claire with the boys at the foot of the bed eating a snack or watching a movie. In these pictures, they're watching Tom and Jerry for the first time ever. Ladan was belly laughing through much of it!

We were also blessed to have a helicopter pad right outside our window! The boys got to see helicopters lift off and land several times a day, which was great fun! As soon as Gabe would come into the room, he'd run to the window and exclaim, "I wanna' see a pretty cool helicopter!" Chet was at least as entertained by it as the boys were!

On our way home Sunday morning!

And here we are at home! The boys were sporting their "Big Brother" t-shirts that my mom sent them, and they were ready to greet their baby sister as soon as we arrived!

While we were in the hospital, Claire lost quite a bit of weight--10% of her original weight--but she was on the uphill climb by the time we left. We took her to the doctor today, and she had gained back another ounce. She isn't in any danger of jaundice, so that's great! And it seems like everything else has checked out okay.

While this c-section has been difficult just because of what it is, my recovery has been better than the other two for sure. There seem to be several reasons for this. I didn't have to labor like I did with Ladan, and Claire wasn't gripping my insides like Gabe was. They also gave me a binder to wrap around my mid-section in the hospital, and it is an amazing help! I didn't have anything like this with either of the boys, but I so wish I had! It really helps to keep things off my incision and holds my muscles in better position so that they're not constantly being strained all day. I'm very thankful for this band of elastic!

We are more than grateful for the extra help we've had! Chet's mom is here with us for a total of 10 days, which is a huge sacrifice for her at this point (though she would never ever make us feel badly about it). She's taking time away from work and from getting her own home back in order after the tornado that went through a few months ago. She's excellent help! After she goes, my mom and then my stepmom are coming to extend our help for an extra week and a half or so. Not everyone has this kind of help, and we are not taking it for granted!

Well, I'm off to try to get some sleep! It's a good thing I'm on pain medication that requires me to sleep. Otherwise, I'd probably be overdoing it right now!

(For some weird reason, I cannot get Blogger to follow directions when I return down to start a new paragraph... and I also have no energy left to continue trying just so it looks perfect... so thanks for bearing with me!)

The Last Five Months... In Photos

2009-08-04T22:13:00.029-04:00

OUR NEW HOME--MARCH 13

EASTER AT CHET'S GRANDPA KERMIT'S FARM--APRIL 12

THE GARDEN WE BUILT--APRIL 25

Phil and Jim, some Redeemer folks, came over to help us build it.

The finished product. Good work, men!

THE SLED DOUBLES AS A DIRT BOX, AND THEY LOVE IT--MAY 5

AT AN ILLINI BASEBALL GAME--MAY 8

CHET'S GRADUATION WEEKEND--LOUISVILLE--MAY 13-17

After four very busy years, Chet finished his Master of Divinity degree at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Bonuras are some of our super-great friends from Louisville, and they hosted us so we could go to the ceremony. What a great weekend!!!!

The almost-five-year-olds and their superhero capes!

The Daniels and Bonura men playing their frontyard football game...

Graduation day...

The pregnant mamas...

Evening story time with the dads...

Daniel and Ladan. Are they a great pair or what?

The Bonuras have the BEST yard for boys! These kids had a BLAST together!

Of course, the weekend wouldn't have been complete without some home repair projects for Joseph and Chet. Don't you love the look of concentration on their faces!?!

PIZZA!!!!!!--MAY 19

FUN IN THE BACKYARD POOL--MAY 20

The boys thought it was great fun to shoot me with their waterguns as I sat innocently reading my Bible! Needless to say it was a not-so-quiet quiet time!

GABE'S GRAND ENTRY AFTER NAPTIME ONE RANDOM DAY--MAY 26

LADAN'S 5th BIRTHDAY PARTY (A FEW DAYS EARLY)--JUNE 6

Balloon hat Keith made for Ladan.

The ridiculous fire... and a fireman to the rescue

Chet and Meghan, our neighbor, who has been a huge blessing to Ladan.

Ladan with his football cake made by Mommy and Kayla

Opening his football, uniform sets, and cleats...

We were so excited when we got this Mizzou set, because it features the number that our friend, Craig Heimburger, had when he played at MU. Super-fun!

STUFF GROWING IN OUR GARDEN--JUNE 9

PUTTING A SHELF TOGETHER WITH DADDY--JUNE 10

LADAN WITH HIS READING CURRICULUM AFTER HE FINISHED IT...

AND WITH THE FIRST BOOK HE READ ON HIS OWN (THE FOOT BOOK BY DR. SEUSS)--JUNE 12

FIRST DAY OF SWIMMING LESSONS AT THE YMCA--JUNE 13

LADAN'S FIRST EVER SUCCESSFUL DENTIST TRIP--JUNE 16

MY BIG BELLY AT 7 MONTHS AND ONE WEEK--JUNE 23

A DIAPER BAG I MADE (WHICH I ALSO TEND TO USE FOR NORMAL STUFF TOO)...

AND A NURSING COVER I MADE...

ONE OF THE SPLASH PARKS--JULY 12

MY BIG BELLY AT 8 MONTHS--JULY 17

THE BUTTERFLY RELEASE--JULY 26

We did a science "project" and grew butterflies from caterpillars in our home. It was really great! We started off with five caterpillars. All went into cocoons, but only four came out. And one butterfly died before we were able to release them. It was great for the boys to see all of these aspects of creation right in our home! They also had a really great time releasing the butterflies when it was time! They were Painted Lady butterflies.

Gabe was pretty sure that this butterfly wanted to eat a leaf.

There are a few other photos from the other camera that I need to download and add in a separate entry. Hopefully tomorrow!

Ladan's 5-Year Photos

2009-07-30T02:42:00.005-04:00

Well, I finally took Ladan out tonight to take some 5-year photos. I had to get out some new jeans for him... size 6 (slims cinched in about 6 or 7 buttons on each side of the adjustable waist, of course). He just turned 5, for Pete's sake! He's pretty much a giant and looks to me like he's about 9 in some of these photos. Here are a few.

(FYI--I'll be posting backlogged photos here in the next several days... really... unless I go into labor or something, which is HIGHLY unlikely.)

Decisions, Decisions: Vaccines and Homeschooling

2009-07-19T22:30:00.005-04:00

Well, I've had it on the radar to get caught up on photos and thoughts on here... and it hasn't happened yet. But I've had a few requests to write more about what we've decided regarding homeschooling and vaccines, so I'm going for it. I'll have to catch up on the other stuff later.

With regard to vaccines, our basic approach is to do most but not all of them and to do them in a bit of a different order than the normal pediatrician's routine. There are a couple of things that we've considered when approaching this issue:

1) We would prefer not to inject certain ingredients into our children, including cells from the remains of aborted fetuses, animal cells, and large amounts of metals and chemicals that can be harmful.
2) We would like for our children to have an opportunity to let their immune systems work for them when it's not necessarily a huge big deal for them to go through an illness.
3) We want to take care to consider the public health risk involved with NOT choosing certain vaccines, not only for us but for others who are higher risk in the community around us.

Based on these things, we've had to do a good deal of research. One of the most helpful resources we've used is The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears. It's fairly well-balanced and is easy to read, offering a host of additional resources for further research. After a bunch of research over the course of the last couple years, I think we've come up with a plan that leaves us feeling mostly comfortable.

We are planning to use Dr. Sears' adapted list of vaccines as a starting place (the one in his book that still gives the kids all their vaccines but adjusts the schedule of vaccines so as to avoid many harmful side effects). For example, he suggests waiting on the Hep B series (which starts in the hospital at birth for a baby) until age 2 1/2 UNLESS the mother, father or other close family member is a Hep B carrier. He never schedules more than two vaccines at a time, because the normal routine of sometimes four to six vaccines in combination is a whole lot for a kid's system to handle. And he delays some other things until later.

Using this adapted schedule as a base, we will take out the chicken pox vaccine for sure because it was developed from a cell line extracted from an aborted human fetus... and because we don't mind if our kids actually get chicken pox as kids and develop lifelong immunity that way. We will also almost certainly not give any girl we have the HPV vaccine for a variety of reasons.

I struggled with the MMR vaccine because the rubella strain used to manufacture the vaccine was taken from an aborted human fetus (they basically just keep using this cell line as it reproduces in a petri dish somewhere). There are also more chemicals in the vaccine than many others, and there is a long list of side effects. The main public health issue in our area is rubella in that it can cause some major birth defects if a pregnant woman is infected with the virus. While I'm rubella-immune (they do a test when you're pregnant to let you know), there are many people around who are not. In the end, we made a very difficult decision and determined that we'd give the kids the MMR vaccine, reasoning that it is definitely bothersome that the rubella component comes from an aborted fetus which is ridiculously awful but that it would seem even worse if one of our kids was a rubella carrier, passed it on to a pregnant woman, and caused some major birth defects or death to a baby who still has a chance to live. Not easy. I'm praying that the drug manufacturers will find another way to make this vaccine, that's for sure.

One great thing about The Vaccine Book is that Dr. Sears outlines the ingredient list in each vaccine produced by each drug company. For example, if there are two manufacturers of the same vaccine, one might produce the vaccine with animal products and the other might not. One might use more aluminum or formaldehyde than the other. You can know what you want and ask your pediatrician to order the one that is better for your child. This can be VERY helpful information.

So that's the short end of the vaccine discussion.

With regard to homeschooling, first of all, we've decided to go for it! After earning my degree in education and being trained to teach kids according to the "traditional" or "progressive" methods (the most common approaches in most public schools and MANY private schools), I wasn't completely satisfied with the way kids were being taught. After some extra research and investigation over the course of the last 8 years, I've become pretty committed to providing my kids with a classical education if at all possible. Please stop for a second and read the information at the link I provided if you don't know anything about classical education. The end result of classical education is that students can typically think more clearly and critically in a more organized fashion and have better tools for problem-solving later in life than students who are taught according to the methods used in most schools in modern America. In a public school, there may be honors courses designed around a classical model, but they are often still so disconnected from other subjects that the experience of these students is very different from those receiving a completely classical education.

That said, the classical model of education seems to stand out as the way to go. There are no classical schools in our area, so that wasn't even an option. So homeschooling, here we come! After a bunch of research and a lot of talking to more experienced homeschooling parents, we decided on the following curricula for Ladan's kindergarten year:

1) Veritas Press Phonics Museum. Since Ladan already knows how to read, we're doing the K-1 Combo Kit, speeding through the parts of the kindergarten portion that he knows but making sure to stop and work on the things that he hasn't mastered from that portion of the curriculum. And then we'll see how much of the Grade 1 curriculum he gets through by the end of the year. Maybe all of it, maybe not. It's GREAT because it includes a ton of history, art history, and art appreciation right in the content of the reading/handwriting lessons. For example, the letter flashcards show the capital letter, lowercase letter, and a piece of classic artwork to depict something that starts with the letter (i.e. a classic painting of apples for the letter "Aa"). So you get to talk about the piece of art, the time period, the style of art, and the artist if you want... and if you don't do all of that in detail, at least they're being exposed to great art while learning letters.

2) Saxon Math (Grade 1). Apparently, Saxon Math curriculum is designed so that most kids can typically start at a grade level above their official grade level if there are no issues requiring remedial help. I really like the way this curriculum is laid out. It's very easy to get organized and seems like it will be very easy to follow. And there are lots of fun activities using manipulatives that make it VERY exciting for Ladan. He has been asking for weeks when we can do a "real" math lesson!

3) Bible. We'll work through the Catechism and Scripture Memory Program that Ladan started at Clifton Baptist Church when we were still in Louisville (we're using this with our Redeemer Church kids here in Illinois as well), Chet will do some Bible lessons with him, and he'll probably help Ladan start creating a Bible timeline of sorts.

4) Science. We'll do just a few fun, totally random science experiments throughout the school year. For example, right now we're growing butterflies from caterpillars here in our home. We're observing the changes each day and recording them in a science journal. We'll also try to incorporate a few fun field trips throughout the year. Nothing too formal at all this year. We'll add more next year.

So that's the plan. We're not required in our state to school our kids until they're 7 years old, which means that I'm not required to abide by any rules regarding minimum number of days, etc. However, I've decided just to go ahead and do school for the full 176 days that will be required in the future. That way we can all practice getting into a routine while we're only doing a few subjects instead of waiting until we're doing 6 or more subjects and trying to go to school longer all at once.

Chet and I sat down over coffee a couple days ago and reviewed the school calendar I had roughly developed. We determined that we'll start school August 31 with just Bible and math. I'll still be fairly drugged and exhausted after my c-section by that point, but the math curriculum is so well laid out that Chet and I will work on it together with Ladan. That way, if there's ever a time during the school year when I'm struggling to get everything done or if another one of our kids needs more care, Chet will have been introduced to the math curriculum and can teach Ladan his lesson. I'm planning to take over math completely and add in the Phonics Museum curriculum starting September 7 or 8 if possible. This schedule should provide room in the school year for a couple of breaks and still allow us to finish our 176 school days somewhere around the beginning or middle of June.

Until we start the reading curriculum, I'll have Ladan read me a new book at least every other day to keep developing his skills. By the way, he's read at least eight books all by himself to date: The Foot Book, Green Eggs and Ham, Go, Dog. Go!, a few of the readers from his Phonics Museum set, and a couple others that I can't think of off-hand. Thankfully, he has a reading log, so I don't have to remember them all! :) We record the date he read the book, the title, the author, and his favorite part about the book. It's fun to hear what he says is his favorite part! He said his favorite part of Green Eggs and Ham was that "the guy thought he didn't like green eggs and ham, but then he tried something new, and he DID like it!" This has been very helpful for Ladan to consider as he's been asked to try some new things at meals lately. He sometimes thinks he's not going to like something, tries it, determines that he DOES like it... and then lets me know that he ALSO likes green eggs and ham. Who knows about that last part, but at least he's enjoying his reading and finding that it helps him in everyday life!

Hopefully that helps lay out the basics regarding why we're doing what we're doing in at least two areas of life. If anyone has additional ideas, please let us know.

Transformation

2009-06-26T18:18:00.003-04:00

Today has been an interesting day. We started off the day with no power, so the boys woke up very early due to the fact that their fans weren't blowing in their room and they were really warm. We've been potty training Gabe this week, and he's been getting better and better every day. He woke up with a dry diaper this morning, which was pretty exciting! He had just a couple of little accidents on his way to the potty, but it was just because he didn't make it in time. For the most part, everything has gone in the potty for the past two days. So that was really great!

I think, however, that the early rise left both of the boys feeling a bit cranky. Ladan in particular was talking back quite a bit and just kind of being rude in general. We had several discussions about it throughout the morning. However, by the time early afternoon rolled around, he was NOT responding well to anyone or anything. I asked him to go sit on my bed and wait for me to come talk to him. Chet was in our room working on church stuff (his office area is in our bedroom), so he would be the one to administer correction. But I had to tell him what happened. So I started recounting with Ladan the things I was noticing about the way he was handling situations. He was listening pretty intently.

He then said, "Mom, I want to say, 'Sorry.'" I let him know that he could definitely do that but that he would still have to have discipline. He responded, "But discipline is..." (he usually inserts the word "mean" in this spot). Before he could finish, I interjected that the Bible describes that we will discipline our children if we LOVE them and that it's not mean because we are responsible to God for training Ladan and teaching him. Here's how the rest of our dialogue went.

Ladan: "Because I need to be transformed."
Me: "What do you mean by that?"
Ladan: "I need to be transformed and change from a person who sins against God into a man who loves God and obeys God. So I have to have discipline."

And that's when Chet took over. He called Ladan to his lap, and Ladan went without an argument... almost as if he was somehow seeing the value of what we were saying even though he knew that what was coming wasn't going to be completely enjoyable. They talked for quite a few minutes before and after Ladan received his discipline. I don't know how their discussion went, but at the end of it all, Ladan promptly came down the stairs and gave me a big hug and said he was sorry for disobeying. He said, "I love you, Mom," and then walked over to play with some toys while I prepared our lunch. Back to life as usual.

Both boys are napping now with the hope that they'll wake up ready to interact with the world around them in a more reasonable fashion.

It's so great to hear the things that Ladan is saying these days! And I'm SO THANKFUL we don't have to send him to childcare all day, because it means that we're the ones who get to hear him say all these cool things. What a blessing this time is with our kids! It's hard some days for sure, and it definitely takes discipline on our parts to maintain any form of consistency. But the Lord is faithful to help us.

Just recently, one of our friends said that his dad talks about raising children and says, "We did the best we could. It's not like you guys came with an instruction manual." Our friend's response to that is to be thankful that his parents did their best... but he doesn't agree with the part about the instruction manual. He's right on! What a gift the Word of God is to us as parents!

Happy Birthday to Daniel Bonura!

2009-06-05T23:08:00.002-04:00

Ladan was pretty much hilarious tonight! He doesn't always take a nap, but he slept long and hard this afternoon, and as a result, he was SO FUN!

We decided to go ahead and attempt to bunk the boys' beds tonight to see how Gabe responds. My main concern with doing it right as he was learning to stay in his own bed was that it would be even harder for him to obey and that it would possibly be more dangerous for him. He's a daredevil, so I don't think this was overly cautious. Anyway, he's not perfect at staying in his bed all the time, but he's loads better than he was 10 weeks ago. So we went for it.

Ladan is SO EXCITED that he gets to sleep on the top bunk again! He had been sleeping on the top bunk in Louisville for quite a while, and he was ready to get back to it.

Well, after moving the beds around, vacuuming their room, and picking things up, it was pretty warm in there. So we opened the window. The screen from the boys' room had fallen out in a wind storm before we moved in and suffered a small tear in the process. So we haven't put it back up yet. Which means that we very rarely open the window at this point, and it's only for a few minutes while we're in there. This was actually the first time the boys were in the room while the window was open to even notice that they could stick their arms and heads out. Don't worry... we were standing right there.

Ladan had a blast hanging his head out the window. At one point he shouted, "This is fun to have a new home!!!" And then he started giving the "sound your horn" signal (the one you give truck drivers if you want them to sound their horns) and shouting, "Whoo, whoo!" to every car that drove by. And then it got better! Ladan's good friend, Daniel, turned five today. Ladan didn't have a chance to call him to tell him happy birthday, so he decided he'd scream it out the window. He was yelling, "DANIEL BONURA! WHERE ARE YOU? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANIEL BONURA!" Keep in mind that it was about 10pm, and my previously super-shy four-year-old son was hanging his head out the window yelling all of this at the top of his lungs. It was GREAT!

So, happy birthday Daniel! Hope you had a great day!

Claire Ellise

2009-05-29T23:11:00.006-04:00

Below is a copy of an e-mail I sent out to some folks tonight to provide an update on Baby Claire after today's ultrasound. When we had our first ultrasound in mid-April, the only "issue" was that she has an echogenic foci (described below). They were checking today to see if it was gone yet and just to check to see that everything's still in good order otherwise. So here's the update...

I am 28 weeks and 6 days pregnant today. Claire weighs 2 pounds 14 ounces, which is right about average. She has hair on her head (we'll see if she keeps that or if it falls out and refrains from growing back for a year and a half like her brothers' hair). She does still have the echogenic foci, which shows up as a tiny shiny fleck in her heart on the ultrasound. About 1% or less of babies who still have this during the second trimester end up having Down's syndrome, which is really the only possible connected condition to the echogenic foci. So far, there are no other indicators that she has Down's, and the doctor today didn't even mention it. When he said, "Her heart looks good," I asked him if the foci was gone (because I was pretty sure I saw it about 5 different times during the ultrasound). He said, "Oh, well, there is a note here that it's still present, but there's almost no chance that it will turn into anything. We'll just let the pediatrician know, and that's about it." So, of course, we're not making assumptions that she's perfectly healthy with absolutely nothing to think about, but there's really no reason to research anything further at this point. We'll see what happens when she comes out.

There is one other issue to consider.... She probably actually has a greater chance of being born with whiplash than Down's syndrome! Today during the ultrasound, the tech was trying to get a 3-D image of her face, and she kept turning her back on us. I pushed up on my belly from the underside three times, and what we saw on the screen was HILARIOUS! Her head was thrown back and forth three times just like she had just been through a car wreck and they were replaying it in slow motion over and over again. She looked like a crash test dummy! We all cracked up laughing! I wish we had it on video! Praise God for allowing these babies to grow in a safe environment where they're protected from crazy moms! :)

Anyway, she's growing well, everything looks normal (even the echogenic foci is often considered a "normal" condition in that it shows up fairly regularly in healthy babies), there's just the right amount of amniotic fluid in there with her which is a sign of a healthy baby, and she's moving around plenty! At one point, she yawned really big, which was pretty funny. I started thinking though. Isn't it crazy how God designs for babies to develop in this strange fluid, breathing it in, swallowing it, and moving around in it... and if they come out too early, they can't breathe air well and will die? And then, once they're done developing, something happens. They're born, and as soon as they come out, they need to be cleared of all the fluid immediately, because if they're not breathing air, they'll die. In an instant, their means of survival changes to something so completely opposite. It's just wild!

I've included a couple of the ultrasound photos. Her cord was floating in front of her face, so we couldn't get a complete 3-D shot of her face... but there's definitely enough that you can see her pretty well. Keep in mind, of course, that things are a little bit distorted because of the fluid she's living in and because she's still got a lot of skin to grow into, so she's not likely to actually come out with a wrinkled face and droopy cheeks!

I have a whole list of things that I'm wanting to write updates about, but for now I'm going to call it a night. I'm planning to wake up "early" (which for me will be about 7am) to go to a used homeschooling book sale tomorrow. I've identified the curriculum I'd like to use with Ladan this next year, and I'm hoping I can find a good deal on at least a couple of the items. We'll see how it goes!

Getting Settled

2009-03-20T23:48:00.003-04:00

Well, we made the big move last Friday. Before we left, I was able to have a couple of girls' night outings with some of my best friends, high school age and older. My friend Jessica and I got to pretend we were college students one night when we went to Denny's at 11pm and came home at about 2:30am. Of course, the fact that we were two pregnant ladies sitting in the corner booth probably gave away the fact that we're a little older than 22! :) Ladan and Gabe did get to play with some of their friends a couple of times for extended periods of time during their last week in Louisville. I was very thankful for that as well.

We had SO MANY friends help us pack, load up, and clean in Louisville, and we had plenty of help once we arrived in Champaign-Urbana. Talk about a relief! We rented from the sellers here for a week and closed today. So now we're officially homeowners... or at least the owners of a hefty loan that tells us the home will really be ours when we're finished paying the bank a ridiculous amount of money! As long as the government recognizes us as homeowners when it comes time for tax returns/credits, we'll take it! We're definitely thankful to have this part of the process all finished.

We've met several neighbors, some with kids and some without. There are LOADS of kids in our neighborhood, which will be a great way to find friends for the boys and a great way to meet the adults! The other folks who don't have kids all seem to have pretty great gardens and/or homemade composters, so as I attempt to plant a few things myself and compost yardwaste, I'll have a good reason to talk to them and get lots of tips. There are also people from many different countries and backgrounds living in our neighborhood. For example, Chet met the man who lives across the street. He's from Bangladesh. All of the houses are pretty close together, which makes for easy opportunities to meet people. There's also a small neighborhood park at the end of the block. Chet and the boys met a mom and her two children (9 and 3) the other day at the park. She's in the process of a divorce and is staying with her parents who live a couple blocks down our road. Our neighbor his a strong Christian who works for a mercy ministry in town as a financial advisor for people who are struggling to make ends meet. And the people behind us are a chemistry professor at the university and a lawyer. It's really great to be in a place where there are so many different people! We're excited to see who we run into once spring and summer really start in full force and people are outside even more than they are now!

I was able to get signed up for health insurance and scheduled my ultrasound and doctor appointment. Also this week, we hooked up the internet, started our trash and recycling services, met with some folks, unpacked a lot, took a couple trips to Menard's and other stores to purchase necessary household items, went to church at Twin City Bible Church to visit and see what's it's like (it's one of the churches in town with the largest student populations), talked to some neighbors, let the boys play outside some, and located various necessary businesses/stores around town. Chet applied for jobs at a few places and will hopefully hear more on Monday. We're really praying hard that it will work out for him to get a job at the Starbucks right by campus. We'll let you know more about that when we find out.

We moved Gabe into his big boy bed a couple of days ago. We started with naptime and had a pretty hilarious experience. The boys are sharing a bedroom now, and both have bed tents on top of their beds. We got Gabe all settled into his tent and closed the zippered parts. There is a flap door that is held on with just a couple of velcro strips, so he can get out if he wants to. And of course, he wanted to. He had to be corrected a couple of times for escaping. After about the second or third time, Chet decided to sit in the room with him to see if he was getting up. Since Gabe was in the tent, he had no idea Chet was still in the room. Chet said he popped out through the tent flap, looked up and saw Chet, and DOVE right back in through the tent opening. Of course, he had to be corrected again. At this point, he stayed in his bed, but he kept using his tiny little toes to lift the tent flap just high enough to look out and see if Chet was still there. Can you just imagine his tiny little face with his big eyes peeking out of that? Chet had a hard time not cracking up at him! He's a smart kid, that's for sure. After Chet warned him again not to try getting out again, he finally got it and went to sleep.

I had suspected that we'd deal with this sort of misbehavior from him repeatedly for days on end... but we've only had to correct him just a few times for getting out of his bed. It's been AWESOME! I'm so thankful! Whenever he gets out of his bed, his brother is right there to call for us through the monitor and tell on him. Not that I want to encourage tattling, but in this case, I don't complain when Ladan volunteers the information.

I thought the bed tent would help, but I wasn't sure it would be this great. It helps both the boys not to be distracted by one another while they're trying to go to sleep, and it gives Gabe a boundary, which is very helpful. I think these tents are probably the smartest Christmas gifts we've bought the boys so far! The boys love them, they're practical, and they preserve our parental sanity. Perfect!

At some point during the first or second day here, I overheard Ladan talking to Chet. It went something like this:

Ladan: "Dad, this is our house! We get to live here!"
Chet: "That's right, Buddy. This is our house."
Ladan: "We have soft floors here!" (Falls down on the floor on purpose, which he would never do on harder floors for fear of hurting himself) "Look, Dad, we have soft floors!" (Stands up clapping) "I'm clapping because I'm so happy!"

At various points he's wanted to move back to Louisville, and then sometimes he really enjoys our new home. When he talks about these things, we try to explain that he'll likely have these different feelings for a little while. He's very anxious for his friends to come to town. He keeps asking when Maddie, Asa, Harper and Addison are coming to our house. He doesn't really understand the timeline very well, and since there is no official timeline for the other families to arrive here, I can't explain it very well either. He's also regularly talking about his other friends from Louisville telling me about things he remembers and things he enjoyed with them. There are some boys his age just a few houses up the street who we met the other day, which will help but won't take the place of his friends.

Honestly, I am so thankful that Ladan misses his friends. A year and a half ago he wasn't super close to his friends and was really just as content to play by himself. I think it's a great sign that he's opening himself up a bit and is loving people around him enough to care when one or the other is not around anymore. It also gives me great confidence that he can meet good friends here.

Finally, our temporary housemate, Kayla, will move in tomorrow. We have her room all cleaned out for her. I have a few other things I'd like to get in order before she gets here, but we'll see how that shakes out. The biggest things are done. We're excited that she's going to be able to stay with us for a while as she transitions as well.

I'm sure I'm missing a million things, but that's always the case. I'll try to upload some photos as soon as I locate the card reader. We have much to be thankful for, particularly for those of you who have helped us in practical/physical ways and for those of you who are praying for us!

Man vs. Woman -- No One Wins In This Competition

2009-03-05T15:03:00.005-05:00

I was just sitting down to take a quick break from packing, and I thought I'd check my e-mail. I get the daily feed from the Desiring God blog, a ministry of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. One of today's entries titled "Over My Dead Body, Son" was written by John Piper. In response to the fact that a girl is going to the MN state wrestling championship for the first time, Piper provides an excellent call to those of us parenting boys (and particularly to the dads of boys) to help our sons think and act in a God-honoring fashion, specifically in the sports arena. After all, it can be a training ground for all of life. Here are a couple of excerpts, but you MUST check out the entire entry here:

"Come on, dads, have some courage. Just say, 'Over my dead body are you going to wrestle a girl.' Of course, they will call you prudish. But everything in you knows better.... Give your sons a bigger nobler vision of what it is to be a man. Men don't fight against women. They fight for women....

... This is not about courageous commitment to equality; it's about wimpy fear of criticism for doing what our hearts know is right.

... we should raise sons to think of themselves as protectors. Tell them they should lay their lives down to protect girls. Help them know that God designed them to grow up to be a picture of Jesus in their marriage. Nurture the instinct of a boy to fight for girls not against them."

For us, this training has started at the toddler stage. The boys are simply not allowed to wrestle or tackle girls. And even when they play football with me, we're helping them learn the difference between playing gently with Mommy and getting to go all out with Daddy. When we wrestle or tackle, they know they need to be gentle because I'm a girl... and because they're protecting the tiny baby growing inside me. And even then, we tell them over and over again that they cannot for any reason tackle or wrestle with another girl. Hopefully it sticks.

When I was in high school, there was a girl wrestler at one of the other schools in our district... and she was really good! I can't remember if she made it state, but she made it very far, that's for sure. Piper is definitely right to talk about how we can train our boys to care for and protect girls, but as a female myself, I think there is also something to our role in not trying to defeat the men around us. Talk about setting these guys up for total humiliation! Any guy who got beat by this girl was completely embarrassed to even walk through the halls of his school.

As women, there will be plenty of "manly" things at which we may excel... but it doesn't mean that we have to exercise all of those gifts in a competitive way. After all, if we do this, we're in danger of squashing the God-given desire of the men around us to love and cherish us, to honor and protect us. OF COURSE this does not mean that we are incapable of taking care of ourselves sometimes or that we have nothing to contribute to the world around us or that we can NEVER play a game of basketball or soccer against men/boys.

However, there is a certain way to handle ourselves as we enjoy these activities without crushing the men around us. For example, before my c-sections, I used to be able to hold Chet in my arms (under his back and legs) and swing him in circles. I could have flung him across the room I guess, but that wasn't the point. It was just fun, and we both thought it was fairly hilarious seeing as how he was at least 80 pounds heavier and 7 inches taller than me. I would have crossed the line if I had swung him around, flopped him down on the ground, pinned him to the floor, stood over him shouting in victory, and then told all my friends and the newspaper about how weak my husband was compared to me. Visualizing that picture makes me laugh in one sense because it's so ridiculous. But in reality, if I was actually capable of doing this and really carried it through with a heart to defeat this man, can you imagine what that would do to destroy our relationship and his ability to adopt his God-given role as leader of our home?

I definitely think it is fair to say that a woman should never try to wrestle or box or otherwise beat up a man with a heart of competition in any situation outside of protecting herself against an attacker. So, parents of girls, I guess that's my encouragement to you. Don't let your daughters manhandle the guys around them. Help them learn to respect and honor men, and help them learn to receive love and care from the men around them. This is honoring to the God who created us, and it is a real picture of the interaction between Christ and His bride, the church.

Now, back to packing!

Transition Time

2009-02-27T00:23:00.002-05:00

We're still waiting to hear from our lender if our closing date on the new house is March 13, but so far as the realtor knows, that's what we're still shooting for. So we've reserved the truck, and we'll just change it if we have to. I'll be thankful to know for sure what we're looking at as a closing date... and at the same time, part of me will want to have a heart attack because it's all coming up already! :)

Saturday night some of our good friends are having a going away party for us and the Prestons. It's a little bit strange to think about the fact that, in just a few weeks, we won't be seeing all these people every week or more. There are SO MANY people we will miss terribly! While it's very sad, on a different level, the fact that we literally have hundreds of friends with whom we've connected in less than four years is an AMAZING blessing from the Lord! I cannot even imagine what our lives would have been like without our church family here! There is also a certain level of comfort that comes from knowing that our time on earth is short compared to the eternity we get to spend in heaven with these brothers and sisters in Christ!

Quite honestly, I think I would be crying every day if I wasn't so sure that we are indeed following the Lord's call on our lives and if we didn't have such a great team to labor and share life with as we plant this church.

Ladan has started clinging to his friends even more over the last few weeks. He does well with transition in most cases, but he's definitely going to miss his friends and his teachers at church. It's sad for me to see him have to leave his friends. The great thing is that he will likely be the one telling me that everything is okay! I would like to try as hard as I can to get the boys together with at least a few of their friends for a fun play time before we go... a time when it's focused on THEM having fun (as opposed to them having to be "quiet and controlled" while the adults get to have fun). Now we just need to pray for a decent weather day so we can give them some room to run!

As I've been packing and sorting through things, I've gotten rid of some of the boys' things. Before I get rid of each item, I let Ladan know what I'm doing and why we're getting rid of that particular item. Today, I was throwing away this random project he made one day, and when I told him what I was doing, he asked what was wrong with it. He asked if it was dirty. I told him it wasn't dirty but that we just needed to get rid of it. He suggested that I get rid of part and save the other part. I explained that it wasn't really going to work that way, and he quickly and happily agreed, "Oh, well, that's fine. Just throw it in the trash." I mean, seriously, he's awesome! It's like he just appreciates knowing what's going on and why, and that's all he needs. I'm not taking it for granted, that's for sure! He is LOVING the process of packing and is a great help to me! He brings me boxes, hands me things that are out of my reach to put in the boxes, gets me the tape/marker, and gives me a high five or a huge hug every time we get another box packed and closed.

Gabe has been really great too. He is clearly addicted to the movie, Cars. I know my two-year-old should not be addicted to a movie, but if you were moving and could see the way his face lights up every single time he gets to see it, you might not argue about it too much either. He has memorized many parts of the movie and recites them before they're coming up. He also plays with his cars at other times of the day and acts out scenes from the movie. Speaking of reciting movie lines, one of his favorite things to do is recite the entire Ring of Fire scene from Finding Nemo with Chet. It's hilarious, and I MUST get it on video!

When he wakes up in the morning, he plays quietly in his bed for a few minutes. As soon as I open the door, he jumps up and down in his bed and screams, "Mom!" Then immediately says, "Change diaper." While we're working on that, he says, "I wanna eat oh-mee-oh an miwk" (oatmeal and milk). And while we're working on getting that ready, he says with great excitement, "I wanna watch a voovie" (movie). He's still learning what it means when I say that we can do that later. As soon as he hears me say "We can do that...", he starts cheering and jumping up and down. And then when he's sitting there eating and I'm still not turning on the movie, he's emotionally destroyed and starts crying. Thankfully he gets over it quickly. I'm trying to balance being patient--considering that he's still learning the meaning of somewhat abstract concepts--with training him not to argue and complain when he doesn't get what he wants.

He has started saying, "I wuw [love] you, Mom!" more often and has been giving the best hugs lately. He squeezes his arms around me and pats me on the back. He's a cutie, that's for sure! These kids are fantastic!

My belly is growing at a much faster rate than it did with the previous two, but I'm gaining weight a bit more slowly. I ordered a new pair of maternity yoga pants when they were on sale last week, and they came the other day. I'm fairly certain that I'll be living in these pants for the next few months. They're AWESOME!

Chet and I took a break the other night to watch Fireproof. It was really an excellent movie--very encouraging! The bonus features were definitely worth watching too.

How's that for another random assortment of thoughts and updates? I'm sure my posts will resemble this pattern for the next little bit.

Short Snip-its of Life

2009-02-21T01:18:00.005-05:00

Okay, over the last few weeks, I have had about a million random thoughts, and quite a few things have happened. Here is an effort to bring you up to speed without taking an hour to get it all down. This list will be in no particular order of events or thoughts, because that's not how my brain is operating right now. So here's a glimpse into my head...

We are buying a house in Champaign-Urbana, IL so we can move hopefully within the next several weeks.

There's a lot to do in the next several weeks.

I have a hard time considering leaving some of my best friends in the whole world behind. But I'm thankful for the phone and internet and cars that get good gas mileage.

I'm going to miss taking long showers and not running out of hot water ever. I think that's the only thing I can think of right now that I'll miss about this apartment in particular.

I'm excited that the only footsteps I'll hear overhead are from people I have let into my own home.

I'm also excited that I won't have to hear the same song being played repeatedly (did I say REPEATEDLY?) on another person's piano at strange hours when it's not very convenient.

I'm looking forward to being in a place where the ground is flat enough that I can see the sunset on a more regular basis.

I'm going to miss going to the river and just sitting there to collect my thoughts. I'm sure there will be some other place I can find to do this kind of activity.

My belly is becoming larger by the day! I was hoping to hold off on getting the maternity clothes out of storage before we move, but I'm thinking it's not going to be possible. I am thankful I can still wear my regular jeans (not even my size larger regular jeans), but I'm thinking that's going to end very quickly.

It's going to be great to have Chet home at night and awake during the day. However, it's going to be a bit of a transition for me not to have my couple of hours every night when the boys are asleep and he's gone at work to get my own stuff done in peace and quiet.

Times like moving make me miss my dad more than normal. He helped me/us move several times. He was a workhorse and would get the job done well and efficiently. He never got mad at me for doing something that didn't make sense (like putting a box down right in the middle of the walking path), but he did make plenty of jokes about it! When I asked him to do something, he'd always say in his monotone voice, "Yes, dear," and tried to communicate to Chet that this was a helpful thing to say. I wish my dad could help us move into our first house and that he could see the boys get really excited about their new basement, back yard, and bedroom. I wish he had been able to meet the boys in the first place. He'd be really excited for us, I'm sure... that is, if "excited" is the right word to describe my dad at any point! The Lord knows best. I think Dad would for sure be proud to know that we used the money he left us to get through seminary and that we're starting a new adventure without any debt (aside from that massive home loan we're taking on, anyway).

I finished a book called Always Too Soon to Quit by Nancy Bramlett last week. It was good. It was also nice to finish a book.

I need some time to shape my eyebrows. I feel like they're taking over my forehead. I'm thankful I don't have a unibrow, or I'd be in trouble.

I love my family. I'm really proud of Chet. Ladan is getting huge (he's grown another 2 inches and gained 5 pounds in the last few months) and is so smart and thoughtful. Gabe is still tiny, and I'll be glad when his cuteness factor wears off a little bit more so I'm not constantly second-guessing myself when I'm giving him direction or training him.

I'm very THANKFUL that Amber (my sister-in-law) learned that kids like Titus (my nephew) and Gabe who are super-active often have skin issues because their bodies use up all of their vitamins when they're running around and they have nothing left for basic health. They apparently also need extra omega-3's. So we put Gabe on an immune booster and an omega-3 supplement on top of his Flintstones, and within 2 weeks, ALL of his eczema and weird wart things were TOTALLY gone!

Gabe then got a bacterial skin infection somehow. He had to be put on his first antibiotic (well, if we wanted him to be able to be around other kids instead of stuck at home for 2-3 weeks). It's been 3 weeks, and it's almost all completely faded. Within the next week, he should be back to that baby-soft skin kids are supposed to have... as opposed to alligator- or snake-like skin.

I get very irritated that the Sports Illustrated swim suit issue is displayed at the check-out counter without the paper "modesty" cover it used to have. For the next month at least, please beware. It's everywhere! And it's not at all helpful for any person to see it.

Thanks to Judy, I got my chocolate-covered strawberries last weekend!!!!! Excellent treat!

We had a great time serving dinner at the Ronald McDonald House with our small group a couple weeks ago. If you've never done it, you should give it a shot. If you have done it, you should do it again. Good times!

I don't really like that my dreams seem to get crazier and more vivid when I'm pregnant. I could really do without that. It kind of freaks me out.

I've had fun figuring and refiguring our finances during the last few months. Excel spreadsheets are my friend. (FYI--I know that last sentence isn't grammatically correct.)

I've had the incredible urge to ride in some sort of topless vehicle (convertible, jeep, whatever) with the radio turned up... singing loudly with my friends. Monster ballads would be fun!

For some strange reason, I kind of want to watch the Oscars this year... even though I honestly haven't even heard of at least 60% of the movies, and I think I've only seen two of them on the entire list of nominated films. And I probably would get annoyed with it anyway. I just always think it's fun to see someone be recognized for hard work, especially work that I am not cut out for at all.

I'm thankful for the group of people who is committed to our church plant in Illinois. So far we have 12 adults and 8 kids (soon to be 10 kids). It seems like we'll be a good team!

I'm 15 weeks pregnant and feel MUCH better now that I'm out of my first trimester. My gall bladder is even behaving. Sure makes moving and doing all of these other things more reasonable!

This is nowhere near a million thoughts, but you can get a picture of life around here for the last little bit. We'll keep you posted!

"Amen" to "Jump Snacks"

2009-01-30T01:01:00.004-05:00

We had a super-cheap and easy dinner tonight... pancakes. That's all we had. It's great, because the boys would eat pancakes every day if they could, so it's always a treat! Tonight, we sat down to eat our pancakes, and here's how our conversation went:

Ladan: "Yay! We get to eat pancakes!"
Me: "Yep. We love pancakes!"
Gabe: "AMEN!"

Hilarious.

Later, the boys took turns taking showers, another one of their favorite activities. When Ladan was finished with his shower he asked if he could have a snack. I said, "Maybe you can have some applesauce." He replied, "No, I don't think I want that right now." I'm thinking at this point that he's going to ask for some fruit snacks or something, so I say, "Well, you can't have any junk food right now. You have to eat a healthy snack." He says, "I'm just hoping for Life cereal. That's not a jump snack."

On Sunday, he also came home after church and told us about how the soldiers put "horns" in Jesus' head. He was easily corrected, but it was very cute because he was speaking so confidently about what he knew.

I love it when my kids say funny things!

A Long Overdue Update

2009-01-20T14:19:00.004-05:00

Well, a lot has happened in the last few weeks! We went to Missouri for 10 days to do our Christmas marathon of visiting family. The boys started the trip sick with colds and ended it sick with the flu. But we had a great time visiting with everyone and were able to see most of our family members and even some friends, which was great!

While we were gone, Megan (Chet's sister) helped me identify that the unusual symptoms I was having were likely related to gall bladder problems. So when I got home, I started researching in my Smart Medicine for Healthier Living book and found several natural remedies. Since I'm in the first trimester of pregnancy, the only one that my doctor wants me to try is the olive oil and lemon juice combo. The book recommended 3 tbsp. of olive oil mixed with the juice of one lemon, which is to be ingested right before bed and then again in the morning before breakfast. I did this for a couple of days...

and then I got the stomach bug that the boys had! Needless to say, I didn't attempt to drink olive oil and lemon juice at this point! In two days of having the flu I lost 4 or 5 pounds and was not in good shape. My gall bladder did feel better because I was eating absolutely no fat (or much of anything for that matter), but as soon as I ate a slice of cheese when I was better, the gall bladder problems came back.

I went to the doctor today for my first OB appointment, and we talked some about the gall bladder issues. She's ordered an ultrasound of my gall bladder, and we'll decide what to do from there. When I came home a friend had sent me directions for a different (more intense) version of the olive oil and lemon juice cleanse. So I'll run that by the doctor to see if I can try it before the ultrasound or if she'd rather I wait until after. I'm really hoping it works! I'm not exactly all that interested in having an unnecessary surgery, particularly if something like olive oil and lemon juice can take care of it.

On a more exciting note, there was a 5-day discrepancy between when the paper dating wheel they use in the doctor's office said I conceived and when my temperature changed (signifying ovulation if you don't know anything about the fertility awareness method of charting). The doctor likes to do c-sections one week early, and so the 5-day difference could be big one way or the other. In order to determine my exact due date, she had me have an early ultrasound during today's visit.

According to the ultrasound, I am exactly 10 weeks and 2 days pregnant, which means my due date is August 15, 2009. The baby was moving around like crazy. It has only one head with developing facial features and has two arms, two legs, tiny little fingers and tiny little toes. There is a very strong heartbeat racing along at 169 beats per minute. They say faster heartrates can indicate that it's a girl, but I'm not counting my chickens, because Ladan and Gabe both had fairly high heartrates as well.

As the ultrasound tech was trying to get around my uterus to see my ovaries, I was watching the baby jumping all around doing something like jumping jacks. I said, "Can you even believe that people throw these babies in the trash can like it's nothing?" She said, "I have never been an ultrasound tech who is pro-abortion. I just look at these tiny little bodies and how early their hearts beat and everything starts developing and have no idea how someone can discard them as nothing important." Seriously. This is why it is so great when crisis pregnancy centers can have ultrasound machines right in their offices.

I was bummed that Chet didn't get to see it (he's sitting in a philosophy class all week), but he'll for sure get to see the later one, which will be even more fun!

With regard to our move to Champaign, Chet's been working HARD to get things in order. Our good friends, Logan and Allison Preston, and their three children are making the move with us. There may be others who decide to go as well, which would be awesome! There are already 5 people in Champaign who are committed to the church, and there may be more before we even arrive... thanks to Jim Smith, our good friend there who is working from that end. Chet is applying for jobs, and we'll start talking with lenders to determine if we'll be able to buy a home at this point. We still have enough in savings, but since our future income sources seem a little bit all over the place, they may require that we get there and get established a bit before buying. We'll see how it shakes out. Anyway, once Chet gets a job and we find a place to live, we'll make the move. It's a bit of a whirlwind, that's for sure!

I'll end with a little story. The other night during small group, one of the high school girls was watching the kids. Apparently, Ladan had a very hard time obeying and was openly defiant several times. She explained the situation to me, so before I left to take her home, I told Chet that Ladan would have to have discipline when they got home. Chet took care of that, and I was putting Ladan to bed a while later. I talked to him for a few minutes about how it made me sad to hear that he had disobeyed Cali and had treated her and the other kids poorly. I reminded him that this is sin and that it is what separates us from God. I reminded him that this is why we need Jesus, to save us from our sins.

After that quick talk, we moved on to our story. We just happened to be on the story of Zaccheus in his Jesus Storybook Bible. The story talks about how Zaccheus didn't have any friends because he was stealing from people. This was disobeying God, and he was a sinner. Jesus came along and rescued Zaccheus from his sinning. He forgave Zaccheus and gave Zaccheus a new heart. Zaccheus wanted to obey God after that.

We prayed after the story. Ladan hasn't wanted to pray out loud for a little while for some reason. He likes to just close his eyes and listen to us pray. But this time, as I was thanking God for sending Jesus to save us, he interjected, "Thank you, God, for saving me from my sinning." We went on to pray that God would help Ladan understand what Jesus did for him when He died and rose again and that God would help Ladan believe and trust in Him and want to obey and love others well. I was so thankful that he was owning his sin and that he is able to verbalize that he needs to be rescued from it. The Lord is working in his little heart!

Oh, one more thing. You'll never believe it....

CHET HAS A FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Family Photos

2008-12-29T15:54:00.011-05:00

Well, I've been really exhausted and nauseous lately, so I haven't done as well as keeping up as I thought I would after the semester was over.

A couple of weeks ago we had a friend meet us to snap some photos of our family. It was a FREEZING cold day, so despite our three or four layers of clothing, Gabe had tears streaming down his face the entire time... not because he was crying, but just because it was so windy and cold. That means that he didn't smile more than once the entire time! The good thing is that, because it was so cold, he didn't try to run around! He wanted to stay as close to us as possible! And Ladan made some really funny faces, so without further ado, here's your entertainment...

Can Anybody Figure This Out?

2008-12-11T22:12:00.006-05:00

Do these provide any clarity?

If that's not enough, how about this?

August 18, 2009.

Hairy Arms, Burping Bottoms and Other Fun Stories

2008-12-07T14:24:00.005-05:00

Here are a few funny stories from recent days...

One day Ladan was trying to open something that was pretty hard to turn. He said, "Wow, Mom. This is really tough to open." He looked down again at it and said with determination, "Well, I do have hair on my arms, so I must be strong enough to open it." He gave it another try and got it opened... then yelled, "Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!! I did it!!!" FYI--Ladan has a few clear pieces of hair on his arm that can't be more than 1/8 inch in length. Nevertheless, it is there, and apparently it makes him strong like Daddy.

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Last weekend I was watching the MU football game with Ladan. They lost. I told Ladan what happened, and he said, "Well, I guess they'll praise Him." Have you seen Facing the Giants? There is a line in the movie where the coach tells the team that if they win, they'll praise Him [God], and if they lose, they'll praise Him. When Chet came home, Ladan told him that the Missouri Tigers lost and were praising God. Let's hope they were!

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Just yesterday he woke up from his nap and was playing with Gabe. He accidentally tooted. He announced, "Whoops. I just tooted." I asked him if he needed to go to the bathroom. He responded, "No. It's kind of strange. It's almost like my bottom just burped." Nice observation. I replied, "Yes, that's pretty much exactly what it's like. And yes, it is kind of strange."

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Our neighbors are moving back to California and are leaving town tomorrow morning. We're so sad to see them go. I don't think I'll ever take for granted the days we've had with them right next door. Over the course of the last few days, their two little girls have been playing at our house a lot so Glen and Jessica can pack. Ladan and Hannah (who will be 3 in February) have been playing a lot of house. Ladan has a small tent set up in his room right now. It's a 3x3 foot tent with mesh walls so you can look in easily. They have the kid-sized lawn chairs set up inside the tent. Many times over the course of these days, Ladan and Hannah have gone into their house to sit together. It's really funny because they just sit there for up to 15 minutes at a time just talking and doing nothing else. It's like they're an old couple just chilling out on the screened-in porch chatting the day away.

They have taken their "kid" (a small snowman made out of a tube sock) to school. Hannah sits on the little riding toy holding the "kid", and Ladan pushes them to school. They drop the kid off, and then come back down the hallway to do something else for a while. Inevitably, they remember their kid and go back to get her from school.

At one point, Gabe tried to walk into the tent while Hannah and Ladan were sitting in their chairs. Hannah said, "No, Gabe. You can't come in the house right now, son." Awesome!

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We put our Christmas tree up after we ate our Thanksgiving dinner. Ladan has been so excited about it and keeps shouting out, "It's Christmas in our house!" He tells me regularly that he just loves Christmas and is so glad that it's Christmas in our house.

Amber, my sister-in-law, made us a set of ornaments last year that have different names of Jesus on them. Each one has a name that Scripture uses to refer to Jesus as well as the Scripture reference where we can read about it. There are 25 of them, so we do one each day, reading the scripture and talking about what it means when we refer to Jesus as ___________. Ladan has been having fun trying to read the names of Jesus on the ornaments. He gets some of them right off, and some (like "The One Mediator") are a bit more challenging.

One of the ornaments reads "Man from Heaven". It was the first one we did. When Ladan woke up the next day and came to the tree to try to read it, he said, "Man... (insert long pause) who goes to college." I helped him figure it out and he now gets it every time, but I thought his original version was pretty great!

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Gabe has been pretty funny lately too. He's starting to use all kind of fun phrases. Today I was wiping the oatmeal off his chin, and he said, "Oh my goodness. I'm messy."

When he does something wrong to Ladan, he says, "Foddy, Nanan" (Sorry, Ladan).

His favorite game is to wait for someone to get up from his/her seat, RUN over, climb into the vacated seat, and yell, "You get out of my seat!" This game NEVER gets old for Gabe and is a constant source of entertainment for him.

We got the following message from one of Gabe's Sunday School teachers a few weeks ago:

"... one of the parents asked us if we were teaching the kids to kneel or bow down when we pray...if you have noticed your kids wanting to do this when you pray at home it is not because we have taught them to do this. Although, at some point one of the kids just decided to lay face down when we started to pray and the power of influence on kids is I guess pretty big, because when we pray in Sunday school, most of the kids will now lay face down. So if you are wondering what your child is doing, that's the explanation!"
Can you even imagine a room full of two-year-olds laying face-down on the ground during prayer time? I so wish I could see it!

Well, that's all for now! Chet finished his classes for the semester, so I'll try to get better at posting more regularly again. Please be praying for us as we make all kinds of decisions in the next little while!

The Pot Pie Recipe

2008-11-20T00:01:00.002-05:00

Here it is!

Ingredients:
14 oz chicken broth
1/2 cup water, and another 1/3 cup water
4 medium carrots, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups quartered medium mushrooms (I don't use these)
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 refrigerated unbaked piecrusts (for 9-inch pie)
2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. (If you use a glass or dark metal pie pan, may need to decrease heat to 400 degrees)

2. Combine broth, 4 oz. water, carrots and potatoes in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms (optional) and onion; saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth mixture and peas.

4. Whisk remaining 1/3 cup water into the flour until smooth. Then whisk it into vegetable mixture. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to a boil.

5. Grease pie pan and line it with one of the pie crusts.

6. Stir chicken into the vegetable mix. Then transfer it all into the baking dish. Just heap it all in there. It doesn't need to lay flat.

7. Lay the second pie crust over the top. The edges of the top crust should overlap the lower crust. Tuck it around the top of the bottom crust (inside the pan) and pinch it around the edges... so that it creates a seal around the filling.

8. Cut some fun or pretty shape out of the top using a knife or cookie cutter.

9. Bake until filling is bubbly and crust is browned, about 20 minutes.

*You may want to add salt and pepper, but I tend to just allow each person to doctor his/her own food.

I don't have the photo on this computer, but if you want to see what it's supposed to look like, click here.

(FYI--I got the basic idea from a sample recipe my grandma gave me from Easy to Bake, Easy to Make and made several changes.)

Fight the Freedom of Choice Act

2008-11-12T00:21:00.005-05:00

Way to go Beth Bloom!!!! Beth is a senior in high school at our church, and she sent me the link to the petition to fight the Freedom of Choice Act. This is exactly the type of thing I was talking about in my last post! Please consider taking 30 seconds and signing the petition yourself.

Hopeless for the Helpless?

2008-11-08T00:28:00.005-05:00

In the wake of Election Day 2008, I have heard many people commenting on how sad they are for unborn children who will be aborted in our country. I have to say that I am totally right there. If Obama and Congress move to pass the Freedom of Choice Act and lift the ban on partial-birth abortion, there will likely be more helpless babies killed than ever before. (For a description of partial-birth abortion, click here. Warning! It's horrifying!).

I read a few ads during this political season saying, "It's illegal to give a Tylenol to a child without parental consent, but it's okay to perform an abortion on that same child without consulting the parents. Something is wrong with this picture." Pretty wild if you think about it, but sadly it's the case in many states. In the end, the whole thing seems a bit hopeless, right?

Well, maybe not. Here's my take on it. It is totally true that the Lord is sovereign and that He is in control of all of this. We can fully trust Him. However, that doesn't mean that we have to sit back and wait around for some edict to come from the government making abortion illegal in order to protect the helpless unborn. Our sovereign Lord doesn't use only elected officials and their power to outlaw abortion as His means to save babies. If we really are pro-life, then here are a few possible ways we can help to save unborn children right now...

One obvious one is to volunteer at an established crisis pregnancy center. Or team up with other believers in your community to get the necessary training and start a crisis pregnancy center.

Another is to continually remain involved in public affairs and political issues. We can regularly contact our elected officials and let them hear from us on this matter. We should for sure be praying that the Lord softens their hearts, that they hear His voice, and that "pro-choice" officials change their minds.

We can also be proactive in many ways. For example, what about investing our lives in young men and women, whether they are our own or someone else's? What if we loved the Lord so much ourselves that it was contagious and these kids wanted more than anything to have what we have with Him? What if we spent time helping them to realize that, even if abortion is legal, it's wrong? And better yet, what if we spent time helping them to tell the difference between a good relationship and an ungodly one, helping them to realize that, besides pregnancy, there are MANY consequences of sex outside of marriage. The possibility of pregnancy is just one of a host of issues that comes along with doing things in the wrong order, and even perfect protection from pregnancy couldn't protect them from these terrible effects. We also need to teach them that there are MANY rewards and good reasons to save themselves for the one they will marry... and that it really is totally worth the wait. What if we didn't wait for these young people to "figure it out" on their own, and we actually cared enough about them to tell them "no" sometimes, even if they didn't like us very much for a while?

All of those same things apply to college students and grown adults. Even if we don't have the authority to tell them "no", we can take an opportunity to speak the truth to them and lovingly, but firmly, say something they may not want to hear. After all, while the majority of abortions are chosen by young people, there are plenty of adults who make the same choice for themselves.

This is no small battle, and it seems like we're fighting on an uphill slope that keeps getting steeper. Yet, we're not left without hope!

Let's say that each of us took seriously our responsibility to love people well and to proactively work to prevent bad relationships, inappropriate and unhelpful sexual behavior, and untimely pregnancy. What if we were able to help encourage men, women, boys, and girls in their walks with the Lord so that they were positively motivated by the right things? I wonder how many abortions would be prevented then?

And what if some of us were able to dedicate ourselves to serving and loving men, women, boys, and girls in the event that they do end up conceiving a child that they aren't sure they're ready for, in a crisis pregnancy center setting or not? I wonder how many abortions would be prevented then?

It is my encouragement to every person to study what it means to live life in a way that honors the Lord. Find out what it means to fulfill your God-given role as a man or woman. Find out what God says you should look for in a relationship or how He says you should carry out your relationship if you're already in one. Then be committed to that. Commit yourself to sharing that with others and pouring yourself into the next generation of young people who are making tough decisions every day. You will not only be preventing the death of unborn children, but you will be giving life to those who are already walking around outside the womb!

Happy Faces and Homemade Goodness

2008-10-30T23:50:00.005-04:00

What a day! This morning I was able to go to Panera for ALMOST TWO HOURS BY MYSELF! I ate a whole grain bagel and read my Bible the entire time. Well, I didn't eat the bagel the entire time, but I did read my Bible the entire time. I popped my earplugs in and was able to focus really well. I finished 1 Kings. I just joined up with a couple other moms for a Thursday morning kid swap, so I was able to take Ladan to a friend's house. Since Gabe was sick, Chet stayed home with him. Normally Chet comes home from his morning class and goes straight to bed, so this was a really big treat for me that I thought wasn't going to be possible because Gabe is sick. Yippee!!!!

When I got home, Ladan asked if he could have a piece of candy from our church Reformation Party. He picked a blue Starburst, and this is what it did to his mouth...

It was great! He thought it was hilarious! His blue mouth made his face happy for quite a few minutes. I'd say that there was enough dye in that one piece of candy to color enough icing for an entire cake.

Once the boys were in bed for their naps, I did a few things around the house. For dinner, I made a chicken pot pie... with a happy face cut out of the top (forget the boring scalloped circle recommended in the recipe)! It only takes about an hour to make this, and it's really good. It's also huge, so it lends itself well to leftovers. And apparently you can assemble it, wrap it well, and freeze it for future baking. I'll post the recipe in another entry just in case you're interested in trying it out.

Once I got dinner cleaned up, I started making some pumpkin bread out of that friendly pumpkin we brought home from the pumpkin patch a couple weeks ago. Although it took a while from start to finish, it was very easy and included long chunks of time to do other things. If you'd like to see the recipe, click here. I turned our pumpkin into one loaf of pumpkin bread and three cups of pumpkin puree that are in the freezer waiting to be turned into three loaves of bread sometime in the future!

As if all that wasn't enough homemade goodness for the day, I decided to attempt to make the ear infection drops suggested in a FABULOUS book I reference all the time--Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Natural and Conventional Treatments for Infants & Children. (I just realized that there is actually an adult version of this book when I went to copy the link. I'm going to add it to my Amazon wish list immediately! I've been using the kid version even for myself, and it's been great, but this will most certainly be even better for we old folks.)

Anyway, back to the ear infection and drops. I can't be sure if Gabe has an ear infection. I haven't taken him to the doctor, because even if I take him, all they'll do is give him an antibiotic. All I know is that he sure has been crabby for almost a week, has hardly eaten, and today he started pulling on his ears. He's got a pretty wet cough, so I wouldn't be surprised at all by an ear infection.

I know there are varying opinions on antibiotics for this type of thing, but in short, I don't like them much and will avoid them if at all possible. I talked to a nurse who works at Children's Hospital in St. Louis once, and she told me that they don't even administer antibiotics there unless there is danger of death. She was shocked when I told her that so many of our friends' kids are continually put on antibiotics for ear infections. Sure, ear infections are painful and irritating, but there has to be a better way in most of these cases to help kids get through it that doesn't diminish their resistance to future infection. Well, I think I found at least one helpful solution today!

In Smart Medicine, they suggest making some simple ear drops. You put about 2 Tbsp. of olive oil in a small pot on the stove. Then peel a fresh garlic clove and cut it into about three or four pieces (the book doesn't say you have to cut it, but I did so the garlic would get out into the oil faster). I heated the oil and garlic on medium for about 5 minutes, removed it from the heat, and let it cool until it was still a bit warmer than body temperature but not too hot. You then suck up a bit of the oil in a medicine dropper, lay your kid on his/her side, and drop one or two drops into their ear canal.

We did this in both of Gabe's ears, and while he absolutely hated the process of being held down, after about 10 or 15 minutes, he was up and running around like himself and had a great time until he went to bed an hour and a half later! Apparently, garlic has antibacterial properties and works to heal ear (and other) infections. And the warm oil mixed with the garlic helps to relieve pressure and pain. It was awesome! We'll definitely be doing this once or twice a day until this thing is gone completely.

So I sent him to bed with a bit of Olbas Oil on his shirt, the humidifier on normal setting, and a HAPPY FACE on the front of his head for the first time in almost a week! Praise the Lord!

Chet even had a happy face before he left for work. He was able to write half a paper in the chunk of time after dinner until he left. Great work! He's still got a TON to do between now and next Monday, but he's on a roll!

Oh, and I made some hummus from scratch earlier this week, which turned out to be 1/4 of the cost of buying it in the store. I'm on fire! Too bad I don't have a photo of my happy face tonight!

Illinois... and Gabe in Concert

2008-10-27T12:31:00.008-04:00

We spent Friday and Saturday traveling to Springfield and Champaign, Illinois. It was a packed 38.5 hours from 11am on Friday when we left Louisville till the time we arrived home at 1:30am on Saturday night (Sunday morning for those of you who are concerned about precision). Gabe was a showing some signs of being a little bit under the weather before we even left, so I packed the Ibuprofen and Olbas Oil.

When we set out, Ladan asked for a cookie randomly. I told him he could probably have one when we got to Illinois. On the way, we stopped at Old McDonald's (that's what Ladan calls it) in Danville, Illinois and got some chicken nuggets for the boys. Danville is just inside the state, so we had just told Ladan we had entered Illinois. When we were pulling out of the parking lot, Ladan said in distress, "Oh, no! We almost forgot to eat a cookie in Illinois!" We had to explain that Illinois is a big place and that we'd be in it for another whole day. Whew! He felt so much better.

The boys didn't sleep at all on the way. Nice. We got to Springfield at about 4:30, settled into our hotel room, and met up with Chet's old youth pastor, Ed Ingram, and his family. We went to dinner at a place called the Pizza Machine. It's something like three stories, but you can see each of the levels from one side of the restaurant. There are all kinds of crazy things to watch and do in the place. They hold birthday parties on the lower level, which you can see from any spot in the place. They make a 40- or 60-inch pizza, put it on a massive pan, and lower it with a chain and pulley system from the ceiling above the third level. Crazy! Needless to say, the boys were a little bit overwhelmed to start. It really wasn't until about 20 minutes before we left that they even broke in and wanted to play with things.

Gabe had a horrible time falling asleep and even woke up in the middle of the night. Not normal for him. We had to have the boys ready by about 7:45 so they could go to Kevin Ingram's soccer game. I was not optimistic that they would do very well. They're used to having 12 hours of sleep at night and at least 2.5 hours of rest/nap time in the afternoon. They had missed their nap on Friday and only had a maximum of 9 hours of sleep that night. And Gabe was definitely getting sick.

The Ingrams kept the boys for about 6 hours, and when we met up with them again, the boys had been really good! They had eaten well, obeyed, and had a great time! The Lord provides just what we need when we need it. Gabe was in pretty bad shape at this point, though. He was hardly talking (a sure sign he's not well), had a fever, and was coughing.

We popped the boys in the car and headed off for Champaign. They each slept for about 45 minutes in the car. Hardly a full nap, but at least enough to hopefully sustain them. We met up with our new friend, Jim, in Champaign. He hopped in our car and showed us all around the city. It was awesome! Pretty much like Columbia, only a little bit more of everything. The campus is a little bit bigger. The downtown area is a little bit bigger. The city is a little bit bigger. However, it pretty much has exactly the same feel to it. I guess the only difference is that there probably weren't nearly as many wooded or road walking/bike trails in Champaign, but they had more large parks than Columbia. Nevertheless, it was just our speed... pretty much everything we love about College Town, USA. We had never been there before, so it was definitely fun to see it.

We ate dinner with Jim and his wife. Throughout dinner, I'm pretty sure that Gabe didn't say even two words and ate only his applesauce. Ladan, on the other hand, was shockingly social. He was talking and playing with the kids in the booth behind us. He laughed and joked with Jim. He even ate all his food, including some appetizers. All of this on very little sleep is really great for him!

After dinner, we got back in the car and headed for home. We stopped for some $2.23 gasoline outside of Indianapolis, but other than that, we just kept moving. We were SO TIRED! The boys slept most of the way, and Chet and I wanted to sleep most of the way. I was trying to stay awake just to keep Chet awake. Let's just say that it was a good thing he was driving, because I would have sent us off the road.

We got home at 1:30, unloaded the van, and got ready for bed. By this time, Gabe's temperature was 103.4. I gave him some Ibuprofen, put some Olbas Oil on his shirt, and Chet turned on the humidifier. He was so happy to be in his own bed. He just quietly smiled when I laid him down and went to sleep immediately. He slept until 1:30 on Sunday afternoon.

When I went in to get him, I opened the door and was surprised to see that it appeared as though he was in concert! Chet hadn't paid too much attention to the setting on the humidifier, but it turns out that it was putting out so much mist that all I could see was Gabe's head popping out over the top of all the fog. It literally looked like those fog machines people use in concerts/plays. It was hilarious! Everything was damp, but I noticed that the curtains had been pretty nicely steamed. Definitely a benefit. (Note to self--never iron curtains again... just turn the humidifier on high output and shut the door!) Gabe felt so much better that he was eating, playing and chatting like normal. We determined that Olbas Oil and the humidifier on "concert setting" can possibly cure most anything!

In reality, Gabe's still got a cough and is pretty hoarse, but he's on the mend. It's actually been kind of nice to have him want me to hold him so much. He's not overly demanding, but he comes up and wants to sit in my lap while I type on the computer... and he doesn't even feel the urge to punch all the keys and wreck what I'm doing. He's just been sitting here pointing at all the letters on the keyboard and whispering what he sees. I can handle that. Last night we were watching baseball, and he was just chillin' on my lap with his little hand on my arm. I'll take it while I can get it. In no time he'll be too big to sit on my lap, and probably even sooner than that, he won't want to.

"Vote Your Conscience"

2008-10-23T16:54:00.004-04:00

A friend sent me the link to this video produced by the Catholic Church. I would suggest that most of what's included in it pertains to all Christians, not just Catholics... so please take 3 and a half minutes to watch it.

Proud of My Boys!

2008-10-22T00:20:00.007-04:00

I've been attempting to edit one of Chet's papers for an hour and a half now, but I'm totally delirious and can't focus. I guess four hours of sleep last night didn't turn out to be enough to sustain me for a late night of academic paper reading tonight. Shocking!

I just thought I'd post a quick note to say I'm so proud of my boys... all of them! Chet's been working HARD to get through this semester. In about six weeks, he'll complete his last full semester. Then he's got two classes to finish up. He's totally exhausted and has a ton on his plate right now, but the end is in sight! He's such a hard worker!

Ladan and I finished lesson 16 in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons today. He's reading some short words, some short sentences, and has been introduced to some picture interpretation over the course of the last few lessons. And he's TOTALLY LOVING IT!!!! He can hardly wait for his lesson every day, and he is so excited throughout each one. It's so much fun to see him learning and enjoying it so much. I forgot what he did the other day, but when he finished, I told him he did a really good job. He replied, "Yeah, I'm so proud of myself!" This may sound a bit puffed up to some of you, but I am so excited to see this new confidence coming out in him. We've worked and prayed long and hard for this, and it's finally showing up! Rather than hearing him say, "I can't," I see him backing up, thinking, and then trying again until he gets it.

Gabe has really made some big progress in the last few weeks with his letters also. I wasn't too sure if he was going to be into letters and sounds, but he's really blown me away. He stands at the refrigerator or the white board and points out all his letters. He still gets about 5 or so of them confused every once in a while, but considering that he only knew 5 letters total about a month ago, I'd say that's pretty great. And considering that he does it all voluntarily, I think it's REALLY great!

Learning is so much fun! And lest you think that my boys are the only ones doing the learning, I'll let you know that I too am catching on to new things. I had a chance to take Beth Bloom's senior photos yesterday. In preparation, Chet had to teach me a little bit more about our big flash. Beth, Kathy (Beth's mom), and I went out to a few fun spots around town to snap the photos. We had so much fun! I almost fell in the creek about five times, but thankfully I managed to stay on dry land. I had downloaded the 30-day trial of Photoshop Lightroom to play around with, and I had a blast using Beth's photos as a learning experience!

Then tonight I went to a meeting of current and potential homeschoolers at our church to learn more about how to homeschool on a tight budget. Homeschooling freaks me out in many ways... but every time I think about acquiring materials/supplies, taking time to learn or re-learn all that content myself in order to teach it, and then watching my kids' faces light up every time they learn something new, I realize it could the perfect combination of all the parts of school that were my favorites!!! Only the Lord knows if it's what we'll end up doing for sure, but I'm so thankful for the opportunity to learn from so many wise, experienced people here. My friend, Becky, is always telling me that I'm already homeschooling my kids, and she's right. It's just not structured-sit-down-and-do-worksheets homeschooling.

Ladan and Gabe are both having a great time singing. Their current favorite is "Holy, Holy, Holy". Ladan knows all the words and sings it along with his air guitar while he dances around. And Gabe apparently doesn't want to miss out on the fun, because he inevitably chimes in, "Woewee, woewee, woewee!" and then belts into an endless stream of babbling with the occasional clear syllable until finally at the end, when Ladan is shouting out, "Blessed Trinity," Gabe ends on cue with "i-tee!" as if he just sang the song as clearly as his older brother. Great!

Ladan is loving his Jesus Storybook Bible. We've been through it quite a few times already, but he still can't get enough of it. Whenever it's time to read together, he only wants to read his Bible. I can't argue with that. He saves his other books for his independent "reading" time. Tonight we were reading about God's message to Isaiah, and the story referred to the coming king as a servant. I asked Ladan if he knew what a servant was. He kind of stumbled around for a bit, so I explained that it's a person who helps another person. He replied, "Yeah, Jesus is that servant. He helped us because he died on the cross to take our punishment." Okay! I guess he knew right where this story was headed!

Gabe, on the other hand, tends to have a hard time sitting still for books that have any length to them. But that kid cannot get enough of prayer time. Especially before bed, he loves it when we hold him and whisper our prayers in his ear. He bows his head, snuggles close, and says, "Pay?" So we pray with him, and when we finish, he'll ask again. My prayer is that this time will provide a foundation for him and that he'll know without a doubt that the Lord is near and that He hears us.

Consider This...

2008-10-17T01:31:00.005-04:00

I've mentioned before that I'm on a quest to read the whole Bible in a little over six months. I started with the New Testament and am now working through the Old Testament. I don't think I'll always read through it this quickly, but it's really great to get the big picture in a short period of time. I'm finding that I'm picking up connections that I didn't necessarily get in longer, more spaced-out reads.

I've been reading 1 Samuel for the last few days, and I wanted to mention a couple of things that caused me to stop in my tracks all over again even though I've read them many times before.

The first is in 1 Samuel 12. Israel is asking God for a king. Samuel warns them that they really don't want a king. They insist that they do indeed want a king. They're tired of trusting a king (God) that they cannot see... they want an earthly king, partly so it's someone they can see and partly just because it's what everyone else around them is doing. The Lord appoints a king, but it's not without consequence to Israel. Here's how it goes down:

1 Samuel 12:17b-25 (ESV) [Samuel says,] ... And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord in asking for yourselves a king. So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king." And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."

I mean, seriously. Just sit and read that second paragraph again. It's amazing, and it applies to every human being who ever walked the face of the earth. Israel totally blew it! And yet they had this great encouragement from the Lord through Samuel. And they still messed up. Over and over and over again. We mess up over and over and over again. Which is exactly why God had a different plan from eternity past, one that doesn't count on our ability to get it right. Jesus.
And isn't Jesus' message to all humanity the same as Samuel's message to Israel? We have all sinned against the Lord and worshiped "empty things that cannot profit or deliver" (ourselves, other people, knowledge, things, status, good hair, a clothing size, etc.). If you are reading this and are in a place where you are not trusting in Christ ALONE for the forgiveness of your sins and hope of eternal life, you can choose right now to recognize that God is the only One worth worshiping, turn away from your sin, receive His forgiveness, and begin to serve him faithfully with all your heart.

Even those of us who have already accepted the Truth of the Gospel still need to hear it over and over again. It's sweet every single time we hear it and recognize how wonderful God's grace is. The Lord has done great things for us, and He alone is worthy of our praise and honor.

Samuel points out that it would be a sin against GOD for Samuel to give up praying for Israel. There are times in life when we have done all we can physically do for a person, but there is NEVER a point in time when we are allowed to give up praying for those who are wandering or separated from the Lord. He also says that he will continue to instruct them in the good and right way. As an added note, if we're receiving instruction or correction in "the good and right way", let's not reject it. It is a gift from the Lord, a mercy that gets or keeps us on track.

Samuel warns Israel that if they continue to do wickedly, they and their king will be destroyed. Likewise, if we fail to turn away from all of the empty things that we worship and fail to repent of our sin, we will be destroyed right along with all the stuff we focus on that doesn't last. This warning is very scary. But ultimately we don't worship the Lord only as a way to get out of being destroyed (although it's definitely a healthy part of our motivation). We worship and serve him faithfully with all our hearts because he has done great things for us. It is his kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). There is so much more (infinitely more), but hopefully, I'm getting the basic point across.

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The second thing I wanted to mention is the story of David and Abigail in 1 Samuel 25. I would encourage you to read the entire chapter, but I'm not going to type it all out here. In short, Abigail is married to a guy named Nabal. Nabal acts a fool and is a punk to David. David decides that he's going to seek revenge and kill Nabal.

Abigail finds out about David's plan and approaches David to ask him to have mercy on her husband (who she admits has acted foolishly). She encourages him to let the Lord take care of it and says, "And when the Lord has... appointed you prince over Israel, [you] shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for ... taking vengeance [yourself]." (1 Samuel 25:30-31)

"And David said to Abigail, 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from avenging myself with my own hand!'" (1 Samuel 25:32-33)

David decided not to kill Nabal. Abigail told her husband all of these things. Ten days later the Lord struck Nabal dead.

"When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, 'Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing.'" 1 Samuel 25:39.

The Lord used Abigail to speak to David, to prevent David from doing something terribly wrong. Even if the Lord had not struck Nabal dead, it would still have been His job to decide to avenge David. It is not our responsibility to get back at people who do wrong to us. We are to trust these things to the Lord. And we are to heed the warnings of other people that God uses to warn us. David humbly accepts Abigail's warning and praises her discretion. He didn't continue on with his plan just because he had already resolved to kill Nabal. He snapped out of it and realized that it would be a big mistake. He saw Abigail's action as loving.

Like Abigail, when we see other people heading into a situation where they are about to make some big mistakes, it is our responsibility to come to them in love and warn them.

The Weird Shouting Guys

2008-10-13T22:08:00.019-04:00

Tonight, Ladan and I went for a walk to Walgreens and to the bank. It's about a mile or so each direction, and since it was a nice night, I decided to see how long Ladan can walk. It was lots of fun! He held my hand the entire way and wanted to run every time we needed to cross a street (after looking both ways and yelling out, "We're safe!" every time of course).

Well, we got into Walgreens, and since Halloween is approaching, there were lots of strange looking creatures hanging from the ceilings and the walls. Ladan doesn't know a whole lot about Halloween, so these things were a little bit surprising to him. He kept saying, "Mom, look at those giant weird guys up there."

We were walking out of the store to go to the bank, and he saw a strange-looking ghoulish kind of guy. The guy was bald, had no eyebrows, had his mouth open like he was yelling, and had a sort of dirty-looking robe thing on. This particular guy stood out to Ladan for some reason. He stopped to look at the guy and said, "That's really strange, Mom. That guy is shouting."

I asked him what he thought the guy was saying. He replied, "I think he's yelling, 'Help! I lost my eyebrows and my hair and I'm all dirty!'" Nothing about, "I'm going to get you!" or any such phrase that might be scaring someone else. Ladan was fairly certain that the guy was just freaked out because he looked like a freak! Hilarious!

On the way home, he was talking about the weird shouting guys in the store, and I said something like, "It's not too nice that they're shouting like that, is it?" He answered, "No. That guy should have said, 'Would you please help me find my eyebrows and my hair and clean me up?' He didn't need to shout about it." We laughed all the way home!

On Saturday we took the boys out to Huber's Orchard to pick a pumpkin. We went into the kids' area and rode out to the field to feed the animals. And then we rode a different tractor out to the pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun! Here are a few photos...

This is about as close as Ladan got to a goat's mouth.

Gabe, on the other hand, was all about the goats licking the corn right out of his hand. He loved it when they had to pry his little hand open to get their food! His own tongue was sticking out the entire time he was feeding them.

These are out in the pumpkin patch...

The boys loved this green pumpkin.

We had to convince them that it wasn't necessary to throw it like a football.

Ladan was having a blast!

I think Gabe was trying hard to develop a strategy for choosing.

(Doesn't he look like a coach standing on the sidelines?!?)

Here's the little guy we finally brought home. As a result of our new friend's presence in the middle of the table,

Ladan is very proud to be properly pronouncing pumpkin (as opposed to "ponekin").

Did you notice that Gabe has to wear his hat just slightly tilted to the side just like Ladan did? How cute is that?

The New 20

2008-10-08T23:55:00.002-04:00

Today I turned 30. My brother called me a couple of days ago and asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I can never think of anything when people ask me this question, but I remembered that I do have an Amazon wish list. I got on the computer while I was talking to him and sent the link to Amber, my sister-in-law. While she was pulling up the list, my brother was heckling me about how old I am. I heard Amber yelling out from the background, "30 is like the new 20!" He said, "Yeah, she said that 30 is like the new 50!" Nice. That's what little brothers are for I guess.

I was just excited to hear Amber say that she thought my Amazon wish list was so fun that it caused her to think that she needed to spice hers up a bit! I guess I'm not a total dud yet.

Last night my guys gave me my birthday present early. They got me Volume 1 of the Love Comes Softly movie series. We do like them because they're wholesome movies... but apparently part of the reason Chet bought them is that we laugh really hard at some of the acting, particularly the body movements and facial expressions of Dale Midkiff (Missie's father). Chet can do a mean Dale Midkiff impression that causes me to crack up. You'll have to ask him to oblige you sometime.

Earlier today I was getting ready to go to the grocery store, and Ladan walked me to the door. He gave me a hug before I left and spontaneously said, "I think you're really cool." That's a great birthday gift right there!

My mom had Chet go out and get me some balloons. He thought it was too much to get 30 balloons, so he got six latex balloons and wrote "5", "plus five", "+ five", "add cinco", "+ V", and "add another five" on them. Then he had them include a mylar balloon that says "thirty". He said that 6 x 5 = 30... and he was able to accomplish the goal with only seven balloons. Efficiency is definitely key. Now you see why we fit well together.

Before I went to the high school girls small group at church, I stopped at Starbucks and got my favorite treat, a mint javachip frappuccino. While I was waiting for it, the barista gave me a free multigrain roll and apple bran muffin. He didn't even know it was my birthday, so I consider that a gift straight from the Lord!

Then the small group gals had another little treat and a very sweet card for me. All of these things on top of the MANY Facebook, phone, and e-mail birthday greetings were a real blessing today. I definitely don't feel much different than I did when I turned 20. That said, I think Amber is probably right on. It's the new 20!

So I Slapped My Husband

2008-09-30T23:04:00.003-04:00

Here's the story. Sunday after church I went down to the nursery to get Gabe. I realized that he had a dirty diaper after a few minutes and went to find Chet so we could go ahead and get home. We were also planning to go to a party for a recent Marine boot camp graduate from our church, and we needed to get home to get a few things together first. So I found Chet and explained that we needed to get going because Gabe had a dirty diaper and because we needed to get some things ready before going to the party. After a couple minutes, his conversations were wrapped up, and we were heading out to the vehicle.

We got in, and Chet started it up. He looked at the clock on the dash and realized that it was only 12:15 and politely asked what the rush was all about, obviously still not fully understanding what I was talking about but attempting to go along with me. As he was turning over his shoulder to make sure we weren't hitting anything when we pulled out, I was explaining that it was because Gabe had a dirty diaper and that we needed to get a few things ready before the party that started at 1:00 (I guess he didn't hear me the other two times I explained it, but that's fine).

Well, as I was explaining this, he was turning his face back toward the front, and I noticed a mosquito on his cheek. If you've spent any time with me outdoors in summer humidity, you know how much I hate mosquitos. I'll do just about anything to see them dead, and apparently that includes slapping my husband's face! Without even thinking about where the mosquito was, I just knew that it had to die, so my reflexes took over, I threw all caution to the wind, and let that mosquito have it... or so I thought until I saw it flying over the top of his head. Whoops! I missed! Then I suddenly realized that I hadn't missed Chet's face! I really let him have it!

He turned and looked at me with horror and asked, "Why did you just do that?!?" You should have seen his face. All I could do was start cracking up... pretty much just like I'm doing right now as I write this. I explained that there was a mosquito and that I just had to get it! He reminded me that it probably would have hurt less to have a mosquito bite than it did to have me slap his cheek! Right. I guess I should have thought of that. But like I said, there is only one thing I'm thinking about when I see a mosquito--IT MUST DIE!

We have laughed hysterically over and over again since Sunday about this. I told Chet that he needs to write a blog entry to tell his story, and then we played out all the ways he could exaggerate it. Talk about hilarious!

I'm praising the Lord for a husband who's so gracious and who's willing to laugh with me when I do crazy things! I do have to warn you that if you're standing near me and have a mosquito (or bee) on your face, I might not have any more sense to hold back than I did on Sunday. Let's just hope I get the mosquito and that the smack isn't without value!

Our Baby is TWO!

2008-09-29T23:34:00.012-04:00

Gabe turned two today! I can hardly believe it. He's such a little man! To celebrate his special day, we had pizza for dinner and invited our neighbors over for brownies. Jessica, Hannah, and Maddie are three of Gabe's very favorite people, so it was great fun for him!

Here are a few photos of our birthday fun... (You have to click on this first one and look at what he's doing.)

We (Chet, Ladan, and I) got him a doctor kit. The boys are pretty freaked out by the doctor, and since they have to go again in two days, we're hoping this type of toy will help ease their anxiety about things that happen at the doctor. I'm also going to make Gabe an ABC photo book, but there are still a few photos that I need to get before I can make the book. Basically, it's a 6x6 scrapbook, each page displaying a photo of Gabe doing something starting with each letter of the alphabet.

He also received two sets of trucks (thanks to Gigi and Grandma) and some money from several folks that will go into his account. It was a good day for our little guy!

Here are some fun things about Gabe:

He's starting to learn his letters and probably knows about 5 or 6 of them.
He LOVES to read books and is unbelievably cute when he sits on the floor with his little legs straight out with a book spread from his hips all the way to his feet.
One of his favorite things to do is take out all of the kid movies one by one, looking at the front first, then the back, then lay them on the floor. (I'm thankful that he doesn't seem to enjoy this as much as he has for the last several weeks, because it's a pain to put them all back in their proper places.)
He's using more and more sentences all the time, but you still have to know him pretty well to be able to pick out what he's saying.
He's a magnet for pre-teen and teenage girls! Probably because he freely distributes lots of kisses to them and says their names with a super-cute voice.
He can jump really high with both feet off the ground. They say this is a helpful sign that he has the muscle tone necessary for successful potty training. However, since he doesn't like to sit still for longer than 2.9 seconds, I haven't had a whole lot of success getting him to even pretend he's going potty. Good thing I'm not all worried about getting him potty trained and won't be for quite some time.
He still seems to prefer his left hand while eating, throwing, drinking, or doing just about anything. We'll see if he turns out to be a lefty or if it's just a random thing for now.
He is getting better and better at throwing, kicking, catching, and hitting any type of ball. He's had some recent success with his tennis racquet. It's a pretty funny sight since his racquet seems like it's almost as tall as he is!
He sleeps with his ball blanket, his little bear blanket, his binky, his football, and sometimes a Mega Bloc Lightning McQueen and a London double-decker bus.
He can never get enough milk.
Every morning, I get his cup of milk for him, and then he promptly goes to the cabinet to get his little glass bowl out for his "pancakes"... which is really oatmeal. He loves both pancakes and oatmeal and would be happy with either. So, when he hands me the bowl, I ask him if he's ready for some oatmeal, and he shouts, "YEAH!" Then he happily announces that he's going to shut the cabinet and waits for me to confirm that I heard him before he actually closes it.
He is still a great sleeper most of the time. He sleeps about 12 hours at night and 3 hours in the afternoon.
I can still tell when he's got a dirty diaper... not because he smells, because many times he doesn't. It's because he's getting into trouble. Whenever Gabe is disobeying, when I hear screaming, or if there's some kind of scuffle between Ladan and Gabe, the first thing I generally check is Gabe's diaper... and it's almost always dirty. Crazy.
He's starting to get a little bit more shy the older he gets.
I've had to trim his curls a couple of times, but they seem to keep coming back. We'll see if that lasts forever, or if it's just a little boy stage like it was for my brother.
He has such fun expressions, both facial and verbal!

We love this little boy and are so thankful to the Lord that He's given us two whole years with him. We are praying for many more. More importantly, we're praying that he is captivated by God's Word and that he develops an intense love for the Lord that brings him to his knees in repentance, obedience, and JOY!

This afternoon Ladan was asking Gabe if he wanted to pretend like he was Baby Jesus, and Ladan could be Joseph. Ladan told him they could pretend they were in Bethlehem, and it would be fun because he (Gabe... aka Baby Jesus) could rescue everyone! Wouldn't it be amazing if the Word came to life in Ladan's heart and he ended up teaching his brother in such fun and understandable ways that Gabe can't help but fall in love with the Lord?!?