Gone with the Winds

A few pregnancy notes

2012-01-23T10:24:00.000+08:00

1. Today was the first day I didn't throw up in the last 7 weeks. Yay for progress! Maybe I'm turning a corner and will truly feel better soon? Nausea, my constant companion, I'll be glad to bid you farewell!

2. The tummy is definitely pooching out in a major way. My body snapped right back into pregnancy mode and I now have a round little belly hanging over my (somewhat) lower-cut pants. I look five months pregnant, even though I'm only 3-ish!

3. I forgot how much I miss my house helper. My mother in law has been here these last three weeks, and has lent a hand many times with dishes, the vacuuming, tidying up, etc. She has even helped me prep some meals. We've had a wonderful time together, household chores notwithstanding, but she leaves on Tuesday. Lou, dear Lou, where are you??

4. The girls continue to be so very, very excited. They are divided on whether it is a boy or girl but talk about it every day. Clara Anne couldn't understand why we couldn't manage to have the baby sooner--like, later this month would work for her!

5. I've been reading a bit from people posting about sanctity of life month, and am so touched and moved again when I think of the precious life that is being protected by my body. How I love this little one already! I'm so thankful for the technology that has allowed us to see into the womb with such accuracy and detail, and the resulting increase in pro-life awareness that that has caused. May the Lord help us to keep on fighting for the protection of innocent life!

6. Our names are now on "the list" at our church...the list of expectant parents that is usually about 20 names long. The blessing of children abounds at our home fellowship. There were three new babies born just in this last week! One mother joked, "You know you're a member of Clifton Baptist when your 2.5 week old baby gets bumped off the new birth list!"

7. I'm thinking of cloth diapering this new little one. In fact, pretty sure I'm going to do it. Any words of wisdom for me from you experienced cloth diapering moms out there?

Thanks for reading my random pregnancy thoughts tonight! I'm off to bed (yawn). Can't seem to rest too much these days!

Funnies from my Funny Girls

2012-01-20T10:42:00.000+08:00

The girls have been full of funny quotables recently, but I usually laugh and then forget what they said! But here's a few I did manage to remember:

On Sunday mornings after church Clara Anne and Chloe run to play with their friends as soon as the service is over. They stay right in the sanctuary, but often I am not really paying attention to what they're doing since I am busy catching up with friends myself! This last week, though, John happened to notice that Clara Anne was off in a little corner with a bunch of boys. He asked her, "Why were you with a bunch of boys? What happened to your girl friends?" Her immediate response: "Oh, those boys were just following me around. They like to be bothersome." True enough!

Christin always seems to know how to crack us up. The other day Chloe was telling a story at lunchtime and with a somewhat scornful look of perfect disdain, Christin said, "Really, Chloe? Really?" And of course she still pronounces the "R" as "W" so it made it even funnier!

Tonight in the process of getting ready for bed (anyone else struggle with long, drawn out bedtimes at your house? No matter what I do, it always takes longer than I'd like! Maybe it's just because I am so ready to get to bed myself!) Clara Anne said, "Mommy, do I have to change into jammies? I find it so much more convenient to just sleep in my clothes, and then I don't have to get dressed in the morning." She was perfectly serious but I insisted that she had to change.

Love those funny girls! They make me smile every day. I am so thankful for these precious girls and the fun, laughter, and yes, drama that they bring to our house and home every day. On Tuesday night, we had dropped the girls off at our friends for date night swap while John and I went out. Unfortunately by the time we were supposed to pick them up I was feeling pretty nauseous and headachy, so stayed in the car while John went in and got them. But when they came out and saw me in the car, everyone was excitedly calling, "Mommy, mommy, mommy!" and even in my yucky state, their love and affection brought joy to my heart and a smile to my face. Love you girls!

The Girls' Favorite Christmas Gift

2012-01-17T10:54:00.000+08:00

On the night before we were going to head off to Iowa/Minnesota, though it was only December 18, we had a wonderful time doing a special Christmas celebration at home. We finished the Advent Calendar, put up the rest of the ornaments on our Jesse tree, and sang Christmas carols. The girls had fun with all of the special events and though the clock was ticking (and much packing still needed to be done), we told the girls we had one very special Christmas gift to give them.

What could it be? We started a guessing game. Everyone made an (incorrect) guess.

Then, where could it be? Again, good guesses were made, but all incorrect. Not in the stockings, not under the tree, not hiding under the couch.

Finally, John said, "All right, I'll show you. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Yes," they all chorused.

John slowly pointed in a circle around the room until his finger finally came to rest on my tummy. Without John saying a word, Clara Anne "got it." Her eyes got as big as saucers and she launched herself at me, crying and saying, "Oh mommy, mommy, MOMMY!" Tears were flowing as she exclaimed, "It's just what I've always been longing for!!!"

So she was crying, and of course I was crying, and Chloe looked up with an absolutely horrified look on her face. What was everyone crying about? Christin didn't really know what was going on either!

In a minute we all calmed down long enough to share with the girls in plain English that yes, Mommy is going to have a new little baby! The girls had known that I hadn't been feeling well, but never guessed the reason why. But recently they had even been mentioning, at random times, how nice it would be to have four children. Chloe was learning even and odd in math and told me how great it would be if we just had one more child in our family, then we'd have an even number! One time we were finishing up shopping at Target and the girls saw carseats and said, "Oh look Mommy, if you have another baby then you can buy her a carseat here!" Things like this kept happening and so it was so fun and special to tell the girls that they will have a new little brother or sister, Lord willing!

I am about 13 weeks now and maybe, just maybe, starting to feel better. December was a pretty rough month of only doing what I absolutely needed to do...I forgot, literally forgot, how crushing the fatigue and nausea of early pregnancy can be! Nausea has been a pretty constant companion but I am finding that if I eat enough, and rest enough, I do feel better. But it varies from day to day...last week there was a day where I took three naps! Yikes! Thankfully, it is all worth it and we rejoice in this new little one. We are praying for a healthy baby to make his/her appearance around the end of July. The girls are over the moon and have had fun gleefully announcing the news. It was very special to tell our families in person over Christmas and we are thankful that all seems to be progressing normally so far, though I haven't been to a doctor yet. Hopefully soon--we have to get some details worked out with our insurance, etc first.

Praise the Lord for the gift of life! We are so thankful for this new little one! (And you know, we might be slightly crazy too. What are we thinking, going back into the newborn phase again!) But this truly is a gift from God and I am very thankful. Rejoice with us in His wonderful plan! Here's a picture from that special night when we told the girls the news. What a joy!

Back in Louisville

2012-01-13T07:18:00.000+08:00

It's been a snowy day in Louisville today, a wintry mix of rainy sleet and snow. We've had a good day inside staying warm--and a fresh loaf of cinnamon swirl bread just got pulled out of the oven. Yum!

We've been back at home in Louisville since late Friday night, after two days of traveling. We left Winthrop, MN (where John's mom lives), taking her with us on Thursday and had just enough time to eat a wonderful lunch at the Pizza Ranch in New Ulm before heading on our way. We spent the night in Waterloo, IA, with John's brother Andy and family, and then got up very early in order to drive directly to St. Louis, where we met John's Aunt Margie, his father's sister. She is 83 and still in very good health. We enjoyed our lunch together and of course John peppered her with lots of questions about his dad. Then, it was off to the Concordia Seminary Library where John wanted to do some research. We finally left for Louisville about 5pm, and after a brief stop for supper, arrived home about 11. All of us, especially my mother in law Ann, who was struggling with motion sickness, were glad to piled out of our very packed vehicle! Thankful for the Lord's protection as we traveled many miles without any major incidents.

It seems it always takes us a few days to settle back in to "normal" life. Is it just us or does this happen to all of you too? Laundry, sorting mail, stocking the frig again, unpacking, finding a new place for Christmas gifts...it all takes time. We had a busy day Saturday with all of that and then a full day on Sunday with church and small group Sunday night.

We've been easing slowly back into home school this week and the girls have done well. We started a new read-aloud, called "Flight of the Fugitives" about the life of Gladys Aylward. It is so interesting! The girls are really enjoying it, and I am too. I think the girls have been glad to have some routine to life again after the seemingly endless free time over vacation.

The news with my dad has been mixed. A new difficulty is that it seems that several of the major doctors involved in his case are now disagreeing about what should be done. Without going into the complicated details at this point (I'm still waiting to hear what happened in his last few days of appointments), we really need the Lord's wisdom. It seems that when doctors disagree, basically it is up to you as the patient to decide what is best, and we simply do not know right now what to do to help him. If you have been praying for Dad, please don't stop now! We are as much in need of prayer as ever.

I had to look up a recipe on my blog this afternoon and then got started looking back at old posts--always fun! I have a new resolve to stay better up to date with my blog in this new year--to record the happy, silly, sad, funny, difficult, challenging, exciting and normal moments of our lives this year. The girls are growing too fast, these days are going quickly! I'm glad for the opportunity to share about life here. Here's hoping for lots more blogging in 2012!

An Update from Rochester

2011-12-31T00:34:00.000+08:00

John and I, the girls, and my mom and dad have all been here in Rochester, MN since Monday afternoon. We are working on day four of appointments this week, after Mom and Dad spent about three days in appointments two weeks ago. Here's what we know so far about Dad's condition:

The problems that Dad is experiencing--difficulty with processes or sequences, flat emotions, no energy for social interactions, weight loss of more than 60 pounds in the last 6 months, and other bowel and bladder issues, are NOT a result of the heart attacks that he had. Various tests have been done and we have now finished up with the cardiologist. There is scarring and some damage that was done to the heart, but the cardiologist felt that those issues were separate from the other, more pressing problems that Dad is experiencing. His heart is not functioning well, but it does not seem to be a cause of the other problems--the cardiologist felt that the problems had an underlying neurological root.

As well, the endocrinologist found several "worrisome" lumps on Dad's thyroid and biopsied them on Tuesday. He found that one lump was not a problem and the other did contain "abnormal" cells but they will wait to look at that again for 2-3 months. So, we have essentially finished up with the endocrinologist.

Dad did see a gastroenterologist on Tuesday and they have ordered a colonoscopy as well as an endoscopy, those (yucky, no-fun but necessary) tests will be performed next week. However the gastroenterologist also felt that there was something neurological behind the weight loss, especially--they will do those tests just to make sure that there isn't anything physically obstructing his body from absorbing his food.

Another area Dad was seen in was psychiatry. This doctor also felt that Dad's problems were NOT depression, but had a neurological basis. Depression had been a previous diagnosis in the past months, Dad was even on some medication at one point, but this psychiatrist did not feel that was accurate. However, he left a caveat in his report saying that if neurology couldn't find anything, he would take a closer look at Dad's condition again.

We were thankful to at least have several areas ruled out, and all seemed to be leading up to the important meeting with the neurologist yesterday afternoon. Mom went with Dad into the appointment, which was about an hour and a half long. The doctor put Dad through quite the "tests"--draw a clock for me, it's twenty after 11, touch your right ear with your left hand, do this math problem, remember these four things (then asked him about the 4 things 10 minutes later), take off your shoes, stand on one foot, etc. Dad actually performed very well in all of those things and cooperated well.

The conclusions at the end of the appointment were that this neurologist felt that Dad clearly does NOT have Alzheimer's disease.  He said that even patients with early-onset Alzheimer's could not have done the tests that Dad could do. So, there must be something else going on.  This morning we are waiting for Dad to finish a two hour test of thinking and memory skills, and a PET scan has been scheduled for this afternoon. This is a heavy-duty radiation test where they will add glucose to the radiation and watch how every cell in his body responds to the glucose. There has been a mention of potential frontal lobe deterioration or damage in his brain, though likely it is not related to his heart attacks. Hopefully the next few tests will tell a bit more.

So, though we may not be finding anything treatable, it is very good to know that this is not Alzheimer's, and that they are getting closer and closer to finding out what is wrong. As well,  I think it is a matter of peace of mind for my mom and our whole family to know that we are doing all we can for Dad.

After today's appointments, John and I will drive to visit his mom in Winthrop, MN, and Mom and Dad will head home. Next week they will have to return for appointments on Thursday and Friday, but we don't know if that will be the last trip. The internist who is overseeing Dad's entire case will eventually compile everything together that has been amassed from all of the various doctors and tests.  That appointment has not been scheduled yet so there is certainly more to come.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. I am very thankful that we are here, in the States. These issues with my dad were not even on our radar screen when we were feeling led to come back to the States but I am so very glad that we are here. The Lord knew! And, I have really enjoyed my time with Mom and Dad at Mayo as well.  Mom booked a hotel with a fun pool and has been taking us out to eat all the time, so we're trying to enjoy the time together as best we can under the circumstances!  Mom had great fun buying (too many) Christmas gifts for the girls and last night we found a fun scrapbook store where she could browse for her favorite hobby. I'm so thankful we can be together!

We're trusting the Lord for whatever the future holds. His path for each of us is unique but we can be assured that He is walking with us and loves us dearly, so much so that His only precious Son humbled Himself to be born into this world, lived, died and rose again to purchase our redemption. Praise Him for His glorious grace!

Milk and Cookies

2011-12-18T05:41:00.000+08:00

So....it's Christmas. I should be packing. Or washing dishes. Or cleaning up the disaster-that-was-formerly-known-as-the-girls'-room. Or finishing some holiday baking. Or cleaning out the refrigerator. (you get the idea).

But, I'm taking a moment to sit this afternoon and thought I'd seize the moment and post some pictures!

Yay for pictures!

This is a flashback to our fall music class, titled "Milk and Cookies" that I taught to my girls, my two nieces, and our friends' two girls. We had a class of seven and the girls LOVED having Music Time each Friday morning. I enjoyed it too! (Though they may have enjoyed seeing their friends as much as the music!)

We used some Kindermusik curriculum and instruments that my mom passed on to me. Such fun! Here's a glimpse:

Dancing to some music--the girls loved to dance around the big table!

Doing some fun activities with jingle bells. "Bells are ringing, listen to them ringing..."

"I'm a little Teapot" was part of this particular week's line-up of activities!

There was always a story time--here we are reading "Zin, zin, zin, a Violin!" Fun!

We finished our last day by having some lunch together--corn chowder in bread bowls, and of course some milk and cookies!

I'm so thankful that we could have such a fun experience with music this fall! The girls (all coming from musical family) already did so well the the basics like keeping a steady beat, matching pitch, and things like that. My only challenge was keeping them on task--it was so fun to be together with friends that sometimes they forgot they were also in class! But the overall time together was very good. We enjoyed it!

Contemplating Christmas

2011-12-08T11:51:00.000+08:00

I just have to say it: It's very strange being in the States for Christmas. I feel a little displaced. Shouldn't I be hosting about 10 outreach parties, baking up a storm, and planning our family Christmas and Clara Anne's birthday celebration?

Instead I am being bombarded with advertisements, feeling the pressure to do a bunch of Christmas shopping, and not sure how Christmas is going to play out for us this year.

Now, don't get me wrong, Christmas in Asia wasn't always easy. The first year we lived overseas, we were in the hospital preparing for the birth of this little sweetie:

It was wonderful and precious to become parents on Christmas Day, 2004, but not exactly a tradition we wanted to keep up every year thereafter! :)

Our second year we hosted so many outreach parties, including two on Christmas day, that by the time the 26th rolled around we were dead tired and John got almost deathly sick. He was about as bad as I've ever seen him with the flu. All of my plans for starting new Christmas traditions were scrapped in favor of tea and toast.

By our third year overseas, we had talked a bit more about what we hoped Christmas would be for our family and come up with the start of some traditions. We also had teammates by that point and so started some traditions with them, like this one, gathering together for a special Christmas worship service and carol sing:

As time went on, we did develop some of our own traditions that our girls love. A special joy this year was unpacking all of the Christmas items and the girls squealing in delight as they remembered our Jesse tree, the cross-stitched Advent calendar, the wooden nativity set, etc. We loved celebrating Christmas as a family on Christmas Eve and then reserving the 25th as Clara Anne's special birthday celebration.

So, why does it feel so different this year? One reason relates to my dad's health and my parents' situation. We just are not sure what will be happening in the next weeks. We are eagerly anticipating the appointment at Mayo Clinic on the 14th but what will happen after that is almost impossible to predict. Also, we will not be in our own home. We will be at my parents' home, which is even better than being at home!--but it will feel different. The girls have already asked if we can take along our Jesse tree and some other special items; we'll plan to do that and continue some of our traditions that way.

I also feel, though, that there is more rush-rush-bustle-hurry in the States at Christmas than I had experienced overseas. There's more pressure to buy, buy, BUY and even though we don't want Christmas to be just about buying things, it's hard to know how to deal with all of it exactly. I trust this will be something we learn better how to manage when we've been here longer. For now, our plan is to give the girls each one (nicer) gift which we will shop for together, plus a few small things in their stockings. We'll see how it all turns out!

For the moment, I am trying to savor special Advent readings and Christmas stories, enjoy the lights and music of the season, and spend extra time in the Word as we contemplate the miracle of Immanuel. Though I'm not doing lots of baking, and I only had one outreach party, I am thankful to be here this Christmas. It will be a gift beyond price to be with my parents in this difficult time, and it is a joy to see my girls continuing to grow in their love for Jesus and their desire to know Him more as we read our Jesse tree Scriptures, learn Christmas carols, and remind ourselves of the truth that Love came down at Christmas.

How about you? What Christmas traditions are you looking forward to celebrating?

New Life, New Hope

2011-11-22T11:51:00.000+08:00

We have some good news to share from our home tonight! Yes, finally some good news! I haven't taken much time to blog recently, as we've been preoccupied with life, home school, some wonderful church outreach events, and most notably my father's rapid decline with Alzheimer's disease. In the last month he has just gone downhill so fast, we've all been surprised and shocked. He is mostly staying in bed, is having trouble grooming himself, and has continued to lose weight, among other concerning problems.

But, after persevering through yet another several rounds of communication with various doctors, my mother has asked their local doctor to refer my dad to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. And, miracle of miracles, they already have an appointment! Apparently there is lots of paperwork involved and various circumstances can take place that would prevent this happening so quickly, but we are so very THANKFUL that this appointment is scheduled, and only a few weeks away, at that. Dad's case is very unusual for Alzheimer's and so the doctors at Mayo will do a very thorough examination and try to put together the whole picture of what is happening with his health.

Praise the Lord! There may be a new gleam of hope for my Dad physically. I am so thankful!

And, we have a story of new life to share with you as well. Tonight, as the girls were getting ready for bed, I was upstairs when Chloe suddenly came running up the stairs, crying. At first I couldn't understand exactly what she was saying, but then it came out. "I am scared about my life," she said, "if I will go to heaven when I die." John was right there with me and began to gently talk with her. She admitted that lately at night she has been afraid that there will be a fire in our house (we did a fire drill recently--taught the girls what to do in case of a fire, since we live in a different house now) and she will die. She felt anxious about whether or not she would go to heaven and had been thinking about it at nighttime recently.

John had noticed that lately during family devotions Chloe was really paying close attention, and so tonight he just simply and clearly explained the gospel to her again. She was listening intently and was able to answer his questions as he probed gently to get an idea of her understanding. After a long time of discussion, she prayed, John prayed for her, I prayed, and Clara Anne prayed for her too. It was such a sweet, sweet time--the longing and prayers of many years for our precious Chloe Rachelle!

Isn't the Lord good to us? Isn't He so gracious to show us again the beauty and simplicity of the gospel message, so simple that a five year old can understand it, be drawn to it, and become His follower through it? Oh, how my heart is rejoicing in my good and gracious Lord and His plan for my dear Chloe!

But you don't have to take my word for it! Look at these joyful faces afterwards!

(Christin's happy INside, really, she is! :)

Thank you, Lord, for your amazing work in Chloe. I pray that she would love you more each day, and that she would grow in wisdom and stature, in godliness and the fruit of the spirit. I pray that she would walk with you all the days of her life, that she would trust and obey you no matter what she may face. Thank you that you have worked in her by your grace alone, and that you will sustain and nurture her infant faith to maturity. I pray that she will find her joy, her rest, her comfort, and her purpose in you alone. Thank you Jesus! Amen.

Retreat!

2011-10-31T10:54:00.000+08:00

This weekend I had the joy and privilege of participating in a women's retreat sponsored by my wonderful home church. It was a first for me--though I've been to plenty of meetings and get-aways during our life overseas, this was the first time that I had been able to join in on something quite like this. The retreat is over a Friday night and all day Saturday, with a speaker chosen to lead several sessions and then plenty of time built in for fellowship, fun, time in the Word, and even free time to take a walk, take a nap, or whatever you liked. I enjoyed the mix of scheduled and unscheduled time.

I've written before about how important I feel it is to occasionally get away and retreat, but this was the first time I was able to do it in a corporate setting. Of course, the experience of it was extremely different than a solitary retreat, but the idea is still the same--getting away from normal life and responsibilities for a brief period of time so that we can hear more clearly from the Lord and focus on His word in a different way.

The planning team had done a wonderful job, and thought of so many special details that made me feel so spoiled! Lovely, crafty decorations, delicious foods, small gift bags placed on our beds, a wonderful packet to take home--it was all so beautifully done. I was impressed!

I really enjoyed the teaching that was presented throughout the weekend. The main theme was "Clinging to God's Promises" and the woman who taught has lived this truth as her husband is struggling with an incurable disease. She had much wisdom to share that hit close to home as I think about the fears that are threatening our family right now. She also helpfully provided a chart of many, many Scriptural promises and I hope to spend some time meditating through that list this week.

One wonderful benefit of the retreat was the opportunity to have significant, uninterrupted conversations with women whom I don't see very often. There are only so many people I can speak with on Sunday morning after church, and there are some women whom I interact with much more frequently, but this was a chance to meet some new friends, connect with others whom I wanted to get to know better, and have significant conversations with several women whom I greatly respect. I approached the retreat wanting to be intentional about conversations...not just chatting but asking "heart" questions and being willing to share myself as well. It was just wonderful to have the chance to do this! I got very little sleep, it's true, but I don't regret it one bit! I'm thankful!

One reason I think those conversations are so important is because as I look back over how the Lord has worked in my life, sometimes He did significant work in me--changed a direction, convicted me of a sin, helped me see a situation clearly--simply through a very brief word spoken by a Christian sister. Can any of you relate to this? I could give a lot of examples but I won't go into long stories here...but the point is that I do remember specific conversations that the Lord used to change me, though those conversations may have even taken place in a casual setting, not a formal mentoring relationship or small group setting.

So, I'm so very thankful that this weekend provided an opportunity to be with sisters in the Lord, enjoy great teaching and thinking on God's word, encourage one another, worship together, and rejoice in what He is doing in one another. I took my camera, but was too busy talking (and listening) the whole weekend to take any pictures! But, I'm thankful for the chance to go, for my husband who stayed and held down the home fort (quite well, I might add!), and for those that planned and really worked hard so that we could be treated to such a great retreat. Thank you Lord!

And now, the challenge is to let the things I am learning impact me as I begin a new week and normal responsibilities again. We'll be back at home schooling again tomorrow, working on character and habit training with the girls, and all of the other normal stuff that is part of daily life. I came back from the retreat with a fresh conviction about persevering in training my girls in godly habits and responses. We need a little refresher course, I think! Things like "NO whining" and obeying right away, all the way, and with a cheerful heart, and also learning to clean up our messes when we make them...we'll keep on working to make those standards a reality again this week! I'm thankful for His new mercies and will be looking for them again tomorrow morning.

If you've never had the chance to go on a corporate retreat like this, may I encourage you to consider it? Or, if it's simply not available (like for me when I was overseas), set aside a half a day and spend that time yourself with the Lord. It's worth it!

Facing our Fears

2011-10-27T11:12:00.000+08:00

Clara Anne, my sensitive, perceptive, imaginative, and lovely almost seven year old, has been battling fear recently. We have been having a hard time putting her to bed at night, because she keeps on saying that she is scared. She has been getting out of her bed and coming to ask us to pray for her, sometimes two or three times before she will fall asleep. Sometimes she is crying already just a moment or two after we've left the room.

As we've talked with her, we've tried to find the reason for her fears. Her answers have varied: she doesn't like sleeping in the basement (it's too dark, she says, though we have a night light for them in the bathroom), she feels lonely being on a different floor from Mommy and Daddy, she feels alone in her bed (despite the fact that she is sharing with her sister), generally it's been things like this. One night we had a rather longer discussion where she tried to give me her theological reasons for being scared. It went something like this: "Mommy, when it's morning I feel gayful (yes, her word :) and joyful because it is light and sunny, but at night I feel so small, just like a little girl, and like maybe God isn't with me anymore." When I asked, "Clara, why do you feel God isn't with you? He promised to always be with you!", she said, "But Mommy, before there was anything, it was all dark. God wasn't there when it was totally dark before the world was created."

I quickly corrected this theological error (No, Clara Anne, God WAS there, He just had not created anything yet! He was there in the darkness too, forever.) but she seemed unconvinced. Clara Anne was feeling the fear that we can all feel sometimes, especially the fear of not being able to change how we feel about something. In her mind, if she feels scared, she's scared, and there's nothing she can do about it.

I can relate, as I've been fighting my own fears lately about my dad and his condition--Alzheimer's disease that seems to be progressing quickly. There are so many unknowns as we look at the future, and there are certainly lots of things to worry about. Fear is threatening to choke me, to steal my joy, and to reach its tentacles into every moment. What will happen to Dad? When will he need more help than my mom can give? How will he get that help? How expensive will that be? Do I need to be with them or do I stay here and try to support from a distance? What if something happens to Mom in the meantime? Can they stay in their house? The questions just go on and on...it can be so easy to fear.

But, we've been giving Clara Anne some very specific advice to face her fears, advice that we are reminding ourselves of as well! One: she HAS to fight against fear. She cannot allow her mind to get fearful and scared and then just give in to it, crying and making things worse. We have repeatedly encouraged her to fight back with Scripture. We are always memorizing Bible verses, so she can have a review each night as she seeks to put her mind on things above and not give in to fear.

A second strategy for fighting fear is to be thankful. When we are actively using our minds to thank God for what He has done, it gets us thinking the right way again. Thankfulness and fear cannot coexist! It's always a good exercise for me to force myself to list the things I am thankful for--I have to remind myself of God's goodness and faithfulness by being thankful, and this just chases the fear away. We've told Clara Anne: "If you start to feel afraid, say 'NO!' to that fear and start to think of everything you're thankful for! Make a list in your mind and praise God for your blessings!"

And, finally, spending time in the Word is really key as we face our fears. We now are allowing Clara Anne to have a reading light on for 10 minutes after we turn out the light and she reads her Bible for that time. She loves this and since we started allowing the light and Bible reading, she is sleeping much better. She hasn't been up at all during the night this week and we are thankful that she is going to bed without quite so much drama.

Fighting against fear is so key for us as Christians. Our lives can sometimes seem to be spinning out of control, but in reality the Lord holds all things in His powerful hands. The "what-ifs" and unknowns can be daunting, but I am so thankful that He is in control of past, present, and future, and He can be trusted. I do not need to fear, my Savior will give me all that I need, for my good and His glory. I hope Clara Anne is learning some valuable lessons as she fights her fears as well. I'm thankful that she is sleeping better and hopeful that she is putting down a marker in her own life: Don't fear! Trust God! He is trustworthy.

In Brief

2011-10-11T10:03:00.000+08:00

A few newsworthy notes tonight:

As we are still processing through my dad's Alzheimer's diagnosis, some decisions have been made for the immediate future, at least. Mom and Dad will continue to stay in their home in Iowa, where they have excellent support from their church and community, Dad still knows his way around, and Mom has some income from her piano students. We feel this is a wise course of action for now and though I'd love to have them here in Louisville, there isn't any real immediate need. They are well-cared for there and their daily life is blessedly routine and familiar, something my dad needs a lot of these days. I am thankful for that.

Chloe and I have been back to the doctor again. During her recent appendectomy, it was discovered that Chloe had a "twist" in her bowels at one point which caused her appendix to be located on her left side rather than her right. This was unusual but "a conversation for another day" said the doctor. Well, "another day" arrived last week as we visited Dr. F at her office. She shared with me that Chloe's condition, called a malrotation, is potentially quite serious and can be fatal. Though Chloe was asymptomatic, she felt it was necessary for Chloe to have a Upper GI test done to determine the extent of the malrotation and the potential dangers--essentially, to see whether Chloe needed surgery to fix this problem or not. So, we spent a large part of Thursday at outpatient radiology and Chloe cheerfully and willingly drank the "special milkshake" (some of you know just how "special" it is) and they xrayed her insides every hour or so to see how the barium was progressing. Thankfully, though she is diagnosed with malrotation, it is "functional malrotation" and there is no need for surgery at this point, PTL! We are very thankful for this! We have one more follow-up appointment to discuss potential warning signs of future problems, but hopefully that will be the end of the story.

The girls and I continue to keep on in home schooling and are making some nice progress. I feel like this is the year Clara Anne is going to "take off" in her reading ability and we've been having fun with our math, memory verses, reading time, handwriting, and playtime as well. John will be starting History soon with the girls and I am trying to be consistent in getting Clara Anne to practice the piano. Our most anticipated time each week, though, is our Music Time--we have four other little girlie friends that come over on Friday mornings and I am teaching them a music curriculum that I borrowed from my mom. These girls are doing great! Everyone can keep a steady beat--even the 3 year olds!--and last week we had such fun with rhythm instruments. It's been a special part of our week!

We have some neighbors who live just up the road that are members of our church and we are now doing a date night swap with them. They have four boys and our girls think it's great to play with boys once in awhile too! So, Tuesday nights are fun for everyone as the kids get some quality playtime and the adults get an evening out every other week. We're thankful for new friends and playmates!

Our neighbors next door are an interesting couple--he is an astrophysicist and she is an artist. Last week she invited us to to come over and let the girls make a small clay figure which she will fire in her kiln after they have dried. The girls had a great time working with the clay and we had a fun time getting to know our neighbor better too.

Small groups have begun at our church for the fall, and we were asked to co-lead with some friends of ours. We are excited to be a part of this ministry! We've only had one meeting but I am already thankful for this group. We're looking forward to learning and growing together this year.

And, the last bullet point for you: I foolishly and impulsively decided to get a flu shot on Saturday. Why did I do it?! I had never had one, and hadn't even researched it much, but suddenly decided I should have it done. Within six hours I had a temp of 102 and was absolutely miserable. Thankfully that fever broke after about 12 hours but then I felt like I had been pummelled by some invisible hands. My shoulder muscles are still sore but I feel generally much better. Let's hope it actually prevents me from getting the full-blown flu later on!

Well, I titled this "In Brief" and it hasn't been, really! Hope you enjoyed the update from our family, though, and hope your week is off to a great start!

Difficult News

2011-10-02T10:43:00.000+08:00

My heart is grieving tonight. I have some difficult news to share, and I hate to do it through a blog, but this may be the easiest way to let everyone know about my dad's situation.

We have known for quite some time that something was seriously wrong with my dad. After his heart attack in December of 2010, he was recovering at a normal pace for a few months and then suddenly seemed to take a turn for the worse. He began to lose weight at an unhealthy rate. He started having trouble sleeping. He became stressed and anxious about daily decisions. When I came back to the States in May for my mom's surgery, my dad did not seem himself at all. He was very quiet, seemed to have a very difficult time making decisions about simple things (should we order a pizza or eat in the hospital cafeteria?), was very slow in his response times if he was asked a question, and often would respond with, "Well, I don't know" or "It's hard to say" or some other unclear answer.

When our whole family moved back to the States in late June my dad was clearly not better. He had had to stop working because of some of these problems. He lacked energy, was still not sleeping well, seemed to get anxious about "little" things (like being convinced that the milk was spoiled, no matter the date on the carton) and was having difficulty knowing what to say in social situations.

Mom and Dad tried to get to the bottom of why he wasn't feeling well. Several months of making many trips to a variety of doctors yielded little fruit. The cardiologist said his heart looked pretty good, actually, had healed up pretty well from the heart attack. The family doctor ran a bunch of tests and said there weren't any real red flags. The psychiatrist offered low doses of antidepressants and said it might take some time to see their effect. The behavioral health specialist offered advice on sleeping better but didn't see any real issues. An endocrinologist evaluated some issues with Dad's thyroid and but didn't seem too alarmed.

All of that changed on Thursday. My mom, convinced that something was truly seriously wrong, persevered through all these appointments and finally the family doctor referred Dad to a doctor in Sioux Falls. Thursday they met with this doctor for over 3 hours and the conclusion was something none of us wanted to hear: Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. W, who saw Dad on Thursday, was absolutely convinced of this diagnosis. He did extensive testing, asked Mom to fill out a very comprehensive form, and in his conclusions, he felt that the disease had been approaching Dad for some time. As he explained the effects of this terrible disease, he said that it is evident that Dad is a very intelligent man, with all Dad's years of teaching language arts, coaching sports, singing, and caring for my Mom and her health problems, but now his brain is not working properly anymore. Dad did not seem to comprehend the diagnosis. When Dr. W looked him full in the face and said "Jim, you have Alzheimer's disease," Dad just sort of smiled at him. I think he knows in his head that this isn't good but he has no ability to think through all that this means.

When the doctor shared this with my mom, he spoke straight: "I think you have 18 months." Obviously this is only his prediction, but he made it based on looking at the rate at which the disease has progressed so far. He also warned my mom that her life was about to be changed drastically, that she would be responsible for Dad's care and was going to need help, and how important it would be for my dad to have routine and structure in daily life.

The initial shock is over now, but my heart is still grieving. Before this news, we were still hopeful that Dad would get better. That he'd regain some energy and vitality again and seem more like himself. That he'd make some silly joke or bad pun and we'd all groan at him. That he'd have interest in life again and give me the sports report every time I talked with him. That he'd be back at church again, serving drinks at the potluck meals and volunteering to lead the men's early morning Bible study.

Now I am facing the reality that I may not see Dad get "better"--on this earth, anyway. That we may have already had our last significant conversation. That he may slip away from us more and more. That he may one day not know me, his daughter.

But that is where we have Hope. For this life is not all there is, and Praise Jesus, these fallen and corrupted bodies won't be ours forever. We will have new bodies, be new, sinless creatures, and we'll have all the time in eternity for conversations of significance.

The gospel gives us hope for the future. We want to give my dad the best care possible. I feel a longing to be with him as much as possible. I'm not sure how that's going to work out, yet, but I am thankful to be on this side of the ocean where at least togetherness is a little more feasible. So though our hearts are grieving, we are thankful. Surely the Lord has us in His precious care. He knows us and has laid down His life for us. In that we rejoice and are glad, and I am thankful for my Dad's faith in Jesus. I pray that the Lord will sustain us as we look to the future.

We would appreciate your prayers for our family. Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.

Recent Happenings

2011-09-19T11:28:00.000+08:00

It's the start of a new week, banana oatmeal raisin muffins are cooling on my counter, the laundry is folded and put away and the kitchen is clean. What better time to write a little update?

We've had two weeks of school now and it's going surprisingly well. I have been pleased and a little relieved that Clara Anne seems very glad to be in school, and willingly and excitedly follows my leadership on when and what we are studying. Last year I felt there were so many times where I was ready to do school but she was not...for whatever reasons (she was busy playing, she had just started a new craft project, she was tired, etc). This year that has been almost a non-issue, well, so far anyway. She's been happy to spend pretty much the whole morning on school activities and that's been a blessing for us all. I was never concerned about Chloe, she is such an eager learner and is blossoming under the extra attention, but I wasn't sure how Christin would fit into the mix. Thankfully, so far she has participated in the things that we do all together and then happily wanders away when I'm working with the other girls. She seems to like the structure too. I think all of the girls (and me too!) are so glad to be on a bit of routine again that it just feels great to be back in school!

I continue to be amazed at the pace of life in America. It is VERY easy to pack every evening full with activities of all sorts...not to mention the parks we could go to, the zoo, the science museum, the library, and on and on. I've had to say "no" to some things already that I would have really liked to have done but that were just too much. I am trying to faithfully put my priorities in line and figure out exactly how that means I spend my time. It is a challenge!

Tonight I chose to get some things done around the house in order to be better prepared for tomorrow, so that we can start school in the morning without much delay and tasks hanging over us. But, it meant that I didn't have time to exercise. And, it was 11pm when I started writing this so I'd better not go on too long! Still trying to figure out how everything fits in! Exercise will ideally happen right after the girls go to bed, but of course that limits my computer time or anything else I wanted to accomplish in the evening. But tomorrow is another day, I'll try to get it in then!

We are so enjoying being a part of our local church. It has been a great blessing to my soul to be a part of the worship services, as well as the fellowship that takes place afterwards. Our family seems to always be some of the last to leave! On Wednesday night we were there for the prayer service, which started at 6:30. We didn't get home until 9pm! It's such a gift, though, and I am very thankful for the opportunity to be a part of local church life. We have wonderful pastors and I have felt very refreshed, encouraged, and strengthened by the teaching of the Word.

The girls are doing well in general with life in the States. Recently our friend Robert (whom we knew from Asia and helped to come here to study) had finished his degree plus a one year internship and returned to Asia. We hosted him for a few meals before he left and on the final night, Clara Anne particularly had a hard time saying goodbye. She just kept hugging him and clinging to him! She said later that she just wished she could go back with him and be with her friends there again. We reminded her that if she did that, she would have to leave her friends here. Such is cross-cultural life; our hearts are in two places at once!

We have enjoyed some time at local parks, a family bike ride where we rode Asia-fashion down to Riverfront park, the blue blue blue skies and cool temps of fall, and the girls have loved our porch swing which is a great spot to sit and read aloud in the mornings. It is such a blessing to have clean air! We've even had the windows open! I am thankful.

John is thoroughly enjoying his classes, reading, and interaction with others on the subjects they're studying. It's a ton of work, no doubt about that, and he has to be very disciplined with his time, but he is excited about his course of study. It's been great to see him really thriving!

Well, the hour is already late so I'll just leave you with this family picture with Robert, the night before he left. We miss you already, Robert! We hope someday the Lord will allow us to live on the same continent for longer than just a few weeks!

Home School Happiness

2011-09-07T10:45:00.000+08:00

Two days of home school are behind us, and things are going quite well! We are gradually getting back into a good routine and getting used to how to make life work for us here in the States. The girls seem to really enjoy "doing school" and though we've only had two days, were already reminding me this morning what came next in the morning line-up. We are going to love that space downstairs that we've got set aside for school; it's bright, comfortable, and spacious which is simply a gracious gift from the Lord. We're thankful for it!

I'm so thankful to be finished unpacking; and Clara Anne is too! Last Saturday she said to me, "Mommy, I'm so glad you're done unpacking, now we can spend more time together." There was a little "ouch" in that statement when she said it, but she's right! I'm so glad we've made it through the season of "girls, please play quietly in the other room and don't fight, Mommy needs to finish this! And don't touch that stack of stuff!" and now can focus on doing school together. Of course it helps to be in a bit of routine, even these two days have felt so refreshing! And, it's been fun to enjoy some steamed milk (for the girls) and a homemade latte (for me) while we read aloud. Wow, who knew school could be so fun?!

Pictures to come of my happy home schoolers!

By Request

2011-09-01T11:14:00.000+08:00

I have some very happy news for you all. Tonight, this VERY evening, I finished the last bit of the unpacking! Yes, it's true, the sorting and organizing and putting away of the homeschool/craft materials that had been hanging over me for a very long time now are all DONE! Decisions about where to put things, how best to organize the space in a large walk-in closet downstairs and use the storage containers we already had are finally made. I had not intended for this to take so long, but I got interrupted several times in the doing of this project, including almost all of last week at the hospital with Chloe. But, I am so thankful that tonight I can say we are totally finished unpacking! There are still two closets (in the master bath and our bedroom) that are only loosely organized, but that can easily wait or be tackled in a hour or two sometime. The big projects are done now, which is such a relief since we need that space downstairs to start home schooling next week!

I finished up my home school ordering last night and am getting very excited about this year and the things we're going to do. One caution I keep giving myself, though, is not to overbook our family. It seems really easy in the States where there are so many fun options of things to do, to plan so much "fun stuff" that everyone is running ragged. I am determined to have more time at home than out, more routines than not, and generally some time and space to create a learning environment where the girls are rested, happy, and secure. I want to give them my best time every day. Tonight we talked about a small project that we are starting tomorrow called "Family Service Opportunities"--a nice name for chores. When we lived in Asia I had picture chore cards that I laid on the table in the morning, and they had to complete the tasks that the picture represented (a picture of their jammies to remind them to put away their jammies, a picture of their toothbrushes to remind them to brush their teeth) and then hand the stack of pictures to me to receive their points for the day. (That was to keep them on task as well as to prevent the cards from getting scattered all over the house!) The girls have asked for those pictures again so we will take all new pictures, have them laminated, and put them on a ring so that they can each have their own set to remind them what to do. In this house they'll have a few more opportunities for service since our beloved Lou isn't working for us anymore!

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, talking about settling in and finishing up the unpacking. My dear friend Sandra emailed me recently and asked me a few questions about life and adjustment to the States, and I thought I'd answer her questions here--she asked such thoughtful and interesting questions! So here goes!

1. Would you crate again?
To be perfectly honest, no. In this case we were so very thankful that the investment of furniture and household goods that we already owned was able to come back with us to the States, and the value of having those items did still far outweigh the difficulties of the crating experience, so I'm glad for that. But the incredibly long, complicated and expensive process that it took to get those things here is not something we would like to repeat in our lifetime. At this point, our feeling is that if/when the Lord leads us back overseas, we will NOT take these things with us but will find some way to live more simply there. But that is also difficult, obviously, with children and home schooling and just the basic need for furniture, kitchen utensils, clothes, etc. It's not easy to move internationally, crating or no, but I just don't think we will go through this particular process again.

2. When you were going through the things you stored 7 years ago, what was the best thing you kept?
Probably all of the memorabilia from our earlier lives...I had an old hatbox filled with the letters we wrote each other while we were dating, there were various scrapbooks, photo albums and things like that. I am also glad I didn't get rid of my huge collection of operatic cd's, now we can easily put them on our ipod and enjoy them still. When we first moved overseas the ipod didn't even exist, and we certainly weren't going to use luggage space for a ton of opera cds! But now I'm really glad we have them.

3. What made you say, "Why did we store this?"
Hmm, let's see, I know there were things we threw away or gave away...probably some superflous things like I had a whole Mary Kay manicure set because I used to really enjoy doing my nails. Ha! Those days are long gone, and I should have just given up on the manicure set while the polish was still usable! Also, we had a lot of financial records...I guess they say you should keep those things for 7 years, but that had come and gone so it was time to get rid of those records as well. For example, bills and correspondence relating to our college loans, which we paid off several years ago. Time to throw that stuff away!

4. What colors did you paint your new home?
Some lovely colors! It's really fun!  I found a great taupe-y brown that I liked called "Au Lait Ole" which of course sounded great to me and my love for coffee! It looks like a very creamy coffee color. We used it as the main color in the kitchen, living area, hallway, and stairs leading downstairs.

Then, we painted three walls--two adjoining ones in the kitchen, and one opposite the front door in the living area--a very vivid, dark red. It is beautiful!  When we first started putting it on it looked so very red, I wasn't sure if I liked it, but now I really do. It's very striking. The Au Lait Ole color had two other colors on the paint chip with it, in the same family, one a "coffee with a little less cream" color (slightly darker), and then the darkest one a chocolate brown. Oooh, I love the chocolate brown! We have a tiny half-bath on the main floor where we used the chocolate brown, and then the medium color is in our bedroom. It goes great with the cedar bedroom set we had shipped over, as well as my "cheap-o but still looks nice" duvet cover and pillow shams which are darker brown with a blue accent. Also, we painted the main bathroom upstairs a dark blue, "Baritone Blue" to go with our white and blue shower curtain that we already had. We painted before the shower curtain arrived, and thankfully, it matches just fine! So, we painted all of the main floor except John's office space.

On the lower level, the girls' domain, we painted their big room a pretty, vivid lavender color, called "Imperial Lavender" and it is! It was a bit bright upon first finishing it, but now with their furniture in the room and their bright quilts it looks very nice. The family room/home school area in the other part of the downstairs we were not going to paint, but then we found some leftover, old paint stored under the stairs downstairs and stirred it up very thoroughly, and used that to just give it a fresh coat. It is an antique white. Whew! We enjoy painting, but that was lots of work!

5. What's the best part of being in America?
Blue skies and family! No doubt about it. I love that we have been able to see our family and I can pick up the phone and call them anytime without figuring out the time difference and how much it's going to cost me. That is such a blessing. The fresh air has been wonderful too! And, many of the conveniences that feel truly convenient to me...fresh veggies washed and cut that you can steam in the bag, a dishwasher, being able to run errands with my own car, and being able to make myself understood very easily is a big plus too! No language barrier! Oh and I almost forgot--the favorite feature in my kitchen is the automatic ice maker! It's an older frig, no ice or water in the door, but it has an automatic ice maker! I love it--ice is always being made, and not by me! Ice was always a hassle in our home in Asia, so I think this is fantastic!

6. What's been the toughest aspect of being in America?
The pace of life seems so much faster here. There are so many great things to see and do and go and people to be with and activities to enjoy and...the list goes on. I am hoping that things will slow down, but this transition has been rough. It was a full two months (mid June to mid August) that I got my clothes out of a suitcase each morning and there were lots and lots of times where I wasted time looking for something that I knew I had just seen somewhere! I don't enjoy living in chaos, I like having everything in its place, and so this was a big challenge for me. And probably we've all experienced it...life gets crazy, there's no routine or structure, who knows what will happen each day...and time with the Lord gets pushed aside because we're too busy or too tired or whatever excuse we have. So keeping my priorities straight--the Lord, my husband, my children, then other tasks--has been very difficult. We're all looking forward now to a more "settled" fall semester; maybe we'll still feel pretty busy but at least things are in the same place from day to day! My kids know where their toys are and how and where to put their jammies away and we have food in the cupboards and aren't forced to eat out all the time! (I actually got tired of eating out when we first moved. It's true. I never thought it could happen, but it did.) That's a true blessing!

7. You said that your Asian cooking supplies made it to the states. What types of things did you carry back from the East?
I took my wok, my set of knives, my notebook with over 30 recipes written down to make our favorites, and then some specialty food items: la pi (a type of noodle made from sweet potatoes), dried xiang gu (those yummy mushrooms), dried mu er (the black wood ear mushrooms), our favorite instant tea (I don't drink it every morning, trying to conserve!), dried red peppers, the kind we like in suan la tudou si, some star anise, some mouth-numbing hua jiao, our very favorite deep fried stuffed dried red peppers, and then some liquids: dark soy sauce, my beloved wei da mei soy sauce, and I think that's it! We had to take all of this in our check-in luggage because we weren't allowed to put food or medicine in the crate, and so we had a list prepared if they would ask us in customs if we had food items. Thankfully, they didn't ask so didn't need to look things over, which was a relief because at that moment the time was getting short before our next flight. I have already used several items and cooked some basic things...I love having my wok and the knives, good knives are so expensive in the States so I'm thankful for my well-worn but still wonderfully useful set. I think I will use the wok, knives, and wei da mei the most.

8. What aspects from life in the East do you find yourself infusing into daily life in the West? I am surpised at how much Asianese I have spoken here! I have met a lot of Asians already and have enjoyed speaking with them in their language, and they have seemed to enjoy it too! I am thankful for this and hope to continue relationships with several of the ones that I have met. Also, here's a very practical thing: I am not at all fazed to wear the same clothes a few days in a row, especially if I've mostly been at home and they aren't really sweaty or dirty. I did this all the time in Asia but I think (I'm guessing, anyway) that the American way is still to have a lot of clothes and always change everything every day. I think I have way less clothes than the average American woman (for better or worse!). Of course I like to look nice but I don't want to get too concerned about clothes either. We also eat more vegetables now than we did when we lived in America before, partly because we're used to it! It's so easy to stir-fry up some vegetables and add some rice for a great meal. Though I bought the cheaper, "long grain" rice instead of jasmine or basmati and it really tastes so very mediocre. Edible, but not tasty at all. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet for the tastier rice next time!

Two other notes of culture and adjustment: I am trying my hand at couponing/trying to buy groceries on sale and save money. We get the Sunday paper and its coupons now and I've been watching the ads and comparing prices for about 4-5 weeks now, and I'm so surprised that many of my favorite foods that I loved to make from scratch are actually more expensive to make in the States than to buy. I thought for sure that from-scratch cooking would be the way to save money in the States but I am totally wrong. I can buy a cookie mix on sale for much less than it would cost me to buy the chocolate chips to go into a batch of cookies. I priced out my granola, but it is a budget-buster: honey is quite expensive, the dried fruit is expensive, even the oatmeal is much higher than I remembered! I could get a box of granola cereal on sale for less than making it myself! So it's going to be interesting to make those decisions...do I make things we really love from scratch? Just occasionally, as a special treat, or is it something that we love and no matter what, I am going to make? Hmmm, questions for consideration. I really had no idea how much it was going to cost to feed our family and so we're still trying to figure some of those things out. Lately I've been buying things on sale, using coupons when I can, and most meals I'm hitting right at about $5 per meal. Does that seem good or not, fellow couponers? Maybe as I get more into the flow of couponing I will find I can do it for cheaper.

The other thing to get used to is that our new place is almost all carpet. I am not used to carpet. I view it suspiciously; when we first moved in my girls were running around in bare feet and their feet were black after an hour or two. Truly. We tried to think of any other explanation, but it really was the carpet. YIKES! Since I wanted to be able to go barefoot in my own home, we rented a cleaner and went over it thoroughly, but I feel like it's still dirty. I vacuum regularly, but not daily, so it's hard to know how dirty it truly is. But, I'm making peace with the carpet. It does have its advantages so I'm trying to appreciate it (and just not think about what might be hiding in those absorbent fibers!)

Ok, this may have been the longest post I've ever written.  And you made it to the end, wowza! Thanks for the questions, Sandra, and thanks for reading!

Home from the Hospital!

2011-08-29T11:31:00.000+08:00

Chloe and I are home from the hospital! Woo-hoo! She was dismissed shortly before noon yesterday and we made it home just in time to eat a delicious pasta lunch provided kindly by some friends from our church. These first two pictures were taken while we were still at the hospital, though--check out that awesome playroom!

I mentioned before (maybe) that we were put on the oncology floor because they were out of rooms when Chloe came out of surgery early Wednesday morning. As I spoke with several nurses about the condition of most kids on our floor, it was just heartbreaking to realize that many of them are in the hospital for 30-60 days. The children specifically in our hallway were there for bone marrow transplants as last-ditch efforts to beat cancer. They could not come out of their rooms and only one parent at a time could go in. They live for that time in almost complete isolation and because they have no immunity, they feel absolutely terrible. One nurse told me she has seen 16 year olds with bedsores because they don't want to get up, they don't want anyone to bother them, they want the lights off and the room quiet and just to be left alone. It is not a fun treatment, but it is endured in the hope of saving those lives. But remember, they're just children. For a child to be going through an experience like that is simply heartwrenching.

In light of all of that, I was so impressed with all that the hospital provided to try and make the experience a bit better for the kids. There was a lovely family lounge with a variety of toys and a working kitchen to help life feel more "normal." There was a patients-only playroom with TONS of toys where NO medical treatment could take place--a safe place to play. Chloe enjoyed it for a brief moment before we were released yesterday, especially that red tricycle! There was a nourishment room with popsicles, graham crackers, etc that I could get for Chloe whenever she needed them. A music therapist and art therapist made regular rounds. Everything was brightly painted and clean and comfortable. A child life specialist came by and asked what Chloe would like to play with--would she like to do beads, or play with clay, or do a sand art, it was amazing! One morning "Jarret's Joy Cart" came by. . . this is a ministry started by a little boy who had cancer and had a vision to provide toys for children who were sick like he was. So now the cart (fully stocked with super-fun toys, it looked like a toy shop on wheels!) makes the rounds occasionally and the patients can choose something. All of those things are meant to make a potentially unbearable time more bearable. Being there was a good reminder to me that Chloe's illness, though sudden and somewhat shocking, was truly a very small thing compared to what a lot of those kids were facing.

Our life and hospital experience in Asia was so different. Not just the cleanliness and external factors (decorations and amenities) but especially the underlying compassion that seemed to motivate the nurses and doctors that helped us. I understand that hospitals are big business, but honestly I felt that they were genuinely concerned for Chloe and interested in her health and well-being. That level of caring for the patient as an individual feels so unusual after the experiences in hospitals that I had in Asia. I am sure that many of the nurses we encountered this week were Christians, but I am also sure that odds are, many also were not. But there is something to be very thankful for in American culture that there are still some remnants of Christian values underlying our medical care so that people are treated with dignity, kindness and respect, attempting to help the sick recover. Good medical care of this kind surely reflects the Lord's compassionate heart. This kind of attitude from doctors and nurses is a true blessing from Him! I felt we were very blessed through this experience!

Well, enough pontificating! Here's Chloe enjoying the tricycle and her new stuffed pony from the B family:

And here we are, Chloe's all showered up (though that iodine smell is hard to get off!) and wearing normal clothes, ready to head home. Chloe actually wanted to stay and play longer in the play room but Mama was ready to go!

Chloe loved the new coloring book (Care Bears!) from another B family, and wanted to prove to you that she is home and enjoying life again...

despite the owies on her tummy!

Thank you all for praying for her! We are so thankful for such a quick recovery and though she was having just a bit of pain today, truly she is SO much better. Just now she came upstairs as I was writing this and was crying, afraid that somehow she would get sick like this in the future and it would happen again that she would need her appendix out. Sweet girl! We assured her that once her appendix was gone, it was really and truly gone! We're thankful for that!

And, here's hoping for a "normal" week this week! (Does such a thing exist?) Well, whatever comes, I am trusting that it comes to me through the hands of my loving Father and is all for my good. Trusting Him but glad to have last week behind us, too! Thank you Lord for watching over Chloe and healing her!

Sweetheart Report

2011-08-27T00:50:00.000+08:00

It's Friday at noon (I can hardly believe it! We've been here since Tuesday evening!) and I thought I'd give a quick report on how Chloe is doing. Or maybe I should just show you:

Better, don't you think? She's making progress! This is the best she's looked since we got here...sitting up, smiling, even showing interest in playing with a few small toys. She's taking some good steps toward recovery in the bathroom (if you know what I mean) and has been fever free, but now needs to be willing to drink more normally and depend on the IV less. It looks like we'll probably be released tomorrow, if all goes well. I'm hopeful! We'll still have some pain/weakness issues to deal with at home but I'm thankful that she's doing at least somewhat better. Great to see that sweet smile again! Thank you Lord for your healing hand! And thanks to all of you for your prayers...He is answering!

A Pretty Pathetic Picture

2011-08-25T09:55:00.000+08:00

Our sweet Chloe Rachelle, recovering from an emergency appendectomy earlier today.

Chloe hadn't been feeling well the last few days. She was listless, tired, laid around, complained that she wanted to throw up and then couldn't, finally did throw up and then felt better, but then didn't have much appetite or energy. Yesterday morning (Tuesday) she woke up very early, crying in pain saying that her tummy hurt. I could tell she was feverish and so just gave her tylenol and a few sips of ice water, and she went back to sleep again. When she got up she seemed better, even ate a bit, but yesterday afternoon she woke up from her nap crying again and saying how much her tummy hurt. I was thinking that she probably had a stomach bug, but did dare to give her more pain medication by mouth and had her lie down to rest again. She was bummed to miss the first day of the girls' new PE class--a Rodeo-themed motor skills class at SBTS. But there was no way she could go, so I set her up with a blanket and a movie with Daddy at home and took the other girls.

When we got home about 5:45, it was clear that Chloe was worse. She seemed to be in a lot of pain, and when I asked her if her tummy hurt all over (still thinking stomach bug or stress or who knows what) she said very clearly, "It hurts right here" and pointed to her belly button. Suddenly all the pieces fell into place. I remembered our dear friend Samantha and how she exhibited very similar symptoms before having an appendectomy. I remembered our friend Kevin and how he had very similar symptoms before his appendectomy. (both of those incidents occuring inside the country where we used to live!) So I rushed back to where John was studying and said, "I think Chloe has appendicitis!" He immediately came out and began to look online and everything confirmed that this was a distinct possibility.

I threw together some take-along food for supper and packed a few other things and we got everybody in the car, on our way to the hospital. Chloe was in so much pain as we drove, was moaning, groaning, crying, and then screaming in pain. We pulled up to emergency and John quickly carried her in while I went to park the car.

The next 7 hours were a blur of waiting, telling our story again and again, filling out paperwork and trying various tests to determine the problem. We were hopeful all evening that it would just turn out to be a virus, or maybe strep, or some other random thing, but as the night wore on they kept saying that things weren't conclusive yet so we needed to do one more test. So she had a blood test, a urine test, examinations by several doctors, an x-ray, and finally a CT scan. After the ER doctors read the CT scan they felt it still was not absolutely conclusive and so put the decision in the hands of the pediatric surgeon. Dr. F came to our room to tell us that as she looked at the CT scan, she suspected appendicitis. She was not absolutely sure, but she had seen enough cases of it to know that something not good was going on in Chloe's belly and almost everything else that it could be was ruled out. Just like that, they were prepping Chloe for surgery. When the decision was made they acted fast!

So about 1:45 this morning John carried a zonked-out Christin and I helped a stumbling-with-sleepiness Clara Anne up to the 8th floor surgical unit. The anesthesiologist gave her some pain medication and said to me in a sidelong whisper, "It'll take 2-3 minutes." 2 minutes later he asked Chloe if the pain was much better. Bless her heart, she had been pretty miserable all night, not often crying with the pain, trying to be brave but sometimes just truly hurting. When he asked her that, she said, only a little better, so he said, "ok, I'll go get some more." He turned to do that and in that next minute the pain meds kicked in, she relaxed, and fell asleep. Poor dear! Of course it was the middle of the night and she had been so uncomfortable, it must have just been a relief to be free of the pain for that moment! Chloe fell asleep in that moment and didn't wake up until much later today!

At that point, John took the two other girlies home and I tried to get comfortable on a short sofa in the surgical waiting area. They did call me several times to let me know how the surgery was going, which was helpful. It was "acute advanced appendicitis" but without a rupture that the surgeon could see, so that was good news. One interesting thing in Chloe's case is that her bowels have a congenital abnormality (that we had no idea about, it has not affected her until this moment) meaning that at one point her bowels twist the "wrong" way and so her appendix was actually on her left side! The doctor got Chloe's bowels cleaned out first and then could feel an obvious mass on her left side, and they were able to take it out laprascopically. What a crazy, strange thing! But I'm so thankful that they found it and got it out. The surgery was finished about 4, and she was able to get settled in her room about 5am.

Chloe slept the major part of today but did perk up a bit towards supper time. She ate a popsicle while watching a Strawberry Shortcake movie (what could be better?!) and then asked for seconds and then thirds! We got her sitting up in a chair a bit and even a little sponge bath too. She's been a champ. The hospital has a little smiley-face guide that you can show the nurses to tell them your pain level, and last night she kept choosing the most frowny face to say that the pain hurt the worst. But today thankfully she's been at "no pain" or "hurts a little bit" most of the day. Very thankful for that!

I have to say again how impressed I am with American hospitals and health care. I have met such caring nurses and doctors, who know their stuff and are committed to giving your child a great care experience. We are thankful for good medical care! The Lord is gracious!

So, rejoice with us tonight that the Lord preserved Chloe's life and holds her in His hand. That's always true, of course, but a physical/medical need is such a great reminder. I've said it before in relation to my mom's surgery, but it's still true: we are not God. We cannot, finally, save ourselves physically or especially spiritually. Our bodies are weak and frail and will eventually fail us unless Jesus returns first. And yet He has given such gracious gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and experience to doctors and nurses who are able to use things like laprascopic techology to perform a surgery that was necessary to Chloe's life--without it, she could have died. We saw the Lord's grace in many ways throughout this situation and are so thankful that Chloe came through ok. Obviously Jesus is helping her, she's been such a trooper! Here's a few more pictures:

With a new "confetti bear" that was a gift in the ER last night!

Clara Anne and Christin didn't mind hanging around the hospital too much--we watched the Tinkerbell movie last night about 11:30 and they thought it was great! Today they got to watch Sesame Street which was a treat.

Well, there you have it. I will be staying here at the hospital with Chloe for 2-3 days, she will need to be able to eat a bit, go to the bathroom, and be fever-free for 24 hours before she can leave. So, it's the hospital life for us for a few more days! I'm very thankful that we can be here, though, with such great medical care, a clean and comfortable room, and unlimited popsicles and slushies! It'll probably be a week before Chloe feels better, so our home school start date of the 29th will be moved a week later, but that's a benefit of home schooling, to have that freedom and flexibility. Thanks for your prayers for Chloe's recovery--now she has something in common with Samantha, Uncle Kevin, and let's not forget Madeleine! Praising Jesus for His care tonight.

So thankful

2011-08-20T12:16:00.000+08:00

Lots and lots has happened since I last posted! My blog has unfortunately fallen to the bottom of the "important-must get done" list, but tonight I thought I'd take five minutes and hit the highlights (if I have any readers left!)!

Our crate did come from China finally on August 4. It arrived without further incident and we had a great crew of people here to help us unload (including our next door neighbors who had just moved in themselves!). All the stuff was off the truck in an hour and we were very glad to be reunited with our things again! A few things were broken, some furniture was dinged up somewhat, but the vast majority arrived safely. Thank you Lord!

We unpacked for two solid days, and by the end of that time things were livable in our main living space--beds set up, furniture in the right places, the kitchen functional, etc. But at that point we had to put things on hold since John needed to prepare for his class, then only four days away. He put in some long days and late nights to get ready, then participated in the three day class. Now that's behind him, so we've had some more time to get unpacked this week. Great progress has been made, thank you Lord! I still have one major area to organize--my home school and craft materials--but the rest of the house is coming together nicely. We actually had numerous guests this week, which was really enjoyable to host people in our new place! But, soon we need to start our home school year and so I will be working hard this coming week to prepare, organize my materials, order a few final things, and get the girls excited and motivated about school since we've had a summer of craziness.

Transitions are always challenging, and this one has been particularly so. I could give you quite a long list of the things that have been difficult, but that might sound like complaining and I truly don't want to complain. It has been wonderful to see the Lord provide just what we've needed just at the right time. Our apartment location could not be better, we are really loving the space and color and arrangement of our new place, we're close to school and church and lots of ministry opportunities, and it's truly been a blessing to be meeting people in the community. This week we got the cupboards stocked a bit more and I feel like the kitchen is really working well for me and is enjoyable to keep up. We still haven't had anything like a "normal routine" (well, you know, except that every day is different and most nights we get to bed too late!) but that is coming soon, I hope.

So, tonight I choose to be thankful. The Lord has been so gracious and good to us. Here we are, three healthy precious girls under our roof, with a lovely place to live and even our furniture that made it from overseas. We have friends and family that are dear to us. We have a wonderful church community that we love. It's been such a journey to get here, and we're not "there" yet, but I am so thankful for where we are tonight. Thank you Lord!

Moved In! Sort of...

2011-07-29T11:35:00.000+08:00

Well, it's still only "moved in...sort of" because though we are now moved into our new apartment, we are still waiting for our crate to arrive from Asia. But, the happy thing is that all of our possessions on the American side, yes, that's right, everything that we own in America is now in ONE location, 225 Crescent Hill Place #113. Happy day!

We successfully made the trip down to Louisville on the 15-16th, and have spent the last week and a half living at my brother and sister-in-law's house, enjoying some great conversations with them (usually late at night, ha!), seeing our girls play together happily, and then doing a ton of moving tasks like getting our phone and internet set up, choosing paint and beginning the painting process, organizing, sorting, trying to find things that are buried in the luggage somewhere, cleaning. . . all those things that go along with getting to a new place. It's been a joy to be back at our home church again and reconnect with friends.

I am more than ready to be settled. We've been living out of suitcases for about 6 weeks now and life has been in transition for much longer than that. But, though we're still in the midst of the mess, there's a light at the end of the tunnel because it looks like our crate will be arriving on Monday! So yes, that will be a ton more work of unpacking, putting together furniture, organizing and finding a place for everything, but it will be SO good to have our stuff safely delivered. It's been quite the process with this crate. We were surprised that after our very thorough and complete list was submitted to the Asian customs, they wanted to open the crate anyway. (Perhaps a moneymaking scheme, since they charged us a fee to do so? Who knows...) But then, when it arrived at the port of Los Angeles the US government had ordered an x-ray exam of the contents, called a "non-invasive scan" for another $200, and then decided that wasn't enough. The last step was that they did a full examination of the contents of the crate and then charged us another $1600 for that process. Yikes! This is in addition to the regular fees that applied for the actual shipping of the crate! We learned later that this is not unusual. Household items, like ours, are often shipped by drug or weapons smugglers--sofas with drugs or other illegal items sewn inside, cars whose gas tanks have been filled with drugs, things like that. So, I am thankful the government is doing its job, and also since we had nothing to fear from an exam like that--you know, they found out that box 49 really did include one wooden cutting board, 50 pieces of silverware, and a set of knives--it would be no problem to get the crate released.

So, now it's been released, put on a train, and will arrive in Louisville by Saturday, hopefully. A cartage company here will pick up the crate, put it on the back of the truck, and deliver it on Monday morning, if all goes well and according to plan. All I can say is, if it truly turns out that we will be unloading those items on Monday, hallelujah! It has seemed many times in this process like it may NOT happen, so if it actually DOES happen we will rejoice greatly!

So for today I've got paint under my fingernails, creaky knees from crawling around on the floor doing the trim while John does the rolling part of the painting, enjoying the freshly painted, colorful walls, and thanking the Lord for how He's provided thus far. We have had so many timely provisions in the last week--offers of help for childcare just when we needed it, a ladder and other supplies for the painting to borrow so we didn't have to buy, the schedule working out so we could finish painting before the crate comes, even a 10% off coupon to Lowe's that helped us purchase our paint, some rugs, and a beautiful porch swing very inexpensively! Praise the Lord!

One thing that is very humbling about about being in such transition is that I have been the one who is always needing help. I have no well-equipped kitchen to offer a meal or a tasty snack. I am not able to offer to watch someone else's kids or bring a salad to the potluck. But people have been offering me this kind of help, and it has been truly helpful. So though it humbles me to accept, or even to ask for help, I am thankful for those that the Lord has put around us this week to help us get a lot done and be ready for our crate to arrive. It is always exhausting to move, and this international move has been quite the process. But the Lord is faithful and we will get settled one day!

Thanking Him tonight for His provision, His blessing, and this new place to live. The girls are sleeping on the floor and John and I are sleeping on a futon, but we're in our new place! That's a testament to His grace.

Moving Day!...sort of

2011-07-16T00:52:00.000+08:00

It's only moving day...sort of since we have had several of these big days lately! But, we are thankful for the Lord's faithfulness, protection and care as we have transitioned back to the States in the last few weeks. It seems almost unbelievable that we've only been back a little over two weeks, so much has happened! All has gone well (busy, but well!) and we are now ready to begin our move to Louisville.

We rented a van through a local shop, attached a hitch to it and have a U-Haul trailer behind, and this afternoon, after lunch at Pizza Ranch (of course!) we'll begin the drive to Louisville. We are taking my parents with us on this adventure! They'll get to see our new place, visit my brother Mark and Beth who are already settled in Louisville, and then will help us by returning the van to the Rock Valley area next week. We plan to all stay with Mark and Beth and their girls when we first arrive in Louisville, and hope that we will soon get word about our belongings that we shipped from overseas. The crate was supposed to arrive in Los Angeles two days ago, but so far we haven't heard any word yet! I am still holding it loosely in my thinking, if we see those things again, it will be by the Lord's sheer grace!

So, we'd appreciate your prayers as we travel today and tomorrow, and as we begin the moving process again. One day, we will be settled! I'm looking forward to that, but also seeking to enjoy the process and be thankful for all the Jesus has done for us as we go. It's His grace that has brought us this far! We're excited for the next step in the journey!

Recent Quotables

2011-07-07T00:01:00.001+08:00

On Sunday morning, a friend told me that she had asked Clara Anne if she was excited to be in America now. Clara Anne said, "Yes, well you know, I lived in China my whole life! Seven years! Well, actually 6 years but I was in mommy's tummy before that. But I am happy to be in America. There I was a foreigner but here I'm just normal."

There's some raw truth to that statement! Clara Anne seems to really enjoy making friends with anybody because everyone can speak English. I think we're going to see her become more outgoing.

Tonight we were coming home from playing at the park and I was helping Chloe get her seat belt buckled. As I reached across her, she started squeezing my upper arm again and again. "Mommy, you're so soft," she said in an admiring voice, then added, "and wobbly!" Ha! There's some truth to that statement too! Gotta get life settled down a bit so we can exercise again! I think I have my exercise clothes but not sure where my shoes are and have no idea where the dvd got packed. It's here somewhere!

Christin, upon waking up in the wee hours last night, screamed bloody murder. As I ran to her bedside to ask what could possibly be wrong to make her scream like that, she said, "I want to read books!" "No Christin, it's the middle of the night. We cannot read books." "I want to talk." Nope, that's not going to happen either, Christin! I know you have some jet lag, but it's still the middle of the night! The funny part was, then she settled right back down and slept until 8:30 this morning. PTL! Everyone's sleeping much better, except John. He's been staying up late packing and then waking up early anyway. Hoping for a better night tonight!

First moments, in pictures

2011-07-06T11:58:00.000+08:00

Let's take a look at some pictures from our almost complete first week back in the US! Ok! Above, just moments after arriving at my parents' home. The girls were hungry and devoured bowls of cheerios (as you can see from Christin drinking the milk to the last delicious drop!). Grandpa was happy to have us all safely arrived!

Finding toys...this Melissa and Doug castle was left behind last time we visited the States and the girls were so excited to find it again!

Grandma willingly read a story with all three girls crowding her!

We've had lots of time outside, including the girls eating lunch on the lawn. Isn't it so pretty and green?!

Don't believe what anyone says, jet lag is REAL. Christin passed out on the couch and would not wake up for anything!

Clara Anne conked out in the middle of the living room floor. Yes, it was piled high with boxes. Did we mention there's been a lot of moving, sorting, organizing, and packing going on around here lately?

Grandma and Grandpa went all out and bought gifts for everyone's birthdays...at once! The Little People Farm is a huge hit!

Enjoying the backyard SO much...the girls have had such fun running in and out, and in and out of the house, enjoying the freedom to do so! No one is scared of the grass this time (Christin had just a few moments of uncertainty but got used to the feel of the grass on her feet really quickly) and everyone has loved being outside, me too! It is so refreshing to the soul and body. Tonight we sat on the deck to eat Blue Bunny ice cream and saw a hummingbird, several other types of birds, watched the moon rise and the sky streak with pink, and felt the evening hush descend. How great is our God and how his creation reflects His beauty and glory! I even enjoyed an hour of deadheading flowers today...something I hated to do as an immature teenager who didn't like to "waste" time in the garden. My perspective has changed so much! I feel like I'm just soaking up the natural beauty and reveling in it, weeds, mosquitos and all.

The girls were so curious to see if there was anything in the mailbox. And there was! A birthday card for Chloe came from Aunt Sarah. How excited she was! Thanks, Auntie Sarah!

Grandma and Grandpa like to take bike rides in the evening, and the girls each got a ride! They thought it was great.

We've had some fabulous feasts already, including grilled hamburgers, sweet corn, fresh garden lettuce, a roast beef dinner, and a Mexican chowder tonight with chips and guacamole. Wonderful!

Ok, keeping it real...this mess has occupied the majority of our last week. There's been unpacking of our 8 suitcases, finding and sorting through all the belongings that we had left here for the last 8 years (MUCH more than I remembered), shopping for clothes for the next year at Rock Valley's fabulous consignment shops which "happened" to be putting everything on clearance this week so the already low prices were now 50% off, sorting that stuff, arranging dental and doctor appointments, making plans to rent a van and trailer in order to move to Louisville, going through mail that has piled up for us here, etc etc etc. And of course there's jet lag to get over, meals to make, dishes to wash, children to keep occupied, and the usual daily stuff. I am not sure why I had the idea that in the midst of the most major transition of our lives I thought that we would get to Rock Valley and just relax! But, we're taking it a day at a time. Most of our stuff is now packed up again and ready to be loaded for Louisville. And though my heart sinks a little at the thought of unpacking and organizing and finding a place for everything again, at least we plan to stay put in Louisville for awhile. I think that keeping a cheerful heart in the midst of this mess and boxes and life in upheaval has been my biggest challenge! Jesus, make me more like you through this! Please!

By His grace, here we are. My parents made this sign for us and so on the 4th of July, we put on our red, white and blue (such that we could manage) in order to take a picture out front with the sign. We are so thankful that we can be here, that we ARE here safely and well. It's been a blessing to be with my parents and I hope we've been a blessing to them already too (despite the noise, mess, and rapid consumption of their food that comes from having 5 extra people around!). We're thankful for His grace and mercy bringing us this far, and trust that He will continue to guide and protect as we make the transition to Louisville in a few weeks.

Traveling Highlights

2011-07-02T12:10:00.001+08:00

Our recent trip to the States was unusual, even for us who have done a lot of traveling, in that: 1. we were leaving our home in Asia and actually moving back to the States, an international move with 3 kids; 2. We couldn't "forget" anything because there wasn't anything left behind except stuff we gave away or sold!; 3. We were traveling probably the quickest route we've ever had...our city to the capital city, the capital city to Chicago, then Chicago to Sioux Falls, a total of only 19 hours; 4. We were brought to the airport in our city by a large contingent of friends, who spent all of the last moments with us until finally we felt we should go through security in order to make the flight without rushing.

The scene at our city's airport was a bit rough. It was so good to have our friends there but that was a very tearful goodbye. So thankful for all of those who came to see us off, though--it was a blessing! I have pictures, more on that later.

But some funny moments did happen. Here are a few:

*Our tickets for the long flight were booked a bit late and we got the middles of three separate rows--two in one, one single, and two in another. Thankfully, we were able to switch the one single so that one of us was sitting with two girls and the other with the last girl. About halfway into the flight, we switched, not by design but just because I needed a break from two squirmy girls trying to sleep on my lap and fighting over space. I figured John could handle that better, so I was then in the row with Chloe. She also fidgeted and squirmed for about an hour, until finally I let her sit up and asked if I could put my head on HER lap! She readily agreed, saying, "It's like I'm the mommy!" and I got a needed hour or so of sleep before sitting up again and having Chloe lie down. I just felt so desperate to lie down!

*You know you have travelin' girls when they ask you excitedly if they can play at the playplace in the Chicago airport..."You know mommy, the one with the huge wooden helicopter and the phone to talk to the control tower and..." They remembered it in great detail! Sadly we didn't have any time in Chicago, we waited in a customs/immigration line that must have had 2000 people in it. We barely made our flight! It was one of those small jets where you have to actually walk out on the tarmac and board the plane that way, just as we rushed up they called out "final boarding call." Yikes! So thankful we made it!

*Just at the beginning of our long flight, Christin turned to me after wiggling and being restless for a while and said very clearly, "Mommy, I don't like this airplane. I want to get off." When I assured her that she couldn't get off and in fact had 10 more hours to sit through, it didn't help much. So, we pulled out the crayons and made the best of it!

*This time in Chicago customs we were sure that we were residents, not visitors (unlike last time where we were honestly confused) and were also extremely thankful that our trunk full of Asian food items did NOT get opened in customs!

Well, that's all my jet-lagged brain can think of at this moment, it's time for me to get to bed! Yesterday morning the girls lasted until 4:30, but then Christin cried for a drink of water and though I laid down with her to help her fall back to sleep, and everyone was resting quietly, finally at 5:30 Clara Anne came and said in a whisper, "Mommy, is there anything that will get me to sleep?" And then Chloe added in plaintively, "When will this night be over?" Finally I asked Christin if she was sleeping, and she answered in a loud whisper, "Nooo." So I let them get up and look at books. We tried to keep them up all day yesterday but Clara Anne conked out on the living room floor in the middle of playing at about 4:30 and we couldn't wake her up until after 8! She was just sleeping so soundly! We even brought her outside to eat burgers with us on the deck, but she sat and nodded and slept in the chair (sitting upright) and finally when she tried to lie down on the ground we relented and put her back on the couch again.

Christin also fell asleep yesterday and slept HARD for numerous hours in the late afternoon, she ended up going straight to bed. Chloe lasted until 7:30 last night, when she nodded off while doing a puzzle with Grandma. So it's maybe no surprise that everyone was up by 4 this morning. Argh!

The good news is we kept the girls fairly busy this afternoon with a trip to the Pizza Ranch, Walmart, and Kids Corner, and so since nobody slept during the day I'm hopeful for a better night. John and I continue to make progress in packing and organizing--we're unpacking our luggage from overseas, packing up things that have been left here for the last 8 years, and sorting through and organizing a large-scale mess. We will conquer the mess someday! But it will not be this day. I'm off to bed to grab what sleep I can!

Made it safely!

2011-07-01T11:32:00.000+08:00

Hi Everyone, just a quick note tonight to let you know that we are safely arrived in the US, about 24 hours ago. All went well on our flights, we didn't have much extra time throughout the travel day but the girls did great and we were so glad to see Grandpa and Grandma waiting on the other end! Our luggage didn't make the final connection but was found and delivered already early this morning, so no big deal. We're so glad to be here! After the packing and moving craziness, it's good to be here (though not done with the packing and moving, since this is only a stop on our way to Louisville).

I have some funny stories to tell from the trip but for now I'll just share a few highlights from today which include: blue skies, perfect summer temps, the girls running through the sprinkler, opening boxes of stuff that we forgot we left behind and being reunited with things, (like the girls finding dolls and toys here that they were sad to leave last time...still here!), doing about 8 loads of laundry and sipping great coffee!

We're so thankful to have arrived safely...no one got sick, nothing got lost, we had mostly cheerful girls throughout our travel, such a blessing. Thanks for praying! More tomorrow...

Couldn't Have Done It Without Them

2011-06-27T18:16:00.000+08:00

Here's that picture I was talking about...fried noodles never tasted so good! And sitting down for 10 minutes helped too. Love these two wonderful women!

Here's the men, putting the final tape on the final piece of furniture--the girls' stairs from their bunk bed. We used 16 FULL rolls of tape! Can you believe it? Crazy!!

Some of our dearest local friends, helping out when there was a true need on our part. It's the body of Christ in action! We appreciate them so much! Thanks to all and to all who were praying.

NEWS FLASH: We just got word that our crate was just this moment loaded on the ship! PTL! We hope to see it again!

Before, During, and After

2011-06-25T06:15:00.001+08:00

Here's a brief glimpse of the packing process...just a few of the hundred or so pictures I took in the last week. The girls' room before the serious packing started is above, below is during...

And finally, after: taking apart the bed and clearing out the final pieces of furniture.

Below: our awesome friend and administrator extraordinaire, without whom this crating would NOT have been possible, at work on her computer and two cell phones all at the same time: LYNN!

Wow, if you can work in this environment, you can work anywhere! Thanks Lynn!!!

Packing Craziness!

2011-06-24T14:56:00.000+08:00

We've just lived through one of the most challenging weeks of my life. And we're still alive! A bit sleep-deprived, but thankful for how things worked out. We've seen some amazing answers to prayer, even what could be called "miracles" this past week! Here's what happened:

On Monday afternoon, June 13, at about 4:30pm, we suddenly found out that our crate would be leaving this country FOUR days earlier than expected, on Monday the 20th rather than Friday evening the 24th. The change had to do with the boat's schedule and the change to a boat which would go to Los Angeles rather than to Norfolk. The Norfolk route was cheaper (because of trucking costs in America--it's closer to Louisville) but the LA route was much faster. So in order to receive our crate in about half the time, it made sense to make the LA ship which was leaving on the 27th. In order to make the LA ship by the 27th the items needed to leave our house by the 20th to go through the customs process. Yikes!

We had been planning to begin the serious packing as soon as possible, but this news jump-started us into hyper action. Almost as soon as we found out, Lou, my helper, sized up the situation and said, "Let me take the girls overnight to my house, they can play tomorrow and I'll bring them back tomorrow night in time for supper." What a blessing! So I hurridly packed a bag and sent them off with Ayi. They were SO excited! That was the first of many days that the girls spent playing with friends--actually, I felt like that was such an answer to prayer. The whole week, things just "worked out" that almost every day they got to escape the craziness of our messy house and go play somewhere more fun, and I was able to keep getting things done. Praise the Lord for friends who were willing to watch the girls! They had a lot of fun and I certainly appreciated it!

John and I spent the first of what would be many late nights packing and packing, sorting, discarding, making piles to give away, and organizing what was left. Every day we could see good progress but as the days slipped by it was obvious that there was still a lot of work to be done, we couldn't let up! I think John averaged about four hours of sleep per night until Saturday night, when he stayed up the entire night working on lots of the packing details.

This whole "ship your things to another country" business was actually quite complicated. For one thing, there was a lot of paperwork involved. As well, things had to be packed very specifically. Five months ago already, John had filed some preliminary paperwork with the customs office in our city. They had asked for an estimate of what we would be taking back in terms of categories of items and number of items. So, for example, John estimated Clothes would take up 9 boxes, Household items would take 13 boxes, Books would take 8 boxes, etc. We found out early in the packing week that the local customs officers were going to hold us to that estimate. We could pack less than the estimate, but could not exceed it. Miraculously, John was able to make it work EXACTLY and we got our things into the number of boxes that he had specified.

The sorting and organizing was challenging enough but then it was time to actually pack the boxes with itemized lists to go with it. The list was supposed to be very specific: i.e. box 29, in the kitchen items category, with one cutting board, 50 pieces of silverware, 12 bowls, 15 plates, etc. Then after the boxes were all packed and lists made, those items had to be valued (i.e. the forms required a value put on each item) as well. Finally, the boxes were each wrapped in brown paper to give a uniform look, taped very securely, and numbered on the outside.

After the boxes were packed it was time to break down furniture, wrap the wood from that furniture in bubble wrap, taping and numbering, and also take apart the couches and soft furniture and wrap in cloths. What a process! Throughout the week, but especially at the end, we had a LOT of help from friends in wrapping and packaging our items to customs specifications; I'm so thankful for that and for them! We even had fun during the process! Sunday afternoon it was me and my two best Asian girlfriends working together in my living room; we had a great time and it made the work go so much faster. We then sat in the kitchen at 8pm, eating fried noodles from a streetside vendor for supper with disposable chopsticks. What a memory!

A major difficulty occured on Friday morning. Here's where we truly saw the Lord do a miracle. Our dear friend Lynn who is also John's office manager called that morning, very stressed. She had just received news that our original packing company suddenly dropped us; there had been some discussion about taking a personal crate of items (as opposed to a company's) and they just very suddenly decided that they could not agree to ship our items anymore. So without warning, on Friday, THREE days before our stuff was supposed to leave the country, we had NO shipping company, NO boat contracted, and all the paperwork previously done was null and void. The only hope was to quickly find a new company (which, miraculously, Lynn managed to do), then rush down to the customs office and re-file the paperwork before they closed on Friday afternoon. If you know anything about paperwork and government offices in this country, you know it is a rare thing to accomplish any major work like this in a day, much less a few hours, much less in the hour before the office closes for the weekend. But, the Lord is so faithful! He gave favor with those who were working that afternoon; they were willing to help and be patient as John and Lynn resubmitted a bunch of paperwork. It is just amazing that it worked out!

That was not the end of the paperwork, by any means, but at least it got the process going again. By Friday night at 7pm, the situation had changed completely. A new company was willing to take us, they arranged for passage on the boat we previously were hoping to ship on, and the paperwork process was well underway. Saturday all day John and Lynn kept working--the packing list had to be translated, insurance had to be arranged, and myriads of other details. Lynn had her computer set up, John had his set next to hers, she had her two cell phones out that were constantly ringing, John's phone was also frequently in use--it was like Grand Central Station!

But it was Saturday late at night that John started looking again at the size of everything and wondering if everything was actually going to fit in our 20-foot container. So he began to measure, and re-measure, and make a packing plan, and he ended up measuring off a space in our (by then nearly empty) living room and beginning to try to fit everything together. My amazing, wonderfully thorough, great-at-details husband actually drew a design with measurements and every item listed specifically so as to make sure that everything was going to go in. This is what took him all of Saturday night! Wowza! I got up blearily at about 5 and asked John if he needed my help but he told me to go back to bed, which I did for another hour or so, thankfully.

So, knowing all of that history, it was a true miracle when on Monday morning, with the help of many friends and by the sheer grace of God, four flatbed trucks were loaded and trucked to the outside of the city with all our household belongings where they were then loaded (with John managing the exact placement of items) into the 20-foot metal box where they will spend the next month. Hallelujah, it's done!

Three years ago when we moved to our current apartment, I hoped to never move again. But, the Lord has His plans and here we are, moving. I am so thankful for His help and strength this past week. He gave John much strength and wisdom to direct the packing, he helped our friend Lynn manage a lot of the paperwork details, he gave our friends the desire and willingness to help us at crucial times, and he kept all of us from getting sick, hurt, or losing our minds. (A few tempers might have been lost briefly, but we all still love each other. :)) So thankful for the Lord's grace, so aware of our weakness and limitations!

Well, this post has been long enough. But, glory to the Lord for His faithful help and care! This past week was all about things but our next week is all about people and saying goodbye. I'm not sure which is harder! However, if our things end up in the bottom of the ocean, I may shed a tear or two but they're just things. I think saying goodbye to dear friends and this 8 year season of our life here is going to be hard in a much more significant way. We hope to finish strong with His help. We'd appreciate your prayers!

My Girls

2011-06-13T11:23:00.001+08:00

These are my girls. I love them!

Clara Anne Danielle, 6

Chloe Rachelle, 4 (almost 5!)

Christin Arielle, 3

Update on my Parents

2011-06-13T00:10:00.000+08:00

Many of you have prayed for my parents in recent weeks, especially around the time of my mom's surgery. Thank you so much for your prayers. Didn't we see the Lord act in amazing ways? I wanted to just write a brief update now to let you know what's going on in the past few days and weeks.

My mom continues to recover from the surgery and still so thankful to not be facing chemotherapy or other treatment for cancer. We are still rejoicing that there was no cancer found in her body! The incision is healing decently, but Mom has had some trouble with her digestive system. She is not able to eat normally, her stomach churns and seems to reject the food that she is trying to eat. It is quite painful for her. Last week she ended up back in the hospital again for some serious tummy troubles. One radiologist thought that the results of a CT scan showed a twist in her bowels, and that would have meant another surgery. We are so thankful, though, that after the local hospital forwarded on the results to Dr. Rojas (her surgeon from a few weeks ago) in Sioux Falls, he did NOT agree and felt that surgery would have been very unwise and risky in her case. So Mom was preserved from that dangerous situation, and though they still don't know why she is having trouble at least she is not facing another surgery and recovery. She is home from the hospital now and trying to eat a bit again. Mom has her 6 week follow-up appointment with Dr. Rojas on Tuesday and I'm sure they will talk through some of these things then.

I had mentioned before that my dad had been having some issues after his heart attack in December; some trouble sleeping, some restlessness and anxiety, and trouble making everyday decisions or focusing on a task. In recent weeks it was decided that he should no longer work because of some of these symptoms, and so he is now at home. Apparently these kinds of problems can occur after a heart attack, and recently with Mom's health in such a precarious place it has been especially difficult for Dad. Of course that makes it tough on Mom, too; she is trying to do what's best for Dad but also trying to regain some health and strength herself. The plan at this point is to have Dad evaluated by a team of doctors at a Behavioral Health hospital in Sioux Falls the same day that Mom goes back for her appointment, on Tuesday.

If you feel led to pray for my parents, here are some specific requests:
*That both Mom and Dad would cling to the Lord and His precious promises, that His word would encourage them!
*That the doctors would be able to get to the bottom of what is causing Mom's stomach issues and pain so that she would be able to eat normally.
*For wisdom for the doctors who will see Dad on Tuesday, to understand accurately what is going on and know whether hospitalization for him is necessary in order to observe him more closely and help him function more normally again. For strength for Mom and Dad, no matter what happens.
*For thankfulness and hearts that trust our loving Father, knowing He always acts for our good
*For good rest for both Mom and Dad, that they would sleep well at night, safe in His hands
*For all of us as we eagerly anticipate being reunited in a few weeks! Sixteen days, to be exact!

It is hard to share some of these personal needs, but I felt prompted to do it because when there are more of us praying together for something, there are also more of us praising Him when we see Him answer! So thank you for your prayers. He is honored by our trust in Him and we are thankful for you all and your care for us.

Let's get Moving!

2011-06-12T23:23:00.000+08:00

The month of June is rushing by, it's (past) time to give a little update on our moving plans! We've had some pretty busy days recently, including a just-completed marathon weekend where we hosted guests three times and had four other gatherings with friends. We spent some time last week saying goodbye to favorite places around town, finishing up some homeschooling, as well as celebrating Chloe's birthday early since by the time her birthday actually arrives the house will be completely packed up. I have several hundred pictures from those days but will make no promises about when they might be posted! Since moving day is approaching with lightning speed, here's our timeline:

This week we MUST get the bulk of our packing done. We found a shipping company which will allow us to crate our furniture and household items back to the States for a reasonable cost. This is such a blessing! When we bought our furniture, we planned to be spending the next 20 years, give or take a few, here in Asia. But since the Lord has led otherwise, and there isn't much of a market for second-hand items here, we are so thankful to be able to keep our things and continue to use them in the States. This also saves us the hassle of having to purchase things all over again! Obviously, furniture--our piano, sofas, beds, etc--is the main thing, but there's no doubt that all that household stuff adds up too. Kitchen items will fill many boxes, I'm sure, as well as dishes, framed decorations, clothes, shoes, books, and all the random STUFF that is useful to have around the house. We will leave behind the majority of our electrical items since they won't work in America; we have plans to bring a couple of things and run them on a converter, but the majority of kitchen appliances, lamps, washer/dryer, etc, will all stay here and in fact have already been sold to friends.

The shipping company has certain requirements for us. By June 20 we must submit to them an itemized list of the number of boxes and larger items we plan to put in the shipping container, for customs purposes. The truck will come on the 24th to load all of those items into the container, and then we will have a few days of "limbo"--without any furniture or household items but still here; we'll probably stay with friends--and then we leave the 29th at 11:30 in the morning.

Obviously there are a ton of logistical details to making a move like this. Let me just say: if this wasn't the Lord's very clear direction, I would never want to do it! I'm very settled and used to my life here in Asia. I can speak well (enough), I have friends, I have a house helper, I feel glad and thankful for the work we've been able to do here. Packing up and moving my whole family overseas sounds like a lot of work! To be truthful, I'd rather be snuggled up with my girls, reading aloud and sipping iced coffee. BUT, this is the path HE has us on. His direction has been clear and confirmed, again and again. I have no doubt that we are doing the right thing and following Him. I just wish there was no packing involved! (can I get an "amen"? Anybody else hate packing?)

In the midst of the boxes and mess that my house is right now, I'm trying to steal moments to soak in the presence of the Lord and let Him prepare my heart for what's coming as well. When the girls bring something up about the move, I try to stop everything and listen. The other night, while sitting at supper, Clara Anne observed, "You know, Mommy, you have only lived a small part of your life here in Asia. I have lived my whole life here." I affirmed that yes, this was true. She continued, "So, it's different for me to move to America than for you." Again, I agreed, and reassured her that it's natural for her to feel some sadness at the idea of leaving the place she's known as her home for her whole life. But, there is also excitement at what is coming.

When asked recently about their feelings about the move, Clara Anne's words were: "I am so excited to see Grandpa and Grandma and Grandma Ann again. But I don't want to leave home."

Chloe said: "I want to go to America. Can Ayi (our house helper) come with us?"

When asked directly if she was excited to go to America, Christin said, "Yeah!" And that was about it. :) She's definitely the least aware of what's happening, not surprising since she's only three!

Any and all prayers for us would be appreciated this week! We meant to start the serious packing last Thursday already, but various things happened instead and now tomorrow is looking rather booked with other things as well. Soon and very soon, it will happen. It MUST happen! The clock is ticking!

Sidelined

2011-05-30T23:29:00.000+08:00

So last week I was sidelined by the stomach flu. I woke up during the night on Monday night (early Tuesday morning) terribly, horribly sick. I thought I would feel better after my digestive tract got emptied out--ugh--but instead I just kept throwing up until finally late in the day on Tuesday I was absolutely dehydrated, weak, had strained my abdominal muscles from so much violent action, feverish, and was desperate for some sort of relief. I had tried to take some Tylenol, which was a huge mistake since my stomach wasn't even accepting sips of water, and between 7 and 8 pm I was reduced to tossing and turning on the bed, moaning and praying over and over, "Lord, please help me. Help me, Lord. Help me!"

Yikes. John was understandably concerned, especially since I wasn't even able to keep water down, and we almost went to a little clinic outside our apartment complex gate to get an IV (this country's answer to any sickness). I've never done it here, but I was just about ready to take the plunge. I even tried to call a friend to go with me, but couldn't get through to her and so gave up and just prayed.

Finally about 9pm I was so terribly thirsty, so started to try small sips of water again. John set up the ipod on the bed so that I could listen to worship music, and I made it my goal to get a tablespoon of water into me every half hour. In that way I passed a fitful night, sipping and listening to music and drifting in and out of sleep. But, God, in His mercy and kindness, answered my prayer! I was able to hold the water down and so was relieved by that...so thankful to be able to drink water!  By the morning I had gotten down almost a whole cup of water and NOT thrown up, huge progress!

I'm still recovering a bit...after that first crucial night when the Lord answered my prayers (and those of my family and friends here in the city that knew I was sick), it's been better and better each day. I'm eating pretty much normally now and feeling about 75% energy level. Whew, it wiped me out!

After his scare with cancer a few years ago, John Piper came out with an article, "Don't Waste Your Cancer," which was a bit of a take-off from his book, "Don't Waste Your Life." The essential idea is that a cancer diagnosis, terrible as it is, can be an excellent opportunity to trust the Lord, to put yourself again in His hands, to be fully submitted to His will and His plans. So in that same spirit, I thought I'd offer a few reflections: "Don't waste your stomach flu," if you will.

1. Don't underestimate the power of prayer in such a situation. I had the prayer support of my husband and children and several friends here in our city. And though it seems I've had lots of drama in life lately and have been continually calling on my friends to pray for me, there is NO shame in that and in fact it brings glory to the Lord when we call out to Him! I felt so clearly that He showed his mercy and compassion to me when I was able to take that first sip of water that stayed down. My soul praised Him for that answered prayer! Call to the Lord in prayer, even for the stomach flu!

2. Music is a truly healing balm in a situation like that. I couldn't take any medicine, I was throwing up so regularly that I could almost predict it on the clock, and my whole body was tense and hurting.  I thought I didn't want the distraction of music, but when John set up the ipod and that first worship music flowed over me, I felt myself relax in a way that I didn't think was possible without medicine. I slept more deeply and my heart was led to a meditative and thankful place even as I had no energy to do that myself. SO thankful for the peaceful, worshipful music that led me into the Lord's presence!

3. Our bodies are amazingly complex, and we are amazingly weak. It was so humbling--it was only my stomach that wasn't working and it laid me flat on my back. The Lord understands the inner workings of our bodies and how it all holds together, but one little stomach bug and I am completely humbled and helpless. A good reminder to depend on Him!

4. What a blessing it is to be able to drink water and eat food!  It is truly a blessing to have nourishing food to eat and clean water to drink that sustains our physical bodies.  God designed it that way; we are fragile creatures, dependent on food and drink to have energy and feel well. I was so thankful for those first few sips of water to quench my deep thirst!

5. Health is a true gift from God.  I am not well acquainted with health problems. I do not have a chronic disease. My children have been basically healthy. But a little thing like this and I could be tempted to complain! Oh, Lord, forgive me!  Instead, how I want to have a thankful heart that usually, I am healthy.  What a gift it is to usually feel well, to have energy and strength for the tasks of the day and to live for Him.   It is not something I deserve, but truly a daily gift from Him. Sickness comes sometimes and has the effect of making me more grateful for good health!

Well, as I'm feeling better this week and easing back into "normal life" again I want to remember what the Lord taught me last week. I don't want to waste the opportunity! There are lots of lessons to be learned and certainly I don't want to go through that again! :) Thanks for joining me along this journey!

My favorite Three Year Old!

2011-05-23T22:58:00.000+08:00

Our sweet Christin is three years old! April 28, 2011 was a wonderful day for her. After whooping her way up and down the hallway, shouting about the fact that it was her birthday, Christin got one of her favorite Asian treats for breakfast: you tiao which literally translates as "oil stick." It's basically the far east version of a doughnut...a strip of dough is fried in hot oil and puffs up dramatically, getting crispy on the outside and just slightly chewy on the inside. The locals dip theirs in hot soy milk, we take ours home and dip them in sweetened condensed milk. Yummy! Christin loves it!

The weather was beautiful and so we took the whole family to the zoo to ride some of the (chintzy and slightly dangerous) rides. This particular train ride on a rusty, dirty train took us around some weedy, reedy, swamp water and through a very narrow tunnel where my knee got bonked as we entered. The girls thought it was fun though! I'm just glad no one got hurt!

"Yes, I am the birthday girl and I'm too cool for this train!"

Our next ride was a favorite...we rented a little electric boat that could be driven around a small pond. The boat included a laser gun to shoot at targets throughout the pond and if you hit them, they would spray water. The girls all had fun driving the boat and shooting the gun, and I sat in the back seat and enjoyed watching them! Fun times!

Christin was delighted at her turn to do some shooting. I never thought I'd see the day!

Ok, the girly girls are still around. Whew, just had to get that gun business out of the way, I guess! The above picture is what you get when you ask the girls to pose for a picture.

Love this girl. Three years old!

Christin had been deliberating for weeks over what kind of cake she wanted. Every time I asked her, it was something different: a pink heart cake, a princess cake, a rainbow cake, an oreo cake, or even cookies! I settled on the pink heart cake and kept it simple this time. Isn't that the sweetest smile?

Everyone wanted to help blow out those candles!

When we sat down to lunch on the day of Christin's birthday, Clara Anne asked me, "When will Christin open her presents?" I had to admit that we had not prepared anything for Christin to open, but had taken her on the outing to the zoo instead. Clara Anne said, "It's kind of sad not to have presents to open on your birthday, Mommy. I will wrap some things up for Christin." So she did! She found a few items and wrapped them, and John and I made a trip to a local market to find something small to give to Christin as well. We chose the pretty pink sandals you see above! Christin LOVED them and has been very attached to them since.

We're so thankful for our Christin Arielle! She's such a funny girl and often makes us laugh with her "grown-up" ways of speaking and the funny things she says. She is my sweet cuddly girl who loves for me to "tickle" her back. She's also really tall for her age and is already wearing some 4T clothes! Her hair is wispy and so white-blonde, just like mine when I was a little girl. She loves fruit, yogurt, and always asks for sips of my black coffee. Gum is another favorite, and lip gloss is probably the item besides her "wa-wa" (the bunny blanket) that she loves the most; she frequently can be found with several lip glosses in her pockets. (You know, those Bonne Bell ones that taste like fruit or coke or root beer or whatever? LOVES those.) She usually still says "y" for "l", i.e. "yip gloss" instead of "lip gloss" but her stuttering is much improved. She's proud to be three and is growing so fast! She can ride a bike (with training wheels) very well now and even does fine getting the bike in and out of the elevator and out of our building. She's gaining independance and is often stubborn about doing things herself. She frequently tells me that she loves me and gives me smooches and big hugs.

So, four weeks of pre-labor and then finally giving birth in this country were worth it for our Christin! Thank you, Lord, for her. We pray that the Lord will give her many more years of life! Happy Birthday!

Flashback: Wedding Festivities, April 2, 2011

2011-05-21T17:53:00.000+08:00

We have a friend whom we've known for about six years; her English name is Lynn. And, she got married recently! Enjoy these pictures of the wedding festivities! There was some confusion about her wedding date due to the fact that they had scheduled the wedding and booked the restaurant BEFORE the government announced that the next weekend was going to be a 3 day national holiday for the Tomb-Sweeping Festival. That wouldn't have been a problem, except in this country when there is a weekend off, it means the next weekend is a working weekend. So the Saturday of her wedding was supposed to be a working day for most people. There was no way to change the venue at that late notice, and I think she was worried that many people wouldn't come, but since the hall was quite crowded I think most people were able to make it! :) In the above picture Clara Anne and Chloe are enjoying the pre-ceremony snacks provided at all the tables.

The bride and groom had a ceremony of sorts, led by an MC who continually cracked jokes and tried to get laughs. But, probably the most serious moment of the ceremony was when the bride promised the husband's parents that she would take care of her husband and take care of the husband's parents when they were old. There were tears from the bride and groom at that important moment! It's an interesting contrast: in a western wedding, the bride and groom make promises to each other. In a wedding in this culture, the bride and groom make promises to each other's parents.

The lovely bride.

Here's that MC, enjoying his work, that's for sure!

Afterwards it is traditional for the friends of the bride and groom to take group pictures with them; we obliged (with our friends Kevin and Becky) but my girls didn't exactly cooperate, as you can see!

Then we took a few pictures of our own in the private room we were given for the reception. There was tons of food and it was very enjoyable to have lunch with a few of our close friends (Asian and American!) and relish the relative quiet and non-smoking atmosphere. At the ceremony, cigarettes are a traditional free gift (on the tables with the snacks) so everyone lights up. It became a bit hard to breathe after awhile! So we were glad to be given this private room to relax and enjoy lunch.

April 2, 2011--family picture! Clara Anne, 6, Chloe, 4, and Christin, almost 3. Congratulations, Lynn and Zhang! We hope the Lord will give you many years together!

Have you seen this one?

2011-05-19T11:21:00.000+08:00

From our Easter Egg Hunt, April 22, 2011. Lots more pictures to post soon!

Answered Prayers

2011-05-17T22:12:00.000+08:00

It's Tuesday evening here in Asia and I'm finally getting around to updating my blog! I did arrive back in the country on time last Thursday night, then made my way to a friend's house where I stayed overnight before taking a train home on Friday morning. John was waiting for me at the train station and it was a day of joyful reunions! This is the longest I've ever been away from him and/or the girls, so it was truly a blessing to be together again. In the words of Mr. Darcy, "I wish never to be parted from [them] again." :)

The last few days have been wonderful--we've had some great times together as a family, with friends, we attended a wedding, the girls had a sleepover at some friends' home, we celebrated John's birthday (on the 14th), and enjoyed a perfect family day yesterday out in the gorgeous weather with a boat ride on the lake in the center of our city. And today, I'm happy to say, we had a "normal" day filled with normal activities like prayer, exercise, reading aloud, doing math and working on handwriting, making supper and enjoying it together, and finishing the day with devotions and actually getting the girls to bed on time. Wow! It feels like it's been a LONG time since we had a normal day, so I truly appreciated a bit of routine today. Thankful!

But before I get too far away from my trip to the States and my mom and dad's health situations, I wanted to share a few things that I journaled about on my way back to this country. The overwhelming sense in my heart on my way back was PEACE. I felt peace flooding my soul even as I thought of many future questions, transitions, and unknowns. I felt peaceful that the Lord had led me to take the trip, and that He used me to serve my family, even though I had to leave them again. As I was feeling HIS peace settle deeply in my heart, I felt compelled to write down some of the specific ways God answered our prayers regarding my Mom and the trip that I took. So tonight, to encourage us all and to give glory to His name, let me share some specific prayers and the answers that God gave.

**I prayed for good times together as a family, no matter what happened with Mom's surgery, and the Lord graciously granted us precious times of fellowship as an immediate and extended family, with some of Mom and Dad's church family, and with dear friends.

**God answered our prayers for safe surgery--He guided Dr. Rojas' hands so that Mom's life was preserved, despite the tumor's attachment to the vena cava which we had no idea about but which was actually quite dangerous.

**God answered our prayers for a successful surgery; the whole tumor able to be removed, with no damage to the stomach or colon.

**Amazingly, God answered our prayers for the tumor to be benign--NO cancer anywhere was a miraculous answer to prayer! Thank you Lord!

**We saw the Lord answer prayer in regards to timing--I was able to get there a few days before the surgery, stay through the surgery and the initial recovery, and by the time I left I felt Mom was really doing quite well.

**Prayers for this experience to draw Mom and Dad closer to the Lord were also answered. Especially encouraging was the fact that Mom now feels she's been given another opportunity to begin life again, serving the Lord. She feels passionate about living for Him! How encouraging!

**I was also encouraged by the fact that so MANY people were praying for Mom and for our family. Some of our Asian friends who were praying for her expressed to me on Saturday that they felt so encouraged by the amazing result of their prayers in Mom's good news. They felt (and they were right!) that God directly answered their prayers, which was so faith-building for them. Even that is an answer to prayer!

**The Lord also answered prayers for my safety and health--I stayed well, was able to navigate through taxis, train stations, 5 different airports, 7 flights, a hotel, an unexpected layover in a country where I've never stayed, and all went well, I didn't lose a single thing! My luggage arrived safely and I was given strength and help to be there for my parents.

Those are the things I wrote down on Friday morning, but I am sure I have only touched the surface of all that the Lord has done in the past weeks! I am so thankful for His leadership, guidance, and protection of my mom and dad and our whole family. Rejoice with us as we savor His faithfulness in answering prayer!

So quickly...

2011-05-11T11:32:00.000+08:00

Well, my time here has just about wrapped up. I'd appreciate your prayers for my safe return home to John and the girls. In about 5 hours I'll be on the road again. The time has gone so quickly and yet SO much has happened I think we're all still reeling a bit.
Here's a brief "thankful" list though, before I try to get some sleep tonight:
1. I'm thankful for Jesus. He has sustained, loved, kept and guided us. Praise his name!

2. SO thankful for the successful outcome of the surgery. We found out today some more details--because of where the tumor was attached, to the vena cava, it literally could have pulled free at any time. That would have ruptured that major blood vessel, and Mom would have died almost instantly. So thankful that not only was the tumor removed without incident but also was shown to be NO cancer! Amazing!

3. Thankful for a great talk with my mom and dad last night about some important future things; trusting the Lord's guidance as my dad desires to keep working but is concerned about his health and mom's care.

4. Thankful for US beef! Yes! We had pot roast tonight that I made in the crockpot and it was melt-in-your-mouth yummy.

5. Thankful for my wonderful husband who held down the fort at home. He and the girls will be eagerly awaiting my arrival on Friday morning, Asia time.

6. And finally, I'm thankful for the outpouring of love and support for my parents from our extended family, our church families, our Asian brothers and sisters, and those of you who read this blog. You have all played a key role in supporting my parents through this tough time. Don't stop praying! The Lord knows what is still needed in terms of recovery. But we are so thankful for you all. May the Lord bless you and keep you!

And now, back to Asia I go. . .

Back in Rock Valley!

2011-05-10T11:41:00.000+08:00

Just a quick update tonight--Mom is now in our hometown hospital. She is doing remarkably well, I'm sure in no small part thanks to your prayers! She's feeling quite well, has been more and more smooth in getting up and down, has a bit more stamina, and has even eaten better today. The doctor did switch her pain medication and it seems to be managing it better. We also had a visit from her endocrinologist (diabetes doctor) who outlined a clearer plan for the future management of her blood sugars. She's still sore and stiff, and somewhat weak, but all in all, very good progress. We were able to check out of the hospital in Sioux Falls about 1pm and then we just took her in the car to the Rock Valley hospital. It is GOOD to be here.

I will sleep at my parent's house tonight since Mom is doing so much better and I am in need of one good night of sleep before I travel again! Tomorrow night will be more like a nap--I leave for the airport at 3:30 on Wednesday morning. That quickly, my time here is wrapping up. I'm so thankful for the Lord's timing in bringing me (even giving me a mini-retreat on the way here) before the surgery, allowing me to be here through the surgery and most of mom's recovery, and now I will have a day to visit Mom, stock her frig, do some cleaning at the house, and finish some other errands before I leave. So thankful that He planned it all perfectly!

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for praying for Mom. Obviously, she isn't fully healed yet, but she feels like the Lord has given her another opportunity to live her life for Him. She was prepared to die on Tuesday night, and now instead she has recovery ahead and NO chemo treatments to face. Thank you for honoring the Lord by asking Him for this excellent answer to prayer, and all praise and glory to Him for preventing the cancer. He is the author of Life and obviously has things He still wants her to do; it is beautiful to see her want to even more fully give herself to Him for whatever years she has remaining.

I feel like I have learned so much through this experience, and have lots of "deeper" thoughts percolating in my head, but they will have to wait for another day and another post--I'm ready for bed! But for tonight, let's praise God for His wonderful works and trust Him for the future. Amen? Amen!

Four Beautiful Words

2011-05-08T10:04:00.002+08:00

I have some very good news to share today. Mom and I were just waking up this morning, the nurse had been in around 6 to check her blood sugar and vitals, and Dr. Rojas came in, making his rounds. He talked with Mom for a moment and examined her incision (more than 40 staples!) and also shared with her the pictures that they took during surgery. I had a few more questions about the tumor itself and asked those, and then finally he said, "I have some great news from the lab. There is no cancer." Four beautiful words! He then showed us the pathology report and first we stared in disbelief before shedding tears of joy! Praise the Lord!

I'm not sure the full reality of the report has sunk in, but later I looked through it and saw that yes, each small part that they tested came back negative with fancy medical words like "no metastatic abnormality" and "benign tissue." This is such wonderful news, we are so very, very thankful.

Now the task ahead is to recover from this surgery and try to manage her diabetes. Mom's IV was taken away today, and she was encouraged to get up and walk more, but she is not able to eat a lot--after a huge trauma to her system she is not very hungry as well as simply not being used to eating; her last meal was Monday night. So it has been hard for her to take in enough calories today to keep her blood sugars up, and has had two fairly low ones in the last 20 hours, which are so very dangerous for her system. As well, they want her up and walking more but she was already fairly weak and unsteady before the surgery, now that is compounded much more by the pain and then the low blood sugars just add to the problems. So we had a bit of a rough day trying to manage all of this, I think she feels fairly tired out and a bit discouraged this evening, even despite the great news of the early morning.

Previously the doctors had been ready to release her to our hometown hospital tomorrow for a few more days of care there, but Mom doesn't feel comfortable with that until they work out a better plan for dealing with her diabetes. We'll see what happens.

So today, please pray that she will have stable blood sugars, especially overnight when she tends to drop into dangerous zones, and also they are starting a new pain medication since it seems like the other one wasn't cutting it. I think if we have a better handle on the pain and the diabetes, we will feel more comfortable with her transferring. But for now we are eager to get some resolution on those issues.

However, we want to give all the glory and praise to God for His gracious and merciful answer about the fact that there is no cancer! So many of you were praying that we would hear that answer and God graciously gave it! We certainly know that this is not always the case; even as today is the day of Chip Stam's memorial service. The Lord always does good, and He would have still been good even if the result had been cancer. But we are so thankful that He chose to answer in this way. Rejoice with us! "All I have needed your hand has provided, Great is your Faithfulness, Lord, Unto me!"

Progress Report

2011-05-07T02:28:00.000+08:00

Hello everybody! It's Friday afternoon and I am about to lose my internet access as Mark will be heading home today, and taking his laptop. So I thought I'd post a quick update on my mom, who is doing pretty well, all things considered.

Praises at this point: Mom seems to have more strength and energy today. Her color is better, she has sat in a chair for about 30 minutes, has walked a few steps, and is now able to use the bathroom with help. Those are all good things and show progress. We are still so thankful for good care for her and the ability for me to stay with her overnight. We've also had some great times of fellowship as a family that have been precious.

Please pray: that the incision would continue to heal. We're taking baby steps at this point, trying to get her up on her feet and helping to just make her comfortable despite the 30-40 staples that are holding together her abdomen. Pray for quick healing as well as no infection. It's still quite the process to get her out of bed, to even get her turned in bed can take some time. Dr. Rojas is pleased with her progress and assured her that he won't "kick her out" of the hospital too soon, so that's good. Pray also for us to all continue to seek the Lord and keep a cheerful attitude. I've been so glad to "play nurse" and try to make Mom more comfortable. As well, we are still hopeful that the tumor did not have any cancer in it. Pray for this too!

Thanks so much for praying! I could say more but it's time for me to wrap it up. So thankful for you all...the body of Christ. We'll continue to call out to the throne of grace together!

Afternoon Update

2011-05-06T05:54:00.000+08:00

It's Thursday afternoon, about four o'clock, and I thought it was time for a little update on Mom. Lots has happened in the past 24 hours!

Mom did well in recovery and was moved to her room yesterday by early afternoon--thank you for praying, she did not have ANY nausea and that is just so helpful. She was pretty groggy all afternoon and evening, coming out from under the anesthetic as well as trying to get ahead of the pain. When I first saw her after she came out of recovery and was moved back to her room, her lips were dry, her throat was raspy, but her first word was "cancer?" I was so glad to tell her that they don't think so. She spent a pretty uncomfortable afternoon and evening but did sleep a lot, she was in a lot of pain but they provided her with a pump that she could self administer the pain medicine. The dosages were controlled so that she could not overdose, it would only allow her to receive the medicine every 15 minutes.

I got a much-needed nap yesterday afternoon as well as a hot shower while Mark and my dad stayed with Mom. Though we didn't plan this time as a family reunion, it certainly has been so nice to be together and eat meals together, talking and enjoying the time together! Last night I also stayed with Mom here at the hospital; our sweet nurse Emily was on duty again, what a blessing she was! Most of all, around 11:30 when I was ready to get some rest I went out to ask for some pillows and blankets, and she said, wait! I think I have a chair for you that turns into a bed! Sure enough, it looked like a regular armchair but actually folded out to a cot. Hallelujah! It was just fine to sleep on, SO much better than trying to sleep sitting up in a chair. Emily knew I had just come from Asia and so I joked with her that the first night it was like I was in business class (though I was on a chair at least I could put my feet up on a second chair!) and the second night I bought the first class tickets! That was a huge praise, I was able to sleep on and off during the night and feel more rested today.

Mom did fine overnight...we are watching her blood sugar carefully as well as I am making sure she sips water occasionally, has some lotion on her skin, lip gloss on her lips to comat dryness, and enough pillows tucked around her to make her comfortable. I am learning some nursing tricks about how to help an immobile patient turn over, and am even gaining some skills at pillow tucking and fluffing!

However that immobility is coming to an end. Dr. Rojas was in this morning and said, "I'm going to be a little mean to you today." It's time for Mom to get up a bit out of bed, get her legs moving a bit, and stretch out her legs and ribcage too. She now will have to get up to use the bathroom and they want her marching in place and maybe taking a few steps as often as possible. She already showed great improvement from her first attempt this morning until just now where she was able to get herself up off the bed (using her walker) and march in place just a bit. It's so hard for her right now (VERY painful) but it's really what she needs to do for purposes of circulation, prevention of blood clots, stimulating her bowels to work again, etc.

Today Mark and my dad are driving back to Rock Valley to pick up a few needed items, we have decided now that we'll all stay in Sioux Falls until she is released from here. It just makes me feel better to be with her overnight.

So, that's the news for today. Keep praying for her recovery! Dr. Rojas said this morning that since we don't know about the tumor yet, we have to focus on recovery and healing. Pray that the Lord would quickly heal this large incision and that she would be feeling stronger and stronger. Pray that her appetite would return and her pain would be managed well with the nurse. It might sound silly, but anyone who's had surgery also knows, pray that she would be able to use the bathroom soon! And pray for the doctors and nurses we are seeing, that we would be a witness to them--there's been a steady stream of people in all day, it seems.

And today, we're thankful for how we've seen so much progress in the last 24 hours! Thankful for caring nurses and comfortable beds, for an excellent doctor and for pain meds that work. We are most of all thankful for our Father's great and precious promises, that are true no matter our situation. HIS word cannot fail, He is always faithful, He will carry us, and His grace is sufficient for us. Last night I spent a long time reading in the Psalms to Mom--she just wanted to hear Scripture, so I read Ps. 34, 40, and then 90-100. How encouraging to just let the Word flow over us, encourage and strengthen us. Praise the Lord for his gracious love and care!

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust'...(the Lord speaking) "Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation." Psalm 91:1-2, 14-16.

Out of Surgery!

2011-05-05T00:57:00.000+08:00

Mom is out of surgery! (warning: lots of medical details ahead! Feel free to skim if you have a queasy stomach!)

It took longer than anticipated. Dr. Rojas (the surgeon) told us this morning that if the tumor was benign they could be done with the surgery in 45 minutes. If it looked like cancer, he thought the surgery would take "a couple" of hours. As it was, when the time started going to an hour, then two, we were pretty concerned. At times like this it is so good to be together! I held my dad's hand for a long time, something I haven't done since I was a little girl. What a blessing to be here.

Finally the text came through the pager saying that Mom was out of surgery and "the doctor will see you now." We waited in a conference room and prayed and prayed to combat the fear that we were all feeling. Finally Dr. Rojas came in. The results of the surgery were fairly good. Here is the good news: the tumor was contained to one large mass. It had come from her right ovary and was a whole, round, smooth mass except for a small rupture on one side. It literally looked like a watermelon (yes, they took pictures during the procedure and we looked at them afterwards). It had not grown fingers around her internal organs, but was pushing them out of the way, which is why she felt uncomfortable even around to her back. The mass weighed almost 20 pounds. (20 pounds!) Dr. Rojas removed both ovaries as well as a large amount of lymph on the right side.

The mixed (not quite as good) news concerns the small rupture. The tumor was full of a lot of mucous and some of that had leaked out. By their analysis, the tumor was not clearly benign, but it was not clearly cancerous either. So they will be doing more testing on it in the next week in order to tell what exactly was contained within that huge round mass. As well, as Dr. Rojas removed the tumor there was some bleeding from the artery that was feeding the tumor, and that was a bit dicey to stitch up, which is also why the surgery took a bit longer than expected.

But, on the whole, very good news. Dr. Rojas said there is no need to talk about chemotherapy or anything like that yet. The news for today is quite good, and we are so thankful.

I am thankful that this whole experience has been saturated with prayer, and it has been so very special for me to be here with my family. SO very thankful for Dr. Rojas, his thoughtfulness, care and compassion were evident and such a gracious gift for our family.

I'll post more later, Mom's in recovery now and we are going to try to get a bite to eat before she is moved back to her room. We are rejoicing in the Lord's provision of grace and mercy to help in our time of need, and trusting Him for the future. Thank you to you all for praying, don't stop! Now we want to pray for: ease in recovery, no complications or infections, good management of the pain from the surgery and help from the Lord to keep a cheerful attitude and recover well! And, praise the Lord for Dr. Rojas and his skilled hands and compassionate manner, the fact that Mom's blood sugars stayed stable during the whole procedure, the good care we are receiving at the hospital, and the blessing of being together as a family. How good and gracious is our Lord to sustain us! May we continue to look to Him for strength, help, and a trusting heart for the days ahead.

Thank you again for praying! We will keep looking to Him for all that we need!

Surgery Day

2011-05-04T21:33:00.000+08:00

Just a quick update this morning: Mom is now in surgery. We arrived here at the hospital yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, May 3) and she got all checked in, prepped, and signed the forms necessary for today's procedure. We were settled into her room last night by about 6pm and after dinner out, I stayed in her room for the night. This morning very early they were getting Mom ready and she was wheeled into surgery around 7.

Things to be thankful for today:
*We could not be more impressed with Dr. Rojas, Mom's surgeon. Last night when he came to check in on her we told him that many, many people were praying for his hands. Mom followed by saying that we were trusting God to work through him. He then responded and said, "Yes, absolutely, we are just working together, He is my partner." Wow! Praise the Lord! Trusting Him to guide Dr. Rojas' hands today.

*The care at the hospital is wonderful. To my Asian eyes the hospital seems so clean, beautiful, even luxurious! We also had a sweetheart of a nurse last night who was just a joy to have in the room. Thankful!

*We are all here together. My brother Mark drove in from Minnesota, my mom's brothers are both here, and even some friends from their home church came in a bit ago. So good to be together! We had some precious times of prayer last night and sang "My Jesus, I love Thee" together this morning before they wheeled Mom away. Precious to be together in a time like this.

*Mom and I even had some sweet fellowship during the night. She kept thinking of things to tell me in case she doesn't make it out of surgery. I think it was helpful for her to tell me even though of course we pray that all those details won't be necessary.

Things to pray for:
*Dr. Rojas as he conducts the surgery. Pray for wisdom, guidance, and skill as he does this complicated procedure.

*That the tumor would be benign. Pray for no signs or traces of cancer!

*Pray that she would come out of the anesthesia well, that she wouldn't be sick to her stomach and her blood sugar would stay stable.

*Pray that she would feel remarkably well in recovery and would be able to get up and around soon as they want her to.

Thanks so much to all of you who are praying. May the Holy Spirit guide us as we lift her up together! I will update as soon as we know anything else.

Safely arrived

2011-05-03T19:49:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone,
Thanks for praying for my safe arrival to the states. My travel plans got changed slightly as the flight I was on from Tokyo to Chicago got cancelled (it's never a good thing when you're supposed to be boarding and instead a little motorized tug pulls away the 747. I don't think there were any extras in the garage!) and I had to stay overnight in Japan. So I was delayed a day, but am now safely here and wanted to update everyone concerning my mom's situation.

We've gotten some more information from the doctors and yesterday Mom had an excellent meeting with an endocrinologist who will be monitoring her blood sugars throughout the procedure. She felt encouraged at his determination to help her, not just through the surgery, but to try to determine some of the underlying health problems of her diabetes and muscle weakness. He seemed to take a very holistic approach and spent a lot of time with her, asking questions about her medical history. We hope he will be able to work more with her in the future to possibly bring her diabetes under better control.

The surgery is scheduled for 7am Wednesday (CDT) and Mom will be admitted this afternoon in order for them to do some of the preparatory procedures. My brother Mark, my dad, and my mom's two brothers will all be there during the surgery so we are prepared for whatever may come. As they operate, they will remove the tumor bit by bit and send it off to pathology even as she is on the operating table; if it comes back cancerous then they will also take some of the surrounding lymph nodes. Also, there is a chance that the tumor has grown into her stomach or colon and in that case they will also need to surgically remove part of those organs. So, we're anticipating that it will be a fairly long procedure, though of course there's no way to know for sure.

Please pray for us! Pray for the surgeon to have skillful hands in removing the entirety of the tumor. Pray for Mom's blood sugars to remain stable. Pray for there to be no complications, and pray that the tumor will be found to be benign. Most of all, though, pray that we will all use this opportunity to love Jesus more, to trust Him and His precious promises through this situation. May the gospel become more precious and real to us. May we have patience, wisdom, and perseverance as we face the future, confident in His goodness. And, may we give glory and praise to our loving Father, may even our demeanor and attitudes in the waiting room and in interacting with hospital staff be glorifying to Him and the truth of the gospel.

All these things are especially poignant to me today as I arrived in the States to the news that our dear friend, Chip Stam, has gone to be with the Lord after a four year battle with cancer. His joy in the Lord, enthusiasm for serving Him, and love for teaching and leading worship impacted so many. He will be greatly missed, even as we rejoice that he is now free from cancer, from sin, from pain and sorrow, and truly alive in the presence of our beautiful King Jesus. The family sent out a letter announcing his home-going in the most amazingly gospel-centered, Christ glorifying way. I am encouraged, and remember Chip with joy even through my tears today. Please pray for the Stams as they prepare for Chip's funeral and memorial service this weekend. Chip was an example of someone who lived, trusting and hoping in Christ, and died in that joyful assurance that Jesus is his--forever. Chip has truly safely arrived, to his forever home. Amen!

So as I think about my mom today, I'm inspired to continue fighting the fight of faith, trusting in my precious Savior and loving Father. The Lord was good to give me so much time on the plane and through that unplanned layover to spend with Him. I was especially encouraged by Psalm 34, Philippians 1, and some worship music during my retreat-on-the-road. What a gift to have that time! I feel refreshed and ready for whatever may come this week. I do long to serve my parents this week in a tangible way, to pray with them and for them, to be a light for the gospel wherever we go. Thanks for praying with me.

My Mom

2011-04-27T22:46:00.000+08:00

I'm writing quickly tonight to ask for prayer for my Mom. It's been a rough six months or so for my parents, with my dad's serious heart attack in December and very slow recovery. He expected to feel better more quickly, but it has been difficult for him to regain his strength and energy. And just last weekend, I got an email from my mom, saying that she had had a CT scan on Friday. For the last year, Mom had been experiencing some growth in her abdomen area, but assumed she was just putting on some weight and needed to be more careful about what she was eating. But with her diabetes, she often ends up eating when she isn't hungry (often in the middle of the night!), and so that can be hard to control. But as time rolled around to January or so, she began to feel some hardness to her abdomen area, and in the past few weeks has also experienced pain in that area.

So, she finally went to the doctor and they immediately ordered a CT scan. The scan was done on Friday and she received the results on Monday. The news was not good. There is a huge mass in her abdomen that has grown and spread around some of her internal organs, and it will need to be operated on very soon to get it out. They will not take time to do a biopsy first, but rather just try to remove it, if they can. The doctor has warned her that the surgery will be a major one...a large incision, a lot of cutting, and most likely a difficult recovery. They cannot say for sure what the mass is until the surgery is done.

With all of this information in hand, and after having talked to my mom on Monday morning, John and I decided that it would be best for me to be there for my parents at this time. I was able to purchase a ticket that leaves on Sunday and arrives Sunday night (23 hours of travel but arriving the same day thanks to a 13 hour time difference!) and will stay for about 10 days. I hope to be a blessing to my parents, to encourage them in the Lord, and to accomplish a lot of practical things to help them. My brother Mark and perhaps his whole family will also be there, and we are thankful for my parent's home church which has also been very supportive.

Please pray for my parents, for the surgery which will likely be sometime early next week, and for the results of the surgery to be better than anyone expects. Pray for me to arrive safely and to be able to be a true help to my mom and dad. Pray for us all to be encouraged in the Lord, in His steadfast love and promises which do not fail, do not change, and are always for our good. May we rest in Him and trust Him for all that we need.

And, since I'm still in the midst of my study/meditation on thankfulness, here are some things I'm thankful for in this situation:
*That I could so easily find a ticket that was reasonably priced and be there so quickly. PTL for the technology to buy online and even be able to do something crazy like fly on a plane!
*That my mom's spirits are good. She is ready for whatever comes and is not afraid. Her faith is encouraging me!
*My wonderful husband's support in saying "you need to do this. I will be fine with the girls."
*A house helper and dear friends in this city who said things like "Let me take your girls so you can make plans." and "I'll help you find a ticket." and "What can we do for you?"
*My trustworthy Father in heaven who has a good plan.
*The fact that we got a lot of our packing done (for our upcoming move) this week already!
*****A huge praise is that we have secured a place to live in Louisville--already!!! It's been in the works for a couple of weeks, but we just received confirmation this morning that it's ours and will sign the contract and send in the deposit early next week!*****

I hope to make my time on the plane a mini-retreat and plan to spend a lot of time in the Word and prayer. Honestly I haven't gone anywhere without a child for so long that I am not sure how I will fill all the hours! So my plan is to spend them with the Lord. "If you seek Me, you will find Me, if you seek Me with all your heart." I'm praying that He meets me in a special way during that time! I surely feel the need for refreshment, strengthening, filling, and resting in Him.

Thanks so much for your prayers. It is such a comfort to know that people all over are praying for my parents and our family, and to know that the Lord is honored by those prayers. Thank you again. I'll do my best to keep posting as things develop.

Update on Christin

2011-04-22T22:20:00.000+08:00

Several of you have left comments or emailed regarding Christin's struggle with stuttering, thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement. I just wanted to give a little update tonight...she is doing all right. A week or two ago, I thought it was getting better, but now the past couple of days she's had more struggles again.

The strange part is that when she is playing with the other girls, interacting naturally with them, reciting books along with me as I read them, or reciting her memory verses, she does just fine, no problems at all.

But, when she wants to ask a question or is "put on the spot" in some way she often has trouble getting started. Lately it has been an airflow issue; instead of the air flowing naturally it builds up behind her lips or in her throat in a way similar to what we would do intentionally if blowing up a balloon.

I've been thankful, though, that it doesn't seem to bother her as much as it once did. She usually patiently perseveres, tries again, and finally gets out what she wants to say. We have been careful to get down on her eye level, look right at her patiently, and simply wait for her to make her meaning clear and then answer normally. I am very thankful that she isn't crying about it anymore. We do hope she'll be continuing to make progress, trusting the Lord for His good plan even in this "small" circumstance.

Related to this, we recently watched "The King's Speech." It was an excellent, fascinating movie (with only a bit of language in one scene in the middle, careful for that) about the King of England, George the VI who struggled with stuttering. I found the movie very compelling and was interested to see some of the techniques the vocal coach used with the King to help him speak more freely. The movie was very well done and really showed some of the difficulties of those who struggle with stuttering. But, the movie also reminded me that though stuttering could be a very difficult thing to deal with, there are much worse problems that exist in life as well.

And as always, our good and gracious Father is in control. He has made our sweet Christin and will continue to guard, guide, and protect her. And we'll keep praying for her!

Have a blessed Easter weekend, everyone! We had a great worship service tonight and it's been wonderful to see my children understand more and more of the meaning of Easter. Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen Indeed!

A Habit Newly Formed

2011-04-16T22:32:00.000+08:00

I mentioned in my last post that we've been getting up Clara Anne at 6:30 every morning now to help her also fall asleep more easily at night. But that wasn't the only reason.

We are trying to help Clara Anne get into a good habit of spending the first time of the day with Jesus. It was such fun to put together a "Quiet Time Basket" for her, holding her Bible, some paper, colored pencils and crayons, a small music-making book with kids' praise songs, her special mug for a warm morning cup of milk, and a cozy blanket. You can see she is also holding a Reader's Bible.

Isn't this just precious? We truly want to help Clara Anne to establish a good morning habit with the Lord. It's just better for her to not sleep so late, but get up and spend some time in worship. And her reactions so far? At first she was just thrilled. She felt so special and grown-up and was so eager to do it. But about a week into our new routine, when I asked her how her morning time had gone, she said, "Well Mommy, I'm not always sure what to read in the Bible, it's such a big book! And, sometimes I get sleepy." Welcome to common struggles in the Christian life, Clara Anne! We've all felt that way sometimes! The past two days I have let her listen to CD's that have readings from Scripture as well as kids songs, which she loves. Most of all, I want to make this an enjoyable time for her, not a "must-do" item to check off a list. We're praying that the Lord will use these times to touch her heart, teach her, and bless her. May these be the first of thousands of times of personal worship throughout her whole life!

Hitting the Highlights

2011-04-11T23:09:00.000+08:00

I realize it's been a long time since I've updated my blog with family happenings...but there's just been so much going on that I've either been trying to keep up with life or trying to recover from keeping up with life! So it goes...some seasons are busier than others. But, tonight I thought it would be better to say something rather than continue saying nothing, so here's some highlights!

**We recently experienced the "stay-cation that wasn't." I think this is probably always the danger with a "staycation" as opposed to a "vacation." We tried, we honestly tried, to take a vacation, but life interfered! Almost comically, issues kept cropping up that needed immediate attention and created a domino effect of new issues. On the first day of our three day staycation, a friend called. He will be renting our office space when we leave for the States, and wanted to move his stuff in that day. So, John went to clean out the office so that our friend could move his stuff in. Cleaning out the office meant cleaning out our basement storage unit so that we had space for office stuff. Cleaning out the storage unit meant sorting, organizing, and then repacking so that there was room for everything as well as freeing up some space within our apartment. Cleaning out within the apartment meant sorting through clothes, switching from winter to spring, getting rid of things too small for Christin, and dealing with various items we don't need anymore, so that we could then put BACK all the trunks and luggage and have room to walk through our house again!

As well during the midst of this, our internet was giving us troubles--working occasionally, then stopping for no apparent reason. We called the internet company and had DRAMA dealing with their repairmen, and finally they told us we needed a new password and so we needed the ID card number of the person who originally set up our account. That person happens to be our landlord. We were hesitant to call him, because we hadn't officially told him about our planned move, but we did call in order to get the info, in order to get the internet fixed. Unfortunately the landlord was not too happy with us. He had heard through the grapevine that we were moving and was upset that we hadn't talked with him yet (though our contract only says we need to give 2 weeks notice). He wanted to know what we were taking with us when we left. Apparently in this country, it's customary for the landlord to pay for repairs/improvements to the apartment. He seemed concerned that we wanted a whole bunch of money for the improvements we had made when we first moved in three years ago. After lots of tallying of receipts (by then it was day 3 of "staycation"), discussion, and negotiations, the landlord concluded that he didn't want any of the items we installed--kitchen cabinets and countertops, a bathtub, cupboards in the bathrooms, even the ceiling fans. He said we could leave them in, take them out and sell them, throw them away, whatever, he didn't care, he just didn't want to pay any money. Isn't that surprising? But, it's all in Father's hands...we hope there will be a way to pass on some of these items to others who can benefit from them so that their value won't be lost.

So, after that, we had not had a vacation, but we got a lot done! I did sort and organize a TON of stuff, including all five persons' clothes and books, and got a good start on items in my cupboards. It's so funny, when I was growing up, on Memorial Day or Labor Day I can always remember my mom wanting to use those days to do a major cleaning project--clean the garage, clean out the attics, or organize the basement. I always thought that sounded like no fun at all, but now I realize the helpfulness of getting things accomplished when you have days off! So, I am thankful for all that we accomplished and feel like I have a great start on our packing in a few months.

Other highlights:
**I've been reading a great book by Nancy Leigh DeMoss called "Choosing Gratitude." It's been wonderful! I feel that the sin of ingratitude is so easy for me to slip into, and truly, I have so much to be grateful for. This book is helping me to change some of my thinking and be more intentional about being grateful for all that I have. The spiritual blessings alone that I possess in Christ--that have been graciously and generously given to me when I deserved none of it--are enough to spend the rest of my life being grateful for. Oh Lord, though you have already given me all things, give me one thing more: a grateful heart!

**Last week Monday Clara Anne slept until 9:45 before we finally woke her up. She is our Sleeping Beauty! But she also has trouble going to sleep at night sometimes. I know she lies there awake, sometimes for an hour or two, before falling asleep. So, we've determined to change that. If she gets up earlier she should get tired earlier too, right? This whole past week I've woken her at 6:30 and she HAS been more tired at night. It's helping! More on that in another post...

**Our sweet Christin has been struggling a bit with stuttering in recent weeks. It began suddenly, and at first she was having trouble with certain consonants--"w", "y" and sometimes "m". She would repeat the initial consonant sound again and again, sometimes up to 15 times, before she could get the word out. And then other times, she wouldn't have any troubles at all. Slowly it seemed to get worse, and she became self conscious about it and even upset about it, several times crying to me, "mama, my mouth won't work!" or "Mommy, I can't talk!" One night it took her almost five full minutes to say "Can." She kept trying, couldn't get past the /k/ and would start crying. That was probably the worst moment of the last few weeks, she was crying and my heart just wrenched in pity, I cried too! After that night, we made it a matter of more earnest prayer and it seems like the Lord is helping her. From what I have read, stuttering seems to be a neurological difficulty--in Christin's case, since she was so very verbal so early, she knows exactly what she wants to say but lacks the motor coordination to get it out. There is a chance it will never go away, but there's a good chance, because of her age, her gender, and other signs, that she will gradually get over it. I was most sad to see her withdrawing some, being more reluctant to speak because she was afraid. We have still encouraged her to speak, and I'm glad to say that at the end of this week she seems a bit better. Whenever she is playing, reciting books or poems or Scripture that she knows, or interacting naturally with us or her sisters she does fine. But when she wants to ask a question or is put on the spot she has a harder time getting going. She's not stuttering over initial consonants, just sometimes can't quite get the phrase going that she wants to say. Generally, I'd say it's improving. We're praying for her. I keep thinking of what the LORD said to Moses at the burning bush: "Who made man's mouth?" He is in control!

**And by the way, we DID get our internet fixed! (Obviously, since you're reading this!) It turned out we needed a new router, we didn't actually need to contact our landlord, but thankfully now it's all working (and we got those landlord issues settled too). Whew, glad to have that taken care of! We depend upon it a lot in our context!

**I made some fabulous cappucino muffins last week with a coffee icing that were just delicious. After years of despising coffee, John says he's open to changing his mind and appreciating it instead, maybe my dreams of sipping coffee with my sweetie may finally come true!

**The girls have now done the dishes successfully three different nights! Clara Anne washes, Chloe rinses, and Christin dries and stacks them on the dishrack. They're doing a great job! Last night John had a meeting so the girls and I were about to watch a movie (they had requested Ben-Hur) and so I got into my jammies and got the movie set up while they were finishing up in the kitchen! I must say, I never thought this day would come!

**We've been looking online for rental housing in Louisville and actually have a couple of possibilities. We're praying for the place Father has for us; it's been fun to look! Homes in America look so pretty! (It's all the green grass--might totally be weeds, but looks great to us!)

**We attended a friend's wedding on April 2 and had a wonderful time despite the cold front that moved in the night before; pictures to follow in another post!

**I had a date with Christin last week to spend 20 of her points for excellent behavior. We went to Mickey D's for ice cream, then to Starbucks for a sucker for her while I read her a stack of books--Going on a Bear Hunt, The Owl and the Pussycat, and Goodnight Moon are still her faves--and then I bought her a helium balloon on the way home. She was so proud to sit by herself in my bike seat, a big step up from being strapped to me in the Ergo. I did use a belt around the seat and her waist to help her feel secure, but she did great! She'll be three soon!

**And all around us, spring is springing in the most lovely way. The weeping willows are putting out their leaves, the flowering peach blossoms and redbuds and tulip trees are in bloom, and bits of grass are popping up here and there. Unfortunately the grassy area behind our apartment area has been overrun with dogs (and their poo) but we've enjoyed being outside when we can. Last week I told the girls we would go outside and play every day if the weather was nice (a real committment for me, since that always means washing all their clothes when we get in from the dusty, dirty pavement, and giving them baths as well), and we did make it outside most days. Sidewalk chalk, riding their bikes, and playing hide-and-seek and ring around the rosie were all fun activities.

Well, if you've made it to the end of this long post, kudos to you! Now you know some of what's been going on at the Winds' house!

Imported Greetings

2011-04-07T22:38:00.000+08:00

It's been more than a month (almost two already!) since Clara Anne and I enjoyed our trip to Thailand, but she hasn't forgotten. Recently I came upon this scene:

What are you doing, girls? Why, saying hello in Thai, of course! Thai people usually put their hands up in this way and then bow slightly as they greet someone. I think my girls are hoping for another trip to the land of smiles. They may have a long wait coming!

Searching for Signs of Spring

2011-04-04T21:30:00.000+08:00

March 22, 2011

After winter's drab gray, the first signs of green are so welcome! On this particular day, the sunshine looked warm and welcoming but there was still a chill wind. Undaunted, we headed outside with baskets, scissors, and cheerful hearts, searching for signs of spring.

Since then, the weather has warmed up, gotten chilly again, and now seems to be slowly warming again. We are so thankful for the Lord's faithfulness, shown in the changing of seasons. The blooming trees, green grass, and warmer temperatures are so refreshing!

Welcome Spring!

Soapy Water Fun!

2011-03-28T09:33:00.001+08:00

Better known as...doing the dishes!

High excitement around here is helping Mommy in the kitchen. The girls love to help me, and I love that they are now getting to the point that their "help" is actually helpful! Chloe, Christin and I did the dishes on a recent Saturday morning and had a wonderful time. There was a little playing around, but mostly everybody was excited to actually help Mommy accomplish the task. It's never too early to start training them to be little homemakers! Thanks for the help, Chloe and Christin! You did a great job!

Tropical Vanilla Granola

2011-03-27T21:31:00.000+08:00

Granola has been a real treat around our house lately. I found a new recipe that used oil, instead of butter, (always a plus in our country, butter is available but it's somewhat expensive and a 30 minute bike ride away!) and tweaked it to fit a few ingredients I had in the cupboard. Lately we've been enjoying this granola sprinkled over plain yogurt, with a few strawberries or mango slices added just for extra yummyness. The finished texture is delightfully crunchy. Here's how to make it:

In a saucepan, combine:
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cook over medium heat until well combined.

In a large bowl, combine:
6 cups quick-cooking oats (regular will work fine, too)
1 cup almonds, slivered or roughly chopped (I've used walnuts, too)
1 cup diced mixed dried fruit--pineapple and mango are our current favorites, gives that "tropical" feel!
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Pour liquid mixture over the dry mixture, stirring until thoroughly coated. Spread granola on 2 cookie sheets in an even layer. Bake at 275 F for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 15 minutes.

Cool and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

March 20, again

2011-03-21T22:13:00.000+08:00

March 20 is a special day in our family's history--it's the day in 1970 that my brother Dan was born, and the day in 2003 that he died and went home to be with Jesus. Dan lived 33 years exactly and finished his race well, trusting the Lord, finding peace and joy as he surrendered his own hopes and desires for his life to Him.

I have written previously about Dan's life, reflecting on how my big brother influenced me. In the years since his death, my mom had a video professionally done using some of the family home movies as well as footage from Dan's funeral. Tonight, we watched that video again as a family.

It was surprising to me how deeply the movie affected me tonight. I cried--a lot. It was hard to see those images of Dan, the healthy and happy ones because they were bittersweet, and the ones where he was so sick because they were just plain hard. Though it's been eight years since his death, watching the movie again made me realize how much I still miss him. There is still a loss because of our current separation--he in heaven, I still plodding along in this fallen world. I imagine that sense of loss is even greater for my parents, who never imagined outliving their oldest son, and my brother Mark, who lost his older brother whom he looked up to so much.

But through it all runs the thread of Jesus' love. His deep, deep love, that washes over us, that protects and sustains us, that gives us hope for the future. Dan is now experiencing that love perfectly, deeply, fully, and is basking in the worship of his Savior.

And the question that Dan earnestly sought the answer to remains a question in my heart: Do I fully trust my heavenly Father enough to surrender it ALL to Him? All? If trial, sickness, or death be mine, can I still surrender to His perfect will and find the joy and peace that He promises?

By God's grace, Dan's life answered that question with an overwhelming "YES!" May my life do the same.

Questions that I have no answers to

2011-03-21T19:00:00.001+08:00

Isn't there a rule that says they can't grow up too fast?

Where did this little girl with hair long enough to braid come from?

Why can she already communicate so well and say things like, "Mommy, are you going to go outside and find Chloe's other pink mitten?"

What happened to the bundle of pink sweetness that used to fit in the crook of my arm?

Who took my baby and gave me a little girl that begs for sips of my black coffee?

How can I stop time and just cuddle her sweet little self for a few more moments?

When did her eyes get so blueberry-blue?

Will I ever get enough of being her Mama?

Love this (almost three year old) girl.

I love it!

2011-03-17T21:44:00.000+08:00

Learning to read, for Clara Anne, has been a slower process than I anticipated. We struggled through the first 67 lessons of "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" and finally decided to take a break for a bit; she was tired of it and I was tired of it. Technically she was doing fine, but it was like pulling teeth to get her to sit down and do it every day, and the lessons took an agonizing amount of time to keep her on task and focused. So, we took a long break, pulled away for awhile, went back to just enjoying stories and noticing interesting words. That coincided nicely with the time we were in the States last year. Then, I purchased a new phonics and reading program called "The Scaredy Cat Reading System" and we began with that again in June of 2010. We reviewed, took things slowly, incorporated handwriting, word family studies, spelling tests, alphabetization, word usage and vocabulary, and other skills along with reading. So, taking time to add in all those fun "extras" like worksheets, reading games, and activities also slowed down our reading progress. I wasn't worried about this, it was just the fact of how our studies were going at that point.

But I think we've finally crossed a crucial point. Clara Anne has gained enough skill now that she wants to read more and more, rather than me requiring her to read. She wants to spend time reviewing books that she knows and trying harder ones. The desire is there, and it's making all the difference.

Last night she was begging to be given a small flashlight to read for a bit after the light was off in their room. In trying to plead her case, she said, "Mommy, I just love to read! I just love reading now! All this time, I've been wondering what the pictures mean when I look at books, and now I don't have to wonder anymore...I can read! I can read, Mommy!" She was simply thrilled about the books she was reading and so excited to spend more time reading.

Wow! I truly praise the Lord because this is an area I really wanted to work on with her this spring--gaining reading fluency and confidence. I'm so thankful! I want to feed the fire in her now, so we did let her take a flashlight to bed, with instructions to turn it off after two or three stories and to keep it under her covers so as to not bother the other girls. The last thing I saw as I left the room was Clara Anne, sitting up in bed, a blanket thrown over her head and the light shining from within.

What a treasure to see Clara Anne developing her love for reading! I wouldn't have missed this process for anything. It's such a gift to be able to home school and see her gain these skills and fire up her desire to keep learning. I love it!

Biker Babes

2011-03-17T13:12:00.000+08:00

We took advantage of a lovely sunny, spring-like day recently to get out the girls' bikes and enjoy the sunshine. Here's my biker babes!

Christin actually does just fine on the bike; I'm not sure when she learned! A few times she narrowly avoided crashing into something, but she averted disaster each time. Her steering skills are impressive! The older girls just love the fresh air and exercise. We're looking forward to lots of days like this in the sunny springtime!

P.S. A special thank-you to our dear friends Emma and Samantha for giving us your bikes! We are so happy to ride them and think of your generous hearts!

A Win-Win!

2011-03-16T21:17:00.000+08:00

Remember how toys (mostly the cleaning up of toys) were a big issue at our house just a few weeks ago? I am happy to say there's been significant progress! Take this layout, for example:

I'm very happy to share that the girls are doing SO much better. This particular day, they spent a very long time (almost an hour) setting up this complicated landscape for their small dolls to live in. They kept the unused parts in the appropriate bins (rather than dumping them all over the floor), and I was busy in the kitchen after lunch when I heard Clara Anne say, "First let's clean this up then we can color!" I watched surreptitiously from the background as they each helped to clean up until finally everything was neatly put away...not just in the right general area but actually back in the cupboards where the things are stored. Wowza! A victory for sure!

Last week the toys issue was almost a non-issue, they did so well with cleaning up every day. I am so thankful! Yesterday Clara Anne remarked to me, "Mommy, now we're in the habit of cleaning up!" That is simply wonderful--especially because she is taking leadership in it. The other girls follow her example so easily, so when Clara Anne is taking the initiative like that they follow suit. What a relief! Everyone is enjoying their toys more now--I'm not getting as irritated when they get out so many things to play with, because I know they'll do better with putting them all away, and they're having more fun because they have the freedom to play and then the satisfaction of doing what they know is right. It's a win-win situation!

Happy Birthday Lou!

2011-03-13T23:56:00.000+08:00

This year AGAIN Lou's birthday snuck up on me! She mentioned casually one day that the next day was her birthday and I kicked myself, wondering how I could forget. As I was exclaiming over this important event having slipped my mind, I asked for clarification again on her actual birth date. As it turns out, she doesn't know her birthday by the western calendar, only by the lunar calendar; i.e. the twenty-seventh day after the new year. So by our measurement, her birthday changes every year. Aha! Maybe there's an excuse for me after all! :)

But, the late notice didn't stop us from having a fun party. We invited some friends and got the wok fired up. In America this would be very bad form, but here it's perfectly normal: I asked her to make her own birthday lunch. We had stewed ribs (a treat, they're more expensive), shredded spicy and sour potatoes (her favorite childhood food), a cold cucumber and mushroom dish, marinated in a vinegar and sesame paste sauce (my girls' current favorite), stir-fried broccoli, and fresh noodles. The length of the noodles is supposed be good luck for a long life, so is a traditional food on birthdays. It was all delicious!

A tradition we have at our house is at someone's birthday, we all go around the table and say a few words of what we appreciate about the birthday person. It was a blessing to Lou to hear everyone's comments! Even my girls participated. (The food that Lou makes may or may not have been very high on each of their lists!)

It was a wonderful party time together, with only a slight shadow over it since this may be the last birthday I get to share with her for a long time due to this news. But we had fun, I made a fantabulous apple crisp using the Pioneer Woman's apple pie recipe (just skipped the crust) and it was so amazingly good. We couldn't do candles since it was hot, but we ALL enjoyed that wonderful dessert!

And then, I let her do the dishes. Ha.

Lou is a true gem. She has been a blessing to me in a thousand ways. It's been 3. 5 years now since she's worked for us, and we truly count her as part of our family. She is fun and outgoing and regularly makes me laugh. She has her own funny quirks and habits, and yes, I still frequently find dirty dishes in my cupboard because she washes them at lightning speed, spraying water all over the kitchen in the process, but I still appreciate that she's there to do my dishes at all! Lou is my dear, dear friend, my sister in Him, and such a big help to keeping things going around here. My girls love her dearly and regularly pray for her.

Here's a few funny stories in bullet-point fashion from my years with Lou. . .

The first time I ever left my children alone with Lou for a more significant period of time, they were extremely naughty and she was at her wits' end with them. In that one notable day, Clara Anne colored on the wall with a marker, Chloe found her baby book in a drawer and systematically ripped it to bits, and Clara Anne climbed up onto the piano and then dropped something hard and heavy onto it, causing a ding in the piano's lid. They also drank approximately 11 yogurts in one day. (I am not making this up.) We began to teach Lou the art of saying that simple word: "No."

On another notable occasion, the girls convinced her that the vitamins in the drawer were candy and they could eat as many as they wanted. When we came home and I noticed that Chloe's pee was electric greenish-yellow, I was understandably concerned. Then the whole truth came out as Clara Anne confessed. Lou felt terrible when she discovered there was actually some danger in allowing them to consume all those vitamins (thankfully they had no iron), and we kept the girls up late having them drink water and go to the bathroom.

When Lou first came to work for me, she had no idea how to do anything around the house. I had to teach her everything from "This is how you wipe the table," to "This is how you wash the dishes." Actually, the dishes how-to has been repeated several times. And yesterday, when I pulled no less than FIVE dishes from the cupboard and discovered that they were all dirty in one way or another (stuck on egg-yolk, greasy film on the back of the plates, etc), I determined that the dishes training shall be offered again. :)

One time I heard a rumor that there were fresh blueberries for sale in town at a supermarket. I thought maybe there would be fifteen or twenty boxes so gave Lou very specific instructions. "When you get to the supermarket, look on the bottom floor in the special imported produce section for the blueberries. If you find them, buy them all." Well, when she got there, there was a huge floor-to-ceiling display of fresh blueberries. (Not imported, grown in this country and so the volume was much greater and the price much lower!) Still abiding by my original instructions, though, she asked the man working in that section how many boxes of blueberries he had. He estimated numerous hundreds, maybe even a thousand. She then mentioned to him that she was supposed to purchase them all. "You'd better hire a truck to get them home, then," he said, matter-of-fact. Did Lou call me to confirm, "Do you really want them ALL?" Oh no! She simply bought as many as she had money for. I had a good laugh when she got home with 37 boxes of blueberries, and I still have some frozen in my deep freeze, waiting their turn to be folded lovingly into baked oatmeal, made into luscious blueberry yogurt muffins, combined with batter to make blueberry coffeecake...mmm. And Lou had the last laugh on that one, too...after that the blueberries disappeared and haven't been seen since!

Ok, there are too many funny stories about teaching her to cook western food to share here; the biggest obstacle is always that the recipe needs to be followed EXACTLY. Asian style cooking never measures anything. If you like your veggies salty, add more salt. If you like vinegar, add some. Pour on the soy sauce or oyster sauce or use the dried peppers or fresh ginger or tons of fresh garlic if you like it. No matter, your food will still be tasty! But in western cooking, especially baking, you cannot alter the ingredients, the amounts of the ingredients, or the process of making it without some serious consequences. She is still learning this principle...still. She can make tons of great stuff now though, so it's been worth it! Her homemade bagels, tortillas, and homemade chips are wonderful. She's a pro at granola, several of our favorite cookies, pie crust, and muffins.

My girls also love that she loves to do their hair. She's always inventing new hairstyles and figuring out different ways to make their hair look fancy. I love it too, since I have very little creativity at hairstyles and would just do simple braids everyday for time's sake!

I have been told that I have an accent to my Asianese speaking which is, um, not quite like the city we live in. Just a little bit off. But when I share that I spend a big part of every day speaking with a person from a nearby city, many people nod their heads knowingly. "That's it! You sound like you're from there!" I've never actually been to Lou's hometown, but apparently I sound like it! :)

I love my dear friend Lou and thank the Lord for her everyday. She has been a huge part of our work here in the past few years, in that she has relieved my domestic burden considerably as well as being willing to watch our kids. We've been able to do a lot of teaching and things that we would never have been able to do if Lou hadn't been willing to be with the girls, even overnight. I so appreciate her helpful willingness and overall attitude of wanting to be a blessing to our family!

And did she ever get better at dealing with naughty girls? I'm happy to say, both she and the girls have made significant progress. For many months now, we've been able to leave the girls with her and know that there will not be any disobedience issues. And if there are, (including a notable exception where Chloe threw a fit at naptime and actually hit Lou in the face) Lou is doing much better at handling them. That time with Chloe, she required three things of her: 1. You will say you're sorry. 2. I will have to tell your mommy and daddy and they will punish you when they get home. 3. You still have to take a nap. At that point, Lou gently but firmly told Chloe to stop crying, go get on her bed, and go to sleep. And Chloe did it! I'd say we've come a long ways from the children drinking 11 yogurts "because they wanted to, so I couldn't stop them!"

I praise the Lord for my dear friend Lou! Happy Birthday to you!

Notable Moments

2011-03-09T00:00:00.001+08:00

Today was one of those long days. You know, where so many things happen that you think of something that happened yesterday and wonder, was that only yesterday? Thankfully, all the things that happened today were just a part of busy family life, no crises or injuries or anything like that. It was a good day, a blessed day, just full of activity!

Here's a few notable moments from our day today:

At lunch, Clara Anne said, "Daddy, when are we going to study Plato?" "In a few more history lessons," answered John. "Wasn't he part of the golden age of Greece?" Clara asked. "Yes, actually he was, Clara Anne." I can guarantee you that wasn't a conversation I was having when I was six years old! The things that come out of her mouth sometimes!

[Did I ever mention the time recently where, in drinking warm milk before bedtime, Clara Anne casually observed to me, "Mommy, I think this milk will have a soporific effect." What???? Ok, I know she only knows that because of the Beatrix Potter Flopsy Bunnies story, but STILL! She used it correctly in an appropriate context!]

Christin wasn't feeling so well this afternoon and fell asleep in my arms during a post-lunch story time. The other girls felt so badly for her and as we got ready for family devotions tonight, they were pampering her, tucking in her blanket all around her, bringing her tissues and water and her favorite wa-wa. The kicker, though, was when I overheard Chloe say to her in perfectly sincere sympathy, "Christin, I'm sorry you don't feel well. You CAN bother my feet tonight!" Since they share a full-sized bed, sometimes there are territory disputes and both are often reminded not to "bother" the other's feet. But evidently Chloe thought it might help Christin feel better!

We had a good day of home schooling, practiced ballet, had a fun time with paint in art class this morning, and read a lot of books. (Christin's favorites lately are "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," "Go, Dogs, GO!," "Goodnight, Moon" and a book of Mother Goose rhymes that she has mostly memorized.) Baths were taken, meals were made (homemade whole-wheat naan for supper with some red curry chicken!), enjoyed, and cleaned up after, 3 loads of laundry were completed and I exercised tonight too. I'm so thankful for the grace to do the work that I am called to each day, to be able to shepherd my girls, be with them, teach them, and impact their hearts for eternity. I love making a home for my husband and daughters. They are such a treasure! So thankful for these notable moments that are adding up to a lifetime...strung together like pearls on a string, making something beautiful.

Overwhelmed with gratitude tonight for the gracious gifts I've been given.

A morning scene

2011-03-08T23:35:00.000+08:00

Here's a typical morning scene. I get up and follow the same pattern every day...use the bathroom, weigh myself, put on my robe, make a cup of tea, and sit down in the school room with my Bible, journal and pen. Usually by 7 or 7:30 Christin and Chloe have stumbled out of their rooms, rubbing sleep from their eyes, as they come to cuddle with me. Clara Anne is my late riser, she often isn't up until 8 or even 8:30, but the other two girls "keep me company" (you know, don't you always want company when you're trying to read and pray?) and drink 2 yogurts a piece (which they help themselves to!) as I finish my morning devotion time. They are supposed to be quiet but there are often small disputes about who gets to snuggle in where with Mommy. Usually I can hardly move when everyone else is comfortable!

This particular morning was a few weeks ago. As the morning routine was followed and one by one, everyone wanted to pile on the chair, I thought, "In a few years I'll be missing this time...all my girls liking nothing better than morning snuggle time with me. I have got to be enjoy and be thankful for this time, even if I'm feeling crowded! These days won't last forever." So then I called John to come and take a picture! I love all the sleepy morning faces! Thank you, Lord, for the joys of home and family.

Land of Smiles

2011-03-07T18:26:00.000+08:00

Want to visit the Land of Smiles with us? Let's go to Thailand! Yippee!

So fun to be on a special trip together, Mommy and daughter!

Clara Anne made her own fun in the airport.

We're having fun already!

This little girl has done a ton of traveling! She's so easy to travel with, especially now that she can manage her own carry-on luggage. She's (literally) a world traveler.

A stop for a Caramel Frappucino in the airport held us over til lunch.

Yum!

I love to fly Thai airways. They have excellent service, good food, and even give orchids to the ladies upon arrival!

We had to stay one night in Bangkok in order to get to the homeschool conference on time the next day. So, I made reservations at the Rama Gardens...our favorite BKK hotel! It's a beautiful hotel with a lot of gardens and green space, a wonderful breakfast and gorgeous pool. We have lots of family memories at the Rama and were glad to spend one more night there! Clara Anne obviously enjoyed the fabulous breakfast, too!

Our traditionally-dressed Thai waitress was glad to pose for a picture. Clara Anne loved her beautiful outfit!

Let's hit the pool! What a great idea!

I got to do a little of this too! Ahhh...

Pink taxis are everywhere in Bangkok!

Clara Anne made a friend already on the trip up to the resort where the conference was held.

Pink padded ceilings, blue curtains, don't you love the tour bus style in Thailand?

More new friends!

The setting for the conference was beautiful. Lovely!

And full of wildlife...I saw more snails, squirrels, birds, bugs, and unfortunately mosquitos who got Clara Anne the first night during the night. Her eye swelled up and she looked like she'd gone a few rounds in the ring, poor girl!

On the way back, we left early in the morning. Clara Anne and Alex both fell asleep quickly!

This new package of play-doh occupied Clara Anne for a good 90 minutes on the way home!

While I enjoyed a Thai diet coke and the current issue of the Economist. I don't really understand economics, but I was trying to exercise my brain!

Love this sweet girl!

Fun was had in the capital city airport as we waited for our flight back to our city. I was so thankful that everything went so smoothly the whole week. The conference was helpful and encouraging, it was wonderful to connect with some friends who also attended, we loved the warm weather and enjoyed some good Thai food. I was surely very glad to get home to my husband and littler girls, though!

A favorite memory from the week: We had gone swimming in the pool at the resort (though it was a little scuzzy around the edges) the first day, then the second afternoon it rained, and on the third afternoon, just as we were getting ready to go to the pool, it started to rain again! But Clara Anne was determined. We walked down to the pool and she insisted that she was going to swim. "Are you sure, Clara Anne? It might be a little chilly." Clara Anne replied, "Mommy, I said I was going to get in the water, and I. am. going. to. swim!" (teeth gritted) She bravely got in the water and started to have lots of fun, so I was persuaded to get in too! The rain rained on our heads and we played happily in the water, having a great time. After a while, the rain stopped and the sun came out, and we laughed and played and pretended to do ballet in the water and watched the birds flying overhead. What a precious memory together!

It was a great trip, I'm so thankful for the opportunity to go! I'm also thankful that I didn't lose anything or miss any flights or have any complications like that while I was traveling alone with Clara Anne. All went well in the Land of Smiles!

The Inadvertent Dentist

2011-02-24T12:27:00.001+08:00

Let's take a good look at the state of Clara Anne's teeth. Look at the above picture, taken on Valentine's Day. Notice anything unusual?

Yes, did you see it? Her upper right permanent tooth was moving in on her baby tooth, but the baby tooth wasn't willing to relinquish that territory quite yet. At first I was a bit concerned about this--in the absence of dental care, what should I do? Let it be? "Help" it? Encourage Clara Anne to wiggle it a lot? I was concerned that I might be the source of future orthodontist's bills by not being more proactive in the situation! But, I asked around, and many of my friends assured me that only old school dentists insist on pulling baby teeth; now the thinking is that the baby teeth (actually called "deciduous teeth") will come out when they're ready, and the permanent teeth behind will move into their positions afterwards, so not to worry.

Well, bathtime with Chloe the other day changed that. It was February 17, if you must know. The girls were having a play bath, and I had already gotten Christin out and was getting her out when suddenly there was a loud cry from the bathroom and calls for help. I ran to see what was wrong, and found Clara Anne with a mouthful of blood. I quickly helped her spit, spit, rinse and spit, rinse and spit again and again and STILL there was blood. I dabbed it with a tissue and found that not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 of her teeth were GONE! Oh my!

After the initial drama was over, I learned the story. For some very odd reason, as the girls were playing, Clara Anne had taken a fuzzy hairband and put it in her mouth, and Chloe, for some equally unknown reason, pulled on it. Pop! Out went four teeth in one fell swoop. One we found in the tissue I had used to blot her mouth, and three small, white teeth were found in the bottom of the bathtub. After I exclaimed and laughed and threw up my hands, I ran for the camera. Here's what I saw:

(Yes, she is wearing her swimsuit in the bathtub. More fun that way, you know!) Wowza, look at that huge hole!

Sister Chloe. . . the inadvertent dentist. She didn't know that she was about to pull 4 of Clara Anne's teeth out! They certainly would NOT have planned that if they'd known!

Bathtime obviously had been going on for some time--I love the wrinkled fingers and tiny teeth! Silly Clara Anne!

Clara Anne couldn't be more tickled, though. She's got an adorable lisp now and seems like such a big girl with her teeth out! The funny part was that the bottom ones had not looked or felt loose. But they were obviously ready to come out; when a bit of pressure was applied, out they came!

I'm telling you, parenting is always an adventure. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried! Thankfully it all turned out fine and our big girl now just took another step to being bigger. In the meantime, Clara Anne can most often be seen sporting this face:

Big smiles all around!

Mexican Food Round-Up

2011-02-22T23:28:00.002+08:00

I love Mexican food. Well, I should say I love Tex-Mex. I don't really know what true Mexican cuisine is like, but boy do I love the American version of it! One of our favorite fast food restaurants in the States is Qdoba. Their big soft tortillas, yummy seasoned meat, fresh fresh ingredients, and wonderful queso with those delightful salty-lime chips are just. . . mmmm, words fail me. I know, I know, if you're from Texas like my friend Amy, you scorn Qdoba, since you've got more authentic offerings. But hey, to this Iowa girl, Qdoba is pretty great!

So one of my challenges when moving to Asia (you know, right up there with learning the language, figuring out how to pay our electric bill and finding out how not to be cheated when buying things on the side of the road) was learning how to cook Mexican food here. There are no cans of Ro-tel, no blocks of Velveeta. (I once heard another American friend describe Velveeta as "gold"!) No salsa in a jar, no chips in a bag, for that matter! Bummer!

But, over the years I have figured out some recipes that work great here, and use mostly local ingredients. Yes, it takes more time, and is a bit of a hassle, but the end result is worth it. And, your husband will rise up and call you blessed when you set a Mexican feast before him!

Here's some recipes to get you started. First, Flour Tortillas for Chips. We use this recipe to make regular tortillas, but we also use the same dough to make chips by rolling very thinly, cooking in a dry frypan, then brushing with lime juice and sprinkling with salt and baking for 7-8 minutes or until crispy. They are wonderful! Give this recipe a try!

Flour Tortillas for Chips
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup warm milk
2 tsp oil
1 tsp salt

Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl. After warming the milk, stir in salt and oil. Add wet mixture to the flour and mix well--the dough will be sticky. On a floured surface knead the dough for 2 minutes. Then return the dough to the bowl and allow to rest, covered with a damp cloth, for 15 minutes. Divide into 10 balls, cover again and rest another 20 minutes. Then roll out thinly (thin for tortillas, as thin as possible for chips) and cook in a dry frypan. If you want to make them into chips, brush cooked tortillas with lime juice, sprinkle with salt, and cut into wedges or chip-sized shapes. Bake in a single layer for 7-8 minutes at 350 or until they start to brown and are crispy.  They're great!

For salsa, I usually use the Pioneer Woman's recipe; you can find it here.  Since I don't have the canned goods she calls for, though, I substitute 4 fresh tomatoes and 2 long, green hot peppers that are common here. It works great. My only advice...don't overdo the onion. Once we got a bit generous with it and the finished salsa tasted spicier because of the onion's bite. Otherwise, it's perfect!

Then there's Red Rice.  John really loves this dish, and other than the bacon, everything is easily available here. Love it!
Red Rice
9 slices bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1 12-oz can tomato paste (I can get this, I use 1 and a half of the small cans sold here)
3 1/2 cups chicken broth (3 1/2 cups water, 3 1/2 Tbsp jijing or chicken buillion)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups uncooked long-grain rice

Cook bacon in a large skillet (I use my wok) over med-high heat until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 Tbsp drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside. Saute onion in bacon drippings over medium high heat 3 minutes or until tender. Add the tomato paste to the skillet, stirring until smooth. Gradually stir in chicken broth, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of the skillet. Stir in sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Stir the rice into the skillet and bring to a boil. Add bacon pieces. Pour mixture into a lightly-greased oven proof casserole dish, cover with foil and bake at 350 for one hour or until rice is tender.

Next on the list: Our most favorite southwest marinade for chicken. This recipe came from the Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur, and it's super yummy. It's a knock-off of Applebee's Santa Fe chicken salad, and so very delicious. I feel like it's a lot of liquid, though, so I usually halve it for four chicken breasts. And, it does require Liquid Smoke which has to come from out of this country. The recipe is just fine without it, too though! Here's how to make it:

Marinade: (this is the original, full size)
2 cups water
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp ground chipotle pepper or 1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp hickory smoke flavoring
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
4 chicken breasts

You can leave the chicken whole, cut into chunks, or as we did recently, cut into a fine dice. Marinate in a covered container in the frig for several hours. Then, either bake your whole chicken breasts or quickly stir-fry the diced pieces in a bit of oil. It works great!

Finally, the last Hurrah, our most favorite, addictive, delicious Mexican sauce recipe, also from Top Secret Recipes, the Applebee's Mexi-Ranch dressing. This is wonderful as a salad dressing, spooned onto a tortilla, even used as a dip for chips. Just watch out--we made this dressing three times last week and enjoyed it every time! (Ok, once was for company, and there is still some left in the frig. . . but, still. It's truly addictive!) Don't be put off by the long ingredient list--it comes together quickly and all the various flavors really combine to make a great, great dressing.

Mexi-Ranch dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp minced fresh onion
2 Tbsp diced tomato
1 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp (or more) fresh cilantro
1 tsp canned chopped mild green chilis (we use a kind of xiancai which is a pickled hot pepper)
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
pinch dried dill
pinch dried cumin (a hearty shake--I love cumin)
pinch cayenne pepper

Mix all of the ingredients to form a smooth dressing. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving to let the flavors mingle. Enjoy!

I also love to add a grilled peppers/onions mix to our Mexican meals. This is simple--just cut a few bell peppers and a purple onion into strips and stir fry in a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and cumin, or as you like. Wonderful!

So, the possibilities are endless. Use the marinade on chicken, sprinkle the chicken and some corn and beans over a bed of lettuce, top with the dressing and you've got a Santa Fe salad. Or, cook up some ground beef, spread it in a soft taco with some grilled peppers, red rice, and use the dressing as a dip. if you really want to make my girls happy, break out the Velveeta you've been hoarding for the last year and melt it with some milk for a quick, yummy queso. Make the chips and salsa just for fun.  Be creative! It'll be delicious.

There you have it--a super Tex-Mex meal. Hope you found a recipe or two worth trying! Enjoy!

Valentine's Day with the ones I love

2011-02-20T23:20:00.002+08:00

Valentine's Day happily fell on a Monday this year...our family day. We had planned to go out as a family, perhaps to Starbucks, perhaps to make a trip to the flower market or buy some Dove chocolate (yes we can get Dove here!), but it snowed on Sunday and so we ended up staying in. We all enjoyed a more leisurely day at home. Plus, then I had the time to put together (with some help from Lou, of course,) this wonderful Tex-Mex Valentine's dinner. It was yummy! Recipes to come soon!

It cannot be denied, however, that the girls were most excited about this cake. How do you like this "keepin' it real" photo? Christin's hair looks like she was electrocuted (actually just braided and then she pulled out the braids, leaving behind frizz), Clara Anne has a very strange fake smile and Chloe looks a little fuzzy about it all. The cake was called "Love Cake"--a recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor. It had melted white chocolate and extra butter in the white cake mix, and then the frosting was a strawberry buttercream. Yum-O!

Clara Anne actually took this picture of me with my sweetheart, married 14 plus years now! This is definitely another keepin' it real photo. No makeup, no shower that day, not even a smidge of lipstick! That's when you know you're truly loved. . . John could have cared less. Or maybe he was just happy about the cake. :)

A little sister-love to close the evening. We enjoyed our relaxed, no pressure Valentine's Day celebration. I enjoyed being with the ones I love! We ended the evening as we usually do. . .around the piano, worshipping the One who Loved us first and Loved us best. Happy Valentine's Day!

The Toy-free Experiment, part 2

2011-02-19T23:20:00.000+08:00

Whew! We made it to the end of toy-free week!

Actually, it wasn't too difficult. It was probably hardest for Christin, who is only 2.5, since toys are a huge part of her day. However, other than once early in the week when she tried to sneak some Polly Pocket dolls out of the bin, she didn't complain, didn't ask for toys, and generally did great! She and I had some special reading sessions and she was the first one to volunteer to help me with the dishes. (I wash, I rinse, and she stacks. Today she even dried some that were safe for her to handle!)

Chloe also did fine. At 4.5, she LOVES to color, so that was an easy and fun solution for her. She will gladly spend a very long time meticulously coloring numerous pictures. She also was happy to sit in on some extra reading time with Mommy and do other fun things, too--dancing, taking a play-bath, helping in the kitchen.

Clara Anne seemed to do fine with the no-toys rule (found plenty to do to occupy herself and usually roped her sisters into it too) but I sensed that her heart was still having some struggles submitting, and she was just "putting up with it" until the required time period was over. I think my interactions with her this week showed me again that I cannot neglect the heart issues behind the toy disputes and bad attitudes. The attitudes may still be there even if the toys are taken away.

In general I thought we all had a good week. We had fun reading more books, the girls were more involved in the things I was doing, they had the chance to be "bored" for a bit and use some extra creativity to think of something to do, and I only had to enforce a punishment for getting toys out twice. I do feel like the girls generally are very creative in their play, and that's a blessing which helped this week. I am thankful for the break from toys--though I did find that my girls found other ways to make messes that also needed to eventually be cleaned up. (You know, forts with blankets, changing clothes 10 times in one day, things like that!) So goes life! It's all part of it.

Thanks to those of you who commented...I thought everyone had something valuable to contribute! In light of how this week went and as I've been thinking and praying through this, here's my plan (which is going to be a multifaceted approach and draw a lot from you all, too):

1. Limit the number of toys in our home. I actually did some purging of toys this week that made me feel a lot better, but I think we could reduce more. I think we WILL reduce more as we anticipate our upcoming move, too. But it just makes sense: the less toys there are, the less we have to organize, clean up, store, etc. And I'm NOT worried about the girls not having enough educational toys or some such silly nonsense, we all know that children can be entertained for hours with their a cardboard box and their own imaginations! So reducing the number of our toys is going to be key.

2. Continue to enforce the family rule that when you're done with something, you are responsible to put it away. There may need to be a more severe consequence for this since it seems it's awfully easy to leave out 17 different things. I am trying to train Clara Anne to take the lead in this, since she's the oldest and could potentially do the majority of clean-up time by herself. Unfortunately sometimes it seems she is the one with the most resistant attitude. (The other day when I told her it was time to clean up, she actually claimed an injury to her leg which would prevent her from bending down to get things off the floor! Puh-leeze!) Chloe and Christin, though they need more instruction, usually think it's pretty fun to clean up. We may do a sort of "beat the timer" kind of race with some points given on their charts occasionally to help this process.

3. Do not allow bad attitudes at clean up time. Period.

4. Utilize what we call "stations"--we've done this before where I set up each child with something fun to play with in an area, and then after a certain amount of time has gone by (30 minutes on the timer or something like that), then the children leave the toy or activity where it is and rotate to the next child's station. This is similar to what Rebecca mentioned in her comment about blanket time with a toy. I think it's a good option, especially when there's been some of what I call "low-level bickering." It gives the girls some time to play by themselves and everybody still gets something fun to do. I may even schedule one morning a week as "station" morning.

5. Be willing to put away (or take away forever) certain toys if there continues to be issues over them.

6. Finally, pray, pray, pray! Oh that the Lord would grant wisdom in teaching and training my children in these areas! I know that I desperately feel my need for His wisdom; I'm aware (at least partially) of the impact I'm making on their lives, and I earnestly desire to be a good example, to help them to grow, and to seek to have our home be a place of harmony, peace, joy, and full of the other fruits of the Spirit. It's certain that only HE can produce those things in us or in our home! But thankfully, His promises are sure and His word is faithful, so I can trust that help is there for me when I need it. I want to keep asking for that help and wisdom in prayer!

I think this toy experiment has also helped me to examine my own heart more clearly, and to perhaps adjust my expectations a bit. The truth of the matter is, I have three young children who are home all the time. No one goes off to school, no one is gone from the house on a regular basis, we are all living in this space constantly. Do I unreasonably expect that the house will always be picked up and clean and tidy? I tell myself that I am fine with the mess as long as children also clean up happily at the appropriate time, but am I being honest with myself? Or do I have some unrealistic expectation of being home all day, every day, with four other humans living in this space and everything always in order?

Homes are meant to be lived in. The last thing I want is for my family to feel like they can't live life in our home because life makes a mess. But on the other hand, there is a beauty and order and peace to a well-organized, tidy home. We all feel more comfortable when we aren't crunching on yesterday's toast crumbs when we sit down for breakfast. Or more likely at our house, stepping on cooked rice as we try to walk through the dining area. (Have you ever tried to get sticky rice out of socks? It's a true sticky mess!) So there has to be a balance. The more I think of it, the more I feel that balance is simply enjoying our activities, enjoying our toys, and then with an equally cheerful heart, disciplining ourselves to clean them up.

Thanks for your input, friends, and thanks for going along with me in the toy-free experiment!

The Toy-free Experiment

2011-02-15T22:30:00.000+08:00

There's been a lot of talk around our house for a long (VERY long) time about cleaning up toys. Ever since Clara Anne was beginning to be mobile, our principle regarding toys was this: whatever you get out to play with, when you are done playing with it, you put it away. It's that simple. We live in a small space. We don't have a toyroom, we need to use every bit of our house for multiple purposes and can't function well with a mess. However, lately there's been lots of this kind of talk around my house:

"I'm done playing with it, but Chloe (or Christin or Clara) isn't done, so we can't clean it up yet."

"But I didn't get it out! Shouldn't she have to put it away?"

"Noooo, Clara! (Or Chloe or Christin) I still want to play with that!"

"I had it first!" "No you didn't! It's mine!" "Is not, you know we're supposed to share! Mo-om! She's not sharing!"

And on and on.

I have tried various tactics to solve this problem. First of all, on a most basic heart level, the girls' attitudes towards toys are frequently sinful. Why do they fight over them, balk at putting them away, or whine when a sister grabs the thing they wanted? Sin. Selfishness, greed, not loving or thinking kindly of the other person but wanting it all for themselves, unwilling to relinquish the silly bit of wood or plastic or whatever it is that has suddenly become central to their existence and they cannot bear to think of living without it!

So I usually talk to them about the sin problem first. But then there are a host of other issues that come out of that. There's responsibility, learning to do what they know is right without having to be asked/reminded 2,849 times, as well as respect for the family rules and guidelines that simply help the house run smoother. There are character issues that have to do with being generous, thoughtful, and kind, as well as keeping neat, caring for things, and staying organized. I am also big on teaching the girls initiative. . . can they look at a messy room, see what needs to be done, and do it? Or do they need me to delineate every little thing? "Put the marker back in the marker bin. That bowl needs to go back to the kitchen. Please throw away the scraps of paper." To me, learning initiative is part of learning to think--a very important skill! In that light, dealing with toys can be a real teacher!

In my opinion, we have a lot of toys. Many of them are very educational and are part of a "set." For example, a magnetic doll that has many different outfits that can be put on her, and all fit in the same wooden box when playtime is done. But then we have a fair amount of junky toys. Too many stuffed animals, cheap plastic bits of this and that, and then things that the girls have found and repurposed as toys. So I know that one of my big tasks as we look ahead to moving in June is to sort, give away, and purge those toys which seem to multiply overnight.

But in the meantime, by the end of last week, I had had enough. There had been several days of the girls not doing a good job with cleaning up toys, and I was frustrated. I have tried to find a balance of teaching them to clean up toys themselves, and helping them so that it doesn't take forever, and at the end of last week it seemed that fights were erupting as clean up was supposed to be happening, and both older girls ended up in time outs for other attitude problems, which meant I ended up doing the clean up. (Sorry to be so frank and air the "dirty laundry", so to speak, but that's what happened.) I wasn't pleased with that and neither was John when he came home and heard me (of course very calmly and graciously, ha!) tell him that toys had been a problem. Earlier in the week we had had a pretty serious sit-down talk with the girls, so by the end of the week when I was still. . . ahem. . . calmly and graciously "reporting" on the problem to him, we took a drastic measure.

Simply this: No toys this week.

Yep, no toys. No playing with Polly Pockets, Dominoes, blocks, and jenga pieces all in the construction of some grand structure for the Polly Pockets to live in. No getting out the lacing game and using the string to tie around stuffed animals as a leash, a sister's ankles as ballet ribbons, or tying toys together to make a "train." No scattering of crayons, markers, scissors, stickers, pens, colored pencils, construction paper, glue, and tape all over the floor, which happened one morning when I had seemingly only left the room for a few minutes. No more twice-daily struggles to get everyone to pitch in cheerfully when it was time for the more thorough clean up.

No toys.

The girls absorbed the news just fine, but weren't sure what it would mean for them. I knew, and hoped it wouldn't turn out to be more of a punishment for me than them!

So, in the new-no-toys environment, what were they to do? I had several suggestions: Read books. We have a well-stocked bookshelf and it's been underappreciated lately. Crayons and coloring books were another suggestion. Also, play games like hide and seek, pretend, dancing to music, all of those are good options. As well, I reserved the right to pull out a toy and sit someone down with it for a period of time if I wanted to. And, we had plenty of school scheduled for this week, so I figured we'd get through it somehow.

But what I didn't anticipate was that the girls would hardly seem to miss their toys at all! The effect over the last three days has been very minimal, isn't that surprising? They've had fun! They went out and played in the snow with John yesterday. We've listened to the Chronicles of Narnia (Focus on the Family radio theatre), made it through the first two books already. We've colored pictures. They played an elaborate pretend game yesterday that involved orphans and cloaks in the snow and--no toys.
They've been more available and willing to help me in the kitchen. Best of all, there haven't been any fights over toys, messes from toys, disputes about toys, reluctance to clean up toys, or time wasted doing any of the above! It's been wonderful!

So, while our no-toys week is obviously not a permanent solution, I am enjoying a much needed break. I would love to hear from you other, more experienced moms if you have had the same battles and what you've done about it. Any advice is appreciated! Do you simply limit the number of toys in your home? Do you find you are always teaching/correcting over toys? Do you "assign" certain toys to certain days? I've read of moms doing this; I've done it on occasion but it seems to structured for me to use all the time, but maybe it would be a good solution? Chime in with your ideas, I'm all ears!

Dreaming of Sand and Sun

2011-02-14T12:22:00.000+08:00

There was a bit of a snowfall yesterday. The morning came on rather quietly, with a heavy gray sky, and by 10:30 it was snowing lightly. It continued into the afternoon, and I left early for Clara Anne's ballet class since yesterday was a first for me...riding bike in the snow! I made it fine on the way there; the streets were still only wet. But on the way home the wind was in my face and I absolutely could not see because of the snow driving into my eyes! Clara Anne had taken along a small pink umbrella (she was obviously smarter than me) and I had to swipe it from her in order to see properly. Yikes! I was thankful when we were home safely again.

At this moment, the girls and John are out playing in the fast-melting snow and I am dreaming of sandy, sunny, warm places. Places like this:

And this:

Where I can do this:

And the girls can do this:

Unfortunately, that's not going to happen anytime soon. What IS happening soon, though, is that Clara Anne and I get to attend a home schooling conference in sunny, warm, delightful, lime-and-coconut-scented Thailand. We will leave on Sunday the 20th and come back (already!) on Friday the 25th. We won't be in a beach location, but the place where the conference is being held is at a resort where there is lots of fresh air, sunshine, a pool, and areas for kids to play. Best yet, the conference has free time scheduled from 3-5 each afternoon (then with a session in the evening) so that we can take full advantage of that pool! We are very excited!

[Side note...we were warned that the resort "has hot water for showers...sometimes" so I think we'll have another good reason to hit the pool everyday! Some pools in Thailand also have an outdoor shower, so if necessary we can always bring a bit of shampoo with us to shower up after our swim time. It's best to be prepared for anything!]

So, though John has to stay home with Chloe and Christin, he is glad for me that I get to go. Clara Anne has been talking about our trip and asking questions non-stop. It'll be lovely! There won't be any sand this time, but I'm ready for a few days in the sunny south!

Let's Talk Salads!

2011-02-12T11:13:00.000+08:00

Salads, wonderful though they are, were not first on my list of foods I wanted to enjoy when we moved to Asia. I was skeptical of my ability to get the greens clean and was afraid that eating raw vegetables would make us sick. I was also nervous about "night soil" fertilizer, which I heard was pretty common here. And after a bout with giardia in our first year, I didn't trust the water used to wash the vegetables either! Finally, though, I developed a three step process: clean my greens in water with a bit of soap, rinse off that water, and then do another rinse with bottled water. At that point I felt they were safe and was willing to eat them, so salads became part of our life again. (That is, if I was willing to put the work into that process!)

Since salad dressing wasn't available, I found ways to make my own. Here are two of my favorite recipes: strawberry vinaigarette and the one I'll share today for Mandarin Almond Salad. It does require almond extract in the dressing for the full effect, but it is worth asking for in a care package or buying out of the country. The dressing is obviously different without the almond extract, but still delicious. I served this salad with our Christmas Dinner meal and it was wonderful! Even my friend who is usually an "Italian dressing only" salad eater enjoyed it!

Mandarin Almond Salad
1/4 cup sliced almonds (I didn't have any, so I used chopped pecans, which were delightful also)
2 T sugar
2 tsp minced parsley (I used cilantro)
1-2 bunches leaf lettuce
1 cup sliced raw celery
1 c. drained mandarin oranges (I used about 10 xiao jin ju, clementines)

Dressing:
2 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup oil (I used corn oil)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract

First, carmelize the almonds (pecans). Combine the nuts with the sugar in a dry frypan. Cook over low heat, stirring until sugar melts to coat the nuts. Spread on greased foil to cool. To make the salad, add to the lettuce the celery, parsley (cilantro) and oranges. Pour on the dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle with carmelized almonds (pecans). Serve immediately. Yummy!

Homemade Croutons are also a favorite on salads at our house. Crouton's final flavor really depends a lot on what kind of bread you start with, so I'd use homemade bread if at all possible. I usually have a bag in my freezer of those leftover ends and crusts, I use those for breadcrumbs but make croutons out of the "good stuff"--the middle of the loaf! (Sorry, crust lovers!)

Here's what I do: Lay out on cookie sheets slices of bread. In a small bowl, pour some olive oil and crush in lots of fresh garlic. Brush the oil mixture generously over the bread and sprinkle with your choice of dried spices (I often use an italian mix--basil and oregano, but thyme or dill would be good too) and plenty of salt (garlic salt is yummy!). A sprinkle of parmesan cheese wouldn't hurt either. Then, turn the bread slices over and repeat. Finally, dice the bread into cubes on the tray, stir around briefly, and bake in a 250 oven for approximately an hour, stirring occasionally. Get them nice and crispy and they're done. Mmmm...delicious! Try to refrain from popping them in your mouth like candy!

Happy salad eating, everyone!

Reflecting on Cooking Overseas...and Recipes!

2011-02-07T21:59:00.000+08:00

Living in this country for 7 plus years has really developed my cooking skills. In many ways, I feel like I "learned to cook" after moving here. Actually, my mom started me early...as young as 10 I was preparing meals for my family. I could use the oven, the stovetop, and often my mom would start a meal and have me finish it after I came home from school, while she was teaching piano lessons. Thankfully she was always in the next room in case I had questions! There were a few disasters, including a time where the butter for grilled cheese sandwiches got too hot in the skillet and filled the kitchen with smoke. My brother Dan came in and shouted, "Hit the deck!" We all did--me including!--until I realized it was up to me to do something and prevent a fire! That story has become a part of our family lore and still gets brought up occasionally! However, most meals worked out fine.

Since I had had so much experience in the kitchen, Advanced Cooking in high school was a breeze for me; I was fascinated by the art and science of cooking. There I learned more about the wonder of the process of baking, why the baking powder or soda were needed for leavening, the amazing properties of eggs, and other such information. It was fun, though certainly still a long way from "from-scratch" cooking.

After John and I were married, I had lots of cooking questions. John was easy to please (still is!) but I had higher standards for myself. I remember some of our early days, trying to find just the right way to cook pot roast. I even called my mom and asked her how her pot roast turned out so well. Was it the cut of beef? No, she just bought whatever was on sale. Was it the cooking time? No, she just "put it in before church and it was done when we got home." Was it the liquid added, or lack of liquid? She usually didn't add much liquid, just "a little bit."  Was it necessary to sear the roast first? So many questions! I had lots of trial and error and we certainly ate well, but that was also in the days where I could go to the grocery store and not have to watch the budget too much, so some convenience and prepared foods were perfectly fine.

Then we went through a time where we were both in school again and our budget was drastically reduced.  As well, my brother was in the midst of a cancer battle and our whole family was trying to eat more healthy foods. John and I settled on a good (if extremely simple) pattern: oatmeal for breakfast, salad for lunch, and then a simple supper. We did have little "luxuries" within that pattern: our favorite golden raisins on the oatmeal, the salad with tons of fresh veggies, homemade dressing (so much better than the bottled stuff!) and homemade croutons made from homemade bread with olive oil, crushed garlic, and salt. YUM!  We had to make a pact not to eat the croutons unless we were eating salad also; they were so very tasty! We made a lot of fresh bread, ate a lot of tuna or egg sandwiches, and ate a lot of pasta (we got pretty choosy about the sauce and loved the Bertolli brand). As well, at that time we were working at Starbucks so I got my fill of caramel macchiatos, vanilla lattes, and americanos.  But I still did very little cooking from scratch.

Before we moved here, however, I made a very significant purchase:  The Joy of Cooking. This one book fascinated, educated, and inspired me. The chapters were comprehensive, understandable, and gave the history behind foods as well as detailed instructions. Suddenly, with the absence of lots of prepared foods (you know, like diced tomatoes in a can or tortillas in a bag), I had to learn how to cook all over again. And actually, it wasn't very sudden. When we first arrived, we had no kitchen so we ate all our meals at the student cafeteria, restaurants, or from street vendors. (I've mentioned before how a toaster greatly improved my quality of life at that time.) Then we moved to our own apartment, and I still greatly depended on "convenience" food--you know, fresh noodles from the vendor, ordering delivery from the restaurant down the street, things like that. But as culture stress lessened, I bought some pots and pans and a tiny oven, began to figure out where to buy essentials like baking soda and butter, and began to try out some recipes we used to love as well as adapt ones for cooking here. I pored over the Joy of Cooking many a night to learn new techniques and find do-able recipes.

There were certainly some major flops. . . bread that didn't rise, a lasagne that I made with tofu instead of ricotta cheese (I must have bought the wrong type of tofu, it overpowered everything else), cookies and cakes with too many substitutions that didn't quite turn out, my first Thanksgiving turkey and gravy, the turkey was ok but the gravy congealed to the point where it was a solid mass! And once I completely cracked a glass bowl trying to make peanut brittle in my microwave. Oops.

But, trial and error, bit by bit, I began to learn and get a sense of making things from scratch. My skills increased exponentially when my friends Rachel and Amy came to town. We started to trade recipes and techniques and still do, actually!

During all that time, I wish I had known about this site. SB, cook extraordinaire, has a wonderful site jam-packed with all sorts of tips, tricks, and recipes for making the foods we love from scratch where certain ingredients may not be available. Need your own sour cream? Want to try making cream cheese? Or preparing pumpkin puree? Or making authentic mexican food? Or any of a hundred other things. . .she's really done a great job here. If you are an expat mom, you MUST look at her site, I'd bet that even if you've been cooking overseas for years like I have, you will find something new to make!

I tried SB's homemade cream cheese last weekend and was SO pleased with how it turned out. I added a bit of jam and some sugar to it at the very end so that we could use it for bagels, and it is very yummy! It is a bit softer than "real" cream cheese and lacked a bit of the tanginess, but otherwise was amazingly good, better than I expected and easier to make, too.

I've posted a few recipes occasionally myself, and one of my goals is to go through them and tag them as recipes so that they can be found more easily. But for tonight, here's some links to a few of my favorites. Baked oatmeal, breadmaker bagels, Creamy Christmas eggnog, homemade pizza crust, golden honey pan rolls, our favorite cinnamon rolls, Swedish Roll-ups, pumpkin bread, and chai lattes in a crock-pot. There may be more recipes hiding here somewhere, but give these a look-see for now!

Enjoy the recipes! I hope to post recipes on a more regular basis in the future. It's fun and hopefully helpful to some of you as well. And don't forget to check out SB's site!

A Survey

2011-02-06T20:58:00.002+08:00

Tonight as we were sitting down for family devotions, John started randomly asking Chloe some questions. I thought they were fun questions and interesting responses, so then we asked all the girls the same questions. Just for fun, here they are!

First up to be "interviewed": Chloe, four and a half years old.

What is your name? Chloe Rachelle

What is your favorite thing to wear? My ballet dress.

Where is your favorite place to go? McDonald's.

What is your favorite story to read? Adventures in Odessey (technically not a reading story, but, anyway...)

Ok, great! Next up: Clara Anne, six years old.

What is your name? Clara Anne Danielle.

What is your favorite thing to wear? The pink skirt and bunny shirt she had on at the moment. Not sure I believe it with all the dresses in her closet!

Where is your favorite place to go? Starbucks! (we were just there this morning, sharing a hot cocoa and playing Memory! I won with 9 matches but Clara Anne came in a close second with 8!!)

What is your favorite story to read? The Hiding Place. (I think this was also influenced by the fact that we've been reading it lately for family read aloud time and talking a lot about it. Some hard themes there, but such an encouraging book!)

And Christin, two and a half years old:
What's your name? I am Christin!

What is your favorite thing to wear? My Christmas dress from Grandma.

Where is your favorite place to go? McDonald's!

What is your favorite story to read? Farmer Boy. (We recently finished that one in family read aloud time. We all enjoyed it!)

At this point as we had finished our questions, Christin sensed she was done getting to speak and turned to me in the sweetest, funny way and said, "Mama, can we talk? Let's talk!" I guess she didn't feel her moment of "holding the floor" was long enough!

After we had finished our devotions and reading aloud, the girls were getting ready for bed and Clara Anne kept going on and on to me about how she is so surprised that she is growing up so fast. "Mommy, only three more years, 7, 8, and 9 and then I'll be 10! I can hardly believe it, it seems like I was just born! I just can't believe I am growing so quickly!" I chuckled a bit but also told her not to hurry up; she's got plenty of time to grow up and I'm not in a rush! She has seemed so mature lately though--she loves to use big words and speak like a little lady, "Mommy, I'm dreadfully hungry, I think I shall perish!" and "It's frightfully cold outside, Mommy! We must make sure to dress properly." She makes me smile, that Clara Anne! Chloe is picking up some of her habits too; just yesterday told me that a snowflake craft we had done would be "glistening" in their room after they hung their snowflakes from the ceiling. She meant "glittering" but I got her meaning. I love to see the girls expanding their vocabulary!

So, there's the thrilling results of our survey this evening. You never know what might come up in conversation at our house. These random conversations are moments I cherish, though, because I see them as opportunities to influence and teach my daughters. Plus, it's just plain fun--truly one of the joys of parenting!

Once in a Lifetime

2011-02-02T21:45:00.017+08:00

We had a guest last week. Actually, she can't be considered a guest, she's more like family. How did my friend Rachel and her new baby Silas end up on our side of the world, just for a visit? A few words: her VERY generous and thoughtful husband + frequent flier miles. Yes, her husband stayed with their other three so that Rachel could take about 10 days for a mom's only vacation! Hallelujah!!!

Oh, the joy of being reunited! It seemed surreal, amazing, unbelievable, and. . . perfect, all that the same time. And it goes without saying that my girls were ga-ga around this new little handsome man!

Rachel got the joy of sleeping on Dora sheets while these 3 munchkins got the joy of a "sleepover" in the school room.

A snapshot of a typical bedtime routine moment: A last drink of water, a last story that must be told to Daddy, and a sleepyhead ready for lights out.

Rachel used her time here fully. I would have liked to use it even more fully, keeping her up chatting til all hours, every night, but unfortunately I caught a nasty bug JUST as she arrived at my house. I had a terribly high fever and a deep cough, and was so afraid of spreading it to her or baby Silas! Thankfully they stayed well, but each member of my family got it, one by one. We all recovered fairly quickly, thankful for over the counter meds in a time like that! On the first day Rach was with us, I had to be a party pooper and take a nap. When I got up, this is what I saw:

What a friend! You know you've got a good friend when she is so happy to be with you that she willingly reads the Berenstain bears to your kids! (I personally don't enjoy the B. bears all that much.) But this next photo shows the true depth of her love:

She did my dishes. Yes, she did. That weekend was a perfect storm: my house helper had been sick, I got sick, Rachel arrived and I wanted to make nice meals for her, but what to do?! I stacked lots of dishes hoping my helper would come back to work on Monday but in fact a phone call Sunday night confirmed that she still felt terrible. I was feeling pretty lousy myself so Rach said she wanted me to save my energy and SHE would do MY dishes. There were tons, and also tons of plastic cups which I know Rach hates to wash, and she washed every.last.one. That's sacrificial love, my friends! I sat on a chair outside the kitchen door and joined in the conversation while I waited for my current round of tylenol to kick in. What a friend! Thanks, Rach! I felt so loved. And, the next morning I could get up and actually function in the kitchen since everything was. . . clean! I think she got a few jewels in her crown for that one!

Silas bear regularly stunned us all with his cuteness. Who knew boys could be so cute! We needed another dose of masculinity around here!

The girls did not cease their adoration. There may have been a request or two for our family to have a baby brother as they saw how great it was to have Silas around. Hmmm, well, we'll have to think about that one!

The next night I couldn't get warm since my fever was up again, so I dressed in multiple layers including my white fuzzy robe that makes me look like a woolly mammoth. Fever didn't stop us, though: we used my gas stove to toast a few marshmallows for a little evening snack. Fun times, fun memories!

I guess the tension was running a little high in the above photo! :) Nah, just being totally silly.

Sweetness and light. Would you look at that smile?

The ladies enjoyed a day out together...laughing, talking, drinking hot cocoa, playing "Ticket to Ride" and generally having a great time. What a blessing!

And just like that, we were preparing to say goodbye.

Clara Anne was sad to see Silas go. I was sad to see Rachel go. But I was thankful, so thankful, for the time we had, and so joyful to have had this once in a lifetime opportunity. For her to travel alone with the baby, so far, just to be together, was such an amazing thing. She came and brought us joy and fun and laughter and tons of GIFTS and a wonderful, refreshing spirit with her. I love this dear friend!

I'll cherish the memories forever...and look forward to the next time the Lord brings us back together! We had to say goodbye for now, but as C. S. Lewis so rightly shouted in his booming voice, "Christians NEVER say goodbye!" Not for real, not forever. The hope of heaven and life together with Jesus awaits us!

Love you, Rach--my sister, my friend. So thankful for you!

A Preview

2011-01-31T22:00:00.003+08:00

It's 10:02pm. Too late (for me, anyway) to start the long, newsy, picture-filled post that I had intended to write tonight. Instead, I'll give you a preview. The long, newsy, picture-filled post that I won't be writing has to do with this:More next time!

Love this girl.

2011-01-27T20:44:00.003+08:00

She's a funny one, our Christin. I know I've been saying for awhile how she cracks us all up with the things she says, but it's really true! Lately she invented her own term of endearment by adding "s" to the end of a name. Two examples: "Hi Moms!" (said sweetly to me) and "Babes" added to the end of her baby doll's name, like "Mommy, where's my Sarah babes?" I guess to her it's a cute, shortened name instead of saying "mommy" or "baby." Makes me laugh! I sometimes can't believe I have such a verbal two year old. She truly can express herself so well and make us all laugh in the process. Love you, Christin!

Us

2011-01-25T12:28:00.003+08:00

Taken on New Year's Eve, 2010. Yes, Clara Anne and Chloe are wearing dress-up clothes, but hey, you take what you can get!

Planting the Flag

2011-01-17T22:30:00.003+08:00

Several of my online friends put up posts at the new year about their ONE word resolutions for the year ahead. I was intrigued by the idea. What if I were to do the same? What if I prayed and asked the Lord what one word He would have me to focus on this year?

In light of our recent news, I've been praying earnestly about what this year will look like. Certainly it will be filled with transition. We feel excited about the opportunity before us, and at peace about where the Lord is leading us. He has confirmed in many ways that this is the path we are to follow. But, I will confess that there's a huge temptation for me to worry about the changes ahead. Packing up our house, saying goodbye to friends here, leaving behind the only life my girls have ever known, transitioning our family to a whole different culture and lifestyle, affording an expensive degree, finding a place to live, wondering about finding new friends and "fitting in" to life in the States...all of these are a bit daunting, especially taken together. I find it easy to pray about these things, put them in the Lord's hands, and then pick them right back up again! Some days not ten minutes passes and I find myself turning things over in my mind again, wondering, worrying, contemplating.

So as I thought about the concept of simply asking the Lord for one word for this next year, He immediately brought it to mind: TRUST. This year has the potential for great spiritual growth, in that I will be challenged to trust Him in many new ways. I must remember that there is nothing that I will face this year that I cannot trust Him with. He is trustworthy, today, tomorrow, forever. The Lord can be trusted whether I live in Asia or America or somewhere in between. He is worthy of my whole hearted trust, no matter what circumstance I am facing.

We had a long bus ride last week to visit a friend and I re-read The Mom Walk by Sally Clarkson. In it, she talked about an experience where she "planted a flag" in her heart to walk with the Lord through a particularly difficult circumstance. The imagery stuck with me and I felt the Lord calling me to the same.

So, here it is. I am planting a flag in my heart for 2011 that has TRUST emblazoned upon it. When I am tempted to worry, to fret, to be afraid, I hope to say to my soul, "None of that! Remember, this is a year to TRUST. This circumstance, too, (whatever it is) can be another opportunity to trust Him."

Already I am finding that when I actively put my trust in the Lord for the concerns on my heart, He brings an amazing peace and joy through that process. How thankful I am for His gracious love which is always at work changing me! And how I want to be changed! Lord, may this year be a year to trust you with every situation I find myself in.

What am I trusting specifically? Words like these:

Hebrews 4:15-16: 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.

1 Peter 1:3-5: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Psalm 91:1-2: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Hebrews 13:5: Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

These few brief verses only scratch the surface of His precious promises! But how wonderful they are. He is with me, He will not leave me. He understands my weakness. He is preserving for me a living hope, my salvation, forgiveness of my sins. He is my fortress and refuge, no matter what changes or difficulties may come. He is trustworthy.

How about you? Is there some area in your heart where you need to "plant a flag"? Is the Lord impressing on you a word that He wants you to focus on this year in your spiritual walk?

New Year News

2011-01-08T21:37:00.002+08:00

Many, if not all of you, are on our list to receive our letters once a month. (Or as often as I get them out!) But in case I have a few readers here that don't get those letters, I wanted to share some news with you. Actually, John wrote this, so just consider it a "guest post." :) And, by the way, this is an edited version. Contact me if you'd like the full letter emailed to you!

New Year Greetings from the Winds!
Not only does every January 1st mark the beginning of the new calendar year, it also marks the beginning of a new year of work here for our family. We first arrived 7 years ago, on January 1, 2004. In fact, just tonight we were looking at some old pictures from those first few months and couldn't believe how quickly the years have passed and how much has happened!

This year as we mark the completion of 7 years of work, we are also anticipating some significant changes for our family in 2011.

After multiple months of prayer and discussion, we have begun on a path that we hope will lead to John beginning a Ph.D program in the upcoming fall. It would be a four year program at SBTS in Louisville, KY. Our family would plan to relocate to Louisville for those four years, meaning a departure from our work here.

Making this decision has not been easy as we have planted our lives here during the last 7 years, intending to stay indefinitely. We studied a new language, started a family, built a team, and opened a business. We shared with many and saw many lives changed. The possibility and the idea of pursuing the Ph.D came upon us unexpectedly in 2010. But as we began to seek Him in this matter, He began to confirm that He was, in fact, leading us to pursue this course. So the sadness of our expected departure is also mixed with the peace and confidence that His plan is best.

Our plan is to return to the US in 6 months, at the end of June. We hope to arrive in Louisville mid-July and begin settling into a new home in preparation for the beginning of John's fall semester. The next six months, then, will be focused on completing this 7 1/2 year leg of the race that has been marked out for us. When we first left for Asia 7 years ago, the hardest part was saying "goodbye" to all of our family and friends in the States. Now after living here for 7 years, the hardest part will be saying "goodbye" to our many dear friends and brothers and sisters here! Please pray for us as we seek to finish well our work here.

And, though our time here is not yet complete, it is never too early to say "Thank YOU" for all the wonderful support you've given us over the last seven years. You have played a key role in what He has done here!

We pray that the Lord will fill you with His superabundant joy, faithfulness, and fruitfulness in 2011!

Love,
the Winds

Wow. Big news. I have several posts percolating in my head as I think about these upcoming changes. You can bet there'll be lots of reflections, musings, and ponderings coming soon as our family anticipates this major transition, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading!

Memory Lane Strikes Again!

2011-01-03T21:44:00.024+08:00

At the risk of boring you all with yet another trip down memory lane, I couldn't resist posting these old photos after all of that reminiscing the other night! First: here's our student dorm room upon arrival. Can you see the layer of dirt on the desk? And notice the cement floors! This room hadn't been lived in for awhile; it was a bit more expensive since it was prime real estate--a whole 30 square meters! The moment we walked in and agreed to live in this room, I stopped and said to John: "Don't touch anything!" We found the Clorox wipes that I had packed and immediately set to work. Our first meal, as mentioned before. I look a little grimy around the edges, but not bad for having traveled for three+ days!

Later on, about two weeks later I think, we finally figured out where to buy some plastic flooring that we could lay over the cement. We paid a LOT for it but didn't know how to bargain and by that point, didn't care! John went to work with his exacto knife to make it fit our room.

Above, a view of the provided furniture before the floor was laid...Below, also before the floor, when we were a bit more settled. Yes, we did take our own sheets and pillows, a special quilt and throw blanket. Those things made it seem like home right away.

Here's a picture from early days when I was newly expecting Clara Anne. I did NOT feel well and didn't know very well how to deal with the constant nausea and fatigue. Since we didn't have a kitchen, I survived the first few months of pregnancy on Sprite, a kind of instant breakfast cereal, egg sandwiches from the student snack bar, and mantou (a kind of steamed bread). No wonder I lost 10 pounds in the first trimester!

Mother's Day 2004: John bought me some beautiful roses to symbolize our new family of three.

This next picture is of my first female friend in our city. It's actually quite amazing--she is a teacher of the native language to foreign students, and actually corresponded with us over email when we were registering at the university. She helped to choose our local language names. She and her boyfriend helped us buy our first phone, eat at our first restaurant, and shop at our first grocery store. She came over to tutor us occasionally and we became good friends. In the picture below she had invited us to her house for lunch in the first few months that we lived here. Notice that "clean" kitchen!

The amazing part is that she is still one of my dearest friends! She and her boyfriend-turned-husband (we were at their wedding) now have a 3 year old son and live a few floors above us in our apartment building! We lost touch for awhile but then reconnected by seeing each other on the street one time. I love her infectious laugh, her humble, sweet spirit, and her love for Father. So thankful for my friend Angie!

These two pictures are from when our books arrived via M-bag from the States. All the books we couldn't do without were shipped at about a $1 a pound. Wow, those days sure are gone! Shipping overseas now practically requires a small fortune!

Here's a picture of John and I on a break from our language classes on the balcony overlooking part of the campus where we lived and studied. The other students came out to smoke, we just came out for a bit of "fresh" air and conversation before plunging back into another language.

I mentioned in my previous post that I had to change my habit to shower at night. Here's proof! A cup of decaf never hurt anything either!

This picture is from a dinner we had in our very first few weeks here. We had been introduced to a young college student with excellent English and he helped us get to know the city a bit. He became a real friend. We enjoyed this hot pot meal together.

He took us downtown to see the city square and its famous blue statue, meant to represent the natural underground springs unique to this city. Little did we know the smog we experienced that day was to become a regular part of our life!

This young man and his girlfriend also took us to visit another city landmark: the Lake. It was winter, gray and cold, but we had fun anyway! I remember the girlfriend linked her arm through mine as we walked along and I wasn't sure what to do about that!

Here's a few pictures of our student dorm, which we turned into a cozy refuge:

A "leather" chair next to the bed...

Plastic flooring and a pretty rug on the floor, our magnet collection on the radiators, a curtain (really just a sheet with a loop sewn into it for hanging) to separate the living area from the sleeping area...it all helped!

The bed, spread with our special quilt made by John's grandmother (this is our Select Comfort bed that we packed from the States by deflating and taking it apart!).

And John's desk workspace. Behind his head you can see just a glimpse of our "kitchen": we owned two bowls, two spoons, two sets of chopsticks, and two mugs. We got creative with hot water: instant oatmeal, instant noodles, coffee and tea, those were all staples in those early months. Until of course, we bought a toaster and I thought I had really struck it rich! Some things haven't changed too much...this is still how I get around town! I just took about a five year hiatus in the middle there (being pregnant, having a new baby, repeat x3). Now I usually have one or two kids with me on the bike!

Our bathroom in that dorm room also doubled as the drying room for our laundry, which I could wash on the bottom floor of our dorm building. We strung up clothesline and it worked just fine. I was so thankful for that bathroom! (especially as morning sickness took its course!)

A final picture of the inside of our room, this is looking from the living area toward the front door. We made the most of that space!

Ahh, memories! Isn't it fun to look back and remember how things used to be? Hope you enjoyed these old photos!