It's hard to blog when your computer is in a box.

We got new carpet in the living room last week.  This meant that we cleaned out pretty much everything from the living room.  We even threw our old desk away.  So, needless to say the computer was inaccessible most of last week.  I wish I had the computer, because a lot of thoughts ran through my head that I wanted to write about.  Of course now they are all forgotten.

I wanted to write about how David had a hilarious encounter with a lady who runs a storage facility here in town.  She wouldn't stop playing online euchre to help him, but she did say, "God bless ya!" on his way out.

I wanted to write about my new food, the tomatillo.  I made salsa verde, and it was really good.  mmmmm. . .

I wanted to write about how we are going on a mini-vacation this week, and how I'm so excited to get away for a few days.

But most importantly, I wanted to write about Nadine.  Unless you have never read my blog before, you know Nadine.  Well, after many months and lots of work from many people, Nadine is in Columbus, Ohio getting ready for her surgery.  I am so thankful that this has worked out.  It has been such an amazing journey to walk through with the kids.  To hear my kids pray for Nadine every night and see those prayers answered over time has been life-changing.  And now we get to go see her this week.  I am nervous how it's all going to turn out, with the language barrier and everything else that makes us different.  But the Holy Spirit keeps reminding me that this is what we were meant to do.  Just this morning I read the passage in the Bible where Jesus says that whatever we do for the least of these we do for Him. I'm afraid I don't live this out on a daily basis, but my prayer is that God will continue to change me into the person He wants me to be, that I will hold onto the stuff of this world less and less, and hold onto Him more and more.

And that beats any old tomatillo.

Weekend Away

This past weekend I had the chance to do something I rarely get to do.  No, I'm not talking about hanging out with Michelle Duggar (who I DID see this weekend, more on that later) or watch multiple hours of college basketball (which I DID do when I got home).  I'm talking about going away for the weekend without my kids or husband.

My friend Alison and I went to the Hearts at Home conference in Normal, Illinois.  Now, I am not one to usually attend these kinds of things (and neither is Alison).  Frankly, we are more at home with "boy" things (see earlier paragraph about watching hours of college basketball), but this conference was calling our names because:

A)I went to college in Normal.
B) Alison grew up in Normal.
C)Alison's friend was one of the workshop speakers and had asked her to come.
D)Hey, let's be honest, it's a trip away for 2 days.

So, Friday afternoon we loaded up and drove to the Land of Lincoln.  Our first destination was a trip down memory lane, where we saw my old apartment, Alison's childhood home and elementary school, and an assortment of nostalgic places for the both of us.  The weather was beautiful, so we spent the afternoon driving around and looking at how some things in Bloomington-Normal were exactly the same and some were completely different.

Then we went to get our registration stuff for Hearts at Home, which didn't start for us until Saturday morning.  Oh, my, were there a lot of women!  We quickly got through the enormous lines, hid our complimentary-yet-hideous tote bags, and headed over to Avanti's, a town favorite restaurant.

Now, let me just stop here for a second and say that if you try Avanti's for the the first time and you aren't impressed, it's okay.  It's nothing special.  What we love about it is a)cheap prices b)lots of memories and c)the BREAD.  Oh, heavens, the bread is sooooo good!

But we weren't dining alone at Avanti's.  Nope.  As it turns out, my amazing friends Matt and Jenni Collins (who live in Fort Worth) were visiting Matt's parents (who live in Lincoln) for Spring Break.  So not only did I get to eat at Avanti's, but I got to eat it and talk with three of my greatest friends in the whole entire world.  AND I DIDN'T HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF MY CHILDREN AT A RESTAURANT!  (yes, that was in all caps for a reason).

After a wonderful supper (and a trip to the take-out window where Alison purchased no less than 10 loaves of Avanti's bread--for her family) we drove to Lincoln for the night.  Instead of staying at a hotel, we opted to shell out 15 big ones and stay in the dorm at Lincoln Christian University.  The bonus was that we got to see Matt and Jenni's kiddos and Matt's parents.

Saturday was the conference.  I won't go into all of the details (this post is already long enough), but it was good.  The speakers were from all different backgrounds, and the topics were all very relevant.  Alison's friend, Marianne, spoke about how we can teach our children to be more grateful, and it was really, really good. She talked about how our society has taught our kids that stuff is what matters, not people.  I left really inspired to be more conscious of what messages I am giving my children.

We did hear Jim-Bob (I can't believe I just typed "Jim-Bob" in my blog) and Michelle Duggar give their story.  They are nice people, and I think they do really love their kids and God.  I'll leave it at that.

Some other highlights of the day included:
*sneaking off during lunch to see a St. Patrick's Day Parade
*hanging out on my old campus
*getting to talk to Marianne afterward

And on the way home, I was reminded why Alison is just about the only person I would go to a ladies' conference with.  Right before we left, we went to the bathroom, and there was a little counter with things like lotion, mints, kleenex, etc.  Next to it was a little paper sign that said "Take what you need for the MOMent." (Oh, don't you just love the terrible pun?)  So, about halfway home, I say, "You know, I wish I had stolen that sign in the bathroom."  To which Alison answers (while pulling it out of her bag) "And you know I did."
Love it.  Absolutely love it.

Hope your weekend wanderings were as wonderful as mine.

It's a rollercoaster

I love the TV show Parenthood.  It's one of my favorite shows on right now.  Actually, I'm really bummed that the season is over.  But a comment on a friend's blog made me think about the original movie Parenthood, with Steve Martin and a slew of other people.  This is one of the best scenes in the whole movie:

Sometimes I forget that my kids are just that:  kids.  I want them to act exactly how they are supposed to, and I get to stressed out when things don't go exactly as planned, but that's the excitement of life.  I think back to all of the craziness that has happened because of my children, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.  Life really IS like an amusement park.  We can choose to do something that scares us--take a step of faith in our career, our work, our service, our family--or stand on the side and watch.  Will it always be wonderful?  Nope.  But was it worth it?  You bet.

P.S.  This clip cut out a few seconds too soon, because right after this, Gil (Steve Martin) says, "Yeah, well if she's so smart, how come she's sitting in the neighbor's car?"  Love it!

Get out there and enjoy the ride today!

Thursday Thank You's

Today I am thankful for. ..

501.  my upcoming trip to Illinois with Alison. Soooo excited!

502.  new babies (not mine!)

503.  NADINE IS COMING TO THE STATES ON MONDAY!!!!!

504.  getting to take the kids outside every day this week.

505.  quality time with each child one-on-one.

506.  new carpet coming next week.

507.  and in honor of the new carpet:  a new vacuum! My 11 year-old, $60 vacuum just isn't cutting it anymore.  Go figure.

508.  My Wonder Woman coffee mug.  How can I drink from it and not smile?

509.  Reading Catching Fire.  Let the late nights commence.

510.  March Madness, Baby!


What are you thankful for?

Back on Track

Okay, so last week's new food was a total fail.  I bought jicama, and had a couple of different ideas what to do with it.  And then I waited too long and the jicama tasted funky, so I didn't make anything with it.  But I had already bought Napa cabbage to make a jicama slaw with, so I already had this week's new food:  Napa Cabbage!

I ended up making a slaw with it, and it is super yummy.  It reminds me of the Oriental Salad everyone makes with broken up Ramen noodles and sesame seeds.  It is basically chopped up cabbage, green onions (I used a small yellow onion), and cilantro.  For the record, I love anything with cilantro.  Cilantro for me is like bacon:  it makes everything better.  The dressing is vegetable oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar.  Then you top it off with toasted slivered almonds.  I had cashews, and they worked just the same.

So, it was all good in the end, and although I missed a week, and some jicama, I found a new side dish that is worth repeating.

A Stack of Cards

Next to my desk sits a box full of cards.  Regular cards from a craft store.  But with a little bit of teamwork last night, those cards might just mean something.

You see, all of the youth group girls (and sponsors) got together and wrote encouragement notes yesterday.  We wrote them to girls we had never met, but are our sisters in Christ.

These girls are single mothers in Kenya, Africa.  They are living in a maternity home called Mercy House.  If you want to know more about Mercy House, check out this website.

These single moms are here because there is basically nowhere else to turn.  Most of them have little support elsewhere.  I cannot imagine how scary it is for them.  But while these girls are at Mercy House they are fed, protected, taught, and encouraged.

One way they can be encouraged is through us!  So we wrote them notes filled with Bible verses, words of encouragement, pictures of flowers, reminders of how beautiful they are.  A tangible way for girls in Indiana and girls in Africa to connect.

And when I head out to the post office to mail these on, my hear will be full once again, knowing how awesome it is when we jump on board with what God is doing.

Full heart

My heart is full today.

The sun is shining.  I'm sitting here watching the beginnings of March Madness begin while my husband and son are bonding over a video game on the Kindle.  They are two peas in a pod if ever there were.

We ate at a restaurant, and the kids were good!

We are taking steps towards selling our house.  We went and looked at one today that was very promising.

My online class is over!!!  Yee-haw!!!!

This coming weekend I am going to a women's conference with my friend Alison.  Weekend away + Alison = Good times.

Life can get hectic and busy if we let it.  The days can slip by without any meaning.  But for right now, for this moment, I am thankful and aware that life is so very good.  We have been given so much.

What are you thankful for?

No excuse for my absense

I wish I had an excuse for not writing for so many days.  I HAVE been busy.  But the truth is that my mind is full of different posts, and I don't know where to start.

Should I write about my weekend getaway to Chicago with David?  Soooooo much fun!!

Or should I write about going to a purity ring ceremony with my Bridges girls and how much it moved me?

Or should I write about my kids and their antics while Grandma Linda and Grandpa Ed came to visit?

How about my new food--jicama--what in the world am I going to do with jicama?

Better yet, I can write about how much time I am going to have in a couple of days when my online class is over!!

No, wait!  I can write about how we are meeting with a realtor to put our house up for sale.


See?  Too many choices to even pick one.  So all that's left is this messy post with too many points, not enough details, and zero pictures!!  Ugh.  Depressing.

I think I'll go have a soda. . .oh, wait. . .that's another post:  how I gave up soda for Lent. . .

This I Believe

I'm almost done!!!!  I have just a few days left of my class to keep my teacher certification!  Can I get a big Yee-Haw?!!!

The class has been about teaching multi-culturally, and although I am ready to be done, I have learned quite a bit.  My final assignment was to write a belief statement about my values towards multicultural education.  I wanted to share what I came up with.

"This I Believe"

 We are all so different, and so much the same. 

This I believe.

We all have trials, some are much harder than others, but nobody goes through this life without hardship.  Nobody.  If you see someone and think their life is easy, you aren’t seeing the whole picture.

People are hurting.

Physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, mentally hurting.

But the beauty is that the hard times, the tough times, are the ones that shape each of us into something beautiful.  A unique creation. 

“You make beautiful things out of us. . .” Michael Gungor, “Beautiful Things”

One hobby I really enjoy is mosaic work.  You take broken glass or pottery and glue it onto something to make a new cover, like a vase or a picture frame or a table.  Our lives are like mosaics.  The parts that are broken can end up turning into beauty.  An old coffee cup transformed into a priceless piece of art.

We all want to be heard.  Whether you are living in a hut in Kenya, a high rise apartment in Japan, or a farm in Oklahoma, you want your voice to matter. 

Everyone wants their life to mean something.  We search for it. Dream of it.  Study about it.  Write songs about it.  We want to look back at the end our life and know it has been better because we were in it.

And nobody can do it alone.  Nobody.  You might trick yourself into thinking you can do this life alone, but you can’t.  We need each other. 

We hurt.

We speak.

We try.

We join.

We love.

This I believe.