Some Fun Pics

Finally an update! We spent a week around Halloween with my best friend in MO and then she and her family came up to stay with us for Thanksgiving. Along with a last minute addition of some new -to - town friends from NY. We had 6 adults and 7 kids! It was pretty wild but lots of fun. Needless to say there hasn't been a lot of time for blogging. And even as I write this T3 is crying to be picked up, T2 is running around mostly naked and playing the bongo and T1 is zooming things across the laminate floor. Sigh...never a dull moment. So here are some pics of our life lately. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well!

The running joke is that hubby and my best friend's hubby look a lot alike so when we were black friday shopping (is it called black friday b/c it is still dark out when your best friend drags you out of bed to go?) anyways, we picked out matching shirts for them. How cute!!! J/K we know they will never ever wear them at the same time again, they just put them on as a joke to humor us.

Best friend's hubby making the all important snicker apple salad -a last minute addition to our Thanksgiving feast and yet another way to ruin something perfectly healthy but oh-so-good. This will forever be remembered as the Thanksgiving of the massive amount of mashed potatoes. I just threw out the last 20 cups of it today!



Thing 1 at his annual Thanksgiving performance with his Pre-K class.

Sitting up in the bath now - soooo much fun!

Taking the kiddos to the park to run off some turkey.



Rub a dub dub, 3 Things in the tub!

Thing 3 sporting his new sweater that my mom made - thanks Grandma!


And the new hat I finally finished!



Visiting Santa at Lewis also means seeing our friend and local pharmacist! Thing 1 wanted to know why her husband wasn't there at work with her.

A VERY quick stop outside in the freezing cold to see Santa's reindeer.




Making molasses cookies with the Things. I only make these at Christmas time and the boys helped roll the balls this year - a new skill for Thing 2. I was very proud of him. They also remind me of the great throw up Christmas Eve two years ago with T2....but we will save that story for another day.

The Tilling Years

Once a month I get an alumni magazine from Westmont College. The first thing I do is flip to the back where it lists who has gotten married to who(m?)(so now you know, I wasn't an English major), and who has had a baby etc. for each graduating class. Even with such a small college I rarely recognize the names. It also lists where my fellow alumni are working and highlights some of the outstanding things some of them are doing.
Yesterday afternoon as I sat on a little patch of sun in my living room floor for the blessed "nap/video/little bit of sanity" period of the day - for some reason I thought about all those incredible things people my age are accomplishing. Then I looked at myself with my Bible and journal in my lap and still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes from my 20 winks, and couldn't help but ask, "What am I doing?". Feeling like I'm not accomplishing much with my domestic duties I closed my eyes in prayer and sensed Him say, "These are the tilling years." The picture I got was that the soil has to be prepared before it can reap a harvest.
I'm not only being tilled myself through the character it takes to discipline and train three little men - I'm tilling the soil of their hearts as well. It is my great aspiration that God reaps a great harvest in their lives when they grow up to serve Him.
So right now, even though my job is at it's best "low profile" and seems unimpressive, it was good to remember that it is NOT unimportant. I won't make the cover of any alumni magazine - probably not even a little blip - after all, how exciting would it be to read, "Housewife made white chili soup (Thanks, Jess for the fab recipe)for dinner, folded three loads of laundry and read two chapters of Jigsaw Jones Mysteries to 3 and 5 year old"? - Not very.
At times my job seems monotonous - just as I'm sure a farmer feels plowing up row after row. But its simplicity lends itself to the peaceful rhythm that fills my day (ha! what planet am I on - what peace? what rhythm? with three boys?). Okay - so it might not appear that way on the surface, but in my heart I'm at peace - not stressed or rushed unless I make myself be by cramming too much in for one day. After all, what is stressful about pressing, "cold, heavy cycle, no extra rinse"?
It is the very simplicity of my role that I think will plow the deepest furrows in the souls of these three little men I've been entrusted to raise. They can rely on me to do what I need to give them a healthy home life - including, food, clean clothing and a stable, loving marriage to raise them up under.
The season for other pursuits outside my home will come all too quickly. In fact just today as I ate lunch with Thing 1 while eyeing up my novel, it occurred to me, I don't have many lunches left with him. Next year he will be at school all day and will be eating with his friends. The novel can wait (until he's tucked in bed at least) for now, I'm tilling the soil. "So, did anything silly happen today at Pre-K?"

Would somebody please...

Would somebody please invent a washer that washes and drys all in one? I long for the day that I can start my laundry in the morning and come home to it already dry? I've wanted one of these for years!

After five years of parenting under my belt I'm adding one important improvement to my already great idea (if I can say so myself, and I just did). This super washer and dryer in one also needs to be able to magically remove things. No, I'm not talking stains - that is too easy. I want it to remove things that I didn't know were there like pea rocks, gum, candy, and stickers stuck on soccer shirts that leave a sticky residue for a decade or two. Even more importantly it should remove the things I know are there but cross my fingers and select "Super Plus Super Dee Duper Wash" as I throw it in and hope I don't see it again like: big chunks of throw up all over my 3-year-old's comforter, or the latest causality from a diaper that didn't live up to the manufacturer's promise.

I'm willing to pay big money for such an item. So all those engineer's out there looking for a great idea here is your golden ticket - free of charge. And I'll be your first customer!

Things that Bless Me

My Bible study. These ladies faithfully dig into the Word and come prepared to share what they learned and their lives as well every time we meet. I'm so blessed to be privy to their praises, new-found knowledge from His Word, and prayer requests. I'm doubly blessed to get to share all of the above with them as well. And I'm triply blessed by the college ladies who faithfully come and watch all our wiggly, fussy, energetic kiddos in a basement for 2 hours with little or no escape!

How every time T2 takes off his socks he has to "get the gunkies out" from between his toes. He can't settle in for some good thumb and blankie time without doing that first.

How my boys love to eat almonds - and fruit - and whole wheat pancakes! With all the other junk I feed them it is nice to know they will eat healthy things too.

How my husband hasn't said anything about the 6 loads of laundry that have been waiting to be folded in the mudroom all week.

The steak I was able to pull out of our freezer when I realized at noon I had nothing planned for dinner - some friends of our blessed us with a gift of a LOT of meat over a year ago and we are just now getting to the end of it.

How my boys like to wear their clothes backwards - why not?!

T3 smiling up at me - any time, day or middle of the night.

My best friend taking cute pics of my kiddos.

Now it's your turn - what blesses you?!

Peace

AS I mentioned in my last post, I've been working my way through John. This morning as I read through Jesus' first encounters with those He loved after His resurrection a few things stood out to me.
Here the disciples are "hiding out" so to speak for fear of the Jews, even though just that morning Mary saw Jesus and told them that He had risen. They were still trapped in their fear probably wondering what to do with this astonishing news. And that is where Jesus comes to them, right where they are "stuck". And that is where Jesus comes to all of us, right where to where our fears and sorrows, regrets and whatever else have driven us into hiding.
And His first words to them in that fearful secluded place? "PEACE". Perhaps that was another way of just saying "Hello" in those days, I haven't read up on my Jewish history. But nonetheless, He knows just what they need to hear. And then after showing them His pierced Hands and Side, He gives them a new purpose and vision, "Just as the Father Has sent Me forth, so I am sending you." And He gives them the gift of His Spirit.
I love how Jesus appears in our lives in our darkest hours. He calms our fears with words of Peace. He sets us on a new course with vision and purpose. And He enables us to fulfill that purpose with His Holy Spirit. Thank You, Abba, for Your Amazing ways!

Finding a "Healthy Whole"

"Simply being alive became holy to me." Jerry Sittser (A Grace Disguised, How the Soul Grows Through Loss).

A friend and mentor recommended this book after Heather passed away. I've been slowly working my way through it as I have felt able. It is not a topic that I look forward to digesting, but it is necessary all the same. So far his book has been full of great insights that make me pause and nod and help me put words to what I'm experiencing, whether consciously or unconsciously.

I've written before about how much more sacred the little things of life have become, just stopping to appreciate life itself. This continues to be true. I find myself lingering a little longer over my baby's crib, just enjoying watching him smile (or cry in protest of the impending nap) up at me. I snuggle my boys a little bit more when I can manage to slow them down (or slow myself down) long enough to do so. I'm truly grateful, and I mean GRATEFUL, when we have safely traveled home after a long trip.

Every day is a gift. It seems so glib and cliche to write, but it is truly how I feel. And just as Sittser explains, the everyday things of life become truly meaningful.

I'm slowly making my way through another book, the account of Jesus' life from a man who knew Him personally, the Apostle John. John's account reminds me of another truth that Sittser touches on. Chapter nineteen of John's book describes the gory and unjust murder of Jesus as John and His loved ones looked on. And Chapter 20 reveals the astonishing joy they then subsequently experienced upon His Resurrection. What strikes me is that those who rejoiced in chapter 20 could have never experienced that same joy had they not endured the agony of chapter 19.

Sittser describes how our sorrows give birth to greater joys when he writes, "The soul is elastic, like a balloon. It can grow larger through suffering...once enlarged, the soul is also capable of experiencing greater joy, strength, peace, and love." (p.54) He also explains the sad irony that those who we would want to share our growth from these devastations with the most are the ones that we lost.

Even as I write this I'm afraid that it will sound like in some sick sort of way I'm benefiting from Heather's death or that I'm experiencing joy out of it. Far from it. I still HATE HATE HATE that she died. I still want to wake up and have it all be a bad dream. I still want to call her on the phone for one of our monthly hour long chats and catch up on all that we can before our kids totally lose it in the background. But since I can't go back to those days I have to somehow move forward. And as I move forward I'm finding that my soul which is raw from her loss is now so much more sensitive to the joys of life as well.

Sittser describes how he has moved forward after the loss of his wife, mother and young daughter to a drunk driver, "Loss requires that we live in a delicate tension. We must mourn, but we must go on living...The sorrow I feel has not disappeared but it has integrated into my life as a painful part of a healthy whole." (p.57).

I'm trying to find that "healthy whole" one day at a time. And I'm so grateful to have the gift of friends who knew and loved Heather, and those who didn't, to process through this unwanted, unexpected, but nonetheless soul changing loss with.

Human Trafficking, Fall Conf. and FL

Highlights from the last few weeks:

We completed a week of Human Trafficking awareness with a few other ministries on campus. This included display tables in the Union, a guest speaker, a movie showing, and some evangelism training.
Before this event I knew very little about human trafficking. It seemed like something that happened on the other side of the world. I was shocked to learn that it happens in our very own state, maybe even in our own quaint little town. It is estimated that 200 women are bussed in every year and forced into prostitution at the various hunting lodges during pheasant hunting season.
The Mall of America is considered "the factory" where many disadvantaged youth are lured in with the promise of help. Another way they get girls is by posing as a modeling agency and then forcing them into the porn industry. America is the biggest importer of porn which more often than not uses women and children who are there against their will.
I was left with the question, what can I do? This problem is so big and it is hard to come up with tangible things that one stay-at-home mom can actually do to make a difference. One small thing we decided we can do is no longer purchase coffee or chocolate that is not Fair Trade (for a list of companies click on highlighted words). Most of the coffee and cocoa beans imported are harvested by enslaved children. These children aren't just forced to work, they are often abused, molested and raped.
I used to think that fair trade just meant the workers were paid a fare wage, now I know there is much more to it. My favorite coffee stop, Starbucks, isn't 100% fair trade but from what I gather I think they are at least working on it which is more than many companies are willing to do.


The Gang from SDSU


Getting ready for the annual Ultimate Frisbee Tourney
Oct. 23 - 25 was our annual fall conference. It was at a new location this year to accommodate the growing number of students. I think (but my mommy brain is fuzzy so don't hold me to it) that about 400 people were there. Maybe more? It is always interesting having kids at a conference, waiting in lines for meals, late bedtimes, sleeping together (when they actually did sleep), etc. On the whole I was glad for a few good conversations that I had with some people, but that is about all I think I can expect to get out of a conference in this season of life. And I'm okay with that. I wonder what my kids will remember from these times. I hope they have fond memories as they look back on these experiences. I worry that they feel looked over or I'm too tired and stretched to really be meeting all their needs the way I "should". I don't really think that is the case, that is just what I get anxious about when my guard is down. It was a lot of fun housing with some good friends and their kids and we had extra hands helping us with the kiddos which was a real blessing! I was especially encouraged to hear from one woman that she is considering going overseas next summer after hearing about opportunities at our conference.

Once we returned home we had about 2 days and 10 loads of laundry (seriously, where does it all come from?) before heading off to MO. Hubby was going to be at another conference out of state so he was kind enough to drop me off at my best friends for a visit and fly out from there. Single parenting is so much easier when you have other kids and adults around! We had a wonderful time and I think hubby did too (how could you not in FL?).

Alas, it is always soooo good to be home again. I'm so thankful for safe travels, a van that got us there and back, and a cozy home of our own. I feel really out of touch with my everyday life and things on campus but that will all come back into focus soon enough.