Moni (hello!)

You know about 2 months ago Jay & I and two other couples finished up a six week bible study on margin in your life. We agreed that when our lives are so full and scheduled everyday that there's not much room for God or what God wants us to accomplish. The idea is to say no to the unnecessary things that just gets us crazy and let God do His thing in us and thru us. Spend more time with him in the bible and be still and let his opportunities come to us. When we're so busy there's not much time for him to work because we've got our days so crammed with "stuff!". We finished the study and I felt pretty good about our schedule. We had quit tae kwon do 3 nights a week and we had softball with Sophie and occasionally boy scouts, but our life seemed settled.

Anything would seem settled compared to the lightning speed we're running now. There is no room in our busy schedules for ANYTHING to go wrong. Jay has accepted a promotion so we're moving this summer. I'm going to Malawi with Hallie. Hallie is going to college. We bought a house in 5 days and are preparing to move out of our old one. THings are busy. I'm so busy that I don't think I've really thought about moving and leaving my friends; that's probably a good thing. I'll probably fall apart after we move and things slow down. I keep telling myself that this is not forever. We'll be back and we will stay in touch with friends.

Did I tell you I'm going to Malawi? I'm leaving this Friday morning and arriving in Malawi Sunday afternoon; that's a long travel time. I don't like to fly; it's definitely not my favorite thing to do. So, why am I going around the world? I've always been intrigued with Africa. I've been reading books on the plight of South Africa probably 20 years ago. You have to read Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane; it will leave you speechless thinking about how some people have to live. As a young boy, Mark dug for food at the dump. While looking for food, he found the corpse of a newborn baby in the garbage dump. It's heartbreaking. I just want to help in some small way. All of us were given talents and if each of us used our talent to help those less fortunate, then I believe there wouldn't be so much suffering. I don't believe we can all do the same thing or that we're called to do the same thing, but I do believe we are called to do something. So, although I'm nervous I'm also excited to be part of something great! I know God is going to do some miraculous things.

love the beach

I love going to the beach with my family! It's the most relaxing vacation we go on. And, one night always ends in family pictures on the beach.

Sophie & Hallie are getting ready to give Christian a kiss and no one can stop laughing.

Hallie & Christian kept calling Sophie the princess during the whole vacation, so this picture seemed appropriate!

Too cute!

Aghhhh!

I know it's been a long time since my last post... sorry! So much is going on. We're moving to the Indianapolis area, I'm still going to Malawi, we just got back from Destin, Florida. We're in the place right now where nothing can go wrong or our schedule will totally be messed up. I don't really like being in this tight schedule. We're constantly working off of lists for each day of things we have to get done. This week we're buying a house; it makes me laugh to think of it! I'm pretty sure my grandparents would have spent months buying a house and try to decide if it was a good decision. My dad is the most layed back person you'll meet and hates a schedule. So, how did I become this hectic list making person? I think it's part of our generation and partly because I like being busy. And, maybe because where there's stress there's faith. Faith is the only thing that can get you thru the stressful times. Really, in all seriousness, I feel at peace with what's going on. I'm so excited to be a part of this mission trip and especially how things were orchestrated so that I could still go. I feel God's hand in it. And, our move, well, it's a little crazy, but I can still see God's work in it. I feel good and my hope is that when we're actually moved and our kids are beginning school and a little anxious about it that I will still have this peace that passes all understanding. I'm sure the bad days will come and I'll be in a pit, but that's when I'll have to call my Friday prayer girls and get me out of it!

graduation

Finally! I have a post. And, I have to tell you, 22 years ago when I graduated from Dover, Ohio population 12,000 we had commencement at 2 pm on the football field .... rain or shine. Well, gone are the days of yesteryear and let me prepare all of you for what is about to come in your near future when your oldest child graduates-> it is a 3 week long graduation! There's graduation festivities with your church, there's festivities for every organization that your child was involved with (chorus, drama, football, basketball - EVERYTHING!) There's a scholarship commencement during the school day where all scholarships are announced and colleges declared. And, then this is a new one for me; Baccalaureate commencement. And, finally graduation! It's exhausting.

So, not only are the festivities exhausting, although worth it for the graduate who has worked their tail off for 4 years, but it's emotionally exhausting. Each ceremony is a reminder that your child has reached their first huge milestone in life and in most cases will be moving out from under your rooftop in 3-4 months. The videos they play at all the ceremonies rip your heart out because you can see how fast time has moved. Gone is the little girl in baby fine pigtails and pink tutu. Now, I am looking at a beautiful Christian woman who is going to college 9 hours away. I'm going to miss that phone call when she would ask if she could come over for dinner or could she just pop in; even if her Dad wasn't home. Yep, I'm the stepmom and sometimes I wish I had another name because stepmom always conjures up such negative feelings. Hallie & I have a sweet relationship and I know she's not leaving just growing up, but sometimes you just long to go back in time. I held a friend's 1 year old baby and he reminds me so much of my own son and I'm proud of the man Christian is becoming, but I'd like to go back one more time and rock him to sleep in my arms and carry him to bed; at 165 lbs. I can't do that anymore!

So, don't rush this time and look forward to the future when they start kindergarten and think that you'll get to do all the things you don't have time for. Because the time is going to come when you're picking out colleges and watching your baby receive their diploma. And, those tears are going to come...

Shots!!!!

How could I have overlooked the dreaded shots. I knew the day was coming and didn't think it would be that bad; did I mention that I haven't had shots since I don't remember when.... I had one shot when I was pregnant with Christian, IV's when I went into labor and then epidurals. But, really no shots in a LOOOOONG time! I don't even remember when I had my last tetanus shot. So, off we go to BRentwood Baptist Church and get in this massive line of people also going on mission trips and needing shots. The service providing the shots was an outreach clinic and mostly retired. They were very nice, but I'm wondering if I got the right shots?! Two hours later we got our shots; I got 5 and the MMR really hurt and Hallie got 4. The nurses said that men and teenage girls kind of freak out about the shots; I assured them that after childbirth I would be fine and I was maybe a little queesy, but ok. Hallie, on the other hand, not so well. Just a couple minutes after her shots she was sitting down with her head between her knees and saying she didn't feel well. The nurses immediately got her to lay down and they gave her a sucker. Within about 10 minutes she was fine, but I was feeling a little nervous for her. Sophie and Christian were also with us and Christian decided that mission trips were not his calling from God; he was sure that God was calling him for something else local!

Anyway, my arms are sore and that's my excuse for not running this week. I've set a goal to run a 5K and I can only run 1 mile and then that's all I can push myself to do. I wish I liked to run, but it's just not my thing. I'll try to get at it tomorrow. I'll hate it if I don't reach my goal. It's just so easy to find an excuse!

Hello Dolly!

This weekend was Hallie's performance in, "Hello Dolly!" She's Dolly and she is amazing! I'm not just saying that because she's my step-daughter, but because she's got some pipes and some fabulous talent. Last night was the opening night and the high school theater was packed and she got a standing ovation. Of course, I was brought to tears along with Jay and Hallie's mom and everyone else that was there supporting her. She has worked so hard; not just for the singing, but for the choreography and the speaking part. She was phenomenal. I'm convinced she's going to be on Broadway! I don't know how she could avoid it. The costumes were amazing; much better than what we had in our old costume wardrobe at my high school and the set and everything was so professional and well done. I couldn't be more proud of Hallie than I am right now. She's amazing and I'm so glad that she allows me to be part of her life. And, if any of you are interested there's one more show Sunday from 2-4 at the David Lipscomb high school theater; you will not be disappointed!

Love your neighbor

I have to share what I watched out my window this morning. Sophie now goes to the bus stop on her own, but I continue to watch her out my window until the bus comes and picks her up. This morning was a little chilly, so she wore her heavier sweatshirt with a long sleeve tshirt underneath. Chloe came to the bus stop without a coat and I saw Sophie try to crowd around her to warm her up. And, it was just a few moments later that Sophie took her coat off and put it on Chloe. Sophie looked back at our house; I'm sure she was waiting to see the door open and me to tell her to put her coat back on and that was my initial reaction, but then I thought "no." God tells us in Luke10:27 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and Love your neighbor as yourself. Sophie was demonstrating what God wants all of us to do and I wasn't going to take away from that. Initially, I wanted to keep her from getting sick or being cold herself, but what she did was far more important than catching a cold.