Celebrating Anyway

Sometimes life isn't easy.  Sometimes it's just plain tough, and you have no idea how to get through the next hurdle that comes your way.  Can we still celebrate in the hard times, when our heart's just not in it?

This week had some definite ups and downs.  There were 4 students from the high school my school feeds into that were involved in a car accident a week ago.  Two were killed.  This event has had a major impact on the students in that high school (our former students) and their siblings (some which are currently in our school.)  It hurts to lose them.  It doesn't make sense.  I know we serve a sovereign God, and that all things work together for the good of those that love him, but right now we're hurting.

Daniel has also struggled this week.  A little bit of congestion quickly turned into difficulty breathing, a doctor visit, and breathing treatments at home.  On the way home from the doctor, Cris's truck was damaged in a hit-and-run accident.  Add to that some aches and pains from overexerting myself at camp this week, stress of the impending medical and repair costs, continued monitoring of Daniel, and you get some long, sleepless nights.

This is one of those weekends where the unfairness of life was really getting to me.  I could choose to embrace the misery or celebrate the good.  It's so easy to rely on our life circumstances to dictate our moods.  It's a lot harder to find joy and strength in spite of the storms.  I'm sure glad I don't have to do this on my own- my track record is full of anxiety and depression.  Here's what God has given me...

"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)  I have much to be thankful for this week.  (1) My family IS here, and we aren't promised health, or even a tomorrow.  (2) The truck is drivable, and all the electronics seem to be working.  (3) We had enough money for Daniel's medication.  The doctor visit, nebulizer, and truck repairs will go through insurance and be billed later, to be dealt with later.  There are plenty of things to worry about, but not today.  Although I may not be able to see how our issues will be worked out, I know they will be.

"The joy of the Lord is our strength."  Nehemiah 8:10.  Joy is not the same as happiness.  Happiness is that fleeting emotion that is dependent on our circumstances.  When things are great, we are happy.  When things are not, we aren't.  Joy is that peace we get in the really tough times, being able to smile when we are hurting and grieving, and forgiving someone who has hurt us.  We can do this through God, but it's really tough without him.

This weekend took a deliberate act of surrender- setting aside our burden and relying on the joy of the Lord.  God is bigger than my mess.  He's stronger than all the unfairness happening.

By choice, I took Alyssa to a school celebration she had been looking forward to all week while Cris took care of Daniel at home.  On Saturday, I followed up with pumpkin pancakes (eaten in our pajamas, of course!)   Cris and I took turns with Daniel's breathing treatments and taking naps (we both needed them!)

Later on Alyssa and I played board games, made pumpkin blondies and peanut butter pumpkin cookies to share, and read books together.

Daniel was the recipient of hugs, snuggles, and tickles.  He especially loved the attention from his big sister.

Look out world.  You may have dealt us loss, a tough economy, and unfair circumstances, but you haven't won.  Our family is smiling and celebrating anyway.

The Ordinary Things

I'm going back and forth between grading papers, folding laundry, and guiding the kids to bed- the ordinary evening "stuff."  Daniel and Alyssa seem to feed off each other as peals of laughter come from the other room.

 

Right now, Daniel makes the cutest sight- a baby in a sleeper- the "feet" pajamas that are so adorable.  It's been so hot, we've not had him wearing these for months.  Now the sleepers are back.  This time, Daniel is more snugly and wiggly than ever before!

He's been crawling around on the bed, checking out the empty laundry basket, the mountain of pillows, the blankets, and anything else that catches his eye.  He's always busy, always moving.

Sometimes the ordinary is really quite special!

Pumpkin Carving

This evening, I had a great time carving a pumpkin with Alyssa and Daniel.  I realize many Christians don't celebrate Halloween, but I'm choosing to make it an opportunity to share my faith with my children and our neighbors.  Ephesians 5:15-16 tells us to "be careful, then, how you live- not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil."  I think this season can be a great opportunity to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21.)

I first heard this story when I was in elementary school.  I was attending an evening service at North Cheyenne Baptist Church and one of our deacons carved a jack-o-lantern and told this story.  The lights were dimmed, adding to this simple message of being a light in a dark world. 

Being a Christian is a lot like being a carved pumpkin.  God has picked us out and changed us, just like we would pick out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.  Sometime we may appear to be good or perfect on the outside, that's just not true.  We all make mistakes and we sin.  "Oh Lord, you have searched me and know me." Psalm 139:1

God scoops out our sin, the yucky pulp from inside us.  This represents all the wrong things we have done, the selfishness, our evil thoughts...  We are changed on the inside.  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away.  Behold, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

Then he carves a new face for us- smiling to reflect the peace, joy, and hope we have in him.  

He places his light inside us, so that others may seem him in us.  "You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden."  Matthew 5:14

Traveling the World

It was almost sad to take down the world map in Alyssa's room, but it had to go to make room for her new bed.  We toured the world together this summer, and kept track of our progress on this map.

We were actually participating in a free craft event Michael's held three times each week this summer.  We received our Passport to Fun guide at our first event.  Each day had a different country as a theme, and they provide materials for two crafts that represented each country.  There were also instructions in the passport for a third craft to complete at home.  We loved the idea, and embellished it with special meals, national flags, library books, and movies for a very busy (and budget-friendly) summer.

One of the free in-store crafts was always a "hat swap" craft.  I had never heard of this, but apparently it's popular in Girl Scout troops.  We went to choose an inexpensive hat for Alyssa's, but she fell in love with a tote bag, instead.  Why not?  You need a good bag if you're going to travel!  We decorated the front and added our swap items each time.  The facilitator of the event loved our tote bag, and they made their own sample like ours and proceeded to sell quite a few of these to the other regular participants.  Does this make her a trendsetter?

Our Itinerary:
June 21- Sweden (heart baskets, paper dolls, flag pin, movie "How to Train Your Dragon," read a Viking story at the library, went shopping at IKEA)
June 23- Germany (cowbell, nutcrackers, Loden hat, read a few "Grimm's Fairy Tales" at the library)
June 25- Egypt (mummy doll, hieroglyphics, sugar cube pyramid, mummified an apple, read story of Joseph and Moses)
June 28- Bahamas (flower lei pin, tropical can hug, flip flop decorating, beach theme story time at the library)
June 30- Canada (maple leaf, moose craft, ice skate craft, ate pancakes with maple syrup, read about animals in Canada)
July 1- USA (bead flag, log cabin, canoe craft, warrior shield, dream catcher, ate brisket dinner at family reunion, wore red, white, and blue)
July 5- Italy (pizza craft, suncatcher "stained" glass, ice cream craft, made homemade pizza)
July 7- Australia (koala craft, kangaroo purse, boomerang craft, aboriginal mask, watched "Croc Files" on TV)
July 9- India (elephant craft, peacock craft, henna hand craft, watched "Jungle Book" movie)
July 12- Russia (jeweled egg craft, nesting doll puppets, nesting doll craft boxes, bear pin, looked at nesting doll collection displayed at the library, read ballet story books)
July 14- France (impressionist style painting, beret craft, Eiffel Tower birdhouse craft, watched "Hunchback of Notre Dame"- free from library, put together a puzzle of the map of France)
July 16- United Kingdom (crown craft, shamrock craft, listened to Celtic music, ate Shepherd's pie, watched "Sword in the Stone", put together a 3D wooden castle puzzle)
July 19- Japan (origami, foam printing block, wooden dragon craft, paper lantern)
July 21- Greece (mosaic pot, Olympic torch and rings)
July 23- Mexico (sun craft, flower craft, papel cortado, practiced Spanish words, ate homemade tacos, beans, rice...)
July 26- China (tangrams, Tibetan sand painting, paper lanterns, read about pandas at the library, watched "Mulan" movie, ate homemade egg rolls and fried rice)
July 28- South Africa (lion pasta art, friendship bracelet, wore animal print accessories, read "The Lion King" story book)
July 30- Brazil (Rio Carnival mask, snake craft, butterfly craft, read several rainforest story books, watched "Go Diego, Go" on TV)

Our summer budget didn't allow us to travel very far, but that didn't keep us from visiting the world!

Sunday Morning Chaos

I'd really like to be able to say I could always get my family prepared for church on time and in their Sunday School classes with an attitude of worship.  Some weeks this actually happens.  Others, like this morning, can really try my patience.  I must even admit that if I was not a Sunday School teacher, I would have probably given up this morning and try again next week!

Daniel is still teething, and it seems to be a painful event that wakes him up at night, screaming.  Cris and I take turns getting up to check on him, change diapers (if needed), and massage his swollen gums with some Baby Orajel.  In the meantime, Cris and I are not getting a great night's sleep.

When the alarm went off, I was definitely not ready to wake up.  After dragging myself out of bed, I ran into a series of clean-ups involving baby body fluids, breakfast muffins, and small toy parts (that I happened to step on.)  I managed to coax Alyssa into getting into clothes and finally making it into the shower.

As I ran a brush through my hair, I checked the clock.  We should be leaving the house now.  I grab the baby, hand Alyssa her Bible bag.  Cris is heading back to the bedroom.  I grab the diaper bag, which is suspiciously light weight.  I look inside and notice the diapers are out and there are no bottles.  Normally this is refilled by Cris, but he was also trying to convince Alyssa to get dressed this morning.  I send Alyssa after diapers while I add formula powder to a bottle liner and measure water to be mixed later.  Finally loaded up with a replenished diaper bag, I head out with the kids to the car.  In the 10 feet from the garage door to the car (no, we don't park in the garage) I become drenched.  Yes, I had an umbrella, which kept my kids somewhat dry.  Daniel is in the car seat, and Alyssa is strapping him in.  I race back inside to grab another shirt for me, my Bible bag, and the diapers that managed to slip out of the diaper bag during our trip through the garage.

I am definitely frustrated and about as far from an attitude of worship as I can get.  I'm not looking forward to checking in two kids on my own after battling the torrential rain in the parking lot, and worship service- as much as I want Alyssa to behave in service and learn to worship God while I focus fully on worship, it's usually a battle with a very strong-willed daughter that requires two parents so we can relieve the other when our patience snaps.  

I did cry out, and even slammed a door on my way back to the car.  I wanted to give up, then.  I'm the teacher for my class.  Who's going to be there in this weather?  God, are you really wanting me to be there today?

Cris makes it to the door, letting me know he'll join us if I wait a few minutes.  We're already late.  Deep breath.  Cris surprised me this morning, making a last minute effort.  We have this much needed rain.  I'm not feeling thankful, but I do have much to be thankful for.

By the time we make the 3 minute drive to our church, I'm much calmer.  This is not what Sunday mornings are supposed to be, right?  I'm sorry for nearly giving up, for getting so frustrated.

Cris grabs the diaper bag and easily protects Daniel from the rain as we head inside.  It's no big deal to grab Bible bags and Alyssa's hand to race across the parking lot to the entrance.  Now we're back to the routine part- Cris handles Daniel's check-in and heads to his class.  I make sure Alyssa settles in hers before heading to my class.

As I pass through the buildings, someone says "Good morning, how are you?"  I smile- not a pasted on "I'm-pretending-to-be-okay" smile, but a real smile.  I respond, "I'll be fine, just working on an attitude adjustment."  He replies, "Well, this is the place to be for that!  We had a morning like that, too."  We both laugh as we head our separate ways.  I begin to wonder if we're not the only ones who struggle on Sunday mornings after all...

By the way, God did want me there this morning.  Despite the crazy weather, we had 4 visitors in my class.  Two girls have come several times, now.  Another very quiet girl hasn't come before, but was really needing a hug today as her dog was run over this week.  The fourth visitor was a boy- from my class at school!  Alyssa has actually been making progress on her behavior during worship service.  Although it wasn't perfect, she had her best week so far!

And the rain.  We have been praying so long for rain to end our drought.  I can't believe I let myself get upset over a little soaking this morning!  I'm so sorry for letting my morning drama get in the way of being thankful.

While I didn't get off to a good start, I ended worship with an attitude of gratitude.  I'm so glad God isn't looking for perfection when we come before him.

Fall Baking

Alyssa and I have decided last evening that we needed to do some fall baking.  We invited her friends across the street to come over and help us.  Then we planned to make some Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins and some Inside-Out Chocolate Chip Cookies.  We did our basic picking up around the house last evening.

This morning was full of anticipation!  We set out our eggs and butter to bring them to room temperature.  We swept and mopped the kitchen, sanitized the sinks, wiped down the appliances, and tidied up the living room.  Of course, Alyssa was in and out during the preparations, as she also wanted to play outside with her friends and the weather is perfect.  Finally, it's time to bake.

Alyssa went out to let her friends know it was time to begin.  Unfortunately, none of them wanted to come over right then.  They preferred to stay outside and play.

I was pretty disappointed about the possibility of not having a helper, but I gave Alyssa the choice to play or bake.  My girl chose to bake!

She's so much fun in the kitchen.  At five-years-old, she's quite independent and wants to do so many of the tasks.  She's pretty good at mixing dry ingredients on her own, and she even tried to use the hand mixer.  She held it steady and only struggled when the last of the dry ingredients were added to the wet mix, and the batter just got too thick.  She loves to wear her apron and chef hat while she helps in the kitchen.

While we worked, she told me all about the bakery and cafe she would run when she was all grown up.  I told her about the larger ovens and stand mixers she would get to use.  I wouldn't mind having a stand mixer now, as I really give this hand mixer a workout!  When we finish, she practices her displays on a platter and cupcake stand.

As disappointed as we were at first when her friends wouldn't join her, Alyssa was still very eager to share her goodies with them.  We prepared plates with samples for several neighbor families.

We ended the day with a clean kitchen, scents of fall baking filling the house, and lots of tasty treats!

Our recipes:

Inside-Out Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups white baking chips (or peanut butter chips, or mint chips...)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix sugars, butter, shortening, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl.  Stir in flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in baking chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.  Cool slightly and remove from cookie sheet.  Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.


Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place 18 paper liners in muffin pans, or spray each muffin cup with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Mix in pumpkin puree.  Slowly add flour mixture,mixing well.  Fold in chocolate chips.
Fill muffin cups evenly (about 2/3 full).  Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.  Place on a wire rack to cool.
Makes 18 muffins.

Texas State Fair

Yes, we "skipped" school yesterday and went to the fair.  Well, actually, I received a comp day for hosting a student teacher and had to take it this week, and this was the only day that fit everyone's schedule.  We did keep Alyssa home from school, but I think she's definitely getting an education at the fair.

We don't have a lot of extra money around to spend, and this month is no exception.  However, I do receive a complimentary adult ticket each year.  I am usually happy to pass it along to someone else who is attending to help them out, but this year someone thought I needed to go.  Several tickets showed up in my box at school!  I kept two and passed along the rest.  What a blessing!  We got Alyssa in for $2 with a canned food donation to the North Texas Food Bank, Daniel is free because he's under 2, and we only paid full price for parking.  Now we can enjoy our stay without dwelling on money.

After being inundated with people sharing their free samples with us, we found the Little Hands Farm for Alyssa to play in.  It was cool to show her where our food really comes from and how much work it takes to produce.  I'm not sure she understood the "work" part (she was playing), but at least she knows there are many steps involved.

We also checked out the petting zoo set up in one of the animal barns.  This time, Cris went in with Alyssa while I got to feed and rest with a napping baby.  It also gave me an opportunity to just soak it all in- all ages of people, the activity, the colors, the smells- and to savor the experience.  

We loved the Food and Fiber Pavilion.  There were more exhibits on food production.  The bees were a big hit with Alyssa, while I was more excited about free root beer and Dr Pepper floats!  Of course, there were food samples all over here- barbecue beef, jalapeno sausage, pecan toffee, and more ice cream.  They also had activities for younger kids- leaf rubbings with the forestry service, sticker "lunch" trays with school nutrition services.  

We enjoyed walking through the fair grounds, pushing a stroller, holding hands.  We had beautiful weather- sunny, very light breeze, mild temperatures.  By lunch time we made it to an area where a group of African acrobats were performing.  We pulled out our picnic lunch and enjoyed their amazing show.

Afterwards, we made our way over to the science museums.  Admission is only $1.50 during the fair.  We learned about animals in Texas, dinosaurs, beautiful minerals, optics, and a wonderful paleo lab in the basement (where the scientists were actually studying dinosaur fossils under a microscope).

I did run into a student from school who was visiting with his family.  I guess we weren't the only ones with this idea today!

After the museum, we walked by the Discovery Gardens and checked out the garden greenhouse.  The greenhouse had someone dressed up as a walking tree- GREAT costume, huge pumpkin carvings, miniature pumpkins for the kids to decorate, and the toy train display that included so many models of Texas landmarks.  This was what Alyssa liked the best on her very first fair visit, and it's what caught Daniel's attention this year!

Finally, we relaxed at a table in the shade and enjoyed the Killdares performing at an outdoor stage.  We even managed to treat Alyssa to a bag of cotton candy on our way out of the park!  

I doubt we'll get to return next year, but we'll remember this experience together!  Maybe someday we will get the opportunity to visit again.

Tummy Bug

God is so faithful.  Sometimes we receive his blessings in the most menial of tasks.

I received a call at school on Monday afternoon.  Alyssa was sick and needed to be picked up from school.  I called Cris (currently Stay-At-Home-Dad) to pass on the message, only to find out that Daniel has been sick since morning.  He texts me a list of items to get from the store- Pedialyte, Powerade, and Pepto Bismol.  I can't wait to get off work and get home!

Before I even get home, I begin praying.  I'm not a huge fan of smelly body fluids and messes related to them, so I know I'm in WAY over my head.  A song comes on the radio, and then sticks with me all evening- "Strong Enough" by Matthew West.

When I do get home, all three of my family members are now ill.  I begin a marathon of comforting and cleaning up one, and then repeating with the next, and so on.  The washing machines and bath water seemed to be running for hours!  The cycle didn't seem to end.  When I finally had a moment when everyone was resting, I had laundry to change out or fold, carpets to clean up, and bedding to change out.

I'm not saying I enjoyed the evening, or that I even got a good night's sleep afterwards, but I never reached that overwhelmed frustration point that is usually inevitable.  I also know it was NOT because of my own strength I was able to lovingly, patiently care for my family throughout the evening.  It was ONLY with the help of God I could pull this off!

I'm thankful that my family is healthy again.  I'm thankful for God's help in the process and the reminder of his work in our lives.  

The simple, powerful words that kept playing over in my mind (lyrics to "Strong Enough):

You must, You must think I'm strong
To give me what I'm going through

Well forgive me
Forgive me if I'm wrong
But this looks like more than I can do
On my own

I know I'm not strong enough to be
Everything that I'm supposed to be
I give up
I'm not strong enough
Hands of mercy won't you cover me
Lord right now I'm asking you to be
Strong enough
Strong enough
For the both of us

Well, maybe, maybe that's the point
To reach the point of giving up
Cause when I'm finally
Finally at rock bottom
Well, that's when I start looking up

Cause I'm broken
Down to nothing
But I'm still holding on to the one thing
You are God
and you are strong
When I am weak

I can do all things
Through Christ who gives me strength
And I don't have to be
Strong enough
Strong enough