Wishful Thinking

I love how kids see the world, especially on Groundhog Day. I briefly explained to the kids this morning with breakfast about Groundhog Day. When I picked up our daughter from Kindergarten the excitement had built. She exclaimed, "Mom, do you know it's a holiday today?!" She was sure there wouldn't be any mail because "the postoffice doesn't work on holidays." Then it occured to her, "We need to have a party and make special food!" This really humored me. (What foods are traditional for Groundhog Day!?!)

As if this wasn't humorous enough, later in the afternoon I picked up our son from school. Typical post-school chatter. I asked him, "Did you talk about Groundhog Day?" He matter-of-factly replied, "Yeah...I know all about it. The groundhog saw his shadow...and now there's gonna be 6 more weeks of school." Good luck buddie...try 16 more weeks of school!!

Little Man's Point of View

I was getting the kids ready for Christmas Eve services tonight. Everyone was bathed and putting on the nice clothes I laid out. I put a wool sweater vest and shirt on my little 4 year old and combed his hair nicely. Only moments later I saw that his hair was a mess and the vest was gone. When I asked him about it he simple said, "I don't wanna wear that 'hair-suit'!" How could I argue with that...we left the wool vest behind.

Funny Kids

Some recent funny quotes from my kids:

I gave my 4 year old some tic-tac's on the way to pick up his sister at school. When she got in the car he informed her, "I got some tic-tac-toes and you didn't get any!".

On the ride home she told me all about the "pil-a-grims" and religious "purse and cute shun". Then she ask me, "What is that anyway?"

My big 7 year old informed me recently that he's just about as smart as I am....and that He almost knows everything. Hang on to that as long as you can buddy! Pretty soon you'll be feeling like the rest of us.

They make me laugh; they make me cry;

They fill me up and completely drain me.

The paradox of parenting...

My Little Clown

He turned 4 a couple weeks ago, unbelievable! He surprises me with his profound words. Here are a few recent ones:
- "I wish I was a man before I was a kid."
- "God is a big boy. He made the whole wide world."
- "Mommy, you're pretty like a crystal."
True to costume, he makes me smile and laugh. And, I'm still uncovering the unique layers of my little clown.

The Tale of a Turkey

The last few months have been a little lean, the longest we've ever gone without a pay check. God and I have been talking about this regularly and He has some creative ways of providing...

I was excited to hear how much company was coming... three weekends in a row! And then it occured to me, "How am I going to feed all these people?" (Sound familliar?)

Later that day I saw a sale advertised at local grocery store for $8 turkeys!! I'm no expert, but it seemed like a pretty good deal. I went to the store right away... on a mision to the meat dept. When I ask the worker where the $8 turkeys were, HE actually laughed at me. Then He replied, "That's just something we advertise to get people in here. The few that we had were gone in under an hour!" I was so disappointed.

What now God? I only walked a few steps more for my answer. Another meat dept. employee asked me if I was finding everything okay. I replied matter-of-factly, "Yeah, everything but the $8 turkeys." To my surprise the man said, "Just wait here." A moment later he came back with a turkey... not just any turkey...we are talking totally huge-fill up half my cart-monster bird!!!!!!!

I made roasted turkey, turkey sandwiches, turkey hot dish, turkey noodle soup, .... and all for 8$!!! The masses were fed and I still have some left in the freezer. It was like the loaves and fishes story told in a modern day Tale of a Turkey.

Our Fall Garden

We planted everything September 1st. This week we have been harvesting leaf lettuce, spinach, and arrugala. Next month we hope to have fresh snow peas, green onions, carrots, and some yummy herbs. We'll have to wait until early summer for the strawberries. This is a fun project that both Jason and I really love. If you live nearby, drop in for a salad! :)

3 Little Monkeys

Since the kids were climing up the walls at our house anyway, I took them to "Rope World" set up in a school gymnasium. They had all kinds of climbing things set up...with lots of padding on the floors. Yes, that is the oldest monkey at the very top of the gym ceiling. He climbed to ring the bell several times and did the zip line UPSIDE DOWN.
The littlest monkey liked the rope swing and the zip line. He also just generally enjoyed roaming around and climbing what ever he wanted.
The middle monkey showed off her balance on the rope bridge. I was surprised that she showed no fear of any activity; she tried them all! The moral of this story is when you are raising three monkeys, it is best to get them to the jungle as often as possible. :)

Multiple faces of "The Three"

"The three" at Tiff and Slado's wedding....they had a blast. They were so excited to be dressed up and with so many of our dear ones from Bosnia. Rachel kept asking when they were gonna kiss. Jacob slept thru the whole ceremony...and only awakened for CAKE! Brent told several strangers how much money he had and exactly how he earned it.
A normal sight for the last two and a half months.... "the three" in the back of a tiny SUV traveling...traveling...and traveling. I told them one day that we would be going 7 hours and they replied..."that's ALL!" :)
At the Tiger safari (Okalahoma City) with Mommy and "Uncle" Donovan...it was a great day. Lots of "danger", like feeding the tigers and touching many animals. "The three" thought the baby kangaroo was the best.

Trophies of Motherhood

Being a mom is the "best, hardest, most fufilling, depleting, longest, but goes-by-in-a-blink" job in the world. With other careers or endevors there are ladders climbed, corporate advancements, accolades, and acheivement awards. In the last 8 years the only ladders I have climbed have been at the playground and I consider it an advancement that I haven't bought diapers for a year! The awards...well, they come in random ways and not at all when you expect. This week I noted a couple of those awards:

A suspicious grin...a uncontainable boyish giggle...a request... "Mom, I have a surprise for you in my pocket." Out jumps a toad!! Uproarious laughter... a feigned response of shock and horor...more laughter! Twinkling eyes...glowing with glee. "I got-cha that time mommy!"

Quite in the basement...still quite...w-a-y too quite in the basement. Down the stairs...thump...thump..thump... Smiling daughter. "Hi, Mommy! Guess what I've been doing?" "Ummm...I really have no idea, honey." mild trepidation....open the door...five year old pride..."Look what I did!"...relief....confusion... little blonde girl, big grin...wanting to please... "I cleaned your room for you Mommy! It sure was messy!"

Little boy...sunny bed-head...the morning groogies...wiggle into my bed. "Dood morning, mommy! I wuv you."

Can't hang them on the wall or place them on the mantle, but I've got a room full of treasures. Gleaming, shining like jewels on the dark days... priceless trophies of motherhood.

Homeless

A few days ago little Jacob sat at the counter in my parents kitchen and inquisitivley asked my dad..."Papa, why do you live here?" My dad replied, "...because this is my home." To which Jacob pondered, "Then where MY home?"

Good question Jacob. I wish I had an answer to that one. Meanwhile we bounce from one place to the next....9 States, 12 Beds,.... 100's of questions that still seem unanswerable. The future still seems blury and I can't seem to get it to come into focus. For now I will just keep listening to His "still, quiet voice"....one step at a time toward the Sheperd, trusting that what I cannot see He sees clearly.

Girl's Sleep Over

What a blast! Nail polish, rice krispie treats, pizza, movies, balloons, tickles & giggles.... Rachel was so thrilled that her local "aunties" included her in girl's night. She even stayed up 'till midnight!

Soaking in the Sun

Some shots of the kids enjoying rare February sunny day... We had a lovely afternoon with our good buddies in Sarajevo. These days are gems.

Hangin' Out

I walked through the hallway and had to laugh. It didn't even seem abnormal to have our laundry drying all around the woodstove. :) Guess I've been here too long.

Milestones and Memories

In the last couple months I've been busy living life, too busy to write about it. Some recent milestones include:

• Brent's "Spider-man" seven birthday, complete with a web cake, a first pin-yata, and a sleep over!



• Jacob can count to 10, and learned his colors & shapes!



• Rachel is my little helper and loves to help me cook (especially sweet things).



• A few family days in Austria complete with: getting lost, breaking down, 10 hours to repair van, spending the night in the van...but worth it all!



• Brent lost his front tooth :) last week.



• Rachel has been dancing around the house in her new leotard and slippers with her "Angelina Balerina".



• Jacob is facinated with his geo-train. He loves to set it up and drive for hours!



• Brent went skiing for the first time with his daddy and our Brazilian team-mates!

These are my riches, my delight.

A Normal Day

People ask me all the time what a normal day is like for us here. I am not sure that I have had a normal day...week...or month since we arrived! No two days look the same. With that said, let's look at today.

Had a big plan that included grocery shopping and a fun outing in another town....shortly after flipping pancakes for breakfast my plan flew out the window (that IS a normal day). A team mates van broke down and Jason had to drive him to another city to have the repairs made. This only took 11 hours!

Suddenly I had some time (without a van) on my hands and no plan. So, the kids and I headed into the city on foot looking for adventure. The kids notice everything on the way...bottle caps, wild flowers, stray cats, a drunk man passed out, children begging for money, a women hearding goats on the sidewalk, and a watermelon stand. We indulged in an early scoop of icecream from a street vendor, followed by a short walk to the market. We were drowned in the sound and smell of the busy market, finally choosing some fresh carrots, ears of corn, and onions. I couldn't resist buying some fresh bread and couldn't believe that a 60 year old woman cut right in front of me in line! The kids and I were tired as we turned to go home. It is quite a hike and the final leg is more than 300 stairs straight up the mountain. Jake summed it up well at the top, "I HOT!"

During the afternoon, a neighbor and her children stopped by for coffee and stayed for a couple of hours. The kids helped me pick ripe plums from our tree....mmmm...so good. They insisted that I should make "plum pie"; I'm not quite sure how to do that! I visited with a couple of other neighbors over the fence, one of whom is a known witch. During the afternoon, Rachel let her imagination go wild and drew some really original pictures. One was of a kind horse named "skee-bo", another of a princess and her pink castle, and one of our family riding on a camel with 4 humps touring the great pyramids of Egypt.

After his nap, Jake asked me for some juice. I said, "Just a minute." He replied, "Don't 'Just-a-minute-me!'." Needless to say we had a "discussion" with the wooden spoon. Brent was busy spying out the sweet corn patch, pointing at each one that was ready. He is kind of like the "garden gaurdian", keeping unwanted chickens, birds, and brothers out of the patch. We ended the day with a sweet corn feast at 9:00pm. That is a good supper, right? Well, that is a glimpse of our normal day. The one thing I know about tomorrow...it won't look anything like today.