Saturday Afternoon Thoughts

We've enjoyed a laid-back Saturday.  Juliette had a little birthday party to go to this morning, and is now enjoying a much needed nap.  Our town is having their holiday parade and festival this evening, so all of us have just been enjoying a couple of hours of rest and relaxation before the big shin-dig. 

I've used this time to catch up on a few of my friend's blogs.  I came across this great entry from some friends of ours who have a daughter that was born with special needs.  It is such a precious testimony of God's faithfulness to them during their journey.  If you have a moment, read it.  You'll be glad you did!

So many dear friends and family members have called, text, e-mailed or messaged us over the past few days.  What a blessing to be surround by so many people who are faithfully lifting us up in prayer.  It is making a difference - we certainly feel buoyed!

My aunt and I were talking yesterday about how easy it is to get wrapped up in our own sagas.  I've certainly been guilty of that the past few weeks! As we were waiting in the pre-op waiting room and my mind was consumed with keeping Juliette content (and contained!), there was a little boy who caught my eye.  He looked a little bit younger than Juliette, but was pale and listless.  For more than an hour he lay nearly motionless on his mother's lap - clearly quite ill.  The only time I saw him move was to vomit.  His parents were very young looking, and the fear that I felt in my heart for my child looked like it was a hundred times more intense for them.  They were eventually whisked away by the nurses, but the vision of that little boy has not left me.  I am so thankful for the reminder that there are so many others who are in much worse situations than ours.  It certainly makes me realize how much we have to be thankful for! If you say a prayer for us tonight, please say one for that little boy too.

For years now I've had a book on my shelf by Elisabeth Elliot called, "A Path Through Suffering - Discovering the Relationship Between God's Mercy and Our Pain".   I think I originally bought it to give to someone else, but it has sat unread and ungifted upon my shelf for about 10 years now!  I've been reading it in small, digestible snippets the past few weeks.  It is certainly not light, easy reading.  If you don't know Elisabeth Elliot's first husband was a missionary who was murdered by the people he was ministering to.  She also lost her second  husband (to cancer, I believe).  She knows what suffering is all about - and she also knows the unfathomable depths of God's mercy and grace.

I'll be honest, like most people, I'm not too fond of talking about the "minor key" of life.  As Christians we are called to joy and hope and peace - and I'd rather forget about the suffering Jesus also promised (John 16:33).  We aren't supposed to be surprised when life on this earth doesn't always go like we expected - in fact we can expect difficulties, trials, and pain.  But under Christ's perfect orchestration those minor chords can create a glorious melody of triumph, victory, and glory. 

Here is a paragraph that has resonated with me today: "He wants to transform every form of human suffering into something glorious.  He can redeem it.  He can bring life out of death.  Every event of our lives provides opportunity to learn the deepest lesson anyone can learn on earth, 'My present life is not that of the old "I", but the living Christ in me' (Gala 2:20).  When our souls lie barren in a winter which seems hopeless and endless, God has not abandoned us.  His work goes on.   He asks our acceptance of the painful process and our trust . . ."

Whatever we face next week, whether it is major or minor, that is my prayer - that God will use even this to His glory.  May we be willing to embrace all that God has to teach us during this part of our journey.  No matter how long winter is, in Christ, springtime is guaranteed! 

Juliette Update

Seth is on the phone right now, and he just said what I've been thinking for days now: "It's been a long month!"  And today was definitely a long day too.  We have a lot to be thankful for - and a lot to pray about.

We kept Juliette up late last night, and decided to go ahead and drive down to The Big City and get a hotel.  She slept in (just like we hoped), so she only had thirty minutes to wait with no food or water before we checked into the hospital.  She asked for a "nack" (snack) a few times, but it really was a non-issue.  Praise God! I was dreading an I-want-breakfast breakdown. 

We did have a breakdown, but it was over not getting to play with a toy car in the pre-op room.  I guess that sort of thing should be expected from a sleep-deprived two-year-old.  Otherwise, she did great through the procedures today.  They put her under general anesthesia for both the biopsy and the CT scan.  The only issue she had was waking up - particularly because she was so sleep deprived.  Not that I can say that I blame her.  At one point both Seth and I wanted to just crawl in bed with her and join in the napping bliss.  Like I said, it has been a long month! 

With that said, we are very thankful that everything went so well with the procedures today.  In fact, she was bouncing around and happy as a lark this evening.  God is good!

But we still need a lot of prayers.  The radiologist that did the biopsy said that the "mass" has definitely grown in just the two weeks since we had the ultrasound.  What previously looked like two inflamed lymph nodes has now "morphed" into one giant lump.  He said that it could still be a viral infection of some sort (with atypical symptoms) or it could be something much more serious.  We will just have to wait for the pathologist's report - which we should have hopefully sometime next week. 

So we wait again.  Down on our knees, expectantly hoping for the best, surrendering ourselves to God's perfect will.

It's hard.  It doesn't seem fair.  I've cried more this month than I have for probably the past 12 months combined.  But I also believe that God is using this whole experience to bring about a new season in my faith walk.  If nothing else, it has certainly been a great exercise for my soul.   

"Therefore we do not lose heart. . . .For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Cor. 4:16-18

Thanks for all of your prayers, love, and support.  We are truly thankful to be surround by such a supportive group of friends and family! 

Fall Fun

Today is the first of November.  Seriously?  Now that is spooky.  It seemed like it was just the first week of October a few days ago.  At the rate time is flying by I should have finished my holiday shopping two weeks ago, because Christmas will be in a half-an-hour. 

Besides some minor miscommunications (haha!) - this fall has been quite fun.  I've really enjoyed my part-time job at the school.  We've gone on several fun field trips, and had some great learning experience days - everything from learning about the legislative process to making our own scratch plate prints to playing chemists.  I started a little blog for all of the parents/students to follow: fridayenrichment.blogspot.com

We've also had a great time with our MOPS group.  Here are some pictures from our meeting this week - got to love the kiddos in their costumes: 

And look as this cutey-patootie!

Last weekend we took a road trip and met up with Seth's parents.  They took Juliette to the children's musuem while we met up with a dear friend of ours and went to our first ever pro-football game. 

Our team played atrosiously - but we had a great time and enjoyed some good laughs. 

It's been a fun fall, and with the glorious weather we've had I'm pretty sure it's my favorite time of year!

Better Than A Not-Me-Monday

This weekend Seth and I had a communication mix-up to beat all.  We have had plenty of these before - but this one definitely takes the cake.

Hunting season started on Labor day, and seeing that it has two more weeks until it's over, a lot of wives on the High Arid Plains are feeling a little stir crazy these days - myself being no exception.  Seth also agreed to help hang gutter at the church building on Saturday, so his weekend was very full.  So while he stayed up late Friday night loading his gear, and left the house early Saturday morning to squeeze in as much elk hunting as he could before hanging gutters, I stayed home to try and recover from the stomach bug that has been haunting our town for several weeks now.  Besides being sick and a bit stir crazy, Juliette and I also had an off-week.  She had more temper tantrums and defiant moments over the week than she has had in her entire life- it's like someone told her she was two or something - and being sick I had little patience for it.

So after a day of feeling puny and trying to corral a very active, stubborn, and whiny child - I called Seth and told him that I needed him home NOW!  He said that they needed to finish, and I didn't bother telling him why I was so upset, but just hung up the phone in a huff.  At that point I decided to try and feed Juliette dinner.  She didn't like what I offered her, and she was upset that we didn't have any milk, so I decided to put MYSELF in a time-out and went into my room and shut the door for a few minutes.  Realizing that she still wasn't getting what she wanted, Juliette proceeded to bang on the door and cry even louder - resulting in her knocking a picture off the wall. 

At the sound of the crashing glass, I rushed out of my room, scooped her up, and decided we both needed to get out of the house for awhile.  I'd clean the mess up later - when I had regained my patience. 

We hopped in the car, grabbed a snack from the convenience store, and proceed to drive.  There was a road that I'd always wanted to explore, and I had heard rumors that it went to a neighboring town, so we took off down the dirt.  At one point I realized that I'd left my phone behind in my hurry - but I didn't think much about it.  The whir of the wheels and the Veggie Tales Sunday School Songs soundtrack soothed Juliette into contentment, and I drank in the breathtaking vistas punctuated with the last of the fall foliage.  Finally - a little peace!

In the meantime . . .

Seth decided that my desperate phone call, accentuated with Juliette's screams in the background, might mean that something was seriously wrong - so he left the church building and headed home.  On the way he tried to call me a few times, but couldn't get through. 

When he got to the house, he noticed that my car was gone, that Juliette's food was on the table, and that there was a huge pile of glass shards in the hallway.  Instantly he thought that one of us must have gotten hurt.  He looked for a note - but of course there wasn't one.  He tried calling my phone, only to discover that I'd left it behind.  Clearly, her injuries must have been so bad that she's left everything behind in her hurry to get to medical care - he thought. 

He drove down to the clinic, but didn't find us there.  He noticed the ambulance was out of the station - so that worried him even more.  He called our friends, our doctor, the emergency room in the neighboring town, the police dispatch, everyone he could think of.  And of course, they hadn't seen or heard anything about me or the accident.

Finally, he decided that we must be in route to the emergency room, so he took off to the nearest one (45 miles one way!).  When he got there, we were no where to be found.  I'd disappeared.  He worried that maybe I went to the next biggest town's emergency room, but he admitted that it just didn't make a whole lot of sense. He decided to head back to the house to regroup. 

In the meantime . . .

Even though we had such a nice, peaceful drive, I was quite perturbed when I drove into our driveway and noticed that Seth was not home.  It had been several hours since my initial SOS call, and he still wasn't back.  Humph - I thought to myself - I better get a big apology out of this one!

I unloaded Juliette from the car, settled her in the living room, and started cleaning up the broken glass when I heard Seth come through the door.  Honey, is that you?  Are you all right?  Where have you been?  I thought something was really wrong.  I thought you or Juliette were really hurt! The words poured from his lips, as the look of concern melted from his eyes.  As he relayed the story - I couldn't help but stop rehearsing the You-Owe-Me-Big-Time-Buddy-Speech I'd been playing through my head for the past few hours.

You what? I asked him.  You did what?  He had to start his whole story over again.  But why did you think we were hurt? I asked, putting slivers of glass into the black plastic bag.  He explained it yet again, and as I looked at the circumstances from his eyes, I couldn't help but giggle.  Oh honey - what a mix-up!

He had to call our friends and tell them Juliette and I were okay.  I had to explain to the police officer that visited us a few minutes later that not only were we okay, but we'd never been hurt in the first place. Seth had to admit that he sort of went a little overboard.  I had to apologize for being so rude, for forgetting my phone, and for scaring him so unnecessarily.  We both had to laugh.

Seth preached the next day in a neighboring town.  As we were driving along, I asked him what his topic was, and he looked at me and grinned. How about 'Communication,' he teased.

Humor Me

Humor me a minute . . . but I need to vent.

Tonight Seth and I attended the open forum our town was holding for all candidates who were running for state and local office.  The good news was that the attendance was up - compared to the forum that was held prior to the primary elections.  And our town is small, and our county pretty sparsely populated, and there were a lot of other events going on tonight - BUT SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, WHERE WERE YOU? 

I get that politics isn't everybody's forte.  I understand that people are disillusioned and frustrated by what they've seen and continue to see in Washington - or even at a state level.  But candidates don't just get their jobs magically - they get there because of voters just like you and me.  And if we blindly go to vote and have no idea who we are voting for, or recognize the names on the ballot, or have a face for that name, or any clue about what ideas might be rolling around in the brain behind that face - aren't we just as guilty for the state of the nation as those who make the decisions?

And to my generation who was woefully underrepresented tonight - SERIOUSLY, WHERE WERE YOU?  I know we are busy with our careers, and raising children, and watching the Biggest Loser but we are adults now - it's time we started acting like it.  It's time we stood up and accepted our civic responsibilities.

I don't watch CSPAN on a regular basis - I've never contributed to a campaign - and when I turned eighteen I didn't register to vote in time for the election that year.  But seriously, I do believe there is value in being an informed voter - and when the candidates come to our backyard, surely we all should jump at the opportunity to get to know them a little better.  SO, WHERE WERE YOU?

I hope I don't have to complain about the attendance at tomorrow night's local candidates forum.   I'd certainly hate to ask you to humor me again. 

Sometimes We Just Need To

Juliette lightly bumped her foot against the sideboard, and she ran to me with huge tears welling in her eyes, as her voice reached an all-time record on the whiny scale.  She is generally pretty tough when it comes to things like this, but she was having an off day, on top of being hungry and tired.  I was feeling exhausted, and I was tempted to briskly tell her that she was okay, and that she needed to stop her blubbering.  And then the thought occurred to me, "I'm the one she runs to". 

What a thought . . . what an honor!  When she is hurting she wants me to hold her, she wants me to rock her, she wants me to kiss her boo-boos and stroke her back.   She wants me to tell her that everything is all right.  She wants to know that I care, that I love her, and that I'll be there the next time she needs comforting.  

As I scooped her up in my arms, and lavished as much love as I could on that stubbed toe, I suddenly caught a glimpse of how our Heavenly Father must feel when we come to him with our bumps, scrapes, and emotional wounds.  He, being the Perfect Parent, actually can heal our life-owies, and I don't think He every runs short on patience or tenderness.  He wants to be the One we run to - and He is waiting with open arms.  Oh to be childlike enough to run to Him without a moment's hesitation, with complete and wild abandon - confident of His comfort, secure in His love.

Sweet little Jewel, you teach me more and more about Jesus everyday.  I sure am lucky to me your mama!

~~~

"As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you . . . " - Isaiah 66:13

~~~

Before we got married, a very wise, married man pulled Seth aside for some words of advice.  This man is a salt-of-the-earth, quiet-mannered car mechanic.  He is unassuming in every way, and yet he is one of the most gentle, caring servants I've ever known.  He is not the type to spout out opinions, so when he pulled Seth aside, Seth listened carefully. 

Since I wasn't there, I don't know exactly how the conversation went or the exact words that were said, but Seth told me later that our friend said something like this:  "Sometimes girls just need to cry.  They don't need a reason and you don't need to try and make them stop or fix' anything.  Just hold them and let them cry.  Sometimes they just need to do that." 

EVERY man needs to hear those words.  Because I'm pretty sure EVERY girl has moments like that.  At least they do around this house.  And EVERY time those moments come, I'm so thankful for an unassuming, salt-of-the-earth mechanic who took a few moments to share his wisdom, and for a husband willing to listen to sage advice. 

Words of Wisdom

"Life is too short to refrain from eating jam out of the jar."

- The Mountain Goats, "Jam Eater Blues"

Cake Know-How

So in researching how to make an Elmo Cake I came across this great website: http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/

This site is an open forum for individuals to post pictures and how-to steps for cakes that they've created.  Everything from animal and animated cakes to vehicle cakes and sport themed cakes.  They had over 7 pages of Elmo cakes alone!  It was very helpful to browse through other people's ideas and suggestions, and I definitely think I'll be checking out their site next time a novelty cake is requested. 

But if the amount of times Juliette has asked for Elmo cake since her birthday is any indication, I may be making the same cake for years to come.

Not-Me-Monday: Parenting Adventures

This week Juliette did not decide to expand her artistic repertoire to include such mediums as our beige ottomans.  And espying our beige furniture "decorated" with dark ball-point pen, I did not throw a fit that would make any two-year-old jealous.  I did not act like they were expensive, irreplaceable items that had been in the family for centuries  instead of cheap, poorly made footrests that were already championing some stains from Seth's late night snacking.  Nope, not me!

At Juliette's preschool's open house, she did not try to eat the plastic cheese.  I did not try to discreetly smuggle the pretend food away from her and into the back where I rinsed it off either.  Not me!

I did not let Juliette "help" can peaches by merely giving her a bowl full of pits and peels.   She did not then proceed to eat the peels and suck on the pits.  That's just cruel.

Later I did not find that she had managed to get her hands on a "real" peach, only to apparently find it rather boring.  Certainly not.

Juliette is not obsessed with rocks.  I do not find them littered about my house, nor do we have to stop every fifteen feet whenever we are outside in order to let her pick up and closely inspect a "better" rock.  They are not stacked up on our porch, nor did I actually find one this week, the size of a orange, rolled up in her sheets.  I did not add "check bed for rocks" to my mental list for her bedtime routine.  Nope not me! 

Parenting is most definitely not full of adventures! 

Birthday Celebrations Cont.

No matter how many different options I gave her, no matter how I posed the question, Juliette's answer to what type of cake she wanted was always, "Elmo Cake". So here it is:

After all, this may be the only year she wants a furry, orange, big-nosed smiley face for dessert.

Birthday Celebrations

Before I was a mom I had all of these ideas of how I was going to do things. I know that this probably won't come as a complete shock to all who knew me before I was a mom. And it probably won't come as a complete shock to all who met me after I was a mom. But there is a part of me that wants, wishes, okay REALLY, REALLY HOPES that becoming a mom has made me a better person - a more relaxed person, a more flexible person, and do I dare say it . . . a more fun person.

The "before I was a mom" person had certain ideas about motherhood and parenting. Including some very specific ideas about birthdays. Don't laugh . . . I'm totally serious here. In my previous personhood mind I felt like it was wrong (yes, wrong!) to always through large parties, buy elaborate presents, and make a big to-do over a child's birthday. I felt strongly that this only encouraged materialism and taught the child that it was okay to buy into our commercialized society.

But that was before I saw this . . .


. . . my little girl full of anticipation over opening her birthday gift. Don't get me wrong, I still want her to learn to appreciate the simple things. I still want her to learn the value of having a content heart. I want her to recycle, reuse, and repurpose. But honestly, right now I'm just enjoying watching her rip the paper.

Like I said, motherhood has changed me.

Guess Who?

Guess who . . .
. . . turned . . .

two!!!!

Not-Me-Monday: Pony Tricks

This week I did not drive past the following site:


Nor did I turn my car around so that I could get another look at the dog perched contentedly on the horse's back.

And the best part was not the dog. . .

. . . but the cowboy giving his horse a beer. Get a kick out of life on the high, arid plains? Nope. Not me.

Why was Seth Wearing a Swim Cap?

Why was Seth wearing a swim cap? Because he is a good husband.

Why was Seth wearing a swim cap? Because he was testing it out.

Why was Seth wearing a swim cap? Because he loves me.

Why was Seth wearing a swim cap? Because he is willing to look like a dork for my sake.

Why was Seth wearing a swim cap? Because he was willing to spend our anniversary doing something I wanted to do.

Why was Seth wearing a swim cap? Because he wanted to practice swimming with it for the triathlon we competed in as a couple for our anniversary this year.

Yep that's my man- that handsome hunk trying to squeeze his head into a not-very-attractive, nor very comfortable swim cap. Boy do I love him!

Swimming Fun

This summer our little Jewel-bug turned into quite the water bug.

But before we swim, Seth has to get his swim cap on.


Keep trying babe!

Yeah - success!

I think that deserves a kiss!

Now it's time to practice! Kick, kick, kick . . .


Let's quit taking pictures and swim mom!

Alright, we can go home now.

First Day of School

Juliette's off to school - well, actually it is just a toddler play group at the local preschool - but I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a few pictures of her with her new backpack.

Have fun precious little Jewel!

Summer Camp

This summer Jewel and I were blessed to attend NCCC. This is a Bible camp for preteens and junior highers, and it is something that I've been privileged to be a part of for many years now. Four of my siblings were campers this year, so we had a great time together worshiping and learning of God together. Juliette had the time of her life being doted on by a whole camp of kids.

Here we go - we're on our way!

Wake Up Everyone! Mornings at the Outdoor Chapel

Seeing a large bear walk through the middle of camp was a first. Sorry no pics on that one! But we of course enjoyed great singing, hilarious skits, a few pranks, and a lot of Jesus.

Camp means even more to me now, as a parent. It is so valuable to have a week full of fun, faith, and fellowship - a week that allows young people the opportunity to interact with each other and with their Creator.

The thing that made this year so special was that many of the counselors were young adults who had been campers the first couple of years I worked at NCCC. What a blessing to see them serving the Lord and ministering to a new crop of campers. God is good!

"For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." - Psalms 100:5

Juliette Swinging with Aunt Hannah

Goodbye Summer - Hello Posts

Obviously it has been a quiet summer on the post front. But as soon as I figure out how to download pictures from my new(ish) camera, I'll have lots to say. With gloriously warm(ish) days behind us, I'm determined to get back in the habit of writing posts on a more regular(ish) basis. So stay tuned!

Not-Me-Monday: Exhibitionism and Sharp Objects

This week, while visiting with a friend at a restaurant, I did not turn around and find my daughter topless. She did not figure out how to take off her shirt - and she certainly didn't feel comfortable doing such a thing in public. Not my daughter!

I did not pick out a light tan color to paint the interior of our rental house that is probably more pink than tan. I did not spend all weekend trying to talk myself into the believing that it looked tan. I do not make terrible paint choices. And I have not made an I'm-sure-this-will-look-good-on-the-walls but it ends-up-looking-peachy-pink paint choice before. Not me!

I did not talk my husband into competing in a sprint triathlon for our anniversary. Especially since the race is three weeks away, and I've only half-heartedly been training, and he hasn't been training at all. Nope, not me!

Seth didn't give me a lengthy justification for why he "needed" a fillet board so that he wouldn't cut himself when cleaning fish, only to stab himself in the hand not more than 10 minutes later. Oh the irony! We did not panic either,and proceed to driving our truck to the ER without strapping down the bed full of boxes, groceries, that had a bike and a playhouse precariously perched on top of it all. Seth was not more worried about me turning the corner too fast and losing our Clampit-like load, then he was about the blood spurting all over him, his clothes, and me too! No way!

I did not finally take away Juliette's beloved pacifier. I do not think it was probably harder on me than it was on her. But after a few fussy bedtimes and a road trip without it, I do not think I've she's finally kicked the habit. While cleaning out the truck this weekend, I did not find another "bip" (pacifier) and actually contemplate for a few minutes giving it to her. I wouldn't think about sabotaging a week's worth of self-control. Not me! Definitely not me.

More Seattle Wedding Pics

Some of my cute cousins and me

Stealing Daddy's Heart Hat

Seattle Adventures Part 2

Did you guess that the pictures in the post before last were atop the Seattle Space Needle? This one was taken there too.



We were only in Seattle for the weekend, but we invested in CityPasses while we were there - basically you pay one affordable price for entrance into 6 different tourist attractions. The passes are good for nine days, and they are definitely the way to go, because you don't have to wait in line at the ticket offices - but can go right to the entrance gates. Apparently there are CityPasses for most major cities, so Seth and I are going to check them out next time we go traveling. It's a great way to see the sites for a lot less!

So besides the Space Needle, we also enjoyed visiting the Sience Fiction Musuem and the Music Project. There was an amazing sculpture there -

I of course had to take some pictures of it to show my students. Before we headed off to the other attractions, we took some time to enjoy the pier . . .

. . . and daddy's, uh . . . I mean Juliette's favorite food.

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

"When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet, this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships."

- Anne Morrow Lindburgh from Gifts From the Sea

(Juliette playing in Key West - January 2010)

Do You See What I See?