Bible Class - Oh Yea!

This school year we've been loving our Bible curriculum - Veritas Press, "Acts Through Revelations". We've never used any of their stuff before (it looked liked the kind of stuff for brainiac kids, of which mine are not) but we tried it and it's great! We sing this really incredibly dumb song every day and now know the chronological order of the events of the Bible. There are questions to answer each week; a test and best of all, a project. We've made "Martyr Trading Cards", "The Sign of the Fish Mosaics", "The Conversion of Saul Dioramas" and this week, "Cornelius's Roman Army Shield." They're learning tons so I'm happy and who doesn't love crafts?!

You Can't Take it With You..unless it fits in your suitcase

My daughter Kirsten and her husband Stephen and their five kids have begun the process of leaving France and moving onto the misson field in Africa. As they prepare to go they have to decide what can't go with them....which is pretty much everything. Each of them can carry one suitcase's worth of belongings. (I'd have a hard time narrowing down to one moving van!) They have recently given up their home phone and no longer have internet at their house. Our ability to talk to each other has become almost nonexsistant and will be even more so when they get into Africa. I feel as though they are fading away right before my eyes. I miss them.
This past Sunday our Pastor talked about the end times when this world will pass away and about a new heaven and a new earth. I thought about Kirsten and Steve and how the things of this world are becoming much less for them. They are trading these earthly treasures that we seem to want to cling to for the good and eternal things of God's kingdom.

"What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away." 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

I Used To Be Me

As any mom with extreme numbers of kids (and especially kids with a lot of physical needs) will tell you...your social life pretty much stinks. I used to have friends and I actually did things with them. Adult things. Lately, my adult encounters are severely lacking. It's so bad that I've tried to strike up a friendship with the U.P.S. man as he's one of the few people who come to visit anymore. I can't tell if he likes me or if I freak him out. My best friends Anita and Adela have attempted to invite me out for lunch numerous times and I told them to forget me. I can't talk on the phone because the minute I pick it up, someone is either crying or standing in front of me waiting....who can concentrate?
Last week Anita called and suggested that while our girls had cheer practice we should slip away and have a latte. I didn't have much hope, but agreed. Yesterday Anita came by, picked us up, dropped the girls all off and we went out by ourselves. We sat outside of Panara Bread at a little table and sipped our drinks. It was quiet and wonderfully relaxing. Heaven!
There were still a billion kids there when I got home and David put Trent to bed with his diaper on backwards (which for some reason causes the urine to soak the crib sheet but not the child and he slept in longer than he ever had before) but for that hour....I was me again. Thanks Anita for not letting me disappear completely.

Girl Friends

Grace has a very good friend. The kind of friend who not only loves Grace, but loves the Lord even more. Jessie is just a great kid and I'm thankful that she and Grace are close. They met before their first birthday (in the first picture) and have celebrated the following 13 together. Jessie spent the night with Grace last weekend. She not only put up with Grace's snoring and her Adventure in Odyssey stories that she listens to at full volume because she can't wear her hearing aids to bed, but this time she also slept to the sound of the dialysis machine working away.
That's a good friend.

Wild and Crazy... Sorta

Saturday night my husband and I took our teens and a few extras and went to Awakening Fest in Virginia to see Barlow Girls and Toby Mac. The weather was perfect...a fall chill in the air. God was present, the music was great and loud. We've been taking our kids to Christian rock concerts since our 30 year old was a teen. Back then we were often up front jumping and shouting like our kids did at this concert. This Saturday, my husband and I sat in our cozy lawn chairs in our hoodies, wrapped in blankets and tapped our feet to the music. There was a little bobbing of our heads now and then and a shout out to Toby but basically it was just nice sitting and listening. The kids were happy - we were happy. Still Jesus Freaks after all these years.

Water Can Be Thicker Too

Our daughter Margie came in for a long weekend to visit. She lives in Florida but had some training with her job in Richmond, Virginia the beginning of the week. James drove down on Thursday to pick her up and we she was able to stay until today. Margie was our very first introduction to foster care. That was 18 years ago...she was 16 and now she's all grown up. James and I decided way back then that we would pick carefully just what kids would come into our home. We told D.H.H.R. that we would only take a child younger than our daughters who were 11 and 10 at the time. They brought us Margie. She walked into the room, a teenager (oh no!) and smiled at me with her beautiful blue eyes and dimples and I've loved her ever since. Margie has lived in California and Florida but has never been far from our hearts. She gave us our first grandchild, Cameron (who is now 14 and just about perfect) and later blessed us with Taylor who is 8 and as beautiful as her mom. She taught us many things...never loan money to a teen...new drivers can be very handy....drawing the line can be hard but necessary....no one is more fun to laugh with than your daughter....grown children still need you but they choose their own path and hairspray builds up on your bathroom walls. Lane and Kara made sure to visit with while she was up and it was a sweet family time.
And about the carefully choosing which kids would come here. Margie taught us that God does the choosing and He sooo knows best. I love you Marg.

Just a Little Escape

It was nearly 9:30 at night and the house was still humming like a beehive. Lights were on in every room and people were still doing stuff. Loud stuff and asking me where things were and making popcorn and I suddenly felt overwhelmed.
I slipped quietly, unseen, into the garage and climbed into the two seater convertible. Driving away I glanced back toward the house and slipped from the pulsating life into the cool night.... alone. I took the turns as quickly as I dared, feeling the car grab the road. My hair was blowing in the wind and there was no noise but the car humming as I sped further and further from home. The feeling was incredible and I was free!
Then I pulled into Kentucky Fried Chicken and picked Steven up from work. Someone had to get him.