Ruth has been one of my favorite books of the Bible since the first time I read it. I was trying to remember how I was, and I think I must have been like 10 or 11. I remember that we lived in Riverside, we were reading thru the books of history, I remember using mnemonics to remember the names in the story. Elimelech...a big E licking a limo. Orpah...went back home to her ma or pa. Naomi...one horse says to the other horse "Neigh, owe me". Funny that I still remember them, but I guess that means it worked.
I have been thinking about the story this week, and there are lots of things that I am excited look into.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
SHHHHHHH! it is a secret!!!
My brother is proposing to his Girlfriend tonight. It is exciting and strange all at the same time. Ed and Jesse have been dating since the end of September, and he has been planning this night since October...so in a way it is all happening very fast. But also, they have been friends and a part of each other's lives for years now, so really it is just the natural timing of two lives being drawn closer by God. However you look at it, it is beautiful. But what is really strange is how sad I am. Not about Jesse joining the family, I love her, and she is perfect for Ed. I am sad because my relationship with Ed has to change. Now I know that our relationship already went thru this type of change once before, when I got married. But because I was the one getting married, I did not feel the the change, for me it was the best of both worlds...I got Ed as a friend, Dave as husband, and they got to be friends too...what was there to be sad about. I now understand how Ed felt. I miss him already. Yeah, he still talks to me about stuff, but already there are things that he would have come tome about, that he has gone to Jesse with. It is right and good that he did...but it made me see that I have been moved around in order of priority in his life. Here is the thing, I know that it is right! I have spent five, almost six years moving the priorities in my heart around, leaving and cleaving. I guess I just did not understand how much other people felt the leaving part. I am trying hard to look ahead to the new family that will grow out of their coming together. I know it is going to be great...and Ed and I will build a new friendship based on us both being married. So, tonight I am going to be happy for Ed and Jesse, and rejoice with them.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Week Off
So Dave took the week off work. It is great. I love having him home for all the little things, breakfast, nap time, etc. Today we went out for breakfast and then went to the mall, and then watched tv and movies. Perfect day off. The hard part of it is that because it feels like vacation, getting everyday things done is really hard. I have three baskets of laundry sitting in the living room, waiting to be folded, down stairs is a wreck...well only half a wreck cause Dave cleaned the and organized the kitchen. There are so many little things that I need to do, it is just is really hard to focus.
Next week my mom and I start reading and posting together. We are starting with the book of Ruth. It is one of my favorites. We are starting there to look at the back drop and history of David. It is going to be good.
Next week my mom and I start reading and posting together. We are starting with the book of Ruth. It is one of my favorites. We are starting there to look at the back drop and history of David. It is going to be good.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Santa is coming to town
I love getting to experience Christmas thru Seth. It has put so much joy back into the holiday for me. It is also teaching me about faith. Seth's belief in Santa is absolute. Last year he asked for a lightning McQueen bike, and there was no maybe, no wait and see. That was what Santa was going to bring. Which meant that Dave and I had to make it happen...(we did, and it was great). The strength of his assurance has stayed with me all year. It is a very vivid picture of "faith like a child". When I look at it, I ask myself, do I believe in anything that way? For him it is so simple, dad and mom told me this, so it is true, so this is what is going to happen. it should be that way with me, my heavenly Father told me this, so it is true, so it is going to happen. But all to often I find myself caught up in the what if's of life looking at everything but my fathers' eyes. I want to be like Seth;I want to believe in Santa.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Lucy & Sleep
The don't seem to mix. Her naps are 45 minutes, on a really good day she might sleep 1 1/2 hrs. She rarely sleeps in the car...and pretty much always wakes up as soon as the car stops. We just, as in the last week, got her to start sleeping 8+ hrs at night. And just when I thought I had her in a good pattern, tonight she wakes up after 3 hrs, and did not resettle herself...I had to go in twice...in fact she is still whining... This is really unusual. She goes to bed at 5:30, and even when she was waking 2 times a night, she slept till 11 or 12...It is strange. I feel like at the beginning we had fewer hard nights with her...she got her days and nights sorted out a lot faster then Seth did, and learned to go to sleep on her own a lot faster...but this sleeping thru the night thing...feels like it is harder...maybe not she has night cried for 45 minutes + that Seth did, when we were sleep training him.
Some day she will sleep...she maybe a teenager...but she will sleep.
Some day she will sleep...she maybe a teenager...but she will sleep.
Monday, December 19, 2011
A new year is coming
So it is that time of year when Dave and I look back at our year and make goals for the next year. 2011 has been a crazy year...we knew it was going to be. We knew that we were going to have a baby, and that would be a big change. We knew that we wanted to move, but we not sure when, or where. We both felt that the season at church was going to change and we would be more involved, but we did not know how that was going to look either. Dave felt like he wanted to have a more influential role at work, but again did not know what to do to make that happen.
I remember standing in the shower thinking and praying about all of these things and feeling the bigness of the year. It was like standing in the ocean and feeling the water being sucked out to the next wave. You may not see it forming yet, but you can feel all the energy, and you know that when it forms it will be big. I could feel the energy that each of those changes was going to bring, and how God had good for us in each area. But I could also feel the challenge that each one would bring, it was like a promise of being stretched.
We did not have to wait long for the waves of change to start hitting. The first week of the year Dave's job changed. Talk about challenge, everything about it was challenging to one of us. For me the hardest part was what the schedule change. We went from knowing unless there was a late meeting, Dave would be home by about 5:30 and would eat at 6, to Dave being home a different time every night. Sometimes he was home at 4, sometimes 7. Also he started taking training classes for his job, which meant weeks out of town, and overnight stays. Those are hard on both us. But it has been really cool to see God move in Dave, and his job. He has been able to see that work is place for leadership and ministry, not just a place to fill up his time till he can live his "real" life.
Next up was deciding what to do about our house and moving. We both were done living in Garden Grove. The grace to drive 20 to 45 minutes for everything in our life was gone. We both felt isolated from people, and lonely. But because of the family deal aspect of the house we could not just move, first we had to find out if anyone in the family wanted the house. OI VAY!!!! That was a roller coaster ride if I ever saw one. Dave talked to one uncle, and no they don't want it, so good we put it on the market and sell it, and then he talked to another uncle, and he wants the house, so we see what he offered...six weeks, several frustrating conversations, and lots of family drama later, he does not want the house and then we are back at square one with putting the house on the market and selling it. Once we actually got to that stage, a lot of the stress lifted...it was the being in limbo that was really hard, the going back and forth every other week. But once we knew we were listing on the open market, and we being to take those steps it was a lot easier. And God was so amazing in his grace and provision for that process. He led us to the perfect listing agent. We had and offer in the first week, and even though the first offer fell thru, she had another one within a week or two. We did have to keep the house ready to show at anytime, but actually was not as bad I thought. Our agent was really good about calling first to set an appointment, and I really only had to say "no, not now" a few times. And Dave's parents had their cleaning lady come help us for the month or so that the house was being shown. That was the BIGGEST help. All I had to do was pick up mess, she did a big cleaning once a week. And God opened the door to us to move into the perfect house. In fact, I really think that God used the house falling out of escrow to adjust our timing to move, so that it was line when this place would be available. Because, I told God that this is the place I wanted. It was one of the things, that I as soon I heard that Brian and Tanya were moving at the end of June, and that is when we were going to be moving too, I knew, I just knew that is was where we suppose to live. It took awhile to feel at home here, but now I love it!
Overlapping with the moving process was the tail end of being pregnant and first 3 months of having a baby...so many hormones over those 6 or so months, I am not even sure about all that happened. All I know is that there were lots of tears. This second pregnancy was a lot harder than Seth's was. But I think that had more to do with life's circumstances than the actual pregnancy. Right at the end, on my due date in fact, I was driving to my appointment and complaining to God that I was still pregnant, when I heard him say that the "delay" in Lucy being born was answer to my prayer about being able to have an uncomplicated VBAC...that my body going very slowly into labor was part his plan, and him saying "yes" to me for something else. But it was still really stressful. But when labor happened, it was perfect, really perfect. I was watching a show yesterday where someone was having a baby, and I was remembering that amazing feeling of excitement and joy when I held her for the first time...awesome. Even pushing was beautiful...once I thru transition and could use the pain for a purpose. I think that I am getting to that point of being able to think about being pregnant again...I may not be able to say I am ready for another kid, but the thought a life inside of me is beginning to be exciting again. And my Lucy is a joy! I can't imagine life without her.
And as for church, well moving to Brea has meant just being closer to everything in our life, and that has made things like leading a home group, Dave doing Porterbrook, me staying involved in Mommy Co, doable. Another way that the feeling "being more involved at church" has manifested is being a part of the new Deacon team that was installed a couple months ago. Not sure yet what will be different about deacon then what we were already doing, but it was just one of those things that I knew was right. This was what we were supposed to be doing. Also I am mentoring. That is different than I expected...even though I did not know what to expect. I think it is going well...or a least she seems to think it is going well...I don't really know that I have done anything yet.
So, yeah, it was been a very full year. A year of much change. And that change has required a lot of growing up. But it has also been a year of a lot of joy, and of seeing God's faithful hand in every area our lives. It is really wonderful to be able to look back at this year and see that the waves that I was anticipating have not only come, but we have been able to ride them, and ride them pretty well.
Now it is time to think about next year...
I remember standing in the shower thinking and praying about all of these things and feeling the bigness of the year. It was like standing in the ocean and feeling the water being sucked out to the next wave. You may not see it forming yet, but you can feel all the energy, and you know that when it forms it will be big. I could feel the energy that each of those changes was going to bring, and how God had good for us in each area. But I could also feel the challenge that each one would bring, it was like a promise of being stretched.
We did not have to wait long for the waves of change to start hitting. The first week of the year Dave's job changed. Talk about challenge, everything about it was challenging to one of us. For me the hardest part was what the schedule change. We went from knowing unless there was a late meeting, Dave would be home by about 5:30 and would eat at 6, to Dave being home a different time every night. Sometimes he was home at 4, sometimes 7. Also he started taking training classes for his job, which meant weeks out of town, and overnight stays. Those are hard on both us. But it has been really cool to see God move in Dave, and his job. He has been able to see that work is place for leadership and ministry, not just a place to fill up his time till he can live his "real" life.
Next up was deciding what to do about our house and moving. We both were done living in Garden Grove. The grace to drive 20 to 45 minutes for everything in our life was gone. We both felt isolated from people, and lonely. But because of the family deal aspect of the house we could not just move, first we had to find out if anyone in the family wanted the house. OI VAY!!!! That was a roller coaster ride if I ever saw one. Dave talked to one uncle, and no they don't want it, so good we put it on the market and sell it, and then he talked to another uncle, and he wants the house, so we see what he offered...six weeks, several frustrating conversations, and lots of family drama later, he does not want the house and then we are back at square one with putting the house on the market and selling it. Once we actually got to that stage, a lot of the stress lifted...it was the being in limbo that was really hard, the going back and forth every other week. But once we knew we were listing on the open market, and we being to take those steps it was a lot easier. And God was so amazing in his grace and provision for that process. He led us to the perfect listing agent. We had and offer in the first week, and even though the first offer fell thru, she had another one within a week or two. We did have to keep the house ready to show at anytime, but actually was not as bad I thought. Our agent was really good about calling first to set an appointment, and I really only had to say "no, not now" a few times. And Dave's parents had their cleaning lady come help us for the month or so that the house was being shown. That was the BIGGEST help. All I had to do was pick up mess, she did a big cleaning once a week. And God opened the door to us to move into the perfect house. In fact, I really think that God used the house falling out of escrow to adjust our timing to move, so that it was line when this place would be available. Because, I told God that this is the place I wanted. It was one of the things, that I as soon I heard that Brian and Tanya were moving at the end of June, and that is when we were going to be moving too, I knew, I just knew that is was where we suppose to live. It took awhile to feel at home here, but now I love it!
Overlapping with the moving process was the tail end of being pregnant and first 3 months of having a baby...so many hormones over those 6 or so months, I am not even sure about all that happened. All I know is that there were lots of tears. This second pregnancy was a lot harder than Seth's was. But I think that had more to do with life's circumstances than the actual pregnancy. Right at the end, on my due date in fact, I was driving to my appointment and complaining to God that I was still pregnant, when I heard him say that the "delay" in Lucy being born was answer to my prayer about being able to have an uncomplicated VBAC...that my body going very slowly into labor was part his plan, and him saying "yes" to me for something else. But it was still really stressful. But when labor happened, it was perfect, really perfect. I was watching a show yesterday where someone was having a baby, and I was remembering that amazing feeling of excitement and joy when I held her for the first time...awesome. Even pushing was beautiful...once I thru transition and could use the pain for a purpose. I think that I am getting to that point of being able to think about being pregnant again...I may not be able to say I am ready for another kid, but the thought a life inside of me is beginning to be exciting again. And my Lucy is a joy! I can't imagine life without her.
And as for church, well moving to Brea has meant just being closer to everything in our life, and that has made things like leading a home group, Dave doing Porterbrook, me staying involved in Mommy Co, doable. Another way that the feeling "being more involved at church" has manifested is being a part of the new Deacon team that was installed a couple months ago. Not sure yet what will be different about deacon then what we were already doing, but it was just one of those things that I knew was right. This was what we were supposed to be doing. Also I am mentoring. That is different than I expected...even though I did not know what to expect. I think it is going well...or a least she seems to think it is going well...I don't really know that I have done anything yet.
So, yeah, it was been a very full year. A year of much change. And that change has required a lot of growing up. But it has also been a year of a lot of joy, and of seeing God's faithful hand in every area our lives. It is really wonderful to be able to look back at this year and see that the waves that I was anticipating have not only come, but we have been able to ride them, and ride them pretty well.
Now it is time to think about next year...
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Christmas is almost here!!!!
OMG!!! Christmas is around the corner and I have sooooo much to do. Finish shopping for the kids, start shopping for everybody else. Make cookies and decorate them, and now Dave is adding that he wants to do additional cookies on Christmas eve with the boys. I have to get Christmas cards...tomorrow morning is Seth's Christmas program, and then Danica (my mentee) is coming over, and then I really do need to go shopping. Saturday is Wicked!!!! Yay, I am so excited about that. Friday night and Saturday morning Dave has Porterbrook, and yay Erica is finished with school tomorrow...CRAZY MONTH!!!!!
Oi I am overwhelmed.
Oi I am overwhelmed.
Friday, December 9, 2011
New Year's goal
So my mom and I were talking this morning and we decided to work on series of blogs together starting in the new year. What we will do is read the same scripture passage and the each respond to it on our blogs. We both need a goal and something to write about, and having someone work with you gives you accountability...so I am very excited. For now she is writing about Christmas...you can read it here
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