Whew...what a day....

Good evening all (or good morning or afternoon),
Well, we've had an interesting few days. Nothing compared to the trials that some friends have had recently, but it's been exhausting for us none-the-less. In the midst of concern for our kiddos and the blur that comes from sleep depravity, I've been thankful for a lot of the little things (and some big things) I often take for granted...

The wee hours of Thursday morning, about 3:30 am
*Thankful for our little Evenflo monitor.
(Just went through perhaps the scariest few seconds I've had as a parent. Haddie became sick during the night. When she started crying she couldn't breath... it was awful. Finally she was ok again and I felt a small sense of security because I knew I would be able to hear her if she cried or coughed because we have a monitor in our bedroom.)

A couple hours later
*Thankful for large amounts of medical information at my fingertips in book form as well as on line and from a readily accessible phone nurse.
(Haddie was up crying and coughing again. After making her comfortable, Steve called the nurse while I looked up info on her symptoms.)

9:15 am
*Thankful for a vehicle and a wonderful, husband with a flexible schedule.
(Steve arranged his schedule so he could bring Seth to work - so I could bring Haddie in to the clinic. And he warmed up the van for us.) :)

9:45 am
*Thankful for good health insurance
(As I filled out registration slips for Haddie to see a doctor.)

11:00 am
*Thankful for advances in modern medicine
(Waited only about 10 minutes for the lab while they did a test to find out if Haddie had RSV.)

11:10 am
*Thankful for good results.
(She doesn't have RSV.)

11:25 am
*Thankful for a cell phone.
(In my haste to get Haddie in to the clinic, I left the van lights on and the battery died. I was able to call Steve so he could come and jump the van.)

11:35 am
*Thankful for store bought cookies we had left in the van.
(Steve brought Seth with and he was hungry. Normally I wouldn't have given him a cookie right before lunch, but under these circumstances, I did. I was thankful to be able to tide his hunger over till we could get home.)

12:00 pm
*Thankful for a warm home.
(We were all a little chilly after the whole van ordeal.)

12:05 pm
*Thankful for cable Television.
(While I'm not always a fan of of our kiddos watching TV, it was helpful to be able to find a good cartoon and allow our two disheveled and hungry children to watch it while I rounded up a quick meal.)

12:10 pm
*Thankful for chicken nuggets in the freezer.
(Sooo helpful to be able to throw them in the microwave so I could go back to taking care of the kids and not spend a long time in the kitchen.)


Throughout that night
*Thankful for little ones who typically sleep really well.
(Haddie was still feeling crummy and up nine times during the night.)

Right now.
*Thankful to God for healing
(Haddie is still not 100%, but she is doing a lot better.)

Lots of things to make us concerned and tired.
Even more things to be thankful for.

Fruit for the Week .....

SELF CONTROL

For the past several days I've been noticing that Seth is showing big steps of improvement in the area of us being able to reason with him when he is being disobedient. That being said, I can also see that he still gets a thrill out of pushing his sister's buttons, sometimes to the point of tears. So, I've been thinking it would be a good time to start focusing on one fruit of the spirit per week. I thought it would be nice to put some reminders around the house about the specific fruit and spend time praying that God would grow this in our lives, as well as that our hearts would be soft and obedient to His work.

I listed off the fruits of the spirit this morning for Seth and asked him which one he would like to work on for the week.

He chose SELF CONTROL.

Um, yeah.... so this is one I need to work on too!

(Recently a friend shared some of her chocolate Lindt truffles with me. YUM!! I fell in love with them.
Yesterday we were shopping and I bought a dozen of them. The scary thing is that, besides the one Steve tried on the way home, I ate them ALL by the time I went to bed last night! Oh my word, that was way too much chocolate!)

Obviously I need some work in the area of self control too! He he! ;o)

I'll fill you in on our progress next week!

PDA Patrol

For the past couple weeks we've had a little busybody around our house. She has had her nose in our business and even thinks she has the right to loudly oppose innocent hugs and kisses exchanged between husband and wife! Miss PDA Patrol has gone so far as to rush over and wedge herself between Steve and I, pushing us apart and boldly proclaiming,"No, no!" if she sees us show affection toward each other!

She also goes by the name of Haddie. ;o)

Little stinker girl! I think someone is jealous! I'm not sure what brought this on, but we're working with her on it! Anyone else had this experience? :0)

"Laughter Lives Tuesday!"
Here's a little something to lighten your day....

(This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.)

Here's Seth and Haddie - just had to throw this pic. in here because they were cracking up, so I thought it was fitting for today's theme!

"Dad on the Throne"
Our good friends Kelly and Steve recently started potty training their little girl. The following is from an email she said I could share...

"Anyway, the other day Ani saw this figurine in her bedroom (from one of Steve's colleagues) and told us that it was "daddy" on the "potty". We about died! I love how she saw Steve in the long-haired king (he does need a hair cut really bad right about now) and his throne as the potty. We still get a chuckle about it. Take a look at the picture and enjoy a good laugh too!"

He he. ;o) I love it!



Here's a few of our recent ones...

*Seth and Haddie (Three and a half & one and half years old) recently wondered into our bedroom while we were all upstairs getting ready for the day. I finished brushing my teeth and then followed them. Seth had a bra in his hand and was trying to drape it on Haddie, saying, “Here Haddie, these are for girls.”

*I enjoy cooking for our family. Although I wouldn't be able to beat out an "Iron Chef" with my meals, usually my crew seems to think the food is tasty. However, the other night we got a good laugh out of the response Seth gave to our supper meal. We were having mashed potatoes with hamburger gravy, and evidently it had been a while since I had last made this. Seth eyed the food on his plate suspiciously. He scooped a little bit onto his spoon and began directing it toward his mouth. Half way there, he startled the rest of us by shouting in a worried voice, "Oh no Mom, it's a slug!"
No slug to be found of course. Apparently in the eyes of a three year old hamburger gravy simply resembles small slimy garden creatures!

*One night Seth had a big tantrum and was throwing his toys across the room. This resulted in those toys being taken away for the rest of the night. He was very upset about that and asked me why I took away his toys. I replied that he had lost his temper, and that tomorrow he could have the toys. He responded by flailing around his bed, crying, "but I want to have my temper back, I want to have it back!" (As if it were some tangible item he had lost...) ;o)

*As I have stated before, Seth loves to take off his clothes and run around the house in just his underwear. Haddie has decided she loves to follow suit. Now, a commonly heard phrase announced in our home by two small voices is, "Let's get naked!"
Hmmm. Hopefully we never have a visitor walk in to those words! :O)


If you missed our last post of kid funnies, check out...
http://likepottersclay.blogspot.com/2008/11/constant-entertainment.html
(or you can find it on our November 23 post in our archives list)

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Something deeper...like potter's clay in 2008

Hello friends. I've been wanting to write something a little "deeper" for quite some time now, but I've been unsure what I should write, and wondering what would be interesting to all of you. Last weekend I was at a short retreat for pastor's wives and we had a time of sharing what God has been teaching us, specifically in 2008. I loved hearing what all these women had to say... so I thought perhaps that is what I would write about.


To tell this story, I have to rewind about six and a half years. It was the summer before Steve and I got married and we were at a Christian music festival. It was a beautiful July evening. The heat of the day had dropped to a comfortable level. We were fortunate to have excellent seating, and as I looked behind me, I could see hundreds of people standing on their feet, singing along with the words, hands raised high in the air as they worshiped God together. That was the night the Lord opened my heart to people in need around the world. Yes, I had cared about needy people for about as long as I could remember. But this night God made me aware that I needed to do something about it. Unconsciously I had always thought that it was an important issue... but an issue that other people would take care of. That night this notion was put to rest and I knew I was supposed to do so something. I suddenly had a tremendous burden for people who were in need - especially children. Apparently Steve felt it too, because as the music faded, he turned toward me and without hesitation we agreed that we should head over to the Compassion International booth and choose a child to sponsor together. My heart was happy because I knew this was right. I also knew that there was more. I sensed clearly that we should adopt some day.

Ok now... let's go forward to the beginning of 2008. Steve and I had already had two children; Seth who was two and a half, and Hadassah who was about seven months old (as well as two miscarriages). I found myself thinking about adoption every day. I thought to myself, "This has to be the year we adopt. It would be perfect timing to start the adoption process for an infant when Haddie was about one year old (as the process can take two years or more). Our children would be nicely spaced in age, and we were feeling quite settled in our home and careers. I brought up the "plan" to Steve and he agreed that this sounded like a good strategy. So, I began researching. I poured hours and hours into learning about what it is like to adopt internationally vs. domestically, an infant vs. and older child, from a private agency vs. from the foster care system. The longing to adopt consumed most of my free time, as well as other parts of the day. Eventually we chose an agency and decided that we would love to adopt a young child/infant from Africa.

The road block appeared as we began to fill out the application paperwork. We had both been seeking the Lord for approval on our plans and our timeline. Silence was our only reply. My heart started to sink and then plummeted as we began to understand that this was not God's timing. Gently and continuously God reminded me of His everlasting and steadfast love. But that was not what I wanted to think about. My plans were ripped apart and I was crushed. Although Steve and I both sensed that adoption was still most likely in our future (just "not yet"), I was soooo upset. I am a person who loves to plan things out, to have a list and check things off, to accomplish goals. Well, my plan was not panning out. The "perfect" timeline I had in my mind was not going to be accomplished. And I felt devastated. We have lost children through two miscarriages and I sincerely felt as if I had suffered a third. I had lost this child I had my heart and mind set on. And I had lost "control" over my life plans. Ouch. That was a hard, hard, pill to swallow....

So, what happened in between then and now, you might wonder? Many weary days, a lot of reading my Bible, and a lot of journaling what God was saying to me (not to mention lots of tears shed by me and comfort from my gracious husband). It became strikingly clear what God was speaking to me. He was telling me that He loved me with an everlasting and steadfast love. He was telling me that I needed to cling to that truth and trust Him, even (and especially) when His perfect plan and timeline for my life does not look like what I have laid out and cemented in my mind. He also spoke to me that I need to loosen my fixation on rushing to achieve my end goals. Lovingly, He has been teaching me that those goals are not what my life should be centered on. Instead, it is about walking hand in hand with Him. Together. Every day. Taking in all the amazing things He has to show me along the way.

(I included this pic. because it reminded me of "walking daily with Him".)

Ahhhhh. That picture is a lot different than the one that was happening as I hurried off without God, trying to plow my way through life and make my own goals a reality.

I am thankful to the Lord for teaching me these lessons. I know I am not done yet. And it has been hard. Last summer I truly felt like clay in the potter's hands. I needed to be remolded into the vesel God wanted me to be, and that wasn't too fun for a while... but now I praise God because I am learning how much better it is to walk with Him (and seek His perfect plan each day instead of merely asking Him to bless my plans).

One blessing I have received through this process is a better relationship with my daughter Haddie. This might seem completely silly to some - Haddie is only 19 months old for goodness sake! It is the truth though. Last year, as I mentioned, an enormous amount of my emotional energy went into dreaming about and planning an adoption. Sadly, I remember many nights of rocking my sweet baby girl while my mind was far away, focused on some unknown child (not to even remotely say that I didn't love and adore Haddie... it's just that I was so eager to have one more to love, I thought about it constantly.) It kind of breaks my heart to think about that now. I do still dream about adopting... yes, even daily. However, God has been refining my heart and mind. I feel so much more able to focus on the family I have right now, and I am more conscious about giving my little Haddie the kind of energy I gave to Seth when he was her age. Watching her respond by becoming more outgoing, cheerful and self-confidant, and listening to her begin to talk about God have been precious gifts that I'm glad I'm not missing out on.

So, this is my story about what God has been teaching me over the last year in a nutshell. My prayer for 2009 is that my soul will be satisfied in the Lord. I want to thirst for Him even more and continue to desire His glory and His plan above my own.

Thanks for reading.

Under the Lights

It was one of those nights. Steve got home from work at about four thirty and we both just looked at each other. Ahh, what to do tonight? That was the question we voiced out loud as the kids ran around our legs, joyfully proclaiming that their daddy was home. The circles under our eyes told no lies about how we were feeling. A very fun but busy holiday season had left us both feeling drained. If it had been five years ago, the answer would be simple. On a night like this, comfy clothes would be donned and we would make our way to the couches where we would lounge until it was time to crawl into bed. Not so these days. Although most nights we may not get the sleep we need, we do maintain a pretty consistent schedule for the kids, so they are usually quite rested. (Oh dear, no lounging for us tonight!)
We knew we had to get out of the house if we were going to be able to stay alert and provide Seth and Haddie with the interaction they needed. After a little brainstorming, we realized that the weather was mild and the outdoor rink in town would probably be free. Skating! Yes, that would be the solution to our "what-to-do?" dilemma.

We had a great time! (Nothing like fresh January air to wake you up!)

Steve and Seth were the only ones to wear skates. Haddie doesn't have any little enough for her yet, and I figured that I would be more able to help her around the ice on boots vs. if I were to wear my skates (My skill falls somewhere between Seth and Steve....well, ok, probably more toward Seth! Steve is a very good skater and I am not!)

Here they are in the warming house before we hit the ice. It had gotten dark by now, but the rink was nicely lit, so that was ok.

Steve and Seth. We ran into some friends and they let Seth play around with one of their extra hockey sticks and puck. He thought that was pretty cool. ;o)

Don't worry, she didn't fall! For a while Seth and Haddie were both laying on the ice looking up at the moon. That's what she was doing here!

Sooooo, about two months of winter down... how many more will we have? Hopefully we'll have plenty more mild nights so we can get out of the house and fight the urge to cover up with a blanket and hibernate till spring! He he! :o)