Chicago

Every once in a while (like once or twice a year), the kids and I go along with Ken on one of his business trips. We went with him to Chicago a couple of weeks ago. We had so much fun! We drove up on a Monday afternoon. The next day we all had breakfast together, which was such a treat (at home, Ken is already working by the time the kids and I eat breakfast). While daddy worked, H & H swam in the pool--although Harry liked the hot tub much better. I had to limit his time or he would stay in until his cheeks were red! After getting cleaned up, we walked around the downtown area (we were in a suburb a little north of downtown Chicago), and ate lunch, window shopped, and played with the trains at Barnes and Noble. Daddy came back from doing his work and we went to see a movie, walked to lake Michigan (just a few blocks), and got some Chicago style pizza. The next morning we ate some of the most fantastic pancakes/french toast I've ever eaten and headed back home.

It was a quick trip, but well worth it. What I loved most was spending time with my kids and not being distracted by cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. I could actually talk to them! They are getting to the age where they enjoy interacting with me and each other. I love their little personalities, and to hear the way that they process life and think through things. It was such a blessing to my heart--like balm on a wound. We've had a crazy and somewhat sad summer, and the Lord knew I needed some sweet time with the three people I love the most. It was a good break, and a good reminder of what is important in life--what is lasting. I am so easily distracted by the "to do" list around me that I often forget what God has called me to do--to love and serve my husband and children, and to teach my children to love and serve their Heavenly Father. I will always have floors to clean and laundry to wash and toilets to scrub, but I will not always have these precious souls living under my roof. These children are my legacy, my offering to God--they are the work of my hands.

"So teach us to number our days, so that we may get a heart of wisdom...Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!" Psalm 90:12, 17

Farewell, sweet friends...

We said goodbye to our sweet friends, the Robsons, on Saturday. They are now on faculty at African Bible College in Malawi. Our loss is definitely ABC's gain! I will miss my sweet friend, Jessica. She has been my best friend and sister since we moved here 3 years ago. She has helped me in more ways than I can express here on this measly little blog. I can honestly say that I am a better person from her influence on my life. Our friendship has been one of God's sweetest gifts to me.

Harry is losing his best friend too. He and JJ call each other their "brothers". When we were putting him down last night, Harry cried because he misses his friend. They have known each other since they were 18 months old--they met in the nursery on our first Sunday at Walnut Creek. JJ and Georgia have been a blessing to our family--practically members of it!

We will miss them, but we know that God is going to do great things in and through them as they minister to the students and faculty of ABC and to the people of Lilongwe. If you are interested in reading about the work they are doing, you can keep up with them by following their blog: Robsons in Malawi.

We love you, Robson family! You are in our thoughts and prayers and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Love Happens...at Home Depot

Ken is out of town, giving me a chance to watch all of the sub-par chick flicks that he would only laugh at, were he forced to sit through them. Last night I watched Love Happens. As far as the main love story went, it was mediocre. However, I really liked a side plot about one of the characters who is grieving the loss of his 12 year old son. Walter, a former contractor, is guilted by his sister into attending one of Burke's (the main character) A-Okay workshops on living through the loss of a loved one. Walter has a hard time getting in touch with his emotions, but finally breaks down and tells the group that he has lost everything since the death of his son. His son died on Walter's construction site so he couldn't face going back to work. He lost his company, his wife, is working as a night janitor and can't even walk into a hardware store without feeling the death of his son all over again. As a final exercise, the whole group takes a field trip to Home Depot. In a really touching scene, all of these people who have lost someone significant to them, gather around Walter, and fill up his cart with all the things he will need to start his life as a contractor again. They all leave Home Depot a little stronger for helping Walter.

That scene reminded me of a lunch I had with some friends yesterday. One of us is going through a particularly difficult time. In retrospect, it felt a lot like that scene at Home Depot--we are all in the same boat--none of us has all of the answers or has "figured out" life. We are all, in a sense, grievers, learning to live our lives with God in the midst of pain, disappointment, loss and sorrow. But in that pain and sorrow, we know what to fill up our carts with. Through out the lunch, we just kept coming back to Jesus. Yes, life is painful. Yes, it is often not what we would have planned if we were in control. Being a believer does not automatically safe guard us from deep sorrow (actually, it often opens us up to even deeper sorrow, but that's another post altogether). But we CAN trust the One who is in control. We can look at the cross and see the extent to which He will go for us. We can look at Him and see the depth of the Father's love for us, even when that Fatherly love may not make a whole lot of sense. This is the essence of a life of faith. Choosing to see life through the lens of what God says is true. Though all of life may contradict, God does love us. He has not forgotten us. We are not beneath His notice or beyond His power to protect. He is in the business of saving us from the power and lingering effects of sin and transforming our world through His radical love.

One of the great mysteries about the love of God is how to experience it. I once heard from a youth minister back in high school that the only way to really keep hold of God's love is to constantly be giving it away. That has made more and more sense to me as I have needed others to show me God's love and as God has given me opportunity to do the same. As we encouraged our friend yesterday, we all grew a little stronger as we reminded ourselves that God is everything He claims to be and we can trust and obey Him. We all walked out of that restaurant a little stronger.

We have been busy since my last post. I'm going to have to do some "catch up" posting over the next several days! These are pictures from a wonderful visit we had with Mimi and Pop at the beginning of July. We did a lot of fun things with them. We visited a couple of parks, saw Toy Story, went to the zoo and ate some good food and ice cream. We had a fun-filled time together!

Vacation Pictures

We just returned from vacationing with my family at Hilton Head. We had a wonderful time together. The kids are getting to the age where they are able to play longer at the beach, which is so nice! They also had a blast with their cousins. We did a ton of fun things together: playing at the beach, riding bikes around the island, cooking with Nana, playing putt-putt (where my 3 yr. old niece hit a hole in one), and eating lots of yummy food. Because we were so busy, I did a horrible job remembering to take pictures!

Ken and Denver got to play golf twice. They so enjoy spending time together and I think it was especially nice to escape a house full of crazy children. :) I am so thankful for their friendship--it's really a blessing to have your brother-in-law be one of your best friends. Family get-togethers are fun for all of us!

Seven years...

of being married to my best friend. Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

Thoughts at the end of the school year...

Hannah's class had their end of the year concert (with all of the other kindergarten classes). They sang several songs and all looked so precious standing up on the stage! I have really enjoyed getting to know a lot of these children and their families this year. Hannah has been blessed to have such a good teacher. He really enjoys music (as does she) and incorporates it into all aspects of his teaching. She has matured and learned so much over the past school year.

I was reading a friend's blog on homeschooling the other day and thought I would chime in on the conversation. How we choose to educate our children is a hot topic in the Christian community. I believe that God has given us great freedom in this area. Ken and I looked into several options when deciding what to do with Hannah this year. We checked out a Christian school in our area, looked at our local neighborhood school, and also talked to several parents who homeschool. We prayerfully considered all of the options as well as Hannah's strengths, weaknesses, and personality. In the end, we felt that God was leading us to put her in the neighborhood school.

We made this choice for many reasons. We felt that the teachers and principal really cared about the students and strove to provide a safe and stimulating environment for them to learn and grow. We wanted Hannah to experience diversity among students at a very early age so that we could begin to have some deep conversations with her about loving people who are different from us. We wanted her to be in situations where she may not feel 100% comfortable, so that she could learn to lean on and trust in the Lord for herself. These all factored into our decision, but the main reason for putting Hannah in our local school was simply because we felt that God had given us a desire to love and invest in the community that He has placed us in. People in our community are intensely devoted to their children (almost to an unhealthy extent). We felt that we would lose a connection with our neighbors if we put our kids in a private school or chose to homeschool.

Loving our community has looked a lot different than I expected. I thought we would make friends easily and quickly. The first event we went to NO ONE even talked to us!!! We were at a picnic for about an hour before I chased down the only mom I had seen before. I came home feeling like a loser--and very discouraged about the task that God had given us. I prayed a lot over the next several weeks and really felt that this would be an area where I would have to sincerely trust in the Lord even for something as simple as a conversation!

We have made an extra effort to attend EVERYTHING at Hannah's school, as we are trying to forge friendships and relationships. I tried to volunteer in her room on a regular basis. We planned several play dates. We joined a girl scouts troupe from our area for some extra "face time". It has taken almost an entire year to feel connected to other moms. It has been tiring to continue to invest in relationships that are not as close or as natural as the ones that I have in my church. I have often felt a little odd and sometimes rejected as I have put myself out there! However, I can look back over the year and feel a deep satisfaction--I saw the Lord provide in some really hilarious ways to open doors and start up conversations that I know I couldn't have done on my own. People are a little harder to start relationships with here, but it is worth the work.

We are just beginning the journey of loving our community--getting to know people is the first step. I feel excited for the years to come. I know that I am doing what God has called us to do. I am being His ambassador to people who may not otherwise meet Him. I feel myself beginning to care for people that I would have never even met if we had chosen a different path. I never thought that getting outside of my comfort zone would be this rewarding. I am thankful, that even when I am uncomfortable, I am never alone. I am simply following in the footsteps of the One walking ahead of me.