Tropical Storm Nicole

Well we may need an ark by the time this system has passed through. It has been crazy. We ended up with a flooded basement, the emergency personnel of the state closed schools early and then as the rain died down this afternoon the winds started to blow. It was muggy and sticky this afternoon definitely confirming the "tropical" part of the storm. And the rain is to continue this evening.

Our basement is wet and the landlord is working on a solution, both for the current situation but also so it doesn't happen in the future. We had a few things get wet, but nothing of great value. It is amazing how fast it happened. Aaron had been downstairs about two hours before going down and finding the flooding. More than anything right now it is just an inconvenience.

Here are a few pictures:

The basement.

5 Inches of rain in about 12 hours and more to come.

The wind really picked up during a break in the rain.

Emma-isms

After she set the table: "Grandma, I gave you a knife so you can cut my meat."


As her brothers were getting in trouble (to Daddy): "They don't listen very well." (pause) "I have trouble with that sometimes too."

A storm came in right at bedtime and the kids and I talked about how big God is and that He is watching out for us and protecting us. We prayed that God would cover our house with His hand. The next day: "Daddy, did you see God's hand on our house last night?"


She was hanging out at work with me for a bit and we were having a staff meal so she joined me. My boss came up and said, "Emma, can I sit with you?" To which she looked at him and growled. "GRRRRRRRR"

She is really into dress up again though it is usually with accessories. Her favorite thing to do is wear her dress up high heels and jewelry. She showed Daddy her beautiful outfit and he lifted her up onto the couch. He was teasing her about her shoes being on the couch, to which she replied, "Daddy these are NOT outside shoes. They are for pretty."

She was supposed to be taking a nap but was playing, so I stood in the doorway to watch. She was playing with her princess barbies. She lifted up Cinderella's dress and in a shocked voice said, "Cinderella has a butt!"

Oh yeah, that's my girl. She is almost 4 going on 12. She definitely keeps us all laughing. We love her and her "-isms" to pieces.

A rambling post

This last week was filled with much fun and adventure as well as many long and difficult times. This post will focus on the fun and adventure.

My mother flew out last Saturday night to spend some time with us and also to surprise my grandfather. On Monday night we attended a banquet for the organization my mother works for, CE National. At this banquet my grandfather was honored with an award, "The Faithful Servant Award." For many years he has given of his time and energy to serve others in many many ways. The impact he has made for the Kingdom is amazing. He began to suspect that something was up when he arrived at the banquet and there was a table reserved just for our group.

But he did not fully understand until the moment his name was said.

Realization

Reading the certificate

It was such a great night to honor such a great man. I love my Grandpa!!!

We had another first in our house on Monday as well. Stephen lost his first tooth. It fell out at school and they gave him a little treasure chest to put it in and bring home. He was so excited. I am just happy to say that it only took the "tooth fairy" 4 nights to remember to take care of it. It is actually a bit difficult to see that one is missing as the adult tooth had already appeared behind the baby tooth. (Now Emma is determined that one of her teeth is loose too.)

The boys all participated on Thursday in the district "Run for Fitness" which is a fundraiser for the high school and upper middle school's cross country teams. Each class is divided by boys and girls and then they run those groups at staggered times. Stephen ran a 1/4 mile length while Jack and Alex ran a 1/2 mile. It is was interesting to watch how they did. The boys love to race each other and often times they will run just for fun. Jack especially loves to run. However, none of them placed in the top 5 (which would have qualified them for a county race in a few weeks) but they all finished.

Today Aaron and I attempted to go and get our driver's licenses and have our plates transferred. We found out that PA has some crazy ways of doing things. Needless to say that after driving through two counties and to three different places we finally found out all that we needed as well as the order in which things have to be done. So Saturday will be the day. We are armed and ready. It will be official that we are Pennsylvanians tomorrow. (Unless we run into more issues with PA's system of making motorists crazy.) :-)

On other notes of interest or not...it has been HOT. I love summer but I am ready for fall. After all it is football season. After a week of getting a taste of fall like temperatures this week has been a scorcher, with temperatures far above what is normal, by about 15-20 degrees. Tonight the temperatures are not to get below 70. On another note, the leaves are beginning to change. It is going to be absolutely gorgeous in the next few weeks. I am looking forward to getting some great pictures. As we were driving all over today, we drove one of my favorite stretches of road since I was a little girl. As we drove through that area, Aaron and I had a great little chat about the amazing God we love and serve. His handiwork is on display. Creation speaks of Him.

And to close this crazy rambling post, I couldn't have this post with out my baby's picture. She is a little cheese ball. And she is going through a stage where she is constantly asking for her picture to be taken. (She knows my phone has a camera so the request pops up at crazy times.)

And finally here is another picture from the banquet that I just could not resist posting. Our family loves food and when we gather it is usually centered around food. In fact it has been said recently that we migrate and graze, emphasis on the grazing. Oh how I love my family and of course FOOD.

Psalm 25

Lord, I worship you.
My God, I trust in you.
Don't let me be put to shame.
Don't let my enemies win the battle over me.
Those who put their hope in you
will never be put to shame.
But those who can't be trusted
will be put to shame. They have no excuse.
Lord, show me your ways.
Teach me how to follow you.
Guide me in your truth. Teach me.
You are God my Savior.
I put my hope in you all day long.
Lord, remember your great mercy and love.
You have shown them to your people for a long time.
Don't remember the sins I committed when I was young.
Don't remember how often I refused to obey you.
Remember me because you love me.
Lord, you are good.
The Lord is honest and good.
He teaches sinners to walk in his ways.
He shows those who aren't proud how to do what is right.
He teaches them his ways.
All of the Lord's ways are loving and faithful
for those who obey what his covenant commands.
Lord, be true to your name.
Forgive my sin, even though it is great.
Who is the man who has respect for the Lord?
God will teach him the way he has chosen for him.
Things will always go well for him.
His children will be given the land.
The Lord shares his plans with those who have respect for him.
He makes his covenant known to them.
My eyes always look to the Lord.
He alone can set my feet free from the trap.
Turn to me and show me your favor.
I am lonely and hurting.
The troubles of my heart have increased.
Set me free from my great pain.
Look at how I'm hurting! See how much I suffer!
Take away all of my sins.
Look at how many enemies I have!
See how terrible their hatred is for me!
Guard my life. Save me.
Don't let me be put to shame.
I go to you for safety.
May my honest and good life keep me safe.
I have put my hope in you.
God, set Israel free
from all of their troubles!

This weekend our senior pastor resigned and our church is now processing this loss. This is the passage that I have been dwelling on over the past few days. May you be blessed by it as well, no matter what kind of day or week you are facing.

Today I am thankful for...

...the opportunity to teach in chapel this morning. It was fun to spend 30 minutes with the kindergarten thru 5th grades of Lititz Christian. I had a blast.

...the lunch date I had with my daughter, in which I found out that she thought her Uncle Ben was sick. Why else would we always talk about doctors when we talk about Ben? It was humorous to see the light come on when she realized the HE is the doctor.

...the time I had on the phone with a friend earlier this week. She is also in Children's Ministry and it was fun and encouraging to talk things thru with her.

...scented candles that help to cover the smell of pigs (our rental house is right next to a hog farm). If the smell is outside and even when the wind changes direction and the windows are open it's usually not that big of a deal, but every once in a while the smell lingers in the house. (Plus add in the smell of growing boys who have gym every other day-WHEW!!) Candles are my friend.

...the blessing of being a mother. It is the hardest job I have but it is the most rewarding. I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world. I love my children and I am so thankful for the blessing each one is to me.

The View from Here...

Is pretty good!!!

His mercies are new every morning.

Weekend Ramblings

This week, though shortened by a holiday felt extra long. Maybe it was cramming extra work into 4 days instead of 5.

I am thankful the weekend is here though. But as our weekend took off things took a turn that we weren't planning on. My Grandfather ended up in the hospital for the second time this week. So my Friday evening ended up being busy with checking on him in the hospital as well as taking care of his car. (He was rather distressed that it was still in the eye doctor parking lot with the windows open a bit.) I spent a good portion of my evening going up and down 501. (Major road thru Lititz.)

Today has been good so far. Other family and friends are taking care of checking on Grandpa as I wait to see what the doctors say. If they discharge him, I will be going to get him later, so for now we are hanging out at home, close to our phones.

We are looking forward to some good tennis (US Open) and then a good football game this afternoon. GO BIG BLUE!!!

I have had a twitch in my eye for about a week and it is really getting on my nerves. I also must have pulled a muscle during the move and my arm is still a bit sore at times. Maybe I should be in the hospital too. :-0

Tomorrow is a work day for me and while I love my job, it is the most stressful day of the week. I am glad that the NFL season is upon us as I am looking forward to finding a sweet spot on the couch tomorrow afternoon. GO PACK!

Anyway, no matter what the next few hours or days hold, I am thankful for my family. We have been enjoying time together today and I really couldn't think of a better way to spend the weekend.

Perspective

Lately in various ways I am being reminded that perspective is a powerful influencer. Our perspective is not always accurate. In fact sometimes it is downright wrong. Often times our incorrect perspective is tainted by our assumptions about the "rest of the story" or by misunderstanding. Sometimes our perspective is clouded by "the moment" and the difficulty of our situation.

As the Director of a ministry area, my perspective is different than that of a parent or volunteer. My perspective as the "newbie" on staff is different than those who have been on staff for a few years. In these situations it would be easy to discount the perspective of others and only consider what I think to be best. Over the past few weeks I have intentionally sought out others who have different perspectives to help me form policies and procedures that can be effective.

But the fact of the matter is that my perspective is just that MINE and the perspective of those I have sought out is THEIRS. My goal should be to have the perspective of Christ. I should be trying to see others through His eyes, loving others with His love, serving others by His power. When my eyes are fixed on Him, I find that my perspective on things in this world shifts. I don't see agendas, to do lists or disgruntled people. I see a purpose and a plan that He is putting together. I see hurting people in need of love.

It's interesting because God used a vine to remind me of this idea. You see in the landscaping at our rental house there was this very weird looking vine. As Aaron and I were looking at it, we actually talked about getting rid of it.

The sad thing is that on that day I could only see a part of the plan for this vine. Had I gone ahead and gotten rid of this bizarre looking plant I would have missed the big picture and potential of this plant. The beauty that this plant held.

I am so glad that God has a broad and eternal picture of each of us. I am so glad that His perspective of us and our lives is not shaped by a bad day, but rather by the potential and plan He has in store for us. I too want to have a broader perspective as I deal with people or develop curriculum or design a set or bulletin board. I want to have the mind and attitude of Christ. I want to reach my potential for Him.

Labor Day Weekend (and a party)

We had a great weekend. It started Friday for the boys as they did not have school. They got to spend the morning with Daddy, watching a movie. Emma actually had school and since I had to take her, I ended up staying at work and getting caught up on things.

That evening my in-laws came into town. They made great time, even pulling a trailer full of stuff that didn't make it during the original move to PA. We took them to one of our new favorite restaurants. It was great to see them and spend time with them.

Saturday morning we unloaded and found "homes" for the stuff that Larry and Margo brought with them. We then went to Friendly's for lunch and then on to "That Fish Place" which is a giant pet supply store that also carries a large variety of fish. From there we split up and Margo and I headed to the mall while the guys and the kids came back to the house. After an afternoon of shopping, which included last minute birthday shopping, we all went to Oregon Dairy for dinner. (Yes I think I gained about 5 pounds this weekend.)

Sunday dawned bright and early for me as I headed to work. Aaron actually went in with me, so the kids came to church with Larry and Margo later in the morning. Margo got lunch ready and then we got everything ready for Jack's birthday party.

Jack's party was a lot of fun. His presents included gifts from family that could not be here in person. He got lots of Lego's and a huge marble track kit. He was thrilled. We enjoyed cake and ice cream and good friends and family.

Later we all worked on different things and then ate the leftovers from Friday night.

Monday morning Larry and Margo headed back to IN and we enjoyed a whole lot of not doing anything. Aaron did put up the tree swing that he and Larry had gotten over the weekend. We enjoyed some family football fun in the backyard. And the boys completed every Lego kit and the marble track all by dinner time. Over all it was a productive day of not doing much of anything. Just what Labor Day should be like.

Here are some pictures from the party:

Jack and his cake...

One of the 7 Lego's kits he got...

This dog rolls around on the ground laughing...

Jack and all his presents...

Jack is 9!!!

Today is the birthday of my second son, Jackson Dean. He is 9 today. It is hard to believe how fast time has gone.

In honor of Jack's day, here is the Jackson Top Nine:

1. His laugh. It is seriously the best laugh there ever was.
2. His sense of humor. He is silly and bizarre.
3. His love of all of God's creation.
4. His heart for others. He has a gift to connect with other children and people, young and old.
5. His self confidence. He is not intimidated by anyone or anything. He knows who he is and is confident in himself.
6. His love of animals. He is happiest when he is learning about animals and not just everyday animals but special species. He can rattle off bizarre and interesting information about a lot of animals.
7. His laid back, care free spirit. Very rarely does he get uptight or upset about things.
8. His hugs. He squeezes hard and in those hugs you know you are loved by this precious boy.
9. His prayers. He always volunteers to pray and boy can this kid pray. His prayers are from his heart.

There are many more things that make Jackson who he is. I thank God for the joy and blessing of being his mother. I look forward to seeing all that God has in store for him. I believe that he has the amazing potential to do amazing things for the Kingdom of God, I look forward to seeing it happen.

Happy 9th Birthday Jackson!!!

Today I am thankful for...

...my kids smooth transition to school. The boys have tomorrow off (extended holiday weekend) and so their first week is complete. They all love their schools, teachers, and classmates. So far things seem to be going very well.

...the routine that school brings. I love having a schedule. We all seem to do better as a family when there are consistent expectations.

...hurricane Earl coming up the coast. While I am praying for the safety of the many of people being directly affected, I am thankful for the cool weather that will come as a part of this system. We are also in need of any rain that it may produce. It is hot and dry here as it is many places right now.

...the conversation at the dinner table that was the result of talk about the coming hurricane. We were able to talk about hurricanes and tornadoes. But then we also were able to talk about the fact that no matter what is happening around us (weather or otherwise) God knows us and the number of our days. No matter when that day comes the only thing that matters is that we know God and have Him in our hearts so that we can live with Him in Heaven.