Be thankful ~
Karen
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
This just in from the house that is constantly being "improved" . . .
Progress comes in little steps. Hopefully it will get grouted next weekend. Then comes the floor.Good job, Ben and Mike!
Be thankful ~
Karen
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
A Sticky Bean and TMI update!
Here he is in one of his rare quiet moments. It takes a full tummy, dry diaper, good air conditioning, a swing, and a pacifier to produce this. Isn't he perfect?
Yesterday Abbie and I met my dad at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. for a day of culture. Of course, that necessitates the riding of the D.C. Metro, which hasn't had such a great week, what with 9 people killed on Monday. On our way into the city in the morning, our train was in an underground tunnel when it stopped rather quickly. The operator announced that we were stopping because there was another train in front of us, to which everyone in the car replied, "Well, by all means, stop."
Then on the way home in the afternoon (during rush hour), at every station, our female operator would say, "Please stand clear of the doors. Doors closing. There is a another train behind me. Please stand clear of the doors," in a voice that bordered on panicky. Metro workers are understandably on edge these days, but I thought it was probably the safest time to ride.
Another letter from Elijah brings the news that he loves his team, hasn't fallen in the slough yet, and they've only had one SB (special blessing--a nasty job given to remind you not to do whatever it was that got you an SB in the first place). I miss that boy.
Be thankful ~
Karen
Monday, June 22, 2009
TMI update
Remember when I said Elijah was going to The Lord's Boot Camp for two weeks in preparation for his mission trip? Well, part of boot camp is running the OC (obstacle course) every day at 6 a.m. But the first time they run it, they have to get instructions first and wind up running it at 2:30 pm. When he had his first run, it was Saturday afternoon. 97 degrees in the Florida swamps. Felt like 109, according to the Weather Channel. Here he is (on the left) swinging across the slough (sounds like slew)--a pit filled with muddy, nasty water. Wish I could be there to watch every minute.
For more photos of boot camp, go to the Teen Missions website and click on photos, then Super Boot Camp.
Be thankful ~
Karen
For more photos of boot camp, go to the Teen Missions website and click on photos, then Super Boot Camp.Be thankful ~
Karen
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Man-boy leaves.
Tomorrow at 12:19 p.m. will be the beginning of the greatest adventure of my young son's life.
He's going to Teen Missions.
He's the fourth child of mine to go on a summer mission trip with TMI. I wish I could send them all every summer, and not just because my grocery bill would be drastically cut. Although that would make it worthwhile.
Our experience with TMI began in 2001, when our oldest daughter, then 14, announced she wanted to go on a summer mission trip the following year. We immediately jumped on board with that great idea, and helped her research who she would go with. Making a very long story very short here, we found that Baptist missions wouldn't take teenagers. They had no Bible college education. They had no experience. Blah, blah, blah. We were disgusted. A full year passed and we were no closer than when we started.
Then a good friend told us that, when she was a teen, she went on a two-month mission trip with TMI. We began to look into that organization and decided it was a good fit. Deb had said she wanted to go to Russia, and one of the TMI teams for 2003 was scheduled to go to Yakutsk, Siberia. Deb signed up, and we began preparations—raising support, gathering supplies, spending an entire school year studying Russian in hopes she could at least ask where the rest room was.
Three weeks before her trip, we got the news that TMI was unable to get visas to enter Russia. The trip was cancelled, and Deb had to choose a different destination. We encouraged her to pray about it, and she came back to us saying she felt like the Lord wanted her to go to Cuba.
Cuba.
Ben told her she needed to pray about that a little more, but she would not be swayed.
Cuba. Home of Fidel Castro and a military that is not terribly friendly to Americans, especially the children of American military members. We kept telling ourselves that if God could keep her safe in Virginia, he could keep her safe in Cuba.
So off she went. Two weeks of primitive boot camp in the hot, humid swamps of Florida, followed by 30 days in communist Cuba, where the "missionary" could be bought by the highest bidder and wouldn't give them their water purifier or half of their supplies. They lived for 30 days on rice and beans, until the day they noticed meat in the rice/bean pot. Deb tried to ask one of the Cuban Christians what it was, and he pointed to the stray dogs running around. They ate it without talking. The entire team contracted a nasty virus that kept many of them bedridden for days and caused a few to pass out when they tried to get up, and Deb came home with an intestinal parasite.
Teen Missions teams are not for the faint of heart. They are designed to introduce teenagers to the realities of the mission field, including the incredible need around the world for Christians to preach the Gospel. Kids learn that they are not the center of the universe, or even their youth groups. They learn to think of themselves last. They learn to be thankful for any meat, even if it's dog. Deb was forever changed by her 30 days in Cuba.
The next year, Leah went with TMI to Poland. The following, Abbie and Deb went to New Zealand and Australia.
This year, Elijah travels to Switzerland after his 2 weeks at The Lord's Bootcamp, which begin tomorrow. Some have suggested that it will be an easy sightseeing trip. That it's a waste of time and money.
But we anticipate he will come back with a new perspective on the need, even in a "wealthy" country, for the good news that Jesus saves sinners. And that's worth any price.
Be thankful ~
Karen
He's going to Teen Missions.
He's the fourth child of mine to go on a summer mission trip with TMI. I wish I could send them all every summer, and not just because my grocery bill would be drastically cut. Although that would make it worthwhile.
Our experience with TMI began in 2001, when our oldest daughter, then 14, announced she wanted to go on a summer mission trip the following year. We immediately jumped on board with that great idea, and helped her research who she would go with. Making a very long story very short here, we found that Baptist missions wouldn't take teenagers. They had no Bible college education. They had no experience. Blah, blah, blah. We were disgusted. A full year passed and we were no closer than when we started.
Then a good friend told us that, when she was a teen, she went on a two-month mission trip with TMI. We began to look into that organization and decided it was a good fit. Deb had said she wanted to go to Russia, and one of the TMI teams for 2003 was scheduled to go to Yakutsk, Siberia. Deb signed up, and we began preparations—raising support, gathering supplies, spending an entire school year studying Russian in hopes she could at least ask where the rest room was.
Three weeks before her trip, we got the news that TMI was unable to get visas to enter Russia. The trip was cancelled, and Deb had to choose a different destination. We encouraged her to pray about it, and she came back to us saying she felt like the Lord wanted her to go to Cuba.
Cuba.
Ben told her she needed to pray about that a little more, but she would not be swayed.
Cuba. Home of Fidel Castro and a military that is not terribly friendly to Americans, especially the children of American military members. We kept telling ourselves that if God could keep her safe in Virginia, he could keep her safe in Cuba.
So off she went. Two weeks of primitive boot camp in the hot, humid swamps of Florida, followed by 30 days in communist Cuba, where the "missionary" could be bought by the highest bidder and wouldn't give them their water purifier or half of their supplies. They lived for 30 days on rice and beans, until the day they noticed meat in the rice/bean pot. Deb tried to ask one of the Cuban Christians what it was, and he pointed to the stray dogs running around. They ate it without talking. The entire team contracted a nasty virus that kept many of them bedridden for days and caused a few to pass out when they tried to get up, and Deb came home with an intestinal parasite.
Teen Missions teams are not for the faint of heart. They are designed to introduce teenagers to the realities of the mission field, including the incredible need around the world for Christians to preach the Gospel. Kids learn that they are not the center of the universe, or even their youth groups. They learn to think of themselves last. They learn to be thankful for any meat, even if it's dog. Deb was forever changed by her 30 days in Cuba.
The next year, Leah went with TMI to Poland. The following, Abbie and Deb went to New Zealand and Australia.
This year, Elijah travels to Switzerland after his 2 weeks at The Lord's Bootcamp, which begin tomorrow. Some have suggested that it will be an easy sightseeing trip. That it's a waste of time and money.
But we anticipate he will come back with a new perspective on the need, even in a "wealthy" country, for the good news that Jesus saves sinners. And that's worth any price.
Be thankful ~
Karen
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Where you live
Chickadee at A Familiar Path has a post today about why you love where you live, and as I was reading the things people wrote about their home states, I was thinking about all the places I've lived.
I was born in Washington DC (yes, I'm one of a very few people who can say I'm a DC native). My family moved to California (outside LA) until I was three, then moved to New Jersey, which was where my parents' families were. We lived at the Jersey shore—for a while a few miles inland, then in my teen years we were two blocks from the beach—until I got married and left home. That's still one of my favorite places to visit—I'm definitely a beach girl at heart. But there's something about the New Jersey beaches that's especially welcoming. They smell different, the sand is different, they just feel right. The best part of visiting is when you start to get close to the beach and you roll down the car windows and get that first big breath of salty, humid air. Ahhh! A wave of calm washes over me just thinking about it!
But not only do I miss the beach, the food calls us home occasionally. There's no place on earth to find better pizza, and do any of you non-New-Jersey-ites know what a crumb cake is? And pork roll. Oh, my word. Throw the bacon in the trash and give me a pork roll sandwich on a real hard roll. When we go home for a visit, we spend $75 on great food to bring home—there's just nothing like it.
Since I left New Jersey, I've lived in North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and moved 15 times in 25 years. But there's something about New Jersey that will always feel like home.
What about you? Where do you call home, and what do you love about it?
I was born in Washington DC (yes, I'm one of a very few people who can say I'm a DC native). My family moved to California (outside LA) until I was three, then moved to New Jersey, which was where my parents' families were. We lived at the Jersey shore—for a while a few miles inland, then in my teen years we were two blocks from the beach—until I got married and left home. That's still one of my favorite places to visit—I'm definitely a beach girl at heart. But there's something about the New Jersey beaches that's especially welcoming. They smell different, the sand is different, they just feel right. The best part of visiting is when you start to get close to the beach and you roll down the car windows and get that first big breath of salty, humid air. Ahhh! A wave of calm washes over me just thinking about it!
But not only do I miss the beach, the food calls us home occasionally. There's no place on earth to find better pizza, and do any of you non-New-Jersey-ites know what a crumb cake is? And pork roll. Oh, my word. Throw the bacon in the trash and give me a pork roll sandwich on a real hard roll. When we go home for a visit, we spend $75 on great food to bring home—there's just nothing like it.
Since I left New Jersey, I've lived in North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and moved 15 times in 25 years. But there's something about New Jersey that will always feel like home.
What about you? Where do you call home, and what do you love about it?
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Help my sister-in-law's school win $20,000!
My sister-in-law (who was once my college roommate) is a Montessori teacher. She teaches 3- through 6-year-olds at Mountain Laurel Montessori School in Front Royal, VA.
Recently, her school entered an Earth Day contest sponsored by Wal-Mart, and they've made it to the top 10 in the COUNTRY, no small feat for a little school.
They've made a video and written and essay, and now they need YOU to vote for them. The winning school receives $20,000!!! and they could really use it. So go here to vote for Mountain Laurel Montessori School, and don't forget to confirm your vote so it will count!
Be thankful ~
Karen
Recently, her school entered an Earth Day contest sponsored by Wal-Mart, and they've made it to the top 10 in the COUNTRY, no small feat for a little school.
They've made a video and written and essay, and now they need YOU to vote for them. The winning school receives $20,000!!! and they could really use it. So go here to vote for Mountain Laurel Montessori School, and don't forget to confirm your vote so it will count!
Be thankful ~
Karen
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Here I sit in Starbucks because, after 45 minutes in Panera, I couldn't get the wireless to work. Abbie is taking her ACT at a high school down the road, so I'm here getting some work done. And facebooking. And blogging. Shame on me.
But like a good grandmother, I have another picture to share. And that's almost as important as income which helps us pay the tuition bills.
He looks like he's laughing, doesn't he? Trust me, he's not the laughing type. Most likely it's gas. But he's precious anyway and we all love him to pieces.
Be thankful ~
Karen
But like a good grandmother, I have another picture to share. And that's almost as important as income which helps us pay the tuition bills.
He looks like he's laughing, doesn't he? Trust me, he's not the laughing type. Most likely it's gas. But he's precious anyway and we all love him to pieces.Be thankful ~
Karen
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Blog fodder, at your local Verizon store.
Yesterday I went to the Verizon store.
Yes, I prayed before I went. I hate that place. The wait is interminable and the explanations are filled with unintelligible phrases like, "eligible for a new phone every two years only it takes effect four months before your two years, but for you it's one year, except that your contract renews in April and this says you're due for a phone in September and that's obviously not four months, but we'll just go with what the computer says."
After catching my spinning head and setting it back on my shoulders in the forward-facing position, I told the woman I just needed a phone for my daughter, Lovely. Hers has been getting more and more rebellious and yesterday morning actually refused to do anything at all. We had to yank the battery from it to beat it into submission.
Lovely had told me which phone she wanted, so I thought this would be pretty easy, and it really wasn't too bad. And it just so happened that the particular phone she wanted was part of a "buy one, get one free" special. So what do you think I did? I took the free one.
See, my phone has been having problems too, but I was waiting for September, when they said I would be eligible for a new phone, except that I'm supposed to get one every year . . . yeah, never mind.
So the girl got us all signed up and took our old phones to the magical back room where she would magically transfer our contacts lists and pictures to our new phones.
She came back a few minutes later looking sad and shaking her head. It seems that our old phones were SO old, the transferring technology wouldn't work on them. I think she felt sorry for me.
Then, while we were standing there lamenting the fact that I would have to transfer my entire phone book to the new phone the hard way (not to mention losing all my pictures of Sticky Bean), Elijah said, "Mom, the crabs are dying of heat exposure."
At that, the girl got a wide-eyed look of horror on her face and looked from one to the other of us. I told Elijah to go get them and bring them inside, and before I could explain that we had hermit crabs in the car, she started backing away from the counter. When Elijah came in with a little plastic container with holes in the lid, I offered to show her the crabs. She was fascinated, and tried, in the nicest way possible, to ask why on earth anyone would want to keep crabs. I told her they were for the pre-school class my daughter teaches. She thinks we're the Addams Family.
Anyway, as we were wrapping up our purchase, the woman being waited on next to me started shouting about how she needed to have her data transferred to her new phone because "I can't lose my texes! There's texes in there I can't do without!"
I wonder if the Verizon people blog all this stuff?
Be thankful ~
Karen
Yes, I prayed before I went. I hate that place. The wait is interminable and the explanations are filled with unintelligible phrases like, "eligible for a new phone every two years only it takes effect four months before your two years, but for you it's one year, except that your contract renews in April and this says you're due for a phone in September and that's obviously not four months, but we'll just go with what the computer says."
After catching my spinning head and setting it back on my shoulders in the forward-facing position, I told the woman I just needed a phone for my daughter, Lovely. Hers has been getting more and more rebellious and yesterday morning actually refused to do anything at all. We had to yank the battery from it to beat it into submission.
Lovely had told me which phone she wanted, so I thought this would be pretty easy, and it really wasn't too bad. And it just so happened that the particular phone she wanted was part of a "buy one, get one free" special. So what do you think I did? I took the free one.
See, my phone has been having problems too, but I was waiting for September, when they said I would be eligible for a new phone, except that I'm supposed to get one every year . . . yeah, never mind.
So the girl got us all signed up and took our old phones to the magical back room where she would magically transfer our contacts lists and pictures to our new phones.
She came back a few minutes later looking sad and shaking her head. It seems that our old phones were SO old, the transferring technology wouldn't work on them. I think she felt sorry for me.
Then, while we were standing there lamenting the fact that I would have to transfer my entire phone book to the new phone the hard way (not to mention losing all my pictures of Sticky Bean), Elijah said, "Mom, the crabs are dying of heat exposure."
At that, the girl got a wide-eyed look of horror on her face and looked from one to the other of us. I told Elijah to go get them and bring them inside, and before I could explain that we had hermit crabs in the car, she started backing away from the counter. When Elijah came in with a little plastic container with holes in the lid, I offered to show her the crabs. She was fascinated, and tried, in the nicest way possible, to ask why on earth anyone would want to keep crabs. I told her they were for the pre-school class my daughter teaches. She thinks we're the Addams Family.
Anyway, as we were wrapping up our purchase, the woman being waited on next to me started shouting about how she needed to have her data transferred to her new phone because "I can't lose my texes! There's texes in there I can't do without!"
I wonder if the Verizon people blog all this stuff?
Be thankful ~
Karen
Monday, June 8, 2009
Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it!
Oh my goodness, where have I been?
I'll tell you where. Right here at home, rocking Sticky Bean. Deb and David and Sticky came up last week and stayed from Tuesday through this morning. What a great visit we had!
Sticky is sort of a crabby baby, but he's just so precious, I don't even care! We tried a few different pacifiers, but he still prefers a finger--it feels like he's going to suck the nail right off it. Deb is doing much better, although still moving slowly. But we were able to do a little bit of shopping, and everyone else went to see the Mets play the Nats in DC on Friday night. Deb and Sticky and I stayed home--we decided that would be too much walking for Deb. And we managed to squeeze in a visit to Chipotle because we know what's important.
Then on Saturday, the kids kicked Ben and me out of the house. We wondered why, but figured they were going to clean it up or something. We went out for breakfast, sat at an outside table at Starbuck's for an hour, and got Ben a haircut. When we got home, there was a huge banner on the front porch and cars were lining the street. Somehow it slipped our minds that tomorrow is our 25th wedding anniversary. But the kids remembered.
We walked into a crowd, had a great meal, and then watched a video slideshow of our first 25 years that Abbie had put together. If I can figure out how to compress it, I'll get it up here in the next day or so. I've watched it a few times and I still cry every time I see it. Incredible.
Today I got five hours of work in, did tons of laundry, put the girls back in their room, went to the bank and Walmart, made supper, took the dog for a walk, and started prepping Abbie for her ACT which is this Saturday. We don't procrastinate at all.
I just barely have time for a shower and some ice cream before I have to go to bed so I can get up tomorrow and do it all again. Stay tuned for the video . . .
Be thankful ~
Karen
I'll tell you where. Right here at home, rocking Sticky Bean. Deb and David and Sticky came up last week and stayed from Tuesday through this morning. What a great visit we had!
Sticky is sort of a crabby baby, but he's just so precious, I don't even care! We tried a few different pacifiers, but he still prefers a finger--it feels like he's going to suck the nail right off it. Deb is doing much better, although still moving slowly. But we were able to do a little bit of shopping, and everyone else went to see the Mets play the Nats in DC on Friday night. Deb and Sticky and I stayed home--we decided that would be too much walking for Deb. And we managed to squeeze in a visit to Chipotle because we know what's important.
Then on Saturday, the kids kicked Ben and me out of the house. We wondered why, but figured they were going to clean it up or something. We went out for breakfast, sat at an outside table at Starbuck's for an hour, and got Ben a haircut. When we got home, there was a huge banner on the front porch and cars were lining the street. Somehow it slipped our minds that tomorrow is our 25th wedding anniversary. But the kids remembered.
We walked into a crowd, had a great meal, and then watched a video slideshow of our first 25 years that Abbie had put together. If I can figure out how to compress it, I'll get it up here in the next day or so. I've watched it a few times and I still cry every time I see it. Incredible.
Today I got five hours of work in, did tons of laundry, put the girls back in their room, went to the bank and Walmart, made supper, took the dog for a walk, and started prepping Abbie for her ACT which is this Saturday. We don't procrastinate at all.
I just barely have time for a shower and some ice cream before I have to go to bed so I can get up tomorrow and do it all again. Stay tuned for the video . . .
Be thankful ~
Karen
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Forecast at five.
I used to have a great dog.
Years ago I decided I had to have a Yorkshire Terrier. I knew the puppies were around $600, and we couldn't afford one, so I started praying for one. Yes. For a dog. And you know what?
God GAVE me a Yorkie puppy. A breeder 3 hours from our house sent me an email telling me she had a puppy who was already three pounds (at eight weeks, that's really big for a Yorkie), so she wouldn't be able to sell him or breed him. She said if I wanted him, I could HAVE him. I told her we'd be there in three hours.
Spanky turned out to be an awesome dog. He was happy and sweet, never nasty and yappy like some little dogs can be. He was easy to housebreak and train. The perfect dog, just like it says over there in my sidebar.
But you know how you always hear about "a boy and his dog"? Well, we have the boy, but the 11-pound Yorkie wasn't what he had in mind. He wanted a REAL dog.
Help me.
That's when Petey arrived. I won't bore you with the details of how Pete came to be ours, because Ben would just get on here and refute the entire story of his coming home with this brindle bulldog he just HAD to have.
At any rate, we now have Petey (to go along with Spanky . . . as in Little Rascals).
Pete's a pretty good-looking dog. He's half American Bulldog, half who-knows-what. His mother was obviously a lady-of-the-night. He's brindle with a white stripe down his face. He, too, is pretty happy and friendly. He's just dumber than dirt.
Yesterday around 5 pm, we noticed Pete was kind of anxious. I thought maybe he wanted his dinner. When I put his bowl of food on the floor and he walked away, I knew immediately what was wrong.
He could hear the far-off thunder that we couldn't hear.
Bless his heart, he is quite neurotic when it comes to thunder storms. By this time, he was running through the house, panting hard and slobbering everywhere. When it starts, there's no stopping it, so we just put him in the laundry room and close the door. Poor thing, that storm went on for hours last night. He never would eat, wouldn't take a drink, wouldn't even go out. Have you seen the movie, Marley? That's Pete.
We don't need the weather channel. We have a neurotic bulldog.
Be thankful ~
Karen
Years ago I decided I had to have a Yorkshire Terrier. I knew the puppies were around $600, and we couldn't afford one, so I started praying for one. Yes. For a dog. And you know what?
God GAVE me a Yorkie puppy. A breeder 3 hours from our house sent me an email telling me she had a puppy who was already three pounds (at eight weeks, that's really big for a Yorkie), so she wouldn't be able to sell him or breed him. She said if I wanted him, I could HAVE him. I told her we'd be there in three hours.
Spanky turned out to be an awesome dog. He was happy and sweet, never nasty and yappy like some little dogs can be. He was easy to housebreak and train. The perfect dog, just like it says over there in my sidebar.
But you know how you always hear about "a boy and his dog"? Well, we have the boy, but the 11-pound Yorkie wasn't what he had in mind. He wanted a REAL dog.
Help me.
That's when Petey arrived. I won't bore you with the details of how Pete came to be ours, because Ben would just get on here and refute the entire story of his coming home with this brindle bulldog he just HAD to have.
At any rate, we now have Petey (to go along with Spanky . . . as in Little Rascals).
Pete's a pretty good-looking dog. He's half American Bulldog, half who-knows-what. His mother was obviously a lady-of-the-night. He's brindle with a white stripe down his face. He, too, is pretty happy and friendly. He's just dumber than dirt.
Yesterday around 5 pm, we noticed Pete was kind of anxious. I thought maybe he wanted his dinner. When I put his bowl of food on the floor and he walked away, I knew immediately what was wrong.
He could hear the far-off thunder that we couldn't hear.
Bless his heart, he is quite neurotic when it comes to thunder storms. By this time, he was running through the house, panting hard and slobbering everywhere. When it starts, there's no stopping it, so we just put him in the laundry room and close the door. Poor thing, that storm went on for hours last night. He never would eat, wouldn't take a drink, wouldn't even go out. Have you seen the movie, Marley? That's Pete.
We don't need the weather channel. We have a neurotic bulldog.
Be thankful ~
Karen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)