THE BEST LAID PLANS AND MY EVIL ALTER EGO

This week has been unusual in so many ways that it is hard to wrap my mind around.  Our friends were here through Tuesday morning after spending the weekend on the lake, and then we had the home study and then, BOOM, it was 4th of July.  I didn't even have patriotic clothing for the girls to wear this year.  Weird.  (We found something that worked.)



I knew our 4th of July was going to be strange and a bit disjointed, and it lived up to that.  I actually spent a lot of time thinking about the way our expectations shape our experiences.  John and I are both realizing that the way we think about things is really powerful.  John needed to work, so I had the girlies most of the day.  I had exciting things on my agenda, like grocery shopping because we needed fruit in the house.

I had choices to make about the way I framed up the day in my mind.  I could be a tinge bitter and sad about the fact that we weren't doing fun celebratory things.  (I did experience all this, but I decided not to wallow there.)

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I wrote the first part of this blog post Friday night.  As I was writing, a brief, but powerful thunderstorm came through.  We desperately needed the rain, so I was glad for it.  I was glad right up until the power started flickering and out it went.  I am never great with huge, unexpected twists, but I am even less great when I have three extra people staying at my house.  Out to dinner we traipsed, hoping that the power would be blazing bright when we returned.

No dice.

We played a game by flashlight and headed for bed.  I was outwardly trying not to be a baby with only moderate success. Things were not even that bad.  I also know enough about life and the world to know how blessed we are to have electricity almost all of the time.

The next morning the power was back, and we got all ready to go to the pool.  Not once, but twice, we went to the pool and were told that it was going to open in another hour.  The storm had caused a lot of debris and there were issues with the chemicals.  So, our party of 6, including 3 children 3 and under needed to find another plan.  Bummer.

That's when I realized all over again that a convenience-crazed, self-centered monster lives inside of me.  Her name is Caroline.  Caroline wants things the way she wants them when she wants them.  Is that too much for Caroline to ask?  I mean, Caroline pays for power, and most of the neighborhood and city had power.  Why not her?  That silly storm lasted 15 minutes and managed to hijack an evening and a morning from Caroline, and let me just say, Caroline was not happy.

I tried to reason with her.  I tried to tell her that she has everything good in the world and more.  I tried to explain that she should just make new plans and have a better attitude.  But Caroline was resolute in her whininess and moping.  As much as I tried to pacify and reason with her, I could not.

When I started this post, I was going to talk about how the perspective we take on things can impact our experience - which I still believe is true.  But, then I got reacquainted with Caroline this weekend, and I remembered that Jesus is the only one that has any power over her.  I am powerless to shape my world in the right way, and it is only by God's grace and love that I can ever see the good, that I can ever make choices with my attitude that are honoring to him.  I have to connect to him and draw from his strength.  

I'm so glad that Jesus loves Caroline.

BEADS FOR JESUS

In a little over a weeks time, I will be headed to Honduras on a medical mission trip with our church.  John is staying with the girls, and his wonderful mother is flying in to help with them so he can still hold down his day job.  I am a little in shock that it is coming up so quickly, and I am excited to see the ways that God will use it.  Our team needed some "Salvation" bracelets to take down and use as a means to share the gospel with the kiddos, and my friend, Jenn, who is also going on the trip, volunteered us to make 500 of them.

We thought it would be a fun way to involve our children in our trip - especially hers, since they are a bit older, though Lily does love her some beads.  So last Thursday afternoon, we got our crews together and started making bracelets.  It is one giant hearkening back to my childhood to see these things.

Here's Jenn explaining to our little "helpers" what each bead stands for.

Black is for sin that entered the world.  Red is for the blood of Christ that he shed for us.  White is for the way we can be white as snow through Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf.  Green is for growing in Christ while here on earth, and yellow represents enjoying the golden streets of heaven.  It is amazing to boil it all down to those five truths.  It is that simple.

We had a little over an hour, and in that time, we were able to make about 120, especially once the kids abandoned us for more exciting pursuits like the bounce house.  We took home the rest, including another friend who came to help.  

Thanks for the help, Linds, and thanks for volunteering our services, Jenn.  It is good to have reasons to share the gospel with our kids in such a practical, easy to understand way.  I'm excited to see little Honduran children sporting the message of Jesus' love on their wrists!

COMPLETED HOME STUDY

I know this is a weird day to be writing a non-holiday blog post, but it is an unusual 4th of July around here.  Yesterday our friends left town from our Hot Springs weekend.  On Monday night, John was glancing at his phone and realized that we had scheduled the follow-up Home Study visit for Tuesday at 12:30.  Glad he saw that.  So, Tuesday morning found me rushing around trying to semi-unpack and pick up the house.  Once it was mostly picked up, I piled the girls into the car for a Sonic lunch run.  Less indoor mess that way.  The car DVD players were still plugged in, so they watched Finding Nemo while chowing down on hot dogs in the car.

This meant that when the social worker arrived, things were pretty chill and remarkably picked up.  These flowers that have survived for a week and a half were also still on the table.  (Thanks, John, Lily and Bella for these beauties!)



Since she spent over 3.5 hours with us just last week, there was not much left to cover.  It was more like hanging out with someone we are starting to be friends with.  Hanging out with two crazy little girls glad to have their daddy home in the middle of the day, so it was a bit noisy.  After 30 minutes, she headed out the door, telling us that as long as nothing crazy comes up, she can't see any reason that we won't be approved.  What a blessing.

John and I have spent a lot of time talking about what it will mean to have four children in our family.  Especially after a weekend with four children that felt a bit wild at times.  We are trying to truly count the cost and prepare ourselves for the hard stuff that is inevitably headed our way.  And, as John puts it, we feel like there are likely more surprises in store for us in this journey.  Whether good, bad or neutral - we are bound to be surprised by something or lots of somethings.

When we were talking with our friends this weekend about family size, our friend shared a quote from their pastor who was asked how many kids is a good number to have.  He said, "You should have however many kids you feel ready to serve."  I thought that was an excellent synapsis of what is means to be a parent.  Am I ready to serve two more children?  Some days I doubt that very much, and I am hoping that God will give us his strength and grace during this process.

Thankfully, we serve a God who is surprised by nothing and who has his greatest glory and our greatest good in mind.

LAKE WEEKEND: HIGHS AND LOWS

The lake was calling, and we answered.  We were looking for an easy, quick get-away with friends, and Hot Springs fit the bill.  The last time these friends came to town, we just hung out in the Rock, so it was a fun change of scenery and absolutely wonderful to be with friends who are like family.

This weekend, like most, was filled with highs and lows.  Here's my list.

High: eating a delicious BBQ dinner at McClard's.

Low: a bottle of BBQ sauce, open and hitting the floor, spraying one sweet girl and the floor with sauce

High: Hanging out with fantastic friends and seeing what great parents and people they are.  They rock my world.

Low: These two little girls have opposite personalities, which created some conflict.  Unfortunately, you cannot tell a two and a three year old to just "work it out."  Thankfully, they are still friends at the end of the day.

High: Cruising downtown Hot Springs with all our little friends in tow and getting to catch up on life.  Also, realizing that Steph and I have, again, bought something the same.  (In the past, we have purchased the same couches, outfits and cars, inadvertently.)  This time it was the same Target sunglasses.

Low: It was flipping hot outside.  After going to Asia and experiencing the "Hot Season" there, I am wondering why we don't refer to July and August as "Hot Season".  "Summer" sounds so pleasant. "Hot Season" is what it really is.  Just a thought.

High: Seeing geese from our balcony.

High: Renting a boat for the day and having a wonderful time out on the water.

Low:  Putting a life jacket on Bella.  It took two adults and involved biting, head-butting and scratching, along with screaming and head-banging-on-the-ground once the life jacket was on.

Here's Bella's "Jacket This" face.

High: Tubing with the older girls.  All the adults got a turn.

High: Sweet sleeping boy.

Low: Putting a life jacket on Bella.

High:  Driving the boat to dinner and parking it on the lake.  Fisherman's Wharf was super tasty, and feeding the fish off the dock made this little one ecstatic.  She also liked trying to eat the extra fish food off the ground.  Builds immunity.

High: Lily enjoying the outdoor fan after dinner.



Low: Putting a life jacket on Bella.

High: Enjoying dusk on the water.




High:  Gathering of the Yellow Jackets.  Goldfish are always a hit.



Low:  Bella still being mad about the life jacket.  Such angst.



All in all, it was a really great weekend with even greater friends.  Hot Springs did us right.  Oh - and a High I forgot - the Olympic Trials.  Whose excited about London?  Pick me!