She can still talk her Daddy into pulling her on their dates.
And she still crashes like this almost every day.
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Christmas is(was) coming
This is the year I let go. I think I have been letting go by increments for the past few years, but this year, possibly from exhaustion, possibly/hopefully from maturing, I let go of Christmas. Life in a family is so much more fun if you let go. Not of everything, of course. But just ask my children if decorating for Christmas isn't a lot more fun without your mother breathing down your neck, suggesting alternate places for every ornament you hang on the tree and hyperventilating over the constant rearranging of the nativity. I am, by the way, still finding pieces of the nativity around the house due to said rearranging.
Part of the letting go was getting smart. Rather than wig out over little paws on the breakable nativity my mother passed down to me, I ordered a cute plastic one that can be handled and mishandled at will. I also out sourced some of the gift making (more on that soon). All in all, I think Christmas was a bit more peaceful this year. Here's hoping for an actual fun! Christmas next year! :)
I am not sure what they were dancing to, but check out Olivia's face in that last picture. We enjoyed many an evening around that tree...until it became a fire hazard around New Years.
Part of the letting go was getting smart. Rather than wig out over little paws on the breakable nativity my mother passed down to me, I ordered a cute plastic one that can be handled and mishandled at will. I also out sourced some of the gift making (more on that soon). All in all, I think Christmas was a bit more peaceful this year. Here's hoping for an actual fun! Christmas next year! :)
Henry really got into the decorating. I placed actual ornaments on the tree. Took them off again and rehung them. Over and over. He was not interested in the annual showing of White Christmas.
The peaceful, after decorating, popcorn chill.
Go ahead, just put that anywhere. I mean it!
I am not sure what they were dancing to, but check out Olivia's face in that last picture. We enjoyed many an evening around that tree...until it became a fire hazard around New Years.
Thankful she travels light
The benefits (to your parents) of being small. 
Last week we all drove up to Orange County (L.A.) for Mike's last ordination committee exam. He passed, so in celebration we got a hotel room on AMEX points and spent the next day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was such a great day for us as a family as we headed back for a tough week in preparation for Mike's exam before Presbytery which was yesterday. He passed that as well and so ends a very long and arduous ordination process. Now for the celebrating and service!
I'll post more from the aquarium later.
Thanks for all of your prayers and support over the last year as we have been through this process. We are confident of the sustaining power of your prayers. The Lord has been faithful to us through you. Thank you.
Twinkle Toes
Olivia had her first ballet "lesson" this week. I use lesson in the very loosest sense of the word - not because her teacher is not a real ballerina (of sorts), but because our vision for this is far from child prodigy. Any of you who know Olivia know that ballet will likely not be her forte (but you never know, right?), but we had such a fun opportunity we thought we would take advantage of it. You have seen Ms. Minna here on the blog before. She grew up dancing and has a general love of the arts and ballet and theatre. She is kind of shy and quiet so you would never know that she has this beautiful, strong singing voice and other performing talents. As Olivia has been expressing more interest in ballet, I thought I would just see if Ms. Minna wanted to take on a student. (Isn't Ms. Minna the perfect name for a ballet teacher when you are four?) So, I found a pair of used slippers for a buck, Kate Veerman sent us her ballet wear (thank you!), and Olivia threw on her leg warmers from last year for good measure!
She looked so cute. I told Minna we care more about her spending time with another adult female (receiving instruction in something), listening to beautiful music, feeling beautiful, getting a little exercise...all of those things...more than actually being transformed into a ballerina. It was such an emotional moment for me - kind of like when I dropped her off at VBS this summer. Her pudgy belly squeezed in that little skirt and her little piggies on the sides of her head. There are some parenting moments that only hit you a certain way once. I pray I am always paying attention.Halloween costume revision:
She's going as a Bible thumper. A singing one.
(This singing was spontaneous today. She has been reciting it for a week or so now, but today it was put to this lovely tune.)
A little DABS will do ya
(I am in a corny mood.) DABS is the acronym I have given God's latest answer to prayer here. Click on our Harborlinks blog (to the right) and read about it. Very exciting.
A fear (involuntarily) conquered
I have always been afraid of one of our kids getting a head wound. I figured it would be Joseph. That kid hits his head like...well, I can't think of anything. But, a lot...and hard. This morning we were five minutes from getting out the door to go to the beach when I heard her scream. They had been running around messing with each other and apparently Olivia tripped going out of her bedroom and hit her head on the corner of a small toy box. Thankfully it did not end up being too bad at all, but when I got to her the blood was squirting out pretty good. 
She was so brave at the doctor. She did everything they told her to and was so still. I wished I had had a mirror so she could watch. Can you believe the location of the cut? I mean, just a little bit either way and it could have been bad news. It was weird because she seemed to have hit on an angle - it wasn't very deep, but it was wide.
Since it wasn't too deep, they glued it shut. That's right. I could have just stayed home, kept my $40 co-pay and used Elmer's. We can't get it wet for a few days, so no beach until after the weekend. She was sad.
He was a good support. Wanted to lay on the table with her. I won't mention everything else he wanted to do while we were there - this kid has selective hearing. Sometimes I feel like I am just talking to myself because he sure ain't listening. You can pray for us both.
Just a little swelling. She said tonight at bed time that it hurt a little but not much.
Still a little afraid of head wounds as I feel like we got out easy on this one.
She was so brave at the doctor. She did everything they told her to and was so still. I wished I had had a mirror so she could watch. Can you believe the location of the cut? I mean, just a little bit either way and it could have been bad news. It was weird because she seemed to have hit on an angle - it wasn't very deep, but it was wide.
Since it wasn't too deep, they glued it shut. That's right. I could have just stayed home, kept my $40 co-pay and used Elmer's. We can't get it wet for a few days, so no beach until after the weekend. She was sad.
He was a good support. Wanted to lay on the table with her. I won't mention everything else he wanted to do while we were there - this kid has selective hearing. Sometimes I feel like I am just talking to myself because he sure ain't listening. You can pray for us both.
Just a little swelling. She said tonight at bed time that it hurt a little but not much. 
Still a little afraid of head wounds as I feel like we got out easy on this one.Is it Now a Crime to be Poor?
If this doesn't show up as link, copy and paste it into your browser.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09ehrenreich.html?em
It's not illegal in San Diego, by the way. The homeless are everywhere here. We see four of them every Sunday at church. Mark, Anita, Adam, and Debra. They are two couples. One couple is expecting a baby. They share the Gospel on the street. They are a little stinky. They are super nice. They groove during the singing during worship. There are 3 nationalities between them. They take what food they can get and their blankets to the Embarcadaro (marina type place) and listen to the outdoor concerts...for free because they are sitting outside the gate...just like we did last summer.
It's not always what you think.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09ehrenreich.html?em
It's not illegal in San Diego, by the way. The homeless are everywhere here. We see four of them every Sunday at church. Mark, Anita, Adam, and Debra. They are two couples. One couple is expecting a baby. They share the Gospel on the street. They are a little stinky. They are super nice. They groove during the singing during worship. There are 3 nationalities between them. They take what food they can get and their blankets to the Embarcadaro (marina type place) and listen to the outdoor concerts...for free because they are sitting outside the gate...just like we did last summer.
It's not always what you think.
Pretty in pink?
So this is what happens when you hang out at a girls dress up party.
At least he is playing with worms...of course, so were they.
At least he is playing with worms...of course, so were they.
Everyone to his each
We have issues - and by 'we' I mean our children and our dog. There seem to be obsessions growing out of control.
1. Joseph and the bat and ball. All he wants to do is play catch or pitch and hit. If he can't find a bat he will use the closest thing - a golf club, a drum stick, a kazoo. Yes, a kazoo. Couldn't find a bat yesterday. I told him to go look on the shelf - he came back with a kazoo and assumed his batting stance. Which is pretty good I must say. One of my favorite requests from him these days is, "Come on mommy, pitch to me."
2. Olivia has layering issues. We finally had to pack her sleeping bag away in a closet a month or so ago because she insisted on getting in it even though it was well over 70 degrees outside. We would find her an hour or so later sound asleep and sweating buckets. She still insists that the covers be on even if she is sweating. Yesterday she spent the entire day in her underwear trying on ALL of the clothes we have just received as hand me downs. (I don't know how much money the Farley's have saved us the past 3 years!) I ate dinner with her in a snowman sweater, blue longjohn pants, and purple boot house shoes. Did I mention it was over 80 degrees here yesterday. The kid has no control.
3. And Ridley. Can a dog be obsessive compulsive? She has become quite the frisbee dog - she is really pretty impressive. But she won't stop. You could probably throw it for an hour and she would keep dragging her sorry self out there to catch it- midair! After Mike threw to her for a while tonight he put the frisbee in the wagon (we were out for a walk with friends) and she followed Olivia around in circles as she pulled the wagon - for a long time. Then she refused to walk ahead of the wagon on the way home - she wanted to be right by her frisbee. Mike finally picked her up and carried her because she refused to walk. Weird dog.
Mike and I have issues too - they just aren't as interesting. He has issues about his socks and I get all flustered if you "get in the nighttime in your daytime." Translation - get in bed in the clothes you have been wearing around all day. Yuck! Keep it clean - put that stuff in the hamper!
Sorry no pictures. My computer is running too slow these days to start an upload at this time of night. I need to go to bed anyway. See you Southies tomorrow!!
1. Joseph and the bat and ball. All he wants to do is play catch or pitch and hit. If he can't find a bat he will use the closest thing - a golf club, a drum stick, a kazoo. Yes, a kazoo. Couldn't find a bat yesterday. I told him to go look on the shelf - he came back with a kazoo and assumed his batting stance. Which is pretty good I must say. One of my favorite requests from him these days is, "Come on mommy, pitch to me."
2. Olivia has layering issues. We finally had to pack her sleeping bag away in a closet a month or so ago because she insisted on getting in it even though it was well over 70 degrees outside. We would find her an hour or so later sound asleep and sweating buckets. She still insists that the covers be on even if she is sweating. Yesterday she spent the entire day in her underwear trying on ALL of the clothes we have just received as hand me downs. (I don't know how much money the Farley's have saved us the past 3 years!) I ate dinner with her in a snowman sweater, blue longjohn pants, and purple boot house shoes. Did I mention it was over 80 degrees here yesterday. The kid has no control.
3. And Ridley. Can a dog be obsessive compulsive? She has become quite the frisbee dog - she is really pretty impressive. But she won't stop. You could probably throw it for an hour and she would keep dragging her sorry self out there to catch it- midair! After Mike threw to her for a while tonight he put the frisbee in the wagon (we were out for a walk with friends) and she followed Olivia around in circles as she pulled the wagon - for a long time. Then she refused to walk ahead of the wagon on the way home - she wanted to be right by her frisbee. Mike finally picked her up and carried her because she refused to walk. Weird dog.
Mike and I have issues too - they just aren't as interesting. He has issues about his socks and I get all flustered if you "get in the nighttime in your daytime." Translation - get in bed in the clothes you have been wearing around all day. Yuck! Keep it clean - put that stuff in the hamper!
Sorry no pictures. My computer is running too slow these days to start an upload at this time of night. I need to go to bed anyway. See you Southies tomorrow!!
Been and Going
We've been absent in long stretches from our updates, so I thought I would bring everyone up to speed on where we've been and where we are going - as much as we know it. I think everyone is pretty well caught up on all our travelling through the holidays. I can't remember if I mentioned we went up to Chicago a few weeks ago to visit with some churches up there. If the kids stay asleep, I will post a couple of pictures from that trip. It was a rich time for a couple of reasons. First, we got to spend some time with some of Mike's family. I have always been encouraged by the generosity of Mike's family. Not necessarily monetarily, though that is certainly true and I am pretty sure any one of them would give you his shirt if you asked him. They are just generous - in how they treat you, accomodate you, talk to you, etc. It is always good to spend time with them.
Second, it was a profitable trip in that we were able to interact with a couple of church plants. It is encouraging to see the larger work the Lord is doing through small works of faithfulness to bring the gospel to the cities of our country. We are excited to be a part of one of those works (somewhere) come graduation.
That being said, we still do not know for sure where we are going after graduation. This past week we spent four long days at a church planter assessment in Georgia. Mike and I have decided it was the richest week of our marraige so far. Invaluable. I realize the thought may have crossed some of your minds over the past few years, "They sure are spending a lot of time getting educated, being assessed, getting ready...why not just get to serving the Lord." Honestly, I have felt that way myself at times. But last week I was reminded of the importance of this season. I'll explain a little:
The reason Mike and I are interested in church planting (versus going to an older, established church) is because we feel a call and have a desire to be in the city. We love the city - the history, the cultures, the opportunity, the noises, the excitement, the variety, the character (and the characters). By and large, the good news of Jesus is absent from most cities. It left when churches followed people to the suburbs. The churches that are left are dying or extrememly liberal. As most of you might be noticing if you have visited your downtowns, people are moving back into the cities but the churches are not. Who is there now? The poor people who never had the option to move out to the suburbs and the wealthy young professionals who are buying up the lofts and shortening their commute. The poor people who feel abandoned and the wealthy who feel confident and proud - both in need, but not for what they think they need. That is who we feel called to minister to.
Church planting is hard. It is hard financially because you pretty much have to raise your own salary plus functioning money for a church that won't be able to fully support itself for maybe three years - sometimes more depending on the cost of living in the particular city and how fast the church grows. It is hard on your family because it takes A LOT of work to start, nurture, and grow a church. It is potentially discouraging at times. As a planter family you are it...maybe for a good while before things start moving. There have been a good number of family casualties from crash and burn plants...which is exactly why we went to the church planter assessment last week. It is the equivilant of seeking godly counsel. It is a strengths and needs assessment. It is an assessment of what you feel like your call to ministry is and whether or not you have the gifts to do it. It is people who only have your best interest and the interest of the Gospel in mind as they tell you the hard things you need to hear and encourage you in the Lord's call. Like I said, invaluable.
So, we have about two and a half months left of school - party at our house on May 15th!. We have a house to get on the market and sell. We have some big decisions to make about what comes next. Please pray for us if you are so inclined. We will keep you posted.
Second, it was a profitable trip in that we were able to interact with a couple of church plants. It is encouraging to see the larger work the Lord is doing through small works of faithfulness to bring the gospel to the cities of our country. We are excited to be a part of one of those works (somewhere) come graduation.
That being said, we still do not know for sure where we are going after graduation. This past week we spent four long days at a church planter assessment in Georgia. Mike and I have decided it was the richest week of our marraige so far. Invaluable. I realize the thought may have crossed some of your minds over the past few years, "They sure are spending a lot of time getting educated, being assessed, getting ready...why not just get to serving the Lord." Honestly, I have felt that way myself at times. But last week I was reminded of the importance of this season. I'll explain a little:
The reason Mike and I are interested in church planting (versus going to an older, established church) is because we feel a call and have a desire to be in the city. We love the city - the history, the cultures, the opportunity, the noises, the excitement, the variety, the character (and the characters). By and large, the good news of Jesus is absent from most cities. It left when churches followed people to the suburbs. The churches that are left are dying or extrememly liberal. As most of you might be noticing if you have visited your downtowns, people are moving back into the cities but the churches are not. Who is there now? The poor people who never had the option to move out to the suburbs and the wealthy young professionals who are buying up the lofts and shortening their commute. The poor people who feel abandoned and the wealthy who feel confident and proud - both in need, but not for what they think they need. That is who we feel called to minister to.
Church planting is hard. It is hard financially because you pretty much have to raise your own salary plus functioning money for a church that won't be able to fully support itself for maybe three years - sometimes more depending on the cost of living in the particular city and how fast the church grows. It is hard on your family because it takes A LOT of work to start, nurture, and grow a church. It is potentially discouraging at times. As a planter family you are it...maybe for a good while before things start moving. There have been a good number of family casualties from crash and burn plants...which is exactly why we went to the church planter assessment last week. It is the equivilant of seeking godly counsel. It is a strengths and needs assessment. It is an assessment of what you feel like your call to ministry is and whether or not you have the gifts to do it. It is people who only have your best interest and the interest of the Gospel in mind as they tell you the hard things you need to hear and encourage you in the Lord's call. Like I said, invaluable.
So, we have about two and a half months left of school - party at our house on May 15th!. We have a house to get on the market and sell. We have some big decisions to make about what comes next. Please pray for us if you are so inclined. We will keep you posted.
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