Thursday, February 26, 2009
Why I Love My Father
This is for my dad, to lift him up when times are hard.
1) When my mother became pregnant with me, my father devoted himself to working to provide for her and his new family, i.e. Me. My mother has never had to work away from her children or worry that bills weren’t being paid. He has given her time and space to take care of us, which led to me having a wonderful relationship with my mother and made me the person I am today.
2) My father is responsible. He always pays his bills on time. When he makes mistakes, he never asks anyone else to cover for him.
3) My father is generous. When someone is in need, my father gives.
4) My father loves God. He studies the Bible, and books about theology. He takes what he learns and applies it to his life.
5) When he is in need, emotionally, or physically, he turns to God.
6) He is fun. When I was a kid, we did a lot of fun things, like camping, going to movies, and museums.
7) He takes people seriously, rather than patronizing them. When I was a girl, my dad would always take me shopping. We would go car shopping or computer shopping, and he would be teaching me to whole time. The car stuff didn’t stick, but I owe my love of computers to him. I treasure those memories - I remember some of them specifically, like when we went to a computer store and bought the Tandy PC, which I used the crap out of until we bought our Windows Multimedia machine in Texas. Good stuff.
8) When I was 15, my dad listened to my mom’s vision and let us start adopting kids. Now, that has brought a lot of trials and tribulation into the house, but it is truly something of God - lives that belong to Him that could have fallen to the wayside. There are not a lot of men out there who would open their home to so many children from such different backgrounds, but my Dad saw that my mom’s desire came from God.
9) Then he worked harder than ever to support the growing family.
10) My father is real. When he makes a mistake, he says he is sorry.
11) My father is wise. When I was growing up, I idolized him, a bit. I listened to every bit of wisdom he tried to pass on to me. He would probably be surprised by how much I remember. Now that I am an adult, I realize that he is not God, but I see him as someone who really thinks about life, and listens to wise people, and passes on what he has picked up.
There’s probably a lot more, but I am finding it hard to put into words why my Dad is so great. The main thing is, he has always been there for our family. He’s a good provider and a good person. He’s feeling a lot of stress right now so I just want to say - I love you, Dad. You’re a good father. Keep your chin up!
1) When my mother became pregnant with me, my father devoted himself to working to provide for her and his new family, i.e. Me. My mother has never had to work away from her children or worry that bills weren’t being paid. He has given her time and space to take care of us, which led to me having a wonderful relationship with my mother and made me the person I am today.
2) My father is responsible. He always pays his bills on time. When he makes mistakes, he never asks anyone else to cover for him.
3) My father is generous. When someone is in need, my father gives.
4) My father loves God. He studies the Bible, and books about theology. He takes what he learns and applies it to his life.
5) When he is in need, emotionally, or physically, he turns to God.
6) He is fun. When I was a kid, we did a lot of fun things, like camping, going to movies, and museums.
7) He takes people seriously, rather than patronizing them. When I was a girl, my dad would always take me shopping. We would go car shopping or computer shopping, and he would be teaching me to whole time. The car stuff didn’t stick, but I owe my love of computers to him. I treasure those memories - I remember some of them specifically, like when we went to a computer store and bought the Tandy PC, which I used the crap out of until we bought our Windows Multimedia machine in Texas. Good stuff.
8) When I was 15, my dad listened to my mom’s vision and let us start adopting kids. Now, that has brought a lot of trials and tribulation into the house, but it is truly something of God - lives that belong to Him that could have fallen to the wayside. There are not a lot of men out there who would open their home to so many children from such different backgrounds, but my Dad saw that my mom’s desire came from God.
9) Then he worked harder than ever to support the growing family.
10) My father is real. When he makes a mistake, he says he is sorry.
11) My father is wise. When I was growing up, I idolized him, a bit. I listened to every bit of wisdom he tried to pass on to me. He would probably be surprised by how much I remember. Now that I am an adult, I realize that he is not God, but I see him as someone who really thinks about life, and listens to wise people, and passes on what he has picked up.
There’s probably a lot more, but I am finding it hard to put into words why my Dad is so great. The main thing is, he has always been there for our family. He’s a good provider and a good person. He’s feeling a lot of stress right now so I just want to say - I love you, Dad. You’re a good father. Keep your chin up!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Today's Agenda
1) Catch up on English - as my least desirable class, it got lost in the shuffle of the past two weeks, with the rampant sickness and the Automobile issues (car is fixed and inspection up to date, it cleaned us out but it was WORTH IT)
2) Keep the house from falling into totaly disarray as Joe and Nicole are coming over tomorrow
3) Prepare two loads of laundry to take to Nan's tonight
4) Feed all the people.
5) Wash all the dishes.
6) Take Nan shopping (we have fun, though)
7) Attempt to do this while modelling Godliness to my kids and keeping them healthy and safe.
It doesn't sound nearly as bad when I put it down on virtual paper.
2) Keep the house from falling into totaly disarray as Joe and Nicole are coming over tomorrow
3) Prepare two loads of laundry to take to Nan's tonight
4) Feed all the people.
5) Wash all the dishes.
6) Take Nan shopping (we have fun, though)
7) Attempt to do this while modelling Godliness to my kids and keeping them healthy and safe.
It doesn't sound nearly as bad when I put it down on virtual paper.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Hopping on Pop
Our fifth day carless. The car is in the shop. I have to thank God that it broke down when it did, because it is costing everything we have left from our income tax to fix it. Honestly, though, I am not upset about that. It has been a long time building up. There are so many little things that needed done - a new emergency brake is one example, and also all new tires.
We are basically sitting here waiting for the mechanic to call saying the car is ready. We are all a little stir crazy.
I am pretty psyched - we ordered a couple boxes of food from Angel Food Ministries. It is a great way to get good food for a cheaper price. We paid on-line with our card, and will pick the food up next weekend in a local church. It will really help with our grocery bill last night - we got a lot of produce, which is so expensive regularly. If we are pleased with the food, I will make sure to order again.
I got to spend some time with my sister yesterday. She'll be leaving soon, and I will miss her again. I feel like it takes days to get even close to caught up. Ah, well, that's life.
Boo is progessing well with his reading. He read half of Hop on Pop to his father last night to show off, and Lee was duly impressed. I am so pleased.
We are basically sitting here waiting for the mechanic to call saying the car is ready. We are all a little stir crazy.
I am pretty psyched - we ordered a couple boxes of food from Angel Food Ministries. It is a great way to get good food for a cheaper price. We paid on-line with our card, and will pick the food up next weekend in a local church. It will really help with our grocery bill last night - we got a lot of produce, which is so expensive regularly. If we are pleased with the food, I will make sure to order again.
I got to spend some time with my sister yesterday. She'll be leaving soon, and I will miss her again. I feel like it takes days to get even close to caught up. Ah, well, that's life.
Boo is progessing well with his reading. He read half of Hop on Pop to his father last night to show off, and Lee was duly impressed. I am so pleased.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Boys
Boo and his daddy, circa 2003 Boo is 6 today. My beautiful tiny baby boy has grown into a wonderful young man. I realize 6 is pushing it to call him a man, but he is just such a pleasant person that to call him a boy doesn't seem like quite enough. May I say of my son that he is a good person: reasonable, intelligent, interesting, affectionate, obedient, and with a heart that is always looking for heaven. He loves God because "he defeats all the bad guys and makes really good apples". This is my son, and I thank God for the gift of him. Help me to remember that I don't own him, and to gracefully surrender him when then time comes.
That being said, the darling boy is in trouble right now. He had one of his rare fits yesterday. I am telling you this so that it doesn't appear that my children are perfect. Every now and then he gets stubborn. We were in the parking lot at Giant. I had given each of them a treat, because we were waiting for our dinner and they were hungry. Elijah wanted a second one, and I said no, because it would ruin his appetite. He argued with me "appetite doesn't matter". I then calmly informed him that he was grounded for two days. He flipped his lid, and started crying me, threatening that he wouldn' stop crying until I "took it back". I then informed him that he would be "talked to" by his father and would be sent to his room for the night when we got home. He then proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs in the Giant parking lot. I read a book until Lee got there. Punishment duly administered, etc, etc. It doesn't happen too often, but ocassionally my "perfect" child rebels.
Funny story. I get cranky sometimes (no, really?). Lee takes it very personally. And that annoys me, because I feel it should be obvious that I'm not mad at him - just at the entire world. This morning was a perfect example. We placed an order last night for a couple of books from Amazon (Linux certification book + DVD for Lee and Tales of Beedle the Bard, which I have waited very, very patiently for). Only thing is, our old address was still on the account and we didn't realize it. The website said we couldn't change the address anymore. Lee asked me if I would call them while he was at work. I wasn't thrilled about it, but was angry (at the world not Lee) about the situation. Lee caught the vibes coming off of me. "Why are you mad at me?" he asked. I tried vainly to explain that it was not him, but it didn't work.
Five minutes later, Lee's friend arrived to pick him up for work (car going into the shop on Tuesday, thank you God for good timing). His friend greeted me, and I waved back at him.
"Are you mad at me?" Lee's moderately innocent friend asked me.
Oh, boy.
Okay, so I guess it really is me. I better work on not projecting those feelings - poor Lee.
UPDATE: Incidentally, Amazon's customer service is neat - you push a button and they call you immediately. You don't have to pay for the call, and they know who they're talking to right away, because they called you. And the very polite gentleman with the very thick accent fixed my problem immediately. Good job, Amazon.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Sickies
This Sunday, we went to a little Super Bowl Party with our friend Jon and his girl, Sesi. We had a lovely time. Sesi made a wonderful homemade salsa, and the game was very exciting. The Steelers won their sixth superbowl, woohoo! Go Steelers! I do care, a little bit. It's in my blood.
Boo and Julius came with us, and Olivia stayed with Nan. Lee was worried that Jon's place was too small to contain Olivia. She had a nice time with Nan, anyway.
When we got back to Olivia on Monday (my heart missed her every second we were away), she was sick. She had a fever and had slept much of the day after shopping with Nan and Aunt Mary.
We went to my mom's on Tuesday, Olivia still had a bit of a fever. I am really hoping we didn't get anybody sicker. Normally I would have kept them home, but I was very anxious to see my Sarah. She is in town for two weeks before heading out to Bolivia to work in the orphanage. Her husband is already "over there" or as the kids say "at war". If you think of it, say a prayer for our Uncle Curtis. We want him safe and happy, and to come home to Aunt Sarah as soon as possible. Curtis, if you get to read this, the kids and I pray for you daily.
Tuesday night, I got caught up on everything: homework, dishes, and emptying by hand the dank water that was in the washer. The broken washer. Dirty wash water is DISGUSTING. But all that grunt work broke through my funk and I am done with the whole moody thing I was doing all weekend.
Now it's Wednesday. Now it's Julius who has the fever. Poor little man has been in arms and nursing all day. I am so glad that we are still nursing, because there is nothing better for a sick baby. Nursing babies basically never get dehydrated because nursing is their comfort, and they will drink until they fall asleep. Mama and baby can both rest peacefully.
Boo and Julius came with us, and Olivia stayed with Nan. Lee was worried that Jon's place was too small to contain Olivia. She had a nice time with Nan, anyway.
When we got back to Olivia on Monday (my heart missed her every second we were away), she was sick. She had a fever and had slept much of the day after shopping with Nan and Aunt Mary.
We went to my mom's on Tuesday, Olivia still had a bit of a fever. I am really hoping we didn't get anybody sicker. Normally I would have kept them home, but I was very anxious to see my Sarah. She is in town for two weeks before heading out to Bolivia to work in the orphanage. Her husband is already "over there" or as the kids say "at war". If you think of it, say a prayer for our Uncle Curtis. We want him safe and happy, and to come home to Aunt Sarah as soon as possible. Curtis, if you get to read this, the kids and I pray for you daily.
Tuesday night, I got caught up on everything: homework, dishes, and emptying by hand the dank water that was in the washer. The broken washer. Dirty wash water is DISGUSTING. But all that grunt work broke through my funk and I am done with the whole moody thing I was doing all weekend.
Now it's Wednesday. Now it's Julius who has the fever. Poor little man has been in arms and nursing all day. I am so glad that we are still nursing, because there is nothing better for a sick baby. Nursing babies basically never get dehydrated because nursing is their comfort, and they will drink until they fall asleep. Mama and baby can both rest peacefully.
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