a visit to the eye-doctor

Isn't that just the sweetest thing you ever saw?! That's my girl! :) We had a family visit to the eye doctor yesterday...well, we forgot and let Micah go on a sleepover so he wasn't there, but we'll get his eyes checked next week...anyway, it turns out that Gracia needs glasses! She has inherited my astigmatism...sigh. But she thinks it's wonderful to wear glasses and had a blast trying on different pairs! We finally settled on this little purple pair, they are very cute, but I'm wondering how long it will be before the excitement wears off....



Jojo's eyes are fine, but he thought he should get some glasses, too! So he ran over and tried on this pair, that actually don't look that bad! haha...drama king there...

And this is an extra...since we're on the topic of glasses...this is Jkaile with my glasses on. I love that cheeky look on his face! He looks so proud of himself about something! :)

Things are coming together...

My feelings about being 3 weeks away from heading back to the mission field...Wow! Anxiety! Excitement! Apprehension! Anticipation! AAAACCCCKKKK!

yeah

Can you tell I have mixed emotions?! On the one hand, I'm very excited about a new ministry, a new place to live, seeing all of our friends in Mexico again, getting back into full-time missions...on the other, I crave a more simple, stress-free life, I will miss all of my friends here (and I know my kids will miss their friends, too!), I know that there will be plenty of challenges, busyness being one of them...am I ready for all of this?! I am so glad that my sister Chrissy called from Ecuador yesterday (that was a God thing, for sure!) because she was able to impart great wisdom to me (they've been through 2 major ministry shifts recently!). She said that changing to a different field of service can bring up a lot of different emotions, a lot of them negative. She reminded me, however, that feelings are subjective and not necessarily the truth of the situation, so it's good to consciously focus on the positive, the good things and the truth. And this will help the kids transition better as well.

And this will be a huge transition for our family, mostly the fact that Micah and Gracia will be in school and not be homeschooled...we are not used to getting up early and going somewhere every day! I'm sure, though, that once we get into the swing of things, there will be much to appreciate...such as mornings with only 2 kids, being able to give more attention to Jojo and Jkaile, not having the extra work of homeschooling, structure for our family...lots of positives! :)

I sorted through all the kids' clothes today, weeding out the extras, packing their school and winter clothes. I feel like I have accomplished something! I have such a long list of things to do that it's overwhelming and it feels really good to get that done. Maybe that will motivate me to keep chipping away at the list little by little...I really hate that feeling of having so many things to do hovering over my head!

But in general, things are really starting to come together...not only do we have a house waiting for us when we get to Mexico, but they have nearly furnished it for us as well! Thank you, Lord! Our monthly support, while not exactly at the level we'd like to see, is coming along (I'm SO proud of Miguel for working so hard on that!) and we have the money we need for traveling and initial set-up expenses. The kids are enrolled in school and we have the school supply list in hand. It's neat to see how things are working out...they always do so I don't know why I bother to stress....

Micah

Micah and I had a very interesting conversation this morning! I had him help me make breakfast since he's learning how to cook, so he cut up the hot dogs for the scrambled eggs and then cooked the eggs and toasted the biscuits. I guess working together gives great opportunities to talk about stuff!

So Micah says, Hey, Mom, there is one good thing about having a friend who is a tomboy (he's been learning what that means since Mom was quite the tomboy in her time...). He said, it's because then a boy doesn't have to do all that "girl stuff"! :) Micah said that a boy who does girl stuff is a "sissy". That boy sissies get made fun of by other boys. And that was a great time to talk about how God made boys and girls to be different and what roles each should play, especially in marriage...because it would follow that sometimes boy sissies grow up to be man sissies and then they might marry a wife that's too bossy and tells him what to do all the time. :o Micah didn't think that was a good idea, because he's been taught that Papi is the boss, then Mommy, and then the kids, with God having the final authority over all of us.

Once again, a good time for me to examine myself...am I being a good example of a godly wife to my children? Am I teaching them to honor and reverence their father? Am I encouraging them to submit to Miguel's authority so that they can learn to submit to God's authority? Good questions...

Gracia

Gracia has been really needy lately! And I don't always respond so well to neediness in people...something I think I need to work on, especially in regards to my children.

Gracia has been asking me if I can "sleep with her" but since her bed is currently in a closet, that's kind of hard for me to do! Or she wants to sleep with Miguel and I in our bed, which doesn't work too well, either. I think I finally realized that what she wants is just some more attention from Mom. Miguel usually puts the kids to bed, so for the last few nights, I've gone in to tuck Gracia and Jojo into bed to give them just a bit more attention at bedtime.

So a couple of nights ago I was laying on the floor by Gracia's bed and she said that she wished she were still a baby. Oh? Why? I said. She said that then she could nurse on me...I asked her if maybe it was because she wanted Mama to hold her more and she said yes, that was it (I didn't think that she actually wanted to nurse!). Then she said that she wanted Mama to hold her, rock her to sleep, and then put her in her bed after she was asleep. So we got up, went to the rocking chair and I rocked her in my arms. After a while, she lifted up her head and said, I'm not going to sleep! :) So I sang her a lullaby and then I put her back to bed and that was enough.

Last night, we had a conversation about when Gracia was still in Mommy's tummy and I could feel her jumping around. Gracia is convinced that babies come out of their mommy's tummy through the belly button, but has questions about how that works since obviously belly buttons are too small! :) It was an interesting conversation...

I have been actively including Gracia more in my daily chores and cooking, she seems to need more of my time and attention than the boys do...or maybe it's that she needs a different kind of attention? Now that she's five, she is old enough to understand some deeper concepts, even to begin learning how to grow up to be a godly woman. It has made me examine myself even more to see whether I'm being a good example of a godly wife and mother for my little girl!

Words of Encouragement for Weary Parents

"Jojo called me stupid!" Gracia said as she came crying to the office where I was trying to work on the computer. I sighed as I stopped what I was doing yet AGAIN to deal with the squabbling kids. Frankly, I get really TIRED of the tattling, squabbling, fighting, bugging, and provoking that goes on between them. And with three kids of squabbling age around (Jkaile's still a bit young to join in, but the day is coming!!!), there is bound to be a LOT of tattling going on.

Ironically, I was logging on to Focus on the Family's website and happened to click on the Parenting link. Lo and behold, there were a couple of articles on tattling! So here's what I have learned today:

I learned that I usually don't deal correctly with tattling because either I am not sure WHAT to do or I end up rewarding the tattler by getting the "offender" in trouble. I vaguely realize that I may not be dealing with the situation correctly, but I have had trouble knowing how to approach the situation.

Tattling is usually motivated by one sibling taking pleasure in getting the other in trouble, which can cause problems for that relationship as well as disrupt the entire household (in our house, this has certainly been the case!).

Parents can address the tattling situation and encourage peace by taking the following steps:
1. Help the tattler understand his/her motivation
2. Help the tattler understand the damaging effects of the tattling
3. Help the tattler replace tale-bearing with encouragement
4. Teach the tattler to practice what he/she has learned

Helping the tattler to understand the motives behind the tale-bearing by asking thought-provoking questions will take the focus off of the wrong that someone else has done and place it on their own motives. And by helping our kids think through their motives, we will be helping them learn how to make good decisions.

"Could it be that you are taking pleasure in getting your brother in trouble?"
"What are you hoping will happen to your brother by getting him in trouble?"
"How do you think your brother/sister feels when you tattle on them?"
"Will tattling bring you closer to your brother/sister or tear you apart?"

Sometimes there ARE good reasons for tattling, such as if a sibling is not listening to another child's encouragement to do the right thing, if a child is endangering themselves or someone else, or if a child is causing damage to toys or other property.

Then, it's good to replace wrong behavior for right...
"Rather than tattling, what could you have said to encourage your brother/sister?"
"How do you think it makes your brother/sister feel when you encourage them instead of trying to get them in trouble?"

A good way to teach children is by role-play...I know this, but I don't always remember to actually put it in action! It's good to immediately take the children back to the original situation and then walk them through how they COULD have acted in a loving way and avoided the tattling. It's good to make the original "offender" pay attention to the encouragement and thank their brother/sister for caring enough about them to talk to them.

Okay, GREAT ADVICE but here's the problem...this takes a LOT OF WORK! To do this means that I continually have to stop what I'm doing, get down on their level, and work it through with them. I know that it's what I need to do, but I find that I get really tired of the daily struggle for consistency in teaching and discipline. It's easier to just let something slide than to deal with it right away. It's hard to keep the long-range parenting goals in mind and remember the steps I need to take daily to get there. So I thought it was really neat that at the end of the article on tattling, the author included this verse:

Galatians 6:9

Let us not become weary in doing good,

for at the proper time we will

reap a harvest if we do not give up.

I am so thankful that God led me to this article today! I needed some words of encouragement and I'm happy to say that my kids are now playing together rather nicely! I know that won't always be the case, but it's nice for now! :) And I pray that God will give me the wisdom and patience that I need to consistently teach my kids.

BTW: I found this article on the Focus on the Family website and it was written by Ginger Plowman, author and found of Preparing the Way Ministries which focuses on biblical parenting. Her website is www.gingerplowman.com.

Surprise food

Miguel has been volunteering a bit of his time at a food warehouse that supplies ministries in this region and has really enjoyed it. And he usually brings home quite a bit of household groceries and supplies, which has been a blessing to our budget in the last few weeks. One of the things he's brought home has been unlabeled canned goods...what our kids have termed "surprise food". :) It's been interesting because they get pretty excited about it! They pick a can, then we open it and eat whatever it is (for the most part they've been lucky with carrots and not something like spinach! haha)...and they have been pretty good about eating a pretty big serving! Even Gracia, who's a rather sparse eater most days....

Taking Water For Granted

There was a small notice hanging on our door this morning that the city will be shutting off our water from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today for repairs. My first reaction was a bit of outrage and then I realized that I have been Taking Water For Granted! We live in such a great country here in the U.S. where most people never even think about the basic utilities because they are so reliable! In Venezuela, the water, electricity, phone service, etc. would just randomly come and go with no warning...it's just a way of life. We always kept a barrel of water and candles on hand for those times since unlike today, there is usually no warning that the services will not be available. In fact, many houses in Venezuela are built with reservoirs and tanks to store water. One house we lived in didn't even receive water from the city any more, I think the pipes were damaged beyond repair. We had water trucked in every week to fill our reservoir. One time Miguel forgot to call the truck and then he couldn't get the truck to come at all for a few days! He even went out looking for any water truck he could find, but no luck. We were down to the last tiny bit of water when we were finally able to fill our reservoir, but by then we were getting rather rank from not being able to bathe!

Anyway, so after my initial reaction this morning, I looked around to see what I could do to keep a good water supply for today...there are no reservoirs in this house! I got creative...I filled both tubs about half-way with water for toilet flushing and filled every empty pitcher, jar, and container in the kitchen with water for drinking water or whatever. I think I'm getting spoiled with all of this luxury here and I need to start shifting back into "missionary mode" as we look forward to going back to the field later this year!

Mother's Day

We had an interesting Mother's Day this year! For one thing, I think this was the first year that the kids really grasped the idea that this is a special day for Mom, so they were quite insistent that Miguel do something about it! Not that Miguel hadn't done anything for Mother's Day in other years, but maybe it hadn't been quite so high on the priority list...

Anyway, I broke my favorite coffee mug the other day and I noticed a lot of whispering between Micah and Gracia when they saw how sad I was about that (I tend to get attached to my coffee mugs...). So I kind of expected something along the lines of a new coffee mug. On Friday evening, the kids came home bursting with secrets, so I figured that was when the presents had been bought! :) They did a good job, though, and though there were some near disclosures, nothing too revealing was said.

They presented me with a pretty box yesterday morning with 5 red bows representing the different members of the family that the present was from. Sure enough, there was a beautiful coffee mug in there and it was perfect! It's large and has a whimsical flower design on it along with Philippians 4:13. The mug was from the kids, Miguel also gave me the perfect gift...a new Ted Dekker book!!! Yay! I love Ted Dekker and am always thrilled with the privelege of reading another of his books. This one is Blessed Child, written by Ted Dekker and Bill Bright. I haven't read much of it, but what I've read so far is pretty riveting! I am trying not to read it too fast...I tend to do that and then not enjoy the story as much as I could....kind of like gobbling down the entire chocolate bar all at once and not savoring the pleasure of its flavor.

And then Mom called with the news about the tornadoes that passed through just north of our farm in Oklahoma...some very good friends of ours lost their houses. Betty lived in one house and her son and family in another house behind Betty's and the tornado destroyed both houses. There were many other houses in the area destroyed as well, the devastation looked pretty grim in the pictures I've been seeing online. :( My heart goes out to everyone that has been affected by the storms. It is a blessing, though, to see the community coming together to begin the recovery process...even Miguel went up to help for the day! We Americans are so blessed with the security of knowing that for the most part, times of disaster will be met with helping hands, not with looting and chaos! In many other countries, this is not how things work!

We also dedicated Jkaile in church yesterday! We had been schedule to dedicate him in February, but had to cancel because we were all so sick that week. :( But it turned out very nice to be able to dedicate him on Mother's Day....we took a risk and let all the kids go up on stage with us for the dedication service and PTL everything went very well! It was some other little girl that began crying loudly and had to be taken away by her dad...I was afraid that ours would start fighting or something in front of 1200 people...yikes. Jkaile, of course, was his usual calm self and seemed to enjoy watching the pictures on the big screen!

So all in all, an interesting Mother's Day! Plenty of excitement, although we probably could have done without the tornadoes...

Words of Encouragement

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O Lord Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young-

a place near your altar,

O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you. Selah.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength,

till each appears before God in Zion.

Psalm 84:1-7

I am on pilgrimage, Lord, and my heart is set on this spiritual journey-set on You! My strength comes only from my Sovereign God, and I go from strength to strength in my journey. Thank you, Lord, that just enough of Your strength will be there for me right when I need it. And it will be sufficient for me. Praise you, Lord!

Trouble for Miguel

Yesterday I was commenting to Miguel that I really need to add a few things to my wardrobe. It seems like I did pretty good at collecting winter clothes in the last few months and now I find myself with very few presentable things for summertime. So far I've been pretty lucky since the weather can't really decide what it's going to do! I've been able to get by with just a few short sleeves...it's crazy how all my shirts seem to get these horrible grease spots on them!!!! I am having to use an apron when I cook (something I swore I'd never do since it makes me look like a grandma) or just wear a really old and ratty t-shirt in the house (which makes me feel like a slob).

Anyway, so then Miguel says, "Well, there's a suitcase of clothes that we brought from Venezuela out in the garage...go check it out."

I got excited since I thought that maybe I'd overlooked some clothes I already had...I immediately went to the garage and looked.

And do you know what I found??!! Are you ready for this, ladies?

The suitcase was full of my maternity clothes from last year!!!!!!!!!

I thought we had gotten RID of those clothes!!! When Jkaile was born, I swore I NEVER wanted to see those clothes again as long as I lived!!!!

Boy, was Miguel in trouble!!!!!!! Does he think I still look like THIS?????