I've been BAPTIZED!

I had an interesting first experience today at work. About 10 minutes before the end of one of my counseling sessions I began hearing what sounded like a drip coffee maker brewing coffee right above my head. This would ordinarily not be that unusual except for the fact that there is no second floor above the office I use, nor do I have a drip coffee maker in my office. I did a double take the louder it got thinking to myself, "that is really not a sound I've ever heard before in here and I hope my client doesn't notice that I'm totally not paying attention to a word they are saying as I'm looking around the room for a surprise coffee drink waiting for me."

The next thing I knew my tranquil, safe counseling room had been transformed into a tropical rainforest, complete with water pouring through the ceiling tiles and soggy insulation dangling from the ceiling. If my chair had been 6 inches to the right I would have had a nice little pool right in my lap. I leaped up and grabbed a garbage can to catch as much of the water as I could. Imagine trying to contain water from a fire hose with a teaspoon--this is a similar picture of what good work my garbage can was doing. Soon the church staff came to my rescue and we all had a good laugh about the whole thing. I've always wondered what it looks like when a pipe freezes and bursts, and now I know first hand.

One of the hardest things for me about counseling is knowing how and when to gently end a session. I try to stick to a 50 minute session so I can be sure to have a few minutes to transition between clients. But sometimes it's just very awkward ending a session when a client very clearly is not ready to gather themselves and walk out of the room. It's a good thing this particular client had a sense of humor and could laugh about this. I definitely didn't have to state the obvious at the end of this session, "Well, I think our time is up!"

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Winter Wonderland

We woke up to find some limbs like this one down in our yard Friday morning. Our power was out from about 2 am to 6 am. You never realize how quiet a house can be until the power is out. The water heater, the furnace, humidifiers all create a blanket of noise that is so comforting to sleep under. I was laying awake (because who can sleep in total silence?!) listening to car after car spin their wheels at the stop sign next to us and hoping none would careen into our house. Then I was hearing the tree branches crack and fall-from the way it sounded I thought the whole tree was falling into our house.

I thought they looked kinda cool in our yard but S is already out there picking them all up. If anybody needs some firewood or kindling let us know!

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Visiting Santa

We went to visit Santa when he came to the Library last week and apparently W was still terrified of those spankings Santa gives out so he was NOT interested in sitting on his lap. We opted for the family pic instead. Even poly pants in winter static don't cling as tightly as W was clinging to Daddy!

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Scared

As heard at our dinner table this evening...

W: "I'm scared."
S: "Why?"
W: "Because Jesus and Santa spank people."

Clearly we have some work to do in the area of differentiating disciplinarian authorities.

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One down...

Woo hoo! S passed his first licensing exam today and we are SO relieved! He's been studying for over a month now and it's been kind of consuming our time and mental energy. He'll actually receive two licenses, one for Life Insurance and one for Accident and Health Insurance. This will enable him to write policies and is the first big hurdle he's tackled in his new job. What a great thing to be thankful for this week!

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Halloween

We spent most of the end of October sick and battling colds but I was glad by Halloween we all seemed to be on the mend. L is on an antibiotic so I'm hoping she can get over this stuff that she's had off and on for almost two months now! Halloween was fun and W was really starting to "get it" this year. Someone gave him a Halloween pencil trick-or-treating and he kept trying to give it back to all the houses they went to after that. Only candy please!

Here are my little creatures...

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November

Can it really be November already? October was such a blur I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged!

We took a trip to Iowa as a family mid-October. My friend was getting married and I was her bridesmaid so we made a little getaway of it and spent a few days doing fun family stuff before the wedding. We had a nice time although unfortunately I got the stomach flu the day of the wedding and was pretty bummed about not getting to celebrate the way I'd expected to. Every wedding has a "glitch" so I guess it was better me than the bride!

Here's our day at the zoo...



We went to a place called Go Bananas! It's kind of like a glorified Chuck E. Cheese and W LOVED it...

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3 Years

Psalm 139:13-16

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Happy Birthday!

W has been asking for a dinosaur birthday for over a month now. I don't know where he came up with that as we have nary a dinosaur in our home but his wish was granted and now our house is overrun with dinosaurs! We celebrated last night with S' side and he was thrilled with our party!



One of the more special presents he'll receive this year was from Grandpa. He spent this past month restoring his childhood 1956 Farmall red pedal tractor for W. We've been riding it every day since he got it and I can tell it's already a favorite.

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Together for Lincoln

There are times when I get irritated living in such a small community. The resistance to change and economic development, the lack of entertainment, the absence of a shopping mall...ahem...sometimes a girl just needs some quick window browsing therapy and having to drive 40 minutes to get it is such a drag.

But there are other times when I realize how extremely fond of living in Lincoln I've become. It's quaint, relatively safe, people are friendly and there are lots of good things about living in a small town. In fact, I think I can say sometimes I'm downright proud of Lincoln.

Today is definitely one of those days.

Our church, along with 10 others, has organized a community wide service project day where individuals from all over the community are coming together to serve people and show the love of Christ through their actions. They have close to 100 service projects lined up with more than 800 people signed up to participate in volunteering. All kinds of things are happening today from building wheelchair ramps to visiting nursing homes to cleaning hard to reach areas of homes for people who just can't reach there anymore. It has received such a positive response that I'm certain it will become an annual event.

S is a project leader for a woman who needs some painting and staining done on her home. That means my role today is to be home with the kiddos. I have to admit, honestly I was a little resentful when we left for church this morning realizing that I had to give up hubby for the day and for me this would just be another day. But then our preacher gave an inspiring message about unity and serving others. Then they played this song while flashing pictures of various sites around Lincoln up on the screen and I got all teary and warm and proud of what was happening today.

When W and I were eating lunch we heard people talking outside and he asked, "What's that mom?" I got up to look and saw a group of people I'd never seen before picking up trash on our street. Their ages ranged from what looked like about 4 years old to middle age and I instantly got excited about what an impact this project could have on our community. Not just on the people being served, but on the people serving. I got excited about teaching my children why we do what we do on this day every year. I got excited to serve alongside others from different faith backgrounds for one unified purpose: showing the love of Christ to others.

Lincoln, I'm proud of you.

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Busy

This is what I mean when I say she's "into everything!"




What a sweet busy season of life this is.

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Dedicate a Day

As part of Hearts at Home Blog Tour during the month of September I'd like to republish a previous post I wrote after going to their National Conference two years ago. I had to miss it this past year as it was shortly after the birth of our daughter so I'm already getting antsy for next year's conference. The past few weeks have been a bit defeating dealing with sick kids and a toddler in the throes of terrible 2's/3's. I am more than eager to fill up on a little mommy encouragement in March at the 2009 Conference!


I went to a conference last Friday called Hearts at Home. It was a really nice day for these reasons:

• the car ride up and back with my friend E
• spending all day with my sis and getting her undivided attention (i'm still the baby, ok?) (by the way, check out her new business venture)
• crying through the first song (they really shouldn't make you cry within the first 15 min. of the day)
• laughing my head off during our first workshop. The speaker was hysterical
• learning that no matter what I deal with as a mom, some other mom has been there, done that and can often provide encouragement for the journey.

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Redemption

In applying for new health insurance for S's new job we were asked to give detailed account of any medical treatment we have had in the last FIVE YEARS.

Excuse me?

FIVE YEARS?! I can't even remember the last time I had 8 continuous hours of sleep, let alone every medical detail anyone in our family has experienced in the last FIVE YEARS!

Not only did they want to know dates, procedures, diagnoses, they wanted to know medications, dosages and frequency of medications. Surprisingly it wasn't quite as hard as I thought it might be and the specifics I couldn't remember I just guessed.

We filled out our application online and apparently even that did not provide enough detail because I received a call a few days later from an underwriter wanting more information about several conditions we had reported on our app.

One of the issues she wanted more info on was our infertility, specifically the endometriosis I had treatment for. What had been done, when, what results occurred, what subsequent treatments have been done, any recurrence...? She asked me several questions more than once. There are certain times in my life now when I have a hard time believing we went through all that. It seems like such a long ago period of our life when I see my squealing toddler running through the house and cuddle my little baby girl.

That's why I was caught so off guard by my emotional reaction to all her questions. I had to bite my lip several times through our conversation to keep from crying. I felt like once again my privacy was being violated by a complete stranger wanting to know the ins and outs of my painful past in order to make a judgement on paper as to my health condition. I wanted to scream, "THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" and hang up. I just kept wondering through the rest of the day if that dark period of my life will ALWAYS follow me.

And yet our sermon at church Sunday was a perfect reminder to me about the value of remembering our past when living in today. How can we really appreciate the power of redemption without remembering what we are redeemed from? As long ago as our years of infertility seem, they have greatly influenced who I've become today with a heart for hurting people. God has worked His redemption through my life in so many ways: healing my empty womb to allow me to carry children, healing my heart from the pain of my past, healing my soul that would otherwise be destitute and hopeless without Him.

Maybe God knew I needed that phone call from an unknowing underwriter to remind me of His Great Power in my life.

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Happy 25 years DM!

Discovery Ministries is a wilderness adventure camp that S interned at two summers in college. They were celebrating their 25 year anniversary this weekend so we took the fam to enjoy the festivities. Here are a few hi-lites...

W and Daddy rock-climbing


L rock-climbing (don't worry mom-S's holding her, you just can't see it in the pic)


W liked swinging better than climbing!


Alley Springs...gorgeous scenery


Daddy and W discovering


Stylin!

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Change

I've discovered that I am quite a creature of habit. I thrive on routine and love knowing what to expect from my day, my week, my future. That's why the most recent change in our lives is such a biggie for us.

As of the beginning of October S will be resigning from his position at LCC and will go to work for Brad Neal, a financial planner here in town. Six months ago we set up an appointment to have him take a look at our retirement, life insurance, etc. Apparently from that meeting S made such a good impression on Brad that he began pursuing him to come work for him.

S will be assisting Brad with various duties and tasks involved in the business and will begin working on further education to get the licenses he needs for the job. S really liked what he did at LCC and we've always said if he were to leave there, God would have to drop something in his lap. I never imagined that would actually happen!

It has been a mix of fear, sadness and excitement as we've made this decision. I love lists so here we go:

What excites us about this opportunity:

-Brad is a Christian and views his work as a ministry. He serves a lot of ministers and missionaries and provides affordable services for people like us who live on a tight budget. S is excited to be able to help people stretch what God has given them and save for their future.

-We've heard nothing but positive things about Brad. I've been amazed at how many unsolicited comments we've heard from people lately about what a man of integrity he is.

-It fits so well with S's giftedness. He has such a business mind and is so good with all things finance. And yet his gentle, genuine, patient spirit is so beneficial when working with people so it's a perfect blend for this type of job.

-The sky's the limit! There is so much potential for professional and personal growth as he continues learning and developing.

-God has affirmed every step of this process. We kept praying that He would send up red flags or close doors if this was not supposed to happen. Every time we prayed that, He just kept opening one more door until finally we felt like He was pushing us through it!

-Brad has been so specific in relieving our fears and worries. We've had several candid conversations with he, his wife and his secretary and all our concerns have been answered and put to rest.

Of course we are sad about not being quite as connected to the community at LCC as we have been. Sometimes I wonder why it seems that God is separating us from so many of our friends right now. But we feel confident that this is the new journey God has marked for us and it's time for us to embark.

Keep us in mind if you ever need some insurance or financial planning!

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The Case of the Missing Underwear

W is two and a half, recently potty trained and a boy. All those factors combined means that I have long ago quit battling trying to get him to wear clothing on the bottom half of his body when he doesn't want to. It destroys my serenity and I never win anyway.

So yesterday after lunch was no different than most days when he ran screaming from the bathroom after going potty but before putting his underwear back on. Knowing the futility of engaging in the chase, I half-heartedly threw his underwear at him as I walked through the living room and returned to the kitchen to finish my lunch.

A few minutes later after a noticeably mysterious silence he entered the kitchen (still pant-less) saying, "Mommy? More pants? Mommy? More pants?" Figuring he was finally ready to cover his derrière I went searching for the underwear only to discover them completely out of sight.

After checking all the usual hiding spots: under the couches, behind the pillows, in the toilet, I began wondering if now we had added a new twist to our daily ritual. However, as I continued searching, it was not snickering and giggling I heard from W (as I'd expected to hear) but instead an increasingly feverish, "Mommy? Where pants go? MOMMY?! WHERE PANTS GO?!" The poor kid really didn't know what he had done with his underwear and in typical toddler fashion, because he COULDN'T have
them, he wanted them NOW!

I finally convinced him that a new pair of Lightning McQueen pants would just have to do until the mystery pair decided to show themselves. A few minutes later Super Sleuth Detective Daddy sauntered into the living room and casually said, "What's that lump under the carpet?"

Under the area rug in our living room, smack dab in the middle, lay a little lump of toddler undies.

Don't ask me how they got there.

Don't ask me how he could not have known where they had gone.

But let me tell you...you would have thought we had just found a million dollars under our carpet from the way that little boy reacted.

So we have officially decided...no more presents at birthday or Christmas. All we need to bring excitement to our child is an area rug and a long lost pair of underpants.

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Goodbye

I've never been very good at saying goodbye. Apparently God thinks now is a good time for me to get better at it because I've been having to do it a lot lately. Our friends and youth minister who we've worked with for 7 years are moving to Kansas. Hubbie's long-time childhood friend and his wife are moving to Taiwan. My closest friend here in town with whom I share a deep heart connection is getting married and moving out of state. Of course we're happy about all of these exciting transitions our friends get to make but being the ones left behind isn't exactly fun.

I'm also stepping out of my position counseling at Living Hope so I can add a second day counseling with Lincoln Pastoral. It just makes sense to not make the drive anymore with gas prices being what they are. Plus I'll be able to spend more time at home with my kids which is where my heart is primarily invested at anyway.

It's been harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye to my clients there. For some of my long-term clients, although our relationship has been professional, it's been intimate. Sharing dark corners of your life with someone brings an element of vulnerability to even the most clinical of relationships.

I've been a little surprised at how awkward many of my "last sessions" have been. I'd gotten so used to saying, "See you in a week," that I wasn't sure what to say instead. "Have a good life" seems just a bit too final. But for many, it will be the last time I see them in this life.

Part of the privilege I've had in working at Living Hope is that many of my clients are Christians. It has been such a blessing to be able to pray with and for my clients, wrestle with tough spiritual issues and consult the Holy Spirit together when we're stuck.

As awkward as it is saying goodbye to these clients it's comforting to know that the Great Counselor is still very much a part of their lives. I feel a sense of peace in knowing that perhaps the next time I see these people, I won't see broken, wounded souls. I'll see them made new, complete, whole. Free from trauma, liberated from binding habits, made perfect by the blood of Christ.

"See you in a new life..."

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I love CVS

OK, so it's time for me to go public with my little addiction as of late. My friend tipped me off to this blog that details how, through doing some clever couponing, you can get great, no, impossibly amazing, deals at CVS. I've never really liked our CVS because it's old and dingy and the lighting is scary but we're getting a brand new building and after learning "the system" I'm totally addicted to the deals I've been getting there.

For example, I got everything in the below pic for...

drumroll please...

40 CENTS! Yes, you read it right folks, 40 cents. It takes some time and research to figure out how to do this but if you're curious you have to check it out!

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More recent pics of the kiddos...

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Too funny

As seen on the advertisement board outside our local hardware store:

"TOILET BLOW OUT SALE"

Tell me that's not funny.

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I wish God had podcasts

Wouldn't that be great?
Going for that morning jog or walk and need something to keep your mind occupied? Headed for that long commute to work? Need His advice in making a difficult decision? Want to tune out a screaming toddler? Waiting for reassurance that everything is going to be OK?
Just download today's podcast, sync up to ipod and go!
If only, huh?

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My new book

Pottytraining has a way of making you feel like you are the most incompetent parent in the world. Really. I've taught him how to eat, how to walk, and he's even getting pretty darn good at saying the alphabet. How hard can it be to teach someone that their pee and poop go in the toilet, not in their pants?
I wake up in the morning actually dreading the day because of the battles I know I'm going to face that day from the time he wakes up in the morning to the time he goes to bed. Oh the DRAMA: the whining, the crying, the temper tantrums.
And then there's all the carrying on that W does too!
I'm not proud of what I have resorted to over the course of the past two weeks to get this child with an iron will to sit on the potty. You name it, I've bribed with it.
Last night after I had vented my frustrations at full blast to hubby I was trying to unwind with some parental reading before bed. He looked at me and said, "Why do you read books like that before bed? It just makes you feel bad because our kids don't do what the book says they should be doing and then you don't sleep."
Oh wise one. How true are your words.
So we decided we are going to write a book about all the terrible, frustrating, abnormal things kids do so that moms out there like me actually feel better about their own kids after they read it. Anyone care to contribute?

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Mad TV Bob Newhart Skit - Mo Collins - Stop it

I went to a workshop today on Motivational Interviewing: Overcoming Client Resistance to Change. This video is what we learned NOT to do.

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The Item

Garage sales are a funny thing. Every year my sister has a garage sale along with several other families from her neighborhood. Throughout the year I stow away items that we don't use anymore, don't like anymore or have been replaced by the bigger, better and newer version. In the weeks before her sale I dig out all the tubs I've been stowing in and go through it to price things and try to make my junk look at least somewhat attractive. I always find it amazing how many picture frames I pull out of those tubs. I'm beginning to think they mate and multiply in the dark confines of their Rubbermaid tubs.
The saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure" is proven correct every year at this sale. There always seems to be at least one Item that I nearly throw away as I pull it from the tubs thinking, there's no way someone is really going to buy this...and I'm pretty embarrassed to even include it among my trash. But then I remember the previous year's Item and I slap a ridiculous price on it just to see if this year will follow suit with all the others.
This year The Item was...drumroll please...a bag of used pacifiers. Now let me explain before you think I'm totally sick and truly just out to make a buck. Well, I might be out to make a buck, but I'm not totally sick. Neither of my kids ever liked pacifiers. W preferred his thumb from birth, much to my dismay. No pacifier ever stayed in his mouth for longer than the time it took for him to effectively stain any outfit I ever wore as soon as I picked him up, which was about two seconds. We tried about 6 different types of pacifiers with him, all were adamantly refused. I saved them for baby #2 which she clearly did not appreciate. I couldn't even get them in her mouth because of the superior tongue thrust she developed when I'd come within two feet of her mouth with one. We even bought about 4 more different kinds until finally she will at least occasionally tolerate one type. (I think she really only takes it to pacify me!) Of course it's the biggest ugliest pacifier on the market. No little pink bling-bling pacifiers for my sweetie.
All this to say, this bag of pacifiers had hardly been used so after conferring with my sister about whether or not to actually try to sell these I slapped $2 on them and sheepishly pulled them out the morning of the sale.
Less than an hour later someone came up to me and said, "Are these $2 each?" I'm embarassed to say I actually was trying to read whether or not she'd be willing to pay $2 each before I told her the truth and pocketed her $2. It just goes to show you never know what someone might be willing to buy. Now I can rest assured knowing the pacifier frustrations I endured have come to peace and some other little suckling mouth might find comfort in ways my children couldn't.
I just hope she sterilizes them.

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Check it out

: OK, I found these two websites that are just so cool I have to share with y'all. First is e-mealz. It's a meal-planning service that provides you weekly meal plans complete with shopping lists based on which grocery store you usually do your shopping at. Since they base the meals on what's on sale that week at your store you save money, not to mention the time of not having to think up what you are going to make for dinners that week. If you're like me I HATE planning meals and have been known to sit at the kitchen table for an hour staring at my recipe box trying to plan meals. So if you're the cook in your family, check it out.
Also, check out pandora. It's a music website that creates a radio station playlist for you based on what your favorite artists or songs are. You just type in what your favorite artist is and it starts playing songs by that artist or by different artists that have a similar sound. I can't be on my computer anymore without listening to it, it's fabulous!
Anyway, just a couple fun things I wanted to share.

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Rose

The age old question of "Why do bad things happen to good people?" is pounding in my head this week. My friend delivered a stillborn baby this weekend after her water broke at 21 weeks gestation. I have found myself wrestling with all the stages of grief as I've been reading the updates on what they have had to deal with. My friends gave their baby the middle name Rose and I've been reflecting on what a perfectly symbolic name that is for suffering such a major loss.
With spring coming all the stores have been advertising rose bushes and it has been a constant reminder to me to pray for my friends. I was thinking about how a rose bush is such an appropriate metaphor for tough life situations. They look so prickly and ugly in the stores. You wonder how something so stubby and rough could ever produce something beautiful. But when you take a rose bush home, plant it, care for it, nurture it, from it comes a gorgeous, fragrant, breathtaking flower. Sure it will always have it's thorns. Adversity always leaves scars, painful memories. But the flower, the beauty that comes from those prickly stems is what people stop to notice.

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Just a couple pics of the reasons I haven't blogged in a while!

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Baby Girl

Well, the newest member of our family has arrived! She came two weeks early and it is so strange to me thinking I could still be pregnant right now. Even though it's only been a week since she was born it's already hard to remember what life was like without her. Life feels a little unbalanced after the arrival of a newborn. And yet in other ways life has never felt more balanced. Every day brings new realizations of the losses and gains that ripple through our family because of a tiny 6 lb baby.

What I've lost:
-some sleep
-temporary use of my stomach muscles
-some weight
-some "me" time
-being able to give W my undivided attention
-my previous daily routine

But more importantly, what I've gained:
-pink, pink and more pink
-joy in watching W show unprompted physical affection towards his baby sister
-a fierce desire to protect and provide for my children
-a new respect for hubby as he shows a charming tenderness towards his baby girl
-a sense of completeness
-a renewed awe of God's creativity that can only come from gazing at the tiny fingers of a newborn
-a tremendous responsibility that I can only carry with the help of our Great Creator.

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The Natural

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