Day #3

It's been a long day.

I can still hear those rotten kids chatting when they are supposed to be sleeping. Man, is it going to be hard to get them up for school in a few weeks!

We went to the museum today - Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Their special exhibit was called "Ends of the Earth" and it was about the Arctic and the Antarctic, polar bears and penguins, and lots of other frozen tundra facts. We learned a lot because I made the kids read just about every little plaque we came across. We learned a lot about Georgia because they had a lot of GA exhibits too (duh!). Alex especially liked the dinosaurs and could name just about everyone that we saw. There were several day care groups there and since I don't like small children (other than my own), I tried to stay one exhibit ahead of them. It was all good.

Each kid got a small treat from the museum store and then we headed to lunch with Papi. We were starving! It was after 3pm at this point. I had taken snacks for the kids to eat but still...we were ready for some lunch. We met Papi at Taco Mac and enjoyed a long leisurely meal. Mary was relatively well behaved. Afterwards, we headed to his house to hang for a while to wait out the traffic. It was a good day.

This is Papi trying to be cute.

The trash is just about ready to go out. Do you think we can make it until Friday night? Hmmmm.

Tomorrow is Thursday...no plans as of yet. We may go swimming if the weather permits. It was cloudy today but still hot. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Have a great day!

Day #2

Well, today was a pretty quiet day. The stupid cat woke me up at 5am so I got up to let him out. Liv was already awake and said she had been awake since 4am. That kid is so weird. So I told her to go back to sleep and I did the same. We both slept until 8:30! So, needless to say, we woke up groggy and still tired.

McKennah invited Mary to go swimming at 10:30. I packed her a lunch and we waited outside for her to be picked up. She stayed for about 45 minutes before Stacey called and said Mary wanted to come home. It wasn't until we got home that she finally told me that she was sad because McKennah and Katie Bug were playing together and she felt left out. That's so unlike her because she will usually force people to pay attention to her. So we all went to have lunch with Marybeth. Fun! We went to the Mexican place over by the Publix. It was fabulous but I have to admit that my stomach has been very upset since I got home. I mean VERY upset. I barely had time to drop Mary back at McKennah's and then Alex to Alex's before I had to visit the restroom again. And of course Mary wanted to walk there. It's only 98 degrees but whatever! So we all piled in the car and drove 2 miles an hour behind her. It was pure joy. Especially since we couldn't turn on the air and we were roasting. Pure joy I tell you.

We are probably going to see my dad tomorrow. That's about all the news so far. How is Texas? I hope it is very exciting. I hope you are not working too hard.

Three days to go!

M

Dear Jay,

Well, today was the first day you didn't come home after work. It felt like a normal day but Alex had a crying jag this morning...can you just hear his fake crying? "I want Daddy! I miss my Daddy!" I finally had to tell him (in my very sweet, special way) to knock it off because even if Daddy were in town, he'd still be at work and not at home since it was only 10am! He quit soon after.

I had a whole list of fun things to do today and the kids wanted no part of it. All Alex wanted to do was to play at Alex's (can you guess why?). They wanted to take him out to the Barn but he didn't want to go. Said he was afraid of the horses. We have to get him out more.

Liv, Mary and I went shopping. We had a mission to find some *&%#@ kitchen curtains for my dad. But first we stopped at Shoe Carnival where Liv picked out some $50 shoes. I put them right back on the shelf. Next we went to Payless - Mary found some clearance flip flops - since she has so few shoes. We finally found some Converse sneakers at Marshalls for cheap. I wanted to buy Alex some flip flops but decided it'd be better to have him with me. We also went to Target to buy some bras! Some real bras. For your baby. Because she has boobies. *sigh* And now Mary is obsessed with breasts and wants to buy a bra for herself too. I told her they don't make them in her size and she asked me to make her one. I just may have to do it.

I was exhausted from having to deal with Mary so we went home and chilled. We had a relaxing afternoon, although I had a headache again but I'm sure it was from dealing w/ M. The book I am reading is so good, in fact, I can't wait to sign off here to go and continue reading it.

Otis says hello.

That's all for now. My dad wants us to come out there tomorrow. Not sure, we might. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Hope you have a great day tomorrow! I love you!

You never know who you'll meet at the pool...

Okay, so I'm at the pool with my kids and my friends. It is hot, hot, hot! It is so hot that I can't stand it a minute longer so I jump in. Ahhhh! Refreshing. That's summer in Georgia! Before long, another family comes in - parents with two kids. I've seen them before, at least I've seen the mom but I've never met her. So I'm not sure why this time is different. Not sure why I stare at her so much. There's something familiar about her - especially her mouth. Hmmmm..... Have I met her before? I don't think so.

Then I see it.

She is the spitting image of my sister-in-law. I mean even down to the bleached blonde hair and the bangs. She even scrunches up her mouth the same way. She doesn't look quite as...how should I say...rough around the edges? There's no bun in her hair, no bluetooth thingie on her ear, and no black roots. But everything else is very similar. She even looks mad all the time.

I just can't get past the resemblance.

I see her a couple more times and finally I just can't stand it anymore. I go over to her in the pool and just start talking to her. You know, just making small talk - neighbors talking. She seems nice, not overly friendly but she didn't seem to mind chatting with me. I tell her that she bears a striking resemblance to my sister-in-law and I would swear that she must be a long, lost relative of hers. She laughs and says, " you know, they say everyone has a twin out there somewhere". Yeah right.

The next time I see her, she comes up to me. We had never exchanged names, I didn't even know where in the neighborhood she lived.

"Hi there. Do you remember me?" she says.

"Yeah, from the other day, right?"

"Yes. I didn't get your name when we were talking. My name is Lisa and I live on Nina Court."

"My name is Maria and I live across the street." I point past the fenceline to my house just beyond the cul de sac where the pool is.

"It's nice to meet you Maria. Listen, I've been thinking a lot about our conversation the last time we talked and I just can't get something out of my mind. You said that I remind you a lot of your sister-in-law, right?"

"Yes. You bear a striking resemblance to her and it is just such a coincidence that I would have met you at the pool."

"Yeah, well. Here's the thing." I start to get a little uncomfortable by the look on her face and "the thing" she is about to tell me. "My family moved to Georgia about three years ago from St. Louis, MO. I was born and raised there. My mother had passed away not long before our move and I found out just before she died that I was adopted. She had never told me that before."

Wow. I just stare at her with my mouth wide open.

She is wringing her hands now. She seems nervous. "Well, I have been thinking about this resemblance and wondering...could it be? Are we related? It would be such a shot in the dark but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. I've never tried to find my birth parents but this has just gotten under my skin and I can't stop thinking about it."

I don't know what to say. Have we just opened a can of worms here, or what? A few days ago, I barely knew this woman and now here she was telling me intimate details of her life. I didn't even know her last name. I knew nothing else about her except what she had told me today. She is adopted. She is originally from St. Louis, MO. I wonder how old she is? Suddenly it is very important to me to know how old she is because all of a sudden I realize something - something so incredible that I can't even get the words out.

"Uh, Lisa? You are not going to believe this. My sister-in-law's name is Renee. She was raised here in the metro Atlanta area but her parents are both from the St. Louis area. " Lisa looks at me with wide eyes, she has a look of sheer disbelief at this incredible coincidence.

"And Renee is adopted too."

Oh. My. Gosh.





PS - don't get your panties in a wad...it's a fictional story!

Partied Out

Kid parties are fun but I'm kind of glad that we are done with parties until next year! Of course Jay has a big one in December but if I plan a party for him, I'm sure I won't have to figure out what kind of goody bags to give.

Mary and Ashlyn had their parties this weekend. Ashlyn's was Saturday and Mary's was Sunday. Mary chose a pink poodle theme and wanted everything to be pink (of course). So we had snacks, snacks, and more snacks (don't want anyone to be hungry, right Jay?), and then the cake. I have to say that I was very proud of my cake. I baked it from (Duncan Hines) scratch and decorated it myself. I was really worried when I first started that we were going to have to make an emergency trip to Publix to pick up a cake. Both layers cracked on me when I put them together. The frosting acted like glue, though and kept everything together. I had to make Jay go to the store like 50 times but was able to finish with time to spare. I was able to trace the outline of the pink poodle onto the cake from an enlarged copy of a napkin. The rest I had to do freehand.

So, Mary and 13 or so of her friends enjoyed a HOT afternoon at the pool. What could be better? Oh right - presents! Yes, there were a lot of those!

And she and Hannah took care of opening every last one this morning. We had Barbies, mermaids, polly pocket stuff, littlest Pet Shop, DS games, painting supplies, cards, markers, cash....what else? Lawsy, lawsie! It was a 5 year old funfest. And it won't stop there. Alex Noblett is having his party next weekend - at the pool again. Gotta love the pool!

Happy Birthday Mary!

Today my baby turned 5 years old. Oh. My. Goodness. When did that happen? She really was just born. We had a fabulous day. It started with a special breakfast for our princess. Then lunch at the pool with her friends around her - we spent the entire day there. And I feel really bad that I didn't even think to reapply our sunscreen because we are all pink tonight. We came home to shower and dress for her bday dinner - it seems like the whole day revolved around our meals, right? We went to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner - the little kids' first time seeing a hibachi grill. They enjoyed it - even though Alex only ate steamed rice and crackers. My dad joined us for dinner and it turned out really nice. Baby was tired and cranky by the time she went to bed but I think she did a great job turning 5 today!

I'm having a hard time watching my baby grow up. She just got her first real haircut last week. She went from hair that she could sit on to a cute little bob just to her shoulders. It completely changed her little look but it is absolutely adorable. And she loves it. Maybe all that hair was weighing her down! She certainly is a little spitfire - at all times. She is the first one to get in trouble, the first one to get spanked, the first one to give hugs and kisses. She is most definitely a Mommy's Girl (I thought all girls were Daddy's girls?) and she won't hesitate to let her preferences known. She fills our home with laughter, giggles, screams and lots of love. Her brother would rather play with her than anyone else. Her sister won't admit it but she really loves her. Her Papi is absolutely lost when it comes to MayMay. She has definitely filled a place in our hearts we never knew was empty. We thought we had the perfect family - a boy, a girl. We thought that was enough. Who would want more? Well, lo and behold, we ended up with a little surprise that turned out to be the missing piece to our family puzzle. Now we are complete. Now we are a perfect family. Thank you Lord for Mary!

Back to the Blogging World

After a lengthy hiatus, here I am again! Life has been rolling on just as it always does. We have been fairly busy, the kids are growing, playing, swimming, growing....it's a viscious cycle.

Olivia and I spent 8 days in Mexico on a short term mission trip. My third time going and her first. I have to say it was a wonderful experience for both of us. I'm glad she expressed an interest in going but I have to say I hesitated just a little when I finally agreed to take her along. The Mexico trip has always been such a special thing for me - special friendships made with people I wouldn't normally cross paths with, profound spiritual growth with each task that was asked of me, just a letting loose and letting the "real" me just hang out. And it always helped that after a lifetime of being a mommy having to take care of everyone else, that I could spend a week not worrying about anyone else but me! But that's not a very Christian attitude is it? And so my 11 year old went to Mexico to serve the Lord.

We started out with a flight delay going into Houston. We had like 10 minutes to make our connection to Aguascalientes. We had to RUN! And you know...Momma don't run! But we made it with minutes to spare. Cris and Rosie were waiting for us at the airport with...get this...KFC! We pulled over to a truck stop and had some fried chicken and warm coke. It was all good! We hit the road and made the 2 hour trip to Estancia. By this time, Liv was so tired she was starting to get grumpy. Rule #1 on a mission trip - you are NOT allowed to get grumpy! She crashed as soon as we set up our room and had a pretty restful nights sleep. Saturday, we hit the ground running. Breakfast at 8am, we headed to the town of Maravillas at 10am. The first vbs is always a rough one. No one knows just what to do and we are always unprepared. Wendy decided to read the story in Spanish and that didn't go over very well. I don't think the kids understood her at all. But Liv did great acting in the drama of the Good Samaritan.

Saturday night was Teen Night at the camp. We had about 20 teens show up to see skits, sing songs, and hear testimonies and devotions. It was nice. Elizabeth Goodwin sang a beautiful song and really impressed all of us. Chase and Dana Barber gave their testimonies. We had a late dinner and then a fabulous devo by Keri. Our theme for the week was "Creado Para Servir" so she spoke of when Jesus washed the disciples feet. And she actually got a bucket of water, some towels, and washed every one of our feet! It was a moving devo and we were all caught up in the emotion of the act, and trying to visualize our savior doing the same to his disciples.

Sunday, we split up in two groups - one went to Saucedo and one went to Refugio. I was with the latter group. There was about an hour of singing (long even for Mexico!), and then we went outside to teach the kids while Art preached a sermon. The lesson we did for the kids was Saul on the road to Damascus. The kids got to paint a butterfly suncatcher. After the craft, I went back inside to give my testimony... a hard thing to do. I had prepared it in Spanish and thought it would be a breeze, but I have to admit, I had a moment about halfway through. It all ended well though. After the service, we walked across a dry field (that was supposed to be a crop but since there was no rain, there was no crop) and had lunch at the preacher's house. Believe it or not, we had tuna salad and crackers! Sunday night, we all went to Rascon for church services: Carlos preached, Dana Brooks gave her testimony and we taught the kids about the four friends who lowered their friend through the roof to see Jesus. Dinner afterward. And singing. Lots of singing. We kept hoping the power would go out to kill the darn keyboard but it didn't and there was more singing. Sunday night Patrick gave our devo.

Monday we went to the elderly home. Liv was finally going to see the old people. The first time I went I had the heebie geebies real bad. It took several visits for me to get over it and I ended that week loving my experience there. I was pleasantly surprised when Liv just jumped right in and started loving on "los ancianitos". She made me very proud. I think that day we did the Prodigal Son story (I think) and had a felt board to help with the story telling. Monday night, we went to Pastoria. It was my first time there and I was very excited. I had heard so much about this town - there is not a Christian church there and there is only one Christian - Adriana. She was baptized last year. It was a big deal for her to be baptized. So we prepared for about 100 kids. Sadly, only about 40 showed up. And in the middle of our thing, a van full of thugs showed up, blaring rap music and teasing the kids that were participating in the lessons. It was easy to get rattled and I just wanted to go and yell at the boys and tell them to leave. The truth is that they looked scary and were plenty intimidating. The devil uses all sorts to try to get in our way. As soon as I realized that, it was easy to tune them all out and to continue on with our work. I had to practically yell when I was translating the lesson and by the end of the evening, I was hoarse, but it was worth it. The boys eventually left and we were able to finish in peace. We went home to a wonderful spaghetti dinner made by our own Conchita. Gracias Conchita y Dios te bendiga! Elizabeth Lindstrom had devos.

Tuesday we started out at the elderly home again. This time we made butterfly windchimes for the residents. Once again, I had to help the blind ladies color theirs. We hung the chimes in their rooms and just spent time w/ the residents. We spoke to Eusebio a lot about his decision to accept Christ and even pressured him a bit about possibly being baptized that day. He didn't want to and we were once again disappointed. Tuesday afternoon found us at Loreto with Israel and Obed. They are the cutest little preachers and they make the work so fun! I was shocked to hear that Obed is only 20 years old and is leading a growing church in Saucedo. We learned about Jesus washing the disciples' feet again and had a wonderful drama to illustrate it. The kids made tote bags ( I think) and then had some play time outside. We headed home to a great dinner and a devo by Art (he talked about being reckless and stepping outside our boxes).

Wednesday we headed back to the home. We played balloon games with the elderly and they loved it. That went on while Patrick played and we sang. Good times in Mexico, I say! We had them make puzzles (again - I helped the blind ones!) and then I gave another testimony about being recently baptized. It was supposed to be directed at Eusebio but he didn't flinch. That afternoon, we headed back to Loreto. We had a small group because the bottom fell out of the sky just as we arrived at the church. But that didn't deter us! We worked as if we had a hundred kids there and they were the most important kids ever. Today, they made backpacks and towels. Liv got to wash the kids hands after they made their handprint. When the day was almost over, Israel got out his zampone and guitar and he played us some nice Andean music. He has a nice voice and I would have loved to hear him sing but he didn't this time. He asked me to send him some music by the Kjaarkas. My mom has a ton of their stuff so I'm sure I can make copies and get them to him somehow. Wednesday night was my turn for devos and I shared my testimony that I gave on Sunday. It was so emotional for me that I couldn't even start. I had to have Carlos read it for me. Everyone was crying and I really didn't mean to make them cry. I had hoped my message would be a positive one, that God used my time of brokenness to reveal Himself to me in a mighty way. Maybe they got it through the tears. Maybe.

Thursday we got up at the crack of dawn to head out to Teneuca in the state of Jalisco. It was a four hour drive from the camp but they felt it was important enough for us to visit that church so we went. We had to pack all of our stuff since we would not be returning to the camp. We made it to the camp, had lunch, did our thing, enjoyed the beautiful landscape and the children, and then started the two hour drive back to Aguascalientes. That's right - six hours total in the car! But it was all for the Lord so "gloria a Dios!" We had dinner at a restaurant that night - it's always interesting when you have a group of 25 or so to eat together. But it was good food and we had a good time. Thursday night Sue Cates had devos.

Friday, we went to the church in Aguas for breakfast. Man, did they put out a spread for us! There must have been a dozen different dishes to choose from! We were truly humbled by their kindness. We did our lesson (washing those feet again!), did a fabulous craft (same craft we've always done but it just turned out so much better here!), and then had recreation time. A good time for all. We went back to our hotel and we were able to enjoy the afternoon off. We were on our own for lunch and then did some shopping. I said I didn't want to shop but I had to help my sisters who didn't speak the language. I was tired but glad to help. We made it back to the hotel w/ about 30 minutes to rest before meeting for dinner at another restaurant. The food was similar to the night before but it was good. Jan Lindstrom gave an exceptional devo that night and had us all in tears. What an honor to have served alongside Ms. Jan. It was a great experience. So, we were off to bed because we had to be up at 3AM!!!! Yikes!

Saturday we took off from the Aguas airport at about 6:30am. Then it was on to Houston, and after several delays, we finally landed in Atlanta sometime around 5:30 or so. It was SO good to be home and to be able to see my babies! And my hubby! God is good to have called me to serve Him but He is so good to have brought me home safe and sound.