Happy Mid-Autumn!!

Today was not at all the day I had planned. It's Mid-Autumn Festival... one of my favorite Chinese holidays and I had every intention on packing up the kids and our dinner, heading to Ma On Shan park and enjoying the evening together. (Mike is at the youth retreat) But Isaiah woke up at 7... starting the day off for him and me, tired. Isabella woke up about 8, happy but still tired. The sun wasn't shining and I couldn't get Isabella out the door. She just kept saying how tired she was and how she just wanted to color and watch Blues Clues. When Isaiah woke up from his morning nap, we did go over to the playroom for awhile which was nice to get out of the house. We came back, had lunch played a bit and then we all rested for about an hour. Isaiah refused to sleep any longer which made him cranky by 4:30.

I was really looking forward to having the day with just the kids and no one else at home... but by 4:30, I decided that to pack them up and head to MOS would probably be a disaster and when I told Izzy we were going to go into Sai Kung town... she begged not to. So instead of dinner under the moon, we ate at 5, bathed at 6 and everyone was in bed by 7. Now I'm just trying to gather what we'll need for camping and potentially Disney on Monday.

Since we'll be camping out tomorrow night and the whole family will be together, I just said in my mind that we'll celebrate tomorrow night. Our laterns are packed I'll try and get my mooncake after church.

It's been an emotional day for me.... I think some things that have been going on just all hit me, in my moments of frustration and tiredness today. I went through anger, tears, and pure joy when Isaiah took his first steps! I'm just so thankful that God is a just God while also a forgiving and loving God.

Please continue to pray for the people in the Philippines. Joan posted a video on Facebook with pictures of the devastation. Broke my heart to see the amount of water and damage and all the children being carried on their parents backs.

I have a Dr appt this week and I ask that you would pray it would go well without any embarrassing moments. :) They always like to comment on my weight but while it's normal to talk about here, it still makes me uncomfortable and self-conscious.

Today was National Day and we decided to have a low-key relaxing day. I was expecting it to rain but it turned out to be a beautiful, beautiful day. I should have known better, that's usually the case in HK this time each year. All the China factories shut down and we get clean air and beautiful blue skies. So we put up our new tent (yeah!!! more vacation opportunities that won't cost a fortune!) in the morning and played, had lunch, then swam and took naps in the afternoon followed by an evening in town. Mike and I both even got a run in so it was a really enjoyable day. Here's Isaiah enjoying his Elmo towel.

my little fish

Buddy chillin

Princess Lily Bob at 14.5 weeks

As I mentioned before this weekend is the Lantern festival and this is one shop in town selling all types of lanterns.

As we were eating some ice cream by the water, Mike noticed a nighttime boat fish market. It was fun to watch people buying all sorts of things. There's actually a bigger market like this, I think on Sat, but I've never gone to it. Would be fun to check out some time.

This however was the highlight of Isabella's day. She got sweaty playing in the tent so we went out to ride bikes. She then got sweaty riding bikes and asked if she could sit on the car. And then that's all she wanted to do all day... play on the car.

This is our new tent! We are so excited about having this and the opportunities it will provide. We still need to invest in a few camping supplies (ours all are still in the states) but we've got the basics to test out the tent this Sunday at the beach. Will be an interesting night with Isaiah but I imagine we'll all have a good time. At least some stories to share after. :)

Please continue to pray for Joan's family and those affected by the typhoon. We've learned of 3 more ladies in our church directly hit by this and I'm sure there will be more to come on Sunday.

Please also pray for Rosalie and Grace who will be attending our youth retreat this weekend that's discussing the truth's of our faith.

Quiet Day with Deep Thoughts

This is Isabella's lantern for Mid-Autumn Festival. She was so proud of it. She drew pictures of her two new friends at school next to a mountain (the big blue thing) and sun. On my way home today, I stopped to buy her a proper lantern... and surprise, surprise it has the Disney Princesses on it but she was so excited. Now only if the rain will stop so we can picnic on Saturday.

Today was a rather uneventful but very refreshing day for me. It was Izzy's last day of school for the week so Joan, Isaiah and I picked her up and treated her to McD's for lunch. I planned to let them play at the playground too but it began to poor so we checked out the library... now if only I could find my library card. Joan took the kids home and I decided to get a cheap pedicure.

Tomorrow and Saturday are holidays and Mike won't be home this weekend, so I thought I'd give myself some down time before all the fun and excitement begins. I love going this particular lady in the old side of Sai Kung for a pedicure. It's nothing fancy but she does a great job, takes her time (it usually takes about 2hrs for the whole process) and she speaks little English so the whole time I can read or gather my thoughts. It's VERY relaxing for me, something I needed today.

I came home refreshed and energized... man what a little quiet time can do. The kids and I played, Izzy completed her weekend homework, we had a fabulous dinner and I (and actually Isabella helped quite a bit) made some apple crisp. Isaiah went to bed and Izzy went into town with Joan to pick up Auntie Tata so I had an extra hour or so of quiet time.

While I did go and get the pedicure... I've been struggling a lot the past few days thinking about poverty verses my lifestyle. I wouldn't by any means consider us wealthy but after the typhoons destroying families... I've been constantly thinking about all that I have. All the excess that I have and what some would do to have just a little of what I've got. I've been just torn on how to spend our money. I think about some things that we've been planning to buy (like curtains for our bedroom that we've been debating about for almost a year and now we have enough money set aside to do this... our windows are HUGE) but when I think about buying them, I think about what that money could do for a family in the Philippines that just lost everything.

I'm just trying to figure out the balance between giving freely and well I don't even know what... A fellow TFC'er is thinking through this same thing and she blogged much better about this so if you want my previous words to make sense maybe you want to check out her blog. :)

Manila Flooding

I'm sure you've all heard about the devastating rain and floods in Manila. It was brought close to home when our helper, Joan, told us about her stressful Sunday and devastation that two of her sisters family are dealing with.

Joan said that her sister escaped when the water was knee high because she knew she wouldn't be able to swim but her husband tried to take care of house things and didn't leave until all he could do was swim to safety. We praise God that they are safe but all their efforts to save their home were unsuccessful as the water peaked at rooftop levels leaving them with absolutely nothing.

Sadly, I'm sure this is not the only story we will hear about in the coming weeks as a huge portion of our Filipino fellowship come from or have family living in Manila.

Our hearts ache for them so I ask that you would please join us in praying for them, for safety (the family is in a new place but because they have nothing, they are sleeping on cold, dirty floors) and that God would provide for their needs.

Please also pray this would be an opportunity for them and all dealing with this to see God at work and trust in Him.

It's hard to know exactly to help in this situation but one thing I can do is to ask if anyone has any clothing to fit a 11yr boy, 7yr old boy and 3yr old girl and would be willing to donate them to her family, it would be greatly appreciated. Please leave me a comment and I can get more details to you.

Thank you for your prayers!!

Fun week with guests

It has been a fantastic week for us. We were blessed to have the Cox family (connections from Toccoa) visit us on their way back to Cambodia where they are serving the Lord in church ministry.

They've got a beautiful family with 3 precious little girls. (5,3,10 months) Isabella adored having them around and they all got a long really well. Their youngest, Tova, and Isaiah hit it off as well. It was really cute watching them interact and chase after one another.

In the midst of many conversations, we commented on how great it is to have connections all across the world... to have kindred spirits in ministry... and because of those things, it doesn't matter how well you know each other, we always welcome guests into our homes.

It really was great to hear their stories... how God brought them to Cambodia, what life is like there, what challenges they face living in a foreign country, the differences in our lifestyles, etc... It was great to hear their passions, to watch them parent and steal ideas :) but while we swam, went to Disney, tried some new restaurants and just basically relaxed and tried to help them recover from jet-lag... I was really challenged by the conversations we had.

In talking about our lifestyle differences and cultural differences... I realized how immune almost I've become to living in a foreign country. How normal life has become for me and how the things that shocked me, stopped me in my tracks, etc... 3 years ago, don't even phase me now. In some ways that's good I think... I think it means that I've adjusted to living in HK. But at the same time... I feel like my eyes/senses are not as in tune as they should be. I'm not amazed when I see spots of grass anymore or even when I see the moon. I don't thank God when I hear birds outside or because I feel incredibly safe here. And I don't even hesitate to spend 4$ on a liter of milk.

After hearing some of the things that the Cox's have to deal with, I instantly became aware of how blessed we are to be in HK where I do feel safe... so much so that I rarely lock, let alone shut the door when I'm at home. Or how blessed I am that I can get by speaking English.

Even in the conversations, I was reminded of the differences of living in HK versus the states... such as living in a gated complex with a guard, or having to turn on the hot water when I want to shower, not having a proper washing machine and dryer or having one that the whole process would take approx 3hrs to complete.

Or just looking around the city and seeing things that are different... such as people hanging their clothes out their windows or drying them on the railing by the highway. Buildings and housing complexes that are at least 30 floors high... EVERYWHERE to where you really can't see anything but buildings.

But in all this discussion, I think I just realized that when we first moved to HK, I was really on the look out for God. I was really focused on Him, serving Him, seeing Him in everything and now that I'm comfortable... it's easier to go on with a normal daily routine and see things in that mentality. It's not that I'm not focused on God or that I'm not or don't want to serve Him but it's... I'm comfortable. I've dealt with riding buses with strollers, bags and children... shopping at a market for fruit, etc... and that's just normal life for me now. I focus more on specific people or specific ministries.

Chris is a photographer and made this awesome book about their lives in Cambodia and as I looked at it, I realized that I haven't taken a random picture of HK in probably 2yrs. How can I show others what our life is like, if I don't take the pictures of the daily things we see and do.

So I've decided that I want to be more intentional about life in HK as I was 4 years ago. I want to be more sensitive, more aware... I want to be able to share our lives and our new culture with others.

It was a great week for many reasons and the house seems all to quiet with them gone but it sure was a blessing to share God's blessings on us with them. Chris was even gracious enough to take some family photos for us (with Victoria's wonderful suggestions on how to pose and help to get the kids to smile) and I'm anxious to get working on a new prayer card and new blog header.

And as I took Isabella to a birthday party this afternoon... my eyes were a bit more opened to life in HK... having random cows in your back yard and eating satay alongside chicken nuggets. Life is good.

"... too tired."

Yesterday Isabella had an accident at school. When I asked her why she didn't tell the teacher that she needed to go, this was her response....

"I was just too tired."

Classic logic by a 4yr old.

Isaiah finally stood long enough to take a picture.. so proud of him. I know it's hard keeping that much weight off the ground. :)

I tried to take a few more recent photos of the kids but they weren't very cooperative. I did manage to get this one taken.

Here is a similar photo we took when Isaiah was 6 weeks. He's grown a bit since then. And my looking at this picture of Izzy. Wow... she's changed quite a bit too. Look at all that hair!

At dinner last night, Isabella asked me if I knew if Princess Lily Bob was a boy or girl and of course I said no and she replied (like come on mom you should know this attitude)... it's a girl Mommy. Joan then asked what she would do if the baby was a boy, what would we do with two boys? And Izzy's response, "We'll just give Buddy away." Priceless. But when we pressed her for who we'd give him away to she insisted that we keep him and she was just kidding.

Surprise!!!

I'm still somewhat speechless when I talk about it... still having a hard time actually believing that it is true...

God's special 30th birthday present to me.... another precious bundle of joy, due March 26, 2010!

I have absolutely no proof to share... no photos of the positive test, no ultrasound pictures (they don't give them to you here), the only paper I had that said... Melissa is pregnant... is in the hands of the Dr. now.

It's so surreal and while I am sufferring minor nausea and tiredness and my belly is quickly growing, it's still hard to believe that I'm pregnant. I'm very thankful that I'm feeling as well as I am, that I'm already 12weeks, and that I'm only working 2 half-days a week so that I can rest when necessary without missing out on my little one's lives.

The only problem with this new little baby is the due date. It's due the weekend of the Rugby 7's and I'm told by many that I will have no husband and no guests at the hospital. :) So I'll just pray that baby comes early.

Isabella is excited and insists it's a girl and she has named her "Princess Lily Bob".

Where has the past year gone? I was always told that the older you get, the faster time passes by and that is most definitely the truth. I remember praying that Aug 25, 2008 would come and go, so this little guy would be here and I could get back to a normal (well as normal as having 2 children, 1 being a newborn) could be. Those 9 months were the longest and sadly the most miserable nine months of my life. I constantly tried to remind myself how blessed I was and how many people would kill to be in my place but the constant nausea and vomiting and knowing that I lost almost 9 months of Izzy's life was unbearable.

The public hospital wouldn't provide a 20 week ultrasound and I just couldn't justify the expense when I didn't want to know the sex anyway. I thought 'no big deal, if they were concerned about something, they'd make it happen.' Though looking back, it may have been wise to have that scan. Maybe it would have shown how big he was already and prevented my from having to have a c-section and a 9lb 15oz baby. :) But alas... two weeks before he was born, they felt something wasn't right as my stomach measured 3 weeks ahead. Lo and behold, we were told he was already 4kilos with a big tummy and that most likely, they'd have to break his collarbone to get him out. So we then began the discussion of a c-section. I prayed this would mean I'd have him in my arms in the next few days but no, they said it was my choice (I still get really upset at this statement... I by no means wanted a c-section but when you're told they'd have to break your baby... I felt like I'd be a selfish mom if I didn't agree with them) and made me wait two more weeks.

The whole admitting process was kind of funny to me. I admitted myself on Saturday afternoon and then went on home-leave until Sunday evening. On Monday, I was to have the operation about 10-11am. I should have been more realistic and known that wouldn't happen but by 2pm, I was getting quite frustrated and hungry. :) I began feeling stomach pains but thought it was and upset tummy from not eating. Almost 3hrs later, I realized it was labor and the contractions were 2 minutes apart. The nurse didn't believe me but after 30 minutes of monitoring, I was the lucky one to go next.

Once on the table, I began to panic and insisted that Mike be able to come in. Thankfully, they did allow him and it seemed that even before I could count to ten, Isaiah was born. I had to have my glasses off so I could barely see what he looked like, in fact I had to ask the Dr if it was a boy or girl... they didn't tell us. They took him away for observation and me for recovery. They let Mike stay with Isaiah which was fine by me because I was sick and useless for any sort of conversation. I just wanted to sleep.

I never did get to see Isaiah until about 5pm the next day during visiting hours.

I spent 5 days in the hospital, in a room with 10 other women, with only 2hrs a day of visitation. I thought I would hate that but it was actually quite nice. I felt very comfortable caring for Isaiah and physically rested by the time I went home.

It was a unique experience but I have no complaints. The total cost of having him... $50 US dollars.

Now my baby is 1... crawling everywhere, pulling himself up and trying to stand. Eating like he's a teenage boy, sleeping like a champ. He's very calm, happy, joyful though he does not like loud noises. He'll eat anything in sight (except veg. dumplings) and grunts/screams while he eats. He's a thumb-sucker. He loves his sister and wants to do everything she is doing. He loves the water though can easily fall asleep if being held in the pool. He watches everything that's going on. He's finally got some teeth, they all came in at once and now has 6. Still very little hair but two curls behind his ears. He's got amazingly beautiful blue eyes and a giggle that makes your heart melt.

He's 9.4 kilos (21lbs) but man he's a chunk... a heavy boy to carry around but he loves to be held and snuggled.

I can't even imagine what the next year will hold but I look forward to every moment. I look forward to his walking, running, and tackling his sister. I look forward to seeing his personality develop and see if he remains calm and laid back or will he quickly become a boisterous boy. I look forward to seeing his reaction to another baby and how he'll be as a big brother. What an exciting year ahead!

I'm so very blessed!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!!!

I've been cleaning out my inboxes, as my mac account will be shut down on the 7th, and found these hospital photos of Isaiah. Camera's were not allowed in the hospital and since I lost my phone, I lost all my hospital pictures. :( Thankfully, one of our friends in a Dr in the A&E department and he had taken these. He was 3 days old I believe in these pictures... certainly doesn't look that small. :) The other photo is him now at 10 months. Time has flown by all too quickly.

Swine Flu update

Well they've decided to end the school year for all kindergartens and primary schools. I have mixed feelings about this... Isabella will not be able to say good-bye to her friends, some of which may not be returning to her school next year but she is happy to be at home and playing. I don't know what this means for me and the two weeks I was to work in July. While it would be nice to be done early, I was counting on the pay for those two weeks. So we'll see...

I wasn't all that concerned about this but now that it's hit closer to home, I'm trying to be extra cautious... I don't want to risk getting sick and quarantined just in time for us to catch our flight back to the US. So I would greatly appreciate your prayers.


We had our beach trip with the school today and it was so much fun! Isabella had a blast and got to make lots of new friends. I was also quite blessed at the end when all the parents/children gathered to say good-bye to those leaving. I felt especially blessed when they got to me, they said they were still working on a way to keep me even more part-time. They know my reasons for leaving so they're trying to respect that but also find a way to keep me connected. I really appreciated it!

Tomorrow, Mike and I are going out to celebrate our anniversary. We're going to have a Thai dinner, go to prayer meeting and end with an evening of Transformers. Tomorrow is the opening in HK and we're going to see it at the IMAX. I'm hoping that CPK will stay opened long enough for me to get a piece of key lime pie for the movie. hehe

Swine Flu

... while this hit months ago, they managed to keep it quite contained, catching the majority of the people at the airport until this week. Apparently there were 12 cases in one school as of this week and now all nurseries, kindergartens and primary schools are closed for two weeks! This is so crazy to me. Last year we had an extra week off due to the normal flu and now two weeks for this. On the 23rd, they will determine whether or not to keep school closed or reopen to finish out the year.

Many international schools sent their students home yesterday basically saying, "See you next year!" They're not bothering to come back for 1 day on the 26th. Makes sense to me but apparently some are quite angry about this. Technically though, schools are to remain open and staffed in case some children have no place to go (aka.. no parents at home or helpers) though some schools are allowing anyone who shows up at the door to stay.

This means that I still have to work... and obviously I'm disappointed but I'm more frustrated than anything. I feel like our school is really being taken advantage of. In the 4 days school has been suspended, we've had anywhere from 10 to 17 students out of about 36 total and it's not because they have no one to care for their children. I fight my feelings every morning and it's been quite a struggle for me... a real test of patience and joy.

As of today, 2 Secondary schools have now been closed. I don't think that will mean any change for us but it shows that the H1N1 is spreading. I'm not all that worried but I am trying to be cautious.... keeping the kids at home and trying to stay away from bigger crowds. I'm thankful that we live in Sai Kung as it's a much smaller community than where we previously lived and with the house that we live in, we are so blessed to have the space to be able to stay at home and not go nuts.

We have arranged some playdates with some school friends and Isabella still has her swim lessons but both of those are with a small amount of children, of parents who are also very cautious.

But this does make me nervous about traveling, as many of the cases we initially got were from flights from the US. I don't want to put my child's health at risk but I certainly don't want to miss my chance to go home. So we would greatly appreciate all prayers for our health and protection from this virus.

On a much lighter note... we FINALLY had some sunshine today in what seems like months. Izzy and I went swimming and she's been practicing her treading water, kicking and blowing bubbles. She seems to be stuck at putting her face/head under water so I tried really hard to get her to do it today. She finally gave it a go but I missed it, thankfully she did it again and I said to her, 'Wow! You know you should really try to do it 4 times since your 4 years old.' and of course she did it. Then she kept going. She asked if I could call Reg (her teacher) to let her know how many times she put her face under. I was so proud of her because I know this was really a scary thing for her. We also practiced jumping in... yet another thing she has been hesitant to do (aside from sitting on the edge and falling in). Before we got out I asked her if she wanted to jump one more time, she said yes. And then it was... 'one more time, just 3 more times, 5 more times, okay mommy?' She's getting braver!

MaNY qUesTIonS

My mind has been full of many questions lately. Lots of things going on... some a bit more challenging than others but all have sent me directly to God which has been WONDERFUL! I've really been challenged a lot lately... and it's not always fun to examine yourself and see where there needs to be improvement but it's necessary in order to become more like Christ. I've been learning a lot lately from different people... (what to and not to do) but I've been really blessed by some simple notes that have been posted on Facebook by my friends.

My friend Dori posted a note about carrying around note cards with scriptures on them and I really liked what she shared about this verse: I just copied it here...

Galatians 5:22-26 - I use this one sort of as my spiritual checklist to see how I'm doing. Have I been exhibiting love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in my life? There's always something that I'm reminded of by God's Spirit and then I pray about my life and for those I interact with.

While I love the verses, what I enjoyed even more was her saying that "There's always something that I'm reminded of by God's Spirit..." Christians are so blessed to have a real and personal God and I love that He shows us areas in our lives that need to be worked on and that He's faithful in doing that. Not because He doesn't love us the way we are but because He wants us to be closer to Him and to become more like Him. He loves us enough to help us become better people and I'm quite grateful for that. Over the years I've been a Christ Follower, I've seen Him change my attitudes, my speech, etc... and it's so encouraging to know that He will continue to help me with my struggles.

So while I don't have the answers to my questions... they are drawing me closer to God and teaching me more about Him so I'm grateful for this process and maybe in the end I'll be blessed with some answers too.

In other news... just 1 more day before I jump on a plane with two kiddos and head back to the land of Chick-fil-a, sugar cookies, diet Dr. Pepper, and oh yeah... MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm a bit excited.

Thoughtful Speech

Today's Mom Time was a farewell for Heyam as she's headed back to Canada this weekend. It was a great time of fellowship but the highlight was praying for her before she left. I've always been open about my faith among these ladies but today was the first time that I stepped up in front of all to do something like this. Very few moms in our group believe in Jesus as their Saviour but it's always been my prayer that they would discover the one true God. I've been racking my brain how to more intentionally incorporate God into our fellowship times and today was a great start. They all responded well and I think this opened the doors to the book that we will study and having more opportunities to pray for them. I love these ladies and feel very blessed to serve them by organizing this group.

We started our time playing the game 2 truths and a lie and it was really fun. We got to know some fun facts about each other. I'm thinking of playing this as an opener each week... it's a much easier and fun way to learn things about everyone all at once.


Here's a few pictures of the ladies....

and this is Heyam and Luna


As we waited for everyone to arrive, Isabella and Isaiah were staring out the window watching a man trim the hedges. Buddy was just entranced by this as you can see....





Just a few more days and then I get to hug my family! I'm very excited about this trip ... excited to see my family and excited to catch up with Adelina. I really miss having them around.

I've been really challenged lately about the things that come out of my mouth... realizing that every word counts... that they can be really encouraging or really hurtful.... and realizing that I have a lot of work to do to improve in that area. I can't change what others say but I can be careful about what I say and I'm thankful to a friend here Dori, who posted this scripture in a note on facebook that challenged me to be more like Christ...

Matthew 12:36, 37 "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. . For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

final check-up

I had my last Dr's appointment for my eyes today... well hopefully for along time. My right eye has totally healed and my left eye just has two spots left! So I was put back on the drops for 10 days and that should be the end of that! I get my new glasses on Tuesday so life is good!

My computer is dying a slow death... the delete button is now no longer working which makes typing extremely hard since my f's and r's don't work either and I have to cut and paste those. Ugh...

So I'm going to sign o f f and see how many people turned the lights o f f for world earth hour.

BesT frIenDS

Isabella and I were talking about friends yesterday and I asked her who was her best friend. I thought she might say her usual 'I don't know' answer but she promptly said, 'Timothy.' Here they are at his birthday party. The only negative thing about them being so close is that they have to be reminded to include others... when others are around. I don't know if that's an age thing or not so I'm working on that with her. I certainly don't want Isabella to grow up unwilling to make new friends or leaving others out.

Mike's at the 7's tonight. It's been a yucky rainy day so I chose to stay home and work on worship for Sunday. It's been a fairly relaxing evening which is good because the next few days... not so much. :)

This is the way.... walk in it.

Lord, I give up my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my time, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever. ~Betty Scott Stam a China Inland Mission worker

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Isaiah 30:21 "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it"

I like to start and end my day by saying the Lord's Prayer. I don't exactly remember why I started doing this, and sadly when it's the alarm clock that wakes me.. I'm often shocked it's the am already and forget my prayer, but it always helps me to calm down and focus on the Lord before bed. Mornings are not my friend (just ask Mike and sadly Isabella takes after me in that way) but I've been trying really hard to make the am less stressful and more joyful... for myself but also to set an example for Isabella. To teach her that are attitude is a choice and that life is much more pleasant when we choose joy. :) As I was reading this evening, I came across this prayer (by Betty Scott Stam, typed above) that just spoke to me on so many levels. This was her daily prayer and it will become my mine. I know it will be a challenge to give my plans/purposes/desires/etc totally to the Lord as we often think we know what's best for ourselves but I honestly want God's will for my life... even if that means giving up my desires and I will trust that God will give me peace and help me to let go if necessary.

Aside from this prayer, two verses also spoke to me. Psalm 37:4 and Isaiah 30:21. Psalm 37 reminded me that God does care about us and hear us but that I need to delight in Him and His desires will become mine. Isaiah 30 challenged me to go deeper in my walk. I can imagine walking through life hearing God's still, small voice saying... 'This is the way, walk in it.' How awesome to know that He will guide me and I can trust Him completely.

I was disappointed when Mike headed to bed early tonight (though I knew he needed to and that it was good for him) but what a blessing to me it turned out to be. Thank you God for knowing what I needed!

I'm excited to daily commit myself to the Lord, using this prayer. I can already see how God is using it to change my perspectives.

How do you daily commit yourself to God?

One of Those days

I don't really like to write many negative things because I know that whatever complaints I have... they're so minor in comparison to how God has blessed me and what He has done for me but man.... today has been a long day and I'm frustrated and disappointed and well.... sometimes I just don't understand why things happen the way they do. And I just needed to say that out loud.

Tomorrow's a new day and I'm grateful for that! So I'm going to head upstairs (it's pretty darn cool that I can say that!) and read and make a list for the trip.

But before I finish...
I've been trying to make a list every night of 5's... 5 ways I'm thankful, 5 prayers for others, 5 prayers for myself and 5 dreams so I'll post my 5 thankfuls for today here:

1. I'm thankful that my activity at school went well today. I had the two oldest groups and they tend to be the hardest to keep focused during activities.
2. I'm thankful that I connected with a mom during ballet class today. She lives just down the street and her daughter and Izzy get along really well. So I'm hoping that maybe we can set up some playdates and build some friendships out here.
3. I'm thankful that both kids went to bed very easily and that Isabella fell asleep earlier tonight. She has been so exhausted since camp.
4. I'm thankful that we've benefited from people's generosity ... I came home from school today with a bag full of clothes for Isabella.
5. I'm thankful that tomorrow is Thursday and we have nothing planned. It's been a crazy few weeks and I'm looking forward to coming home and staying home.

Shy, Sensitive Isabella

Yesterday Isabella was invited to her best bud, Timothy's, birthday party. When I asked her what she wanted to get him (I was actually just asking cause I was just curious what she'd say) she said a Superman costume. I thought she'd forget about it but when I asked her again a few days later, she said the same thing. I asked her why she wanted to get him that and she said so that he would have something to wear, instead of princess dresses, when he came over to play. When I asked why superman, she said so that they could match. (she has a supergirl dress) I thought it was so sweet of her to think of him. What a pair these two are. I did however forget my camera so I don't have pictures of them to share.

Today we went to Disney for the afternoon. We had a great time, the weather was perfect, and it wasn't too crowded. We started off with the usual... spaceships, tea cups, it's a small world.... When it was time to see the princesses, Izzy was second in line. Because it wasn't so crowded, we were excited that she would have time to talk to Cinderella and Snow White. She'd been talking about them all day but when they came... she became shy and wouldn't say a thing. So we headed off to see High School Musical and have Mickey waffles. Buddy was the star of the day as many mainlanders stopped to look at his blue eyes. I'm thankful that I've finally learned the balance of letting them have a look but moving on with my day as well. It's a bit tricky now too with Isabella as many do enjoy seeing her.. they ooo and ahh more over Isaiah (being a baby and having blue eyes) and I don't ever want her to feel that he's more special or anything of the like.

So anyway... that was our day. Nice and relaxing and now we're headed up to bed to watch LOST on our big screen.

Worship: so many questions

I came home this evening from camp so that I could organize and cook a bit before everyone arrives tomorrow and with just a few minutes to put my feet up, I wanted to write how blessed I've been with all that has taken place in the last 24+ hrs. We've had a small group this year... (a max of about 25) but I think it's really helped them to connect. We had some from Sunday mornings and some from friday nights so they didn't all know each other but they mixed and mingled and participated in what was going on.

The theme was Our Journey with God and Mike had asked several adults to share their journeys with God. So far we heard Pastor Mark, Sarah and David... all with sweet stories on the journey God has taken them. Tomorrow I share... eek I do not like speaking in front of people but my story is to hit a hit on something that I'm quite passionate about so I think I'll be okay. :)

But the thing that touched me the most was their worship. I can remember being their age and not interested in singing or really understanding what worship was all about. Plus I can remember there always being those people in the back who were talking or doing their own thing and it just all felt awkward. And I think all youth groups still struggle with those things but this group showed a lot of respect for what was going on... what the purpose was. They may not have been comfortable to sing and they may not understand totally what worship is all about but they all tried. I don't think there was one who didn't make an effort and that really blew me away. Tonight before I left there was one more 'singing set' and Mike challenged all of us to worship in a way that we felt comfortable... meaning dance, clap, raise hands, kneel, whatever it might be. He reminded those of us that attended the Delirious concert that we don't have to stand straight and look like prunes but this was our time with God. And I couldn't believe what happened after that... the energy that produced... the joy that came upon the students faces. They were dancing, singing louder, clapping... they were praising God in their own special way and it went from quiet whispers to loud, joyful praises.

And it made me think.... I wonder what guests think when they walk into a church and see people standing still, singing quietly, maybe some even with unintentional frowns? Would non-energetic/enthusiastic singing make people question our faith or passion for God? And why do we feel that we have to worship one way in church and another way at a concert? Why can't/aren't we comfortable worshiping in a way that brings us joy and helps us connect to our Creator? What exactly does sincere worship in song look like? Now I know that everyone is different... I wouldn't be someone who dances or jumps up and down (partially because I can't dance and can't jump up and down and stay in one place.. which on a side note is why I don't do it at a concert too... not because I'm boring) but there are other things I've wished I've felt more freedom to do.

Anyway... I'm leading worship next week and this is just me randomly thinking through some things that I've been challenged with.

I'll share more about camp on another day. Hope you have a great Sat!

Sushi Making

I've only tried sushi a handful (if that) of times and I've not been impressed. I'm just not a raw fish kinda gal nor can I really even handle the sight of the little fish eggs. But I do like learning new things and I'm willing to give foods another chance when made by natives of that particular culture. We've been asking the moms to teach us different things that they are gifted at and so far we've learned how to make beaded rings. This week was sushi making.

I was excited to learn for Mike's sake as he really enjoys it, plus I thought it would be a fun new cultural experience. Junko was our teacher and she did a fabulous job. She had all the supplies ready and she taught us how to put it together and roll it up. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be and I did give it another taste. It wasn't as bad as I remembered it being but it still wasn't something that I kept eating... as I did the cranberry bread that we also had at the party. :)

We made up a new roster of moms and we currently have 15 active moms in the group! That's so exciting to me! We've found a book that we are going to study called 'Discovering the Joy of Parenting'... a book translated into both English and Japanese. We'll be starting within the next few weeks and I'm really excited about the opportunities this book study will allow for. 

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Isabella's cough has been bothering her again (weather changes) and I think it's actually getting to her this time around. Tonight at dinner, she started crying (I thought it was because there was debate on what she would eat for dinner) but when I asked her what was wrong she just kept saying, 'my cough is back... it's not getting better.' It just broke my heart. So if you think of her, please say a prayer for God's healing.