Confessions of a Bad Blogger

Since I have been overwhelmed with life in the past year lately, I may have passed up a few bloggable moments.  But there are a few things I would never forget to tell you from 2012.

1. I would never forget to mention that Will learned to ride his bike this past spring.

2.  And I am sure that I remembered to post photographical evidence that we actually did spend a week at the beach with Tim's family. No?

 3. Likewise, I would never fail to blog if Kate learned to read.

4. If Ben had continued to write funny comic strips to amuse his teacher and me, I would post every single one.

5.  I am sure that if Will had visited the local newspaper office and become inspired to write his own newspaper, complete with cover story, sports section, interviews, comics, and puzzles, of course I would have told you about it!

6. I got a new camera just before Thanksgiving, but if a tall, skinny stranger tried to eat my youngest while I was messing with the settings, I am sure I would have remembered and posted a photo.

7.  I always remember to post the Annual Cousins-on-the-Stairs pic, especially if it is Jack's first one.

8. And if Kate ever won an award at school for never giving up or quitting, I would have taken the time to blog about it.

9. We didn't do anything fun like decorate gingerbread houses. And Jack-Man did not eat his house before it ever got decorated.  (Thanks again, Lilly!)

10. And of course, Jack did not fall on his face shortly before said gingerbread adventure, getting a large contusion on his forehead which is still visible more than two weeks later. 


I am also sure that the astute readers among you noticed that I still failed to mention our Christmas celebrations, but maybe I will get to that before the spring thaw. Or maybe I won't. Who knows what you will get from this bad blogger. 

Birthday Party!

My kids' birthdays are at the end of June, August, and October. In the past we have done separate birthday parties, but that is a lot of cake and ice cream in a very short amount of time. So this year, with a little help from Uncle Jacob, I convinced them that it would be a blast to have one big ole party for all of them. OK, honestly, they weren't thrilled with the idea at first, but then I convinced them with promises of pinatas and water balloons, and they were on board!
We had grandparents, tons of aunts and uncles, no less than six cousins, and many friends and their parents. We even had Uncle Jacob here! (He was in town for a wedding.) I wish I could say that I am super-mom because I am capable of pulling off a party like this all by myself, but honestly, it took the whole family to get the job done. Every single person had a job - from my niece who filled water balloons and peeled carrots, to my grandmother who was the welcoming committee, to the men who washed dishes, to all of the relatives who brought food. Somehow we managed to feed 40 people, and the party was a huge success. Once again, Will declared it the best party evah!
Don't be hatin' on the cake pictures. I had to snap them fast before the flames melted Luke Skywalker's light saber!
Now I am wondering what I will have to bribe them with next year so I can get away with only one party again...

Everybody needs a cool Uncle Jacob.

Have I mentioned that we loved spending the week with Jacob? While the kids were on spring break, we went down to Mom's to just love on him as much as we could.

We went to the park.

We practiced our bike-riding, sans training-wheels.

And of course, we played more soccer.

They wouldn't even let poor Jacob lift weights without their "help". Bless his heart.

However, we still didn't get enough hugs and kisses in, so he and Mom came up last night for a pre-birthday celebration at the Chang's. Good food, good time.

And this morning, we got up and said our goodbyes. I try to remember that this trip was an unexpected surprise. A gift. A time for my children to get to know their aunt and uncle. (I promise I am not ignoring sweet Alison, but she is spending time with her parents and sisters' kids right now, as she should.)

And so now I ask that you lift up these two who are so precious to me. To all of us. For their safety and their work. And that we can see them again, asap.

Easter

Jacob and Alison were at my house for Easter weekend this year (yeah!), and my children tried very hard to keep them entertained.

Among other things, we had the cousins over,

flew kites and rode bikes,

played soccer, football, and T-ball,

dyed eggs, hunted eggs,

and climbed trees.

Somewhere in there, we also ate too much food, introduced them to a bunch of people at church, and celebrated our Risen Lord.

It was a good weekend.

Welcome Home!

As many of you know, my brother and sister-in-law live and serve overseas. They have been there for over a year and a half, and we are very proud of them. But no matter how proud we are, we miss them and they miss us.

Last week Mom and the kids and I loaded up to head to North Carolina for a conference for people interested in serving on the island where Jacob and Alison live. Are we interested in serving on the island? Sure, but the main reason we were excited was because J & A were speaking at the conference!! We squeezed as many hugs and kisses as we could into those 2 days before we (us and A's parents) loaded them up in our vans and brought them HOME!

On Sunday, we got to worship with them at their church, and they get to stay stateside for a whole month. They will spend Easter here at my church, and over spring break the kids and I will go to Mom's to hang out with Uncle Jacob. I am really looking forward to having some of those long, drawn-out conversations that you just can't have on Skype.

Hopefully I will be able to share pictures soon, but I am busy with several "projects" right now, so be patient with me:)

Moo Moo

Sounds like a cow, right?

Well, in Kate's world, it's a movie. She went to her first real-in-the-theater movie yesterday with her brothers and daddy. He took them to see Madagascar 2. (Thanks, Tim, for the mini-vacation!) Before she left, I asked her if she was excited about the movie. She did the sign for TV, and I said that it was kind of like TV, but way bigger.

Anyway, I don't think she cared much for it. It was too long for a two year old, but her big brothers thought it was awesome. When they came home, I asked her if she liked the movie, and her response was the sign for TV and then she made all these funny faces and sounds. I think she was trying to imitate the animals or something.

Later, she and I got to Skype my brother and his wife. She really liked talking to them and kept signing their names afterward. While we talked, Tim was watching Cars in the background, and she kept pointing to it and signing car and saying, "moo moo". She wanted Jacob to know we were watching a movie.

As I put her to bed, she signed car. I said, "Yes, you watched Cars tonight." She said, "Moo moo." I said, "Who did you watch the movie with?", thinking she would say Daddy. Nope, she said she watched the movie with Uncle Jacob. She told me again today. I forget that two year olds have no concept that people on the computer can't see what's on the tv behind the computer. It made me laugh. She also likes to hold things up to the telephone so Mimi can see them. Funny girl. But I am glad that in her mind, she and Uncle Jacob had quality bonding time watching a movie together.

Homework

Ben's first homework assignment is due tomorrow. Yes, apparently kindergarteners do have homework. His assignment was to find out how long he was when he was born, and to bring in a baby photo and a baby outfit he wore. I am sending the cute little yellow onesie with the monkey on it. I always loved that one, and he thought it was funny that he used to fit into it. (This isn't the picture I sent, but I couldn't find a digital copy.)
Anyway, Ben and I had some laughs getting this together, but as I thought about it, I got kind of sad. Yes, I was sad about how much Ben had grown, but that's not really what I mean. I was sad because I realized that I won't be able to do this assignment with Kate in quite the same way. Although I do know how long she was when she was born, I don't have any "baby" pictures of her. The oldest one I have was taken at about 17 months (we think). I don't have any baby clothes. There is a big chunk of her life that we don't share. There is so much that I won't be able to tell her about because I wasn't there.

At some point in her life, she will probably grieve that loss (and others). All I can do is love her and talk to her honestly about what we do know. Which isn't much. I pray God will give me the strength and wisdom to answer these questions well. To walk with her through whatever she goes through, supporting and encouraging her. All of this is one of the reasons that I wanted the boys to go with us to China. I wanted us to have family memories with her as early as possible. I want my boys to remember her birth country and be able to tell her stories about what it is like. I want her to have a positive connection with China. I want her to be proud of her heritage and birth culture.

J&A

On another note, we got to talk with Jacob and Alison today. We miss them so much, and I was so glad to talk to them. They seem to be doing well, and are adjusting to all of the changes. Pray for them to learn the language. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be. I am very proud of them:)

Jake-up Make-up

This is what I used to call my brother when I was really trying to tick him off, and it usually worked. He hated this nickname. He would usually start screaming and chasing me around the house. We fought like cats and dogs until I moved out of the house. Good times.

Somehow, he has grown up to be a wonderful man with a wife, a job, and big dreams. Instead of fighting, we became friends. He is someone that I trust completely with my children. I trust him to listen to my secrets, to give me advice, and to be a constant connection to my past, present, and future.

Yesterday, they got on a plane to go half way around the world to serve God and people. They will be gone for several years, and I will miss them more than I realized. You see, Jacob has wanted to do this for as long as I can remember. I have tried my best to support him, knowing that he would only be happy if he was doing exactly what God wanted him to do. In doing that, I have seen his occupational choice as a huge adventure - not to mention a place where I could take really cool vacations. But yesterday, standing there at the Cracker Barrel, I realized that I am seriously going to miss seeing him and his wife every few months. I will miss his crazy sense of humor, his intelligent conversations, his insight into my life.

I am also sad that my kids are going to miss out on seeing their super cool aunt and uncle all the time. Even when they were here, they usually only saw them once every 2 or 3 months. And to a 6 year old and an almost 4 year old, there isn't much difference between three months and three years. Their concept of time isn't there. I really don't think they understood what was going on yesterday, even though they adore Jacob and Alison. Especially Will. Will thinks Alison hung the moon, so yesterday he was all grins because she kept hugging and kissing him. He thought it was a great day!

Last night I came home exhausted. My sweet husband cooked dinner for us so that I could rest. When we sat down, Ben wanted to say the blessing. He thanked God for our food, and then he told God that he was really going to miss his aunt and uncle, but he was glad that they were going because "somebody has to do it." My 6 year old may not understand the passage of time, but he does understand God's love for the world and the need to serve Him.

Dear Lord, bless Jacob and Alison as they create a new life for themselves in a new place. Keep them healthy and safe, and give them plenty of opportunities to serve you and get in on your work. Ease any homesickness that they may feel so that they may focus on you and your will. In Jesus' name, Amen.