What's been going on...

We've had a lot going on, but nothing great to blog about. So I thought I would just give everybody a generic update.

• I talked to many of our neighbors about the shooting incident. Based on what some people said, we're pretty sure which house the gun shot came from. The important thing is that all the neighbors are staying alert and are ready to make some phone calls if it happens again. Whoever shot the gun knows that everyone is listening.
• It was really fun talking to our neighbors I hadn't met before. They're nice people.
• Isaiah's birthday party was Saturday. It rained, so we had to cram everyone inside, but we still had fun. My mom made him a train cake that looked exactly like Thomas!
• Somehow I lost my voice. I'm not sick, so I don't know how it happened. My theory goes something like this: sleeping with the air conditioning on dries out the air which dries out my throat. But my voice is completely gone. This is only the third Sunday ever that I haven't been able to sing while playing the piano.
• I don't like skipping worship team practice. We didn't practice this week because of Bible school. I had to subsitute teach piano lesson on Thursday, and there just wasn't any other time to have it. The music on Sunday goes better when we practice.
• Todd is making us fat. There's this guy at our church who brings donuts when he's around. He's a merchant marine, so sometimes he's gone for months at a time. But when he's around, he will buy the exact kind of donuts that everyone likes. For example, he always gets me a blueberry cake donut. He drives all the way to Butler, a 30 mintue trip each way, to get these special peanut butter donuts for our one elder. I don't know which other donuts are for which people, but he does! So when Todd is around, we all end up carrying around a few extra pounds.
• Samuel is really on the move. I've decided that it's pretty convenient because he can go get the toy that he wants rather than sitting there crying about it. =) Isaiah has a pretty good knack for knowing what Sam is and isn't allowed to play with and is more than happy to take the things away from Sam that he shouldn't play with. So sometimes that makes things easier for me.
• Baby destructo. Sam tends to destroy everything in his path. His favorite target is Isaiah's train tracks. He'll also wreck anything that Isaiah has neatly arranged.

Didn't expect this today...

This week is our church's bible school. We're kickin' it old school with the "Wordless Book" as our theme. The wordless book is a book with no words (duh!) and just solid colored pages. The black page represents our sins. The red page represents Jesus' blood which He shed to pay for our sins. White represents Jesus washing away our sins and making us clean. Green represents our growing in Christ, and yellow represents the streets of gold that are in heaven. Basically we are using a simple tool, the wordless book, to explain salvation in terms even young children can understand. We are keeping it simple and focusing on the basics.

The enemy, satan, doesn't like what we're doing.

A bullet hit our house today. We live in one of the safest communities in the nation. I've never read this statistic anywhere, but I'm sure it's true.

Today, Samuel woke up from his nap at 11:00 a.m. I went upstairs, got him up, and changed his diaper on the floor. While I was still sitting there, I heard a gunshot, and less than two seconds later, it sounded like a rock hit the house on the outside of his bedroom wall, just about four or five feet from where we were sitting. I went outside and looked up at the house, and there was a hole in the siding of the house right where I thought it had hit.

I called Dan, and he came right home. We looked at the siding and tried to think of what could have done it. A bird? A rock kicked up by a lawnmower? After about 20 minutes of going back and forth, we decided to call our friends at the Northern Regional Police station. They sent over an officer who looked all around the outside and inside of our home. He didn't see any evidence of the bullet entering the house. We didn't have a ladder for him to look at the hole more closely. He assumed that, if it was a bullet, it was a wayward bullet from someone hunting and filed a report with the game commission.

Around 5:00 a game commissioner stopped by the house. He had called on his way over, asking us to have a ladder, so we borrowed one. He climbed up the ladder, loosened a few pieces of siding, and found the bullet. It was pretty mangled and showed evidence of having hit a tree before it hit the house. The commissioner said that most likely it was from a 22 magnum and that it came from the direction of the housing development up the hill from us. That is the last place I would have expected it to come from. He also said that nothing is in season to hunt right now except small game, like groundhogs. He said he would drive around and ask some questions, but wasn't sure if he would find anything out.

Another interesting twist was that I was wearing an Eden Christian Academy shirt, and the commissioner asked me about it. He said he knows lots of kids at Eden and that he used to be a youth pastor at a large church in our area. God sent us a great Christian man to look at our house and get some answers for us.

Does this whole incident have me scared? I'll admit to skipping lunch because I knew it wouldn't stay down. I'll admit that I feel somewhat shaken, physically. But, no, I'm not scared. I'm more convinced than ever that God is holding us in his hands and that we have nothing to fear.

Tomorrow we're going to take our bible school kids to a personal care home down the street and share Jesus' love and the plan of salvation with them. Satan doesn't want us to do it and is trying to scare us. But it won't work. We're not afraid.

Below are pictures of the bullet and the hole:

Walking the Hard Road

While we were on vacation, I read a book called "Walking the Hard Road" by Brother Andrew. It is the story of a Chinese pastor, Wang Ming Tao (or Mingdao) who was born in 1900. During the 1930's he was preaching to more than 500 people each service. His sermons were published and distributed throughout China, and he became very well known.
Through a series of political events which I am just beginning to understand, the only form of Christianity acceptable to the Chinese government became the Three Self Church. The Chinese government basically formed this church to contain and control Christianity, assuming that it could not survive long. Wang Mingdao realized that the Three Self Church had been corrupted by politics and refused to join it or the Communist party. He and his wife were thrown in jail for 23 years, where they were beaten and abused. His cell mates convinced him to write a declaration that he was beginning to doubt the existence of God. He decided to do it because his wife was ill and needed to get out of jail and get medical care. The book refers to him as a 20th century Peter, because he renounced his faith.
He went through a really low time, even to the point of wishing he would die, because of this lie that he told.
Eventually he was able to emerge as a spiritual leader of the Chinese home churches.
Here are a few quotes from the book that really impacted me:

• "Wang was extremely irritated by the words (of a truthful schoolmate). But deep within his ever-introspective heart, he knew the truth. He was annoyed. And he was annoyed for one simple reason - he was guilty." How many times have we been annoyed about a situation. Maybe the truth is that we realize we should do something, but just don't want to. That tension results in annoyance. So next time you're annoyed, check and see if there's something you know you should do. Then do it!
  
• From one of Wang's sermons: "We must get rid of fear! Fear is a sin in itself. Fear doesn't trust God. If we fully honor and respect our Lord... we will fear nothing. No person, no accident, no disaster, no trouble, no danger at all can cause us to have fear. May we yield ourselves to know clearly and accept that fear is a sin." Fear and worry go hand in hand. I often catch myself worrying about things, especially involving the boys. Lately I've been trying to tell myself that I can't worry about it, and that God is in control. It's very freeing.
  
• One more, from another sermon: "Human nature loves ease and comfort. But God demands of us high virtue and perfect good deeds. He knows easy circumstances are not as conductive to our progress as suffering is; and He sees farther than our human eyes can look. God wants us to endure temporary and light affliction so that we may be sanctified and perfect, fit for the Master's use." It amazed me that someone who was imprisoned for 23 years, beaten, and mistreated, could refer to that suffering as a "temporary and light affliction."
  I highly recommend this book. It's only 95 pages long, and a quick read.

What a difference a week makes

Last Monday, Samuel was just a baby who had to roll around to get whatever toy he wanted. On Wednesday he started crawling a little, and by Saturday he was able to get across the room. On Saturday he also pulled up to standing for the first time.

What does this mean for me? My life has just gotten a little more complicated. Sam has this amazing ability to go for the one thing in the room that is not supposed to be played with. He sees that paper in the corner and goes right for it. So I have to try to keep everything baby-proofed again. Oh well. He's getting to be such a big boy!

Birthday Update

The last few days have been really busy because I’m still trying to unpack and catch up from vacation. We also have bible school this week in the evenings, so I haven’t had much time for blogging.
Isaiah’s birthday this year was a lot of fun. This is the first year he has any clue what a birthday even is. All day he wore this Lightning McQueen pin that said birthday champ on it. He told everyone he saw that it was his birthday. (He’s still doing that, by the way. He doesn’t realize that his birthday is over). He started the day going out to breakfast with my mom. When he got home he opened his presents. Then we went to a picnic at the Lighthouse, and we kept joking that it was his birthday party. The balloon lady at the picnic even made a Thomas balloon for him. He was so excited. After his nap we went out for dinner and walked around at a car show. Here are some pictures from the day.

Isaiah is 3 today!

Having Isaiah turn three today is having a bigger impact than I thought. He really has gone from being a toddler to being a little boy. Wow. Here's a look back:

6/21/05 Isaiah's original birth day!

Turning 1!

Turning 2!


Turning 3!

Wild. Wonderful. West Virginia.

West Virginia is a beautiful, rugged state. We stayed in a cabin in the geographic center (in other words, in the middle of nowhere) of West Virginia. A few things we learned:

• Anything that looks close on the map, isn't. One day we decided to go swimming. We found a state park that appeared to be about a half hour away. Many roads in that area are very narrow, and you can only go about 20 mph. It definitely took an hour to get there. The good news is that, when we got there, the pool was open! (Another such excursion did not have the same results...)
• Charlestown, WV is a fun town. Charlestown was about an hour from where we stayed, and we drove down there twice. The first time we went to the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences. It had all sorts of interactive exhibits and hands on stuff for kids. Isaiah had a blast. The other day we drove down to the Kanawha State Park which is only seven miles south of the city. That last seven miles took forever, and when we got there, the pool was closed! After an hour and a half of driving, this was a big disappointment. We got directions to another community pool in Kanawha City which was a gorgeous pool. By the way, I'm not too big on swimming. Now that I have kids, I have learned to really appreciate and love kiddie pools!
• Things that may seem odd to us are a part of normal life in WV such as (but not limited to): 1) a donkey and dog chasing each other around a front yard 2) suspended foot bridges that seem like something from a foreign country 3) cows sometimes stand on the edge of the road 4) atv's and cars apparently have the same rights on the roads 5) someone drove an atv to church 6) You can live in a trailer and still afford to have six or seven horses in the yard 7) people are very resourceful (on the picture below, the awning says "Grill" on the one side and "Salad Bar" on the other... so many questions)

Enjoying french toast for brunch.

Who's having more fun??

I can play, too!

Spending a week without tv, internet, or cell phones left me with so much spare time! I read two books which will be the subject of other posts. We played games, kicked the soccer ball, and sat by the fire. Only once did I resort to twiddling my thumbs, because I had left my book in the room where Sam was sleeping. =)

Our trip home will also be the subject of another post. The good news is that, eventually, we got home. =)

Overall, it was a great week. Dan's right. Vacations really are necessary to slow down, refresh, and relax.

Off we go

Well, we are all packed and ready to leave for vacation in the morning. We are going hard core this time: no tv, no cell phones, and no internet, for a week. We are leaving behind the laptops. That is a big step for us internet addicts. We'll be back in touch in a week!

Worlds Collide

Isn't it weird when you see someone you haven't seen in a really long time? Technology is making it a whole lot easier to keep in touch with people, but there's still no real replacement for seeing someone in person. This has happened to me twice lately.

When I went to my niece Abbie's birthday party last week, my aunt Diane and uncle Greg and their grandson, Ashton, were there. I think I've only seen Diane and Greg twice in the last ten years or so. They live near Cinci now. When I was younger they lived in Florida, and my sister and I would spend a few weeks each summer with them. They have kids around our age, and we just had a blast going to summer camp with them, chasing geckos, praying alligators wouldn't come out of the canal behind their house, rollerblading across this really cool bridge by their house, and so much more. Anyway, it was really cool to see them, and really weird at the same time, because time changes all of us. I was glad to see that they're doing really well.

The second time was yesterday, when I met a friend of mine and her kids at the Pittsburgh Zoo (thus the zoo pictures). Charity and I met when we were about 11 or 12 at summer camp. So we were summer friends who visited throughout the year sometimes. It was tough, because she grew up in Johnstown and I grew up in CT. We ended up going to the same college, and even being roommates for our last semester of senior year. Anyway, she was the same but different. She was the same fun Charity that I grew up knowing, but with the mommy thing added on top. Another thing that was weird was seeing her kids. Brett is 4. I first met him when he was 3 months old. He looks exactly like Charity's dad. Autumn is 2 and just a little pumpkin! She and her husband, Nate, also a friend from college, have a beautiful family.

Anyway, I had a great time catching up with these friends and relatives. I'm thankful that God allowed our separate worlds to collide for a brief moment in time.

Didn't expect to see this!

Today while we were out we saw the Pizza Fusion car parked outside of Taco Bell. We had to laugh! Doesn't exactly speak too highly of Pizza Fusion now, does it?

Looking forward to vacation

Now that I'm back from KY, I'm starting to plan the meals for our vacation. We're going to Faith Mountain in WV. Apparently Faith Mountain retreat center is not near anything. The directions include the grocery store where you should do all your grocery shopping on your way there. The nearest grocery store is 35 minutes away. So I'm trying to weigh the factors, like, how hungry will we be? Some meals, Isaiah actually eats more than I do. Other meals he hardly eats two bites. What if we want to take a picnic lunch out with us? What about food that won't keep for a week? Should we plan a trip to the grocery store half way through the week? This seems logical since some food won't keep for a whole week, like meat. So while I'm trying to figure out how many pads of butter we might use, I'll be looking forward to the whirlpool and the hammock in the cabin's backyard.

Some funny moments...

• With much fear and trepidation, Dan smiled and, choosing his words very carefully, asked me, "For health insurance purposes... what is your weight?" Ha!
• At the bed and breakfast in KY, Isaiah and Samuel were goofing around on the bed, and Isaiah kind of squished Sam's arm. My mom said, "Isaiah, be careful, or we're going to end up in the hospital!" Isaiah replied, "Or jail!" I don't even know if he knows what jail is, but it was hilarious.
• At church on Sunday, Isaiah didn't want to stay in the nursery, so he stayed with us in the service. The pastor asked anyone with a prayer need to raise their hand, and then he prayed for everyone. I don't know what the pastor actually said, but Isaiah turned to me during the prayer and said, "Mommy, he said 'No more Jesus.' There's no more Jesus." Great. My kid goes to church and stops believing in Jesus. It was too funny.
• During the sermon, the pastor mentioned Peter, the apostle. Isaiah said with a big smile on his face, "He's talking about Peter Pan!"

Have you ever asked yourself, "What was I thinking?"

I just got home from a trip to see my sister and brother-in-law in Kentucky to celebrate my niece's first birthday. Boy did that trip give me a lot to blog about. Here's the short list:

• Driving a vehicle over 800 miles, and praying 7,987 times every mile that the thing wouldn't fall apart
• Seeing suspicious drips of liquid form puddles every time we parked (and it wasn't just air conditioner condensation. More like an oily substance.)
• Hearing sounds coming from under the hood every time I hit the brakes that sounded like a donkey playing bongos (hee-haw hee-haw bang bang)
• Turning left to go straight (I think the van's out of alignment)
• Feeling like the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years as we turned a 7.5 hour drive into a 9.5 hour drive
• Feeling a little like Goldilocks - we stayed in two different places while we were down there due to rooms being booked, etc. One bed was too soft and one a little too hard. No bed is like your own!
• Periodically giving Tylenol to Sam who decided to work on cutting a tooth during the big drive home
• Pulling over to the side of the road and having a nice old gentlemen almost stop to offer help before he realized what was going on - just a toddler sitting on a blue potty. (This was only out of desperation, as we were nowhere near a restroom of any sort!)
• Going to church and not doing anything - wow! weird.
• Hearing/Seeing a train go through downtown five or six times an hour the entire time we were there. Isaiah loved it!
• Went inside a caboose and Isaiah got to ring the bell. So fun!
• Experiencing the best of Southern hospitality and a great Southern breakfast
• Trying to manage two kids who are totally out of their routines - oy!
• Three little cousins playing together - very fun!
• Meeting my cousin's little boy, Ashton, for the first time - what a sweetie!
• Trying to figure out cousin-type relationships. What is Ashton to Isaiah and Samuel? (Ashton's mom is my first cousin) Are they second cousins or first cousins once removed, and what is the difference?
• An adorable, precious little girl who just turned one year old

Overall, it was a great trip, and once I fully recuperate, I'll look back on it fondly and be glad we went. =)