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Monday, June 30, 2008

Just Look at These!!!

Here she is....Mercy (?) Holman. These were taken today with a 4D ultrasound. Yes, they actually have one here in Coch. Joe says the fourth dimension is time and he wants them to use the ultrasound machine to tell us what she will be like in 20 years. :>) That's what I get for being married to Mensa Man.

Although I'm only 30 weeks, she's measuring a whopping 32 weeks. No big surprised there. All my kiddos have been supersized. :>)


How sweet is that?

with her mouth open


Do you see her fingers up near her chin?

Patience said "WOW, look at those chubby cheeks".
Maybe that's why my tummy is so G-I-A-N-T.

Indeed we serve an awesome God!! Who else could have designed something so incredible?

Psalm 139:13-18
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it. You watched me being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up you are still with me.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

11 Examples Of Redneck Ingenuity

I usually don't pass these things along.....BUT this one was hard to pass up. Instead of inundating all your email boxes, I'll just take up room on my blog for a good laugh in celebration of my birthday tomorrow!

1. Can’t afford daycare?
Solution:





2. No convenient cupholder?
Solution:




3. No money to fix the car’s doorlock?
Solution:




4. No basement to protect from severe weather?
Solution:




5. No way of procuring normal pets?
Solution:

6. No money to buy t-shirt supporting favorite sports hero and/or team?
Solution:



7. Can’t afford divorce attorney?
Solution:

8. Still saving up for that riding mower?
Solution:





9. Banned from UHaul?
Solution:




10. Can’t scrape together the cash for a plasma screen tv?
Solution:




11. Need more space?


Thanks for indulging me. Actually we're considering the moving and housing ones since we'll be moving soon. Also, I think the duct tape on the baby was put to good use! :>)

Thinking of Space

No not the grandiose galaxy out there, but my small space I have here in this life. To be more specific the space where we live. The space where we worship God. Not in church, but in our own private time alone. As many of you know we will be moving to a different house at the end of August...just one week before my due date. Won't that be fun? Anyway the house we are most likely moving to has even a little less space than the one we're in now. And you thought that was impossible. It's one of those kind of houses that you can stand at the front door and pretty much see the whole house. It's approximately one-fourth the size of our house in Virginia. Not much space to 'get away' or sit down with a cup of coffee and my Bible or another good book and spend some time praying and seeking after God.

These thoughts along with some others I have listed below have been swirling in my head and causing me to consider the space we have and what we do with it. I've been thinking that I need some 'space'...not necessarily a big space, but just a place, a retreat, a special area set aside to worship God in my house. Even a comfy chair in a quiet corner will suffice.

Then recently I was talking to a friend who told me about a room in our mutual friends' house. It's a meditation room. Each family member spends time there each day. Reading the Bible. Praying. Listening for guidance from the Spirit, etc.

Think of Jesus. How often did He pull away from the crowds and get alone to commune with the Father? We see in Scripture that He often did this by either going to the mountains, the sea, the wilderness or a garden to pray. He choose places in nature to pray and be strengthened by God.

Next I was thinking of Muslims. Many Muslims carry a prayer rug with them. A space set aside to ensure the cleanliness of their place of prayer, and to create an isolated space to concentrate in prayer.

How physical space impacts our moods and our outlook I believe is often overlooked by many Christians. The space I am in can deeply impact how I feel. I believe space/location has a deeper impact on us humans than we even realize. Why else do large companies, churches, builders and businesses spend so much time and money researching and choosing just the right environment for their consumers?

In the U.S. we make a great effort to make sure we have a great space for cooking and entertaining, for keeping our clothes, for brushing our teeth, for showering and even for getting ready in the morning not to mention the space that we need to store our food. I'm wondering is this really the best use of our space. Would it perhaps be better to use some of that space as a place I go to get alone with God? For finding strength in the Spirit? For confessing my sins? For looking to Him for guidance? For putting on my spiritual armor? For praying for the lost and for my children? Aren't these things more important? Yet, we don't seem to put the same energy into finding this space in our houses.

I am going to make an effort to find a regular space for spending time with God. A place set aside for just that purpose. Some place I can sit down and focus on Him. I'll keep you updated on how it impacts my spiritual life.

If you have any ideas or thoughts along these lines I'd like to hear them.

Things Cutie Pututie 3 Year Olds Can Get Away With Saying

"I know why you're belly is so G-I-A-N-T.....It's because there's a baby in there!"

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Things I Miss and Things I Don't

Things I miss from the States:
  • Most of all....family (Seth, my dad and mom) and friends (you know who you are!)
  • Good coffee and coffee 'get away' time with friends
  • Clean, neat, well organized stores
  • Eating fruit without having to sterilize it in bleach first
  • Convenience foods
  • Tex-Mex food
  • Sterile hospitals with knowledgeable doctors, nurses, and midwives
  • Quality toys (and all things for that matter)....I've said here is like a nation of 'Dollar Store toys'. If a toys makes it for two months we're impressed. Some of our Christmas toys didn't make it past Christmas Day.
  • The ease of everything
  • A clothes dryer
  • Sour cream
  • Towels that are soft...not as Joe says like sandpaper from hanging on the line to dry. Everyone wants to use the towel second not first since it's a little softer then. :>)
  • My crockpot and crockpot cooking
  • Not having someone in our family dealing with sickness on any given day
  • Feeling competent i.e. being able to communicate what I'm thinking, feeling, wanting in my native tongue instead of stumbling through and feeling stupid in a language I am not yet fluent in
  • Independence: Being able to be alone and to go out alone (This is a way that I recharge.)
  • Driving alone (see above)
  • A stable government
  • Ben and Jerry's
  • Being able to walk down the street without seeing someone urinating
  • Drinking, cooking with, and brushing my teeth with water directly from the faucet
  • That things made from plastic are not expensive
  • Feeling pretty secure that there is not a cat living on the shelf of a restaurant where I'm eating

Things I don't miss from the States:

  • Joe being away from his family much of the time
  • The underlying sense of 'hurry, hurry, rush, rush'
  • The lack of focus/priority on people and relationships
  • $4.00 a gallon for gas
  • So much advertising/consumerism
  • Keeping up with the 'Joneses'
  • That things made from wood are so expensive
  • The busy-ness of life
  • Strict parking regulations in Washington DC (I got two parking tickets while there visiting Seth!)

Things that are the same all over the world:

  • People's need for a Savior
  • My desire to follow our Lord no matter where He leads
  • Need for mentoring in Spiritual matters
  • More needs than ministers/people meeting those needs
  • More fields ripe for harvest than workers in the harvest
  • Human suffering
  • That people are so wrapped up in their daily lives that they don't see the spiritual warfare going on around them

Sunday, June 22, 2008

The Best Thing I Brought Home With Me

Okay, time for a little more group participation. I have a question for you.

What do you think the best thing I brought back home to Bolivia from the States is?

I'll give you a few days to respond and then I'll post my answer and explain why it's the best.

Monday, June 16, 2008

My Surprise

When I was in the States Joe told me he had a surprise for me. I thought I'd share it with you....he grew a beard and moustache. Here's how he looks now.....



He told everyone here that he was going to shave it off as soon as I came back. He assumed I wouldn't like it since I generally prefer him to be clean shaven. However I did/do like it. He's gotten mixed reviews. It seems the younger crowd of our kids' friends like it. They say it makes him look younger. Some of the older crowd think it makes him look older and a few have told that it's a bit gray, so now he's thinking of shaving it off. I thought I'd give you an opportunity to weigh in with an opinion. We'll let you know in the coming days what he decides. So stay tuned.

Friday, June 6, 2008

I Know, I Know....

I know that Joe sent out a email saying that I had updated my blog with news from the States, but I'm still working on my article/pictures. They SHOULD be up later today or tomorrow at the latest. Sorry for the confusion. He saw me working on it.....he just didn't realize how long it takes me. :>)

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Home Again!!!

I'm happy to say that I made it home to Bolivia safe and sound. I'm still in 'recovery' mode. 'Recovery' from all the good times I had with family and friends in the States. Thanks to all of you who made my trip wonderful by spending time with me. Forgive me for not taking more pictures. I kept forgetting that I had the camera in my purse!!!! Here's a recap of some of my activities there:










Thanks to the Becky Porter and her kiddos who came to the airport to meet me complete with big smiles and homemade banners....


...along with my parents who brought me 24 beautiful pink roses!
















* Spent lots of time with Seth, but not enough....can there ever be enough? We had fun going to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, visiting the National Aquarium there, eating at Cheesecake Factory, Fuddruckers and Five Guys and Fries, seeing where he works and eating there (Clyde's in DC), meeting some of his new friends and roommates, watching a couple of movies and generally just hanging out. He let me sleep in his top bunk while he took the loveseat where his legs hung way over the end. What a sweetie! Later I extended my trip and he came out and spent a couple of nights at my parents' house with us and we spent some more days together. We stopped at a theater and watched Prince Caspian as I was taking him back to DC. It was a great movie and a nice end to our time together.




at Baltmore's Inner Harbor








Seth at Clyde's in DC...where he works







inside the "rain forest" of the National Aquarium




Isn't he handsome?

* Spent lots of time with my parents, but again not enough....where does the time go? I had a good time just being with them, staying at their house, shopping with my mom, being spoiled by them :>), eating out lots of good Mexican food and going to yard sales. They took me on a trip to New York City where we had a wonderful time and saw not one, not two, but THREE BROADWAY PLAYS!!!......"Wicked" (my favorite), "The Lion King", and "Legally Blonde".


at "Wicked"



night time in Times Square



outside of "Legally Blonde"



inside the "Legally Blonde" theatre




my parents








with the "Scar" costume of "The Lion King"....the costumes and sets of this musical were incredible!!




* Got to visit with our home group at Kendell's house. It was great to see you all...Kendell and Laverna, Dirk and Janet, Larry and Sue, and Tim and Andrea. Thanks for all the support you've been to us over the last few years and especially this past year as we were 4000 miles apart, but still felt your love and friendship. It was great to see you in person and give you a big hug. I can't believe I forgot to take pics that night!!!!

* Lunch with my dear friend and closest thing I have to a sister, Theresa...I can't tell you how much that time meant to me. Thanks for spending the entire afternoon with me. It was great to catch up, enjoy some lunch, great conversation, and some butter! I needed that! Thanks, Jim, for handling things on the home front to free her up for the day. You are the best!! Again, no pics! What was I thinking!

* A wonderful dinner with the entire Farley family before...
* A question and answer session and Dessert Social at our church in Virginia...Blue Ridge Bible Church. Thanks for a nice welcome home.
* A baby shower hosted by my sweet friend Geni Hall where I got to spend some refreshing 'girl time' with friends I've missed terribly over the last year. A big thanks to all of you who came to make my night memorable. Geni said her goal was for me to feel loved and special. I definitely did. Thanks, friend.
with Geni







Another touching moment came for me at the shower when Karen gave the devotional. Thanks Karen for the sweet but undeserved tribute.


Can you believe I got all that into ONE suitcase?

me with my Mom

* A Mother/Daughter Brunch at BRBC with my mom and a table full of fun ladies (thanks for the tip on Chasteberry, Kim) where I got to hear Jayme and Vickie speak...great job guys!!

* I got to spend the American Mother's Day with my mom....a treat neither of us expected at this time last year. After church my dad treated us to Sweetwater Grill. Yum. Yum.

* Maternity clothes shopping with Kendell. Thanks for indulging me and for treating me to my first Starbucks Carmel Macchiato in a year afterwards!

* Electronics shopping with Shelly. Thanks for helping me and for asking the sales people all the right questions as I was more than overwhelmed...it had been too long since I'd seen that many choices. :<) It was good to spend some more time with you...even if it was shopping.

* My friends Debbie and Heather drove down all the way from New Jersey just to share a meal with me. Thanks for spending your time encouraging me and for the sweet gifts you brought.


* Lunch at Chris' house with some sweet fellowship of exceptional friends (Chris, Karen, Heidi, Kim, Patti, Geni, and my Mom) and good food....homemade deep dish pizzas and wonderful salads...Karen and Kim, I still need those recipes!

Again, I forgot to break out the camera until AFTER my mom and Heidi left...sorry gals!

* Spent time visiting with Melissa (and Clint) Thomas at the hospital. Thanks for the fellowship. Remember we are praying for you!!!

I know there are people and activities I haven't mentioned. There's just not enough space to contain all my adventures. I wish I could've spent more time with each one of you, but am so grateful for the time that I did have. You all made my trip simply amazing!!