The Wurglers

This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel with a group of women from our church to a foster home/orphange in another city.  I was glad for some time away and a chance to actually be out "doing" something in this country.  My wonderful husband manned the homefront all by himself for 4 days- bless his soul.  It was.... a journey.... as I learned about the orphan situation in this country and got to interact with many of the special needs children being cared for there.  I wrote this on the train ride home: One of the first things I noticed as we walked into the building was the word "SEE" written on the wall.  My own journey of late had surfaced hard questions and the thought of "seeing" the reality of true hurt and brokenness in these sick children... well, would my heart and faith take the hit?   Could I SEE? Or would my heart turn away?  Could I look into the eyes of the child whom it would never be possible for me to adopt b...

I am the type of person who keeps a to-do list.  When Aaron and I first got married, he despised seeing one of my sticky note to-do lists lying around.  Perhaps it was the quantity of sticky notes or it may have been the things that were written on the lists.  Nothing crushes spontaneity and fun like having to check something off a list.  But I feel good about checking things off.  I feel good about producing.  I feel like I'm useful when I can produce something even when all it is is taking a shower (yes, as a mother of small children, it has to go on my list every now and then).  I hop on my production treadmill and ramp up the speed.  Washed the guest room sheets, check.  Made pumpkin bread, check.  Paid the bills, check.  And then I up the speed a little more.  Updated the baby books, check.  Organized family photos, check.  The treadmill is whirring and I am sprinting.  Created new fall decorations for our h...

If you want to sleep at night DO NOT search the internet for information on bed bugs.  These nasty little buggers like to hitchhike on clothing and luggage, are experts at hiding and can infest a home quicker than... well, I won't say anymore... for your sake.  They hitchhiked right into our home a couple weeks ago? a month ago? longer? from who knows where with all of our recent travels.  It doesn't really matter because by the time we discovered that they were the source of the bites all over Emma and Evie, our house was turned upside down.  "Wit's end" does not even begin to describe where I was at as I steamed, cleaned, sprayed, washed, dried, and disinfected like a crazy woman.  I wish I could say that it was over and we are bed bug free but, although we have not seen signs of them in days I still feel uneasy and continue my "de-infesting" spree.  When things like this happen in our home, I am not okay.  I am not okay when things are not okay. ...

Wrestling... I admit, I tried it as a 3rd or 4th grader simply because all my friends were doing it. Looking back, the only explanation is that my parents either pitied me and wanted me to have friends or they were attempting to keep me out of more dangerous activities, like knife juggling (a HUGE passion of mine as an 8 year old)... or maybe they were hoping I could learn to defend myself against a ruthless older brother who rocked a mean half-nelson. Picture a 45 pound kid (most of that weight was found in my knocky knees), flat top hair cut with cat scratches (also because my friends had them - did I have ANY influence on my friends?!?!), large buck teeth and a singlet that needed to be pre-shrunk so it wouldn't fall off in the midst of battle. I lost so many matches. I remember placing 3rd in one tournament only because there were 4 kids in my age group and the 4th, if I remember correctly was either a girl who had previously lost (praise God) or the 4th threw in the white ...

Well, it happened. After having friends who have been victims of such events, I was also finally bit by the bug. It's funny because for the last couple of weeks, since being back in the country, I have had, on several occasions, ominous thoughts that perhaps maybe I would find myself in this situation soon. I have lived in this city for over a year now and I have dodged the bullet a few times, but only now can I say that I have fallen to this foe... I was in a traffic accident. Nothing too major, but enough to shake me up and cause some severe trepidation in Sara's heart which confirms just how much she hates this death trap known as my motor scooter. I don't really remember the details. Not because I concussed or anything, only because everything happened so fast and my mind can't really unscramble each minute detail that occurred in the 2.7 seconds it took to find myself on the Asian pavement with several onlookers in shock at the foreigner who just went down. I was...

Before becoming a parent, I never once thought about how the Lord might use it to refine me and teach me about Himself. Here's a glimpse of that on a couple levels. Last week on Easter Sunday, I was eagerly anticipating celebrating the resurrection of Jesus with friends and family. We had all kinds of plans arranged and I was personally even looking forward to getting time to myself during naps to think on arguably (but not THAT arguable) the greatest event in history. But things quickly fell apart and early on I began to realize that day might not turn out exactly how I had planned it in my head. For me, unmet expectations are the only ingredient needed to make a hearty dose of realized sin. At one point, I had completely lost it and was literally pinning Evie down in her bed during nap, which she adamantly refused to partake in. I stormed out of her room screaming at her and smashed my fist into the couch on the way out. I had no grace. Patience was long gone. All that remain...