~ I Hope She Knows

I'm driving down the road and my car is quiet -

No two-year-old screaming at his brothers,

No nine-year-olds arguing back and forth.

A friend has taken them for the day.

I am left alone with my thoughts.

Today is his thirteenth birthday - my oldest.

He's with dad experiencing all kinds of new things...

the clear blue water of the Carribean,

snakes (big ugly ones that can squeeze the life out of you),

horses & sting rays & starfish & dolphins,

and cliff diving.

And I know it's not just all fun.

He's seeing more than the beauty this island holds.

He's seeing those who have been abandoned, left to suffer on their own,

Living quarters that, in his world, would be condemned,

Electricity being shut off,

Bodies that are shutting down from disease,

And he's seeing their joy as he walks by to serve them...

the ladies smiling and calling him handsome,

the children taking his small offerings of sweet treats with delight in their eyes,

the man who can't use his own body telling my son that he messed up his own life and reminding this young one of mine he should read more, stay on the right path.

So much for his young eyes to take in,

his young mind to process,

his tender heart to hold.

And right in the middle of my quietness I think of the young girl who held him 13 years ago today -

the one who gave him his chocolate brown eyes and his cute little lips and his jet black hair,

the one who chose to give him life,

the best gift that she could possibly ever give him.

And I wonder if she knew on that day 13 years ago how her broken heart would heal my empty arms,

how her sacrifice would forever change my heart.

And I think of the One who created those eyes and those lips and can count every hair on that head,

The One who planned before the foundations of the world that her gift would be my great delight,

And all I can do in this moment,

In the stillness and quietness of my car,

is whisper "thank you"

and hope that somewhere, she knows!

I know He does!

~ How To Spend Your Day

Lookin' for something out of the ordinary to do?

You could do this...

Or you could do this...

You decide!

Top photos are just a typical winter day at recess here in the Midwest taken yesterday.

Bottom photos are from Josiah's 13th Birthday Adventure Trip with Dad in Nausau, Bahamas taken yesterday and today.

~ On Puberty and Potty Training

My son is turning thirteen this week.

We've always planned for our children to have a special one-on-one trip with one of us when they hit that critical age, a kind of rite-of-passage.

A time to talk about becoming a teenager,

A chance to get to have a parent's undivided attention,

A chance to serve someone else and experience a different culture with mom or dad,

An opportunity to discuss those really private things that only a parent should teach his/her child,

and most importantly, to us...

An appointment to talk about faith and wholehearted devotion to Christ.

Since God has so amazingly crafted our family with all boys, we decided that Dad should be the one to take the boys away.

My oldest wanted to go somewhere warm, so he and his dad chose to spend this special birthday in the Bahamas with friends of ours, missionaries from our church, who serve at an Aids camp.

They will be spending a few days at the camp serving the residents and clearing some of the land for a new building project coming up.

They will be encouraging our friends in their work there.

They will spend a few days just having some daddy/son time.

I know God will use the time in our son's life to teach him many things.

What I did not count on when we were making all our plans for the trip was how the two-year-old would respond.

As we were packing the day before they left, the youngest kept saying, "I going, too, with Daddy!"

He pulled out his swimming suit, packed his suitcase, and brought down his sleeping bag and was determined that he would be leaving in the morning.

Since they left, he walks around asking where daddy is and crying, "I miss Daddy. I do! I do! I do!"

When we skyped tonight, the other boys were saying goodnight to Dad, and I looked over to see him in the corner in tears. He crawled back in my lap and said a tearful goodbye.

I'm thinking we may have to change our plans: three-year-olds and thirteen-year-olds get a trip with dad!?

It's o.k. though -

He recovers pretty quickly!

This week I glanced down at my table and started laughing. On one end of the table, there was a booklet about potty training and on the other end were books my husband had ordered about talking to your child about adolescence.

Potty training and puberty!

No one person should have to deal with both of these at the same time!

~ What True Love Looks Like

We started our day with love words.

Daddy got up early to make red velvet cupcakes. He knows they're my favorite.

Before the frosting was stirred together and before we started school, we paused at the table to read them...

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not boast,

It is not proud.

It is not rude,

It is not self-seeking,

It is not easily angered,

It keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil

But rejoices with the truth.

It always protects,

Always trusts,

Always hopes,

Always perseveres.

Love never fails.

We talked to the boys about what real love looks like, and we each chose a characteristic of love to work on today.

We closed the Bible and I told them a story.

Once upon a time...

And I told them about that special Valentine's Day 26 years ago when he dressed himself from head-to-toe in every shade of red imaginable and asked me if I would sign his ticket and be his date - his prize for wearing the most red at a Valentine's party.

What I don't tell them is how young and naive I was.

What I didn't tell them is how I felt all wobbly inside.

What I didn't tell them is that I only thought I knew what love was.

What I didn't tell them is that their Daddy has spent every day since that Valentine's Day teaching me what true love looks like - how real love is selfless and humble and worth fighting for.

On that day so long ago when he stood before me with the pen and that sweet hopeful look on his face, love was just a tiny wish -

a hope that I would say yes.

And after 26 years, I can tell you what true love is -

It's choosing every day to say YES!

Ken, I said "Yes" then because you were cute and you made me feel all goofy inside.

Today, I say "Yes" because I know that true love demands it

(and because you still make me feel all goofy inside!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love You!

~ How To Beat the Winter Blues

Winter is long here in the north.

I start feeling a little blue around February.

So we snuck away to one of our favorite places this weekend on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Just being near water always makes me feel better,

We enjoyed the peace and quiet of the lake this time of year,

But it was not quiet in our car, nor in our hotel.

We enjoyed two full, loud days with the boys.

We swam,

We had late-night pizza,

We played a roudy game of spoons,

We invaded the arcade (where Mommy won prizes for everyone),

We swam some more,

And we ice skated (without skates).

If you can't beat winter, you may as well embrace it!

~ It's A Great Day to be Great

The streets were dead in Wisconsin tonight.

Nobody was out and about.

We were all a little preoccupied.

That is until around 9:00 p.m.

Now there are fireworks going off in our neighborhood.

It's a great day to be a Packer fan!