Community

This week I have walked around with a lump in my throat.  Tears right behind my eyes, ready to fall with the slightest emotion.  But here's the thing, it has been a good week, an amazing week.  I keep looking around me at this life God is creating, it reminds me of a quilt, each unique block when sewn together creates something beautiful.  I feel it, my cup so full, running over with joy, with contentment.

For years I have been praying for God to provide for our family what it was missing.  To bring to us Korean people who would love us, who would walk this road with us, who would care about my children.  For years I have prayed for families that look like ours to come into our life, for my children to not wonder why they're the only adopted children they know or why they are the only one without a white face.  Recently God has begun to teach me about community, I have begun to pray that He would make that a reality, that our life and our home would be filled with the body, a place where deep relationships can be formed.

It took me a long time to realize that she was the answer to my prayers, it wasn't until I realized how much she needed us that I saw our need for her.  Watching her set the table or help us make dessert,  is the answer to the prayer I've never put into words, the longing He placed in my heart long ago.  Last night she taught me how to bow correctly and told me that Chloe has a Korean accent.  As my children grow they will have a face that looks like theirs around the dinner table, they will hear her whisper Korean to them, her presence will change their lives.

Then this week I met her, I was both surprised and expectant, deep down knowing she would come, another mother like me, another family like ours.  And no matter how I tried on that day we met the tears kept sneaking up.  Before I knew her name I knew her heart and that was enough to know I had made a dear friend.  To have another friend who's walking this path of adoption, one I can reach out and touch, one who will be a daily part of our lives, a gift from a loving Father.

Always there is the mix of students and families, Americans and Internationals, new believers and mature ones that fill up my home each Sunday evening.  It is the day I look forward to most of all, to hear about their week, to praise God for the answered prayers, to be able to tell them I need their prayers, always I need their prayers.  Their wisdom on His word teach me and point me to the truth.  But most of all their laughter stays with me and it makes me lighter, carrying me through to the next week.

This week I've seen my life for the beautiful quilt it has become.  Solid in my chest I feel it, rising up as a lump in my throat.  This is the life He has created for me, an answer to the prayer he put on my lips, a life abundant, a life in community.

On potty training

In the midst of potty training there is always a moment when you feel like it is never going to happen, this child will never learn this new skill.  What you need is a little perspective.  I remember when I was potty training Kylynn and I had been cleaning poop out of underwear for two weeks asking my bible study group to pray for me and for her to get through this stage.  The leader of the group turned to me and gently told me that everything was going to be okay, Kylynn would learn this skill, she would not still be wearing diapers when she went off to kindergarten.  Which was of course my fear: that this stage of my life would never move forward that I would be stuck potty training forever.

So it was when Jack was walking around the house in his 12th pair of underwear in week three of potty training that I decided I needed some perspective, I needed someone to tell me everything was going to be okay.  I needed someone who could look in from the outside and give me some advice.

I called my friend who as a special needs pre-school teacher has potty trained many children, she is as far as I'm concerned a potty training expert.  I told her what I was doing and how it was (obviously) not working.  She gave me a new plan: set a timer for 10 minutes, every 10 minutes reward Jack for dry underwear (since that was our problem) with candy (don't forget you can cut up one piece of candy into four pieces), repeat until he's got it down.   Then move onto setting the timer for 30 minutes, and so on.

After only a couple of days he had an accident free day, earning a trip to the "movie eater" to see Cars 2.  After a couple more weeks we're down to having about one to two accidents a week.  Suddenly life is normal again, my baby boy is potty trained, he's not going to get kicked out of pre-school, I'm not going to lose my mind, and I've never been more grateful for a friend like her.

A lazy blog about my vacation

Ahh...it was a vacation, it was restful and fun and beautiful, most importantly it did not get above 85 degrees, need I say more.  Here's a recap of our vacation in pictures, with a few captions thrown it, it's 125 degrees here and it's making me lazy.

the view from our bedroom

we saw "goat mountains" (Jack would say) on one of our drives

we drove a lot!

on the way from Ruidoso, NM to Lincoln, NM

the original and still used PO in Lincoln, NM

This is how Jack looks in most pictures taken over vacation

my favorite lunch on the trip The Dolan House in Lincoln, NM

the cafe had fancy glasses even for the kids, they did great!

it rains there...imagine that

I'm blessed I am

I sat down some, that was a nice change

I made Kyle take my picture so people would know I was there too

the view from the back porch

the house we stayed in, thanks Dad!

the view from our street, on the first day there we saw two elk and my aunt saw a bear!

playing at a local park

crossing over the creek

Jack's first horse ride

the old pro

the view from the local playground

our drive to Alamagordo, NM

the space museum in Alamogordo, NM

Kyle flying a space ship

what do you think this is?

Hi, my name is Jack and I'm the cutest boy who's ever lived!

so blessed

the first monkey to fly in space, no not Kylynn, the statue

Cloudcroft, NM 8600 ft. above sea level, so beautiful!

I insist that ice cream be eaten as often as possible on vacation

I learned that rule from my Dad

the hubby golfed

it was my mom's birthday, she turned 35

The End!