doing life

The "D" Word

2012-01-25T05:42:00.001-06:00

I vividly remember the days when I would sit on the bottom step of our staircase and watch out the front windows of our house waiting for the boys to come home from school. I remember the sound of little boy voices competing with each other in the telling of their day. I remember fixing them a snack and sitting at our table with one on either side of me as I helped with daily homework.

I remember the look on their faces as they would fill me in on who said the "S" word on the bus and my utter horror at the thought of some snotty nosed kid stealing the innocence of my boys.

I then remember them whispering to me the dreaded "S" word.

Mom, he said STUPID.

One boy would sit in awe of the tenaciousness of his brother as he actually dared to use the bad word while I would release a huge sigh of relief knowing innocence remained intact for one more day.

Then came the day when the "S" word really meant the "S" word. And all the other words that are described by the one poor letter of the alphabet that never did anything to anyone. The day when I started getting a grunt in response to questions about their day. The day when fixing a snack meant opening a bag of chips and eating the whole thing. The day when I just wasn't smart enough to help with homework anymore.

In my world there are words that are bad just because of everything they mean....or I just get grossed out by the sound of it. One word I despise?

Ugh....I'm getting sweaty palms just thinking about typing it.

Moist

That is just an awful word with ZERO positive connotations to it. ZERO. Yes, I have gotten used to being inundated with the word when people find out I don't like it but you will never, ever, ever, ever in a gazillion years EVER hear me use that word. It will from here on out be known as the "M" word.

The other word?

Discipline

Don't go rolling your eyes. I'm just telling it like it is.

Lately, I have been In. A. Mood.

Can I get a witness, Scot?

Scot?

Oh, that's right. He is running every errand known to man to try and stay out of my way. A mood people, and it ain't been pretty so I'm feeling the need to unload. Aren't you excited?

Being disciplined is something I have struggled with my entire life.

I do happen to have a sister who got all the discipline genes I'm lacking plus a thousand more. You just can't talk that girl out of being good. She eats healthy every single day.....not just on Monday. She exercises whether rain or shine and not a day goes by that she doesn't spend good, quality time with God. I am in complete awe of her.

I can't even manage to be disciplined with things like allowance. I think I owe Garrett about $924 at this point.

OH!! I am proud to say that I am disciplined with which direction I like the toilet paper to roll. Oh! And I'm also disciplined in putting chapstick on before bed. Does that count? Is it more of an addiction? For the sake of argument, we're going with discipline.

I struggle the most with food. It's just the truth. It's not my only struggle, but it's the biggest one.

I am the worst at having just one or two cookies and then finishing off the whole batch so it won't be there to tempt me tomorrow. Or messing up at 8:42 in the morning and totally splurging the rest of the day because it was already a lost cause. Or being determined to start eating right on Tuesday but waiting until that next Monday because who starts a diet in the middle of the week?

I'm not making light of this because many of you know my struggles in the past have been real. And in all my attempts at keeping that part of my life (a struggle with the "P" word)* a secret, God has asked me on more than one occasion to share because it was Him that saved me.

But Oreos are still being made and popcorn still begs for a handful of M and Ms and rainy days are still made for curling up under a fuzzy blanket doing nothing.

And discipline still eludes me. I waste an afternoon away on the computer reading about women who lead super amazing disciplined lives when closets need to be cleaned out, I choose a good TV show about disciplined people over exercise, and I won't even mention what dinner looks like half the time at our house.

That's it.

I don't have any magic ending to this post where I tell you that I all of a sudden got a large dose of discipline and dropped 20 pounds in a week and every closet is now organized by color. I'm just telling you that again today I asked for forgiveness for my lack of discipline and I am tired of apologizing for the same thing over and over.

No big theological answer and I have no idea how you say "Discipline" in Greek or Hebrew, I just know I struggle with it.

Maybe I'm just sitting here hoping I'm not the only one.

Now I must go bake some brownies for a thing at church tomorrow and no, the irony of that is not lost on me.

Nice, warm, somewhere between raw batter and dry, brownies.

I told you I won't ever say that word!!

*At the rate I'm going, not one letter in the alphabet is going to be safe from me. "E"......you're next on my list!

We Need To Talk

2012-01-17T07:23:00.000-06:00

Scot and I had a much needed lunch date before Christmas. The lunch started with his all time favorite four words...

We Need To Talk

He swears those four words cause dread in every man. I think he's over exaggerating. There's nothing better than a good in depth conversation where we share our thoughts and feelings....where hours slip by unnoticed because you are so absorbed in the conversation.

According to Scot, having his fingernails pulled out one by one would be more fun.

Whatever.

Anyways, we were at lunch and I informed him that I thought we needed to buy a house in Houston. We then needed to rent out said house to a friend of mine and then I would feel more rooted and could stay there when I went home and could have all my stuff that is in storage delivered to the house and unpacked and then I could get my Fall and Christmas decorations and bring them back to Singapore with me.

He looked at me for a solid moment before he said....

So let me get this straight.

You want your Fall and Christmas decorations here in Singapore

and your solution to that problem is to BUY A HOUSE??

Ok, so it made much more sense in my head. It is all kinds of fun being married to me.

You can maybe understand why he was slightly afraid that we'd go to Cambodia and I'd give away everything we have and come home with four extra kids.

I react. It's just what I do.

I had promised him that I wouldn't make any commitments and would limit my knee jerk reactions until after he and I had a chance to make some decisions together.

Although it was hard at times, I did a very good job of asking loads of questions, doing a lot of listening, and just absorbing all our time in Cambodia had to offer.

Because we aren't just talking Christmas decorations here.

We're talking about the lives of children. Children who have had much of their childhood stolen from them and in some instances, their innocence. We're talking about young adults that are investing every moment of every day into some boys in the hopes that they can give them a future. We're talking about an opportunity to invest in a ministry where every single dollar counts for something.

These kids and these ministries deserve nothing less than a very purposeful and thought-out reaction with a whole lot of prayer driving the decision. Throwing a few hundred dollars their way to ease my guilt or discomfort over their situation?

They flat out deserve better than that.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with acting on impulse in a situation where help is needed. I have a problem with acting on impulse, feeling better about the situation, and returning back to life as normal without some attempt to be an ongoing part of the solution.

In the course of planning for this trip, being on the trip, and after the trip, many people have been incredibly supportive and encouraging. We've heard over and over how amazing we are to have gone on the trip.

I don't want to discount those words at all because I know they were said so sweetly.

It's just that I don't think we are all that amazing.

James 1:27 says this:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:

to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself

from being polluted by the world.

I can only speak for myself when I say that I fight constantly to not be "polluted by the world". Entitlement, discontentment, and blurring many lines are what I battle with.

I really don't want to leave those words written there, but it's truth.

Our time in Cambodia was nothing more than practicing obedience to what we as Christians have been told to do. There are many, many people that do exceedingly more than we do at a much greater sacrifice and those people are who I consider to be amazing. Not us.

I think my time in Cambodia was an opportunity to get rid of some pollution in my life. And I have to be honest, it was so much easier to breathe.

Because some of you have asked, I am providing information on the Boy's Center for you below.

The facts:

The Boy's Center (officially called Punlok Thmey which is Khmer for New Growth) needs $4500 a month to keep its doors open and meet some of their goals. They have only been open since September 2011.

They are supported 100% through individual donations and right now they are receiving $700 a month. They fall under International Outreach Ministries and all donations are tax deductable.

They had a fundraiser walk-a-thon last year called Traffick Jam that raised enough support to keep their doors open. They would like to get to a point where Traffick Jam money is used for things like buying more computers or improvements on the Center.

The ladies that are running the center have raised their own support in the states and the Cambodian employees currently make around $150 a month. The goal is to raise that amount closer to $200.

Their goals are to be able to provide lunch for the boys that walk through the doors and that would cost $75 a week to feed close to 100 kids.

They would also like to become a safety shelter that is open all night for boys who find themselves in dangerous situations and need somewhere to go.

Every single red cent donated goes directly to them and what they are doing. You can read more about it and donate here.

If you have any other questions, you can contact me at keri@me.com.

My hope is that we can go back to Cambodia in May before we head home for the summer. I just don't want to live my life without frequent doses of these four amazing people and a whole lot of awesome kiddos.

And if you ever want to go with me?

Well then, We Need To Talk!

Speechless

2011-12-29T11:05:00.000-06:00

Two days ago our group of nine crawled out of bed early to catch a bus to Siem Reap. It was a six hour bus ride including a stop for lunch that was less than appetizing. Let's just say that Nathan practiced trying to catch a fly with his chop sticks the entire meal.....and he had many victims to choose from.

We arrived in Siem Reap a little unsure of our agenda. All twelve orphanages under Asia's Hope in Cambodia were going to be here and the goal was to spend some more time with our kiddos from Vista. We got here a day before the kids so we had some time to explore Angkor Wat along with other famous temples. Apparently it's amazing to see Angkor Wat at sunrise so we got up at 4 a.m. and made our way by tuk tuk in the dark to this historical location.

I know very little about these temples. I did zero research before going and we opted out of getting a guide which was fine with me seeing as how I can get impatient with Scot for reading an informative sign never mind listening to someone talk about carvings for an hour. As it turned out, we spent ten hours exploring, climbing, and coercing the kids with promises of pool time and snacks. I took hundreds of pictures and was overall amazed with all we saw.

Marla and I were both fighting off stomach issues this day. We never did figure out what caused it in either of us, but my guess is that whatever found me to be tasty enough to bite me over 40 times may have caused my fever, nausea and vomiting all afternoon and evening.

I opted out of dinner retreating under my covers alternating between swearing off food for the rest of my life, wanting to take a bristle brush to my legs, and freezing from fever. Marla checked on me when they got back and informed me that all twelve orphanages would be having a Christmas program in the morning and we were invited to join.

There was NO way I was going to miss out on my last chance to see the kids.

Oh my. There are zero words to express how much this morning meant to me. A room full of kids and their house parents all dressed in costume and with props since each orphanage was going to have a chance to perform.

The feeling of being recognized by our kids and having them run to us and proudly lead us to seats in the front row. The feeling of all those sweet arms wrapped around my neck. The feeling as we watched the kids perform.

The Most Adorable Award went to these cute kids dressed as lambs.

While we were at the guest house in Phnom Phen we had the opportunity to meet two young men in their 20's, Jarod and Chris, that recently moved to Cambodia to help a local church. I asked a ton of questions and found out that Jarod's family supports at least one of the orphanages. His family is also responsible for gifting all the kids with the trip to Siem Reap. His parents were flying to Cambodia in time for the Christmas program. I have to say that watching Jarod's dad while the kids from the orphanage he supports sang on stage, was almost more than I could take. He grinned and cheered on the kids and his wife cried through the entire thing and I was a huge mess. The kids sang Worthy is the Lamb....one of my all time favorites....and I could barely contain myself.

Then it was time for our kids. We hooted and hollered and clapped as they went on stage to perform a fishing dance. I couldn't resist the picture of Sovern, the house dad, as he recorded his kid's performance.

It ended too quickly and I was dreading our good-byes. We gathered together for one last group photo......I'm hidden in the middle surrounded by the kids. Absolute heaven.

Sovern let them know we were leaving and we started hugging the kids. I was holding it together until I saw this....

very quickly followed by this.....

but the damage was already done and I was a goner. I was hugging and promising to visit again and trying to keep some composure. I looked around for Scot and saw that he wasn't doing much better than I was.

This is certainly nowhere near the most attractive photo ever taken of us. But what I see when I look at this picture is not a girl with a swollen nose from crying or red eyes or hair that needs to be washed....what I see is a couple who has been challenged and changed by a group of 22 orphans, 4 young adults trying to make a difference at the Boy's Center, and the incredible Taviano family.

I am amazed at how much life we have lived in the last 8 days and it was possible because of the vision and passion of Marla and her family. They worked tirelessly as a family for a year to raise the funds to get here and I am humbled by the depth of their love for the people in Cambodia.

I had never met Marla in person and we had no idea what was going to happen when our families joined together in some difficult situations, 24/7, for eight days. In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined it being any more perfect than it was. Marla and I were instant real life friends, our husbands got along great and our kids were inseparable.

Our families said good-bye to each other tonight and there were lots of tears. I just don't want it to be over. It makes me smile to write that sentence remembering how I felt just a couple of weeks ago. Wow......things have changed!

I know this post is super long and I'm sure that's against some sort of blogging rule but I am at a loss for how to wrap things up.

Let's just say that I am speechless.

Except for this.....

God is so, so, so very good.

An Extraordinary Day

2011-12-26T18:19:00.000-06:00

It was a morning unlike any Christmas morning we've ever had before. There was no tree, no decorations, no cinnamon rolls and coffee, and no presents.

Or so we thought.

Because turns out the Tavianos got a word from God and gifted us with a bag of Peanut Butter M&Ms and there was great rejoicing by the Jenkins. They also gave us a super fun game and an adorable birthday banner that Marla's sister had made.

We are staying at a guest house run by a pastor and his wife. They have been incredible hosts and work hard to provide an affordable and comfortable place for short term missionaries to stay. There is a beautiful courtyard where most mornings you will find the kids playing chase and the adults on laptops.

Christmas morning was no different except the kids had something special brewing for the four of us adults. I was called in to assist as narrator and was in awe at the homemade costumes and organization as they put together a re-enactment of the Christmas story to usher in Christmas Day. There was the normal bickering as they worked through their creative differences (aka: Nathan wasn't getting to run the show) and then Garrett rang the 5 min warning bell.

I knew that dragging him to the theater would come in handy!

They had placed plastic chairs in a row with my chair stuck in some bushes because apparently narrating meant channeling my inner Disney where music and magical voices come from vegetation.

The story opened up with Mary receiving a visit from the angel Gabriel.....

Mary and Joseph proceeding into Bethlehem. Not pictured....Nathan as the donkey Mary rode. And don't let Garrett's face fool you, he was totally into the whole thing.

There was an adorable shepherd that played her part perfectly. Not pictured....Nathan as a lamb and then Nathan as a wise man. The costume changes were frantic but he managed to pull it off.

They finished up the telling of the Christmas story by singing a few Christmas carols and I can honestly say it was perfect. It was spontaneous, home made, and wonderful.

After a few rounds of Spot It (you must get this game....it is crazy fun), we headed out for lunch and then to the riverfront to wait on the entire orphanage to arrive. Asia's Hope was treating them to an hour long boat ride along the river and the kids were super excited!

The river is really low right now and not particularly pretty, but that didn't stop these kids from loving every moment of it.

Our kids had a great time with their friends....there was a lot of running and laughing and posing while Marla and I prayed no one would go over the railing that was about a foot high on top of the boat.

It seemed only appropriate that our two real life angels from the Boy's Center, Yvonne and Steph, joined us on the boat ride. I find it incredible that they both are involved in ministries outside of their own. I'm just in complete awe of them.

After the boat ride we took the kids out for fried chicken, french fries, and ice cream cones. They were in heaven!!! It was a huge treat for them and I was so impressed at how sweet and gracious they were....all 20 of them.

Christmas night we had tickets to a church event. Panha and Visna are brothers that work with Yvonne and Steph at the Boy's Center. They invited us and we were honored to attend this not so small event.

And then came dinner.....

Because we didn't get a chance to give Panha and Veasna the gifts we had brought them, we did it today. If you remember from a couple of posts ago about Panha sneaking up into the toy room at the Boy's Center to play with toys, you can understand how excited we were to give him his presents. The Tavianos were super generous with both of them and we gave them micro lego type things.

After reading about Panha, Nathan had decided to give him his PSP and some games.....along with a verbal instruction manual.

If our boys turn out anything like these two when they are older, I would be thrilled.

We leave in this morning for Siem Reap which is a 5-6 hour bus ride from here. Heaven help me.

That meant saying good-bye to our new friends and it wasn't easy. I have been inspired and humbled by the people we've met here. They make me want to be a better person.

Last picture with our tuk tuk drivers.....Po Heng and Po Sivana.

I can not believe how quickly these last 6 days have flown by. We have 3 days in Siem Reap, Cambodia before we begin our journey home. All four of us are excited to come back to Phnom Phen to spend time with our new friends and continue to invest in the amazing things God is doing through some folks that are faithful and humble and obedient and self-sacrificing.

Now that we know, we have to do something. It is, I believe, one of the reasons we are here.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and prayer. It has meant a lot to all of us!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Picture This

2011-12-23T04:42:00.000-06:00

This is one of those times when pictures are going to tell a better story than I am. At some point, after we've returned to Singapore and I've been able to process all that I've seen and heard, I will be able to hopefully share with you how in the world I think we can take what we know now and infuse it with our lives. This is one of those times I'm super glad I'm married to a guy that doesn't make decisions based on his emotions because I'd be going home with 9 more children if I could.

The boys and their new friends....the Taviano girls....in their tuk tuk.

We arrived at the Boy's Center where the kids were waiting outside for the doors

to open. The Center has been in operation for only a few months and provides

a safe place for boys that have been sold into the sex trade industry by

their parents or are at risk for being sold. They get to be kids and play, learn English

so they can someday earn money without being abused, and they have Bible club were

they learn about true love. We've been asked to not show any faces

of these boys online, but believe me when I say that I have a ton...and they

are smiling and happy because they are safe and loved there.

While there are many places for young girls and teens that are immersed in

the sex trafficking business, this is the only center in Cambodia specifically for

the boys.

We got to be a part of the Christmas party......

the younger boys made these hats and they looked adorable in them!

Every single boy got a Christmas goody bag stuffed mostly with things

we and the Tavianos brought with us. Thank you very much to those

of you that were involved in helping us give them some really cool stuff!

Working with the Boy's Center staff to fill bags!

Meet Yvonne and Steph.....they are real life angels. Both of them are in

their 20's and have devoted their lives to these boys. They currently run

the Boy's Center with a Cambodian staff (who make less than $200 a month each)

and are financed entirely by individual donors. They love and fight for these boys

and are incredibly humble and selfless......they are two of the most beautiful women

I have ever met.

Steph loving on "baby P" who is 4 years old. He had been coming to the

center for a while before a series of events alerted the staff to the fact

that he and his older brother and sister had been sold by their parents to

a foreigner for sex. It is absolutely horrific and devastatingly sad, but

so good that he is loved and in counseling and has people investing

in his sweet young life.

I think this shirt says it all.....

We have also been to an orphanage sponsored by Asia's Hope. This particular orphanage is supported by the Taviano's church back in Ohio. There was a difference in the kids at the orphanage as compared to the Boy's Center. They are more confident and secure and are getting an education...they are safe and loved. The kids there eagerly await the Taviano's arrival and we got to be a part of that. We drove up in our tuk tuks to the sounds of kids yelling their hello's and were welcomed with hugs from everyone.

The boys have been wonderful with the kids this entire trip. They have

jumped right in and handled all of it very well.

Garrett and his new friend Sophan getting ready to play a game that

required everyone to pair up.

And then it was silly string time. We had brought quite a few

cans with us and the kids LOVED it!!

This is Sothourn with my friend Marla who is responsible for us being here.

She is incredible and has a huge heart for Cambodia.

After some discussion we went ahead and let Garrett bring his

guitar with him to Cambodia. I'm really glad we did....he loved

hanging out with some of the older boys playing their guitars.

Scot has been a kid magnet...especially to the younger kids. That little boy

in the striped shirt? He's the cutie from my previous post that had the

enormous smile and pipe cleaner glasses. He's even more adorable

in real life!!

He was very popular when he started throwing kids in the air. I love all the

hands raised from the kids wanting to be next!!

While I spent more time taking pictures than anything else, I did sit at the orphanage

long enough for this sweet girl to climb into my lap. She eventually turned around

to give me a big hug that I desperately needed. That and a good shampoo to

get all the silly string out of my hair.

Our Story

2011-12-20T10:48:00.002-06:00

I have started and deleted this post about three times.

Frankly, I'm too tired to come up with some incredibly creative narrative about Christmas so I'm just going to share what's on my heart.

I don't get to go back home to the states to spend Christmas with my family this year. To say that I've had a bad attitude about that would be a gross understatement....and I don't use the word "gross" lightly because it's been super gross inside my head lately.

As you may know, my family is headed to Cambodia to spend time at an orphanage and a center for boys who have been rescued from sex trafficking or are at risk for being sold into sex trade.

Has there been any temptation to pat ourselves on the back for our super act of giving and service? I would be lying if I said there wasn't. Pride is a nasty, nasty thing. But I also know that it's going to be hard in every single way and I was beginning to wonder what we were thinking by going.

It was the day, or three, where I pulled the covers over my head and slept until an obnoxious hour and then proceeded to eat myself into a sugar high before lunch. That was the day that I realized that I was acting like a spoiled, entitled child.

Not to be spiritually dramatic, but I literally got on my knees on my bathroom rug and begged God to change my attitude. That was about it because I just didn't want to talk to Him about anything else. I just knew I desperately needed an attitude adjustment.

I wasn't instantly filled with a warm feeling of Christmas Joy, but I was aware that if I missed out on Christmas this year it was not going to be anyone else's fault except mine. Time to put on the big girl panties.

We decided to take advantage of some of what Singapore has to offer this time of year:

An open top bus ride with friends to see Christmas lights.

Don't let the look on Nathan's face fool you....he spent

the whole night yelling "Merry Christmas" to all the

startled Singaporeans along the roads.

The lights along Orchard Rd. are beautiful and I love

that the department store posts a Bible verse front and center

on their building.

Nathan and I stumbled upon this group while doing

some shopping. I have no idea what the sign says

but I have a pretty good idea of the story they were

telling.

Some slight overcrowding in the mall.

Baking cookies with good friends.....while the sweet

girl reminds Nathan of what he's missing by not

having a little sister. Yes, she's punching at his

legs with her punching gloves on.

Love all of this, but I only had eyes for the buttercream

frosting....in FOUR different colors. Be still my heart.

None of the cookies I decorated are on the plate. That's all I have

to say about that.

The boys wrapping presents for their dad....in Dora the

Explorer paper. They thought it was super funny and

I was wondering at what point I thought I needed a whole

roll of Dora.

I then got this message from my friend Marla Taviano that we are meeting up with in Cambodia. Any feelings of pity for myself went flying right out the window. Who exactly do I think I am? I read this and then handed my phone to Nathan so he could read it and we looked at each other with tears in our eyes and vowed to buy every magnetic toy on the island.....except they've all be recalled. No worries...we found some super cool stuff so if even for a moment, Panha can have a childhood again.

Do you have a couple "toys" your boys are tired of that you could bring for our friend Panha (Pawn-yuh). He's 18 and our translator, and I don't have time to share his story (Gabe needs the computer) but he never got to play with toys when he was younger and told me he will sometimes go upstairs at the boys' center when no one is there and play with the toys. His favorite is these little balls and bendy things that are magnetic. Gotta go. Talk soon!

I don't get to go home for Christmas this year but I do get to go meet some amazing people doing some incredible things in the lives of children and I get to play Santa to many of them. I am very, very blessed.

I stole this picture from Marla's blog.....I absolutely MUST meet

this child. That is absolute pure joy.

I know this post has been all over the place. I wish I could have wrapped up all these thoughts in a nice neat package, but it just wasn't going to happen. I needed to dust off the 'ol blog because I'm going to need somewhere to share our experiences in the next week and if I don't, my mom is going to ground me. I'm totally serious....she would.

We have been very open with the boys about what they are going to see and experience including a conversation about sex trafficking. I am going to be doing a lot of watching and listening to all three of my men as they experience this next week. I have no doubt this trip is going to impact us all greatly. Please pray for us and the Tavianos....an amazing family from Ohio we are literally meeting in person for the first time when we land in Cambodia tomorrow. I will share more of their story another time....they deserve a post all of their own. I am humbled to be serving alongside them.

One last thought. A couple of nights ago I was talking to the boys about how our experiences in life when viewed in isolation can seem random and confusing. We talked about when Scot lost his job and how scary that was except that we had faith. Faith in a God that knew that had to happen to bring us to this exact point in our family's story.

We talked about how a boy, a virgin girl, an overcrowded inn and a manger are so random and confusing but it had to happen so one day we'd be celebrating the birth of a Savior.

Wherever you are this Christmas.....know you are not lost to Him. Keep living your story.

When good is really, really Good

2011-10-20T08:34:00.001-05:00

We walked in and there were between 25 and 30 Filipino ladies. Most were sitting on the floor because seating was sparse. They were working on new sewing skills they had just been taught and were taking great pride in their work.

10 of us stood in the middle of the room where the clash in cultures and economic status was palpable. There is an awkwardness that comes where two groups of women measure each other up wondering how they are going to relate.

I plopped myself down in the middle of a group of women and asked them to show me what they were working on. I asked for a pair of scissors and offered to help. They timidly showed me how to cut paper patterns they would later sew fabric onto to form a sort of patchwork. I got to work thankful for something to do with my hands and my eyes to help make the moment more comfortable for all of us.

As I worked, the ladies started to warm up and quietly began asking me questions.

Ma'am? May I ask you a question? Are you married? Do you have children?

I answered and asked the same in return. I had learned quickly during previous visits that their presence in a rescue home for women did not mean they were without family. Many have children in their native country and many have not seen their children in years. They have pictures and phone calls and they are excited to tell you all about their babies.

Because that's what they are no matter how old they get. They are our babies.

I listened and laughed as their wit and humor crept out from behind shy demeanors. Those not as skilled in English would falter and others would help to translate.

I looked around at my friends who were with me and saw that I was not the only one breaking down some barriers. Laughter and conversation rang out in that tiny room where over 30 woman would roll out mattresses to sleep on a barren floor at night. We told them we had brought them new underwear and they giggled. Many had not put on new underwear in a very long time.

As time passed and conversation flowed, we found out that these women very much liked to sing. I asked them to sing for us and after much conversation and some debate, they settled on a song.

Diyos ay mabuti

Several began to sing and as conversation ceased around the room so all could join in the song, music poured out in a language I didn't understand.

Diyos ay mabuti

There was joy on their faces in spite of incredible adversity and the music they made was beautiful. When they finished we applauded and quickly asked what they were singing.

God is good!

I fought hard to control the emotion that was bubbling to the surface as I looked into the faces of women whose lives are nothing like my own. Women who are currently living behind locked gates for their own protection. Women who knew that no matter the circumstances, God is good.

With our encouragement they quickly handed out Filipino song books and picked out songs in English that we could sing with them. There was lots of smiling and complete joy as the music rang out in the room. We even sang Joy to the World and there was Joy.

Our time too quickly came to an end and we stood and held hands in a circle with these ladies and we prayed. We prayed to a God that loves each one of us. A God that knows each circumstance. A God that sees no racial or economic boundaries.

I went around the room grabbing and hugging as many of the ladies as I could. They were completely fascinated with how tall I am so there were many giggles when the hugs were awkward. I wrapped my arms around them all and told them that they were loved.

There was a silence among the ten of us as we walked to our cars. How humbling it is to be reminded that God is good by a group of women who are living lives we would characterize as anything but. To see that circumstances did not dictate how they felt about their Creator. That in place of anticipated sorrow, I saw hope and I saw joy.

Diyos ay mabuti

Days Like These

2011-10-11T08:29:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I was looking through this blog for one particular post. I got sucked into reading posts from 3 years ago and just had to laugh. Oh my, how life has changed!! We just don't ever know what is in store for any of us, do we? It definitely reminded me that since I failed at scrapbooking and have thousands of photos that are largely unorganized, I better get busy and start writing some stuff down.

Football season here is almost over and I haven't posted one thing about it! These memories are important because one day Nathan is not going to remember what he looked like when he was shorter than 6 feet tall and I need this stuff to remind him!

Football here is MUCH different than it is in Texas.

First of all, not one single mom shows up to a game with a blinged out shirt bearing the team name. In fact, there are no team shirts of any kind. I know, I know......the horrors of it all!

The 5th and 6th graders play in the same league and are divided into three teams. The three teams are the Rams, Gators, and Longhorns. Scot and I were crossing our fingers that he wasn't chosen for the Longhorns because I honestly think he would have dropped out of football before wearing horns every weekend. Heaven help me, that child has been thoroughly brainwashed.

They spent the whole season playing each other because there are NO other football teams to play in Singapore. Every weekend each team plays two games that are only 2 quarters each. That means every weekend all three teams play each other. It makes life interesting when you tackle someone on Saturday and sit across from them in Math on Monday.

A couple of weeks ago they had their games on a Friday night and not being one to miss an opportunity for alone time with my favorite 10 year old, I coerced him into spending time with me Saturday morning by promising to feed him. It is hands down both Garrett and Nathan's love language right now.

I walked and he took his Razor to the mall that has my favorite grocery store in it. I still find it so weird that the majority of grocery stores in Singapore are located in malls. I guess if you don't have a Wal Mart to pick up a new outfit, a piece of luggage and some milk then you need to put your grocery store in a mall.

We decided to check out a new restaurant that just opened. Then I pulled out my phone to take pictures of some killer bruises he's gotten playing football. Just because we love stuff like that around here.

Then I took this next picture just for fun and my heart melted. My sweet boy......I found myself praying that those freckles never fade and wondering how in the world time has gone by as quickly as it has.

I was clearly on a roll so we took a few more and laughed and how I have to stick all my fingers in the air in order to take a picture. I tried to take one with my hand looking more normal.....it isn't possible.

Have I ever told you that I snap backwards? It's weird, I know, but I snap by having my middle finger going in front of my thumb instead of behind. You're trying it right now, aren't you? Apparently I not only snap backwards, I take pictures with my phone looking like I am some sort of finger contortionist.

While I'm entertaining myself by how odd I am, this is Nathan and his "seriously, mom?" face.

I see it a lot.

And then the earth shifted on its axis......I was actually offered a bite of his chocolate ice cream.

After he was sufficiently full, I drug him to the store. This is Nathan perusing my grocery list so as to come up with a formula to ensure the most efficient path in obtaining all items. I do love this kid.

Something I quickly learned after being in Singapore.....do not pass up the weigh station when buying produce for fear of the wrath of a 90 pound checkout lady when there's no bar code on your bananas.

Halloween candy is in stock!!! We learned from last year that if you don't buy it early you are out of luck! Laffy Taffy and Reeses pieces....into the cart.

It is not unusual to see kids with their scooters and razors in the grocery store. The problem is getting your kid to resist the temptation to ride through the frozen food section inevitably crashing into someone who doesn't think his freckles are as cute as I do.

This was the day that my small cart of groceries came out to be over $300 and my debit card was denied. That's always a good time!! Lines of people everywhere and I'm fishing out my Amex mumbling something about needing to transfer money into the account. You know, just in case the guy behind me actually cared. Which he didn't.

This was also the day that it was raining when we left and Nathan totally bit it going down the ramp to the taxi stand. I didn't take a picture of that. I do have boundaries.....kinda.

So as not to leave Garrett out of this post, here he is doing one of his favorite things. Playing guitar during youth group. The fact that I was allowed in the youth room during church to take his picture is pretty amazing.

It's the part where I started screaming and shouting his name that I had to be escorted out of the room.

In less than 2 months, I will be a mother of a teenager.

A moment of silence please.

I love days like these.

The Newcomer

2011-09-05T08:35:00.000-05:00

What a difference a year makes.

Today I went to a Newcomers Luncheon offered by our church to anyone that is, well, a newcomer. We had an incredible spread of food in a woman's home that feels like you are in a boutique hotel when you walk inside. I got there early balancing my salad bowl, my phone, my purse and trying to kick off my cute shoes outside the door before going in.

Yes, I was wearing cute shoes and not my cushiony shoes which means I am nursing a pretty sore foot right about now. But it was totally worth it!! Or would have been except we all left our shoes outside the door so no one knew those super cute shoes actually belonged to me. And my mama taught me that it was just plain tacky to walk people to the front door just to show off your cute shoes. Almost as bad as popping your gum.

Where was I? Oh, right. Salad bowl, phone, purse.

I walked in the door and greeted my friends that were all inside preparing for the women that were going to be arriving at any moment. We talked in that easy kind of manner that comes with lots of time spent together. A comment, a quick conversation, an easy compliment, the finishing of a story started days before.

As women started trickling in I would look into their faces and see myself just one year ago. The day I walked into the same house having left my shoes at the front door, cursing myself for not having a fresh pedicure. The day I stepped out of my comfort zone, which was my pajamas and my couch, and ventured out hoping to make a new friend and determined to remember the names of these women who seemed to have it all together. The day I tried really hard to not look as desperate as I felt to belong. To have some kind of purpose in this crazy country.

Today I walked up to different ladies new to Singapore and got to tell them that I understood how they were feeling. How frustrating it can be to be overwhelmed by a grocery store. I tried to tell them that they would be ok and could see on some of their faces that they weren't sure they would be.

It's those situations in life that separate you from everyone around you. The move to a foreign country. The birth of a baby. The death of a loved one. A new relationship. A divorce. A lost job. Sudden fortune.

Finding God or feeling like you're lost to Him completely.

The times that you want to find someone, anyone else, that can look you in the eyes and tell you that they understand because they have walked that same road. Be it a good road or a difficult road, sometimes you just want to know you aren't the first one forging the way.

I currently have a verse hanging on the mirror in the boy's bathroom that I am bribing, I mean, encouraging them to memorize. I was having Garrett tell me part of it today and it just hit me. Right between the eyes, it hit me.

He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it,

He bring us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we

can be there for that person just as God was there for us. 2 Cor 1:4

What a difference a year makes.

Show and Tell

2011-08-30T08:47:00.004-05:00

I honestly just erased an extremely long post that droned on and on about life stuff......and I got seriously bored with myself. My problem is that this blog has ruined me. I find myself writing blog posts in my mind all the time so I end up getting myself into a rut.

Not knowing where to start when I want to write about:

Garrett and how much happier he is this year. His amazing teachers including the one that was on House Hunters International. How he dropped football for soccer which here means he dropped football to take up football. Confusing, right? And he tells me that he loves me every morning before he leaves for school. I am so happy to have my boy back!

My new job as Bible study coordinator at our church and the very large shoes I have to fill. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Lynda and Sondra, if you happen to be reading this, I honestly think you have very cute feet and darling shoes. I'm just a tad bit intimidated to be following in your footsteps!

How I have self-diagnosed the pain in my heel as Plantar Fasciitis. Nice. That means no more flat as a board cute sandals for me. I have to wear shoes with cushion aka Ugly Shoes. Not to imply that if any of you wear cushiony sandals that they are all ugly. I think my issue is that they add another inch and I don't like that. Because clearly going from 5'11" to 6' makes a huge difference in a country where everyone is 5'4".

My impression after reading "The Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother". I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would and it certainly made me think. There is probably a little "Tiger Mom" in all of us, it just may not manifest itself in demanding straight A's and incredible musical talent. It could be sports or looks or social standing or, dare I say, spirituality. I can't wait to talk about it with my "Whatever Floats Your Boat Book Club". And yes, that is actually the name of our book club. If you could see the list of books we're reading, you would totally understand why the name is so appropriate.

The list goes on and on but I'll spare you any more of my random commentary. Instead, I will leave you with a few of my favorite pics from our quick stop in Scotland and London on our way back to Singapore.

Garrett....

and Nathan at the ruins of St. Andrews cathedral.

$5 to the first person who can guess where we did a

bunch of shopping for the boys this summer!

Scot and Garrett watching a foursome tee off at St. Andrews golf

course. Scot was in HEAVEN walking around that place. We took

loads of pictures there. What I love about this is the group of guys to

the left. They were from New York and were so excited to be playing

on this course, the mecca for golfers, that they were high fiving each

other and taking video.....I was so happy for them.

Life with boys and all things remotely alluding to

bodily functions. Especially if etched in stone that

is hundreds of years old outside the astute institute of

St. Andrews. There's a good chance Kate and Wills have

stood under this sign. Wonder if they giggled?

Be still my heart. How has this happened so quickly?

Won't be long before Scot is the short one in this picture.

We took a great Beatles tour around Liverpool. This was by far

my favorite stop on the tour.

Wonder how many tourists were flattened by buses

before they decided to clearly mark which way to look?

One of my favorite nights in London. We got tickets at the last

minute to a play. The play has been showing in this theater for over

45 years. We were so horribly underdressed for a night at the

theater but it was fun all the same!

Then we went out for pie. Steak and mushroom pie that was AH-mazing.

As was the fish and chips we ate several times on our trip.

Buckingham Palace. Nobody was out kissing on the balcony

the day we were there. Bummer.

I had to laugh because we were in London just in time for the riots. That in itself isn't funny, but the fact that Nathan wore a black hoody and was convinced that someone was going to mistake him for a rioter was pretty funny to me. I'm not sure how many rioters had their moms, dads, and big brothers with them when they went out looting.

Just a quick note before I wrap things up. In preparing for this new year of Bible studies at our church, I have been extremely humbled by the enormity of a job that I feel so unequipped for. There is much I don't know and I was starting to stress about that when I realized that the less I know, the more He has to show.

I think that's my goal for this year in Singapore. I don't want there to be so much of me that He doesn't show.

In my conversation. In my actions. In my thoughts.

I pray this year is an epic Show and Tell kind of year.

Chicken Feet Dose of Reality

2011-08-15T06:12:00.009-05:00

Hi! My name is Keri and I live in Singapore. Freakishly tall. Two boys and a cute husband. Does it ring a bell? It's been just about forever since I've written anything on this blog.

Actually, there are four posts I wrote and then abandoned this summer. The honest truth is that trying to put into words how it felt to be home was really, really difficult for me. It was wonderful, frustrating, emotional, comfortable, frantic, and unforgettable all rolled up together. Depending on the day, or even the time of day, I could be feeling any one of those emotions. Add in a healthy dose of insecurity that flared up often.....geesh! I'm not sure what my problem was.

If I can ever figure out how to adequately explain what it's like to drop in on your old life when your new life is about as foreign as it can get, then maybe I'll finish one of those posts I started.

Maybe.

We've been home for four days and those days have been filled with catching up with friends and trying to unpack the seven suitcases we brought back with us. And then there's the jet lag to contend with. Oy vey.

It has given me some time to reflect back on the last eight weeks. I didn't realize how few pictures I took of this summer. There are events I have no record of. Or, in one case, I took pictures of doors and scenery and totally omitted taking pictures of the people I was with.

I'm telling you......I was a mess!!

We spent the first part of the summer on the West coast visiting my family.

Where my dad got to hang with his three grandsons...

Where cousins wrestled.....

Where my parents enjoyed having all their grandchildren in one place.....

Where the newest cousin was cuddled....

and kissed....

(It kills me that this sweet little girl will be walking and probably talking

the next time I see her. Who in the world thought putting Singapore so

far away from California would be a good idea? Yes, I know the answer is

God, but I can still be a little annoyed about it!)

Where there was an epic wrestling match between my boys, my brother,

his son, and my dad.

Where I got to celebrate my other brother's birthday.....and meet

his new girlfriend that I absolutely adored. Even if she's about

5'3" and he's 6'8". Normally we'd hold that against her except we

just really like her.

I went back to Baylor to see friends I haven't seen in 20 years.

We took a trip to Dallas where I got to spend time with this amazing lady....

Where we picked blueberries after a day of zip lining with some good friends

that I have no pictures of.

Where we ate the amazing blueberries....

Where the boys learned how to drive a tractor....

Where we ate amazing peach cobbler......

Where we enjoyed the view so much we apparently failed to actually

take pictures of the people!

Where the boys got to mix it up with a real live Air Force Colonel.

There was the 11th annual Girl's Weekend with these friends minus two that

couldn't come.

Where the kids had fun catching up.....

Where these burgers were devoured!

We went to our favorite beach......

With a favorite friend and her family.

And there was still time for Mexican food and good conversation

with my sister (the gorgeous one on the far right) and these friends...

and these friends.

There were so many people I never got to see. Running into someone for a quick chat outside the doors of Target or in the hallway of church just doesn't do it for me. I'm a sit down and let's get to the nitty gritty of what life has been dishing up kind of girl. That part of all this is the hardest for me.

The dance between letting go and holding on. I need lessons because I'm awkward and gangly in handling it all.

I was reminiscing about the whole summer with Singapore friends here. It's funny that in our group there were those that couldn't wait to come back and others who came back kicking and screaming. For the first couple of days I felt like I was here physically but still in the states mentally.

And then I went grocery shopping today.....

Yep....I'm back in Singapore.

Honestly? I am happy to be here. That is a very, very good thing......but doesn't mean I'm going to be buying any of those bad boys any time soon!

Wait Gain

2011-06-22T10:07:00.000-05:00

It's a funny thing...timing.

Sixteen months ago we put our house on the market in anticipation of our move in June. In our minds, it was perfect timing. We would sell our house to a perfect family, sail through inspections, close on the house without a glitch, deposit a nice check with profits from our house, and move out just in time to hop on a plane to Singapore without a care in the world.

Ummm.....right.

Instead we learned a huge lesson in timing.

It all started with Buyers #1. They bought our house within the first two weeks it was listed....they wanted it for full price and without inspections (a small red flag...but I like red so we went with it). They were pre-approved....and had a Rottweiler...but they were pre-approved! I made reservations at a local hotel for the month we would be homeless before moving and had all our utilities disconnected the week we were supposed to close. I was amazed at the perfect timing of it all.

And then it all fell apart.

We were frustrated but I took what seemed to be bad timing and figured we were meant to stay in the house until we left Texas and the next buyers would be our perfect buyers.

Buyers #2. We got the offer about a month before we left. I don't even remember the selling price we negotiated, but it was easily $10,000-$15,000 less than asking price. We would still be making a little money on the house and they seemed to be solid buyers. I was at the house when they came to do the inspection so I got to meet them and liked them instantly. I tearfully told them that I felt like they were the perfect family for our home.....we had a sweet moment together.

The day of the inspection I was wearing a t-shirt from a church in Florida that said No Perfect People Allowed. The inspector asked me about it and I happily engaged in a conversation which ended with him telling me that he was a miraculous healer AND had a DVD to prove it. In fact he had a copy in his back pocket and gave it to me as sort of an inspector going away present. I flippantly asked him if that meant he healed any issues he found in our house and he didn't think that was funny.

As he was leaving he asked if I had any prayer requests for him and instead of telling him "no" and letting him drive away in his Hummer, I told him any prayers for protection in our upcoming journey were always welcome. He came back into the house, shut the door behind him, laid his hands on me and started rocking me back and forth while he prayed something that I didn't hear because I was a tad bit freaked out at that point.

Let me just say that I absolutely do believe God heals. I also love when people are willing to approach God on behalf of someone else. I just get a little suspicious when you try to give me a DVD of yourself and then put your hands all over me when you've just been hired to check my roof.

It was strange but I considered it an interesting part of our house selling story and didn't let it discourage me about our wonderful Buyers #2.

The week of closing we were in our hotel in Singapore waiting for our stuff to arrive so we could move into our apartment when we got the call that once again, the closing had fallen through.

I'm pretty sure I stayed in bed the whole next day and had an enormous pity party for myself. I was mad and disappointed and frustrated to the point that I wanted to throw something....and I'm not the throwing type.

I eventually got to the point where I was willing to admit that Buyers #2 must not be who God had in mind for our house because I happen to believe that God is much, much bigger than title companies and loan officers and if He wanted them in the house, they would have been in the house.

I pondered the purpose of God's timing and what that meant for us. The lessons we were supposed to be learning. Patience? Contentment? Self-control?

I may or may not have asked Scot to work on all of those so I could tell God that we had learned our lessons and were now ready for the house to sell so we could move on.

About a month after falling through for the 2nd time, Buyer #3 came along. He low balled us big time, but was willing to pay cash. That meant a quick close and he would buy it "as is" so we settled on a price almost $35,000 less than our original asking price and $5,000 less than what we paid for it.

Ouch.

So maybe the lesson in the timing was to not hold on too tightly to worldly possessions.

Got it.

Closing date was 4 weeks out. 4 weeks came and went and apparently the guy had all his money in Africa and it was being mailed to the states $1 at a time. 8 weeks came and went. 12 weeks came and went and I have now nicknamed this guy "Out of Africa". He lived in London, had his money in Africa and ended up being about $12,000 short which his business partner was going to lend him but then he didn't and then his mom got sick so he couldn't fly to Texas. And then we got tired of his story and put the house BACK on the market.

I am beyond discouraged and at a loss for words when asked about the ordeal. What were we missing? A situation totally out of our control and it all came down to timing. Summer loomed before us and we could take it off the market, rent some furniture and live in it again except I really didn't want to do that.

Maybe God wanted us to keep the house and THAT explained the timing.

Maybe we were serving as a warning to others in some way. Beware of cash buyers with money in Africa and London and stingy business partners.

I honestly had no idea what the issue was.

Now it's May and I'm on the phone with a dear friend who sold her house in a week. I had my big girl panties on that day so I was genuinely happy for her and basking in the notoriety our drama afforded me. She expressed how surprised she was our house hadn't sold and happened to mention that she knew a family that wanted a bigger house and told me she'd pass on the info about our home.

Fast forward 48 hours and that sweet family put an offer in on our home. I liked every single thing I heard about them.....but was understandably cautious that it would happen.

Then I started hearing that still, small voice. The one that won't shout above all the other drama going on in my head.

My timing doesn't always revolve around you.

My timing may have very little to do with you and what you have to gain or learn.

My timing may have a whole lot to do with others in your life.

My timing is always perfect.

A friend of mine told me about her own drama and without pause said "we pulled a Jenkins" in reference to having their first deal fall through. Do I laugh about the fact that our house selling drama has become a new noun? I do...a lot.

Do I get a kick out of the look on people's faces when I tell them we went through 3 buyers before the perfect ones came around? Sure I do.....I get a little enjoyment in the shock value of what we've been through.

Will my realtor and I be bonded for life? Absolutely. She's been an absolute blessing through all of this.

More than that I learned a very important lesson.

It's not always about me.

God's will. God's timing. God's purpose.

It's just not always about me but if I make it about me, I will totally miss all the amazing things He's doing in the lives of those around me.

There's a very good chance I am going to meet the woman who will be making her own memories in a house that held a lot of love for 6 years. I can't wait to give her a big hug...and I'm sure through tears...I hope to tell her that it was worth my wait for her to receive her blessing.

My wait is her gain.

If only that was the only weight gain situation I was dealing with this summer......darn Mexican food!!

再见

2011-06-03T07:18:00.004-05:00

We are being picked up in exactly one hour to head to the airport. I am BARELY going to make it. It seems that when my DNA was being all figured out, the gene for packing way in advance to eliminate panic and frustration was totally and completely left out.

Yesterday was full of fun, celebrating and saying good-bye....we were all completely exhausted by last night......hence (I do love that word), no blog post. I actually fell asleep on the couch which never, ever happens. Scot finally woke me up and I stumbled into our room and climbed into bed without even brushing my teeth and that NEVER, EVER happens. Seriously. I'm a huge believer in washing my face and brushing my teeth before bed no matter what. I have enough skin problems.....sleeping in my make-up is not on my top 10 list of things I like to do.

Last day of school!

Party at the apartment complex where we had a lot

of boys playing games that required no shirts apparently.

Garrett and Jack

Some of the moms and half a dad

(I had the wrong lens on my camera and didn't get

my friend Dawn either. So missing: half a dad and

the rest of Dawn)

Garrett and the girls

Using self-control in not making any other comments

about this picture.

Baseball on the tennis courts

An amazing picture? Not really. It's just that right after taking this shot I tripped over

a step and went sprawling. My camera lens is now cracked and I officially have my first

non-shopping errand to run when I get back to Houston.

Yeah me.

Dawn had bought hundreds of glow sticks and the kids went diving for them

when it got dark and proceeded to make all kinds of creations with them.

VERY fun idea!!

This next picture makes me a little emotional. Scot gives me a hard time because while Nathan will go for a $10 haircut, I tend to pamper Garrett a little more because....well.....he just has better hair and can wear it long. I love it long. Scot does not like it long. Today, Garrett decided he no longer wanted it long either.

Sniff....Sniff

The lady finished the cut and Garrett asked her to please cut it more. I was protesting and he looked at me and told me he was ready for something new. Ready for it to just be different.

And by different I think he meant just about everything that defined this year for him.

So I put on my momma smile and told him he looked amazing and watched a kid walk out of the salon like he had just had 10 pounds taken off of him. I was scurrying around scooping up locks of gorgeous red hair.

Just kidding.

But I really thought about it for a few minutes!

I am officially at the end of this blogging challenge. I have to say that it brings about some mixed feelings for me. It certainly has been challenging and I have not been perfect, but it has forced me to do something that often intimidates me.

I am humbled by and appreciate every one of you that has read my random ramblings. I have enjoyed how much I feel like people are more connected to us and our lives here. For that, it is all worth it!

40 minutes to go and I need to go change my airplane outfit again, take out my contacts with the hope that I will actually sleep, and spend some time hugging on my man that I won't see for a really long time.

I love you guys!!!

Ahoy, Matey!

2011-06-01T09:16:00.007-05:00

I will be at the airport in 48 hours and have I started to pack? Noooooo

Have I pulled out the suitcases? Noooooo

Am I completely overwhelmed with the thought of packing for 8 weeks? Yessssssss

It has been fun talking to those that are old pros at the going home for summer thing. The tips for how to get everything back here at the end of the summer are worth their weight in gold. My friend Vanessa even brings back frozen items from Sams. But she's a professional having been an expat for more than 10 years....I need to work up to that level slowly so I don't hurt myself.

Every conversation is about when the departure for home is, where home is, and when the return to Singapore will be. How every one of us will be posting pictures on FB of ourselves hugging the Big Red Ball outside of Target in just a few short days. How exciting it will be to not be struck with complete dread when it starts to rain knowing we can just jump in a car and not have to be stranded for 48 minutes because there's no taxi to be found.

Right now, my emotions are all over the place. I'm excited to go home but wondering what it will feel like to be visiting my old life.

Not jumping back into it, but merely visiting it.

I am a little sad to be leaving here realizing that I won't be seeing any of my Singapore friends again until the middle of August. I can't wait to be with friends and family back home. I am sad to be leaving Scot for 7 weeks. I wonder how the boys are going to do. I am excited for the easy and the familiar.

You see? A mess.

My friend Lisa made a brilliant comparison. It's like going home from college for the summer. You leave behind a life that started out foreign and scary but became comfortable - to go home to what is comfortable and familiar but different - knowing that in a few short weeks you'll start the cycle all over again.

It's crazy.

So instead of being responsible and spending time gathering my thoughts and stuff together tonight, I made a big batch of spaghetti and meatballs...had 3 of Garrett's friends over for dinner and then took them all to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Imax. 3D. Johnny Depp.

Have I ever mentioned that in Singapore you have a choice between sweet and salty popcorn at the movie theater? And the sweet popcorn isn't just plain 'ol Kettle corn.....it's straight up caramel corn. To make it even better? You can get half and half. It is almost...and I mean ALMOST...enough to make a girl leave out the M&Ms, which no bag of popcorn should ever be without.

And we wonder why all my running has only produced a 3 pound weight loss.

Ok, wrapping this mess of a post up. I have two posts left in my crazy challenge and I think my mission to "get over myself" has certainly been accomplished.

If you question the truth in that? Just go back and read this post again. It's written by a girl that clearly takes herself a whole lot less seriously (and is significantly more scattered) than she did a few weeks ago!

Blimey!

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm......Part 3

2011-05-31T07:26:00.006-05:00

I would like to subtitle this post:

You Don't See That Everyday

As life here in Singapore becomes more normal, a girl still can't help but take pause at some of the oddities that present themselves here in SE Asia. I have had some fun chronicling them in Part 1 and Part 2 of Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm. A few weeks ago I realized that there is much about life in Texas that I just don't see here and so, Part 3 was born.

Some of these things you would expect. I never see cowboy boots or cowboy hats...unless it's some dude on the top of one of those tourist buses yelling "YeeHaw" as he rolls down Orchard Rd. taking loads of pictures of "all them Asian folks". It's times like that when I stifle the ya'lls in my speech and embrace a more Canadian venacular....eh?

I don't see enormous vehicles that can seat 37 people or pickups that can haul an entire house full of furniture. Bumper stickers are practically nonexistent here which makes sense when you are paying $100,000 for your Hyundai. I miss the days of pulling up behind someone and in the 2 minutes it takes for the light to turn green I know how many children they have, what sports they play, the names of their teams, whether they made the honor roll or beat up other kids that made the honor roll, how many pets they have, their political affiliation, and if they believe that a fish stuck on your car will make you drive in a more Christ-like fashion. In Singapore, everyone drives around in complete anonymity and it's no fun at all.

I recently took a very informal survey and 100% of the people surveyed (4 out of 4) told me that there are only 3 drive thrus in all of Singapore. All 3 are McDonalds. That's right....I live a life void of drive thrus but since I don't have a car, that seems to be the least of my issues. I did bribe a taxi driver once with promises of a Grande Latte if he pulled over and waited while I made a Starbucks run. That will work unless you get a cranky driver in which case you just close your eyes and pray you make it to your destination alive.

It is rare that you see a parking lot. Most parking is below the building you are visiting and you always have to pay for it. Everyone parks their cars by backing into a spot with your hazard lights blinking. I don't know why, but apparently that's the rule here and one thing folks are really good about doing.....following the rules. It probably has something to do with that whole caning thing.

There are no billboards lining the roads in Singapore. It stinks because you never know how many more exits until the next Buccees.

You never, ever, ever see people out shopping in their cute new pajama bottoms and Uggs. Never. In fact, the folks here refer to flip flops as slippers. Even shorts are frowned upon but that doesn't stop me from wearing them. The women are modest and it's a pleasant experience to go to the mall and not have to shield the eyes of my boys from teenagers, or 43 year old women, who feel the need to display their stuff. Many women wear loose, comfy dresses that look adorable when you're 90 pounds but when you're.....well....NOT 90 pounds, they make you look about 13 months pregnant. Which I'm not.

Viva la shorts!!

I haven't seen a tanning salon or a self tanner since living here. In fact, there will be entire aisles of whitening creams. The whiter your skin the more beautiful you are supposed to be. Women will wear long sleeves and high collared shirts when excercising, wear gloves when driving and walk with umbrellas to keep the sun off their skin. I recently went to a dermatologist here and while I was concerned about things like acne and suspicious spots on my skin, he couldn't get whitening cream in my hands fast enough for "the dark patches on your forehead". I didn't even know I had dark patches on my forehead. Thank you very much!! I now have something else to feel self-conscious about. Then again, not many people see my forehead so I'll let it go. I wonder what would happen if I used the cream on my teeth? Hmmmm.....

There is a distinct lack of facial hair here. And I don't mean pesky chin whiskers, I mean men with full beards or mustaches. In fact, I don't know that I've ever seen an Asian man with facial hair. Apparently, Asians are not very hairy. I know this because it wasn't that long ago that a friend of mine who is Asian was telling me a story about going to college and seeing girls shaving their armpits and being completely shocked at what they were doing. She was confused and scared by what she saw. I listened to her with my mouth hanging open....can you imagine?? How utterly and completely glorious that would be? Sometimes, life just isn't fair.

I would like to mention a few things that I do see here that I won't ever, ever see back home.

If any of you ever thought I had an over-inflated sense of self, the fact that I'm even posting this picture ought to dispel that notion.

I LOVE this thing and am pretty sure it was probably outlawed in the states years ago after setting someone's hair on fire. It's a shame because there's no massage, no facial, no nothing that is more wonderful and relaxing than having warm air blowing on you with enough noise to make conversation impossible. I even talked my hair lady into an extra 5 minutes the last time I was there. I. Love. It!! And clearly, I look my most fashionable while enjoying that thing!

And what about random sea creatures? Ok, glad you asked since I just so happen to have a couple of pics courtesy of a recent field trip to Underwater World.

My understanding is that these things are all over the place here. I have no idea if they exist back home, but just knowing that these are lurking around in the water is just about enough to make me swear off oceans forever.

And these little guys? They're just weird. Bless their hearts. Stuck in one place forever. The scary thing? There's a really good chance I've eaten one of these things since living here.

I just can't even think about it.

In exactly 102 hours I will be home where I know for sure when I bite into a fajita what I'm getting myself into. I can't wait!!

Make that 101 hours and 57 minutes.....

A little N & G

2011-05-30T10:31:00.004-05:00

I have 16 minutes from right this second to get this post up and running to count for today! This last week has been full of activities and so here's a super quick peak at a few of them.

Nathan had Play Day last week which is Singaporean for Field Day. It was 2 hours of running around from game to game with absolutely zero structure, lots of water games, and no winners or losers.

The entire 4th grade...there's a lot of them!

Nathan and some of his buddies

Popsicle time!!

Today we got to visit Nathan's class for their Notables presentation. They were asked to choose a person that had some sort of historical impact and they wrote a research paper, designed a backdrop, dressed the part, created informational brochures to hand out and were available for Q and A today in full character.

Nathan chose James Rudder who apparently had something to do with WWII and Texas A&M. If you want to know more, you'll have to ask him yourself! I will say that I was amazed at the variety of historical folks represented and I loved walking around the room asking the kids all kinds of questions. Noone broke character and they were extremely articulate and brilliant with their answers. It was great!

Nathan looking very serious next to Mother Theresa

It is always a treat to go to the high school cafeteria and visit Subway

for lunch so off we went as our last hoorah before summer!!

This past weekend Garrett participated in Brass Explosion which is a Brass Symposium here in Singapore that has a student portion open to kids from the local schools. Tonight was the concert and the first time Garrett got to play in a bonafide music conservatory. The students were only a small portion of the evening and we thoroughly enjoyed the concert!

Garrett and his friend Patrick......and then the little

brothers joined in...

where apparently it is really, really....

difficult to take....

a normal picture.

If you look reeeaaaaalllllllyyyyy hard to the left

of the picture you can spot Garrett's sweet red head way

in the back with the other, well, less trained trumpet players.

You see him? Yep, it's a head only a mother could spot

a mile away.

Yikes!! 7 minutes late! No time for a quirky or clever wrap up sentence!

XOXO

Day Off

2011-05-26T07:36:00.003-05:00

School is winding down. Homework is gloriously over. After school activities have ended.

That means the boys and I are splurging and having a movie night for the second night in a row.

On a weeknight.

I have a fresh key lime pie in the freezer right now and I'm not going to waste my time blogging.

In fact, I'm taking tomorrow night off too because I have a hot date with my husband who has been traveling the last 4 weeks. I have to soak up as much of him as I can because we will be separated for 7 weeks this summer and I'm going to miss him desperately.

One week left of this challenge and I can honestly say that I am getting really tired of me and I'm sure you are too!!

XOXO

Pure

2011-05-25T08:39:00.005-05:00

I had the most amazing taxi ride the other day. I was in the taxi for about 30 minutes and my driver talked and laughed non-stop the entire time telling me story after story about his younger days. Because I have picked up some stealth like moves over the years, I pulled out my phone and proceeded to record one of his stories....until he busted me and refused to tell me anymore until I stopped "taking pictures" of him. I so badly want to post it here but have been battling the stupid video and my computer and complete ignorance of all things technological and can't figure out how to post it.

Now that I am thoroughly frustrated, I am taking the easy way out on my post for tonight.

First of all, is it just me or is the print on this blog normally really small??? I don't know why it's that way but I'm kicking it up a notch because I refuse to admit that it could just be my age.

Secondly, I noticed that yesterday's post was post number 201. There was no fanfare...in fact, I almost feel bad about yesterday's totally random post in light of that very small and insignificant milestone. Maybe it is appropriate after all.

Just out of curiosity, I went back and started reading some posts from the early days and I was hit with a huge wave of nostalgia. Then I found a post I titled Pure. I wrote it just after New Years 2009 and I'm amazed how 2.5 years later the bulk of the post still rings true for me.

Consider this taking the easy way out......but I am posting Pure again because it is so where I am these days and I really, really needed to be reminded of what I want most out of life.

PURE

If you have any preconceived ideas that I make all the right decisions, think through everything before I act or speak, and am just an all around perfect woman, please don't read any further because you will be sorely disappointed.

I was having a conversation last week with one of my favorite people in the whole entire world, Lisa. She lives in Florida and is married to a pastor and she is real.......transparent, authentic, and refreshingly real. I miss her in a way that just hurts my heart.

We were talking about the things in our lives that we just can't stand about ourselves. You know what I'm talking about, the stuff that we try really hard to pretend doesn't exist so our appearance says something different from our reality.

Like working really hard on a comment to post on a very popular blog trying to get a shout out from the blog author.

Like checking an Evite invitation 45 times a day to see who is or is not coming to your party and why.

Like keeping the tags on a new shirt, wearing it to church for all your friends to see, and returning it to the store if no one complimented you on the cuteness factor of the shirt.

Like allowing yourself to be tortured over a broken relationship until you can think of nothing else but the pieces scattered all around you.

Like hearing other women talk about their weaknesses and having a moment of intense pride when your struggles are not the same.

We laughingly agreed that being open with each other about our yuck made us feel a little less bad about ourselves and wondering how many women have these same feelings, but never admit it to anyone.

I have never been a big New Years resolution kind of girl because I have horrible discipline and by the 1st week of January I will have broken every resolution. Why set myself up for failure?

I did enter this new year thinking about what I wanted out of 2009. The truth is, I want to be pure.

I want my intentions to be pure.

I want my pursuit of God to be pure.

I want my motivations in life to be pure.

I want my thoughts to be pure.

I want my ongoing, desperate need for approval to be met purely through my Savior.

Now, I know very well that I am riddled with fault and will have days where I fail miserably. I also know that God's promises and love for us are "new every morning" and I don't have to wait until 2010 to start over. Thank you God for that promise!

I hope your 2009 has gotten off to a great start. I pray that each of you finds a renewed sense of purpose in your walk with Christ. I pray you will have pure joy.

His mercy is new every morning and every single morning I take full advantage of that fact. I am far, far, far from perfect and am astounded at the ongoing gift of forgiveness offered to me. But I also know that on the other side of that forgiveness and mercy is Joy. It is something I have to choose for myself.

I choose pure Joy.

Bits and Pieces

2011-05-24T06:30:00.006-05:00

So today is one of those random days where I have so much bouncing around in my head that I couldn't focus on one topic if I was paid to.

Which I'm not, so therefore I get to be as random as I like!

1. I had a nice chat today with one of Garrett's teachers. It wasn't a "random bumping into you" that led to a chat kind of chat. It was more of a "you need to come in for a scheduled chat" kind of chat. Our year has ended on a much higher note than it started but he still isn't up and running at his normal level. I'm ok with that because I need to be. I learned a long time ago that wrapping up my ego and security in the accomplishments of my kids is a dangerous ride. I'm tempted to jump on sometimes because it can be thrilling, but then I watch parents get off that ride - running for the nearest trash can to toss their cookies - and I regain my determination to stay off that roller coaster.

2. There are some dangers in writing a blog. One of them is that sometimes people read it and after they read it, they call you out on things you write. Remember this post and all my blah, blah, blah about being stretched outside my comfort zone? Well apparently one of the gals that is in charge of decorating for VBS at our church here read that post and then decided to ask me to help. Not because I'm crafty or good with a paint brush or have amazing scissor skills.....oh no. It's because every time I start complaining about how decorating isn't my thing she can look at me and say, "Streeeeeetch". Then she takes pictures of me trying to trace something off a transparency onto paper taped on the wall so I can then paint it....which makes me very nervous.

That's it. From now on I am just going to write about how I love chocolate.

3. It didn't take long after moving here for me to notice stores and restaurants that would look like this.

At first, I wondered if someone had died there.....or was even being buried there. I mean, it wouldn't be the strangest thing that happens around here. I finally asked someone and found out that every single time a new store or restaurant opens, people send these funeral...I mean congratulatory....flower arrangements. It can even be a new KFC opening in the mall and it will be surrounded by flowers. I guess that helps offset the smell of strange chicken parts being deep fried.

4. I haven't been perfect with this whole blogging challenge. I missed one Friday because Blogger was out of commission for some reason. Then I missed last Friday because I just couldn't come up with anything to say and was too tired to care. I haven't been so great with my whole "I'm not going to eat sugar, flour, or dairy" thing I started either. One of the culprits has been a very yummy and easy key lime pie recipe that I have made three times in the last couple of weeks. So, if I'm going down.....you are too.

Get a pie crust. I used graham cracker but you can apparently make one out of vanilla wafers too.

Mix together:

1/2 can frozen limeade

1 can sweet and condensed milk

1/2 of a large container of Cool Whip...which may or may not be equal to one small container but if you can buy a big one why would you buy a small one?

Pour the concoction into the pie crust and freeze. It takes about 4 hours, 37 minutes, and 5 seconds to be ready....approximately.

I had such lofty weight loss goals and thanks to an increase in running, I am happy to report that I will be heading home a whopping three pounds smaller than when we moved here. On a girl with my height, you will notice.....well....zero difference.

Yeah for me!

5. I bought an eyelash curler this past weekend. Nathan happened to be with me and having to explain to him how an eyelash curler worked was one of the funniest conversations we've had. I stole a little of his innocence that day.

And on that note, I will wrap up this little bit of randomness. I'm going to see if I can dig up a piece of key lime pie and I might even eat it off one of my new Spode Turkey plates!!

Just because I can!

Egg Wash and Turkey Plates

2011-05-23T06:22:00.009-05:00

As the school year winds down so do many of the responsibilities that keep a girl busy during the week. We have taken advantage of some free days to check a few things off the "must do" list......a list that seems to get more extensive the longer we are here.

It was a few months after moving here that Tiffany, Lisa, and I started hearing rumors of a plate factory in Malaysia that was a popular destination to buy nice plates for very little money.

Like Spode plates.

Which means nothing at all to me, but the Martha Stewart types seem to get really excited about these Spode plates.....especially the Christmas and Turkey ones.

Personally, I was just going along for the ride because I didn't want to miss out on anything but I could honestly care less about plates. Spode or otherwise.

We picked a day and began planning only like four women can. We could have been stranded in Malaysia for weeks with as many provisions as we brought along with us. Food, magazines, toilet paper......we were prepared!

It is a known fact that traveling in Malaysia is not always safe. Rumor has it that a popular scheme is to egg a tourist's windshield and when you attempt to use your windshield wipers to clear the egg off it smears causing you to have to pull over where you are then robbed.

Did this in any way stop us from going? Oh no. No threat of being egged was going to keep us from those darn Turkey Spode plates. We were packing. Not the I'm-a-girl-from-Texas-and-can-open-my-gun-safe-with-my-eyes-closed-in-three-seconds-or-less kind of packing. I mean we were packing an entire jug of egg wash.

The plan was if we got egged, my job was to lean out the window and pour our "egg wash" all over the windshield going 90km per hour down the freeway while the other girls held me by the ankles to keep me from becoming roadkill. And don't think I wouldn't have done it.

Mom......MOM!! Put your head between your knees and just breathe in and out...in and out.

When we arrived it was truly nothing more than a ton of folding tables set up under a corrugated tin roof. I get overwhelmed shopping for things like plates in nicely lit stores with air conditioning and songs by Air Supply softly playing overhead. This place was like nothing I had ever seen before. Plates, bowls, platters stacked everywhere....inside and out. It was filthy dirty and I came eye to eye with more than one creepy crawly that day.

Lisa and Tiffany were off and running grabbing stacks of plates...excitedly calling out to each other....squealing for joy when they saw that there were dozens and dozens of Spode Turkey plates to choose from. It was fun watching them while Vanessa and I were a little more "deer in the headlights" about the whole thing. It was enough to send us two girls scurrying for the corner to chug down a jug of egg wash.

Just kidding.

Kinda.

Tiffany's stash.....which cost her about $150 total. Most plates were

about $1 a piece. It was crazy!

After much consideration, Vanessa decided to go ahead and get a stack of Spode Turkey plates. I stood my ground in defiance of buying plates for a holiday where I don't typically even make a turkey. I was proud of my strength of character.....my ability to say no to peer pressure...my fiscal responsibility.

And then, it got ugly.

The taunting began. They pinpointed my weakness and went for blood. They were merciless and I was utterly defenseless against them.

They told me that one day.....one day.....my boys were going to marry girls and have grandbabies. And we all know who determines how much time the mother-in-law gets to spend with the grandbabies. The as yet undetermined wives of my boys. And why in the world would these sweet girls ever want to spend a Thanksgiving at my house with my grandbabies in tow if I didn't serve a turkey dinner? They wouldn't. BUT...if I not only served turkey dinner but had Spode Turkey plates to serve said dinner on then they would be more likely to visit because who's going to inherit those plates one day? That's right....my daughter in laws.

I am now the proud owner of 15 Spode turkey plates.

The End.

Sand and Plates

2011-05-19T04:45:00.004-05:00

First of all, I would like to report that everyone is happy and smiling today. No visible scarring from my behavior last night. Thank you for all your sweet comments....sometimes it's just nice to know you aren't alone.

I am barely going to get this posted in time to count for Thursday's post so I'm going to make it quick!! Because I'm tired and feel like the few creative nuances that bounce around in my head have been sucked out tonight.

This is a quick post with a few pics.......

For Vesak Day we decided to go to the beach here in Singapore. I have lived here almost a year and have never been. It's crazy because it's a great beach......if you don't pay too much attention to the tankers docked just outside the cove area they have roped off.

Nathan was convinced that oil was spilling into the ocean as we sat there and ate chicken nuggets.

There were Slurpees....

And naps...... (I am so going to get in trouble for this pic)

And an attempt to dig a hole all the way to.......I don't know. What happens when you are already almost in China? You dig a hole to Wyoming?

I am definitely aware that it appears that this last week has been full of one adventure after another......if you can really call a Squatty Potty an adventure. I'm not sure if it's the fact that our commitments for the year are coming to an end and we've all had some free days or if it's panicking that time will go by too quickly without checking things off the long list of things to do in SE Asia.

Since arriving here I've heard over and over about shopping for dishes in Malaysia. There is a Spode factory there which meant nothing to me but made the Martha Stewart types super giddy....something about Christmas and Turkey plates. Today was the day we packed up and took a rode trip to Malaysia to check out the plate factory. Our adventure deserves a post all its own but for now I'll leave you with this picture.

I know....it's enough to make a girl who hates to shop want to hurl.

But I ended up with Turkey dishes and that's going to have to be a story for

another time.

The Post That Almost Wasn't

2011-05-18T07:29:00.004-05:00

One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is to walk to the Botanic Gardens that are about a mile from my house. Garrett is usually the only one that goes with me and we love having lunch at a little outdoor restaurant there.

On a normal day during the week when I am wandering in the gardens I'll see many people doing Tai Chi and I love how it looks....so serene and calm. On the weekends you'll see much larger groups working on Tai Chi routines.

At least I think they call them routines. Except when I think of routines I think of drill team in high school and I've never seen a Tai Chi person yell 5...6...7...8 before starting.

We'll just call them Tai Chi movements. Except I live with boys so they have forever ruined that word for me.

How about this. On the weekends you'll see much larger groups working on Tai Chi.

Anyways, this past Saturday I couldn't resist this group that busted out the red fans and I had to stop and take some quick pictures.

Tonight I wondered what in the world I was going to write after a disaster of an evening....the kind where I was just irritated by the mere existence of my children and made sure they knew it. The kind of evening that makes one wonder if one day the college fund will be used for therapy instead. The kind of evening that means once again I will be modeling grace and humility to my boys when I walk into their rooms to ask for forgiveness for giving into my hormones when I know better.

I almost opted out of writing anything at all except I've stuck to this little challenge of mine......much better than the challenge of not eating anything fun. I thought I'd look through my pictures, see if there was one I could just slap up here, comment on it and call it a post.

As I was scrolling through the Tai Chi pics from Saturday I stopped at this one and just had to laugh. You see the poor lady to the left? She is obviously Tai Chi-ing to a different beat than everyone else.

That is how I feel tonight. A little out of sync with my normal routine. Actually, not just a little out of sync, enough that it's like having my big red fan waving in the air while everyone else has theirs behind their backs. I'm quite certain it was apparent to everyone around me this evening that I was indulging my bad attitude instead of getting myself in line to behave like the mature adult I supposedly am.

*sigh*

I got nothing else except to go snuggle with two guys I adore who need their mom to hug them and to let them know that my world would be completely desolate and empty without them. Just in case they were wondering.

Then I think I'll work on my routine. I guarantee the step I'm missing is the step where I spend time on my knees making sure my life is a little less about me and a whole lot more about Him....and the hims....in my life.

Closed Toe Shoes

2011-05-17T07:06:00.005-05:00

Happy Vesak Day to all of you!

The boys had a day off of school today thanks to Buddha. Vesak Day is a celebration of Buddha's birthday, achieving of enlightenment, and his death. So naturally the kids get a day off from school!

In the last few weeks Garrett has been studying world religions in Social Studies. They will finish the unit with a field trip to visit a Buddhist and Hindu temple, a synagogue, a Chinese temple, a mosque, and a church.

Let me just say up front that I love the fact that he is being exposed to all these religions. I will also say that my opinion has put me on the receiving end of some criticism from those that feel it is dangerous to expose him to ideas outside Christianity.

I am certain I have stepped on some toes in my explanation that I feel there is nothing that will strengthen your faith like living life out from under a cloud of ignorance. I am not saying that one has to be student of world religions to be wise, but I am certainly saying that accepting everything told to you at face value without reading, studying the Bible, praying, researching and asking good questions will do nothing to deepen one's faith.

Stepping off my soapbox and putting it away in the closet.

I figured I'd go straight to the source for this post and ask Garrett some questions about what he has learned recently in Social Studies. You will see that Garrett has mastered the art of not being overly verbose.

Me: So, tell me again what happened the first day that Miss Miller started the world religion unit.

G: She said that she wasn't trying to convert anyone to a different religion, she was just going to inform us about different religions.

Me: What about the poll she took in the class.

G: She asked how many people were Christian and 6 or 7 kids raised their hands. There are two kids that are Hindu, one kid that is Buddhist, three Jews, and no Muslims. Eight are Free Thinkers.

(I was shocked that they actually went through a list of religions and had kids raise their hands to indicate which they believed in. I am pretty certain that would never happen back home.)

Me: What in the world is a Free Thinker?

G: Someone who doesn't have a religion.

Me: Which religions have you studied so far?

G: All except Islam but we aren't going to learn about Free Thinking.

Me: What do you think about the fact that you've studied all these religions?

G: It's a good opportunity to learn about what different people are accustomed to.

Me: Did any of the religions make you question Christianity?

G: No

Me: Do you think it's bad for Christians to learn about other religions?

G: No because if you're a Christian and you learn about different religions it helps you to see what other people believe in. And it was part of school and I had no choice which is fine with me.

Me: Which religion did you find the most interesting?

G: Judaism. Can you ask me some different questions now?

Me: Are you ready for school to be over?

G: Yes, I think every kid is.

Me: Are you excited to go home?

G: Yep......I get to eat Whataburger, Buffalo Wild Wings and Chuys.

He has been required to write a paper of sorts about each religion and I can honestly say that Scot and I have learned a ton from Garrett. It has allowed for some interesting conversations and I've loved watching the wheels in his mind turning.

Do I think he's going to come out of this a very wise Christian? No. He has a whole lot of life to live and much to learn that will refine him and his relationship with God.

Do I think he will be more accepting of others and have more of an innate ability to love? Absolutely and for that I am extremely thankful.

Keri:1 Squatty Potty:0

2011-05-16T04:15:00.004-05:00

*Disclaimer: Much like this post, my husband is mortified by the subject matter I have written about below. If you are overly emotional, prone to sudden queasiness or are very delicate in nature, please do yourself a favor and skip today's post. Thank you!

There are things in life that have a hold over us. Our fear immobilizes us and renders us useless.

Just a spoken word of this thing can cause us to tremble and break out in a sweat. We lay awake some nights and create situations in our minds that involve this particular thing that seems to inhibit our ability to slip into blissful unconsciousness.

We dread the day we are forced to come face to face....toe to toe....with the thing that could quite possibly bring us to our knees in total surrender. We hear of others that have survived and we become obsessed. How did they do it? How did they overcome the thing we fear the most? Could I ever be that person?

Today was the day I came face to face with a fear I've had for 9 months now. I was forced into a situation where there was no out and I wasn't prepared.

Today was the day I went to battle with? The Squatty Potty.

I had no other choice. I was on a bike ride through the mighty jungle of Pualu Ubin, an island just 10 min from Singapore by boat, and it was hot and humid and I was drinking water like a marathon runner.

Which I'm clearly not. But I can drink water like one and that's as close as I'll ever come to being one.

After a particularly brutal and bumpy ride over roots and ruts that lasted about 3 minutes, it was time for this girl to visit the ladies room. We had just passed an incredible view of submerged gates used to keep out illegal immigrants when we pulled over for yet another break. Apparently it was the policy of our guide to never ride more than 5 minutes without taking a break.

I was relieved to hear there was a restroom available and I ran up the hill so I could be first in line.

Survival of the fittest, people.

I walked in and went from stall to stall only to see that there was no escaping the thing I have feared for months. In a typical Singaporean restroom you'll have the option of choosing a squatty or a western toilet. That was not the case here.

It was do or die time.

Please know that while I enjoy pictures that make you feel like

you've been transported to Asia to live this life with me, this

picture was taken post flush. What you see is what happens when you're on

an island with only well water. I'm not THAT desperate to give you

an authentic look at my life here.

I took a deep breath, held all clothing out of the way, braced my 5'11" self on the wall that was on either side of me refusing to think of the germs festering there and then.....I went for it. All the horror stories I've heard about missing entirely and not being able to engage the proper muscles to stop that gallon of water you drank from rolling out under the door were ringing in my head.

NOT TODAY ZURG.

(5 points if you can name the movie)

I flat out ROCKED the squatty potty.

I ran outside cheering and announced to 10 women I don't know that today was the day that I stared my nemesis in the face and was victorious. There are now 9 expat women in Singapore that think I am weird and then there was Tiffany who in true friend fashion, took a picture of my moment.

I just want to encourage all of you out there that are full of fear of the unknown. At least when you conquer your fear, you'll have a much cooler thing to shout than "I rocked the squatty potty".

I'm just here to help. To offer hope for the hopeless. That's what I do.

Day By Day

2011-05-12T07:04:00.000-05:00

There are many aspects of life as an expat that are completely foreign to me. Which makes sense I guess since our whole life is foreign right now.

We have learned that this life will chew you up and spit you out if you don't approach it with a sense of adventure. I'm certainly not implying that we have our Tevas and REI gear on every day ready to embrace the craziness thrown our way. Sometimes we are still wearing our pajamas at noon and eating all things carbalicous. But somewhere along the way - once you recover from jet lag, unpack the limited items you brought with you, and figure out how to get to the grocery store - you have to jump in with both feet determined to soak in every single thing you can about this strange life as an expat.

Because your time here is likely very short.

We have approached the end of the school year and everyone is buzzing with news of friends moving back home. I personally know about 7 people moving back home so these next few weeks are full of going away events. There are email notices and postings in the American Club as folks start selling off their stuff they can't take with them and the good Helpers are being snatched up by new families. Some families are going back to the exact home they left, some are moving somewhere new and some know they are leaving but are still unsure of where they are going.

In most cases, you will never see these friends again. That is life here. It is temporary.

It is sad to watch people go but the alternative is to isolate yourself waiting for your departure date to roll around and never invest.

I, for one, am willing to take the chance that my heart is going to hurt many, many times as I say good-bye to friends year after year that have helped me to survive my time here. We have missed births, deaths, graduations, and other life changing events happening back home and it isn't easy. But then you get a call from a friend here who understands and she reaches out to you because it's just what you do.

You create family.

They don't replace family and friends from back home but they are, each and every single one, a gift from God to make your life feel more whole. I love the variety in the friends I have made here. I have friends from South Africa and the Philippines, friends that have been expats for years and friends that arrived here when I did. I have friends from church and friends that have never stepped foot in a church. I have friends that are newly married, friends with toddlers, friends with kids my age, and friends who have children and grandchildren they've left behind in the states. Some friendships make sense and others seem like a random pairing. But we all have one thing in common.....we've been plucked out of a life that was familiar and comfortable and dropped here in a foreign land to sink or swim.

And we are swimming.

Today a group of girls I spend loads of time with celebrated the June birthdays in the group. We will be scattered all over the place this summer so we took advantage of a free day and decided to go on a wild adventure. Think zip lines, swinging from trees, crossing swinging poles to reach the other side......think blood, sweat (lots of it) and laughter. We stared our late thirties/early forties in the eye, threw back our heads, and laughed.

Then we ate cupcakes.

And spent a moment appreciating each other and this crazy opportunity to leap out of our comfort zones knowing we have each other, no matter how fleeting the time.

I have no doubt that one day when it's my turn and I'm selling our stuff we can't take back home and eating amazing dumplings and friend rice for the last time, I will mourn greatly the friends I will be leaving behind.

But I will never, ever, ever again take life for granted.

I have learned that life is what you DO with it. And that doing life alone is not nearly as much fun as doing life with people who challenge you, love you, and make you laugh.

Red On!!

Love In Any Language

2011-05-11T06:30:00.003-05:00

Today was our last day of ESL so it was a party day for all the ladies. We started off in the assembly with a fun program put on by ladies from all different countries.

We had the ladies from Myanmar doing a traditional dance.

Forgive the poor quality of the pics but I was in charge of videotaping for one of the dancers and taking pics for our team leader so I was taking quick shots with my phone!

We had a group of women who sang in Chinese.

This is Betsy who is clearly not from India. She is one of the teachers and has learned Indian dance since living here.......she brought the house down! Loved it!!

The women were asked to dress to represent their country. There were several Japanese women dressed in kimonos and that was when I decided that someday I need to own a kimono of my own.

They were all so beautiful and the Japanese ladies that performed for us all made sure, in broken English, to dedicate their music to their families and friends in Japan. I can't even imagine what they have all been through in the last couple of months.

We had a slideshow of all the national flags for the countries these ladies were from and they stood when their flag was shown. It was fun to watch them get so excited to see their flag and clap and cheer for each other.

I have been so surprised at how much I love working with these women. I am not teaching them.....I am working on the administrative side of things.....but I still love the interaction I have with these precious ladies on Wed mornings.

The year is wrapping up as various commitments come to an end. It's hard to believe that 3 weeks from Friday the boys and I will be climbing on a plane to head home.

I may have to take some dancing lessons this summer!

Reading List

2011-05-10T08:36:00.002-05:00

It is late and it's been an exhausting day. I took a trip to the dermatologist and it was confirmed what I've suspected for a few months now.

I'm getting old.

Throw in some 6th grade drama and a hard lesson learned in choosing the right friends to surround yourself with and I'm pretty much done.

So, I am going to take the easy way out on this post and highlight some folks that I love to read.

This is not a complete list since I will probably opt for this again on another night that has me seeing double before 10:00 p.m.

I do love to read. Despite the fun I was poking at using reading as a hobby in my last post, I do honestly love to read. When it comes to blogs, though, I have a relatively short list of those that I keep up with regularly.

A few of my favs......part 1.

1. Living Proof

This is Beth Moore's blog and I LOVE it! I have enormous respect for her as a Bible teacher. When we were in Houston I would go to her Bible study on Tuesday nights and would soak in every single word. She is real and honest and humble and she is hysterical. After volunteering for her ministry for awhile I can say that she's as authentic as they come and it comes across in her blog.

2. Marla Taviano

I have never met Marla in person and I'm not even sure how we became blog buddies but I adore her. She has three beautiful daughters and has a huge heart for missions....especially in Cambodia. She is currently trying to raise enough money to visit Cambodia this Christmas and we have high hopes of maybe meeting up there. I can't even imagine! She has written several books, does speaking gigs and is just all around a transparent and incredible woman! I am happy to call her friend!

3. Lisa Harris

Lisa is my friend here in Singapore. I stalked her at 4th grade orientation this year and we became good friends. We traveled together with Tiffany's family to Vietnam and Lisa wrote an amazing blog post recapping that trip. She journals her travels and has some great insight into what she sees. She doesn't blog often and I am linking her Vietnam blog post specifically. It was interesting to be surrounded by so much propaganda while there and it really made us think about how we perceived things. No need to reinvent the wheel so instead of writing about it myself, I'll just let Lisa tell the story! I adore her....she's been a very good friend to me!

4. Rhonda Baker

Rhonda and I became blog buddies a couple of years ago. Like Marla, I'm not exactly sure how that happened. We had a chance to meet for the first time in January 2010 in Houston and it was so much fun! I saw her again at a Skillet/Toby Mac concert in Tyler, Tx a few months later.....which is the most random thing ever. She has some of the funniest stories to tell and then will turn around with one of the most thought provoking posts you've ever read. She is not overly verbose ( a trait I am trying to adapt, I promise you) and is very, very real and honest. She is actually one of only two friends that has sent me letters here in Singapore (not to make anyone feel guilty....but if any of you happened to have lost my address I'd be happy to resend it to you!). She is beautiful inside and out and I'm proud to call her a friend.

Ok, that's it for tonight. I'll save the other favs for another night.

It's off to bed with a bowl of apples and peanut butter and yet another crime drama.

Happy reading!

Hobby Lobbying

2011-05-09T07:46:00.004-05:00

Every single time I am filling out a form that asks me to list my hobbies I want to run and hide in a corner. I am the most un-hobbied person alive.

There's the standard "reading and excercising" response that seems to be very popular. I happen to love that answer because unless you indicate otherwise, reading People and walking to the mailbox and back make that answer valid.

I am always tempted to be flippant in my responses and put "eating chocolate and sleeping" just to shock the hobby police.

It's one of those questions that I always sit and stare at while I begin to feel more inadequate second by second.

About a month or so ago I happened to be in the office of the women's ministry director at our church. I popped in briefly to drop something off and found her in a meeting with the woman in charge of events at the church.

I was aware of a Spring Tea coming up and knew they were looking for table hostesses. As soon as I walked into the room I knew I would not be leaving unscathed.

Sure enough......I was coerced....I mean asked.....to do it.

Let me just say that if it just involved sitting at a table and keeping conversation going? No problemo....sign me up.

Talking is a hobby I can claim as my own.

But no, it also meant DECORATING the table. A word that strikes fear in me like nothing else.

You have to realize, I come from Texas where events like this are popular. I have been to them. It is incredible what women can come up with........straight out of a magazine type stuff. Centerpieces with moving parts.....live animals in cages. It's crazy!

I was assured by them that this was much more scaled down but that didn't stop me from being terrified.

Since procrastination can also make my hobby list, I promptly put the tea out of my mind.

It's a defense mechanism, people. Don't judge.

Last week I began getting the last minute emails and realized that no amount of denial was going to take away from the fact that I had to produce some kind of table for the tea on Saturday so I did what anyone else in my position would do.

I complained.....then I begged a friend to help me. And by help me, I meant design and create the whole thing for me.

My Texas friend, Tiffany, loves this kind of stuff so she got right to work creating a table for me while I cheered her on.

Add that to my list of hobbies.......I am a great cheerleader. Especially if you are doing something that makes my life easier!

My attitude was horrible but I qualified it with all kinds of churchy reasoning like:

"Hospitality really isn't one of my giftings" or even "I don't feel called to do this". Comments that anyone outside the church community wouldn't understand.

I went to Tiffany's house for a practice run where she made sure I did everything correctly. She told me I could do it, gave me plenty of instructions and sent me on my way with the promise that she could talk me through any disaster that might come up.

I dreamt the night before that I didn't get the table set in time and I came in last. Not that it was a competition or anything, but these kinds of things always seem to end with a winner and a "bless her heart, this just isn't her gifting" award.

I showed up at the church with all my stuff.....checklist in hand and walked into the room where the event was being held. I was slammed full force with major insecurity when I saw table after table decorated so beautifully for a tea.

A vegetable garden theme complete with fun things hanging from the ceiling, a butterfly theme with bows and birdcages with CUPCAKES inside. There was an English garden theme and chocolates at most tables.

I didn't even bring chocolates! I should know better than that! You always win....I mean minister better to women if you have chocolate at the table!

It was just beautiful in the room. Most women had been there the day before to decorate so it was just breathtaking. I have very few pictures because I was sending them to Tiffany while I was freaking out about my table that was not like the others.

I put my head down and got to work.......giving myself a pep talk the whole time. Everything went in its place and I sent off a picture to Tiffany for her final approval.

That's right, we went all out Texas....complete with a cactus for every guest at the table. Tiffany lent me her awesome boots and I promised up and down that not one pastry or tea leaf would touch them.

As women starting filtering in and moving table to table to ooh and ahh over every single idea from the simple to the complex I started to realize that I was the one bringing judgement into this situation.

I left that day after the bandanas were packed up and the boots safely tucked away having learned a couple of valuable lessons.

How easy it is to assume judgement where there is none.

How easy it is to skirt obedience by claiming that we aren't "called" or "gifted".

The reality is that I had a Dutch friend and her cousin at my table that loved the decorations and 3 generations of women with roots in Texarkana that got a little taste of home that morning. It was perfect for them and that is what really mattered the most.

Add "getting a slap on the hand" to the list of things I'm good at.

There are a couple of things I've been asked to do that scare me. Plain and simple. I have been putting all kinds of labels on why I shouldn't do them but I have no peace about saying "no". I don't want to be dragged out of my comfort zone and I don't want to make myself that vulnerable. I want to just have Tiffany do it all for me.....or someone, anyone, else.

I want to wrap this all up with some deep theological insight, but I've got nothing. I have decisions that need to be made and lessons recently learned that aren't going to make it easy for me to anything other than say "yes".

But I have faith.

There.....put that on the list of hobbies.

Eating chocolate

Sleeping

Talking

Procrastinating

Cheerleading

Getting slapped on the hand

Faith

Now, where are those knitting needles?

Party Time!

2011-05-06T04:34:00.008-05:00

Do you remember her?

Today, Nathan got to meet her.

It was carnival day for the kids at the home so it was the perfect time to pull Nathan out of school to put him in "life school" for a day.

On the 40 min ferry ride to Indonesia.

Our way of welcoming the kids as they came home from school.

It's a party day!!

His first meeting with the house mom, Ibu. She loved him.....gave him kisses

a couple of times while we were there.

These boys are all around 10 years old....just like Nathan. They were so sweet

in welcoming him and trying to communicate with him.

This sweet boy came up to me and was gesturing something to me and

saying "boy". I asked him if he wanted my boy....yes he did. He wanted

Nathan to come outside and play balloon badminton.

Then Nathan broke out some dance moves and his new friend was

quick to follow his lead!

But this is the boy that stole Nathan's heart. Nathan kept telling me

how cute he thought Niko was and that's not something I hear often

from Nathan who doesn't often pay attention to kids younger

than himself.

The kids decorated their loot bags.

Had a cupcake walk which they LOVED.

Lots and lots of games to play and they ran laughing and screaming

from one to the next.

Nathan and I were in charge of the fishing game. We made a fishing

rod (my one attempt at being crafty for 2011) and went

shopping for prizes. It was fun for the kids to throw that rod

over the curtain and pull back a sparkly headband or yoyo or toy

car. They came back over and over and we never ran out of treats!

Niko got a pack of bouncy balls and jumped up and down cheering

when he got them. It was fantastic.

The prize wizard behind the curtain. He was rarely alone as his buddy, Niko,

spent quite a bit of time back there with him.

I asked Nathan on the ferry ride home if it was what he expected. It wasn't, but he wasn't sure why not. He told me it made him a little sad but was glad that the kids were never lonely because there were so many of them there.

Then he told me he couldn't wait to go back.

Me too. It's hot and uncomfortable. There is a language barrier that makes it hard to talk to the kids. But there's just something that grabs hold of your heart while you're there.

I am trying very hard to learn as many of these kid's names as I can. It is important to call them by name. It is the one thing that is theirs alone....it's their identity and what sets them apart from all the other children there.

It just matters.

Each one of them is special. Each one of them is loved. Each one of them has a name.

"Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you BY NAME; you are Mine."

Isaiah 43:1

Singapore? Meet Cinco de Mayo.....

2011-05-05T07:05:00.007-05:00

There is absolutely ZERO recognition of Cinco de Mayo in Singapore.

None.

The American Club is having a Cinco de Mayo party.

On Saturday.

That would be Siete de Mayo, but that may just be me being picky.

At our house we decided to celebrate in style. Chicken enchiladas, homemade guacamole, beans, chips and salsa, and pineapple.

So the pineapple is a bit of a stretch but consider it our nod to the tropics.

Garrett has always loved cooking and so tonight he sauntered (cuz that's what you do when you're 12 1/2 and growing way too fast) into the kitchen and offered to help me cook. He does this quite a bit and I love it. Back in the day I used to have my best conversations with him in the car when we were alone. Now, he helps me cook and if I stay quiet long enough I can find out all sorts of things going on in his head.

I put him to task chopping an onion while I got chicken ready to cook. He started complaining about his eyes, rummaged around for a bit, and when I looked up again...this is what I saw.

An airtight solution to stinging eyes when chopping onions. He swears it works....I'll just take his word for it!

Now, to channel a little Pioneer Woman, I'll take you through our dinner making process.

Lots and lots of onion!

Threw it in with some diced chicken and olive oil.

Added a can of diced green chile and a block of cream cheese.

Rolled them up in the most expensive flour tortillas known to man.

Top with heavy cream and cheese and bake until it is a pan of

deliciousness.

Tonight was my first attempt at homemade guacamole and it turned out really well!

The strangest thing is that you don't buy cilantro here....they call it

Chinese parsley. Tastes the same and it makes good guac so I'm not complaining!

The best part of the whole meal was when I sat down to eat and found a homemade Mother's Day card under my napkin from Garrett. He had made it at school during his elective and it was a very cool card that was so sweet. As you all know, we've had quite a year so that card means the world to me.

No goggles could keep me from tearing up while I read that card.

Happy Cinco de Mayo to all of you!!

Wanna Fight?

2011-05-04T07:26:00.005-05:00

The battle for contentment.

Just yesterday I read a blog post that send me spiraling. This woman's kids are AMAZING. Like, they have entire books of the Bible memorized, remember all their manners at all times, prefer organic vegetables to Goldfish, crave Mozart, and aren't even five years old yet. The mom is gorgeous and the dad is successful and they seem to have everything they could ever want.

I find that I start disliking the people that I presume are doing life better than me. I don't mean they have more than I do, I mean they just seem to live life as women, wives, and mothers better than me.

How horrible is that? I so badly want to delete that confession except I can't help but think I'm not the only one that battles this.

Can I go one step further and say that there are times something frustrating or difficult happens to these Stepford-ish women and I almost giggle about it?

Yep.......it gets that ugly in my head.

Before you start sending me all kinds of advice, let me just say that these days, and at my age, I have gotten much better at stopping the thought process before the stink of those thoughts starts oozing out of my pores.

I fight it, nip it in the bud and rehearse over and over in my head all the reasons why I'm blessed. It's amazing how impossible it is for discontentment and blessings to live harmoniously in your mind!

Yesterday helped to renew my resolve to be authentic in my everyday life with people. Those I interact with in person as well as those I communicate with only through the world wide web. I don't ever want anyone to think I am perfect or that my kids are without fault or that my world is enchanted.

I'm not implying that the women who wrote the post thinks she's perfect, but I know how easy it is to only put the shiny stuff out there for people to see while you're frantically polishing the tarnished stuff in a corner wearing stretchy pants and your six year old daughter's scrunchy.

You see.....behind every picture like this of the boy's bathroom mirror that may make you think that I am the most amazingly spiritual mom to walk the face of the earth.....

There's a picture like this that proves that even though you have consistently taught your kids for over a decade to pick up their clothes, they still aren't always going to do it.

That this tiny bathroom the boys share is often a complete disaster with toilet seat up, trash on the floor, stinky hats on the counter and toothpaste in the sink.

I must give credit where credit is due. The idea of posting scripture on the mirror is one that a woman here gave me. She told me she would write them and post them but kept every single notecard and had them bound to give to her children when they left home. I love it and it's amazing how quickly the boys notice when I change the verse. Especially now that there's lots and lots and lots of time being spent looking at that mirror.....heaven help me.

Then I make them tell it to me by heart to earn chocolate.

Bribery....it's what's for dinner.

I find that real life is what lies between great parenting ideas and....well....boys.

Deep Thoughts....by someone other than Jack Handy

2011-05-03T09:04:00.004-05:00

I am honestly too tired to come up with anything fascinating so I thought I would write a post only a mother could love. I don't talk to my mom nearly as much as I should and when I do, she just loves it when I share what's going on in my little world.

So for you mom......

My Incredibly Deep Thoughts:

1. For as much as I disliked Middle School when I was actually going to Middle School, I despise it all the more as a parent. Don't get me wrong, the school here is amazing and I wouldn't want Garrett anywhere else. Socially it's been a good year as well. It's all the craziness that comes with an intense work load, more interest in sports and friends and girls than homework, and puberty. All that thrown together has increased my gray hair count by a bunch. Out of respect for my sweet red headed 12 year old, that's all I'm going to say about that. 20 and a half days of school left.....I can do this!!

Actually, I guess it's 2 years and 20 and a half days of school left. Oy vey!

2. I don't know why, but for some reason hair color does not last over here. It's a mystery we discuss often over lunch and we've blamed the water and humidity and everything else we can think of for why it is that what used to last me 3-4 months, now only lasts about 4 weeks. I pride myself in being low maintenance but this hair color schedule is going to ruin it for me. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the gray.......which we all know I can blame on Middle School.

Great. Middle School will haunt me forever.

3. I wonder what this summer is going to be like. In fact, I wonder about that a lot. How different are things going to be? Am I going to feel like an outsider or will it feel like I've slipped right back in to what was normal? How are the boys going to feel about being home for an extended amount of time? What is it going to feel like to actually walk into a store and find clothes that fit? Can I live on Sonic drinks and Mexican food alone? How hard is it going to be without Scot for 7 weeks?

How much more gray am I going to be?

4. Whatever gave me the idea that giving up dairy, flour, and sugar would actually be a fun challenge?? I must have been out of my mind!!! For the most part, I've actually stuck to it for over a week now. I did cheat a tad this weekend by having a small bit of feta cheese on a Greek salad, eating two rolls at dinner one night and sharing a small dessert with Scot. By and large, if I have to count some cheese I had on a salad as cheating.....then I think I'm doing ok.

My plan is to drop 30 pounds in the next 4 weeks. Wish me luck!!!

5. Number 4 has to be successful in order for me to eat Mexican food every single day this summer. You think I'm kidding?? Just wait. I'm going to have to put friends and family on a rotational schedule to eat with me because I promise it will wear them out.

It's going to get u.g.l.y.

6. I honestly think I've learned more about world politics since living here than I did the entire time I was in college. How I ended up with good friends here that are as politically savvy as they are is beyond me. I sat at lunch today while my three friends tossed around policy issues with Libya and Egypt and rehashed past presidential conflicts along with their takes on what happened with Bin Laden.......I just nod and throw in an occasional safe remark like "God Bless America" and pretend like I can operate on their level.

I can't, but it sure is fun to be smart by association!

7. I am starting to love apartment living. I say that even though right now I am burning up as our ancient air conditioning system seems to not be working. Again. I can honestly say that our family spends so much more time together because there's nowhere to escape. There's the family room and bedrooms and that's about it! You can probably hide in the kitchen except there is so much traffic in there since food is consumed at an enormous rate around here that the chance of staying alone in there is minimal.

Actually, when I'm out back doing laundry I'm always alone. Hmmmm.......I may have to change that!!

8. I am so tired right now that I'm not even going to try and make it to 10 because I would be lying to say I was thinking about anything else but going to bed. Tomorrow I get to go see all the wonderful ladies at ESL so I will leave you with a couple of pictures I have taken recently for our end of the semester slide show.

The women start off in the sanctuary to sing a couple of songs and

get a very simple Bible lesson.

Then it's off to their classrooms that are divided by levels that start

with Intro (no English at all) and go to 5 (conversational English). Since

all of these women are working on at least their 2nd language it makes every one

of them smarter than me. I take great joy in telling them that when they sit down for

me to test them with nervous smiles and shaking hands.

I love this lady. I did her testing when she first registered for class

and at that time her hair was longer and purple. She has since

had some kind of makeover and is obviously loving it!! She loves

on me every time we see each other.

I know, you are all so devastated that this incredibly insightful and stimulating post has come to an end. Or you're relieved.

You're probably relieved....honestly, I am too.

Good night!

Bubble Wrap

2011-05-02T06:25:00.004-05:00

Honestly, if we continue with worldwide events like we've had the last few days, this "posting every weekday" thing is going to be easy!!

I happened to be standing in an airport in Indonesia with my family and some friends when we heard the news about the death of Bin Laden. Indonesia is predominantly Muslim so we refrained from whipping out an American flag and jumping around in celebration. In fact, we kept pretty quiet and tried to blend in until we got on the plane and into the air bound for Singapore.

Our kids caught on quickly that something pretty significant had happened so huddled by ourselves in the airport we gave them a crash course on Bin Laden. Over the tops of their heads the adults looked at each other with questions in our eyes about what this event might mean for us living outside America. Neither one of the men are traveling this next week and for that I'm grateful. I find I am often so comfortable living my life here that I forget I am a guest in a country that isn't my home.

The reality is that for as much as America itself has been a target, the American community that lives around the world is also very vulnerable.

We are used to a moderate level of security at the American School. There is a checkpoint with guards where the underside of every taxi and the trunk is inspected on the way into the school. There are evacuation measures and safety houses in place in case of catastrophic events. It's funny how shocking these measures and others at the school surprised me in the beginning but have just become part of what is normal now.

I am certainly grateful for it all as I send the boys off to school in the morning.

I am happy that a man who has destroyed so many lives will not destroy one more. There are many families that have waited for this justice for many long years. For them I pray there will be peace.

And now, I am going to go give this guy

And this guy

a big 'ol hug and kiss with loads of reminders of how much I love them.

Then I think I'll wrap them up in bubble wrap to send them off to school tomorrow.

Hmmmm......What To Write About Today

2011-04-29T08:46:00.003-05:00

I do hate to be predictable, but a royal wedding just doesn't come around very often! There is nothing else I can really talk about when the world got a new princess today....or whatever it is that the Queen is officially calling Kate. Does it matter? To the whole world, Kate is a princess.

(This would be the proper place to insert a picture of Kate in all her Grace Kelly splendor but for the life of me, I can't get a picture of her to upload.....or download....or copy and paste to the blog. Basically, I am not computer literate enough to fully round out this post with the proper pictures!)

I remember lying on my stomach on the floor of Jenny Key's house with my chin in my hands at the ripe 'ol age of eleven when I watched Princess Di walk down that long aisle towards her Prince. I was young enough to be completely enthralled with the magic of it all.

I can remember speaking only in a British accent with one of my friends as we pretended to be part of the royal family. My friend was much better than I was at it. Then again, she was my friend that tried to give me flirting lessons and insisted I practiced until my handwriting was more bubbly and every "i" was dotted with a heart.

I failed miserably.

On both accounts.

I have to admit that all week I've had moments where I've wondered what Kate must be thinking and doing. A wedding under normal circumstances is filled with details and preparation for the bride....can you even imagine what these last few days were like for her? What in the world was she thinking about when she was shaving her legs this morning in preparation for the big day? Was she rehearsing all of Will's names? I must say that is not something I did the morning of my wedding. I kinda felt like that was one thing I had down pat!

It's crazy to think that many years from now I could be talking to my Granddaughter about where I was the day Kate and Will got married. That I was in Asia watching with three boys who could honestly care less but watched all the same.

It's a long way from Jenny Key's house in Albuquerque, NM and a VERY long way from eleven years old but it's not any less magical.

Finding My Way

2011-04-28T04:15:00.002-05:00

I recently had an opportunity to tour a mosque. It is the second time since being in Singapore that I have had an up close and personal look inside of a Muslim's place of prayer.

There were two things I found particularly intriguing.

1. I took this picture of a man sitting against the column inside the mosque where I was not allowed to go. Others around him were kneeling on their prayer rugs but he just sat. I took quite a few pictures and he never seemed to notice that I was there and I was so incredibly curious as to what he was thinking about. I assumed he was meditating on life either prior to or just following his own time of prayer.

But then I realized that many times people will see me in church and assume that I am being introspective and meditative on my relationship with God when in reality my mind could be wandering all over the place. So, for all I know, this man was actually forming a grocery list in his mind.

2. Just outside the mosque was a gift shop where we were shown this compass of sorts. It is used by Muslims as a way to find Mecca from wherever they happen to be in the world. They always pray in the direction of Mecca and around here it is not unusual to see arrows high on the walls of public buildings pointing the direction of Mecca so when it is time for a Muslim to pray they always know which direction they need to face.

I am so grateful that I always know which direction to send my prayers. That I serve a God that is seated on His throne, is with me always, and knows my very deepest need. That I can be on my knees praying out loud or silently whispering a prayer and He's going to hear me.

I have so enjoyed the experiences and conversations the religious diversity here has allowed me. It has strengthened my faith more than I could have imagined and certainly has challenged me.

I am a long, long, long way from the proverbial Bible belt and in some ways.....the loosening of that belt has given me room to grow.

Give Up The Soup!

2011-04-27T06:51:00.003-05:00

Life with my boys is never dull. Just when I think there are no surprises lurking around the corner, I get clobbered in the head with something.

Apparently we have a budding activist in Nathan. We got our first taste of this when he was in the 2nd grade and decided to become a vegetarian because of animal rights issues. He actually stuck with it for about 6 months until the lure of a #1 at Whataburger was just too much to resist.

Then about a month ago during dinner, Nathan announces that he has been collecting money at school for a certain fund and will no longer be eating fish because of cruelty to fish. Especially cruelty to sharks in the making of shark fin soup which is a delicacy in this part of the world.

My initial reaction was slight irritation mixed with awe at his tenacity in getting out of eating something he didn't want to eat in the first place. Then he reminded me of how much he loves to eat tuna. It's his favorite Subway sandwich (and we happen to have one within walking distance of our apartment) and now he was going to have to pick something else to eat.

Like meatballs. That come from cows. And I'm sure they were loved on and treated very well until they took their last breath.

I digress.

As the story unfolded, and was later verified with Nathan's teacher, I was honestly shocked at the effort some 10 year old boys took to take a stand against something they had an issue with.

I expect fundraising in an effort to establish a fund to abolish chores to commence at any time.

I think the easiest way to describe what happened is to interview Nathan and let him tell it in his own words. And by own words I mean that he requested to keep all editing rights and to be quoted verbatim.

*insert an eye roll from mom here*

Me: Tell me when this all started.

Nathan: We were doing an Ocean unit in Science class. We all, based on our table groups, were placed into a group. My group was "The Way We Fish and Hunt". Within our groups we each had our own question which mine was "Who and What Suffer From the Way We Fish and Hunt?".

Me: Ok, buddy......so what in the world got you all worked up?

Nathan: Well, what got me worked up was first, my teacher pointed out something called The Cove in Taiji, Japan. Basically what they do is herd the dolphins into a hidden cove and slaughter them. When people found out about this they made a movie and showed it to the people on the streets in Japan.

Another thing that people found out was that they were giving away some of the dolphin meat to schoolchildren which was highly concentrated in mercury.

Me: What did you decide to do?

Nathan: My friends Jay, Lucas, and I decided to collect money to donate to Sea Shepherd which helps not only the dolphins in Japan but also the whale hunting stuff that happens in that Whale Wars show in TV. I also made a power point presentation about it to show to the class.

(Let me just comment here that a few weeks ago Nathan found himself in the principal's office for something that was a case of Nathan being in the wrong place at the wrong time. While he was in the office these same friends made signs that said, "Nathan is innocent" and held them outside the window to the principal's office. Nathan was quickly absolved of all wrongdoing.)

Me: So what was the deal with the Shark Fin Soup?

Nathan: I found out how they get the shark fins is by pulling up a shark and cutting off their fins and then letting them drown.

Me: They drown?

Nathan: Mom.....you know. They can't swim without their fins. I found out that Shark Fin Soup has no nutritional value and no taste.

(Interesting argument except he claims the same to be true with lettuce and most vegetables. Lost points for validity on that one.)

Me: Have you actually tried it?

Nathan: I was put in a situation once where I could have, but I denied it.

Me: How did you go about collecting money?

Nathan: We had jars and we would go around the cafeteria during snack time and we did a quick summary of what was happening and if they had any extra change we asked if they would donate it.

Me: You asked the kids?

Nathan: Yes......well, and any adults that were there. But then Mrs. Baildon interfered because she was all fine with it but didn't know if the office would approve. We had already collected over $75 and that money is still being held to be donated to Sea Shepherd.

Me: What did you hope to accomplish with all this research and collecting money?

Nathan: I wanted a good grade.

And there you have it folks. I think he is truly bothered by what he learned but at the end of the day, it was all about the A. You gotta love the honesty!

This issue with fish has gone beyond Nathan's class as evidenced by the stickers that covered his shirt one afternoon when he came home from school.

Oh, and yes, he is still boycotting the eating of fish.

I will tolerate it until he tries to convince me that asparagus is treated badly and wants to boycott that as well.

When your hippety goes missing

2011-04-26T09:54:00.003-05:00

It's 10:55 p.m. so I'm barely going to get this blog post finished to count as day 2. That's right....day 2 and I am already rushing to comply with my own challenge.

Awesome.

No deep thoughts from me today which I know is just devastating.

But if I was going to come up with something deep, it would be to infer all kinds of things about the wild storm that came through here and destroyed this. Like, 39 hours after I wrote this post it was upside down in the planter.

Not going to read anything into that......just not going to go there.

Oh, and one more thing? Remind me when Easter rolls around next year that I can make a bazillion dollars selling EMPTY plastic Easter eggs on the black market here. This is something I learned after spending $11......yes, that actually says ELEVEN DOLLARS.....on a package of 12 eggs. Did I mention they were empty?? Plain 'ol plastic eggs used for hunting eggs and I paid $11 for them.

I am obviously not going to get over that anytime soon.

Never mind how difficult it is to find white eggs here to dye. They are all brown, unrefrigerated, and have feathers still stuck to them.

Just kidding.

About the feather part, but not about the rest.

Needless to say, there was no Easter egg decorating at our house. In fact, the Easter bunny had a major brain fart and didn't even bring any Easter decorations to Singapore. I'm not sure if I thought that by now I would have jumped ship and run home or if by the time I made it through our attic when packing I just didn't care anymore. The Easter bunny did manage a few chocolate pieces for the boys that were packed in gift bags with tissue paper and raffia ribbon.

That's how the Easter bunny rolls here in Singapore.

Despite expensive plastic eggs, the lack of pretty Paas decorated eggs, and a Easter bunny that lost a little hippety in her hop, we had a wonderful Easter weekend. We spent Easter Sunday with 7 other families and a load of good Southern cooking. Many sticks of butter were sacrificed in the making of our meal and I loved every single bite!! The kids went on an egg hunt and I was just momentarily overklempt when Garrett decided this was the year he was crossing over from hunter to hider of the eggs.

I love Easter. I cry every single Easter Sunday no matter what kind of service I'm in. It is the basis for everything I believe in. I get to experience grace and mercy in my life because of an empty tomb and for that I will be eternally grateful.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter weekend!!

And if you happen to find an extra "hippety" laying around, can you please send it back to me?

It's all in the timing

2011-04-11T04:07:00.012-05:00

And.....I'm back.

Despite numerous attempts at a nice and neat explanation for my lack of blogging, I can't come up with anything. A little bit of laziness, a little bit being overwhelmed with so much I want to say and not knowing where to start, and probably a little (or a lot) of pride that makes me feel like if I can't produce something epic I shouldn't even try at all. So I just shut down for a bit.

Basically, I need to get over myself. That happens a lot. I get a little worked up over myself and need a good swift kick in the hiney to get me grounded again so I can move on.

So....moving on.

Everyone is in countdown mode here. 6 weeks until school is out and as Scot will say, "Seconds later Keri and the boys will be on the plane". That's not exactly true....it's more like 24 hours after school lets out we will be kissing Scot good-bye for 7 weeks and heading to the states.

You know, where I plan on wearing a red shirt every single day so even when I'm not actually shopping at Target, I'm thinking about it. And then there's Chuys where I plan on knowing the waitstaff by name and Sonic......where my rental car will automatically pull in at 3:00 every single hot summer day we are there for a Route 44 Diet Coke with fresh lime in it.

Then there's the Mall. Mall and I do not have a very good relationship as I don't enjoy spending time actually nurturing the relationship. However, after a year of wearing the same clothes day in and day out with no real shopping options, I'm thinking the Mall and I are going to be very, very good friends.

Ahhhhh......I can almost smell the fresh Houston air.

*Cough* *Cough*

Or not.

In looking ahead at 6 busy and fun weeks before leaving Singapore I have decided to engage myself in a couple of challenges.

1. I need to get into tip-top Ultra-Support Tankini shape. I have been running more often which is awesome until you nosedive into insane amounts of chocolate before the sweat has barely had time to dry. So.....I am trying the no wheat, no sugar, no dairy thing and seeing how that works. Today is day One so don't hold your breath folks.

2. To further the progress of aforementioned "getting over myself", I have decided to try blogging every single weekday for the next 6 weeks. I am probably crazy for even trying, but this is the kind of thing we do around here to keep things exciting. That and walking into clothing stores just to see the salespeople break out in a sweat at the thought of trying to find something to fit this 5'11" frame of mine.

I am so tempted to write more! But alas (Don't you love that word? I'm using it in honor of our upcoming royal wedding), I need to save something to write about tomorrow, and the next day, and the next because I may have just bitten off something more than I can chew.

You know how much I love pictures so let me leave you with a good one. This is not for the faint of heart so I will give those with a weak stomach time to turn away.

Ok....consider yourself warned!!

This is a shot of a poor little fella that didn't have his timing down right. Like when you're 4 and you're trying to negotiate the timing of not getting taken out when running in front of other kids swinging on the swingset. He looks like he was at a dead run when the door slammed. See the look of shock in his eyes?

We left him where he was in the doorframe into Scot's office to serve as a warning to others. Just recently he has been moved to his eternal resting place. Rest in peace my fine reptile friend.

It's going to be an interesting 6 weeks!!

I said "Yes"!!

2011-03-02T08:04:00.013-06:00

I grew up being the girl that would always sit terrified, listening to visiting missionaries at church talk about being called to the mission field. The ones that give up everything to move to remote Africa or the Amazon to smuggle in Bibles at the risk of losing their life. I was terrified that God would ask me to do the same.

Actually, I was probably more terrified of what my answer would be.

In the last month I have found myself with two opportunities to get out of my comfort zone and love on some sweet children. I have enjoyed every moment of it. It can be exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time and I'm now seeing another side to the missionary's stories from my younger days. It's not all about giving to others. In fact, I would argue that I have received much more than I have given during these trips.

To be honest, Vietnam is a place I had no desire to visit prior to moving to Southeast Asia.

None.

It happened to be on Scot's list of must see places so we planned a trip there for our upcoming Spring Break. Then I was given the opportunity to go this past weekend with 12 other women from our church to help with a Bible Camp.

I started attending meetings and as I learned more about Vietnam and what we would be doing, I got more and more excited. Vietnam is a communist country and going to church can be a very tricky thing. It's ok to have a Christian church if it's sanctioned by the government. You can apply for a permit to meet as a church in a building and they may never grant it to you so you start having church in your home. That works until the police get involved and break up the church by saying that you don't have a permit and the cycle continues. The laws regarding church are much stricter for Vietnamese than for expats.

A friend of mine here in Singapore lived in Vietnam years ago and they started a Bible club for kids. It met weekly and over the years it has grown. They started doing a Bible camp weekend and that is exactly what we got to help with. The weekend was for kids ages 8-12 and simultaneously on Saturday there was a day camp for 4-7 year olds. The camp is not attended by local Vietnamese children which allowed us to have it in a local hotel. We did find out at the last minute that there would be a group of young Vietnamese kids attending the day camp which required much prayer about police involvement. Thankfully, there were no issues!

We left very early Friday morning. There was last minute practicing in the airport

for the music portion of our weekend.

Driving in from the airport I had my camera out and my face pressed to the window in awe of the city. Scooters everywhere with an amazing array of things strapped to the back.

You can best describe driving in Saigon as controlled chaos. One trip from the airport to the hotel and I could completely understand why companies provide drivers for expats that live there. Taxis are not as readily available as they are here and scooters easily outnumber cars.

We got to the hotel and immediately got to work. Quick introductions were made between the Singapore group and the Vietnam group and then everyone pitched in to make it all happen before the kids showed up that evening.

This is Lynda......she was one of the leaders from Katy, Tx. We bonded instantly and had lots of fun talking about home!

It was crazy hot and there was a ton to get done but we all came together and made it happen! All the materials had been donated from a church in the states which was a huge blessing to the women planning the camp.

Camp was awesome! There were Bible stories.....

campfire time.....

crazy science ladies.....

a cool counselor that did a killer braid on all her girls......

crafts.....

cool games and good friends......

scavenger hunts......

fun at the park on great equipment outlawed in the states a long time ago......

and breakfast. At camp, breakfast ROCKS!!! Cake and a loaf of bread

with no mom to get mad at you!

I loved getting to work at the day camp with the younger kids. This was my group.....we were Team Edison and we rocked! These kids were so much fun, I absolutely adored hanging out with them.

The Vietnamese kids that attended were sweet. They spoke no English, but they danced and smiled and played games and laughed.......and watched a very tall American lady take their pictures and smile at them like a goof all day long just wishing I knew even a little bit of their language to tell them that I loved them.

All the kids got a certificate at the end of the day camp and we were later told that one of the little Vietnamese girls went to her one room home after camp and hung her certificate and something she had made at camp on her wall. She went to school the next day telling her teacher that her house was beautiful now. Beautiful because her art was on the wall. Beautiful because of a piece of paper with her name on it telling her that she did a great job in Bible school was on the wall. The same piece of paper I would have thrown away without thinking twice if it had shown up in my home. Humbled doesn't even begin to describe how I felt that entire day.

Camp ended on Sunday afternoon with a lot of kids having heard about how awesome God is. I was so impressed with how much work and attention to detail was given to this camp. Every single activity and every single moment of the weekend was given to God and it was evident. I am so glad I got to be a part of it!

We had an extra day to explore some of the city so we went to the local market where

you can find things like dried fish. Or maybe it's pickled. I'm honestly not

sure what it is.....I do know it stayed right where it was! Not one piece

went home with me!

It was amazing the things you could find at this market and you got to barter.

I happen to really love that part!

Fabric anyone?

I walked away from the market with 3 small silk bags for $4 and a bracelet that is supposedly made out of buffalo horn but suspiciously feels like plastic. It was $6 so we'll go with buffalo horn for the cool factor!

I honestly could have walked the streets and taken pictures all day long. The people, the culture.....all of it. I loved it.

The craziness of the wiring down the streets was fascinating!

We stopped off to buy waffles from this lady. She carries the iron and all the ingredients on her back by balancing the long pole on her shoulders. They were really good!

Several times we would see people with their baskets stopped on the street with small stools

set around them to serve food.

A quick stop for a nap!

A night view of Saigon from the river. A beautiful city!

I so loved this trip. I loved meeting new friends, I loved the kids, I loved watching people be so dedicated to what they believe in, and I loved visiting a new country.

There are many times that I catch myself during the day thinking, "I can't believe this is my life". I had many of those kinds of moments in Vietnam. How this simple girl from Texas has ended up here in Asia just floors me......it honestly does.

I am most grateful that when I was asked to Go.....and not just to Indonesia to see sweet Nona or to Vietnam, but even to Singapore.....when I was asked to Go, I didn't let fear of the unknown or trepidation do the answering for me.

I said "yes".......and I am so glad I did!!

Miracle.....Revisited

2011-02-21T06:42:00.002-06:00

Every once in awhile, when I'm feeling nostalgic, I'll go back and read some old posts. It's strange to revisit life before. Before what? Well, before anything and everything that has happened after. There are posts I don't remember writing and those that I can remember every nuance of how I was feeling when I typed the words. One post in particular, I have read and re-read many, many times......I have even read it to a group of women. It wasn't a sudden onset of self-promotion, it is just that I don't think it was me writing the words. I remember the heaviness of my heart and I remember crying while I wrote it, but honestly, the words on the screen are just not my own. I know that sounds weird, and I am certainly prone to sudden bouts of weirdness, but I don't know how else to explain how I feel about this post.

I found it again tonight because I needed to. My heart has been heavy for several friends lately going through major and minor things that I can't fix for them. I see them struggling for explanation.

I have been struggling. We've had some personal situations come up that have been really tough. We've been trying to sell a house for a year with enough drama surrounding it that it could qualify as a book in and of itself. And I find myself in a place where the extent of human inequality surrounds me. We are so, so, so blessed and why this is my life when hours from me there are women just hoping they can feed their children while maintaining a faith and love in God that is astounding.....I don't understand it. I just don't.

This is a first for me, but I am re-posting a blog entry called Miracles. I don't know if it will speak to any of you, but the words are ones I needed to read again.

For those of you out there, and you know who you are, I am praying so desperately for your miracle......whatever that may look like.

MARCH 11, 2009

MIRACLES

She died.

When I was about 8 or 9 years old, my mom had a friend that had cancer. It was the first time I was ever exposed to the disease that has stolen so many lives. I don't remember the lady's name, or even what she looked like. What I do remember is my mom praying for her healing. The kind of prayer that will take you to your knees, begging God to spare a life. I remember being so affected by the fervency in which my mom pleaded for a miracle. Her friend died. I began to doubt that God would heal just because someone asked Him to.

When I was 30 years old, we moved to Florida. I had a 2 year old and a 5 month old and I was a walking disaster. Many times my husband would come home from work to find me in tears on the couch. I was overwhelmed and desperately missed the life I had left behind. I prayed for a miracle and God led us to a church that changed our lives. Then we were uprooted again to move to Houston. I began to doubt that God really cared.

My good friend of 15 years has lost 7 babies through miscarriage. I was determined to "stand in the gap" for her when days were so dark, she didn't want to get out of bed. I encouraged her, prayed for her, and begged God to give her a child. She has never been able to carry a baby past 8 weeks of pregnancy. No miracle.

I am now 38 years old. Life has been challenging these last several months, but I have been steadfast in my faith, determined not to waiver. I knew we were entering into economic times that would rival what I had only read about in history books, but I just knew we were safe. Then Scot got laid off from his job and my faith is shaken for a moment, but I am determined to trust God until I receive my miracle.

But what if I don't?

I am not the only woman in my situation that is standing firm on the promises of God. I have learned, some people get the miracle and some don't. What if I'm a "don't" this time around?

My child, what is your definition of a miracle?

You see, your mom's friend came home to me many years ago. My miracle was in allowing you, a young, impressionable girl, watch your mother demonstrate the kind of faith that you were going to need yourself some day. My miracle was allowing your mom's friend to have a legacy that exceeded her expectations, a legacy that has brought many to my feet with hurting, questioning hearts, so I could tenderly reach down and heal them.

My miracle was in giving you a friendship with your pastor's wife in Florida that would sustain you through many hard times. I needed you to be there so Lisa could nuture you, pour My word into you, and love you, so you could be more effective to Me when I moved you to Houston. My miracle was being very present when your marriage was put to the test - pouring grace and mercy all over both of you. Your marriage is stronger today because of it, that's a miracle.

My miracle was taking extreme heartache in the loss of so many babies, and making it a part of our friend's testimony. My miracle is taking what satan meant for evil, to hurt and destroy, and turning it into good. My miracle is giving her and her husband twins to adopt, children I knew would need her to be their mom.

Wait in anticipation of a miracle, but you must remove your own earthly, narrow-minded expectations of what that miracle will look like. If only you could see your life like I see it, you would have no fear, only excitement for what is to come. Your miracle may not come in the form of an incredible new job or financial gain, but stand strong in your faith with eager anticipation and let Me show you what a miracle really is.

Nesting

2011-02-18T05:53:00.007-06:00

Right outside our bedroom window we have a bird's nest.

An extremely determined bird has been working on building this nest for over a week. I have watched this bird use everything from string to leaves to feathers to slowly but surely build a safe home.

It's like it knows that having a home that works, means working on your home.

Without giving up when it gets hard.

The perseverance and dedication in making sure it's the best possible place for its family is inspiring.

You may be thinking this nest must look like this:

Where the birds only chirp between the hours of 9 and 5. Where there's a slew of National Geographic photographers lining up for the perfect shot to grace the cover of the latest issue.

In reality, it looks like this:

A home that is certainly not perfect on the outside. It looks half put together, even thrown together, with no attempts at achieving perfection. The birds chirp at all hours and I am the only crazy one taking loads of pictures.

It appears to be hanging on by a thread, but does not fall. Because this bird knows that its not about how much thread you have, but how strong it is. It is what's holding this home together.

The inside, though, is another story. It's warm and safe and protected.

It is not showy or fake. It's just real.

I think that's probably all this bird's offspring really care about.

It's the perfect home.