Oh, there I am!

Today, I was sitting in my bible study class and had a thought about some things I wanted to do and then I thought (profoundly, of course) - Oh! I'm coming back again!

This, unfortunately is the process I go through after my babies.  It has proven true for June and Annie and we will see on this next little one.  With June, it took eight months and I definitely wasn't sitting around wondering where I was this whole time (I didn't even know I was gone).  But, it's like a part of my body shuts down (the part that cares at all about Suzanne) and then one day, it just starts to come back.  At eight months with June, I was amazed that I slowly felt all these parts coming back that had previously been dormant and I didn't even know.

This time around, again, I haven't been sitting around wondering where I was.  I don't realize I am gone until I come back- one of God's little mysteries.  Its like all energy must be devoted to new baby...  But, when something hits me like it did this morning, I am now able to recognize that it's just me coming back again. (Dan will be very glad to know!)  Its a process that maybe a bunch of women go through or maybe I am an anomaly, but every time I "come back," I am so glad to get "me" back again!

Hopefully, this next time around, the placenta pills will help, because the first 4-6 months after my babies are really hard on me mentally and emotionally.  But I will let you know more on that further along in the pregnancy, after you have had time to get over your shock and dismay ;)

So, I know this doesn't really affect anyone else, but it's something I would like to document and then with this next baby, I will make a paper chain (my favorite) that has 4-6 months worth of links to pull off so that I know the end is in sight!

Happy Wednesday!

Happy 2nd Birthday June!!

I must put this post on here to commemorate sweet June's 2nd birthday, but I did a horrible job at taking pictures and I really only have two decent ones.  So, this does no justice to our excitement for her turning 2, but when she reads this blog (that I will eventually print into a book) in twenty years, I want her to know that we did, in fact, remember her birthday.

We had a mini family party at my parents' house (I know - no huge celebration- how could we?! ;) and she had a wonderful time and sang to herself for a week.  And still, when we sing happy birthday to people, when it comes time to say the person's name in the song, she just puts her own right in there.  I believe it will be her birthday all year....

Patched Jeans

This is my favorite pair of jeans.  Why they now have a hole in the backside, I will leave to your imaginations, but let's just say, I was going to take a picture of the hole with them on, but after trying them on, the hole got two sizes bigger.  You won't have to use much imagination here...

This is a shirt I have that I really like the pattern, but let's face it, its been sitting in the back of my closet for a year and I have not worn it.  Commence jean patching.

I have zero sewing talents.  I really mean zero. I have bought numerous numerous crosstitch patterns to make sweeping beautiful landscapes that all end up in the back of my closet.  For some reason, when I took crosstitching class as a 2nd grader, my teacher instilled way too much false confidence in me and I keep thinking I am an amazing sewer.  Unfortunately, the only thing I have ever successfully sewed for use was the straps on my ballet shoes and the stitch was 1/2 of an inch.  We don't have much to work with here, just letting you know.

Well, today, I decided that I was going to try my hand at patching.  Given my history, I am not sure why, but I tried anyway.

....AND I succeeded!  I patched my jeans with a bunch of random stitches (no telling how long the patch will actually hold) and wore them to the park with June and Annie on the playground.  Then... three well-meaning ladies/moms at three separate times (probably after they all secretly got together and laughed at me) came and told me I had a hole in my jeans ....

Moral of the story: do not put a patch on the inside of your jeans with fabric that looks like it could be underwear.

Kony 2012

I just watched this video below on one of my friend's websites . This is a video about the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda and the devastation and mutilation they have caused to over 30,000 children.  I happened to hear about this a few year's ago when I was teaching at Elm Creek and some of my students and I made a video about it.  Its a short 2 minute video (you have to click on the website and scroll to the bottom video), and this professional one below is 30 minutes (if it takes too long to load, click here).  But, they are both worth the time, so find the time to watch as well as the time to do something about it.

Things certainly are different in other parts of the world and we can't turn a blind eye much longer....

Sustainable Living

Since we have moved to Lubbock where there are NO farmer's markets, ONE healthy restaurant, hardly ANY organic vegetables and fruits that are actually fresh and pretty much no desire from the overall population for a change, I have desired moving to a more sustainable way of living for our family.  The community does not seem to have much to contribute, so I have sought out other sources to move towards a more eco-friendly, do-it-yourself way of life.

This is obviously a very slow process, as I have been thinking about it for about two years, but my first step was the chickens, who provide us fresh, organic eggs.  We control their diet and know exactly what we are eating when we eat their eggs.  My second was giving the chicken all food and waste we would have thrown away (to eventually form some sort of compost - coming soon!)

My next step will be a series of making my own products.  I will start gathering all needed ingredients on friday for my first endeavor: making my own toothepaste.  I will be using a recipe from Control the Chaos, an American mom's blog who lives in the Netherlands.  She makes many things herself, including laundry detergent and shampoo and this is just step 1.  So, stay tuned for my toothpaste making and how the family likes it.

I hope to someday get to growing and selling our own fruits and vegetables out of the house like these people in California.  But we'll see how the Lubbock weather cooperates.  Plus, we need our manpower (Sayed) back here to do all the labor! ;)

And THEN, if I become super accomplished, SOME-day, I plan to buy one of these:

and convert it to bio-diesel, making my own fuel out of vegetable oil!  But that is way in the future when I won't have three children under three!

(sorry for all the links today- just lots of ideas that I didn't want to copy and paste :)

Sayed Update

Just wanted to update everyone real quick.

Thank you to all that prayed for Sayed's interview.  He thinks it went really well.  He had everything he needed and the interviewer lady said that the letter stating he had a job when he got back was very helpful.  (Thank you supermarket Turkish guys!!!)  Unfortunately, he probably won't know for a month or so.  He is not requesting to come until July because that looks better (like he is specifically coming for school only).  So, the interviewer said it might be awhile before he heard back.  (hopefully he hears soon so we can get a cheaper plane ticket!!)

He thought his chances were 70/30 when we pushed him to give us more details ;)  So, keep him and his process in your prayers.  This would be such a great thing for him and his family....

Sayed in the US?

Many of you were on my original email blast to write support letters for getting Sayed back here in the US.  Its gotten dangerous where he is and his mom doesn't want him to leave the house much for fear of all the stuff going on, so we thought this would be a good time to get him back here to finish high school and then hopefully go to college.

Thankfully, we received 24 letters from friends and family - his program director said that was unheard of!!  Then, I got through a month's worth of paperwork to get him accepted into a private school here (foreign students may only attend public school once), get all our sponsorship paperwork done, and sent it all to him in a tiny fedex envelope costing $100 to Kabul, Afghanistan.  For some reason, Sayed gave me the wrong address to the US Consul (its not published) and then FedEx could not find the US Consul (it must be hidden?!), so Sayed had to walk across Kabul and pick up the package.  (Oh and we had to send it to FedEx because stuff gets stolen from post offices and there is no mail system to houses, hence the $100 guarantee).  They required no ID to pick the package up so once he had it, he scheduled his interview.  It all comes down to the interview.  If the people interviewing him (Americans) think he will run away or stay in the US, they will not ok him, but if they are confident in his return (and don't think he is a terrorist), they will let him come.

So, that is why I am writing this post.  His interview is this Sunday, March 4th.  I am not sure at what time, but I will try to find out.  Apparently, there are no Sundays off in Kabul.  He does have a letter from a company there saying he can work there when he comes back.  (I stalked some Turkish guys in the supermarket here and asked them how they were able to get visas approved and that is what they told me, so I got Sayed to do the same.) So, hopefully that is convincing proof that he will return and the 24 letters are proof that he is a good guy.

Well, that is where things are right now.  Hopefully, he will get approved and will come in July and then we will have another baby in September and have four children!  Yikes!  Sayed will be a good babysitter, I'm sure ;)

Oh yeah, reason for writing this post- please pray for Sayed's interview on Sunday.  Its all up to these random people. Let's pray they don't have a bad day and that Sayed gets approved.  This would be so wonderful for him and his family and such a great opportunity, not to mention that Dan super misses him and I miss him too ;)