Integrity 7/20/14

My heart burst this morning when I was sitting alone reading from Proverbs (my favorite book of the Bible, yet, everyday that I read from it I notice a little bit more how wise I'm not). 

Today, while I was reading, Kiley woke up and often if they're sitting around while I'm reading, I'll offer to read out loud and they love it. So, today I did just that. 

I got to a verse in Proverbs 20 that says, "The one who lives with integrity is righteous; his children who come after him will be happy." (Proverbs 20:7 HCSB)

And, Kiley thought on it for a minute and said "I think that's daddy!" My heart melted and beamed simultaneously. Because it's true. Their daddy is an example of integrity to them. 

It was a sweet, spontaneous time around the Word as a family as Kamden woke up and joined us and Daddy too. And we were able to discuss more from God's Word about being rich (one of Kamden's most recent questions is "Are we rich?" Or "Were we richer before we moved?" It's on her mind a lot. I try to remind her that, yes, monetarily we are richer than most of the world, but aside from that and far more important, we are rich because our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills! But, today, from Proverbs, the topic came up again. 

"There is gold and a multitude of jewels, but knowledgeable lips are a rare treasure." (Proverbs 20:15 HCSB)

Want to be rich, Kamden? Speak knowledge from your mouth. It's far better than anything money can buy. 

I'm so proud of these two ladies. Everyday. But so much more as they walk thru transition once again and do it with grace (while their mommy does not). 

Kamden's Ever Maturing Heart 7/13/14

Kamden prayed the sweetest prayer tonight about living in M and moving to N. Something like thank you so much for the friends we made in Meerut and for letting us live here. And help us to still enjoy living in India! 

I just love those girls and their sweet hearts! 

The Game of Life

Oh. My. Word. The game of life is too funny with these two girls and my crazy husband. The real game and the board game. 

We played tonight and personalities shone! Kamden can't sit still during a game yet usually ends up winning. Explain that. And Kiley is a little day dreamer explaining in detail all the parts of the card she drew and naming the pets etc. It's too sweet.

At one point, Kiley had to give everyone a compliment. When she got to Jason, he ripped off his shirt and flexed his muscles. She didn't skip a beat, "Daddy! I love you... Just the way you are!" I thought I was going to lose it! Too funny! 

Today, tho, these girls have had eyes only for their mommy! And that melts my heart. Kiley told me tonight "I can't even explain how much I love you!" Who gets this lucky?!?!  She's the same little girl who told me when she was just tiny "Have you ever loved someone so much you wanted to squeeze them till it hurts?" Yes, Kiley, I certainly have!  And, don't tell her or even speak around her about teenagers not wanting to be around their parents. At the ripe old age of 8, she becomes angry and says that will never happen! ;) 

I am so blessed by this game of Life! 

*NOT part of the instructions. Just Kamden being Kamden. ;) 

When the Power is Out 7/13/14

*Working by the light of the computer screen. 

(Written in our former city) 

It comes and goes. The power, that is. We just came home from two weeks away to a home with no electricity, no water due to no electricity, and a bone-dry inverter also due to no electricity! 

Lately, the power has been out at least 12 hours out of a 24 hour period. That doesn't allow the inverter time to charge back up when it is on causing the power to go out in full some of the time! 

I am not one to take a cold shower just to cool off but I've been doing it everyday! Today, I just stood under the water till the power came back on! (Water is back on most of the time now although the power isn't high enough to run the washing machine so our clothes are a little piled up.) 

For some reason, monsoon still hasn't hit. People are stressing it. I'm stressing it. It's hot! But, ya know. AFTER I go through all the thoughts of "ITS SO HOT and WE'RE GONNA SUFFOCATE and PLEASE COME BACK ON!" My mind does eventually turn to the people who deal with this all. the. time. They don't cool back off when the power comes on. They don't have power. And you know what? It's probably the least of their worries. They've got far too many other things to worry about than whether or not the power is on. Like, will their crops survive this year so they can feed their family? Or where will their next meal even come from?  

People have it so bad. And, sadly, if doesn't stop there. They don't even have a clue what else they're missing. They live this life in darkness. And they'll be living the next one in utter darkness. No escape. 

Thing 1 & Thing 2

Pregnancy Update: 

I went for an ultrasound appointment at exactly 18 weeks. Before I get anyone's hopes up, yes, I DID see one of the genders for sure, but I am NOT revealing in case I get a chance to see the other at my next appointment.  

For now, I am calling them, appropriately Thing 1 & Thing 2. They are "bunking" in my uterus. Meaning they are both on the back wall, one high, one low. The low one is thing one, the high, thing two. 

Thing two beats Thing one in size barely at every check up and at week 18 is measuring 19 weeks 1 day while thing one measures 18 weeks 5 days. So they are coming right along. :) 

I had the best ultrasound tech ever! She was amazing and so informative. She LOVED teaching us about the babies. We saw the four chambers of the heart, the aorta, four fingers and a thumb, precious little feet, and we got 3D face shots! She even let me leave to grab a bite to eat in hopes that Thing Two would show it's face a little better. It didn't help much. 

So, the update is that all seems well. I have another checkup very soon and hope to see if I can figure out what baby number one is! 

For now, here are some 3D shots. They're not super because I took a picture of them using my phone. 

*Top Row: Thing One

Bottom Row: Thing Two (blurry) 

Of Fevers, and Lice, and Everything Nice

When I moved overseas, I quickly had the privelege of helping a friend pick nits because she had come in contact with the dreaded, the unspeakable, the unbearable... Lice epidemic! Da da da! 

A few weeks ago, when we were going through the roaches and the fires and the trials, I boldly told God, "There are two things I simply can not handle: lice and bedbugs!" 

Well, He showed me!!!! We had just arrived at our yearly retreat in Nepal at a beautiful resort with a few hundred of our colleagues and their families... 

I started to put Kamden's hair in a pony tail and what do I see? You already know!  Try telling your girls they have to stay home from class and their friends during the only week out of the year that they see them. Try telling them they have to miss swim time when Kiley's one goal was to swim the length of the pool to get a green bracelet to spend the week in the deep end. It wasn't easy. 

And my immediate reaction wasn't pretty. "I TOLD God I could not handle this! We need to just leave. It's pointless for us to sit in this hotel room..." 

But, would you believe that about five minutes in, The Lord spoke to me so clearly... Through lice... And actually used it to ENCOURAGE me rather than discourage? I find it hard to believe myself. 

#1 He quietly whispered to me "Obviously, I happen to think you CAN handle it." Thank you, God, for giving us trials that prove YOU are God and YOU are in control. 

#2 It was like the trial that sent me over the edge... In a good way. It's been a long season. One that's led to many questions, wonderings, asking God what's next. And, for some reason, it took lice for me to go "ok! So He DOES want us here afterall!" 

It's so difficult to explain how I began the week DIScouraged. Encountered lice. And somehow left ENcouraged. But it's true. It happened. And so these days, I'm thankful for... Lice. Yep, you heard me right. 

Just a couple side notes: 

-after missing two days of classes I put my foot down and said we would definitely have it under control so the girls could enjoy class the following day, and five minutes later Kiley says, "I don't feel good!" She was blessed with the bug going around and had a fever of 102 and felt horrible. So, we stayed back yet again. But, ya know, she kept saying, "sometimes it's fun to be sick!" 

-While washing everyone's hair, Kamden says "Do I have lice?" Kiley said "You had one" (because when I saw it, I put it in a bag to confirm it was what I thought it was). Kamden got so excited and said "Can I keep it as a PET?!?!?" How can you not love her! 

-There were some major things to be thankful for throughout: 1) there were nurses available who were awesome in finding the right shampoos to use. 2) we were at a hotel where we could wash & dry clothes easily 3) our home is empty for two full weeks which means the problem should be resolved and make the cleaning aspect easier there when we get there 4) somehow, by the grace of God, only Kamden got it! 

-Also, though my attitude improved tremendously through this episode, I definitely had to continue to remind myself to have the same attitude the next time this happens whether God speaks to me through it again or not. Because it's bound to happen.  We are combining two cultures: one that says lice is an absolute no-go (I'm on that team, btw!) and the other that just lives with it. And if we're going to build close relationships at all, then we're bound to face similar trials again. 

-We are alive, we are well (for the most part), we are together, we are loved by the God of the universe. For what more could we ask? 

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18 HCSB)