So, here is what has been going down for the last few minutes. We hear Leslie fussing, and trying with all her might to get Missy (our dog) to come to her. For a few weeks now, the girls grab her dry dog food bits and feed them to her as treats. Missy loves this, and seems to be the only way she likes her food. The problem arose when Kenna, with less food than Leslie, and much quieter as well, was getting Missy to follow her instead of Leslie.
Once we got that settled, Leslie went to plan B, which was to get more food, via her sandbox shovel, and carry it back to our room and feed her. We stopped that, and sent them back to the kitchen. Kenna lost interest at this point and went to do her own thing, but I could hear the little pieces of dog food rolling all over the kitchen. Presently, Leslie quietly goes down the hall, opens the closet and walks back out with her vacuum (its a copy of our big one and sort of works). Then I hear the sound of the mini-vac in the kitchen, cleaning up the mess they made.
Kenna re-enters the story, and when Leslie is done, she puts the vacuum up.
And I thought it was to be a boring Monday night.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Distressed
Sunday we started a new, very brief, series on rethinking what missions are all about, and we looked at 1 Samuel 22:1-2, where David goes to Adullam, and the distressed, in debt and discontent (400 in all) came to follow him. The point was, we are better missionaries if we are imperfect, not all shined up--HUMAN.
God's sense of humor was evident on Monday.
We decided to go grocery shopping. Not really that we had a choice if we wanted to eat that day, but the timing was poor. Sunday we had helped with move in on campus, so we realized that the college students were back. We forgot that them being back meant they needed food. Apparently all of them, at the same time.
Normally Kristin goes around 6:30 a.m., largely because she does the Grocery Game and it gives her plenty of time and space to do it. For whatever reason, this day we went at 4:30 in the afternoon, and all four of us went to HEB.
Now, you need to understand that this HEB is designed in such a way that from the time you enter the parking lot until you leave you are fighting, clawing, and bleeding until you leave the parking lot- on an excellent day of shopping. The lanes are small with little directional designation, the aisles are for the first half of the store maze-like, the second half they are narrow, and the open spaces are filled with sale items and kiosks selling specialty products, and occasionally someone apparently giving cooking lessons.
This day we faced these things and what seemed like thousands of college students. The distress hit me first- I was left to find Sunny Delight with the girls ( who are in their car cart, which is slightly more difficult to steer than a forty foot bus). I never found it, and instead got into such a trance of overwhelmed-ness that when Kristin found me, she talked to me, but I heard nothing. So I then got to go look for things on my own, because I feared losing Leslie and Kenna if I was in charge of their care any longer.
While I wandered looking for the elusive Parmesan cheese (seriously, I think the stockers try to make it impossible to find this product- not with cheese, or salad stuff, or condiments), I noticed that the college students were equally distressed. The girls worked in packs of 4-6, effectively blocking the too-small aisles. The guys wandered around, often mumbling something about nacho cheese, then calling mom to find out where stuff might be in the store. If the guys were in groups of two or more, there was nervous laughter as each one tried to play off that they weren't nervous about not finding the sustenance they sought.
Kristin, meanwhile, hit her distress. The crush of people had gotten to her and all she wanted was to get out. When she found me, she looked like she had seen a ghost, which was possible given the chaos ensuing all around us.
As we finally escaped the store, the girls having survived with little fussing, it dawned on me how relevant the overwhelming event we had just gone through was to our duty as missionaries. All around us are people just as distressed, but we too often are so focused on our own survival that we don't see them, or we do and just don't think to feel compassion and help them. Imagine living a life where everyday is "40,000 College Students Return and Are Hungry" day, and you are overwhelmed and crushed and overlooked and lost. But instead of being able to find the Parmesan and get out, what you seek cannot be found- unless someone who knows where it is tells you. But they are too caught up in their own affairs to care.
We must wake, and realize that our trials are preparing us to help others with theirs. And sometimes, we are still going through that trial when those around us need us.
And the Parmesan is by the snack food aisle--this time.
God's sense of humor was evident on Monday.
We decided to go grocery shopping. Not really that we had a choice if we wanted to eat that day, but the timing was poor. Sunday we had helped with move in on campus, so we realized that the college students were back. We forgot that them being back meant they needed food. Apparently all of them, at the same time.
Normally Kristin goes around 6:30 a.m., largely because she does the Grocery Game and it gives her plenty of time and space to do it. For whatever reason, this day we went at 4:30 in the afternoon, and all four of us went to HEB.
Now, you need to understand that this HEB is designed in such a way that from the time you enter the parking lot until you leave you are fighting, clawing, and bleeding until you leave the parking lot- on an excellent day of shopping. The lanes are small with little directional designation, the aisles are for the first half of the store maze-like, the second half they are narrow, and the open spaces are filled with sale items and kiosks selling specialty products, and occasionally someone apparently giving cooking lessons.
This day we faced these things and what seemed like thousands of college students. The distress hit me first- I was left to find Sunny Delight with the girls ( who are in their car cart, which is slightly more difficult to steer than a forty foot bus). I never found it, and instead got into such a trance of overwhelmed-ness that when Kristin found me, she talked to me, but I heard nothing. So I then got to go look for things on my own, because I feared losing Leslie and Kenna if I was in charge of their care any longer.
While I wandered looking for the elusive Parmesan cheese (seriously, I think the stockers try to make it impossible to find this product- not with cheese, or salad stuff, or condiments), I noticed that the college students were equally distressed. The girls worked in packs of 4-6, effectively blocking the too-small aisles. The guys wandered around, often mumbling something about nacho cheese, then calling mom to find out where stuff might be in the store. If the guys were in groups of two or more, there was nervous laughter as each one tried to play off that they weren't nervous about not finding the sustenance they sought.
Kristin, meanwhile, hit her distress. The crush of people had gotten to her and all she wanted was to get out. When she found me, she looked like she had seen a ghost, which was possible given the chaos ensuing all around us.
As we finally escaped the store, the girls having survived with little fussing, it dawned on me how relevant the overwhelming event we had just gone through was to our duty as missionaries. All around us are people just as distressed, but we too often are so focused on our own survival that we don't see them, or we do and just don't think to feel compassion and help them. Imagine living a life where everyday is "40,000 College Students Return and Are Hungry" day, and you are overwhelmed and crushed and overlooked and lost. But instead of being able to find the Parmesan and get out, what you seek cannot be found- unless someone who knows where it is tells you. But they are too caught up in their own affairs to care.
We must wake, and realize that our trials are preparing us to help others with theirs. And sometimes, we are still going through that trial when those around us need us.
And the Parmesan is by the snack food aisle--this time.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Vacation Blog, Part 2
So Wednesday was the rafting day. We drove to north of Gunnison, CO to run the Taylor River. The we is Kristin, her mother, and her 77 year old Uncle Fred. And our guide was Wild Bill. We were running 3's and the water was about 45 degrees. Wild Bill informed us there were 3 commands, ALL FORWARD, ALL BACK, and TAKE A BREAK. Things went Well for the first 30 minutes, but then we had to do an ALL BACK. We thought he said FALL BACK, and so we all four leaned back, leaned back, leaned back, as he yelled louder and louder, and we drew closer and closer to a big rock. We hit the rock just after we came to our senses, and Wild Bill saved us by swing us around. When we later got an ALL BACK right, we cheered, much to the weird looks from the boat behind us.
All in all, we had a great day, and really loved rafting. Meanwhile, back at the cabin, the girls were watched by cousin Cheryl, and we were very thankful for her sacrifice. I think the girls made two trips with her to the city park.
All in all, we had a great day, and really loved rafting. Meanwhile, back at the cabin, the girls were watched by cousin Cheryl, and we were very thankful for her sacrifice. I think the girls made two trips with her to the city park.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Vacation Blog, Part 1
I figure I'll take a couple days to update on out trip to Lake City this past week.
We left Sunday after the Gate, which meant we started driving around 10 p.m. We made great time until poor Leslie gave in to sinus congestion combined with car-sick outside of Dumas, TX. We got back on track until Alamosa, CO where there was about a 45 minute trip that covered 10 miles, due to construction. Thats also when Kenna decided it was screaming fit time. We finally got to Lake City about 5 p.m. CO time. First night we just walked around town to get used to the air, and check out some stuff Kristin remembered from her childhood visits up there.
Tuesday was the day we went to Deer Lakes, a group of lakes up near the summit of Slumgullion Pass, and it was Leslie and Kenna's first fishing trip. Leslie amazed us with 20-25 foot casts, and Kenna amazed us that no one got hooked. Leslie liked it much more than Kenna, who spent her time helping me snap pictures of an overly fat chipmunk who continued to draw ever closer in hopes of catching a snack. We also saw a beaver briefly in one of the lakes, before we headed out for a drive around the Powderhorn trail. Colorado DOT drivers are not the safest, as one nearly ran us over, head-on on a one lane trail, but we made it anyway. That night, we went to the San Juan Soda Shop for ice cream, which the girls loved. Then it was off to one of the town's playgrounds, which the girls loved even more.
Next time, I'll share about the rafting trip and some other fun-ness.
We left Sunday after the Gate, which meant we started driving around 10 p.m. We made great time until poor Leslie gave in to sinus congestion combined with car-sick outside of Dumas, TX. We got back on track until Alamosa, CO where there was about a 45 minute trip that covered 10 miles, due to construction. Thats also when Kenna decided it was screaming fit time. We finally got to Lake City about 5 p.m. CO time. First night we just walked around town to get used to the air, and check out some stuff Kristin remembered from her childhood visits up there.
Tuesday was the day we went to Deer Lakes, a group of lakes up near the summit of Slumgullion Pass, and it was Leslie and Kenna's first fishing trip. Leslie amazed us with 20-25 foot casts, and Kenna amazed us that no one got hooked. Leslie liked it much more than Kenna, who spent her time helping me snap pictures of an overly fat chipmunk who continued to draw ever closer in hopes of catching a snack. We also saw a beaver briefly in one of the lakes, before we headed out for a drive around the Powderhorn trail. Colorado DOT drivers are not the safest, as one nearly ran us over, head-on on a one lane trail, but we made it anyway. That night, we went to the San Juan Soda Shop for ice cream, which the girls loved. Then it was off to one of the town's playgrounds, which the girls loved even more.
Next time, I'll share about the rafting trip and some other fun-ness.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Car Songs
I admit, I am not a big fan of kids' songs. I know, no adults are, but I don't even like church kids' songs. They are overly cutesy, and never have any hope of being heard outside the kid's class. So I love the fact that VeggieTales do actual worship songs on some of their CDs. My kids are hearing songs we might actually sing in church, like God of Wonders.
But, thats still not good enough for my kids. So I have introduced them to David Crowder and Shane and Shane.
Crowder came first, and they love his Never Let Go (not that one thats done in tons of churches, the other one). They also love the 'We won't be quiet' song. We'll often be asked to put the cd on repeat in the car, and Leslie and Kenna will wail to the songs, as Kristin and I smile with joy. They are easy, fun songs to sing, so they make pretty good kids songs.
Tonight, as we were driving home, Kristin was asked by Leslie to play the Rack, Shack, and Benny Song. I didn't think we had the VeggieTales CD, but Kristin pulled out Shane and Shane's Pages album. They wanted to sing Burn Us Up- the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. There is definitely some loud and fun singing to be done there, but what warms my heart is that both girls would sing the chorus, which is basically a call for us to be willing to die for God's glory. Yeah, they probably don't get it yet, but its never to early for them to start to learn what the call of Christ is all about.
But, thats still not good enough for my kids. So I have introduced them to David Crowder and Shane and Shane.
Crowder came first, and they love his Never Let Go (not that one thats done in tons of churches, the other one). They also love the 'We won't be quiet' song. We'll often be asked to put the cd on repeat in the car, and Leslie and Kenna will wail to the songs, as Kristin and I smile with joy. They are easy, fun songs to sing, so they make pretty good kids songs.
Tonight, as we were driving home, Kristin was asked by Leslie to play the Rack, Shack, and Benny Song. I didn't think we had the VeggieTales CD, but Kristin pulled out Shane and Shane's Pages album. They wanted to sing Burn Us Up- the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. There is definitely some loud and fun singing to be done there, but what warms my heart is that both girls would sing the chorus, which is basically a call for us to be willing to die for God's glory. Yeah, they probably don't get it yet, but its never to early for them to start to learn what the call of Christ is all about.
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