Sunday, March 27, 2016

#HolyLens Week 7

Monday- March 21- Wait

Husband and I spent the evening planning his June sabbatical.  He decided during the conversation that we absolutely should not take another placement before the end of June, because he won't be able to accomplish what he needs to do for ordination if we have new foster kids while he's on sabbatical.  I feel good about that decision: it will give us a full six months to recover and regroup after the end of our first placement, and it will allow him the time he needs to both relax and get significant work done on his ordination paper.  We've made a decision to wait.

Secretly, I also really hope we don't get any calls before then.  It is always hard for me to say no, even when it's a bad fit.

Sunday- March 27- Rise

Happy Easter!  Husband and Z rose early to go to a sunrise service at Lake Michigan.  I hear it was lovely.  I celebrated by staying in bed with my littler littles.

I'm going to be straight up honest that I failed at the last week of this Holy Lens project.  I remember that there was something I was going to write about Wednesday night, but my parents were in town, so I didn't, and then I completely forgot to revisit the blog for the rest of the week.  *sad trombone noise*

It is, however, Easter, so I'm going to release myself from going back and revisiting the words for the week.   Blessings!




Sunday, March 20, 2016

#HolyLens Week 6

Monday- March 14- Rest

I am enjoying a season of rest.  A season where there are just enough kids to cuddle all of them while reading together.  I know we'll get another placement, and life will disintegrate into chaos again.  And even if we didn't, not every season is as calm and lovely as this one has been.  But, my goodness, I am enjoying this.



Tuesday- March 15- Cry

This morning L and I were looking at the photo album from last spring.  I realized later that I hadn't pulled pictures off of Husband's phone since last September, so I went through his camera roll in the brief lull after dinner.  I can't post pictures of B and G here, but seeing the difference in G between the beginning and the end of her stay here was so touching.  I was in tears looking at the pictures of her laughing with V and Z after Thanksgiving dinner.

Wednesday- March 16- Free

Z slept poorly last night and begged to be allowed to stay home from school today so that he could take a nap.  That child hates naps, so if he's asking for one, you know it's serious business.  I'm so blessed that I don't have to work for a paycheck, so I was free to say Yes.  We relaxed and read books, and Z took more than a 2 hour nap.

Friday- March 18- Call

At the Church Easter egg hunt, there was a plate of "Vegan Deviled Eggs." They looked a bit like deviled eggs, but were obviously Yukon gold potatoes halved and partially scooped out. They were topped with paprika and chives, but the yellowish colored filling was a mystery. 2.5 hours into the 3 hour event, none had been eaten. I tried one and reported to the woman running the kitchen that they were actually filled with humus. She relabeled them "Humus stuffed Potatoes" and in the last 30 minutes, half of them disappeared. The moral of the story is twofold. 1) Nobody thinks "Vegan" sounds delicious. 2) If you call the food what it IS, people are more likely to eat it than if you call it what it ISN'T.

Saturday- March 19- House

Friday night we went to see the circus.  Husband was performing as a juggler, the culmination of three months of practicing both juggling and unicycle.  The big kids had a wonderful time.  L liked the first act, anyway, although he ran out of patience for the second.





Husband had two circus performances today, the last two of the four this week.  His best performance was the matinee show, where he caught all of his juggling tricks in both acts.  For the evening show, a huge crowd of people turned out in support of him.  People from church, the leadership of the Hispanic congregation that meets at our church, his sister and a coworker, and some youth group students, all there to cheer my husband on.  I stayed at the house to take care of our tired kids, who needed to recover from their late night on Friday.

I'm proud of this man's hard work.  I'm really glad he had a wonderful time.  I'm also profoundly grateful for the supportive community around us who came out to watch his thirty seconds in the spotlight.



I made his Imperial Officer costume, by the way, for the Star Wars themed juggling act.  What do you think?


Sunday, March 13, 2016

#HolyLens Week 5

Sunday- March 6- Taste

Menu for the week:
Sunday, Leftover Buffet.
Monday, Pork and broccoli stir fry, brown rice
Tuesday, Spinach Fritatta, bread, roasted cauliflower, ginger pickled carrots.
Wednesday, Quesadillas, guacamole, refried beans, salsa.
Thursday, Tuna noodle casserole from scratch with a lot of veggies.
Friday, Burgers, buns, Asian coleslaw, roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Saturday, Chili, brown rice.

Tuesday- March 8- Walk

The weather was glorious today, and I was watching E, the child of a good friend, so we spent a good chunk of the morning at the playground.  Walking there and back was funny, because E was only happy riding in her stroller for about 10 seconds, and then she wanted to get out and walk.  However, after 10 seconds of walking, she would decide she wanted to ride again.  We made it the 2 blocks there and the two blocks home stopping every 10 seconds to rearrange seating.


Thursday- March 10- People

My people, enjoying the weather.


Friday - March 13- Sent

Husband was supposed to leave work a little early and pick up his sister to come here for dinner on the way home.  Traffic delayed my sister-in-law by an hour, though, so I ended up grilling our burgers on my own, which I had never done before.  Z had an amazing week at school, and we had promised him a family outing to Dairy Queen as a reward.  Unfortunately, by the time I made, ate, and cleaned up dinner, I was in no mood for anything.  So I sent the family out to DQ, and I stayed home to read a book.  They came back with their ice cream, and even brought some for me.

Saturday- March 12- Rescue

"Mommy!  Mommy!!  HELP!!"  I rescued them by tickling Daddy.



Sunday, March 6, 2016

#HolyLens Week 4

Sunday- February 28- Fruit
Grocery shopping today I bought Anjou pears, mandarin oranges, mangos, Braeburn apples, parsley, cilantro, celery, carrots, peppers, cauliflower, avocados, butternut squash, cucumbers, zucchini, ginger, lemons, and mushrooms in quantities to feed my 5 person family more than generously.  What a bounty!  All for less than $35.  I am so blessed.

Tuesday- March 1- Remember
Today is Boy's 2nd birthday.  My family is remembering him today.  V has been coloring pictures for Boy and Girl since Sunday, and talking about her good memories of their time living in our home.

Wednesday- March 2- Father
I'm not sure why I so seldom photograph my parents.  Typically, they come down from Wisconsin about twice a month and stay overnight.  They bring dinner for all of us and leave before the kids take their naps the next day.

During today's visit, Grandma gave us a quilt show featuring her handcrafted quilts.  You can see my father reading to V on the couch behind her as she unloads her boxes of beautiful creations.  It is such a pleasure to have my parents so deeply involved in my children's lives.



Thursday- March 3- Hear
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Friday- March 4- Love
There are so many ways to demonstrate love to the hurting children involved in the foster care system, to their parents, and to their foster families.  If you've got a heart to help, you don't have to be a foster parent yourself.  Here's a list of 101 practical ways you can show love Christ's love to people involved in foster care.