It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted an update, but this is not due to my lack of trying. I am not technologically-inclined, and this irritates me. Actually, in this particular situation, I blame the technology, not me–at least that’s my opinion on the matter (Josh says he concurs). Regardless, the bugs have supposedly been worked out, so here are the pictures from the last couple of weeks.
Yaya (my mother) has a lot of trees on her property, and many of them lose branches throughout the year. For months now, the kids have been gathering these downed branches and using them to build forts. As you can see, they are very proud of their forts.
Sprinkled in among this gallery are also some random photos of our daily life, filled with school, chores and sharing about Bible Translation with people. Aaron got a chef coat from Goodwill. Because he loves to cook, this was a pretty exciting find! And Yaya has continued to take the kids swimming at the community college. With her coaching, they have improved in style and strength. Yaya likes to put Anna’s hair up a special way for swim lessons, allowing her to see well.
Valentine’s Day is a long time family tradition and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together this year. Yummy food, good laughs, sweet notes to each other. I am so thankful for a family that knows how to show love to one another.
Asher’s birthday is the day after Valentine’s Day, and we took him bowling. He didn’t quite enjoy it as much as he had when we took Anna, whoops. But he loved his new toys, and his yummy cake and ice cream.
The kids all got their “well check” doctor’s appointments this past week. Everyone is healthy and very happy. That always does a mother’s heart good.
The older three kids had the opportunity to go to a weekend retreat at SpringHill Camp. They ate a lot of food, played hard, learned about God and grew closer to Him. They also strengthened the bonds with their friends from Trinity’s Youth Group. They all were so glad and thankful that they could, as were we. Above are some of the pictures that I got from various Facebook friends. They all had so much fun, and the only scary part was when Aaron came home and informed me that he had been wearing wet shoes and or socks for somewhere between 24-48 hours. YIKES! His feet looked so bad! But I am happy to report they are back to their normal color and he says there’s no more tingling or numbness. Sheesh, boys!
I am so thankful for technology which allows me to stay in touch with so many people. It will be wonderful to have access to video calls around the world! It will be so nice to not have to wait for months to hear from people, and such a blessing to know immediately if something of concern arises at home and vice versa. Of course, that is, when the technology is working. There are a lot of things that we take for granted with seamless communications here in America. I always just assume it will work, and when things don’t, I am quick to be irritated.
Unfortunately, this is not just my reaction with technological disruptions. When things are moving along and going according to my plan, I am happy, cheerful and upbeat. The minute things are no longer going my way, I am tempted to despair or get angry and look for someone or thing to blame so I can fix the problem (which is usually just me just trying to get my own way). Even now, this week, I came face to face with this temptation. Some disruptions caused problems, and things were not going my way, and so I got angry. God gently pointed out my issue and I found myself surprised by my strong reaction to the change in my plans and ideas. So here I was again struggling with challenges and being tempted to get frustrated. Instead, I felt God calling me to pray in faith and to lean on Him. His way is better, He is in control, and I can trust Him completely. Praise the Lord!
Here is a song that I listened to this morning which the Spirit comforted me with. I find it wonderful that He always knows what we need: