mid-morning madness

As it so happens, creativity in the form of written thought springs itself on me every once in a while. Typically this occurs between 0200 and 0530, unfortunately. Also unfortunate is that while the thoughts I write down at these times make perfect sense to me at these moments, I rarely save the writings long enough to go back when I'm fully awake to see whether I'm actually, genuinely creative, or if it's just my poor, tired brain attempting to give me a hint that it's time to shut off the lights and slip into bed.

So I'm going to try a little experiment here. Hope you don't mind. I am going to copy down, word for silly word, what I scribbled into a notebook not half an hour ago. If this post suddenly disappears in a week or two or so, it's only because I will have realized making a copy of my written thoughts wasn't such a bright idea... :)

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What a time of stiffling - stifling - stiff-people talk.
What a time of strife and intellectual starvation and stupor.
What a place to exist, to exasperate, to extinguish little lives.
And
what a season in which to be living, working, playing, learning here.

BUT WHY SO?

How can we have fallen to days of tedious, tiresome, toilsome trouble?
How can we sting with words, shoot classmates, stab others' hearts?
How can we determine probability of life-worth, profitability of an unborn person,
decide with life-ending power their chance at life
In this world where we live and work and play and learn?

I AM NO BETTER.

Living in such shame, sorrow, scarcity of sincerity.
Working for me, for my desires, in mediocrity, from my own motivations.
Play consisting of pointless pleasures resulting in pain
and absence of peace.
Learning because I can, studying because I must, applying to life when convenient.

I AM NO BETTER THAN THIS WORLD.

No better, except for one simply, complicatedly beautiful thing:

DEATH.

Through one death a gift was created, crafted; catapulted into my life in the form of a choice.
Through that death, life beyond existing - beyond extinguishing other lives - became a possibility.
Through this lovely death chaos, confusion, and calamity are crushed.
Through joining in this death, my living-death has lifted and lead to living-life.

AND SO,

I have died to that life;
Therefore when I live out the world's life - my old form of living - I am as a ghost of my real, living self.
Productivity perishes.
Ministry diminishes.
My soul suffers.

I have died to that life;
Therefore I may only truly live within the bounds of the Life-Giver's life.
Grace grows.
My testimony is triumphant.
Death again dies.

Tea

Tea has been my hot drink of choice since I was 12. My voice teacher had recommended I drink it with honey mixed in when I had a sore throat, and I really learned to love it! In my family, I am the only tea drinker, though Dad will have a cup occasionally (he religiously has at least a cup or two of strong coffee every day), and I have managed a handful of times to talk Mom into having some echinacea tea when she's sick, or a more palatable flavor for a scratchy throat. Chaela detests tea, saying it tastes too much like leaves. (Yes, she knows why.)

Outside of my family, I have met many avid tea drinkers, and have enjoyed sipping mint (my favorite!) or whatever they recommend to me while visiting. I've discovered that a warm mug and aromatic drink can spark interesting conversations, ranging from topics such as the BBC TV show, Doctor Who (I still haven't gotten to see "The Day of the Doctor"!) and the best places to travel, to a two-hour-long conversation about personal salvation testimonies and witnessing.

Most recently, I have had the enjoyment of serving tea to our new landlord and getting to listen to him talk about all the interesting people he has met and worked with (including Mother Theresa!). The other wonderful time I had over tea within the last week or so was with one of our friends who helped us with this move, Jonathon. He and I met up to chat and catch up at a tea shop not too far from home, where I got to try a chai blend I'd never tasted before while discussing C.S. Lewis, Lord of the Rings, teaching at my old homeschool group (more on that later, probably), and how God has worked in our lives. I hadn't meant to stay too long since I knew Mom would want my help at home with organizing and cleaning things, but before I knew it, the clock near told me I'd been nursing my tea-burnt tongue and talking for nearly three hours!



Maybe it's because I like tea so much, but I have always liked Eleanor Roosevelt's little saying,

"A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water."

Anyway, it seems to fit how this year has panned out pretty nicely. Well, at least I hope it fits in a good way. Since this time last year, my family and/or I have been through so much - getting to take care of Gavin, then giving him back to my aunt; church hunting yet again; Jon taking me to Iowa with him over spring break; Dad's deployment; tons of house-hunting and house-showings; a best friend's wedding and all the fun and craziness that goes with that; school complications; Jon's and my breakup; balancing school, somewhat excessive travel, and a job; giving my two weeks' notice to said job's boss in part because of travel issues; moving; volunteering and working with my aunt at her school for three weeks; and so on it goes.

This is not to say that this year hasn't had it's wonderful moments of pleasure and excitement and wonder! Please don't believe I mean that by any means! In fact, I do believe this year has held some of the most beautiful moments of my life yet. I have loved more deeply, trusted God more fully, learned bigger lessons, more firmly cemented dear friendships, grown closer to my parents and sister and two or three friends, learned more about my marvelous Papa God, and shared some of the best tea ;) with some of the most interesting people yet!

And I do thank God for both ends of this year, for both the pretty and unattractive parts. I hope I have shown my strength, and that my strength is good because of Him who IS MY STRENGTH, and that He will continue strengthening me.

Moving In

Mom, Chaela, and I are getting settled into our new house, and I am very pleased to say that it is quickly becoming our HOME. Funny, how any set of walls and windows and a roof may offer shelter and comfort to a person, but until there is a sense of familiarity and a touch of love, it remains a house only. Of course, my home is and will continue to be incomplete until Dad is present, but it is a nice, reassuring feeling to know this is the place God has us for the present.

I've gotten to greet a few neighbors already, though I haven't met anyone yet. While I do miss living in the woods, with the fresh scent of pine and plenty of open space, I did miss the opportunities that I have now to call across the street just to say hi. (In our old neighborhood I had to go for a walk just to see people face-to-face, and wold have needed a megaphone to say good morning from our garage!)

We have been wonderfully blessed by a number of friends from our TKD dojang and a friend I met while taking classes at our homeschool group in my senior year of high school. God is so good to provide help for us through them! We did have Two Guys and a Truck (or in our case, four guys and two trucks) move some of our things, but the bulk was transferred from house to house in Mom's van, Chaela's car, my CRV, and our friends' vehicles. Thankfully the two houses are only about seven miles apart!

As for my own space, I do need to do a lot of work still before it will really feel like MY space, but it's coming along. Speaking of, I ought to go take care of some things before bed. :)

At that, good night, all!

Here we go again! (Pt. 3)

We're well underway in our move from the Black Forest part of Colorado Springs to a more normal suburb-type neighborhood. So many friends have been over to help, whether for an hour or two, or for an entire day! Just today we took four full carloads from one house to the other and got all the boxes and everything into the rooms where they belong.

Tomorrow morning friends will be here once more to help us with last-minute preparations for the pro movers we've hired to get the tricky things that are too heavy or bulky or whatever to move on our own. Speaking of which, I ought to finish up clearing the we're-moving-clutter in my room....

My Sister or My Friend?

[I rediscovered this little journal-like writing in a Gmail Document titled "Short Stories" that I wrote sometime in 2009, and figured I'd post it now. The girl I talk about here, Sarah, just so happens to be on my mind right now, as I found out earlier that she just got engaged today! Also, you can tell this is from a while ago primarily because I refer to Chaela as Kayla .]
______________________________________________


Two summers ago, I met a girl named Sarah. Sarah is about a year and a half younger than me, loves the LORD, and is overall the kind of person everyone loves being around. She and I became friends practically overnight, which is such a blessing! Anyway, that summer I met her, people who saw us together at the summer camp we both went to kept asking if we were sisters (or at least related in some close way). This happened so often that we finally agreed to just say we really were sisters, just for fun. I personally don't think she and I look anything alike (except for our eyes, maybe), as she has blond hair and is tall and thin, and I have light brown hair, and though I'm tall, I'm bigger boned. Well, we both came to the conclusion that people probably assumed we were sisters because we were nearly always with each other, and we were obviously pretty close.

Thirteen summers ago, I met a girl named Michaela Joy. Michaela is three years younger than me, loves the LORD, and loves to make people laugh. Everyone loves being around her. I can't remember a time when Michaela and I weren't friends, really. Of course, in all the time I've known her, we've had our arguments and squabbles, as well as an occasional outburst. But overall, we're pretty close. People tend to have one of two totally opposite reactions when they see us together: on the one hand, you have those who say that we look nothing alike (though upon closer inspection, say we do have the same nose =P ), then on the other hand there are those who insist we look like twins. Now, Michaela and I both emphatically agree that we look nothing like twins. We just look like sisters... because we are. =)

Now, I have to tell you, Kayla (Michaela) and I have grown even closer since the time that we met Sarah. We've always been closer than the average siblings, which I think is mainly due to the fact that we move on average every one and a half to two years, as well as the fact that we have two excellent parents who have worked with us and taught us to get along together. Unfortunately, though, at the time that I met Sarah, Kayla and I had grown apart quite a bit. I blame myself; a couple of friends that I had were extremely unloving in their words and actions toward their younger siblings, and that attitude had rubbed off on me to the point that I would allow myself to get easily aggravated and annoyed at Michaela. I would speak sarcastically and often rudely to her, and boss her around (often even more than is normal coming from an older sister). Looking back, I'm ashamed at my behavior, and I can't believe the bad example I was setting for my sister.

Back to Sarah. While up at the summer camp, after we'd decided on being "adopted" sisters, I began to think about the total difference in my behavior to Sarah and Kayla. Yes, it was good that I was treating Sarah like my best friend, and - as I put it even then - like my sister. But how did I treat my REAL sister? I treated her like a little girl who might get in my way, like someone I didn't want to be around, and definitely not the way I should be treating a sister. How sad is that? Fortunately, God used Sarah to show me how I needed to be toward Michaela, and through patience, hard work, lots of mistakes, and a TON of prayer, Kayla and I are back to being best friends; we're even closer than before!

This summer, I got to go to the summer camp ahead of my family, and Sarah and one of her brothers got to do the same. I'm thankful for the time I got to spend with my "sister," but I was overjoyed when, two weeks later, the rest of my family joined me, and I could renew my long chats with my sister. Now, Kayla and I still argue occasionally, but we're usually able to get over those silly little things that we're usually getting upset about.

I pray that God will continue working in and through me, so that I may become the best big sister I can possibly be to Michaela....

[ The photos used in this blog were taken just before Dad deployed by a sweet lady from a company that does photoshoots for military families - for free, as a thank-you to those who serve our country.  What a blessing! ]

Here we go again! (Pt. 2)

Well, looks like the time we've been given in our current house is coming to an end.

We've been renting, and our landlords alerted us this summer of their intent to sell the house (as they were struggling to afford it, even with our rent). Since then, we have prepared the house for showings numerous times - often with less than 24 hours' notice and a few time while we were out of state!

As of today, though, a buyer was finally found.

While we have not yet found the next house to move into, I'm pretty excited knowing that God knows perfectly well where He'll this mini-transplant will land us.

When Mom told me all this over the phone earlier (I'm halfway through my volunteering visit in southern Utah right now), I admit my first thought was along the lines of, "well...there's my prayer request for church tonight. Great." Mom, on the other hand, exuded an attitude of "what a praise! We don't have the burden of having the house ready to show at a moments notice... We don't have to live in suspense of when a buyer will be found any longer... God has a new setting for us coming up!"

On that note, I am so thankful for everything Mom has been doing and is continuing to do with all this craziness that has been our life for the past 12+ months. I pray my attitude will more rightly mirror hers, and that it thereby will be more honoring to the God who hasn't stopped being in control of it all yet, and will never do so. :)

Recipe: Frozen Fruit Smoothie

HOW WE DISCOVERED THIS SWEET TREAT:
While on Kauai, Mom, Chaela, and I visited a fruit stand sort of place (Maloa'a Sunrise, on the north end of the island). We liked what we had so much that we ended up taking Dad once he got to Kauai, and went three times in all! What drew me? Their delicious fruit smoothies. The ingredients? Fruit, plain and simple. I can't recall precisely what fruit was used in the two different smoothies I tried there, but after our first visit we made a beeline to a nearby grocery store for fruit to make our own smoothies.

SHOPPING LIST:
- bag of frozen blueberries
- two-three bananas, ripe to preference
- one fresh pineapple

WHAT I DID:
- As soon as we got to our condo, I peeled and sliced up the bananas, cut the pineapple into smallish chunks, put the banana and pineapple into Freezer Ziplock baggies, and put all the fruit in the freezer.
- The next morning I let the banana and pineapple slices sit out to thaw a bit. I didn't want them to soften all the way; I just wanted them to be soft enough to mix in the blender.
- I blended the blueberries first - not down to a pulp, but just enough to act as a juice for the other fruit - then added the rest to make this delicious concoction.
- Okay, I've tried the smoothie both ways; you pick which you like better... You either can mix everything into a SMOOTH smoothie, or stop just short of that, leaving sweet little chunks of pineapple throughout the smoothie. :)
- I don't know if this particular recipe keeps very well at all in the fridge or freezer, as every time I've made it over here, it all gets devoured before it can melt!


Now, go try the smoothie. Don't add sugar or nastiness or even milk or yogurt or ice or ANYTHING but naturally sweet, perfectly delectable fruit! :D

Kawai, Hawaii

Aloha! Mom, Chaela, and I are on the Garden Island right now! Hopefully Dad will be able to make it out here by Tuesday (he was supposed to arrive in Kawai tomorrow evening, but the plane to take him to Kuwait broke down and things didn't get smoothed out in time to make his other connections).

Anyway, I'll update more when I can, but right now we're about to head out the door to go exploring and find a beach or two to relax on!

Hope you're having a beautiful fall day!

-Danielle [Kaniel]

Trivia time!

So Alison (one of the crazy-fabulous people I get to work with) and I have been testing each other to see how much Adventures in Odyssey trivia we know. ...We both know quite a bit, in fact. Well, I'm curious to see how many others have some trivia questions of their own! Go ahead and post any you think of in the comment area. :D

While you're racking your brain for creative questions, here are a few for you to try:

- While Whit's invention, the Strataflyer, is ONLY in the video series of Adventures in Odyssey, it happens to be alluded to in at least one radio episode (that I'm aware of). Which episode is that?

- Who is Boswell, and what other characters is he connected with?

- In the episode where Jimmy Barclay is in a coma, what is the common theme in names of the different vehicles/vessels he finds himself in?

(I'll post the answers in a day or two.)

I hope you're having a great day! :)

Thoughts

A lot has been on my mind lately:

Dad and his deployment - how hard it is, but how wonderful it is for the four of us to get to FaceTime so often...

Mom and her illnesses and having to deal with the complications and effects of celiac, and how well she's handling managing these things on top of house-hunting (although that isn't too urgent, I think) and Chaela's schoolwork and everything else she does...

Chaela and -- well, she has a lot going on in her life and in her heart, but we haven't really talked much about it at all lately, which fact is another thing on my mind...

Jon. Goodness. I don't know what I'm thinking there, really, except that I hope and pray he is doing alright after our breakup three weeks ago; praying that we'll one day maybe be able to honestly be friends like we were on the early end of last summer; thankful for the time God gave us to be together and learn from one another...

School and how embarrassingly slow I have been in completing everything thus far, and how overwhelmed I feel by the bulk of what's left...

My future (both immediate and far-off) in all its looming uncertainty and possibilities; I have never wanted and still do not want to have to pursue a career of any sort, even if it's something as appealing to me as working with and teaching children, but it looks like that's just what I need to begin considering seriously.

How wonderful that I have a Best Friend who knows how all this mess will turn out and has my best interest at heart! I sincerely want to be in the perfect center of God's will, but right at this moment I'm struggling to see even a glimmer of hope of knowing what that is....

Needless to say, I sure would appreciate prayer that I would seek God's will with my whole heart without reserve in any area, and that I would have a joyful spirit through it all! Thank you. :)


*NOTE (8/29/13)
Last night Chaela listened to me as I related most of what I said here and more. She is definitely among the best sisters in the history of ever! She helped me by letting me sort through things by saying them aloud as well as by offering advice.
Anyway, I'm feeling significantly better and feel like I've been given a glimpse of where my next first step should be....

Delightful Day in Denver

I had yesterday off from work at Whit's End, so Mom decided to kidnap me away to an undisclosed location for a day out -- just the two of us! We arrived after an hour's drive at the Denver Art Museum... YAY! I haven't been to an art museum since we were in Maryland; it's been a while! Needless to say, I really enjoyed the day. :D

This art was crocheted! I was really impressed since I honestly thought it was constructed from actual coral from a distance.

[ flattened metal bottle caps ]

[ ...thousands of them! ]

This was interesting... the floor, walls, and everything was made of some soft material and filled with styropfoam-type stuff! I kept tripping in it. :P

"Leg and Armchairs"

Mom and I went for a short walk across the street from the museum. The flowers were so lovely, and so prettily arranged!

We knew I was going to have a coaching call that afternoon, so Mom had nixed a couple of her original day-out ideas that would have taken us into the mountains and their fabulous "no service" zones. Glad she thought that through, because my coach and I had a great call! (I sure enjoyed being out on the grass rather than at my desk, in front of my computer, for a change.)

Our next stop was at The Polish Pottery Outlet -- Mom's new favorite place to go! I suppose it's a good thing the place is an hour away from home... ;)

We found three pretty mugs to add to our collection. Now we can finally stop having guests use our old faded mugs - woohoo! Mom also found a pretty butter dish to keep on her gluten-free counter space, since the regular butter dish's butter is always contaminated.

After the Polish pottery shopping, Mom took me to an early dinner at Chili's. (P.S. Their blackberry iced tea is delicious! Mom loved their watermelon lemonade as well.)

Mama and I split a salmon and chicken dish (finally, a perfect serving size)...

Yep. It was good!

Okay, so this is at home, not in Denver. But it was definitely a part of the day's fun! I made caramel popcorn for the first time ever -- including the homemade caramel. :D It sure tastes good, though I want to find a lighter caramel recipe...

Craft Time!

So I've had these glass soda bottles sitting around with my craft stuff for a couple years now. Mom and I finally got around to having some fun with them! We used a "recipe" she found - on Pinterest, I think - for tinting/painting the glass. I think it worked out pretty well! I can't wait to go for a walk to gather up some pretty wildflowers to add the finishing touch to these lovelies. :)

"the worst fire Colorado has ever seen"

Right now I'm at Whit's End Soda Shoppe at Focus on the Family off Briargate near Voyager in Colorado Springs, for any of you watching maps of the fire.  In other words, still safe, praise God.  :)  Mom, Chaela, and I stayed in a hotel last night and will be staying on the Academy tonight, and I'm praying the air will remain rather clear of smoke for Mom (respiratory problems) and Chaela (asthma).

I still cannot find a listing of our house, whether safe, damaged, or gone.  We'll keep checking.  All other houses on my street are currently (as far as I can find) still untouched, but of course that can change in an instant.

Prayer for rain and less intense winds would be greatly appreciated!!  We've got thunder storms in the forecast, but with the intense heat from the fires, it's predicted that the rain will evaporate before nearing the ground and we're more likely than not to get heat lightening.

Will update again when I can!


                                                         God is good, all the time.

fire

In case you didn't see my post on G+ or Facebook, I thought I'd leave it here as well...  I will do my best to update with key news when I can.

Please be in prayer for all those being affected by both the Black Forest and Royal Gorge fires, as well as for those fighting them!! Mom, Chaela, and I are safe and are staying with some good friends who have graciously opened their home to us for however long we need til we can return home, as our neighborhood is one of the Black Forest ones that was evacuated. We are so blessed! Mom and I were both out when we saw the horrendous cloud of thick, gray-black smoke in the sky and called Chaela to begin getting certain essentials and valuables together; we three were blessed to have a couple hours' preparation before the evacuation was even announced, and had all three of our vehicles packed up and ready to go in good time.

God is good all the time, even in disasters. I pray He will be glorified through this!

Bragging a Bit

My friend Gabriella and I had a long trip back to Colorado Springs this weekend, after an extended stay in Texas for our best friend's wedding.  (More on the wedding later!)  Long story short, our ETA moved rapidly from Sunday evening to Sunday night after a delay on one flight, then from Sunday night to Monday morning after our last flight was cancelled.  (To their credit, United payed for our hotel stay and meals and except for the fact we both had to get to work Monday morning, Gab and I had a blast!)  Anyway, when we arrived at long last in the familiar little Colorado Springs airport, a girl near me asked where I was headed.  I was a bit sleepy and the only thing, the one solitary word that came to mind was "home."

Isn't that a good word?  Really.  Say it out loud.  Say it as if you've been wandering and rushing about with strangers for a whole 24 hours after a week of crazy fun out of town and now all that's holding you from reaching that warm, inviting, special place is your checked luggage and a car ride.  It's a perfect word, I think.

But there's a word I like much better.  I have heard of the tragedy that is reality for some people, that when God is called their Father, they dislike Him a bit because of the poor example their earthly fathers have set.  I will say now that the rest of this post is operating on my personal experiences and understanding of the word "mom."  There, the preamble is over.  On to the bragging.  :)

You were so gracious to participate with me before; please do it once again!  Say "mom."  Say "mama" or "mum" or whatever you prefer to call your mom.  I think this word is among the most pleasant words I know and commonly use.  It is precious and sweet to me because it isn't just a title, it is the name of the woman who gave me life, loves me unconditionally, serves my family tirelessly in whatever way she can, sets an example for Michaela and me as well as others, and has taught or helped to teach me just about everything I know.

I would like to elaborate on a point I briefly brushed over in my last post.  I mentioned there that Mom is "always the one to do online research for cars and houses and things," but that hardly does her justice.  Every single time we have prepared to move into a new house, we all have our own tasks.  Chaela and I mostly stick to packing/unpacking boxes and helping with old house cleanup and new house setup.  Dad does all or most of the heavy lifting, naturally, in addition to packing and dealing with the garage.  Mom?  She has her hand in pretty much everything, but before any of our particular jobs even need to be started, she spends hours upon hours poring over MilitaryByOwner and other such sites, looking for just the right house to rent/buy.  It isn't an easy task by any means.  To be perfectly honest, I typically steer clear of the office altogether and beg not to be shown yet another maybe-this-is-the-right-one house, for fear I'll just get them all confused.  I still don't understand how she can keep all the information and exterior/interior pictures straight in her head!  That's got to be something close to a superpower.

I could go on for a novel and a half about all Mom does (trust me, I just deleted two full paragraphs so you won't be too overwhelmed to even glance at this post!) but let me just leave it at this for now.  My mom is truly astounding and I respect how well she is handling this house hunting on top of Dad being deployed on top of everything she deals with on a relentless, daily basis.

Thank you for reading this.  I mean come on, if no one does then what's the use of bragging?


[ The photo used in this blog post was taken just before Dad deployed by a lady in a company that does photoshoots for military families - for free, as a thank-you to those who serve our country.  What a blessing! ]

Here we go again!

Well, we aren't PCSing quite yet, but Mom was just informed that we'll need to find a new house once more as our current landlords would like to sell this one we've been blessed to live in these last 10-11 months or so.  God has been so good to us in leading Mom and Dad here; we've enjoyed the space to host many people and parties, a gorgeous view, a peaceful and pretty convenient location, and special things we never would have looked for (hot tub, steam room, mini theater, extra guest room, etc.).

I know these next few months will be potentially trying for Mom as she begins her search for our fourth home here in the Springs, especially since Dad isn't here to help her.  She's always the one to do online research for cars and houses and things (she rather enjoys it!), but I know my family and I would certainly appreciate prayer for her to find a perfect new house quickly, so to lessen any stress.

We'll be looking again for a place with as few stairs as possible, no cats allowed (hey! maybe now Chaela will finally get a chance to have a dog!), a place that's realistically near Peterson AFB and even more importantly near USAFA, near school and at least one of the TKD dojongs for Chaela, and well within our housing allowance.  I know God will provide -- it's just the time between now and finding our new home that's going to be especially hectic, I think.

When Mama told me just a few minutes ago that we'll have to move again, she joked that it's too bad we have to leave this house with its magnificent yard and its potential as a wonderful wedding reception spot.  ;) Hey, at least now we won't have to deal with the disgusting and under-cared for septic system, right?  (Eeeeeww!)

Anyway, there's one of the many new happenings from here in the Sadlo household.  Thanks for reading!

Dad's Deployment

Well, it's been almost a week and we're holding up really well, I think.  Of course, there was Mom's broken tooth on day 1, the septic system guy's visit on day 2, a broken and spouting sprinkler head on day 3, and our credit card stolen (how in the world did it get to Pennsylvania??) on day 4.  Mom and I are just laughing about it, though, and joking that we could write a novel called something like 365 Days of Insanity: Of Tom's Deployment and Deb's Institutionalization.  What do you think?  :D


Anyway, there you go!  Just so you know, I'm probably not going to do too many updates on this because of OPSEC (Operation Security), and if I do, please do NOT say anything in comments concerning Dad's rank or location (if, for some reason, I've sent you his address).  Thanks!


[ The photo used in this blog post was taken just before Dad deployed by a lady in a company that does photoshoots for military families - for free, as a thank-you to those who serve our country.  What a blessing! ]

Update on Gavin / Prayer Request

It looks like things are going to be picking up again concerning my now 4 1/2 -month-old cousin, Gavin.  To keep things simple, here's what Mom just posted on Facebook:

_______________________________________________

"Dear friends & family,

Thank you all for the prayers & love poured out for Jessilyn & Gavin in the past months.  

Today Ron, Jessilyn's dad/my biological father, called hoping we had Gavin again or knew where he is.  Since Jessilyn got out of jail mid-March, she's been in touch with her other two children whom Ron & his wife, Deb, have had guardianship over for a few years.  Jess hasn't contacted them since April 3 so Ron made some calls & found Jess violated her parole & has been back in jail since April 3.  I've contacted the couple friends of Jessilyn that I have contact info for & am waiting to hear back from one.  We believe that if Jessilyn had Gavin when she was picked up on April 3, Gavin may have been placed in Utah's foster care system.  

We are praying that though it seems impossible, God would open doors for us to at least take care of Gavin, adopt him, if that's what's best for Gavin & is God's will.  Most of all, we are praying for Gavin's safety & for Jessilyn to turn to God for salvation.  Our Christian lawyer/friend talked with a judge in UT; since Gavin's a UT resident & we aren't, our hands are tied at this point.  Hopefully the fact Jess asked us to care for Gavin for the months she was in jail & gave us power of attorney will help.  With God ALL things are possible!  We desire His perfect will above all.

Please pray with us for Gavin & Jessilyn.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

Deb"

Spring Break

I have enjoyed such a great week!  Jon brought me with him to Iowa for his spring break, and I have gotten to spend some time getting to know his parents and sister a bit better.  I also got to meet his grandparents (his dad's parents) and people he knew from high school, hear him speak at his high school's Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), and drive around town with him to see where he grew up.  (Too bad I can't show him everywhere I've grown up in a day's drive!)  We also took a special trip to the mall - possibly more on that later on.  ;)

Jon's sister, Katie, took me out for lunch the other morning and we had a nice conversation, just the two of us.  The day before that, she, Pam (Jon's mom), and I had some girl time while we got our nails done, got Easter things together for Jon and Katie's cousins who will be visiting over the weekend, and watched a movie.

I'm really glad I could come out here and have this time with Jon and his family, both separately and individually.  Trying not to be miffed that he gets so much time with my family, being conveniently nearby!  Anyway, I'm sure looking forward to seeing them again. 

P.S.  HAPPY EASTER  ~  HE IS RISEN!

Quick note...

This (Saturday) morning my family, Jon, and I took Gavin to the Colorado Springs airport to meet up with his mom, my Aunt Jessilyn.  Everything went really smoothly and we were all very happy and somewhat relieved to see Gavin willingly go to his mommy with a smile.  Remember, he hadn't seen her since he was two weeks old!  It's been almost four months.  Anyway, as far as I know, they had a good, short flight home to Utah and so far all is good.

Naturally my family and I miss that darling baby boy, as do all who met him in the time God had him with us! Fortunately for Mom, we were given a generous heads up about when Aunt Jess was coming to get him, so she - well, we all, but most importantly she - had time to get used to the idea.  Mom and Dad have always loved caring for children when any sort of opportunity presents itself.  Mom is particularly susceptible to attaching to these children, so lots of prayer for her comfort during these next couple weeks is definitely appreciated....

Thanks!

What do you think? [ hairstyle ideas ]

In my last post I mentioned that I'll be asking advice from the lady who cuts my hair concerning updos for both my friend's wedding (in June) and for the Ring Dance (in May).  But before I do that, I'd love YOUR opinion!  Below are the styles I like that I think could work pretty well in my hair.

When I came out in the dress I got for the Ring Dance, one of the ladies there gasped and said I looked like a lovely Greek, if only I could fin the right hairstyle to go with the dress.  Of course I just laughed initially, but the idea did stick in my mind and I looked up Greek-inspired styles.  I love have a braid or two somewhere in most updos I do on myself, and I have so much hair some sort of bun is very doable!

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(I like the braid/top part of this style, though the rolled hair underneath would be far more full with my elbow-length, thick hair.)

(I like the overall look of this, though I know it wouldn't be quite as defined since my hair has become such a dark brown, even if I do remember to redo my light brown/dark blonde highlights...)

(I simply LOVE this one!  I don't know how great it would be from the front though, which ought to be taken into account for photos.)

(I like the uniqueness of this style - a French braided fishtail braid into a bun.  My main concern with this is that fishtail braids never seem to turn out quite right in my hair.  ...Of course it might help if someone who knows what they're doing did it!)

(Imagine this without the accessory.  I like the idea of doing a double braid on top like this.)

(Jon really likes my hair down, so I think it would be nice to have a style that lets the length show while still keeping it classy and contained from the inevitably strong winds that torment girls with long hair who dare visit the Academy with it down.  ...Not that I have ever done that, of course.)

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Any of the styles above are okay for the wedding, except the last one, since I think my hair would be better all the way up with the bridesmaid dress I'm wearing.  Just a note.  :)  Thanks for your input!