Am I Getting Old?

As much as I hate to admit it, or even think about it, I must be getting old. 

I never really thought it would happen. Two milestones this week, however,  reconfirm the passage of time in my life....

Nick started college.

and Ben turned 18.

And so I ask myself, just how can that be? Wasn't it just yesterday that Carl drove us home from the hospital in our first  (of many) minivans with our newborn son strapped into his carseat? Didn't Carl just drop off Nick for his first day of school?

Where did the last 18 years go?

I miss those early years, but I am proud of the young men my sons are becoming.

Happy 18th birthday, Ben!

Congratulations on passing the very difficult written and driving scooter test!

And So It Begins

One week down.

Thirty-five more to go!

The first day came and went. And, yes, once again I survived.

The first day of school kinda reminds me of childbirth. It's arrival is greatly anticipated. I prepare, prepare, prepare. And yet no matter how ready I think I am, I am never totally completely ready.

I also tend to forget from year to year how hard it is to have these "newborn"second graders. They are unknown and unknowing. Who listens well? Who can follow instructions? Will they understand my particular sense-of-humor?

They have to be walked through every step of the day. They are a blank canvas when it comes to my classroom. 

And just like childbirth, the first couple days of a new school year are EXHAUSTING! Twice last week I was out cold by 8:30pm! In due accordance, my body was ready to start the next day at 4am!

Carl enjoys reminding me that every new school year for the first month of school I moan "this is the worst class I have ever had". Then somewhere mid September I begin bragging they are the best. Seems that just like childbirth, I block out the memories of the pain involved in "birthing" a new set of second graders.

And so it goes.

I miss my kids from last year, but this current class has the potential to be an amazing class!

And so a new school year has begun.

Ask me in a week or so, they will probably be the best class I have ever had!


And by the way, I didn't goof and post a picture twice. I have a set of twins this year. Can you find them?

Community

Belonging.

Its just human nature to want to belong.

Children, teenagers, adults, senior citizens. We all feel the pull  to belong to someone, something, somewhere.

While I have many reasons to love Morrison, a big chunk of it is due to its sense of community.

Its big around here!

This is most evident each August when the new staffs' container rolls into the parking lot. Such as today.

What? Today? 

But its the last Saturday before school starts......

But its really, really hot out there...

Hundreds of reasons to not help.

Administrators, teachers, spouses, students- working together to unload, sort, and reload items bound for the other two campuses. A hard job made easier by many hands. A community working together.

I remember two years ago when a similar container arrived full of familiar furniture and boxes carefully packed and labeled. I just didn't know how in the world we were going to move all our stuff two blocks away and up seven floors. I shouldn't have been anxious. God knew we weren't alone. 

He had provided a community for which we could belong. 

Of Mice and ..... Cockroaches?

We survived. Two adults, three teens, seven weeks, ONE camper! A feat not to be taken lightly. How did the time fly by so quickly?

The last couple weeks in Ohio saw us packing up our home away from home and one thought occupied my mind. Actually it was more than one thought,  because there is never just one mouse. It invariably always becomes mice.

So what does mice have to do with packing up the camper? To explain  I will need to rewind time back to the very beginning of summer, back to when our friends, David Grissom and Greg Wolfe, "unwrapped" and moved our summer home from its winter dwelling to its luxurious vacation spot- David and Ann's backyard. It was discovered then, that the camper had served as a winter home for a community of mice!

Evidence of such abounded throughout the camper. 

Evidence I barely saw because of the sacrifice of time, energy, friendship, and yuckiness! Ann, Sarah, and Barbara cleaned, washed, scrubbed. How can I ever thank these precious friends?

Sorry, Barb, I couldn't find a picture of you!

Even after moving in, we continued to find evidence of the infestation. Carl spent hours removing panels and insulation looking for the ever present strangely suspicious smell. Finally, the source, a deceased decaying furry creature, was discovered, removed, and appropriately disposed of! Eventually the smell dispersed and life was normal again! Well, as normal as life can be living in a camper!

So as I repacked the camper, the biggest thought on my mind was what will this look like the next time we are home. And what can I do to prevent it?

I experienced an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu last weekend as we arrived at our apartment in Taiwan. No, it wasn't mice this time, but .....

Cockroaches!

Evidently our kitchen was the place to be the month of July, that is if you are a cockroach. And it must have been some party. Can't, no don't, want to even let my imagination start down that path.

Yuck.

Dead cockroaches all over the floor. (Carl disposed of at least 20 in our first 24 hours home) Not only that, but cockroach poop all throughout the drawers and cabinets. So gross! A real appetite stealer! The teenager watching our apartment apparently killed a small army every time he came to empty the dehumidifier. Carl is in the process of cleaning out the kitchen cabinets. Evidently, our uninvited house guests left behind not only poo, but egg pods. Double Yuck!

Can I just add here that I totally love, adore, and appreciate my husband!

Two different continents.
Two unsuspecting homes.

Two irritating, disgusting creatures.

Same problem.

Why?

My mind pondered that question. Your brain does strange things while in the throes of jet lag.  Nevertheless, I thought about it, and actually came to a realization. With spiritual connections, no less.

We have never had a mouse in the camper before. It was never a problem. Of course, even though parked in the driveway, we were in and out of it often. Our presence was known.

And while we do see cockroaches occasionally, we have never had so many at one time. But then again, our humanness is all over the kitchen. (We are bigger, stronger, smarter and, therefore, rightly scarier, right?) 

After Nick left Taiwan, the house was devoid of human smell, sound, vibration- presence. Naturally, those life-loving partying cockroaches enjoyed the kitchen fearlessly.

Take a leap with me here.

 When we are praying, reading our Bibles, worshiping, spending time in the  presence of God, He abides with us. His presence is with us.

But what happens if we don't make the effort, the time, to walk closely, to abide?

Isn't that when we find ourselves tempted to think, do, say things we know are wrong? Our attitudes     begin to stink, our thought life deteriorates into a more carnal nature. Without His presence, little varmints begin to sneak in, just like the mice in Ohio and the cockroaches in Taichung.

I don't know about you, but just the visualization going on in my head motivates me to keep praying, worshiping, and reading!

How about you?

Home

OHIO

There is no place like home.

But, where is home?

Three years ago, that was an easy question to answer. Now, not so easy. When in Taiwan, I said things such as we fly home in one week. Now that I m in Ohio, I find myself thinking when I get home I need to.... (fill in with multiple job and house related responsibilities).

So once again, I ask where is home?

I guess this is an age old question for those who work and live abroad.

I guess I am blessed to have two homes- my heart home, Ohio, and my daily existence home, Taiwan, where God as planted me and expects growth.

But. no matter how much I love Taiwan, there are things here in Ohio, I truly miss!

Naturally, that list would first of all contain names of dearly loved and missed family and friends. And. of course, foods inaccessible in other parts of the world!

But, I really miss the wide open space! 

So many shades of green. Blue sky. White puffy clouds.

With all the tall buildings blocking the view, I rarely get a good view of the sky. I don't know its about to rain until the drops begin to fall. I don't know a storm is coming until the thunder crashes through the city sounds.

Yesterday, we had the privilege to see some amazing cloud formations as a storm rolled across the countryside.

And, of course, I have dearly missed seeing the sun come up every morning and go back down every night. The sun greeted me each morning in my kitchen and said goodnight as it dipped below the horizon, conveniently viewed from the front windows, or even better, the front porch.

I am still waiting to catch a great sunset on my camera. It has either been cloudy, rainy, or cameraless! I haven't made it up for a sunrise, yet. 

Don't judge me... I'm on vacation!

What's Round on the End and High in the Middle?

O H I O

We have safely arrived. I wish I had some pictures to share.

The five of us packing. 

The extremely fast van drive from our home in Taichung to the airport in Taipei. (On a good day, a hour and a half drive. Tuesday morning was an exceptional day. Our hired van driver got us there in about 70 minutes. Of course, it was before 5 am, when we left.)

The fun times at customs and security!

Our luxurious and tasty airplane meals!

Carl, Ben, Abbi, and Jake resting at the Minneapolis airport! 

Wish you were here kind of photos. I think that most of you don't need the actual pictures to get the idea.

 Thankful the long flight is over. 

Thankful my sister and brother-in-law were able to pick us up at the airport.

Thankful for the wonderful piece of my favorite pizza my sister saved for me.

Thankful for the welcome home hug from my mom.

Thankful for a wonderfully soft bed to fall into.

Thankful for the five hours of sleep. (I give the reader permission to slip in a slight hint of sarcasm on that last one. Sleep is so strange and elusive when traveling for and through large chunks of time). 

(Did I mention that is 4:30  currently am?)

But life is good!

Thank you, Jesus !

Pray for Maggie

The beautiful girl on the left, of course, is my Abbi.

The beautiful young lady on the right, you may not know.

Maggie is her name.

Maggie moved to Taiwan with her parents the same time we did. She and Abbi are classmates. More than classmates. Friends. Close friends. One of Abbi's best friends.

Thursday Maggie and her father were in an accident. Scooter versus truck. Speeding truck. Truck trying to make it through the intersection. As you can imagine, the truck had an unfair advantage.

Both Maggie and her dad are in bad shape. 

Both are in ICU. 

Dad has a collapsed lung, severe concussion, eight broken ribs, shoulder and jaw dislocated. He is awake and in lots of pain. There is also a high concern of blood clots and infection. While he is breathing on his own, he has a long road to recovery. 

Maggie, along with a head injury that is being closely monitored, shattered her femur. Her tibia also received extensive damage. Due to the severity of her injuries, she is heavily sedated. While surgery was performed to repair Maggie's upper leg, she is still in need of more surgery. The doctors are allowing her body to stabilize before continuing.

This morning, Abbi was allowed a brief visit with Maggie. Abbi, Carl, and I went back again tonight. Carl and I briefly went in to pray over Maggie as she rested. It was clearly evident the trauma Maggie suffered.

So please pray for Maggie and her father. They both have a long, painful, difficult summer ahead of them. But God is in control. And while we were all shocked by this horrifying accident, He was not! HE WAS WITH THEM IN THE MIDST OF THE ACCIDENT AND HE IS WITH THEM NOW! 

I didn't mean to capitalize the last sentence, but somehow did (I am a horrible typist). I started to fix it, but I am not going to. 

But while you are asking God to heal Maggie and her father, I would like to ask you to pray for a couple other people. 

Maggie's mom.

 Her beloved husband and daughter are severely injured, recovering in different ICU units, requiring extensive medical attention. She has had little sleep over the last two days and under a tremendous amount of stress. God has provided her with lot's of spiritual, emotional, and physical support from friends, coworkers, and fellow church members.  Please pray for continuing peace and joy throughout the next several months.

My last request is a selfish one, for although not life threatening, is near and dear to my heart. Please pray for Abbi. It is not easy for one so young to see a close friend so hurt, so damaged. In addition, we are scheduled to fly out Tuesday. It will be extremely difficult for Abbi to leave, especially if Maggie is still in ICU and sedated. She wants to be here to encourage, support, and uphold Maggie during her road of recovery.

As a mom, it hurts to watch her hurt. 

Words are not enough.

All I can give are hugs.

And prayers.

Will you please join me in praying?