A New Hobby

Sometimes I get bored. How is it possible when I have a four-year-old in the house? I just do. Once the house cleaning is done (well as done as it's gonna be), and Aleyah is content playing with Alexa, I don't know what to do with myself. So yesterday I was sitting on my couch looking out the window and prayed about my boredom and asked God to show me a new hobby. I'm not the outdoorsy type. Let me make a correction, I'm not outdoorsy in the hot, humid summer. I very much dislike being outside. Once the temps cool off some, I will spend a lot of time outside. The fall season offers so much. I usually go for morning walks in the cool autumn mornings after spending my early morning hours on my front porch, with coffee in hand. Thinking about it is making me excited. Fall is my most favorite time of year!

Unfortunately, it is not fall and we spend a lot of time in the house. Poo-ee, because we spend a lot of time in the house when the temps drop down to freezing!! So I prayed for a hobby that could help me when I'm not in the mood to read. If you can believe it, writing came to my mind. But what?? I quickly remembered a journal that I was writing for Alexa. I had started it in 2002 and never finished it. I'm so excited about starting it up again!! I found a leather bond journal at Costco of all places. I bought it with the intention of writing my memoirs for Alexa. I thought of it years ago when I had to repeat my childhood stories to Alexa over and over. I thought, 'why not write them down so she can share them with her children.'

I opened my journal and read my first two entries and a flood of memories came over me. My life is very entertaining, believe it or not. lol! Alexa thinks so anyways. I ripped out about fifteen pages so I could start fresh. Funny how you read things from years ago and think, 'If I spent more time on it, I could have written it so much better.' So the pages came out and instead of Dear Alexa, it began with, Dear Children. I plan to make only one copy and the girls will have to take turns reading it. Anyways, that is my new hobby and I'm very thrilled about it! I think everyone should take some time to write their life experiences for their children! Even if you despise writing. Your children will, no doubt, cherish your stories.

So that is what I am doing with my spare time. I love how weathered and worn my journal looks already. It got this way from spending a few years getting tossed about in my entertainment center where we keep our Wii and a few other books. So hurray!!

Our First Nature Walk

Since Steve's work schedule has changed we have been doing things as a family on Mondays. This past week we went for a walk at the canal near our home. The whether wasn't as bad as previous days. There was still quite a bit of humidity but we braved it and enjoyed our first nature walk with Aleyah. We were on the hunt for turtles and "the big bird." I'm not sure what kind of bird it is (some sort of crane) but in mid-flight it looks like something from prehistoric times. Alexa and Aleyah were armed with binoculars as we walked the trail. The question of the day was, "What's this?" Aleyah was checking everything out. Good thing she didn't see the dead beaver lying near the trail...ewww!

We did happen to see turtles sunning on a log but they were to far for Aleyah to make them out. She was pretty disappointed to not see any turtles but we did see "the big bird!" I was able to get a picture of the bird while it was perched. (The photo of the bird was taken from across the canal. It really is a "big bird".) Aleyah was giddy with excitement having seen something that the rest of us saw. This bird is quite big, there was no way she wouldn't have seen it. It was a nice day out. Hopefully we'll be able to do a few more outings before school starts. After all, it's only a couple of weeks away!!






Sisters...always ready for the camera.




Alexa, Aleyah and "Aleyah's Misha." Our dog Misha is a Bischon Frise and looks a lot like this stuffed dog. Aleyah noticed the similarities days home from Ethiopia. Since that discovery, this dog was named "Aleyah's Misha."

I also took a picture of a swan that has taken up residence in a nearby pond in our neighborhood. I just had to take a picture of it. The swan was clear across the pond and I was on the street, so it isn't the best picture. I think we'll name it Drifter, because it will no doubt find another home once winter comes.

ONLY GOD

This past Friday was two months being a family of four! It has been one heck of a ride. If I can be honest here, it has seemed longer than two months. The other thing I must mention is that it has been HARD. Aleyah has been doing well considering the circumstances. I think I have adjusted a bit better than Steve and Alexa, but they have made HUGE strides. Adopting is not for the faint of heart.

I have been blessed beyond imagine when it comes to meeting others whom have or are experiencing what we have been facing these past two months. Only our Gracious God could orchestrate everything that has taken place on this whirlwind journey and I want to share a few. Bare with me, I'm not sure how long this post will be.

I mentioned in my other blog that we used All God's Children International as our adoption agency. After making our decision about AGCI we went on and found Baptist Children's Home and Family Services to handle our home study and post placement. We later found out that another family in our town (two miles from our home) was about to pick up two children from Ethiopia! (We just happened to know this family but hadn't had much contact with them over a year or two and didn't know of their adoption plans.) We also learned that they used All God's Children International and Baptist Children's Home and Family Services! I wrote about this in more detail in earlier posts in my adoption blog. Since we have been home with Aleyah we have met with this family on three separate occasions to share experiences while the children play. Their blog is in my blog list under The Krippel Family. Hearing about the Krippels was definitely an ONLY GOD moment. Amen!

I eventually found myself in Blog World after reading some blogs of other families whom adopted through AGCI. I briefly thought of starting my own blog to share some of the amazing God moments that we encountered along the way. I chickened out. I remember writing my first entry and then deciding not to go on with it. I told Steve that I started a blog but decided not to do it. He encouraged me to do it because he too was amazed at the Hands of God and felt we should share our story. So....I got sucked into this Blog World. Not only did I start a blog but I also got myself a Facebook!

I thought it was such a treat when one of Steve's family members whom I never met would Friend me on Facebook. One of those Lovelies was his cousin Tammy. So here I was, in front of my computer either on Facebook or navigating through blogs around the nation. Cousin Tammy hears of our adoption through my FB posts and asks if I have a blog. Excitedly, I reply, yes I do as a matter of fact! I give her my blog address and am all the more excited that our story is being shared to so many people outside my immediate family. Tammy must have shared our blog with her good friend Erica Shubin (who also adopted from Ethiopia). I see an encouraging comment by Erica and couldn't believe what I was seeing. I somehow knew this woman. I clicked onto her profile picture which led me to her blog...I HAD BEEN TO HER BLOG MANY TIMES BEFORE!! I was floored. How did this all happen? God somehow put all those pieces together so that I didn't have to walk this road alone. Ironically, Erica's blog is titled The Road Less Traveled (see blog list). lol!! I'm finding more and more people on this road to Ethiopia!

I'm almost done. Maybe. I have one more amazing meeting. Our pastor tells us that his nephew Nate and wife Stefany adopted from Ethiopia and would be coming to our town some time in the summer. Would we be up to meeting them? ABSOLUTELY! That is what we said before we brought Aleyah home.

Two months have gone by and things are progressing really well. We hadn't heard from our pastor and thought maybe we missed the visit. You see, Steve and I were alternating church visits with Alexa because we felt strongly that Aleyah was not ready. We talked about taking Aleyah to church around fall. I don't know why we were stuck on that, but we thought she would be ready for the crowds by that time. It was a little strange going to church with only half the family. Steve had commented that he couldn't wait until we could go to church as a family again. So this past Sunday was Steve's turn to take Alexa to church. I would stay home with Aleyah. But...The night before, we get a call from our pastor. His nephew and nephew's wife is in town. What service would we be attending? "Uh, uh...second service" Steve replied. Steve decides that he and Alexa would not go to service. We would just wait until second service was over and cruise on over to meet this family. That sounded like a good plan. Until we get a call from the pastor's wife Sunday morning explaining that Nate and Stefany would be attending first service, could we meet them between services? "Uh, uh...yeah, sure" was Steve's answer. Guess what? We're going to church...as a family....in the summer!

We were a bit nervous, but I explained very carefully to Aleyah what we were about to do. We were going to see "the man" talk. I even turned the TV on to a church channel to show her what I was talking about. "See all the people? They are not talking. They are listening to the man." I know this story can't get any longer, but really it can. Aleyah did absolutely wonderful. She gave everyone her killer smile and sat quietly during half of the service. Eventually she got a little restless (which I also thought was orchestrated by God) so I took her out to walk the halls. We heard the lovely sound of little ones singing in a nearby room. We peeked in the window and saw children her age singing. SHE wanted to go in!!! I told her she would have to put her gum in the trash if she wanted to go in. Her hand flew to her mouth and her gum was in the trash in five seconds flat!! We walked in, joined a group of children, colored and even had snack! ONLY GOD.

Before I leave you I should tell you that our meeting with Nate, Stefany, their son Jordan (from Ethiopia) and the rest of their entourage went very well. Very sweet people. As a matter of fact, they probably don't know that God used them to get our family of four to church! I asked Stefany if she had a Facebook or e-mail and she said, "The best way to reach me is probably my BLOG." ONLY GOD!

I added Stefany's blog to my blog list (Enjoying Christ). Who knew God would use the world wide web to connect His people?? ONLY GOD.


Below is a video of Aleyah and Natti. Natti and his sister Beza are from Ethiopia and live two miles away from us with their family. Pause background music before playing video.

God and Us Mere Humans

Happy Monday! Well it is still Sunday but I figure my mom will be reading this tomorrow. So good morning mom! How is that California sunshine?

I have a couple of God Things that I want to share. The first is about the book Shepherding a Child's Heart. Remember I shared that this book was laying on the floor one day and I thought it was strange, but not really. I believed that God wanted me to read it after shelving it for nine years! There was one thing I failed to mention about the book. The morning I picked it up off the floor I opened the book to a random page. In bold lettering there were two headings that read Obedience Defined and Call for Consistency. I didn't mention this because I didn't really think it had any significance, until a couple of days ago.

I have been reading this book for the past few days and I have liked Tripp's perspective on parenting (Mostly. I can't say I agree with all of it, because I'm not even halfway through the book). Anyways, I was intrigued by the section I randomly opened. I thought I'd read some from that particular chapter. Tripp talks about how God has placed us as the authority over our children and when they dishonor us or disobey us, they are also dishonoring and disobeying God as well. Here is a excerpt from his book.

One Big Lesson
The most important lesson for the child to learn in this period is that HE IS AN INDIVIDUAL UNDER AUTHORITY. He has been made by God and has a responsibility to obey God in all things. The key passage of Scripture for this period is:

Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with a promise: "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.' (Ephesians 6:1-3)

He goes on to say that when children honor and obey, things go well. When they dishonor and disobey they will find difficulty and hardship. Makes sense to me.

So what am I getting at? The other day Alexa got herself in a bit of a pickle. It could have escalated into something not so wonderful. Before I continue, it was not horribly bad (it was catty girl stuff). But it was a topic of discussion that her and I had had so many times. We, as parents, do our best to prevent problems in our children's world. I was extremely upset and expressed my disappointment. She in turn gave me her apologies but not without MAJOR attitude. Needless to say, I "went off" on her and made sure that she remembered who she was talking to. Not my best moment, but it happened. Our day turned out to be very tense and stressful. But I remembered what this book had said about honor and obedience which I later explained to her. While I was explaining the importance of obeying and all the benefits that come with it, another nugget of advice popped into my head. I could have handled the sassy attitude better than I did. I did not hit her, just in case you were wondering. I did yell very loudly and said some hurtful things. But I reasoned that if she had not given me the attitude and just listened to my correction, everything would have been fine. It was her sassiness that made me angry. Then this section popped into my mind:

Check your own spirit. Have you handled him/her roughly? Have you been out of control? Have you sinned against her in the way you have disciplined? If so, you must confess your sin and seek forgiveness and restoration.

If, in weakness and frailty of your flesh, you sin against your children, you must seek their forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness is not saying, "I am sorry that I got mad at you and yelled, but when you do that..." Seeking forgiveness is saying, "I am sorry. I sinned against you. I was mad. I threw a temper fit. There is no justification for behavior like that. Please forgive me. When you give reasons for your sin, you are not asking forgiveness, you are simply justifying your sin.

So I leave you with this thought to ponder. Was it by coincidence that I found this book on the floor after nine years? Or could it be that God obviously knew this day was coming and Alexa and I both needed some loving discipline? He doesn't have to be so involved with us mere humans...but He is. And I'm thankful for that.


I will have to share the other God Thing tomorrow.