Do you want fries with that?

Tomorrow's a doozy.

Like, mega doozy.

The kind of doozy that draws crazy looks from people at the park when you mention what you're doing. But, then again, I draw a lot of crazy looks these days.

Tomorrow morning we all have our last rabbies vaccine scheduled. With the luck we've had in the shots department lately...that woulda been enough for one day as it is.

But, tomorrow is also the only day until August that we can be seen up in Bethesda at the Walter Reed Medical Center (the largest military medical center in the United States) to see a specialist for our malaria medication. Bethesda is 15 miles away. I asked some other ladies today if they'd ever been seen there, so I could kinda know what to expect. Per experienced Bethesda go-ers...those fifteen miles take a minimum of 2 hours to drive. The facilities are more like a hospital city with over five gates you can enter through and at least six parking garages. Expect to cry, and get lost. It was recommended, with serious faces, that I leave four hours early. And expect to be there at least three hours. *I'm sorry, my eyes started bulging at the six parking garages you mentioned...fantastic....this is a disaster waiting to happen for someone like me.*

As if another round of vaccines and a seven hour trip to a 15 mile away hospital isn't enough for one day....tomorrow also happens to be the last weekend available to us to travel down South to see my family before we move. So, after the vaccines, and apparently seven hour hospital trip, I am hopping in the car with just me and the girls to drive 7 hours to North Carolina (seven hours because I'm not lucky enough to make it outta this city without hitting traffic).

Mmm hmmm. To bad the crazy doesn't end there.

As if all of that wasn't enough for one day, I got a call late this afternoon telling me that the school physical form for Sydaleigh we dropped off at the clinic to be signed (signed, because she just had a physical two weeks ago and I was not about to bring her back in for another one...you can sign that stinkin' paper thank you very much).....

....turns out they can't sign it for us after all.

Her doc can't sign off on it because the school is requesting that a urinalysis and a hemoglobin test be done...and well, ya know, we haven't had that done yet. 

So now while at the clinic to get our vaccines we can make a pit stop at the lab for Sydaleigh to try and pee in a cup and get blood drawn. Yeah, let me just explain that to my six year old who we already have to restrain just to get her shots.

I mean, I don't really know what to say. Except....do you want fries with that too? How about a kidney? Is.there.A.NY.THING.ELSE.we.can.give.you?!?!?!?!?!
You better speak now or forever hold your peace! 'Cause we don't know how much more of this we can take! Holy cow it's always somethin' else. And somethin' else. And somethin' else.

Clearly tomorrow is going to be nightmarish. And my only prayer for tomorrow is, "Jesus, help me to make it through this day without scorching anyone's face off when I accidentally breathe fire on them." Yeah. Yeah that about covers it.

Portrait Project in DC

Before I moved to DC in February I dreamed and contemplated ways that I could do a Portrait Project in this city. Holly was already well established here so I pitched to her my desire to team up again  and I knew that together we could come up with a way to do one last P.P. here before I leave the states.

From that, God added Liza to the mix, our dear friend who is employed by CASA of DC and daily advocates for children in the foster system here. She told me that the Superior Courts of DC are hosting a family day this summer to celebrate all the families in the DC court system who have successfully been reunified.

(top-Liza, bottom-me and Holly-June 16th 2012. Family Celebration Day.)

We all thought that this would be a great opportunity to do a Portrait Project so Liza set off to get approval from the courts for us to participate in their day.

Even before I took a single picture, God was already at work behind the scenes. I just love it when He does that.

There were lots of meetings Liza went to on our behalf pitching the Portrait Project and hammering out the details on how we could be included. In Omaha I would do this leg work on my own, seeking approval, getting permission, the whens and where's, but seen as how Liza already had established working relationships with the court staff God was able to use her to share what the Portrait Project is with people I wouldn't be able to meet with. I just love how God strategically places people in certain places and positions to be a vessel for His work!

And then the day that the Family Day planning committee met to officially approve Portrait Project participation, I got this email from Liza....

"the Presiding Judge of Family Court is apparently THRILLED about the idea. Richard and I were in a meeting and he kept going on and on not just about what a great idea it was, but about what an amazing gift you were giving to us/the court/these families.  I could almost hear his wheels turning - "Why would someone give that generously?  What would make a person do this for NOTHING?" I could hardly keep myself from shouting "JESUS! JESUS! JESUS!" across the conference room table at him. Ha. You guys have no idea the ministry impact this is having (already)..."
 
So cool. Jesus. That's all it's ever been about. And just like that the Lord opened up a door for us to go in and shine His light again.

After almost four months of planning and ironing out the technicalities, the day finally came. So many people worked really hard to make this day a true celebration for these families. The family day was sponsored by the courts, but many other organizations were there as well. It took place on the grounds of THE ARC property, a fairly new constructed community center in the heart of Anacostia. Anacostia (where we also happen to live) is located in the SE section of D.C. and is considered the most dangerous place to live in the city, it is stricken with poverty and crime and the majority of the courts families live in this area.

So, for all these professionals to come and set up shop in this area, the armpit of DC, and offer a celebration for the families who worked hard to be reunited with their kids, is something these people needed. They needed to be celebrated. They needed to be the center of attention to highlight the good works they've done instead of the mistakes they made. They needed for once to have people lavish them with praise instead of criticism. That's what this day was about. And praise Jesus I got to be a part of it.

It was a privilege to stand with the courts and CASA to help remind these families of their worth. And I love that God enables me to do that through photography.

This P.P. had a lot of similarities from the others I've done in the past, but also some differences. One difference was that we were working outside so I left my studio equipment at home in favor of going all na.tur.al. The space we had designated for us was down a little hill, so I just wanted to do as simple as possible. No heavy props. Just a small blanket. No strobes or massive backdrop. Just my camera. It was weird to not have to make umpteen trips to bring in all the equipment. But it worked out really great.

And, because there was no need to spend an hour setting up my work space, we were able to use some of our time before the families arrived in prayer. Me, Holly, Liza and Katie, one of the volunteers, gathered off to the side, formed a little circle, held hands, and prayed over the day. Prayers lifted up to heaven that God's light might shine bright in this dark city. That the families would feel a renewed sense of dignity. That they would leave feeling better equipped to continue maintaining unity than before they arrived. And that Jesus would use us to serve them and pour His life into each person here.

We didn't pray a super long time and really didn't think that anyone noticed as we were off to the side and down a little hill. But turns out people did. Many court volunteers noticed and at least one gal approached Liza later in the day and said, "I saw you praying and wanted to come join! But, I knew you had us all covered." The reality of that comment brought me to me knees. In a city and a system where so many of the workers are unbelievers and the programs provided are not in any way Christ centered, God was able to use our little inconspicuous prayer circle to subtly but visibly direct others attention to our motivation for why we were there, Jesus, and it was able to filter out another believer! Holla!! Praying that God fans the flame in that gal's heart to take more steps to show off His light! So encouraged by that!

Soon after that the families started trickling in one by one. But, instead of photographing them all on my own this time, Holly was by my side photographing them along with me. It has been cool seeing Holly develop her photography skills these past few months and a delight to photograph with her. I would love to see God encourage more photographers to get out there and use their skills to bless others without expecting a payoff in return. Just another thing I love about this ministry.

Not only were the families able to get portraits taken but there was food, music, face painting, a bouncy house (located directly in front of us...that was interesting trying to get the kids to sit still with a massive balloon vying for their attention. :~) )

And of course there was dancing. That boy down on the bottom wasted no time gettin' his moves on, all by himself, in the middle of the lawn. But before ya knew it the grass was crowded with people out there breaking it down and having a grand ole time! No one cared that it was hot, they were there to celebrate and celebrate they did!

The D.C. Mayor, Vincent Gray, was on hand as well as some judges and tons of other court staff to show their support for the reunified families being honored. (and of course your heavily armed police officers, but, that's to be expected round here.)

I photographed ten of the twenty two families that came out that day.....ten families...some single moms, some moms and dads, some with partners, some grandma's, some great-grandma's, big families of ten, small families of two.....each one of them knowing the pain and heartbreak involved when their family was broken and splintered apart, and each of them knowing the triumph of seeing it restored. What a beautiful thing to photograph.

The significance of what God is allowing me to do is not lost on me. Each Portrait Project I am newly humbled with the opportunity God has given me to bless these families through pictures. To serve them. To dote on them. To bless them with a little bit of extra.

Recognizing that beauty is not to be defined by the world's standards. But instead seeing beauty as it is defined by God's standards. A mother of four with a two week old newborn who came sopping wet in swim suits because she cared more about her kids being able to be kids and romp and play in the water, rather than dressing them up for their pictures in the trendy clothes we see plastered about everywhere as "the what to wear for beautiful family portraits". That's a lie. Because this is what's beautiful. They are beautiful.

And these are the people God has gifted me to photograph. The underprivileged, broken, beat up, beat down, stepped on, discarded, the people who know real need, the ones who have had to claw, scrape, and fight their way out of discouraging impossible circumstances. These are my people. These are God's people. And what God has used me to give to them seems very small compared to what I have been blessed with in return- a softened heart, a heavenly perspective, learning to really see people, a new definition of beautiful, a joy that comes from serving, humility, gratefulness, a piercing pain for the broken and wounded, the honor of getting to meet and be impacted by so many amazing people...God has definitely changed me through this ministry these past couple years. What a wonderful day. What an incredible opportunity. Praying God protects these families and that these pictures serve as an extra reminder to them of their worth and value in Christ Jesus.

"You make beautiful things.

You make beautiful things out of the dust.

You make beautiful things.

You make beautiful things out of us." 

-"Beautiful Things" by Gungor

Vern and Sylvia came to town.

This weekend some of our favorite people from the midwest came to town! Ah, pure joy! We haven't seen Vern and Sylvia since their wedding in Iowa back in October, but with great friends it doesn't matter how much times goes without seeing each other...you can just pick up right where you left off, and such is the case with them. We had so much fun. And for only being in town for less than three days....we made every minute of their trip count!

As God would have it, one of Sylvia's good friends also lives in the DC area so on Friday Sylvia and Emily (who I can now call friend!) spent the day exploring Alexandria, while Isaak and Vern got acquainted with Ben's Chili and playing video games back at our house. Later that evening we all met up at Holly's where the girls stayed and had some girl time while the boys went off on their own.

We talked and laughed and poked fun (which I love because Sylvia is a poke fun and laugh a lot kinda gal!)

After a late night on Friday we headed home to sleep and then were back at Holly's to soak up more of their company. We were able to sneak out of the house for a bit and hit up a Thai restaurant, get some yogurt, do some thrifting where we happen to come across a thrift store going out of business so everything was 75% off.

I could see the clouds parting and the angels in heaven singing to me a chorus of "HAAAA-LLELUJAH!!" (well, they were singing for me and Holly. Sylvia took a nap on the couch in the store. An actual nap. I've never seen someone fall asleep so quickly in such a public place before! ha ha! A few more times hanging out with us and she'll be diggin' through racks to find a three dollar blazer too (nice find Holly). Oh yes she will. :~) )

When we got back we got ready for lots more company to come over and had a BBQ at Holly's with some more friends.

Catan just so happen to be in our car, where it made it's way to the table for a friendly little game between some very competitive people. And when I say "friendly" I mean...lots of trash talkin', threats of physical pain, threats made good when Isaak got clobbered by a pillow in the head multiple times by Sylvia, accusations of cheating, fits of impatience and rage, promises of revenge.......ya know, just your typical game of Catan. :~)

We then played Mafia....where I won. Both times. Thank.you.very.much. My power of persuasion is not to be matched. Tatiana and Jamima/Lakisha got nothin' on me! (so point your "thumbs" elsewhere! Ha ha!) 

Sunday was church where Sydaleigh joined us in the big church. I love it that God has placed other adults in my girls life that they love and deeply respect who can also lead them closer to Christ. And my girls love them some Vern and Sylvia.

After church we hung out some more while the kids soaked themselves silly in the splash park, clothes and all.

It was a great weekend. Full of so many good times, with lots of new memories made. Feeling extra blessed that we were able to see Vern and Sylvia before we leave. God has placed some good friends in our lives and we do not take that for granted. We love them so much and praying a trip to Burkina is in their future. A girl can pray! Till next time!

"Your body can do anything. It's just your brain you have to convince."

Read this little article recently. I was so amazed, I cried. Talk about "anything". This guy is amazing.

Virginia Beach getaway

We took a quickie trip down to Virginia Beach On Wednesday with our Panter ladies and Liz and her girls. It was wonderful. Perfect weather. Great beach. My favorite company! It was blissful and relaxing and a very well spent 24 hours.

We set up house on the beach, had to later "PCS" *smiling at Liz* down the beach a bit after we mistakenly set up shop in the surfers zone (dude, we can pack up and move like nobodies business!) stuffed ourselves silly on some seriously yummy grub,

I watched Sydaleigh, Samantha and Lydia play in the waves with reckless abandon,

I watched Marvelly sit in the sand content as can be for hours on end just digging away with her favorite pals. ( She's my cautious girl. She's not a fan of the ocean and her waves. For the first five hours of our trip she played in the sand careful not to get too close to the water.) But near the end of our day there she decided to join me in the water and she had the most joyful time jumping the waves with me.

And I got to spend time being carefree not only my girls but these amazing ladies too.

There's eleven girls in all when we get together. That's a whole lotta girls! How blessed are we to be able to call all these gals friends?!?!

After six hours at the beach, another two hours afterwards at dinner, plus another hour in the car to drive back, we made it back to Liz's and crashed. Happily worn out. What a wonderful little trip. There is never a shortage of fun when we get together. I was so fortunate to know them and do life with them during our time in Nebraska, but to all be stationed in DC/Virginia at the same time too...only Jesus could arrange that. I am beyond thankful that I got to spend my last five months in the states close to my two favorite ladies. We have a lot of memories together. :~)

And poor Isaak. He had to work and miss out on the fun. But it must be said that after only being gone for 24 hours, there is nothing like comin' home. That reality is never lost on the girls no matter how much fun they have. They are always eager to be back at their home, with their Daddy, in their room.

Even after only 3 1/2 months living here....it has become our home. Temporary as it is. The military is good about forcing you to embrace temporary and live it for all it's worth. Praying Africa can be as much home to us as DC has been and all the places before. It's been a great ride here so far....and there's more to come. Vern and Sylvia are on their way to DC for the weekend as I type! Let the good times roll!

Beach bound

I am hittin' the road with my girls in tow and heading to the beach tomorrow morning!

Kind of a spontaneous trip.

Holly was planning on heading to Yorktown to see Liz this week, but I couldn't confirm going knowing I had Portrait Project to edit. It wouldn't be right to ditch my work to play for two days. Not with all the other work I have looming over my head too.

But with the scent of the ocean teasing me in my head, I decided to pull an all nighter on Sunday and basically work non stop for the last 48 hours so that I could finish.

And right now I am about the happiest gal there is, because I actually finished.

I edited ten sessions (really glad Holly was there to shoot the other ten or I would still be up to my eyeballs in pictures), got all of their prints ordered, and now there is nothin' to do but pack!

I am literally giddy. Like, bouncing off the walls giddy.

Now, I can rest and relax with my favorite little ladies and adult ladies and lay on the beach, and laugh, and listen to the waves....oh, how I love the water. My happiest place to be is by the water. It could be a creek. Shoot, it could be a puddle. Just put me by the water and I am one happy gal.

So that is where we are headed tomorrow.

And then I will come back and try to tell of the Portrait Project I had in DC this past weekend.

Two minute random update

I've got two minutes to spare on here for an update, starting now.......

Gearing up for a Portrait Project tomorrow. So excited! This has been brewing for the past few months and I'm so excited that God place key people in positions here to allow me to bring P.P. to DC. Praying God's love shines bright tomorrow.

The house is in a scary state of messy. It's bad. Real bad. Every morning I wake up and look around and consider tackling it, but have too many other things that need to be tackled, so the house falls to the wayside. One of these days it will get under control again. Just not likely while we're living here.

Speaking of living here......we've been here 3 1/2 months, and just when I think I've got this city down, and I feel like I'm adjusting to the hustle and bustle of this place, something happens and I decide I hate it all over again....

I had plans to meet up with friends at the waterfront on Wednesday to play at a little waterpark. I don't know why I assumed there would be parking. It's downtown DC. There is never parking. But off I went with all my unrealistic expectations of finding a parking spot, just to drive around for 30 minutes looking for one. And after I inadvertently found myself in a parking garage even though I didn't want to park in there but I couldn't turn around because I was in an alley and of course there were cars behind me, I got lost in the garage after the attendant told me to "drive back around and park here"....right. Right, just, "Drive back around." You make it sound so easy. Driving back around included getting lost and driving three more floors under ground and starting to cry and having an emotional breakdown because I couldn't figure out where I was going or how to get out and the exit signs were lying about being exits, and this guy majorly assumed wrongly that I could navigate a parking garage. Which I can't. I should not be allowed to drive in those. Which is why next time...I'm stickin' with the Metro.

Onto something not driving related because it makes my blood pressure rise....the girls are saying the most hilarious things lately.

Yesterday after we got round two of our rabies vaccine we were cuddling on Marvi's bed to rest our owies and I started asking them q's like, "if you could be any color, what color would you be?" Or, "if you could be any animal in the world, what would you pick to be?" And from that Sydaleigh busts out, 

"if you could be a booger, would you be dry, or squishy? I'd be a dry booger."

What?! Bah ha ha! Oh I laughed so hard. The things they think to say. And of course that led to more outlandish questions like,

"what would happen if you pooped, and then sucked a little piece of poop up your nose and then blew it back out on someone?"

Oh my gosh! They were coming up with the craziest questions!! Made me laugh so hard! It feels good to laugh, and lay down and cuddle in the middle of the day and throw etiquette out the window and just be silly with my kids.

I need more of those moments. They do wonders for my heart.

Father's Day came early...my bad.

Okay. So, apparently, Father's Day was not yesterday. Apparently, Father's Day is next week.

Huh. Well I feel sheepish.

I can't believe I got that day wrong. Oh wait, yes, yes I can believe I got the day wrong. Totally believe it. My brain has ceased to function properly and when I saw all these advertisements for Father's Day coming up, none of them said it was the 17th. So, logically, I just assumed it was the 10th.

It wasn't.

Stupid non specific advertisements for big screen tv's and...grills!

We didn't even figure it out until after we got to church and saw that it was Senior Sunday. Senior Sunday?! What the heck?! On Father's Day?

"What a jip!" I thought. Guess you'll be missing out on that Beef Jerky handout after service Isaak.

It wasn't until half way through worship when I finally looked over to Isaak and said, "Are you sure today is Father's Day?" They had still made no reference to Father's at all, and I was starting to wonder, "what is up with this church? They could at least give them a shout out. I know graduation is a big deal, but really? To snub the dads for this?" Oh, I'm gonna be havin' some words with the pastor...or at the very least and more realistically sending a respectful email that sounded stern until I typed it out. I mean, this is just wrong.

"Isaak, why don't you look up Father's Day on your phone just to double check when it is."

He looked back over at me, unconvinced. He was still certain today was his day. Can't imagine where he'd get that idea from????

He starts surfing around on his phone, very covertly during the singing....and sure enough....

Father's Day June 17th 2012.

"Uhhhh. Happy early Father's Day Isaak!"! (*insert awkward smile*)

I gotta say, I'm very proud of my power of persuasion. I had Isaak completely convinced yesterday was Father's Day. Even when I started to doubt, he was certain that I was right. Ha ha! Wow did I ever get that one wrong. I should really not be allowed to like, plan things. Especially things that revolve around dates. It gives people the impression that you actually know what's going on in the world. And clearly I do not.

So, looks like we'll be celebrating Father's Day twice this year. Beef Jerky is still on!

Happy early Father's Day Isaak. We love you!

Thank you Jesus and American Girl!

About two years ago we generously received three free American Girl dolls plus accessories from a gal in Isaak's clinic back in Nebraska.

Her daughters were older and didn't play with them anymore, and she wanted them to go to a good home, so to ours they came.

I sent one doll to my niece and kept the other two for Sydaleigh and Marvelly. Sydaleigh's doll, Kirsten, is one of the first three original historical A.G. dolls created, but was retired a couple years ago. When we got her she was already pretty used, with scratches on her limbs and face, lots of missing hair, no eye lashes on her left eye, and a poor pedicure on her feet. :~)

But Sydaleigh didn't care. She did not care that she was a wee bit banged up and not in the same condition as the dolls at the store. She loved her. I love how both my girls can easily find beauty and worth in less than perfect things. They happily give purpose and find joy in what others discard.

But after two more years of use Kirsten's head was starting to go bald in back. And when we discovered that American Girl Company has a doll hospital, we decided to send her in for repairs.

We got her for free after all. So we thought it was pretty reasonable to spend $39 for a completely new head.

Sydaleigh was not thrilled to part with her beloved doll, but she handled it with grace and new she was going to get fixed up. It was suppose to take a little over 21 days to get her back, and we've been counting down each day since she left....so we were all very surprised to see a mysteriously long doll like box sitting in front of our door when we got home from the commissary this morning.

Sure enough, it was from American Girl, having only taken five days to return to us.

Sydaleigh was over the moon. Just this morning she made her a special bracelet for her to wear when she got back.

We opened the box and she was good as new. New hair. New eye. New head entirely.

I left Sydaleigh to play with her doll and went to look over the invoice and was surprised to see a letter enclosed. I read the letter and was stunned....

"Thank you for sending your doll to the Doll Hospital at American Girl.


Upon examining her, I felt that American Girl was responsible for these repairs. Consequently, we have repaired your doll free of charge."

What?! Are you kidding me?!

As soon as I got done reading that Sydaleigh came back in the kitchen and said, "Mom, look! They fixed her feet too!"

I looked over her doll again, inspecting closer this time, and sure enough, they didn't just replace her head....
they gave us a brand new doll! FOR FREE!!!!!
A completely new American Girl doll! Again, are you kidding me?! I couldn't help myself, I started to cry! Second time we've been blessed with this doll for free. And this time by the company! I mean, what company does that?! Why would they do that?! A brand new doll. For free. They didn't even charge us for shipping. I'm, I'm still just stunned. Grateful beyond belief. Blown away by their generosity. They didn't have to do that. Still can't believe they did. Me and Syd stopped right there, got on our knees, and prayed and thanked Jesus for this blessing. It's truly from Him after all.

All night long me and Isaak keep looking at each other saying, "I can't believe they gave us a new doll. I'm still in awe." 

What a wonderfully unexpected gift this was. 

The girls have been playing with their dolls all day. We are definitely an American Girl doll lovin' family right now. Probably will be for a good long while actually.

Thank you Jesus and American Girl for this incredible blessing! We are thrilled!

"The Age of Worry"

I bought John Mayer's new album today. It is lovely, and different for him. I love music. I always have. My dad is a big reason why. My dad, and Jesus. I was knitted together with music inside me. And I was blessed with a dad whom God would use to encourage me musically and introduce me to all different kinds of sounds.

And so I sat today, and got lost in the sounds. I danced with the girls and smiled big smiles while listening to new songs. It was wonderful. Music makes me incredibly happy.

But there is always that one song on an album that gets played more than the rest. That one song you love more than all the others. I've played that song over twenty times today. It is quietly drumming on right now as I type. It's everything I love in a song. Dramatic beats in key spots. Subtle complexities. Unsuspecting instruments. And lyrics that sing to my heart.

"Alive in the age of worry. Smile in the age of worry. Go out in the age of worry. And say 'worry, why should I care?!'"

I heard that, and then I immediately heard this, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matt. 6:34

Ain't that the truth.

And today did not discriminate. It brought plenty of its own trouble....

Isaak took a trip to the DMV again to try and get that new title so we can ship Africar. But, in order to get a new title, you have to have a DC drivers license. We don't have DC drivers licenses. In order to get a DC drivers license you have to show proof of residence. And the only approved proof of residency they accept is utilities bills. None of which we have because we live on base and the military pays that.

So, in short, we can't ship Africar because we don't have a proper title. Can't get a proper title because we don't have a DC drivers license. Can't get DC license because we can't show acceptable proof of residency.

Hmm. Well, that's quite the predicament.

But, I'm not gonna worry. In fact, I'm going to smile, right in the face of all the worry that would love nothing more than to slap that smile right off my face. And just to make it perfectly clear to worry that he's not running my show, I'm gonna throw in a shoulder shrug just to rub it in.

I don't know how all these little details are gonna get worked out. But I know they're gonna. And so before the curtain closes on our time in DC I am pitching another memorial in recognition that God provides. He is in every detail. Even these ones. There is no detail of our lives that is too inconsequential for God. It all matters to Him. And He will provide and bring answers and wisdom and open doors and grant favor....just like He's done before.

So I will not cave to worry. I will keep my eyes on the Lord. I will delight in the Lord's provision. Even the provision He hasn't provided yet. I will smile, and shrug my shoulders, and hit "repeat" while I sing out....

"Alive in the age of worry. Rage in the age of worry. Sing out in the age of worry. And say, 'worry, get out of here!'"-"Age of Worry" by John Mayer

"Back to life, back to reality"

Sing it with me, "Back.to.liiiiiife. Back.to.reality. Back.to.liiiiife. Back.to.reality."

We had a nice little break in Michigan. Six days away from the chaos. But....those six days have come and gone and the chaos has since returned. I think I'm getting used to it. Or immune to it. Not sure which one.

Friday, the day after we got home last week we had dinner guests over. Now, under normal circumstances that wouldn't be a big deal. But Isaak returned home two days before we did, and when he tells me he's going to "clean up" for me before I get home....well, lets just say we have different versions of clean. So I was cleaning up from Isaak being home alone for two days. And then being gone in general for six. And then trying to stuff all of our still packed luggage and van full of new stuff, somewhere, anywhere, before our friends arrived. Six hours later the house was kinda okay.

Saturday morning/afternoon was an Ikea run for cheapie essentials.
Saturday evening/night was a Mulan play.

Sunday morning was church.
Sunday afternoon was another mad dash to Costco to drop some more dough for our consumables shipment.

Monday was another brutal dentist appointment for me for my scaling and root planing (that is a serious deep cleaning where they scrape underneath your gums and clean your teeth down.to.the.roots.) You're suppose to be numb when they do it. When they did the right side of my mouth a few weeks ago I was. But the three shots I was given in the mouth...didn't work this time. So I felt every.single.scrape with that viscous metal cleaning claw. It was absolutely horrible. But in true weird Melissa fashion...I helped myself endure by telling myself the whole time, "well, at least you're not having your teeth pried out by terrorists. Now that would really hurt. This is nothing compared to that. So suck it up and deal."

And I did. (for the record...I think I would make a great motivational speaker. :~) )

Monday later on Isaak took the afternoon off work to ship the Jeep to Africa now that we officially have orders. But, in running with our current luck.....

-we found out we couldn't ship the car because our title doesn't have USAA's name on it.
-in order to get USAA's name on it we had to go to the DMV to get a new title
-Isaak goes to the DMV to get a new title
-DMV is randomly CLOSED for the day

Yup. That sounds about right.

Tuesday, today, I found out that my tourist passport that I've had for 8 years has the wrong date of birth of it. Huh. Never noticed. But before I can apply for a new passport I have to wait three weeks for the military to make me another diplomatic passport because they messed up the first one. It should only take another three weeks for the military to finish my diplomatic one before I can apply for my tourist one. And since it only takes roughly six weeks to receive your tourist one that puts me getting my passport the second week of August. When we're suppose to be in Africa.

Yup. That sounds about right.

Still on today-had to run back to Public Health today to get paperwork authorizing us to have the rabbies vaccine, because the immunization clinic won't let us come back in to get those vaccines without a piece of paper, highlighting "rabbies" on it. You know you're in that office a lot when the guy comes out from his cubicle and says, "oh, the Burkina Faso lady." Yip. Back again.

I haven't heard back from the Pediatric Infectious Disease doctor on base for the girls malaria meds. It would be MUCH easier just to take them to the base clinic (AGAIN) to talk to the required specialist. But, easy doesn't seem to be in our life equation right now. So I was on the phone for forever today trying to get them a referral to be seen off base, at another base, to go to a different Infectious Disease doctor.

Yup. That sounds about right.

I have an eye exam later this evening....can scratch that off the "to-do" list. Pending any unforeseen disasters.

Spent a few hours this afternoon organizing our stuff to sell in a yard sale on Saturday. It's our last free weekend. Might as well. :~)

And just for kicks to top off the crazy chaos our life is enshroud in....when we got home this afternoon, Sydaleigh slammed Marvelly's hand in the driver's side door. I could see it was going to happen. But before I could yell to Syd to stop, or reach across the car to grab Marvi, the door was shut, her hand was in it, and I could see it in the passenger window sticking out the other side. Those were the slowest three seconds I've ever ran getting to the other side of the car. Luckily Syd realized what happened immediately and opened the door back up before I even got around the car. Thankfully, it slammed her hand underneath her knuckles. It's pretty bruised, and swollen. But she can move her fingers so we don't think it's broken. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!!!

"Back.to.liiiiife. Back.to.reality. Back.to.liiiife. Back.to.reality."

Back to Bay City

We all took a trip back to my birth place this past week. I don't go back to Bay City, MI often, in fact it's been over four years since we've last visited. But with such a big move coming up, I knew we needed to go see my family there before we left.

It seems like a lifetime ago that I used to call this little city home.

But I did, once.

And it's good to go back and revisit those memories.

My girls never cease to amaze me. Those are some truly special kids I've been blessed with. They wasted no time getting reacquainted with my dad and Gloria and making themselves at home. Marvelly was only three months old the last time we came back and Sydaleigh was only two. But upon arrival they give big ole running bear hugs and act as if they've known them for years. They do that a lot. They just have this special God given ease where they can find instant comfort and familiarity even with people they just met. I wasn't like that as a kid. Even with family. If I hadn't seen you in a while, or if you had a beard, or were old, or loud....I kept my distance. My girls....they don't keep distance. And I just love that.

We had a great time while we were in town. We mostly just hung out around my dad's, lounging and talking while the girls played and ran around.

But we also hit up the park a couple times. Bay City still has those good old school parks with the massively tall metal slides, and metal monkey bars and merry go rounds.

Just looking at this picture makes me dizzy. I don't know how kids can stomach these rides.

We did sparklers and went to Mussel Beach for ice cream.

We had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows.

We did a drive by photograph of the old house. The pear tree is still growing high on the side yard, and the circle garden is still out front. It looks the same. It's nice to see that whoever is living in it now is taking good care of it.

It rained a lot while we were in MI. One day it thunderstormed the entire day. Now, it's one thing for it to rain an entire day, but to actually have thunderstorms, for an entire day...that does not happen very often! And I am a gal that likes some thunder.

In the rainstorms wake was left some hefty sized puddles in my dads driveway. And...my girls like some puddles. I have a weird thing for thunder. They have a weird thing for puddles. Love how different and quirky God makes each of us.

Nothing makes them happy like a good puddle.

Free.

We also hit up the beach where there is an awesome wooden play ground and new sprinkler park.

Girls loved the playground. They splashed at the sprinkler park for about ten minutes....and then....their eyes fell on this beauty.....

oooh yeaaah....the mother of all puddles. It's not really even a puddle. Just a flooded area of the park from the last night's rain. But in no time they ditched the shiny new splash park for this!

My dad was mystified, "they don't want to play at the sprinkler park anymore? They'd rather splash in a puddle?" Yup. That's my girls. They're odd, but I think it's cool. They like what they like even if it's different from the main stream. The rest of the park was over splashin' it up in the sprinklers, and there's my girls....havin' a rompin good time in a big ole puddle. Makin' a commotion and hootin' and hollerin' happy as can be. I love it. And I love that they love it too.

My last day in town I got my thrifting on. D.C. has a sorry excuse for thrift stores, so I was not about to leave Bay City without hitting up a couple. My steal of the day.....a play skool doll house for $3.50....oh wait...that's what it was before she took 50% off....making it a grand total of ONE DOLLA and SEVENTY FIVE CENTS! Woot woot!! *fist pumps!!!* Do we need a doll house? Uh, no. But I was not about to leave that at the store for a dollar seventy five! You just don't say no to that kind of cheap!

My dad even scored a massive hard shelled guitar case that retails for about $150...for $5. Five dollars. I showed him the light. The thrifting light. I think he's hooked.

I had to take this picture. Not to photograph my dad's house....but to photograph the skull on his front door. So my dad. That's who he is....an all black wearin', long hair havin', skull and bones kinda guy.

We took an afternoon and had lunch with my Grandpa too. I love that man. He is fascinating. He served as a seabee for the Navy during WWII and was awarded a bronze metal while he was in the Philippians. He has 87 years of knowledge and experience stored up in him and he is a joy to talk to. I didn't get to see my Grandma though. Her mental state has been slowly declining over the past five years. Her severe dementia has been hard on the family, to put it mildly. But through it all, He's stuck by her.

I'll never forget what grandpa told me when we were standing waiting for our table at Big Boy, tears in his eyes, he took my face in his hands and said, "Your Grandma loves you. She loves her granddaughters. She loves you."

Still defending her honor.

And then as we sat at the table, again with tears in his eyes he said, "We've been married almost 66 years. Your grandma has her good days. And she has her bad days. And I'm stickin' by her till the end."

And he will.

For better or worse. And this would definitely be the worse end of the stick. But he is loyal, and committed, and resolved to extend grace. 

Ya know, I hoped to meet with my grandpa and offer him whatever encouragement I could for this strained situation they are all in having to handle my grandma's health. It can't be easy watching your loved one slowly deteriorate. But at the end of our lunch....I'm the one who walked away uplifted. Funny how we set out to try and give and offer something of ourselves, and God turns it around and we end up being the ones getting taught and offered something in return. What a beautiful example of commitment and grace God shared with me. 

It was a good trip. There were some really great parts, and then some hard parts. But it was restful and good to go back and see everyone. I'm glad we got to go up there before we move again.

(Isaak had to fly back on Monday morning leaving me to drive back solo with the girls on Wednesday. Just had to give myself a little shout out for that. :~) )