Crossroads

Gal 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

This journey we are on has brought me to a crossroads in my spiritual, emotional, and physical life. Each day thar I wake up I am reminded that we are truly in the will of God by being here. I have never felt such a strong sense of following God's will in so many areas of my life. I am being forced to grow in all different ways. Yesterday we took a drive to the Sequoia national park, which took us on a windy road into the mountains. We didn't really know where we were going but the sights were amazing. We came to a fork in the road where we had to decide which road to take. We didn't have a map and it was unknown territory. We decided to take one path first and that led us further up the mountain. Then we backtracked and took the other road and that took us further away from the mountain. The road was wider and less windy. each road was different. I find myself at a major crossroad where I can choose God's path for my life. A dear friend of mine gave me the above verse and it speaks true to what I am learning. I pray that the end result of this journey leads to more servanthood and less pleasing of man. I pray for a transformation in this area. I am excited to see what the road looks like that I am choosing, as I don't know how it looks ahead of me.

We are seeing major changes in our lives and the kids lives as we change our approach to parenting. One area of transformation happening for me is that if I am parenting with biblical language then I am quickly seeing areas of weakness where I fall short as a model to the kids. For example, the other day while at Kohl's, we were picking out cards to send to people. Mya decided to lick the envelope to put the card in before we purchased it. So I used this as a life lesson on honesty. I had her take the card to the register and tell the lady what she did. She had to apologize and it was tough for her. But on the same trip Sara peed on the floor and I didn't tell the store clerk right away. It got cleaned up before I had a chance to tell anyone. So as I was teaching about honesty, Mya quickly reminded me that I was not honest with the store clerk about Sara's accident. Boy was she right! I am finding that my behavior makes quite an impression on the girls and I better make sure I am modeling what I am teaching. This is changing my heart in the process. Before we started reading about how to change our approach, I wouldn't have used the terminology that I am using now. And it is the terminology that is causing me to examine my ability to be a servant for Christ.

Good things happening here in sunny Porterville, California. Real good things!

Day Trip

I am sitting at a Starbucks drinking some hot chocolate because I was convicted that using their WiFi in the parking lot probably wasn't the most moral thing to do.  So from now on I will go in the building and order something before I use their internet.  I just may not post pictures quite as often.  But I am enjoying the air conditioning and an evening away from the kids right now.  Dan is at the apartment putting everyone to bed for the night.  We had a fun filled day at the Fresno zoo and Playland.  I am trying to learn our new camera so below are my best pictures from the day.  Dan and I took 96 pictures today hoping for some great shots.  I think we got a few.

Mya's Heart

On Tuesday of this week I was driving the kids to Target to do a little shopping. On the way there, out of nowhere, Mya said, "Mommy I want to ask Jesus into my heart." I was caught off guard but immediately responded and asked if she wanted to wait until daddy got home. She said, "No, I want to do it right now." so we did. I pulled the car off the side of the road, asked her to bow her head, and had her pray the sinners prayer. It was an amazing moment. She asked me why I was sad, as I was crying tons, and I had to explain to her that they were tears of joy. What a proud moment!

I had the pleasure today of meeting a mom at the pool. It was good and something that I needed to fill my "social" tank.  I learned a lot about her life and really enjoyed the conversation.  Another thing to celebrate today is Sara's potty time.  We had a neighbor kid over at the house and they were all playing in the bedroom.  Next thing I knew Sara was sitting on the toilet, all by herself, going poopy.  Yipee!  I hope we are done with diapers for good.

And now, some pictures that I have been meaning to post.  I figured out that I can sit in the parking lot of Starbucks and still access their internet service.  So now I don't have to drag all three children into the store when I need to post pictures.  I am so clever sometimes.

Here are pictures of Sara's birthday party....

Here is a shot of the me and the girls enjoying oranges.  I taught them to smile with them.  Oranges are a must eat on a daily basis around here.

And here is the view of the pool from our front door.  Pretty awesome!

Sara Meleah

Our precious Sara turned 3 on Saturday. (I have pictures to share but won't get them up until my next post). It is like she suddenly grew up. Like she knew she turned 3. Her language exploded and her ability to comprehend more things has improved. We had a party for her at the apartment. We had hamburgers, French fries, broccoli, and oranges. Then we had cupcakes for dessert with lots of icing on them. We bought lots of cupcakes on purpose and after her party we shared them with the neighborhood kids. This helped us meet some more people in our new community. If you asked Mya about it she would tell you that we sold our cupcakes. I can't get her to understand that we shared them...not sold them. Oh well! The girls have made many new friends. We have kids knocking on our door all the time wanting to play with Mya and Sara. One friend is here right now watching A Barbie movie. I have enjoyed the fellowship. The only strange thing here is that I never see the parents of the kids. I don't really have the opportunity to meet other moms. They don't leave their apartments to socialize. Hospitality is a bit different in this area. And we are the minority with our race. But the kids have been Fun so I just focus on them and am glad to invite them in my home.

Dan started work on Monday. We have had him around for two weeks now and have gotten quite attached. Mya cried as soon as we dropped him off at work. She cried the whole way home. Which made me cry. Sara cried at the breakfast table because she thought it was still her birthday
and found out that it wasn't. There is a lot of estrogen in this house some days. Dan is liking his job at the Porterville hospital. Aparently the nurses told his co-worker that he is very nice to look at. I just smiled and felt proud. I have to agree with them.

Each day I am reminded of how much God designed for this experience to happen. Our little family is being knit closer together every day. I am loving the time that I have with the girls each day. At home I was occupied with so much multiple-tasking. Here...I am just a mom and I say that with great pride. The girls have my undivided attention and I am realizing how important that is for them. I have learned so much about each of their personalities just from being here for a week. I love who God is designing them to be. There are some funny moments. Just the other day Mya was helping me find the library in town. She said, "Mom, all you have to do is find the mountains and drive towards them." She is very insightful. Then there is Sara who tinkled on the floor at Kohl's today while I was trying on sunglasses. She is a hoot. She might be potty trained when she turns four.

All in all we are doing well and learning a lot about ourselves and our faith and how our little family unit works. I should have some pictures up this weekend because we will have some kind of adventure or trip on Saturday with the kids.

Apartment Pictures

Below are pictures of our new home.  The outside of the apartment complex needs a lot of work, but we are very happy with the inside.  We even went to Bath and Body and bought a wall flower plug in to make it smell like home.  The girls are doing well and enjoying checking out books at the library and buying toys at the dollar store. We are content here.  How can you not be when everywhere you look you see mountains in the background.  It is quite majestic.

Princess Jasmine

We have settled. These past couple days have been a whirlwind. I find that I have moments of fear when I realize what we are actually doing. Being away from the comforts of home can be very overwhelming at times. But I find myself being taken right back to where I need to be...on my knees, literally, in prayer. Asking Jesus to show me his will for our life. And asking for peace and comfort on this journey. Yesterday I hit exhaustion from lack of sleep. I was able to get a wonderful nap and that made such a difference. We put the girls to sleep for naps and Dan did all the laundry for me while I slept. He took care of making some phone calls and gave me a great nap time. Today I am feeling revived and ready to start a new day. We were going to go hiking today but it is raining. The locals say that the weather they are experiencing is quite unusual this time of year. It is in the low 70's and gets cold at night. We are a little bummed because we have a pool at our apartment complex. The girls have used it once and froze. They were literally shaking when we took them out of the water. Hopefully it warms up in the next month or so so the girls can get some good swim time in. In researching our living area, we have discovered that we will be taking weekend trips because the sightseeing stuff is a good 2 or 3 hours away. We plan on seeing San Francisco and Montara Beach sometime soon. So those of you who would like to come visit us in California might want to wait and see where our next placement is. We hope to be closer to more things.

Last night I cooked a meal for our family for the first time in about 3 weeks. I didn't necessarily miss cooking, but I missed providing for my family in that way. There is much truth to knowing the way God designed women to be. As a mom, I feel made to provide with preparing meals and cleaning and taking care of the home. Much in the same way that Dan feels he needs to provide financially. It was wonderful to share a hot meal and do dishes and tidy up the kitchen. I never thought I would be saying that. It is like it was part of what I needed to feel complete in our home. I borrowed my neighbor's vacuum this morning and swept
the floor. It felt good to do that too!

Last night we met the community in our apartment complex. They all hang out in the evenings so we introduced ourselves. The girls met a nice friend right away. She is a 10 year old girl named Jasmine and fell in love with Mya and Sara. The girls decided to name her Princess Jasmine and ask to see her all the time. I am praying for a great ministry opportunity with her. That would be neat. Tomorrow we check out a local church...hoping to do some networking there and find things to do with the girls during the week.

Live like no one else...

One of the key quotes of Dave Ramsey is to "live like no one else so you can live like no one else" in the future. Which means...live a different way now, like living on a budget, and reap the long term blessings. A big part of our goals with living debt free is the freedom to give financially to others. We are excited to do that some day. In the meantime we are living an interesting life.
We have arrived at our first destination! I am expecting some cheering right now. We arrived yesterday and moved into our unfurnished apartment. Yes...I said unfurnished. So we had a slumber party as a family sleeping on the floor. Surprisingly we slept very well due to exhaustion, I think. Today we get our furniture. We have already learned to become quite resourceful in a new town. I talked the furniture lady into lending us her personal microwave for 13 weeks. And then I called the coordinator of the MOPS group in Porterville to borrow her pack and play for the traveling baby. I am liking the challenge of this experience. Today we found a local produce stand And were in Heaven with what is available here...mangos, cherries, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, apricots, peaches, apples, and plums...all locally grown. We have learned quickly the art of talking to the locals to learn about the hot spots in this area. Although the town is nothing special to look at, we are surrounded by great sites to explore. My new favorite for this town is the fact that you can make u-turns wherever and whenever you want. I find myself finding an excuse to make one just because it is so fun. All in all we are quite happy here. We keep looking at each other and say that despite any stress we are experiencing with moving, we feel at home here. Our apartment feels homey despite the outside.
Today i had to chuckle when i walked past the girls bedroom only to see dan passed out on the floor in the middle of their play area. Apparently he told them that they could use him as a mountain so they had all of their little trinket animals and people lined up on his head and down his back. The funny thing was that he was totally asleep while they played. It was hard not to laugh out loud.
Dan and I are doing very well with trying some new parenting techniques that we learned from our friends in Arizona. The biggest change has been eliminating raising our voices and threats to punish. It just doesn't happen anymore and not only are we happier but the kids are happier too. It is like they feel respected. We have seen the most change with Sara. As soon as she disobeys we walk slowly to her, bend down to her level, look in her eyes and tell her our expectations and/or deliver an immediate consequence. Wow, what a difference!
Off to bed for the night. On to more adventures for the weekend as we start to explore the area. Dan starts work on Monday.