Laying Things Aside

I had an interesting, eye opening experience last week as I prepared to go on a date with Dan on his birthday. I waited all week and I wanted so bad to have a new shirt to wear so I could look really special for him. Boy did God have something to teach me. Each and every time I hit a sale rack...and by sale I mean a $5-$10 shirt...I would try it on, look in the mirror, admire it, put it back on the rack and walk out the store empty handed. I probably did this about three times that week. I got to the point that I was actually mad that I was so convicted to NOT purchase the shirt. It was just one shirt that I wanted! The night before our date I spent a good hour going to three different stores to find that silly shirt that was going to make me feel so good. Once again I came home empty handed and just sat down beside Dan with tears in my eyes. I couldn't believe that it took me so long to have a revelation like the one I was having. It was just like God was whispering in my ear every time I looked in the mirror in the dressing room, "Julie, I love you with an unconditional love. Your clothes do not make you who you are. This shirt might look cute, but it will not fill you with eternal security. You are not what you wear. You do not need new clothes to be beautiful." I feel the Lord transforming my heart and this was one of his mini lessons that although I didn't like it at the time, I am very grateful for the power of His whispered words. I have good news. We went on our date, I wore an old dress, and Dan still thought I looked good. But above all, my heart was stretched and I came out with a softer heart.

"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
1 Peter 2:1

We're Staying!

Dan got a call from his recruiter last week who had great news for him. The hospital offered to raise Dan's pay if he would sign on for another 3 months and we happily accepted. We feel very blessed here and feel like this is the place where God wants us right now. So...most likely we will be here at least through Thanksgiving and possibly to Christmas. We have made good friends here, found a great babysitter, and love our tiny church. We are excited to stay at a place where we feel settled and very comfortable. Praise God!

Date Night

Happy Birthday Dannyboy!

Today is Dan's birthday and we are on our way to take him a smoothie and surprise him at the hospital.  Hopefully we can find him at the hospital...they don't let you page any employees. 

Yesterday we had a birthday party for him at the apartment.  The neighbor kids planned the party for him.  I baked the cake and they decorated it.  Then they decorated the apartment with pictures that they colored.  We had fish, baked potato and green beans for dinner.  Somehow I was able to feed all 6 kids that were at our apartment.  After we ate cake we swam at the pool for a couple hours.  It was a fun evening.  Now let's talk about the cake.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  One of the neighbor girls had a design in her mind so I let her execute her plan.  If you can't tell, there are gummy worms coming out of holes, gummy bears sitting in the grass, and purple flowers all around.  It was quite a sight!

Unexpected Gifts

I woke up this morning complaining about not having any clothes to wear to church since we are abstaining from shopping for a while.  And since I don’t have foreknowledge I had no idea what was to come of our morning to put things into perspective for me.  I was reminded of how awesome it is to live a life with a God who does have foreknowledge.  How neat to wake up to a new day, every day, and know that God has great plans for our lives.  We don’t know what each day will bring, but He does something for us every day and it is exciting to just wait and see what is to come.

We started getting ready this morning and Dan suggested that we go to breakfast before church.  So we packed up the kids and got in the car.  I asked Dan where he was taking us for breakfast and he said, “I’m not sure yet, but I have been told that the bowling alley has good food.”  What???  The bowling alley in Porterville is not my idea of a good place to eat.  So we drove around the town for a little while trying to find the place.  We turned down a side street and happened to come upon what looked like a very worn down, empty parking lot and bowling alley.  But at the corner of the bowling alley was a tiny café.  We drove in, parked, and sat there for a while deciding if we wanted to go in or not.  It looked risky.  But we saw some nice cars in the parking lot, a Hummer and a Mustang, so we figured it couldn’t be too bad.  We took the plunge and went in. 

What seemed like a crummy place turned out to be a sweet little diner with very nice people.  We sat down and chatted with two regulars, Max and Victor.  They were older men who took an interest in our family and talked with us the whole time.  We didn’t pay much attention to our waitress, although she seemed nice.  She offered good service and checked on us periodically to see if our meal was okay.  The food was excellent and the girls ate everything on their plates.  As we were finishing our meal, the waitress approached us and asked if we were Christians.  She said that our kids were so well behaved and wondered what church we attended.  We told her where we were going and she wanted us to know that the work we are doing with our kids goes noticed.  She said that she has worked with the public, in many settings, for a very long time and she can tell a lot about families based upon the kids’ behaviors.  We were grateful for her comments.  A little time passed and we were ready to leave so I sent Mya up to the counter with our Visa card to pay.  At this point we hadn’t gotten our bill yet but we needed to leave to get to church on time.  Mya went up to the counter and asked to pay and the waitress shook her head and told her to return to her seat and that she didn’t need our money.  I saw this happening from a distance and couldn’t believe what was going on.  I caught the waitress’ attention and told her we could pay for our meal.  She came over and told us that the meal was on her.  She said that she can see Jesus in our family and she wanted to reward us for that.  We looked at each other and shared some tears.  Then I looked at Dan, told him what was happening, and he teared up too.  I just couldn’t believe the moment that we were having.  I gave the waitress a hug and thanked her for being so generous.  We told her we would be back again soon and she gave us a warm smile as we walked out the door.  It turns out the waitress is the owner of the restaurant.

Comfort

On our family vacation before we left for California, Dan spent the second half of the week on the phone and computer trying to find housing for us. It was pretty time consuming and frustrating for all of us. But I have a new found respect for how much work he did. Yesterday I was on the phone most of the morning trying to research housing at other sites. We might extend our contract here but we might also move on. Now is the time to start looking. We are considering a place called Walnut Creek by San Francisco or the other option is Hollywood. But...the way this works is that in a couple weeks we could have a whole new site to check out. It just depends on what gets posted to his recruiter. It is frustrating to find a place in a town where we have never been. But we are getting quite the education on this travelling thing. I have since discovered that Dan is much better at finding apartments than I am. His laid back personality becomes very handy! So I think I will be leaving that task up to him. I was so frustrated because I lost a whole morning with the girls yesterday. I was occupied and they were hungry for my attention.
Now we have to start considering where we want to live, how much we want to pay, and how set we are on sticking with our goal to pay the house off in the shortest amount of time. If we choose more expensive housing at the next site, then we would have to travel longer than the 15 months that we initially decided on. With all that said, the bottom line is that it is all in God's hands. Thankfully Dan keeps me grounded with that kind of thinking. Those of you who know me well know that I can be just a tiny bit high strung....just a little. Okay, maybe more than a little. Not knowing what the future holds and my personality don't always click so well. This is when I am so grateful for Dan's spiritual leadership. And for the bible. I was reading scripture this morning in 2 Chronicles about king Jehoshaphat. He was told that a vast army would be coming to kill them and what did he do? Did he get his gear together and go fight? Nope....he brought his people together to seek help from the Lord. And the Lord said, "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's." Then he went to fight. Now we certainly aren't going to battle, but we are up against many uncertainties as we travel with our family.

Chloe's Firsts

First tooth......
First time commando crawling.....
First time signing for "more".......

Our Week

It has been a low-key week for us.  On Monday night I had the opportunity to go out to dinner with some of the moms from the MOPS group here.  They are all very sweet and were so welcoming with me.  The conversation was easy and comfortable.  And the food was amazing.  I had this really large burger with fresh bleu cheese, stringy onion rings, lettuce, tomato, and some special sauce.  I moaned and groaned as I ate it.  Then I decided to splurge and have a piece of their tiramisu.  Oh my goodness!  The piece was so large that I was able to bring half of it home for lunch the next day.  I waited until everyone went down for a nap and then secretly enjoyed my delicious dessert for a second time.  The meals I have been making here certainly don’t compare to what I ate at the restaurant on Monday.  We all know about Dan’s picky eating habits, but he is actually the least of the picky eaters here because I have been making a lot of meat and vegetable dishes.  I have one pot and one skillet and one wooden spoon.  My resources are very limited so I am making plenty of “Dan” meals around here.  I do have to say that he has been eating the fresh vegetables that I fix without complaint…..even zucchini and squash.  Wow! 

On Tuesday we went to story time at the library.  The girls have become popular at story time as the staff has gotten to know them over the summer.  Chloe is a hit.  As soon as we walk into the library there are two high school volunteers that snatch her out of my arms and carry her around for a while.  They are engrossed with her blue eyes…..you don’t see many kids with blue eyes around here.  We had a friend meet us at story time today.  We started attending a very small church and have gotten to know a young couple there.  We have really enjoyed their company and have been spending time with them.  The wife, Jennifer, and her little girl came to story time for the first time.  It was fun having friends there with us.

Wednesday we stayed home and endured the heat.  The girls went swimming three times during the day.  I try to get them in the pool in the morning and early evening so I don’t have to mess around with Sunblock. 

Today we ventured to the Visalia mall and I let the kids play in the indoor playground.  I bought them each a pair of sun glasses (2 for $5…can’t beat that bargain….I have become quite the bargain shopper).  We stopped at the jewelry store and Sara seems to be very interested in getting her ears pierced.  Maybe we will let her do that someday soon.  We will let Daddy make that decision.  Mya is pretty sure she doesn’t want hers pierced.  Her pain tolerance level is very low.  She won’t even let us put a Band aid on her because she is scared of having to take it off.  Tonight we will probably visit a local playground and let the kids burn some energy.  That always makes for good sleeping nights for them.

Tomorrow is yet to be determined, but I would guess that we will get some grocery shopping done in the morning and swim in the afternoon. 

Yosemite

Our weekend adventures are just that…..ADVENTURES.  There is always something funny happening or some big lesson that we learn after we take our trip.  Most of our trips will be one time only trips, but after we take them we realize there are many things we would do differently if we ever went back.  I guess that is how it goes with being a “traveler.” This weekend was no exception as we ventured to the famous Yosemite National Park.

Here we are eagerly waiting for Dan to get home from work. .

We left Friday evening and stayed in a hotel.  The pool water was freezing, the upstairs neighbors sounded like elephants on our ceiling, and the girls decided to lay in bed wide awake until 11pm.  So next time we might choose a different hotel, but you know, in spite of any inconveniences, we had a

blast.  All three girls were extremely good through it all. 

We woke up early Saturday morning and got everyone out the door by 8am.  We got breakfast and started our day at the South entrance of the park.  Apparently you have to get to the park entrance pretty early because of all the traffic from tourists (or so Dan told us……I think he just said that because he was so excited to see the waterfalls).  So we get there bright and early and there is no traffic.  I could have stayed in my nice cozy hotel bed and enjoyed some television for just a little longer.  Oh well, it worked out just fine. 

We decided to check out the Sequoias first so we parked our car and started on the trail.  What turned out to be a leisurely stroll became a four mile hike up the mountain and back down again.  Initially I had Chloe in the front pack and the two girls walking, but that didn’t last for long.  Sara has such a hard time walking on tough terrain so Dan backpacked her and carried Chloe in his arms.  I carried all the sweatshirts (we didn’t need them because we worked up a sweat) and held Mya’s hand.  Now without kids this type of activity is right up me and Dan’s ally, but with kids…..it was interesting.  Little Mya walked all four miles and did an amazing job.  This was a great time for me to work with her on the lesson of not complaining.  As we walked, I kept quoting scripture of being content in every situation. 

After our four mile hike and seeing some beautiful Sequoia trees in the grove, we headed to Glacier’s Point.  This was worth the entire trip.  We saw the waterfalls and mountains….it was stunning.  In Dan’s words, that he said all day, “Holy Guacamole!” By this time it was later afternoon and the poor girls had been snacking and drinking water all day but were getting hungry for lunch/dinner.  There were no restaurants to be found!  So we drove to Yosemite Valley to see the bottom of the waterfalls.  Breathtaking!  We stopped at a campground store to get more snacks for the kids. Finally, we left the park around 5:30, drove to the nearest town and got everyone dinner around 6.  A little fish and chips, a smoothie, some gas in the car, and we were on our way back to Porterville.  Looking back, we would have done a few things differently….like maybe packed lunch!

Real Nostalgia

I had a good laugh today with my dad on the phone when he was telling me that he read my post, titled Nostalgia, and was eagerly anticipating my talk of how much we are missing our family and friends at home. When in fact all I talked about was missing my hard wood floors. At the time, amidst the puking, that is what I missed the most. But it goes without saying that we get homesick for our family and friends much more than we do the floors in our house. This post is in honor of my conversation with Dad as we shared a good laugh over his observation. But honestly, it is important for you all to know how much we miss you. Your love and support while we are away keeps us going. We await the day when we get to come back home. At the same time, we are living life here and loving it. We feel "at home" here in Porterville as Dan plugs away working very hard at his job. I have to boast on Dan for a minute because he got a phone call from his recruiter last week who sang his praises. The recruiter had talked to the hospital where Dan is working and they expressed how pleased they are with his work. They love him so much that they have offered to keep him on longer. So if his recruiter doesn't find a higher paying contract when this one is done, then it looks like we might be staying here for an additional 3 months. That takes us to the first week of December. We should know more by next month. In the meantime, we are liking our adventures and our location.

Night Out

I got some time out tonight, so here I am, sitting at Starbucks, enjoying one of their new Refresher drinks.  It is a lime flavor, but I don't really like it too much.  Guess I'll try the other flavor next time.  Well, I think it is almost safe to say that me, Dan and the baby managed to NOT get the flu.  Not sure how, but I am not complaining one bit!  We had a successful, healthy day today and the kids were glad to be able to play with their apartment friends again.  Since last Friday they have missed seeing their friends.  Today we ventured out and it was good.  Or should I say.....the neighbor kids ventured in.  We had three extra friends in the apartment today.  I struggle!  I struggle with the neighbor kids in many ways.  I love having them around, but let me tell you how tough it is to watch them raise themselves.  And because of that, they are left to decide what sinful nature they will keep or not keep.  What I mean by that is that they aren't being taught how to treat people or squelch selfish ways or respect others.  Many times if they aren't in the mood to be around my girls, they will just ignore them or decide not to share their things that day. But as soon as we bring out our toys they are playing with them and eating our food and watching our movies.  My sinful nature wants to lecture them on how to treat my kids, but I can't.  I know that I am here to set an example for them.  Even if it effects them in one small way.  Even if twenty years from now they think back to how their neighbor treated them.  I am teaching my kids to think of others first no matter how they are treated.  Well, that is what I need to be demonstrating and this is the perfect opportunity to do it.  So they don't share their toys with my kids, but we can share our toys with a joyful heart.  Try to do that when you aren't being treated in the same way.....tough!  But God is giving me the self control and wisdom on how to handle this.  For that I am grateful.

Since I am at Starbucks I can share some pictures with you.  Below is a picture of Mya and Sara's favorite neighborhood friend.  Her name is Gracie.  Pray for her if you have the chance.  She is the one that I see the most just wandering the apartment complex looking for something to do all day long, every day.



Chloe is enjoying a gift that the girls got in a package from their Gigi.  Thank you Gigi and Poppo!

A cute picture of Mya and Chloe.  Mya always finds her way into the path of the camera.  If I had blonde hair and blue eyes I would do the same thing!

Okay...not the best picture of myself, but I wanted to prove that I am growing my hair out.  It is slowly....ever so slowly....growing.

Goofy Sara with her sunglasses.  We are so grateful that she is feeling better.  Her bout with the flu was pretty scary for us.

Round 2

Ding, ding...the winner today is Mya. Poor little girl, she started with flu like symptoms yesterday afternoon and was pretty sick by bedtime. Another wonderful night in the Donatini household. I am disinfecting the apartment today in hopes of protecting the baby.

Recovery

Thank you all for your prayers for Sara. This morning was the first time that she smiled on her own and made a joke. After yet another sleepless night last night, I think Sara might be on the road to recovery. Dan and I were up with her all night because she was heading into what we felt was a scary state of dehydration. Luckily Dan was consistent with giving her fluids every half hour or so through the night. He was pretty concerned about her so he stayed on top of it. Finally, by about 5 am she went to the bathroom and started asking for pretzels. Today she is talking and hopefully starts playing again. What a tough weekend for us, but we are so grateful that she is on the mend.

Nostalgia

We have become homesick for many things, but the biggest thing I miss right now are my hardwood floors and tiled bathroom and kitchen. Our apartment has carpet, which is not fun to clean when you have a sick child. We had great plans this weekend to visit Yosemite. We had the whole day planned and even had a free parking pass. But what turned into an exciting weekend has turned into a tough one for a mom. My goofy, fun loving daughter, Sara, came down with the flu. What I thought was maybe heat exhaustion turned into throwing up every half hour through the night. We are still not out of the woods yet, but she is finally eating a cracker this evening. She is very skinny and pale and I just can't stop worrying about her. I was awake the whole night. Just when I dozed off she woke me up to throw up. Thankfully, so far, the other girls are doing well. Thankfully, even in tough times, my husband always finds a way to bring humor into the situation. He has quite a knack for that. I was getting a back rub from Dan and we were talking to Sara while she was laying on the couch. We were trying to get her to smile. Next thing I knew Dan was attempting to make farting noises with his armpits. Aparantly he hasn't practiced this skill in a while because he was unsuccessful. But it was funny watching him try. Then he decided to treat Sara like a patient and give her physical therapy. He had her walk back and forth across the apartment to exercise her legs. Very sweet! Please pray for little Sara.

Being Humbled

I find myself in a constant state of humbleness as I continue to work with the girls each day. The girls and I do a devotion each morning and we are reading Proverbs. There is a great verse in Proverbs 11:2 that states, "When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom." Some of my humbling moments are quite comical, so that is good. Just the other day I was in the shower brushing my teeth (a trick I picked up during my college years) and I threw the toothpaste out onto the floor. Mya came running in and said, "Mommy, don't throw things on the floor because this is not our place and we need to take care of things here. Now don't do that again." I have been training the girls' hearts to respect their surroundings and apparently forgot to do so myself. There was also the time when I took a drink of my lemonade and Mya said, "Mommy, you are being selfish and you should put me first so I can have a drink before you do." They are so impressionable! Dear God, please push my pride out of the way and always allow me to be humbled.