Through A Child's Eyes

Mya came to us the other day all excited because she drew a family picture for me and Dan.  I looked at it puzzled because there were 6 people in the picture instead of 5.  With a big smile on her face, she then told me that the sixth figurine was Jesus....she said, "because a long, long time ago he was here on our Earth." So she decided to put him in our family picture.  How cool is that?  Then she told me that her picture said, "I love you."  I just smiled and glanced over the letters on her page and told her it was nice.  All I saw were letters.  A couple days letter I looked at it closer and realized that it does say "I love you."  The words are just backwards.  She had copied those words on her paper without any guidance.  Smart girl!

Comments

If anyone has a moment, try to make a comment for me on the blog. I know that many of you are not able to leave comments. But I changed a setting so I am hoping that solved the problem.

Pork Roast

On Saturday we woke up and tried our hand at cooking a pork shoulder roast.  It all started because I wanted to do pulled pork, which I have never done.  So when I went grocery shopping on Friday I needed to buy the pork.  The only problem was that they were only selling very large ones.....8 pounders to be exact.  I bought it and figured Dan and I could learn how to do it together.  So that is what we did on Saturday and I must say, we did a fine job.  Dan did all the prep work and then he and I made pancakes and eggs for the girls. Then we decided why not take a day trip to the Fresno zoo.  So we all got in the car and surprised the girls by arriving at the zoo.  They were so excited and we had a wonderful day together. 

Blessings

Dan and I were talking today about how amazing it has been to see people take care of us while we are traveling. Since moving to Porterville, we have been truly taken care of. God's blessings have been abundant. Without knowing us very well, people continue to bless us and make sure we have what we need. Every week it seems like someone is looking out for us. It started with contacting the MOPS coordinator on the way from Ohio to California. She gave us a pack and play without ever having met us. From there we were given two strollers, a blow up mattress and sheets and blankets. The church has lavished blessings on us as well. Just this week I had church members concerned about coats for us for the winter. Another church member told me she wanted to get each of the girls an outfit for Christmas. And yet another one was sad she missed the girls birthdays so she gave cards to them. Inside was a dollar for each of them. You would have thought she gave them the world. I took the girls to the dollar store today and they had a blast choosing a toy to buy with their very own money. To list a few more things we have been given free babysitting, meals paid for unexpectedly, offers for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals and a borrowed vehicle for Dan to use so he can come to a Thanksgiving meal when he gets off work. Once again, I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of love on a family that people are just getting to know. It has given me a whole new perspective on giving and I hope to pay it forward as often as i can when I have opportunities to help others out.

Thanksgiving

This time of year we take moments to recognize what we are thankful for. It is a sweet time to reflect on what God has given us in our lives. This blog gives me a great opportunity to share with our readers about our Thanksgiving thoughts in California.

Thank you God for.....
*my oldest daughter who gets excited to buy avocados at the grocery store
*all of the family that we have in Ohio who calls us and loves on us while we are so far away
*a husband who likes to snuggle
*our cute little family
*the opportunity to be traveling and paying off debt
*Christmas!
*Christmas music
*Mexican grocery stores...they are so fun!
*exercise
*a baby who goes to sleep every night as soon as we lay her down and close the door
*the public library (wherever we travel) to borrow books and movies for free
*a husband who bathes the kids, brushes their teeth and gets them ready for bed every night
*a car that travels well
*the MOPS group in communities wherever we go
*our kids who find joy in life from taping coloring books together and making a train in the living room
*a place to live
*the iPad
*Skype
*our kids who say "I love you" to us on a daily basis
*our neighbor girl who prayed at our dinner table for the first time yesterday (we have waited 6 months to see that happen)
*salvation

You Won't Believe It!

Just in case you wouldn't believe it if I told you that Dan ate a taco....I have proof!  Our friends invited us over for dinner the other night and she made tacos.  Dan ate them and liked them!

Just One of Those Days

Ever have "one of those days?" The kind where you are so thankful that tomorrow you can start fresh? Today was that day for me. The girls were a challenge and I haven't had a really tough day like this in a while. I guess I should be thankful for that! Each child, throughout the day, found ways to test my ability to be consistent. And I am sad to say that I failed miserably in this area. They disobeyed over and over again. And little, precious Chloe has decided that she needs to see what I am made of too. So all three were hard. I was grateful when Dan got home so I could have some reprieve. Then I took Chloe out for the evening and ran some errands. Separating the family a bit helped calm everyone down. But you know what? Getting away was nice but I didn't truly feel peaceful until I opened the bible. We put the kids to bed and I decided I better get right with God on how I handled the girls today. That is when I had relief. Why did it take me all day before I chose to ask God for help? While I was reading and praying I had the revelation that I have become too busy doing my own things during the day rather than focusing all my attention on the girls. It dawned on me that Mya, especially, is so much like me when I was a little girl. She needs extra attention....that is part of her make-up. And I do not give it to her as much because I am a busy body. I clearly need to work on this. I immediately teared up when I realized how similar we are. I don't want the girls to see me as a busy body, but rather as a mom who has eyes on them because I am watching them and genuinely want to interact with them during the day. My days are numbered with them at home and I can choose to give them all the attention that they need and deserve. I am grateful for a new day so I can try again and start my day with God instead of waiting until I struggle. I guarantee tomorrow will be much better!

Bears, Snow and Mountains.....Oh My!

We took what was supposed to be a leisurely drive to the mountains today but it turned into an all day trip.  We drove to the Sequoia National Park and two hours later we were still in the car following the very long, windy road up to the top of the mountain.  Finally, at 8,000 feet we reached near the top.  Aside from the long drive, it was stunning and worth the trip.  You would think we would have this travelling thing down to a science, but we are still a work in progress.  We had little food and water with us and certainly not the right clothing to spend time at the top of a mountain in the snow.  But....at least the entrance into the park was free today because of Veteran's Day....thank goodness....we would have had to pay $20 to enter.  Even though there were some little snags along the way, we had a wonderful time.  We saw a real live bear walk by our car, stood in front of the largest Sequoia tree and watched the girls have a snowball fight.

First Attempt

We are in pursuit of getting a good family shot for our christmas card.  This was our first attempt.  We picked Dan up from work yesterday and drove straight to the mountains.  The sun was going down around 5:00 so we didn't have much light to work with.  We are going to try it again this weekend.  But here are some of the good shots that we got.

Highlights of the Month

I feel as though I have neglected the blog lately and its not due to anything negative or uneventful going on. We are settled and each day brings about it's own fun and challenges. Since we aren't traveling much right now I feel like there aren't as many exciting things to report. But I decided to look back on the last month and do some highlights of what has been going on. So.....here they are in no particular order:

*one day I went to the dentist and had Dan drop me off so I could run home and get my exercise done with all at the same time. The tooth cleaning was miserable...very painful. I left happy to be done with it and started running right away. I am not bragging, but my body is pretty used to running distance at a good pace. I have a good routine with getting exercise. I had a good pace going for about a mile and decided to stop at the hospital to go to the bathroom. I did that, came back outside and started running right away at a quick pace. I ran about 100 yards and experienced a major heart palpitation. I could literally see my heart pumping out of my chest. The good news....I was right in front of the ER. But...I made myself sit down, took deep breaths and watched my heart go back to normal. Crazy! Then I ran home a couple more miles. I have been fine since. Family....don't worry! I consulted with nurses and google. It is harmless. Supposedly I had s surge of adrenaline and when I stopped to go potty my body wanted to work at my running pace. What a wild experience!

*along the lines of talking about the dentist, Dan is working on battling a dental bill that we have been given but shouldn't have to pay. We were given all these extra X-rays that we didn't need and our insurance didn't cover. Dan tried working with the desk clerk but didn't get anywhere so now we have to meet with the dentist. I miss my dentist at home! We just wanted our free exam and cleaning....

*Dan took the girls to church on Wednesday night and told me that he agreed to be Joseph in our Christmas musical at church. What??? He wants to be challenged and thinks this is a good experience for him. Very cool! Those of you that know Dan well know how scared he is of public speaking. He is going to grow a beard and play the part. This will be so fun! I will take lots of pictures of this event.

*the other day I had the pleasure of witnessing Dan as a cheerleader and ballerina. I am not joking! I was cooking in the kitchen and next thing I knew I heard Dan making up a cheer for the girls with motions and leg kicks. Wow! What a sight!

*last month, in front of our church, I sang a duet. This was my first public appearance singing since my sister got married. I think the audience could hear my heart beating in the microphone. It was fun, but it stretched me with my confidence level. Thank goodness the lady that I sang with had a beautiful voice. It actually went very smooth and I hit all my notes.

*we recently joined a new Sunday school class with our pastor. He is discussing theology and background on Baptists. It is a more intimate setting where we can ask a lot of questions. We are really enjoying this class.

*I haven't talked in much detail about the friends that we have made here in Porterville. I definitely need to work on getting a better picture of them to post. I put one on for Chloe's birthday post but it didn't show them very well. Their names are Isaac and Jennifer and their daughter is Neva. We met them the first day we attended church at Calvary Baptist and have spent just about every weekend with them since then. Our families...kids and adults...just click very well together. We love spending time with them. Jennifer and I have a lot in common and tend to think very similar....sometimes in a scary way (ha ha). We are so grateful for their hospitality while we are here and will greatly miss them when we leave. We are looking forward to meeting the new addition to their family sometime this month.

*when we met Isaac and Jennifer we found out that they had all 8 seasons of the TV series 24 on DVD. So since July Dan and I have been re-watching all the seasons at night after the kids go to bed. I am proud to say that we just finished all the seasons. So now what? Maybe Dan will actually pick up a book and read it. Probably not!

*we made a new friend these past couple months....a neighbor who we call the "cat lady." She and her husband were here temporarily because he works on airplanes that fight fires. She adopted 4 kittens at the apartment complex and took care of them. The girls would look out the window everyday to see if she was out with the kitties. She was someone that we chatted with during the day. But she moved away a couple days ago. Mya told me today, "Mommy, I miss the cat lady." she will be missed!

*a neighbor gave us their vacuum to keep. So fun! I love sweeping!

*we recently learned how to Skype on the IPad and it is so fun to see people from home. So if anyone wants to do that with us we would love to see you!

*the highlight of my day has become watching Dan do this little routine with the girls when we drop him off at work. He gets out of the car, kisses each child in the back seat, closes the car door and plays "peek a boo" at the car door window. He goes up and down to hide himself and then reappear. They love it! The best part is watching spectators watch Dan do this...not knowing that their are kids in the car. Hilarious!

Well...hope you enjoyed the highlights. We should have more pictures coming as the holidays are approaching. My goal this month is to get the family to the mountains and take a family photo. That will be our Christmas card this year. Should be fun!