this month has been a breath of fresh air in many ways. the biggest reason is that i have finally hit a stride in our daily routine for the first time since baby girl came to us over 7 months ago. i thrive on routine (and so do kiddos!) so things have felt so much more peaceful and manageable... not like running around like a chicken with my head cut off as many days in the previous few months have been :)
the biggest thing that has helped me to hit a stride is waking up early to pray and read my bible. this is normally a pretty consistent routine in my life, but when when we have babies who are waking up at night, its a different story. but baby girl is sleeping better, and though some mornings its hard, i try to be up before 7: first i let the chickens out, then i grab a mug of coffee or tea and sit down to read. i am studying the book of esther with women from our church, and the sermon on the mount with our community group.
after getting the girlies ready for the day, we usually try to do something outside of the house like walk to the park or store or hang out with friends. after lunch, the girlies usually go down at the same time for naps. recently i have been doing lots of sewing while they are asleep if there aren't other pressing household things i need to do. after nap is usually outside time: the girlies play while i hang up laundry or do some gardening. soon after i start dinner and then our evening routine sets in. some may get bored of such a routine, but for this exhausted mama it has been a real refreshment to be able to predict when i will be able to recharge during the day, and when i have to be on my toes.
this has been a month of firsts for the girlies. baby girl's first time crawling was just over a week ago (uh oh, we now have double trouble on our hands!!). the next day esther also had a first: her first major injury! :( she fell down while drinking from her water bottle and displaced two teeth. fortunately, it looks like she wont need any dental work (thank you Lord! definitely an answer to prayer!). and then this past sunday another first: while we were praying before breakfast, i was holding baby girl's hand and she started gnawing on my fingers and i felt something... her first teeth! both of her lower ones are coming in at the same time. esther is always saying new words, my favorites right now are "mine" (i know... this will not be so cute in a couple months, but right now the way she says it is super cute) and "amen" after we pray.
the daily routine we have gotten into has helped me to be able to focus a lot on my monthly life goals. so much so that i have not only accomplished my april goal (planting a new crop) but i have already accomplished my may goal (making clothes). i have already made several toddler dresses and a few baby headbands both accented with these flowers (i will try to post pics soon! the are pretty cute if i do say so myself :) ), and i hope to make a skirt for myself in the near future. the internet has been so great for finding really easy to follow tutorials for all of these things. what did people do before the internet?! anyways, i have been loving spending the girlie's nap times doing crafty things :) i have started following a few sewing/crafting blogs for inspiration (let me know if you have any suggestions!)
::sermons i enjoyed this month::
for your exhortation and enjoyment, i am going to start posting sermons that i have enjoyed listening to each month (as often as i remember to :) )
parenting young people I and II (by doug wilson)
worldliness (by alex costa)
other sheep that are not of this fold (by john piper)
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
how far should obedience to parents go?
hudson taylor (famous innovative missionary to china in the 1800's) penned these words as he was waiting months (because of slow mail) to get permission to marry the woman he loved, even while he knew that untrue, derogatory things were being said about him back in england.
they may be pretty surprising for our american eyes to read:
this could only be written by someone who also wrote:
what faith!
what do you think?
"i have never known disobedience to the definite command of a parent, even if that parent were mistaken, that was not followed by retribution... the responsibility is with a parent, in such a case, and it is a serious one. when the son or daughter can say in all sincerity, 'i am waiting for thee, Lord, to open the way,' the matter is in his hands to take it up"wow. i think this would also apply to obedience to the godly authority that God has placed over us (such as the elders and pastors of our church).
this could only be written by someone who also wrote:
"how important to learn... to move man, though God, by prayer alone"
what faith!
what do you think?
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
3 myths about introverts
as i mentioned in my march recap, i recently read and really enjoyed "the introvert advantage".
among other things, it was helpful to understand better how extroverts often misunderstand introverts. since about 75% of people in america are extroverts, these misunderstanding are widespread. in fact, in our culture extroversion is seen as better than introversion, while introversion is almost seen as a mental illness that needs treatment.
before we go further, let me clarify the definition of introversion (and conversely extroversion) in order to clear up some of the misunderstandings. the main characteristic that defines an introvert is someone who recharges their energy through alone time. conversely, extroverts are people who are energized by being around other people. to be clear, there is no "true" introvert or extrovert, there are times when we could be energized by either activity, but most people tend more to one direction or the other.
1. introverts don't like people
introverts are often seen as shy, socially awkward or withdrawn from society. in reality, extroverts can also be shy, socially awkward or withdrawn (and it is much more painful to them when they do struggle with these things because they need people in order to feel energized). these things often stem from negative life experiences, and not from temperament (for example, someone might be shy because they were teased a lot as a child).
introverts need a lot of alone time to recharge their batteries. but when they are feeling recharged, they enjoy spending time with people, particularly a few close friends or family members. in fact, introverts are better at having deep relationships with the people in their lives than extroverts are.
2. introverts can change and become extroverts if they try hard enough
one time, probably in middle school, i though it would be really cool if i switched from being a righty to a lefty. so i tried writing with my left hand. alllll day long. every day. for weeks (maybe even months?).
eventually i gave up. it was exhausting. and though my handwriting slightly improved, it was still deplorable, and it was not worth the immense effort.
like handedness, temperament is evident early in life (in fact, i have been able to pin all of our kid's temperaments before they turned one) and has certain genetic components. we cannot change what energizes us (although studies do show that as people age, they tend to go more towards the middle of the introvert/extrovert continuum). with great effort, one can strengthen their less dominant side, but it will never become the dominant side.
i have seen this in my life. doing ministry in college has really strengthened my extrovert side. its much easier for me than for other introverts to engage in small talk, meet new people at parties, talk in front of groups and lead people through a teaching. i've had numerous people be shocked when they find out that i am an introvert because they have only seen me with my extrovert mask put on. but at the end of the day, i need a lot of down time to work up the energy for these things (and a lot of time afterwards to decompress/recharge).
3. introversion is a pathology that need to be cured.
in a culture that believes to be successful in life you need to be bold, outgoing, a "people person", friendly, approachable, the life of the party and a strong leader, introversion is not seen as a desirable trait. i have experienced this tension, because most of the ministry roles that i value (discipler, evangelist, sunday school teacher, bible study leader) are made for extroverts, and i can feel that introversion is a problem in me that needs to be fixed. it is hard for me that i want to do these things, but they take so much energy that i often feel depleted afterwards, and often need long times to recharge in between doing ministry (i am now understanding why i constantly felt SO drained when i was doing vocational ministry!). i remember times in college that i felt so guilty for going to a coffee shop to read my bible and pray, when i "should" be doing productive ministry tasks like meeting with women and sharing my faith.
but there are in fact many advantages to introversion for every day life (including ministry). introverts have deeper relationships than extroverts. its easier for extroverts to have many shallow relationships (which has certain advantages) but easier for introverts to have a few deep relationships (which has other advantages). introverts are passionate about deep conversation on topics they care about (but feel super drained when engaging in small talk), while extroverts do well with small talk. i could talk all afternoon about theology and ministry philosophy, but i hate it when people talk about the weather (really?? in southern california the weather is always the same and people still talk about it as if its unusual that its sunny and in the 70's. but i digress...). introverts are much better at listening than extroverts (i can't tell you how many conversations i have had with people where i have asked a few questions here and there and then mostly listened to the other person talk for 30-60 minutes or more! not that i mind, since this is a strength of my personality). after all, someone needs to listen to all those extroverts talk :)
what about you? are you an introvert or an extrovert? have you experienced these things?
among other things, it was helpful to understand better how extroverts often misunderstand introverts. since about 75% of people in america are extroverts, these misunderstanding are widespread. in fact, in our culture extroversion is seen as better than introversion, while introversion is almost seen as a mental illness that needs treatment.
before we go further, let me clarify the definition of introversion (and conversely extroversion) in order to clear up some of the misunderstandings. the main characteristic that defines an introvert is someone who recharges their energy through alone time. conversely, extroverts are people who are energized by being around other people. to be clear, there is no "true" introvert or extrovert, there are times when we could be energized by either activity, but most people tend more to one direction or the other.1. introverts don't like people
introverts are often seen as shy, socially awkward or withdrawn from society. in reality, extroverts can also be shy, socially awkward or withdrawn (and it is much more painful to them when they do struggle with these things because they need people in order to feel energized). these things often stem from negative life experiences, and not from temperament (for example, someone might be shy because they were teased a lot as a child).
introverts need a lot of alone time to recharge their batteries. but when they are feeling recharged, they enjoy spending time with people, particularly a few close friends or family members. in fact, introverts are better at having deep relationships with the people in their lives than extroverts are.
2. introverts can change and become extroverts if they try hard enough
one time, probably in middle school, i though it would be really cool if i switched from being a righty to a lefty. so i tried writing with my left hand. alllll day long. every day. for weeks (maybe even months?).
eventually i gave up. it was exhausting. and though my handwriting slightly improved, it was still deplorable, and it was not worth the immense effort.
like handedness, temperament is evident early in life (in fact, i have been able to pin all of our kid's temperaments before they turned one) and has certain genetic components. we cannot change what energizes us (although studies do show that as people age, they tend to go more towards the middle of the introvert/extrovert continuum). with great effort, one can strengthen their less dominant side, but it will never become the dominant side.
i have seen this in my life. doing ministry in college has really strengthened my extrovert side. its much easier for me than for other introverts to engage in small talk, meet new people at parties, talk in front of groups and lead people through a teaching. i've had numerous people be shocked when they find out that i am an introvert because they have only seen me with my extrovert mask put on. but at the end of the day, i need a lot of down time to work up the energy for these things (and a lot of time afterwards to decompress/recharge).
3. introversion is a pathology that need to be cured.
in a culture that believes to be successful in life you need to be bold, outgoing, a "people person", friendly, approachable, the life of the party and a strong leader, introversion is not seen as a desirable trait. i have experienced this tension, because most of the ministry roles that i value (discipler, evangelist, sunday school teacher, bible study leader) are made for extroverts, and i can feel that introversion is a problem in me that needs to be fixed. it is hard for me that i want to do these things, but they take so much energy that i often feel depleted afterwards, and often need long times to recharge in between doing ministry (i am now understanding why i constantly felt SO drained when i was doing vocational ministry!). i remember times in college that i felt so guilty for going to a coffee shop to read my bible and pray, when i "should" be doing productive ministry tasks like meeting with women and sharing my faith.
but there are in fact many advantages to introversion for every day life (including ministry). introverts have deeper relationships than extroverts. its easier for extroverts to have many shallow relationships (which has certain advantages) but easier for introverts to have a few deep relationships (which has other advantages). introverts are passionate about deep conversation on topics they care about (but feel super drained when engaging in small talk), while extroverts do well with small talk. i could talk all afternoon about theology and ministry philosophy, but i hate it when people talk about the weather (really?? in southern california the weather is always the same and people still talk about it as if its unusual that its sunny and in the 70's. but i digress...). introverts are much better at listening than extroverts (i can't tell you how many conversations i have had with people where i have asked a few questions here and there and then mostly listened to the other person talk for 30-60 minutes or more! not that i mind, since this is a strength of my personality). after all, someone needs to listen to all those extroverts talk :)
what about you? are you an introvert or an extrovert? have you experienced these things?
Friday, April 12, 2013
march in our home
march went by quickly.
this past month has been a time of tearing down and building up, spiritually speaking. i have been getting bogged down by my sin, discouragement about my personality and disappointments with ministry (not seeing a lot of life change in people). reading a book about being introverted was helpful in some ways, but also a difficult internal struggle to grapple with the limitations of my personality (especially since all the ministry roles i value are designed for extroverts) and understanding better the misconceptions and stereotypes our extroverted society has for introverts. i want to be thankful for the way that God designed me, but its a struggle at times. at the same time, i have been praying a lot about the lack of growth (spiritually) in my ministry to others. am i doing something sinful that i need to repent of? do i need to learn better methodology? do i just keep slugging away because ministry is slow? these are the things i have been asking God. i don't know the answers yet. but reading a book about the innovative missionary to china hudson taylor has been an encouragement spiritually speaking, to see his faith in God for everything and his relationship with God that allowed him to say "i sacrificed nothing" after years of what most people would consider immense sacrifice. i need to trust God with people's souls more. i need to pray for them more. Lord, give me the grace.
speaking of reading, i have finally gotten back into reading, and its been such a breath of fresh air. i love reading, but for some reason since baby girl came to us, i have started 5-10 books and couldn't finish them (or even get more than a couple chapters in). this is rare for me. but recently i picked up several books at the library that were enjoyable easy reads, and it helped get me back into things. now my relaxation time is spent reading, and not on the computer (hence the lack of any blog posts for many weeks!), which i find to ultimately be much more refreshing. in the past few weeks i have read extremely loud and incredibly close, the introvert advantage, shopping for time, growing a farmer and right now i am in the middle of hudson taylor's spiritual secret and knowing God. each one has been a blessing, encouragement and informative in different ways.
march's life goal was to take a self-defense class. it didn't happen. i did email the guy i want to take the class from, but never heard back (i think its an old email address). i also have a phone number and another email, but i haven't tried those yet... my fault. so it didn't happen, though i kinda tried. i still want to do it, hopefully soon.
on the upside, i have already accomplished april's goal, and started on may's goal. my april goal is to plant a new crop and i have already planted beets, peas and cabbage (in addition to tomatoes, spinach, basil and lettuce). my may goal is to sew some simple clothes, and i went to the store to buy the material today, and hope to start cutting the fabric as soon as it comes out of the dryer (i hate the pre-shrinking stage! i always want to start things right away and i always have to wash it first :P )
so that was march in our home. what did you do last month?
this past month has been a time of tearing down and building up, spiritually speaking. i have been getting bogged down by my sin, discouragement about my personality and disappointments with ministry (not seeing a lot of life change in people). reading a book about being introverted was helpful in some ways, but also a difficult internal struggle to grapple with the limitations of my personality (especially since all the ministry roles i value are designed for extroverts) and understanding better the misconceptions and stereotypes our extroverted society has for introverts. i want to be thankful for the way that God designed me, but its a struggle at times. at the same time, i have been praying a lot about the lack of growth (spiritually) in my ministry to others. am i doing something sinful that i need to repent of? do i need to learn better methodology? do i just keep slugging away because ministry is slow? these are the things i have been asking God. i don't know the answers yet. but reading a book about the innovative missionary to china hudson taylor has been an encouragement spiritually speaking, to see his faith in God for everything and his relationship with God that allowed him to say "i sacrificed nothing" after years of what most people would consider immense sacrifice. i need to trust God with people's souls more. i need to pray for them more. Lord, give me the grace.
speaking of reading, i have finally gotten back into reading, and its been such a breath of fresh air. i love reading, but for some reason since baby girl came to us, i have started 5-10 books and couldn't finish them (or even get more than a couple chapters in). this is rare for me. but recently i picked up several books at the library that were enjoyable easy reads, and it helped get me back into things. now my relaxation time is spent reading, and not on the computer (hence the lack of any blog posts for many weeks!), which i find to ultimately be much more refreshing. in the past few weeks i have read extremely loud and incredibly close, the introvert advantage, shopping for time, growing a farmer and right now i am in the middle of hudson taylor's spiritual secret and knowing God. each one has been a blessing, encouragement and informative in different ways.
 |
| if you squint, this kinda looks like baby girl. kinda. |
baby girl continues to capture our hearts. she has totally surpassed her fussy stage and has moved right on to the sweetheart stage. she loves to laugh and she can't move yet so she doesn't cause any trouble. so, at this point, she's basically perfect. :) the lil' chunker has gained five pounds in the past two months, and has almost blown through one whole clothing size in a few weeks. her visits with her mom are progressing and going well. she and esther grow closer day by day, which is bittersweet. i love their relationship, their friendship. but my heart also breaks to know that there is no way to tell esther that her sister is not a forever-sister. at the same time, it is such confirmation that we were *not* crazy to get another baby so soon, and we look forward to the day that God blesses esther with a forever-sibling (we hope many forever-siblings).
esther continues to capture our hearts, but in a different way. every day she tries out new words, figures out new furniture that she can climb onto, or does a new motion to one of the songs we sing together. she continues to think that "pwee" (please) is a command for us to give her whatever she wants, rather than a request for us to grant her what she wants. and the louder she says it, the faster we will give it (or so she thinks). she loves to do what i have termed "nurse-nastics", standing up and doing a dance while on my lap nursing. she has an uncanny habit of mimicking our most mundane actions, like clearing her throat, blowing on her food to cool it down (even when its cold yogurt), wiping baby girl with the baby wipes and offering her hand to hold when praying before a meal. seeing her copy these seemingly insignificant actions is a sober reminder that she will also be copying our most important actions. Lord, give me more grace.
march's life goal was to take a self-defense class. it didn't happen. i did email the guy i want to take the class from, but never heard back (i think its an old email address). i also have a phone number and another email, but i haven't tried those yet... my fault. so it didn't happen, though i kinda tried. i still want to do it, hopefully soon.
on the upside, i have already accomplished april's goal, and started on may's goal. my april goal is to plant a new crop and i have already planted beets, peas and cabbage (in addition to tomatoes, spinach, basil and lettuce). my may goal is to sew some simple clothes, and i went to the store to buy the material today, and hope to start cutting the fabric as soon as it comes out of the dryer (i hate the pre-shrinking stage! i always want to start things right away and i always have to wash it first :P )
so that was march in our home. what did you do last month?
Monday, March 18, 2013
cloth diapering: accessories
there are a few other cloth diapering goods that we use on a regular basis, that help make CD'ing much easier.
wipes - some people use disposable wipes while they cloth diaper. to me, it just makes sense to use cloth wipes for the same reasons we use cloth diapers: to save money, make less trash, etc. plus, its natural to just throw the wipe into the diaper after you are done and throw all of that into the diaper pail.
you can purchase cloth wipes, but i find them to be way over priced. we have made all of our wipes. most people have lots of extra receiving blankets laying around. these cut up nicely for use as wipes (four to six inch squares work well). you don't even need to hem the edges. if you don't have extra receiving blankets, you can do the same thing with flannel bought from the fabric store.
to make a wipes solution, i take an old plastic wipes container, put about a tablespoon of dr bronner's in the bottom, add a few drops of tea tree essential oil, and fill about a third of the way with water. then stuff as many cloth wipes in as you can fit. this amount of wipes will last us about a week (for two in diapers).
its hard to say how many wipes we have. really, we have too many. i would guess somewhere in the range of 60-100, which is enough to fill two wipes containers completely full, although we usually only keep one full at a time.
snappies - we use snappies to fasten our prefold diapers. snappies are similar to ace bandage clips: they have small "teeth" that dig into the fabric to hold it together. you can kinda get away with not fastening prefolds (if you don't fasten them the diaper cover holds them in place a bit, but they might shift around on very mobile babies.) but snappies are inexpensive and worth the cost. we have three snappies for two babies (although about half our diaper stash are fitted that don't require snappies) which seems to be enough.
covers - we have tried 5 different brands of covers, but the only one i will mention is thirsties, because it is by far our favorite and a pretty good price. we own thristies snap and velcro covers, and the snap covers are much better (they hold more securely, plus you don't have to worry about the velcro wearing down.) we have about 8 or 9 small covers and 5 or 6 small covers. you will want more small covers than larger ones, as infants have messier (and more frequent) diapers than older babies. in fact, for newborns, 8 or 9 almost isn't even enough (depending on how often you do the laundry).
diaper pail/liner - our diaper pail is just a normal trash can that i bought from target (the kind that you opens when you step on the pedal). i bought the cheapest one there and now i wish i had gotten a nicer one because the pedal no longer works (though this is probably a combination of kiddos playing with it when i'm not looking and shoddy manufacturing)
our diaper pail liners are "planet wise" brand. for about a year we only had one liner but now we have two, which is helpful because there is always a clean one to put in right after you put a load in the wash. the material is water resistant, which helps keep the moisture in the bag.
Friday, March 15, 2013
cloth diapering: our routine
we love cloth diapering. but i remember before we started, it all sounded a bit confusing. so, how exactly does it work?
here is a bit about our routine, to give you an idea of how cloth diapering can fit into your life.
here is a bit about our routine, to give you an idea of how cloth diapering can fit into your life.
our routine
we use a "dry pail" method, which means the diapers don't soak in water as they wait to be washed (although they are pretty wet with urine, so "dry pail" is a bit of a misnomer).
right now we have enough diapers that i only have to do a load about once a week. with our first two foster little ones, i had to wash the diapers about every 4 days, because we didn't have as many diapers then, and both kiddos wore the same size.
when i wash the diapers, i start with a soak (usually for several hours or overnight). then i run them on an extra heavy load, and follow with one extra rinse. line drying is best for diapers as it helps the fibers to stay strong, and the sun acts as a natural bleach and disinfectant. diapers usually come out of the wash with some stains, but after a short time in the sun the stains are almost always all gone. i also find that line drying them helps them to smell cleaner when they are done.
line drying is not an absolute requirement, though. when we had our first four foster siblings, life was waaaay to busy to line dry diapers twice a week, so i usually put them in the dryer. however, i do think this has caused those diapers to start breaking down faster, unfortunately.
what does your cloth diaper routine look like?
Thursday, March 14, 2013
february in our home (and The Thing that happened)
february was a month filled with family visits, more waiting (because of The Thing), and cheese making.
february was a great month of visits from family we love. besides my mom, until this february we hadn't seen any of our family in over a year (since christmas 2011). at the beginning of the month my cousin came to visit. can i just say it had to have been more of a vacation for us than for her? jesus has given her such a servant heart. she served every minute that she was here: changing diapers, cleaning dishes, rocking fussy babies (without me even having to ask her to do any of these things). while she was here it rained and both babies were sick, so we didn't even do that many fun things, but she never complained. her visit was a real refreshment.
a few weeks later alex's step-dad and little brother came to visit, as they were in town for some college visits. we just got to see them for a day, but it was so much fun. esther loved seeing her grandpa and uncle. we all ate delicious indian food while Marvin Sr. (alex's step-dad) spoke to the waiter in Hindi (or some other indian language!). it was great, another refreshing family visit.
february was a month of waiting for things to progress with baby girl's case. the first week of the month was a court date where reunification was supposed to happen. until early january our hearts were prepared for this to happen, and we were even looking forward to the placement of our next child. but then The Thing happened (i will just call it The Thing because i can't publicly post details about baby girl's life situation), and that all changed. anyways because of The Thing, the ruling didn't end in reunification, but that is still the goal, just not yet. next court date will be in august, and we are hoping that maybe it will happen then.
its not just us who feel like this case is dragging. our social worker is pretty upset about it too. she has been doing all she can, but things are still going at a snails pace. she has expressed frustration because she sees so many cases where things shouldn't progress, but are, and situations like ours where things should progress but aren't.
fortunately for us, we know that God is in control of this, which makes it less frustrating. but its good to know that we aren't the only ones noticing how this case isn't being handled well (but then, what's new in the foster care system?). the main thing that makes me sad is to know that the more time baby girl spend with us, the more that WE are her parents (in her mind). and then in a few months she will be ripped away. at least for us we can anticipate it, but for her it will be confusing. *sigh* ...the difficulties of the foster care system...
our roommate will be moving out this week, which will be another change in our home. this has lead to some deep thought and prayer about our next step with fostering. now that we have an open bedroom in our house, so we could get another foster child. but is this the right time? part of me says a big YES- our heart's desire is to adopt and we have been waiting so long. we don't want to put it off, and if we have the opportunity to take another child, we should. plus, in a couple months baby girl will start overnight visits with her mom, and probably weekend long visits thereafter, so she will be spending less time with us. but part of me says no. most days are pretty draining for me and too many nights are interrupted to calm down baby girl's crying. even if we could possibly have another child right now, should we? we are praying for answers to these questions. with God's strength and grace we can do anything and we want to take big steps of faith, but we also want to act in wisdom.
i was a bit slacker on ordering the cheese making kit for my february goal, and since i always opt for super-duper slow shipping, it didn't come til february 27th. but i did manage to make my first batch of mozzarella by the first few days of march. it came out to be very soft, much like the mozzarella that is usually served on a caprese salad. we ate a few pinches while it was cooling down, and then ate the rest on pizza a few days later. i plan to make another batch in the next couple days. i am hoping to read a bit more about cheese making, but i was bummed to find that our local library doesn't have any books on the subject. i'm sure if i poke around a little more on the internet i could find some more resources. i was encouraged to read this a few days ago: 7 reasons to make your own cheese.
this goal is probably going to go a bit slowly, as cheese making isn't exactly cheap, but it is making me look forward to the future when we hope to own goats and can make all the cheese we want at a low cost. yum!
february was a great month of visits from family we love. besides my mom, until this february we hadn't seen any of our family in over a year (since christmas 2011). at the beginning of the month my cousin came to visit. can i just say it had to have been more of a vacation for us than for her? jesus has given her such a servant heart. she served every minute that she was here: changing diapers, cleaning dishes, rocking fussy babies (without me even having to ask her to do any of these things). while she was here it rained and both babies were sick, so we didn't even do that many fun things, but she never complained. her visit was a real refreshment.
a few weeks later alex's step-dad and little brother came to visit, as they were in town for some college visits. we just got to see them for a day, but it was so much fun. esther loved seeing her grandpa and uncle. we all ate delicious indian food while Marvin Sr. (alex's step-dad) spoke to the waiter in Hindi (or some other indian language!). it was great, another refreshing family visit.
 |
| esther smiles for grandpa! |
its not just us who feel like this case is dragging. our social worker is pretty upset about it too. she has been doing all she can, but things are still going at a snails pace. she has expressed frustration because she sees so many cases where things shouldn't progress, but are, and situations like ours where things should progress but aren't.
fortunately for us, we know that God is in control of this, which makes it less frustrating. but its good to know that we aren't the only ones noticing how this case isn't being handled well (but then, what's new in the foster care system?). the main thing that makes me sad is to know that the more time baby girl spend with us, the more that WE are her parents (in her mind). and then in a few months she will be ripped away. at least for us we can anticipate it, but for her it will be confusing. *sigh* ...the difficulties of the foster care system...
our roommate will be moving out this week, which will be another change in our home. this has lead to some deep thought and prayer about our next step with fostering. now that we have an open bedroom in our house, so we could get another foster child. but is this the right time? part of me says a big YES- our heart's desire is to adopt and we have been waiting so long. we don't want to put it off, and if we have the opportunity to take another child, we should. plus, in a couple months baby girl will start overnight visits with her mom, and probably weekend long visits thereafter, so she will be spending less time with us. but part of me says no. most days are pretty draining for me and too many nights are interrupted to calm down baby girl's crying. even if we could possibly have another child right now, should we? we are praying for answers to these questions. with God's strength and grace we can do anything and we want to take big steps of faith, but we also want to act in wisdom.
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| the pills contain the enzymes needed to turn the milk into curd for mozzarella |
i was a bit slacker on ordering the cheese making kit for my february goal, and since i always opt for super-duper slow shipping, it didn't come til february 27th. but i did manage to make my first batch of mozzarella by the first few days of march. it came out to be very soft, much like the mozzarella that is usually served on a caprese salad. we ate a few pinches while it was cooling down, and then ate the rest on pizza a few days later. i plan to make another batch in the next couple days. i am hoping to read a bit more about cheese making, but i was bummed to find that our local library doesn't have any books on the subject. i'm sure if i poke around a little more on the internet i could find some more resources. i was encouraged to read this a few days ago: 7 reasons to make your own cheese.
this goal is probably going to go a bit slowly, as cheese making isn't exactly cheap, but it is making me look forward to the future when we hope to own goats and can make all the cheese we want at a low cost. yum!
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