the single-mom life

I have a ton of respect for the many single parents out there - but I don't EVER want to be a single mom.
That said, this week was a tiny bit like being a single-mom for me since my dear husband was out backpacking for 8 days with students. I have had a very busy, quite productive week.

1. lousy meals! wai-wai (like raman noodles), packaged soup mix, rice and dal every lunch (much to Will's dismay), leftovers for supper (much to Annie's dismay), breakfasts of cornflakes... but I managed to serve lots of ice-cream to make up for it.

2. lists! I'm learning that I get much more done when I write a list. So I did. I managed to:

• make numbers 6-9 for Will to color in
• bake muffins before Bible Study on Tuesday
• knit a bit on my snowman
• write a newsletter that might get sent soon
• move all my email addresses to my gmail account so I can start using that
• make and purchase a photobook of our best India pictures
• email my sister-in-law on her birthday
• wash a sweater that's been sitting in a pile for months
• wash and fold lots of laundry
• bake pumpkin bread and remember to give some away and eat the rest!
• drop off my computer (but unfortunately I forgot to pick it up- at least Nate's is around)
• give Will all his meds
• pay my househelper (only a few days late)
• finish a batik that's been sitting around for a year
• order groceries
• order firewood (finally!)
• go to the clay center with my kids
• join the pre-schoolers on a day trip in town
• bleach some table cloths
• wash Annie's nasty babydoll, which now looks good as new!
• lots of other odds and ends that I don't remember right now including keeping my kids alive and mostly well :)

3. Much un-finished. I did NOT manage to work on Annie's quilt or any other sewing projects, but that's ok - I got lots of other things done that needed my attention.

4. Anxiously waiting... By the second or third day, we were ALL ready for Nate to return. "BAPPA?", Annie squaks frequently. When I had run-ins with Will (usually over rice and dal), he'd sob: "I want my Pappa!" And it's too quiet and lonely here when my honey is gone- especially at night. But we made it.

5. Last comment before I get lunch for my kids. Nate called me (NO WAY! HE NEVER CALLS! - WHAT A GREAT SURPRISE!!!) last night to say he'd finished his hike and would be back tonight after a long long drive. He said it went well and he sounded like he had enjoyed it overall. What a great husband! I'm SO thankful he'll be coming home soon to end my 'single-mom-stint'. Hats off to all who do this regularly.

Knots.

Annie is obsessed with twisting up her hair into terrible knots. She just sits and twirls away at it until it's nearly impossible to get out. Here's the most recent knot up close. (She puts these things all over her head.)

In other knot news:

-I took Annie and Will to join the Preschool class at school this morning (as we have a habit of doing on Fridays), and the class got to spend about an hour in the gym climbing wall area. Will and Annie both got into harnesses and 'climbed' up a little bit on the walls. (Don't worry, they were securly fastened with ropes and knots), and they got to swing briefly way up high. They LOVED it.

-"KNOT" bad: Will hasn't had a seizure in 10 months! We praise the Lord for medicine that he takes well.

- "KNOT" great news: the Pappa is packing his bag up for a week-long hike, and we'll be on our own for too many days. He hasn't left yet and I already can't wait till he gets back.

calories?

Last night I went to the gym by myself for the first time. I played 2 on 2 basketball with three very athletic guys and being very out of shape myself, I was certainly no competition for them, but they humored my interest in playing the game and I lasted for about an hour. Then I headed to the weight-training room which is usually full of intimidating "weight-trainers" and I have very little experience weight-lifting. Last night there were only two guys there and they were busy being serious about their weight-lifting, so I took advantage of the emptiness and tried out all the machines- a little of this, a little of that... it was nice. I went finally to the treadmill, and asked if I could use the T.V. that's mounted above it (ok, I admit, the only reason Nate and I talk about ever using the treadmills is to watch T.V.) I watched the news (I'm generally pretty out of touch with the world), which was interesting for a few minutes. Then I glanced at the treadmill screen. It was telling me about my 'workout' - how fast I was running, what the incline was, how good it was for my heart, and then the word "calories" popped up in front of me and I thought: CALORIES?! I just wanted to laugh out loud. You see, after gaining about 20 lbs my freshman year of college, I began to mildly keep track of calories as I ate and exercised. I watched them when I was pregnant with Will - at first to make sure I didn't overeat, and then the doctors told me I had to eat more and more and more because I wasn't gaining enough weight with him. (He turned out ok anyway- was 8.5 lbs at birth!) and then I quit counting calories.

That was 4 years ago. I haven't even THOUGHT about calories since then. The closest thing I can think of is this past year and how I'd compare milk and food labels to see "how many grams of FAT does it have in it?" ... because our diet here is super lean and I've been desperate to fatten up my little girl, so we now stock up on all the fatty foods we can find and we try our best to get her to eat them heartily. :) It's worlds away from my college days of calorie-counting, and it was just weird to recall a life I can barely remember now.

I imagine that when I move back to the world of great food, I'll count calories again since I'll want to eat tons of everything. But for now, I am appreciating loving rice and lentils and getting to eat as much I like of sweet treats like cake and brownies with full-fat cream on them. Calories...mmmm!

Another Birthday Boy

It's my Nate's birthday today... he's such a great husband to me. I have really enjoyed the years we've been given together and I have loved watching him become a father - an amazing one! I love how he plays 'rough-house' with our kids and is so gentle with them and how he listens to me and supports me and gently corrects me when I'm wrong. I love his enthusiasm for things in life that are beyond my comprehension- like the beauty of the Golden Rectangle, Game Theory, and Calculus. I love that he can re-read Sherlock Holmes endless times because he just loves a good story, and he can keep up with Roger Penrose in his "Road to Reality". I love the way he clearly expresses himself all the time in contrast to all my fumbling around for saying what I really think I just might mean. I love his devotion to God and the quiet way that what he knows is true- is such a firm, integral part of who he is. He is an incredible listener and he asks great questions. I love his honesty and his tactfulness when speaking with anyone about hard things. I love the way he always accomplishes what he needs to do (and does it well) and doesn't drag projects out or procrastinate. When I interact with his colleagues, I feel like he is respected among them and well-liked. He's a hard worker, but he sets a good example for me of making time to rest and play and laugh. I think he's the most handsome man I've ever met and I can hardly believe that God has blessed me with getting to build birthday cakes and wrap presents for this birthday boy for the rest of our days. This list barely touches on a few parts of who you are, but mostly I hope you know that I love you, Nate. Happy Birthday!

quilts 'n blankets

Here's Annie's quilt, which I started two summers ago and am now working on hand-quilting:

And here are my kids sitting in front of the blankets my mom made for them awhile ago:

I've been sewing/quilting/knitting lately and it's been fun. I hope to finish Annie's quilt before her birthday (or at least before Christmas!) and I also hope to finish making a snowman for Will
before Christmas. We'll see how I do. I've got a few other projects in process that will hopefully be completed before Christmas as well- but I'm probably just dreaming about getting all of this done.

Ezekiel 14

This is rather un-related to my previous posts, so just release that thread of discussion for a moment if you will, and let God speak to you through some eye-opening verses.

I recently read a very rich chapter of the Bible: Ezekiel 14 and wanted to share ten points which God used to speak to my heart. (Just a note- the book of Ezekiel contains so much absurdity that I find myself sometimes shocked and appalled as I read it, now laughing, now nearly in tears picturing the life of a man who was created to be a SIGN -12:6 - and hearing God's message through him. I've read the book before a few times, but it seems that I have completely forgotten the storyline since then - and God is blowing me away as I read it anew these days.)

1. vs 3 - "...these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces..."
2. vs 5 - "I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols." - God speaking about the terrible things he will do to the people he loves so deeply.
3. vs 6 - "...This is what the Sovereign LORD says: REPENT! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!"
4. vs 7 - "When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me..." This reminds me that God has always called Isreal AND other peoples to align themselves with Him.
5. vs 11 - "God says he'll make things terrible for all who turn from Him -->SO THAT His people will not stray or defile themselves, but instead, "...They will be my people and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign LORD.'"
6. vs 13 - "If a country sins against me by being unfaithful..."
7. I find it interesting that Noah, Job and Daniel [?] are God's chosen "even if"righteous examples (vs 14, 16, 18, 20)
8. vs 15 - If God sends "wild beasts throughout that country... so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts..." - Monkey terror where I live makes me able to almost feel what this would be like.
9. vs 22 - "Yet there will be some survivors... and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding... every disaster..." WOW!
10. vs 23 - "You will be consoled... for you will know that I have done nothing in [Jerusalem] without cause, declares the Sovereign LORD."

...that blows me away.

clarifications

Thanks to all who have shared valuable insight with me in our conversations, in the comments of my posts, through emails. I want to state a couple of clarifications since I have opened such a complex discussion on living for Christ in a foreign land (or anywhere, I suppose.)

First: I pray that what I have written in my previous post "First or Nothing", does not come across as a judgment on other Christians here or elsewhere. I am NOT trying to condemn, but rather to ask some important questions that I have found easier avoided for a long time. Now, I think, God is stirring my heart to consider how He wants me to see the cultural-spiritual battle and how He wants me to live for Him in relation to it all. In many ways, I am the one confronted by the Truth through wrestling with these things. I pray that my written thoughts will spur you on toward the Truth as well.

Secondly: From what I'm learning about Yoga (correct me if I'm wrong!), it seems that the goal is to be joined/one with the god Brahmin (sp?) and therefore in practicing Yoga, one is practicing drawing close to that god, becoming that god. Three wise older Christian friends with whom I have talked about Yoga (now that it's on my mind and I don't know much about it), have advised me that it is treading shaky ground to 'practice' Yoga, no matter to what extent, because at the heart of it, to quote one of them (from my memory of what she said): "Satan knows that you're inviting him into your life when you do these hindu things, even if you don't know you're doing that, and he will take advantage of the offer". Valuable perspective, I think. I don't want to forget that there's a spiritual realm that is very active especially in this place* and the people who I think will best be able to discern which things are cultural and which are of the evil-spirit realm, are the 'natives' who know the Lord.

*One friend actually witnessed a metal craftsman making an idol for a shrine here in town, and the people of this community actually invoked spirits to come into the idol.