Joel Conquers Water

Joel had a big day - he conquered his fear of water! It has been a long two years getting him to sit down in a bath and get his hair washed without screaming. In the last month he has slowly started playing in the bath with Caleb and bathtime has become a lot more enjoyable for all of us. Today, he took two more major steps. First, he played in the sprinkler this morning with his friends, Brooklyn and Jordyn. Then this evening we took the boys to one of our local pools that has a zero-depth entry baby pool with all sorts of fountains and slides. After dipping his toes in the water and gingerly walking in one-inch water while holding my hand for 10 minutes, he attempted the slides. Before we knew it, he was running, splashing, and even laying down in the water! It was so much fun to watch and he kept talking about it all through dinner. I can't wait to take him back.

Memorial Weekend

We finished up a great Memorial Weekend today with a cookout with friends. My parents left us this morning after driving in town last minute to spend the weekend with us. As usual, they spoiled our kids rotten. Oh the joys of being a grandparent and not having to deal with the repercussions of spoiling. . . .

On Saturday, we drove downtown to KC, MO to visit an old childhood neighbor of mine who now runs a Catholic charity organization. They bought an old house and are fixing it up while ministering to the people in that area. Afterwards, we drove to KC, KS to show my parents the area that we are thinking about moving to. Funny how the area looked very safe and inviting after being on the other side of the city. It is all perspective. . .

We are now leaning towards attending the training school in Atlanta from January to May 2010 and then moving to Houston for the summer to help set up the school there. I got a little panicky today thinking about moving and how to store all our stuff. We don't think it is wise to sell everything yet since we are not sure what we'll need once we move downtown. It is amazing how much stuff we have accumulated even though we have tried to be pretty vigilant in giving away or selling our unused things. I have to constantly remind myself that it is just stuff - I catch myself thinking "I don't want to get rid of that ____, I like it." I am realizing how easy it is to get attached to all my stuff. I think I find security and comfort in it. . . maybe because it feels familiar to me. I think this will be a constant battle for me over the next few months. . . years. . . maybe lifetime. . .

On a random note, on Saturday evening we were playing Blokus with my parents after the kids went to bed when the power went out. We ended up talking a bit and going out on the porch to check out the darkness. After realizing that the power wasn't coming back on anytime soon, we lit some candles, got ready for bed and turned in for the night. It was nice. How much more sleep we would all get without electricity!

Unknown Territory

I feel that God is about to send us into unknown territory. The past few weeks have been full of ups and downs. After Tim's trip to Mexico, God has been opening doors for us to attend the GFM Missionary Training School in the next year or so. The plan is to attend one of the schools in Mexico, Atlanta, or Houston then move to KC, K and open up a school locally. I have had mixed emotions - I am excited about God's plan for our family but I have been confronted with my obsessions for safety, comfort, and yes. . . even materialism. Why now? We have 2 small children and still want to have 2 more. These changes certainly do not fit into "my plans". We were about 90% confident that we were to attend the school in Mexico this coming September when we found out that Tim's mom has a growth on her lymph nodes. To date, we are still awaiting results to find out exactly what it is and the plan for treatment. We can not imagine leaving her or the family right now if a difficult road is ahead.