Sprinklers and Hoses

In spite of the fact that there are numerous beaches and pools at our disposal, I find it wonderful that we can thoroughly enjoy the wet fun provided by a green water hose and a sprinkler head! What starts out as the simple chore of watering pots of thirsty pink Martha Washington Geraniums quickly becomes an opportunity for cooling off and splashing each other with the icy water from the hose. Our clothes will have to be changed - no big deal. Our feet are muddy - a fun excuse to use the hose one more time. The hot sidewalk smells wet and feels great underfoot - the sun will burn it off all too quickly. The once parched pots are now sufficiently soaked - I can almost hear Mrs. Washington's satisfied sigh. Spontaneity cooled us off, accomplished a task, and gave us some special moments of old-fashioned summer fun. (Now...who is going to put the hose away?)

Most Important Day

I recently saw an ad for a writing contest in which the author was supposed to write about the most important day in her life. I imagine they will recieve hundreds of accounts of wedding days and birthdays. There will, no doubt, be tales from the delivery room as well as the cemetery. Believers would be likely to recount the day they gave their life to Christ or entered the waters of baptism. Perhaps some might remember packing off to college or backpacking across Europe. Does one special day come to your mind as you read?

Allow me recount my most important day.

My poor husband woke to the much-too-early alarm clock at 5:30am. I comfortably rolled over, punching my pillow back into place, and slept for another two hours. Bliss!

By 8:20 the five of us were on the road, breakfast - apples and granola bars - in hand (read, hit the snooze alarm twice) and on our way to Science Camp. Alex and Luke enjoyed three hours in the land of spy stuff and creepy crawlies, respectively, while the Lilliputions and I did our best to be productive - Post Office (where my son screamed every time my daughter tried to take away his naked brown baby), and Sam's Club (where were left a trail of, appropriately, trail mix, in our wake.)

Our mid-day meal was consumed, again, on the road. This time Subway provided what we needed and I am certain lettuce will please my husband even less than French fries on the floor! Here I marvel at the things my boys are learning and doing; taking pictures with pinhole cameras and learning how many eyes spiders have (the same number as they have legs!)

After getting some things done at home, we spend two hours at the beach. The hot, clear day is perfectly suited for this and we swim and splash until we are thoroughly water-logged! Sand now fights sandwich scraps for space in the seats and on the floor of the SUV.

Supper is Five Spice Chinese Chicken, a new recipe, followed by popcorn in front of Anne of Green Gables. I am thrilled that they are loving it every bit as much a s I do! Alex thinks she shouldn't be so sorry to have red hair because he thinks, "that's what makes her pretty!" Oh boy...something said with such sweet innocence makes us wonder how long it will be before he starts to notice, really notice, girls. Lord, help! Let us stay in these golden years a bit longer.

Teeth are scrubbed, showers taken, and a whole beach is left behind in the tub! It may be silly and slightly sentimental, but I love the warm and stiff feeling of a little bit of sunburn on my shoulders and the sand in my hair. I love white bottoms and brown little arms wrapped in fluffy white towels. I love wet hair on pillows and long eyelashes on sun-kissed cheeks. My children, even after showers, still carry a hint of the sweet, fresh scent of Lake Michigan on their skin and their heads will swim tonight with even sweeter memories of a day well spent.

There are thunderclouds overhead now, lightening on the horizon, and rain drenching my hot, thirsty flowers and lawn. The night is slowly settling over the bayou and the house, and the grandfather in the corner sings his Westminster song to remind me it is time for me to wind down like the kids akready have done. There are dishes to do and papers to file and laundry to fold and the list goes on. Still...I will shower first, because I have high hopes of fifteen minutes peace in there (where I will pray and pour out my day to the One who handed it to me on a sunny, sandy platter), then tackle the last tasks of the day before settling down with my favorite book (I am not embarassed to say that I am reading it for the fifth, or is it sixth?, time). In it, I will be transported to India for a while before I am finally transported to sleep.

My sweet, hard-working husband will, I hope, interrupt this long, winding-down evening. If he does, I will be blessed by his company and his smile and his laughter. He will share his most important day with me and we will be in each-other's highlights if only for the moments it takes to tell the tales.

Tomorrow will dawn soon and I will again be faced with another day in the life of us. What a gift each day is. Such a treasure to discover, a wondrous purse full of moments to spend. The Bible says This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Today is the most important day in my life....until tomorrow.

Long Time No Write?

It has been so long since my last post that my two or three faithful readers have probably given up on me and moved on to someone else's blog (thirteenfeet?) but here I am anyway! The weeks of summer sail by on balmy breezes and sometimes take my breath away with their swiftness. The kids are enjoying all things summer, from swimming lessons in the carefully chlorinated pool at the middle school, to flips off the dock in the cool yet murky waters of the bayou down the hill. They revel in the world of sidewalk chalk, super-soakers, and bicycles. The water out back is alive with jetskis and boats and tubes and swimmers. The grill sizzles with savory meats and the freezer is well-stocked with sticky popsicles. We've been camping - in a campground and in soccer camps, science camps, and 5-Day clubs. We have celebrated three summer birthdays in the family and have one more to go. The mosquitos have been tenacious, but I am up to the challenge, armed with my Cutter Familycare! I look forward to the lazy, hazy days of summer, when our big decisions run along the lines of, North Shore Beach or the State Park? SPF 30 or 40 on the kids? Bike or walk to the ice cream store? Hot dogs or hamburgers? I hope your summer slows down to a comfortable pace that matches that of the porch swing and I pray that your family will have the opportunity for refreshment that comes from basking in the sun on a warm July afternoon. Remember that God gives us richly all things to enjoy.

Silly Anniversary

To prove that we understand (and practice what we preach) that laughter is a big part of making our marriage work...another eleven points to observe on our big day.

Acting your age is overrated; having fun together isn't!
Nothing says I love you like putting down the toilet seat.
Nobody likes to clean those toilets, but somebody's got to do it!
If you smell it, you change it (works with diapers, garbage, etc.)
Vacuuming is men's work (it's a power tool, right?)
Empty ice trays do not a happy marriage make.
Road trips aren't for sissies.("I thought you said you had looked at the map?")
Spice is nice.
Another year is always worth celebrating! (it's been fourteen! can you believe we were only eleven when we got married?!)
Running out of gas doesn't really ruin the engine, but it might ruin the evening.
Yelling is no good, unless it is at a sporting event on on a roller coaster! Yahooooo!

Happy Anniversary

Today is my anniversary! In honor of fourteen years (wow! We can't be old enough for that!,)I give you an acrostic:

Always be gentle, because a soft answer turns away wrath.
Never hold grudges, because love keeps no record of wrongs.
Never lie, because love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.
Invest time into your marriage, because it was created by God for His glory and for your good.
Value your husband, because he was made in God's image.
Encourage your husband, so that he need not find praise elsewhere.
Respect him, because God has given him the difficult job of leadership in your home.
Say the words, because we all need to hear, "I love you."
Always forgive, because Christ has offered forgiveness to you.
Rejoice in his successes, because He was gifted by God.
Yield your heart to God first, then you will be ready to take your place beside our husband.

Stinky Pirates

My daughter was singing in the SUV the other day. I love it when kids are at that stage when they sing everything and freely improvise as needed! The Psalms are full of the call to make a joyful noise and she is smack in the middle of a time in her life when noise is like breathing to her. The joyful part also comes pretty naturally, although there are times when we must work at it a little! In song, she worships with abandon, sings lullabies with tenderness, and gets silly with gusto. Her latest was a bit of a combination of the latter two. She was sweetly singing to her baby, wrapped tenderly in her arms. "What can you do with a stinky pirate? What can you do with a stinky pirate? What can you do with a stinky pirate? Put her off to bed..." :0)

Enjoy your day and remember to make a joyful noise today!

Mother's Day

Happy Day to all the mothers out there and especially to my own! I have been thinking that there are so many things that I do on a daily basis that I learned from my mom. She taught me how to pack a lunch, complete with the occasional hand-written note on the napkin. She taught me how to lay a cool, wet washcloth on a forehead that is hot and hurting. She taught me to cut these cute little leaf-like lines in the top of my pies to vent them. She taught me to give hugs and kisses with bandaids and hold hands for no reason (there is a reason, though; it's to convey love and comfort). She taught me to send treats for class parties, to go on field trips, to send in gifts for teachers on all sorts of occasions. She taught me to include the kids in taking care of others, especially for no reason other than that God has laid them on our hearts. She taught me how to fold sheets, even the fitted ones and to fold towels and to turn socks into each other to keep them together. She taught me to say please and thank you and excuse me. She taught me to be kind, let others go first, and to be thankful for what I have. She taught me to lick the spoon, take an extra spoonful of cookie dough, and cut my sandwiches on the diagonal. She taught me how to sew a straight seam (which means I can make curtains) and wield a hammer and a screwdriver (which means I can fix stuff even without duct tape). She taught me to take a hostess gift when I am a guest and put fresh flowers in the room of my guests. In so many ways, she taught me how to be a grown-up, responsible woman who serves others. She taught me to give and receive love. Thanks, mom, for so many things. I love you!

All the cool kids...

I recently bought a fun belated birthday card that said all the cool people are sending birthday cards late. Yeah - that's me. I am also going to go out on a limb and assume that all the cool people have been neglecting their blogs. Yeah - me, too. Any chance the cool people have also been neglecting their kitchen floors, the tops of all their furniture, balancing their checkbooks, and going shopping for groceries? I think they might also have overdue library books, clothes that need to go to the dry cleaners, even though they picked up stuff there just today, and a pile of papers on their kitchen counters. Cool people also don't have the energy to get on the treadmill tonight and would prefer to watch Pride and Prejudice. Really cool people have leaves to rake, need to spend more time reading their Bibles, and find themselves knee deep in their kids' end of year projects. Cool people of the world unite! (And make me feel like I am not the only one with too much stuff to do ;0)

Brothers and Sisters

The first song playing today is the English version of one sang by a group of Togolese believers on the morning we left for home. I will try to get the real video and audio of that moment on here at a later date. We were moved by these brothers and sisters in Christ and their open acceptance of all of us. They humbled us with their gratitude. Especially in the hospital setting, the staff was so thankful to have the team and their skills. Even outside the hospital and clinic, were all treated with such kindness and openness and gratitude. The missionaries, who we had hoped to encourage in some small way, ministered to us directly by their kindness and patience and indirectly by their example of steadfast service and gritty hard work. As we left, we found ourselves asking, how they could thank us when we were the ones leaving with hearts so full?

I could write a novel about the fifteen days we spent away from home, and I won't attempt to do that here. My journal from the trip is but a splash in the pond of our experiences, but I will share drops of it here over the coming weeks. The days were full, and the memories already spill into each other as I look back.

For now, as I already begin to fade as jetlag rears its ugly head, I will say that the thing for which I fervently prayed was granted by our awesome God. I asked that we would all return changed. We have. I asked that the experience would be positive for my boys. It was. I asked for safety and health and fun for our little ones with Grandpa and Grandma back home. All four did great! I asked that we would come home and not forget the ways God moved in us while we were there. He continues to move mightily. How awesome to know that the One who moved over the faces of the deep, the One who parted waters and felled armies, the One who raised the dead to life, is alive and moving in the hearts of our little family. I am humbled. We are blessed.

Friday

It is eight in the morning and already hot and humid. The boys are playing with two monkeys that one of the missionary families has. Jeff and Dan have a major case today - be praying! It will take several hours. Also pray for Jason and Teresa, who will arrive today from Ghana. It is difficult to decribe what it feels like here. Remember the old song that says, "Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. I can feel His mighty power, and His grace..." That song sums it up better than I can. It is wonderful to see the physical, practical, tangible work of God, as the believers here, missionary and Togolese alike, are truly the hands of the Great Physician to so many in need. Then, I see the awesome power of God as the believers here rely on prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit to provide for their needs and to stir the hearts of the lost. There is one missionary here that the Togolese call Grandma Jesse. She is an old saint and she is so loving and sweet. When she heard that the guys were in need of something for the OR that they didn't have, she said, "well, let's pray about that - right now!" They did and it was a done deal in her eyes! :0) Later that day, they discovered that the maintanence man was able to rig up something that would work perfectly. What a privilege to see the simple, but powerful work of God and such quick answer to prayer! The boys are loving it here. Each night when we pray as a family, Alex remembers to thank God for the things and the people and the work here and recognizes in prayer that none of it would be here if not for God being at work. Luke is thoroughly enjoying the other missionary children and is eager for any adventure. We so appreciate your prayers for us, and for the rest of our family at home who we miss terribly, and we can't wait to share with you pictures and stories!