Saturday, August 7, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
"The joy in you makes me have joy too."
Last night, my cousin Carina, who is turning seven this week, came up to me, saying she had a surprise.
"Melissa, I have something for you," she said, as she sat down next to me.
"What is it?"
"Here, I'll read it to you." She pulled out a letter, carefully written on a piece of notebook paper, which took her a good half hour. I looked on as she read, and was ready to cry by the time she finished.
Dear Cousin Melissa,
I hope you have a good time and you're a great cousin to me. You have a great laugh too. And the joy you have it makes me have joy too. And I like your praise and I love the way you smile.
Love your cousin Carina.
If you aren't misty-eyed, you must have a heart of stone.
"Melissa, I have something for you," she said, as she sat down next to me.
"What is it?"
"Here, I'll read it to you." She pulled out a letter, carefully written on a piece of notebook paper, which took her a good half hour. I looked on as she read, and was ready to cry by the time she finished.
Dear Cousin Melissa,
I hope you have a good time and you're a great cousin to me. You have a great laugh too. And the joy you have it makes me have joy too. And I like your praise and I love the way you smile.
Love your cousin Carina.
If you aren't misty-eyed, you must have a heart of stone.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Road Trip!
Yesterday, I completed a 13 hour and 31 minute drive to Michigan, with 5 children under 10. We left at 7:40 in the morning, and got back at 9:14 at night. Being the only "adult" not driving, I had many roles to fulfill.
8 AM: DJ. Once the kids discovered I had an iPod, and that I had Owl City on said iPod, the first thing they wanted to do was listen to it. So after setting up some precariously perched speakers, I played Fireflies, the most requested, and Hello Seattle, #2 on the billboard. I had a feeling that by the end of the day, I would never want to listen to those songs again. I was right.
8:30 AM: Pocketing the iPod, I moved back to squeeze myself into a spot to play dolls with Carina, the six year old, while entertaining Contessa, the 2 year old. (I should say 2 and a half, because she would be very upset to just be called two.)
9:30 AM: Keeper of the peace. After an hour of dolls, I move the very back of the van to distract Kyler, who is tormenting his sister in some shape or form. We play several games of hangman, dots, and tic tac toe. I can proudly say I am smarter than a fourth grader.
10 AM: Snacktime! I move up to sit with Coralie, who is giggly and goofy. I give her the tickle test. and when she returns the favor, I'm surprised to find that she actually tickled me! (I'm not easily tickled by a five year old.
11 AM: I'm not sure what happened here. (Things start to blur after a while).
12:30 PM Lunchtime! I am now waitress/cook, preparing ham and cheese sandwhiches for all!
1:00 PM: On the road again, I'm so glad to be on the road again...
3:00 PM: After two hours of children, I plug in my iPod, which has magical powers to make all other noise disappear, and after ignoring tugs and pulls at my hair, am left alone.
4:00 PM: Welcome to Canada! We made it across the border (legally), and after passing the falls, get to see the not so scenic view of the Queen Elizabeth Freeway.
7:40 PM: We got back to the US, which takes twice as long (thank you US border control).
9:00 PM: Ten minutes from home, the meltdown begins. So close, yet so far away.
9:14 PM: Home sweet home.
8 AM: DJ. Once the kids discovered I had an iPod, and that I had Owl City on said iPod, the first thing they wanted to do was listen to it. So after setting up some precariously perched speakers, I played Fireflies, the most requested, and Hello Seattle, #2 on the billboard. I had a feeling that by the end of the day, I would never want to listen to those songs again. I was right.
8:30 AM: Pocketing the iPod, I moved back to squeeze myself into a spot to play dolls with Carina, the six year old, while entertaining Contessa, the 2 year old. (I should say 2 and a half, because she would be very upset to just be called two.)
9:30 AM: Keeper of the peace. After an hour of dolls, I move the very back of the van to distract Kyler, who is tormenting his sister in some shape or form. We play several games of hangman, dots, and tic tac toe. I can proudly say I am smarter than a fourth grader.
10 AM: Snacktime! I move up to sit with Coralie, who is giggly and goofy. I give her the tickle test. and when she returns the favor, I'm surprised to find that she actually tickled me! (I'm not easily tickled by a five year old.
11 AM: I'm not sure what happened here. (Things start to blur after a while).
12:30 PM Lunchtime! I am now waitress/cook, preparing ham and cheese sandwhiches for all!
1:00 PM: On the road again, I'm so glad to be on the road again...
3:00 PM: After two hours of children, I plug in my iPod, which has magical powers to make all other noise disappear, and after ignoring tugs and pulls at my hair, am left alone.
4:00 PM: Welcome to Canada! We made it across the border (legally), and after passing the falls, get to see the not so scenic view of the Queen Elizabeth Freeway.
7:40 PM: We got back to the US, which takes twice as long (thank you US border control).
9:00 PM: Ten minutes from home, the meltdown begins. So close, yet so far away.
9:14 PM: Home sweet home.
Friday, July 2, 2010
The sunset
The sunsets in Guatemala are beautiful. I've been collecting sunrises and sunsets, and so far, this one has been hard to compete with.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Inseperable
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,a]"> neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39
Nothing can separate us from His love.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friday night at Market Basket came around yet again, and at first glance, it seemed like any other ordinary, dull night at Market Basket. Until I spotted it.
It was a mosquito, hovering over my belt, watching me, taunting me as I rang a customer's order. It's tiny eyes locked with mine, and it deftly dodged my first swat. I bagged the order, and sent the customer on his way, and the battle began. But as I turned to face my opponent, I could not find him. He had disappeared, but I knew he would be back - he wouldn't give up that easily - he was out for blood. He may have won the battle, but I would win the war!
Minutes went by, and no sign of Mr. Mosquito. I began to think perhaps he left for good, until I heard a buzzing by my ear, and whirled around, ready to strike! Arms flailing, I swatted at the air unsuccessfully, as he just flew higher, out of my reach. Just as I thought he might come back down, I had to let him win that round, since I had a customer in my line.
An hour went by, and I let my guard down, cleaning the crud left on my belt by other customers. I bent down to pick up the paper towels and spray, and as I turned, I saw him. He was on my scanner, waiting there for me. I told myself, Melissa, it's now or never. And in one smooth stroke, I ripped off a paper towel and came down on Mr. Mosquito, and triumphantly discovered that there was no blood - he hadn't bitten me this time!
Smugly, I finished cleaning off my belt, satisfied that I had in fact beaten the bug. As the line for my register grew, I rang customers through quickly, ready to end the night. But as I rang in my last customer, I noticed something at the far end of my belt, and gasped.
Mr. Mosquito had a friend.
It was a mosquito, hovering over my belt, watching me, taunting me as I rang a customer's order. It's tiny eyes locked with mine, and it deftly dodged my first swat. I bagged the order, and sent the customer on his way, and the battle began. But as I turned to face my opponent, I could not find him. He had disappeared, but I knew he would be back - he wouldn't give up that easily - he was out for blood. He may have won the battle, but I would win the war!
Minutes went by, and no sign of Mr. Mosquito. I began to think perhaps he left for good, until I heard a buzzing by my ear, and whirled around, ready to strike! Arms flailing, I swatted at the air unsuccessfully, as he just flew higher, out of my reach. Just as I thought he might come back down, I had to let him win that round, since I had a customer in my line.
An hour went by, and I let my guard down, cleaning the crud left on my belt by other customers. I bent down to pick up the paper towels and spray, and as I turned, I saw him. He was on my scanner, waiting there for me. I told myself, Melissa, it's now or never. And in one smooth stroke, I ripped off a paper towel and came down on Mr. Mosquito, and triumphantly discovered that there was no blood - he hadn't bitten me this time!
Smugly, I finished cleaning off my belt, satisfied that I had in fact beaten the bug. As the line for my register grew, I rang customers through quickly, ready to end the night. But as I rang in my last customer, I noticed something at the far end of my belt, and gasped.
Mr. Mosquito had a friend.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Now my feet won't touch the ground.
"Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one's thoughts." - Elizabeth Elliot."Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5
Waiting is hard. Trusting and waiting are even more difficult. I'm accustomed to seeing instant results, and no matter how many times I read trust and wait, I find myself trying to find other solutions instead of waiting on God, and trusting that he has everything worked out. But he laid out the stars, he counted every grain of sand - of course he has my life worked out.
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