The easy way

For some reason everyone is quiet (enough) right now.  Daddy is sleeping (no Packers' game!), Moses is Lego-ing, Colleen and Curly Sue are playing house or something and Dewey is fitfully sleeping too.  I really want to write some awesome post about everyone and updates but I realized there isn't much to say!  Maybe I should just talk about me?  I don't do much of that...do I?  Wait - don't answer that.  I don't really care anyway.  I am enjoying this time...
Lately I have been taking some action steps to see progress on my goals.  For starters, this past week I went to bed on time 4 out of the 7 evenings.  I enjoyed waking up early, I read 3 chapters in my Sally Clarkson book, and I think I drank enough water.  I signed up for a class (I think it's a DVD class).  That should be interesting!  Just when we took the desk downstairs...I have carved out a little 'mama cave' for reading and doing school work.  I am working on getting the kids to set their clothes out the night before. Scratch that - I am working on ME helping to set their clothes out.  They ask me some nights but I don't want to take the 3 minutes to do it when I tuck them in.  Baby steps...we teach other discipline around here...I have a sewing itch that needs to be scratched.  I bought supplies for a small project and hopefully I can get that accomplished this week.  We were blessed w/bunk beds for the girls!  That was a 2 day project...not setting them up, but re-organizing their room.  I think it's better though - it helped me to finally sort out random things that needed homes or needed to get out of our home!  I cleaned the whole upstairs hallway the other day.  (You're probably wondering how a hallway can be messy...or not, if you've met my cluttery self!)  I felt pretty accomplished.  I found some pictures that made me smile and many that I plan to hang near my study corner/mama cave.  I may be 'performing' in a drama for our upcoming women's gathering at church.  Right now it seems like it's kind of unorganized and if it doesn't get off the ground soon, I am going to have to say no.  I don't feel confident 'winging it' or cramming when I have 4 kids in the house!  Well, as interesting as this update is (like paint drying!), I will end it soon...I just had to write something.  These are the moments I get very few of these days - no complaints - but it reminded me of when Moses was a baby and I would type away while he slept.  Now he is creeping up to be as tall as my chin and I take what I can get.  Thank you Lord for blessing me w/this time, thank you for allowing me to watch these children grow.  Thank you for the chance to serve my family yet take care of myself too.  It's been a journey to find the balance and since I am rooted in You Lord, I know I can always come back and re-evaluate that.  AMEN

...and beyond...

Many of you may remember that I wrote some goals for 2011.  I have done the same for 2012, only I admit they look similar to those of last year!  I didn't entirely complete some, while I can improve on others.  At any rate - here are my 2012 goals.  Once again I am focusing on my own health and wellness, choosing to organize my goals into 3+ categories.  Some goals may apply to more than one category, but I attempted to sort them out accordingly.  Also, please know that I am being real here and I am asking for support and not judgement.  Thanks =)

PERSONAL (bear with me, it seems there are a lot!)

-make time to do more scrapbooking/sewing/completing Pinterest pins (I had this on my list last year.  Epic failure!  Prepare for round 2...DING)

-watch less TV during the week/overall (should help w/the first one - we have DVR now so I should be able to record some things to watch on the weekends)

-go to a women's conference/retreat, something of that sort...

-join some sort of a small group, which will hopefully help me maintain and cultivate old/new relationships

-call the Integenerational Center nearby (I have always had this dream of opening one and what do you know?!  There is one less than a half hour a way!  Why re-invent the wheel?  I should investigate volunteering there)

-READ (I have a weak looking book list, but I hope I can read at least one book a month)

-take a grad class to renew my teaching license, but also investigate possible future Spanish classes/maybe even a Master's!

SPIRITUAL (I am excited for these!)

-I will be Maximizing My Mornings, starting tomorrow!

-keep up w/my Bible reading and journaling

-memorize scripture w/my family (there are some good ones here, including in the comments, but we will also use the verses from Sunday school at our church)

-go on a small/big missions trip (again, I really didn't even come close on this one last year - hopefully we can take steps to get closer to this goal this year)

-small group - see above

-women's conference/retreat - see above

PHYSICAL (same as last year, w/a few minor tweaks!)

-get 8 hrs of sleep a night (No seriously.  8.)

-exercise 30 minutes 3 times a week  (I'm not sure this will happen right away, but it's a goal - I will be taking baby steps to get there - it's harder than last year since we have more kids, but do-able)

-thin the thighs (Judgement free zone here people - I don't care if I lose weight, just if I can get these thunder thighs under control!)

-complete a 5K in under 30 minutes (I almost got there last year!)

-complete more than one 5K (Yes!)

-drink more water (Like last year, if I can do more than 3 glasses a day, I am doing good - I just need to be more consistent)

FAMILY/HOUSEHOLD GOALS (new this year...)

-eat more real food (I can help by cooking more breakfasts and being ready so we don't do fast food out of desperation)

-reduce packaging (this has been on my mind lately...even if I do a little, it's better than nothing)

-out West trip (some extended family have moved out to WA and we would love to go back to CA)

-researching/prepping moving out of town (don't freak out - there's is a minute fraction of a chance we will actually pull this off in 2012 which is why I said researching/prepping, but it's been on our minds for the near future, so we have to be honest that it is one of our goals)

-adoption (there!  I said it!  Again, don't freak out, we have no news but this is always a family goal)

There's probably more of these, but I didn't really focus too much on these.  I can help us reach these goals, but it will be a team effort and will take a little more planning.  

Like last year, I hope to post goal updates but I doubt it will be every month.  Being that there are 2 more children in our house than last year at this time, life gets pretty busy!  But I am confident that in writing this post and reflecting on my goals, I will be able to stay on track and take better care of myself.

Things I did well in 2011...

I have a post in my mind, all ready to go, about my 2012 goals.  They look pretty similar to the 2011 goals but first I wanted to comment on what I did well in 2011.  If you forgot, I attempted to do monthly updates on my goals (I accomplished that goal 5 out of 12 times).  This was the original post.  I made 3 categories - physical, personal, and spiritual.  I was really good at drinking more water, running, doing the 5K (not so much once it was over, though) and sort of good at getting 8 hours of sleep.  The physical stuff kind of fell off the track after fall hit...for various reasons!  Dave and I have been super awesome about date night, many thanks to 2 reliable and willing babysitters =)  I was mediocre at my Bible reading, but for me, mediocre was a massive improvement!!  Some things that were not listed on my goals post, but I was good at anyway, were things like making lunches and washing laundry on time.  I was also a rock star when it came to finding things that we needed at thrift/consignment shops, thus avoiding box stores and buying new.  I was really good at changing our eating habits and continuing on our 'green' journey.  I was good about helping to keep the chickens alive!  Didn't think I'd be saying that....I was GREAT at hanging wash!  HA!  You already knew that, didn't you...well, there is lots of room for improvement.  But I think writing out my goals last year really helped me.  I can't wait to share my revised/new goals in the next post!

The ABCs of 2011

(Once again, we are not sending Christmas cards out in the traditional way - see the end of this post for more on that...We hope you enjoy this online version! If you regularly read my blog, some of these stories will sound familiar...I also wanted to let you know that there are not a lot of photos here, but if you click the links that are in blue, you will be taken to other posts I have written over the year and I promise there are more photos there!)  And now...

The ABCs of 2011

A - ADOPTION!  On January 14, 2011, our adoption of one precious little girl became final.  It was the best late Christmas present anyone could ask for!  WORTH THE WAIT.

Baptism

B - Baptism.  In June I (Melissa) was water baptized.  I had been baptized as in infant and really felt that I was at a point in my faith where I wanted to do it again.  Many thanks to our family and friends who celebrated both the adoption and baptism with us.
C - Chickens.  Again this year Dave bought some eggs to hatch in his 4 year old classroom.  Only 3 hatched =(  But since it was such a small number, he asked if we could keep them.  He built this awesome coop and run with scrap wood and we enjoyed watching the feathered fluff balls grow into chickens!

Now we are 6!

D - Dewey and Curly Sue.  In early November, 2 new foster children joined us.
E - Eternal life.  Almost a year after the death of my paternal grandfather, my maternal grandfather passed away in February.  Then in July my paternal grandmother also passed away.  These losses meant I no longer have any grandparents on this Earth.  Grief may give us a heavy heart, but the knowledge that these people are born to eternal life is a true comfort.
F - Framily.  That's 'friends-like-family' smooshed together.  This year a lot has happened in our framily - adoptions, loss of loved ones, purchases of homes, and shared celebrations.  We are so blessed to be able to take mini-vacations w/framily, stay up late talking, and just share our daily lives with them.
G - Gymnastics.  Moses has been LOVING boys' gymnastics!  They get to use the pommel horses, bars, rings, etc.  I don't even know what all those things are called!  It's a great outlet for him and he does his best to keep up with some of the older boys in the class.  We're still working on cartwheels!  It's funny, I never thought about teaching someone to do one...I guess I thought they just watched someone else and picked it up!  Thanks to Coach Evan, I now know a technique to teach that fun skill! Colleen is also enjoying gymnastics, and of course she especially loves wearing a leotard w/a tutu!  Soon both Colleen and Curly Sue will be in the same class and Mo will continue on in the boys' class.
H - Harvested.  This year's garden was a little different than those of the past, but I did harvest a lot of pumpkins!  I learned a few lessons along the way again and hope to use them to my advantage for next year.  I feel very blessed to be able to grow some things for our family to eat and also blessed to harvest things like apples from others' trees.
I - Infants.  We had 2 foster care infants over the course of the year.  Both were only here a short time, but it was a treat to have babies that were days old in the house!  But it also kind of 'schooled' us...how quickly we have forgotten about getting up multiple times in the night and taking lots of supplies everywhere we go...
J - JESUS brings us great JOY!!!!  Most of my readers here already know that my family and I love Jesus.  To us, Christmas is a sweet time of celebration.  We are reminded that ever since the first sin that Adam and Eve committed, we are all in need of a Savior.  That God himself would come down to the Earth in the form of man, to be born in a simple manger, is the greatest gift!
K - KINDERGARTEN!  Moses started all day bilingual kindergarten this year!!  It has been interesting, to say the least, and there may be another future post about all that, but the best part is hearing our boy pick up Spanish words and phrases, watching him cruise through the sight words, and seeing the joy on his face when he talks about his 'specials' - gym, music, art and recess!
L - Lake.  We still love living by the lake!  Dave is considering the Polar Plunge again this year...
M - Math.  This year Dave started teaching ELL Math.  I know, I know, he was doing some of that before...but in the high school he did some 'center math' previously.  He taught the students with little to no English basic math concepts.  In the past he also facilitated what they call Tutorial, or a guided study hall.  No more!  This year, due to a mainstream teacher's retirement, he was able to begin teaching ELL Algebra.  It is nice because before there were 2 teachers (one mainstream leading and one ELL helping) while now there is only one.  He can go as slow or fast as the class needs.  It's a nice change.
N - Niece or Nephew?  Soon my brother and his wife will be having a baby!!!  We are ecstatic for them and can't wait to see if it's a boy or a girl.  The kids haven't quite gotten it that a new cousin is coming, but I'm sure once she or he arrives, they will love cuddling that baby.  They already beg to buy stuff for him or her all the time!  I think that baby will be spoiled.  (Edited to add - it's a boy!!!)
O - Opportunity.  I didn't have an O!!  So I'm going to take this opportunity to say thank you to all our family and friends who have prayed for us, helped us, supported us, laughed and cried with us this year.  We love you!!!
P - Purple Book.  We took a class at church, using the Purple Book as a study guide to the Bible.  It was really awesome!  I have done other Bible studies before but really didn't get into them.  This one was life-changing for me.
Q - Question - Is this the longest Christmas letter so far??  Maybe...but we're almost there!
R - Running/Reading.  There are 2 for this letter!  First of all, I resurrected the old me, the me who used to run in college and made a slow come back.  I was determined this year to get in shape and complete a 5K in less than 30 minutes.  I came close.  It didn't happen.  But I am not giving up that goal.  I plan to continue to press on and enjoy running, indoors or out!  As for reading, I am yet again bragging on my sweet son Moses.  With the exception of a few Hooked on Phonics sessions, he pretty much taught himself to read.  Obviously, he has 2 teachers for parents.  English/language teachers to boot!  But we didn't do much besides the ordinary.  On our August trip to the northern/midwestern states, he sat with a bag full of books and just keep reading them out loud.  When he didn't know a word, he'd spell it and ask us what it was.  We'd tell him and much like us when we were little, once he learned it, he didn't forget it.  I don't know how many hours he did that in the back of the van, but it was a lot!  It really is amazing the way God designs the brain to pick those things up...

Mt. Rushmore

S - South Dakota.  Our summer trip included other states, but this was the one we spent the most time in.  There is so much to say about it!!!  We enjoyed the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, other National Parks, Sturgis, the mountains and the YMCA of the Rockies.  We fed donkeys, had a coyote run through the area while cooking dinner over the campfire and climbed the Black Hills.  We saw motorcycle after motorcycle and sweat buckets while climbing one of the Rocky mountains.  We laughed a lot and visited Storybook Gardens twice.  We would love to go back...especially to the YMCA of the Rockies.

Texas

T - Texas.  We spent spring break in Texas w/Dave's mom.  We visited some good framily, some cousins and the Gulf.  We were quiet at the JFK memorial, in awe at the Alamo and loud in the Gulf waters!  We saw stadiums, flowers and plants, more missions, the Riverwalk...we were blessed by one of our pastors to stay in a timeshare.  We got to swim and relax and visit.  We went to bilingual church! We will never forget..."Si Dios te satisface, DALE PALMAS - (clap clap clap!)"
U - Ulysses S. Grant.  He was one of the presidents we learned when we did our flashcards!  As we were planning our South Dakota trip, we knew we would be seeing Mt. Rushmore.  Then I was *cleaning* the drawers by the phone and found this box of flashcards...so I thought I'd pick a few and Mo and I would learn (or re-learn) their names and one fact about what they were known for.  It went well!  I think we learned about 20 of the presidents' faces and facts.  It was funny because I couldn't help reference the presidents who were on our money.  Mo kept asking to see the bigger bills....and I'd say, "Get a job kid!"
V - Van.  It has been approximately one year driving our new 8-seater van!  We have learned a lot in this one year...we really like the 8th seat.  We love the electric door!  Despite having an electric door, the drivers' seat is not electric.  It takes 13 pumps to boost the seat up!  (For those of you that don't know, Dave is almost a foot taller than me, so every time a new driver gets in, the seat gets adjusted.)  Having a back row that drops down for storage is pretty sweet too.  All these new features!  We also learned that red is a very popular color for mini-vans!  And red vans that are the same make and model as ours are also popular!  Once I couldn't figure out why my door wouldn't unlock...wrong van!!!  Luckily no one saw me =)
W - Working with wood.  This year Dave built a chicken coop and a tree fort. There was a lot of sawing, drilling and hammering going on!  It was great to see Mo following him around with his own toolbelt and toolbox.  The kids all are helping measure and everyone wants to be a 'gopher'.  "Go get me a screw.  Go get me the drill.  Go get me a glass of water."  I am really proud of my smart husband for pretty much designing and building these things!  There's a little engineering in his DNA after all.
X - No X-Rays this year.  Maybe you remember the summer of '08?  So glad we didn't have any X-rays this year!!!
Y - YMCA.  This year was the first year we got a membership.  We have been taking advantage of the classes, the workout machines and the pool.  It feels so good to be active!  Some nights when everyone seems a little stir crazy, we go to the racquetball court and let the kids loose with a baggie full of bouncy balls!  They're much less painful than a racquetball and they bounce all crazy!  Everyone chases the little balls and giggles...best free activity...
Z - Zee End.  =)  Much love from our family to yours!

Merry Christmas!

-and-

May God bless you in the New Year!

Love, Melissa, Dave, Moses, Colleen, 

Curly Sue and Dewey

We hope you enjoyed this green version of our Christmas card! (If you still wish to receive a paper copy, leave a comment.) There are lots of reasons we decided to do things differently this year (again!)...here's a few:

1) Save postage. We love you, but we're cheap!

2) Save paper. You just recycle those cards after you read them...you do recycle them eventually, don't you??

3) Save printing costs. See reason #1!

4) Save stress. Nothing to print, sign, stuff, address...

5) Expand our options! Now you can see a practically limitless amount of photos.

6) Our greeting to you is saved in cyber-space for posterity! Yes, we can be that vain sometimes!

7) It went so well the past years...we heard a lot of positive responses, and even some people who said they'd try it themselves. Welcome to the dark (green) side! (Sorry that was a goofy Star Wars joke...)

ThankFULL

November 29

Well, it's been a few days...but you've been too busy to notice, right?!  Me too.  Today I am thankful for gifts.  I don't mean physical objects, but I mean gifts given to us by God.  Mostly I am referring to the ones listed in Romans 12:6-8.  From Biblegateway.com...

Romans 12:6-8

New International Version (NIV)

⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your^[a] faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,^[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

There are so many people in my life who have these gifts and share them w/me and my family!  Just the other night I had an inspiring conversation w/a friend who has the gift of prophesy.  I am constantly encouraged by my friends and family.  I find that being involved in foster care and adoption, it is easy to see the mercy shown by others to many. Other people I know are amazing givers while still others are humble servants.  I am so thankful to be around people who use their gifts in my life, my kids' lives or in the body in general.  

Naturally

November 25

I am thankful for God's creation.  Yesterday we spent a good hour outside exploring my Uncle's property.  We find lots of black mud, animal trails in the woods, mossy rocks and trees, piles of decomposing materials, places where the deer lay down and a turkey feather.  There were brown things, black things, green things and gray things.  We climbed, slid and walked.  We splashed mud on our boots and laughed about how we sank into the Earth.  We felt the cold wind and the warm sun on our cheeks.  I don't get to spend a huge amount of time outside these days (I always wish is it was more!) but if I lived in a place like that, I think my life would be a little different.  I am so grateful we can go visit people who live in the north woods, on a huge property, or on a lake.  We can visit people who live in the city and the country.  We can visit people who live near a Gulf, an Ocean, a desert and a volcano.  Of course I wish we could do it more often!!  Anyone want to fund our future outdoor adventures?!  =)

Turkey cake!

November 24

Today I am thankful for the birthday boy - my husband!  Have I told you much about him?  (If you say yes, and you think you've heard these stories already, stop reading!)  

When I saw him for the first time, I of course thought he was the cutest boy I had ever seen!  He was the piano player at Intervarsity, a Christian fellowship group I started going to in college.  Because he sat down to play the piano, I couldn't really see him during the worship part of the service, which was probably good since I was supposed to be singing anyway.  My favorite part about going to IV was the end.  Dave and 'the band' would play a fun song or just 'jam' and after they finished, he would stand up and you know my head snapped right around!  He was always laughing, loudly, and I wanted so badly to be part of that crowd.  He seemed so happy and here I was, not so happy.  Our first meeting didn't go too well but I can't blame him (I hadn't accepted the Lord yet, so I was the 'old me', as in trying to be something I wasn't.).  Despite being cute, he seemed arrogant and I figured that he was just another guy to add to the eye candy list.  

The next school year, I was the on my way to being the new me and we met again.  As it turned out, we had many classes together and had many things in common.  He used to come to class from his job as a teacher at a Christian school, where he got a free newspaper every day.  The paper was always folded, open to the crossword puzzle.  I'll never forget the first time he set it down on the desk next to mine and didn't sit down right away.  YOINK!  He came back and looked on the floor for the paper.  Then he noticed me w/a big Cheshire grin, the crossword already started!  After that it kind of became our thing...he'd sit next to me and we'd whisper clues and answers back and forth.  Then he started to offer me a ride home and since it was cold, I wanted to say yes.  He told me it was on his way - LIAR!  It really wasn't that far out of the way, but it wasn't ON the way either =)  Our first real date started out as a group date.  He asked if I wanted to go to a Badgers' football game w/a bunch of people.  Later he told me no one was available or wanted to...so it turned out to be just us.  Before the game, we wandered around the Madison farmer's market and he asked to hold my hand.  

(Time out - I am leaving huge chunks of the story out.  If you want to know more, you can always ask.  But one background detail is that before I got saved, I wasn't exactly...um...boyfriend-less.  Let's just say I had a few boyfriends or just plain boys in my life.  I was...rather relaxed w/the boundaries, when it came to boys.  I am not proud of that fact, but it is part of my past.  I had pretty much come to the conclusion that was what an adult relationship entailed.  Despite asking forgiveness for sins and inviting Jesus into my heart, I hadn't revised my definition of an adult relationship.  Time in.)

HE ASKED TO HOLD MY HAND.  Did you catch that?  MY HAND.  I couldn't believe that he asked to hold MY HAND.  Not some other body part, but MY HAND.  He had more respect for my hand than most other boys had for any of me!!!  This is the part of the story where the girl who thought she had fallen in love w/the boy fell a lot harder.  

I am so thankful for my husband.  Truthfully, when I had gotten saved, I pretty much made a deal w/God that I would 'quit boys'.  I just was going to focus on school and stay out of trouble and someday I would find the man I would marry...less than a year later, I met my husband.  Less than 6 months after that I was engaged.  About 6 months after that, we were married!

To the hottie behind the piano - 

     Thank you for giving me a second chance.  Thank you for asking to hold my hand.  Thank you for being a happy, cross-word loving, gentle man.  Thank you for saying you weren't afraid to have 12 kids.  Thank you for playing frisbee w/me on our wedding day.  Thank you for holding me when I cried over not having a baby right away, and then all those months after either.  Thank you for supporting me as a new teacher.  Thank you for helping me when I was sick and pregnant.  Thank you for always singing to our boy and reading him the Bible.  Thank you for taking the leap into foster care w/me.  Thank you for allowing me to be home w/our kids while you work.  Thank you for all the hard work you do around the house.  I would be so lost w/o you.  Thank you for leading this family in the way the Lord leads you.  Thank you for your faithfulness to the Lord, to me, our kids and to the church.  Thank you for sharing so many trips w/me, even if I have forgotten the details of them!  Thank you...for your love.  I have many flaws, some of which only you know.  But that doesn't stop the look I see in your eye when you hold me.  Besides the Lord, you are my best friend.  Happy Birthday!!!  I love you.  XOXO

Dear Heavenly Father - 

     Thank you for this man, this man who has curly hair and blue eyes and a laugh so infectious...thank you for this man that respects and cares for me.  Thank you for putting this man in my life at a time when I was quite broken and newly learning about you, Lord.  Thank you for making my husband the kind of leader and servant who is calm, gentle and compassionate.  I pray you bless my husband in a special way today as we celebrate both his birth and Thanksgiving.  Amen!