My Motherhood Buzz

I love my children. Really, I have been able to enjoy them a lot lately. I'm noticing on the days that I'm tired, I can still make life happen--the work doesn't pile up. This because I'm not sick or pregnant. It's been lovely to spend more time with both of my children. Jube and I get along better this way. Somehow, it helps with his over all attitude and his desire to please and obey. And I can give Havilah all the hugs and squishes I want to. I guess it boils down to being able to enjoy my kiddos right now in a way that I haven't in the past. I'm very thankful and blessed by this stage of our familyhood.

Having said all that, sometimes, I just buzz. There is a certain, constant vigilance that every mother has to keep. I must know where my children are and what they're doing at all times. If I don't I'm sure to regret it. Jube will surely find a new zone to explore or Havilah will tumble. All this vigilance and constant awareness starts to make me feel like I need to get away so that that particular lobe of my brain can rest for a bit.

I was explaining to Dru the necessity for me to get a break now and then to calm my buzzing brain. I asked him if he "got" what I meant. And he did. He said he gets that way after a half hour of babysitting. This is why God made women to be moms and men to be dads.

Another interesting thing came out in that conversation with Dru. He said he tends to gage our necessity for a date based on how much talk time we've had. In other words, we get away for a date to talk. He's felt in the past that a quiet date is a little bit of a let down. It kind of dawned on him made that when I go on a date, it doesn't matter if we talk or not. What matters is that I'm away from my children for a couple hours.

That almost seems terrible to confess. But there it is and I know I'm not the only mother out there who knows what I'm talking about. It actually feels funny to say all this because I really am so much enjoying my children right now. In fact, I can buzz and be happy at the same time, now that I figured out what was going on. It took me a bit to figure it out actually. I had a few, "What is wrong with me?" days.

Anyway, I got my date with Dru today. We did some market shopping in big market today--a place to not take children. We ended up at the mall for a while because the motorbike needed a tune up and the shop is very near the mall. I got to hold Dru's hand lots and lots for about 3 hours. It was amazing. Tonight I'm not buzzing.

I'm looking forward to my day with my children tomorrow. I think maybe we'll make a cake or cookies or something fun like that. Jube will help me fold laundry and Havilah will unfold his washcloths. We'll steam carrots to eat for Havilah because she thinks they're candy. We won't feed Havilah so many grapes though, because I think they're giving her the scoots. Jube won't do the farm puzzle on the floor, like we did today, because Havilah will slip on a piece and bump her head, like she did today. Oh, I love my babies!

Odds-N-Ends of Life

--Havilah is fussy these days. More teeth I think. It's also a stage of life consisting of many bumps and bruises. More so even than Jube at her age. Saturday night she was eating dragon fruit in her high chair, dressed in only her pamper. When she was finished I took her out and rinsed her off in the bathroom. She had it dragon fruit all down her front. Then I sent her up the steps to her dad who was putting them both into the bath tub. On her way up she slipped and fell backwards, biting her dear little pink tongue that likes so well to hang out of her mouth when she's happy. It was my fault. If I had dried her off before sending her up the steps she might not have slipped. Dumb, dumb mom! It was a very good little bite she got and it's still in the process of healing. I'm thankful it only bled as much as it did.

--Jube is memorizing verses very well these days. It's good for both of us. I made him a verse book that we write or paste his verses into, along with stickers and pictures. This  has made learning verses fun--and wow! what a good little brain. I want to cram it as full as Bible verses as I can. I thought about starting him on his multiplication tables now so that he'd know them...but I decided that that was ridiculous when we can be learning Bible verses and multiplication tables are useless to him right now. Where as, "Children, obey your parents," and "Be ye kind," are not.

--Speaking of being kind. Jube is learning about that right now too. What makes a child do what they will to another child for seemingly no reason is beyond me. But Jube isn't naturally spiteful--he just doesn't think sometimes. But, I think he's beginning to.

--I am missing two molars on my lower jaw. The second one from the back on either side. I was complaining to Dru the other night that eating salad takes me twice as long as everyone else. Eating raw carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower, is slow, thoughtful work--and painful if I bite down wrong. To my glee the other day I discovered that my wisdom tooth on one side is coming in, pushing the back tooth forward into the missing tooth's spot. I can see one corner of a brand new tooth. I was suspicious that this was happening and behold, now I know.  Silly, the things that make me happy. But you just trying chewing raw veggies without sufficient molars once, and you might understand. I should go to the dentist and see what she has to say about these developments. I am slightly concerned that the "traveling" tooth will travel in an undesired direction and mess up my bite.

--I finally have two pumpkin seedlings growing my back yard. This makes me happy.

--The light bulb in my laundry room is dead right now so I have been opening the back door to let the light in. Keeping the screen door shut. But there is still a crack under the screen I'm afraid. I was lifting a load of laundry into the wash machine from off of the floor and a large, foot long or so, lizard jumped out. I let out a squawk, put the load in the washer, checking to make sure there wasn't another one, and then went in search of a flashlight. I found one, opened the screen door, looked under the sink and there he was. But he wriggled out and I assume he went out the door because he disappeared somewhere. I'm just glad he wasn't a rat. I can not handle rats.

--We've been thinking lately of how thankful we are for the church family at Grace Bible in Wisconsin. Some of the friends we've been talking to lately really don't have that support in the same way we do. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers and letting us know that you believe in us and believe we're supposed to be here. It means so much more than you know!

--Frank is coming in two and a half weeks. I'm very excited.

--After she gets here I'm going to do some serious Thai language study. Help me pray for the right teacher. Someone(s) anonymously gave us 3,000 baht for my language study. Wow. Thanks so much. Good language study can be expensive and I really need to make sure these next months of study are not wasted. So, to those of you who pray for us, pray for my language study, the right teacher, and the right price.

--I'm still not posting pictures of our time with LaMar and Dot. This computer is missing two programs I like to use for that project. So later. We very much enjoyed our time with them. So glad they could come.

An incomplete collection of pictures…

Kitchen help.

Potty training? Kind of. I’m getting trained anyway. He goes if I take him. He doesn’t quite have the hang of it all yet and so I’m still taking it as a slow process.

Dot and LaMar at our home. They’re working on the felt, quiet book that Dot brought Jube. I have more pictures of our time with LaMar’s but they’re on Dru’s computer still. We had to get them off of their camera, seeing as I kept forgetting to take pictures.

At Duff’s one Sunday afternoon.

Hard boiled egg time.

Sometimes I see my cousin Laife in my son.

We do books at our house.

Dru fed the children ice cream for breakfast one morning.

This is our resident princess. On this fine day, she chose to do some gardening.

Little Updatish Sort of Post

It’s a very Monday sort of Monday. I’m not sure why but I’ve got very little motivation. It’s not even like we did anything besides go to church yesterday, yet, I’m just barely moving.

And I desperately need to blog. Life is rolling along here. It’s been so nice having Dot and LaMar here to see our world and life. Dot was over night the other night then spent all of Friday with me. I figured out where Melinda’s energy came from. We tackled the weed patch in the back corner and the lawn. Dot did most of it. Three days later and I’m still sore. I actually don’t even know why because Dot did most of the work. Maybe it’s from something else.

Friday night, Dot and I walked down to the church to see English classes in session. We pushed Havilah in the stroller and Jube rode his bike. We showed up way later than I anticipated and Dot missed the general assembly. I’m sorry Dot! I finally figured out why Jube was having such a slow time on his bike and thus why we were so slow. Last night when we went on a family walk I discovered that both of Jube’s tires were very FLAT. His training wheels were holding up his back tire. No wonder he was having a hard time. Even as we went on Friday night I was puzzled by Jube because he often can be way on ahead…So now I feel bad for Jube and Dot. Why didn’t I notice they were flat? Partially because he’s light enough that he doesn’t really “squish” it down when he sits on it. Now I’m a smarter mom though I guess.

I got really tired of trying to trying to get to Jube’s understanding the other day. I decided another form of discipline was in order for a while. Now he has a necklace with buttons on it. If he’s naughty I can take a button. This is devastating for him. The idea was a spin on an “Instruction for Righteousness,” idea. Yes, Mama, I dug that book out in desperation and have enjoyed all the scripture and how it can apply to child training. Thanks. Oh, and if he’s good he gets buttons. Sometimes he gets “just because I love you” buttons. So we’re happier around here again for a while, as long as I’m consistant.

On Thursday night last week we took LaMars to the Hideaway restaurant. It’s fun to take people there and watch them despair over what to get because the menu is so big. Dru and I hadn’t been there for a long time either. Maybe not since Havilah was tiny and we took Elijah and Brenda about a year ago. And then Brenda and I sat in the truck bed all the way home and talked a mile a minute. But that’s another memory.

I’m looking forward to Frank being here, not only to have her but to start studying. 

Can’t wait to hit the language study—I’m starting to feel frantic about how much I don’t know. You can be praying for that part of my life.

I’m tired and draggy a lot lately and not sure why. But you don’t need to hear those moanings here are now.

Have a happy day.

Not Flesh and Blood

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading in my Bible the passage where Paul tells the Ephesians to put on the whole armor of God. I  liked the way my New English Bible says it and I read it several times. “Our fight is not against human foes…but against….the superhuman forces of evil in the heavens. Therefore, take up God’s armour: then you will be able to stand your ground when things are at their worst….. Give yourselves wholly to prayer, and entreaty: pray on every occasion in the power of the Spirit…To this end keep watch and persevere, always interceding for all God’s people.”

That night I had a dream that demonstrated exactly what this verse is talking about. I don’t know if you can say the dream “meant” anything. I just know that I woke up terrified and eventually realized that principalities and powers were probably delighted by my fear, so eventually turned the light on and read all of the book of Philippians and prayed until I could go back to sleep.

The next evening, I got a chance to tell Dru the details of the dream and how they affected me. So thankful for that man’s prayers! In the end, I had to admit that the powers of Satan are scary to me. But I realized that until the day that I can say that I have no fear of these “principalities and powers”, I can take refuge in the fact that my heavenly Father does not have one smidgen’s worth of fear towards Satan or his demons. In this I rest.


Later, on the phone with my mom, she told me about how the Native American children were able to attend the Vacation Bible School at Northwoods Mennonite Church. She explained some of happenings of that event, and especially what my brother faced on the last evening. Again, principalities and powers.

I’ve been on Dru’s Facebook a lot recently. I don’t really have a Facebook account of my own right now that I use, so I’ve been on Dru’s to keep up with what’s happening in the Skrivseth world. At the same time I see what’s up on his home page. I ended up removing a friend from his list the other day because of a totally inappropriate image. Also, there are words that get slung around in people’s common vocab that make me feel dirty to read. This is the world we live in.


My cousin just lost her children to social services; not because of parental negligence, but through the perversion of a system.Justice was greatly lacking, while lies abounded throughout the whole case. Again, I had to think about how we do not fight against flesh and blood. And what about our prayers? Were they not heard? I cried for an hour this morning and still find myself choking up today. How can my cousin and her husband pick up the pieces? How do you go on? What is there to live for? And then I remember that God is in control. I ask myself, “Didn’t I pray hard enough?” Because the situation really has been on my heart and in my prayers this month. But not enough apparently? Obviously, I didn’t realize the gravity of the situation. Somehow, I thought that Truth would prevail.

Then I remind myself that Truth has already prevailed. Somehow. Somehow God is going to be glorified in this situation. Somehow God is in control. It feels like we lost our chance to pray this thing through to the appropriate ending. It feels like Satan has prevailed. Yet I pray to God, that He, who is not locked in time, will, in a sense, go back and change it. That somehow, this story isn’t completed. That principalities and powers will still be defeated as they relate to this specific situation.

Now I’m asking myself questions about what this means for me today. For me as a mom with two children. How do I raise my children in the fear of the Lord? The responsibility of it is huge! Is it even prudent to bring children into this world anymore? Yes, I realize that the grace of God is sufficient—but don’t tell me that as parents of children, aware of the world we live in, you haven’t asked yourself this same question.

“For I am convinced that there is nothing in death or life, in the realm of spirits or superhuman powers, in the world as it is or the world as it shall be, the forces of the universe, in the heights or depths—nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38, 39

I Love Dru

After a sad day yesterday filled with sick children a a piece of sad news, Dru brought me flowers.

Sorry if my blog looks a little funny, Dru was in the process of beautifying it yesterday when he should have been homework. He’ll get it fixed nice again one of these days.

Lots of Pictures

Here of are a whole bunch of pictures. The first bunch are from the first two weeks after we got home. So Jube still has his long hair. Below, a milk break—at about 4 a.m. when we were still working on jet lag issues.

My man climbed this tree to cut down some of the offending burls. The birds who come to this tree, leave behind droppings, which plant suckers right into the tree limb. So another kind of limb starts to grow, making a big burl and zapping the rest of the branch from its nutrients. We’re hoping to save the tree, but it really took a downhill plunge while we were in the states.

Water play. I had to take this picture to celebrate the warmth of Thailand after being cold for so long.

Cell group. Pii Kay, and Melissa, who is now back in the States. We miss her.

Halla and Emma.

Dru, Arlin, Champ, Orlando, and Scott.

Putting his bike away before it starts to rain hard. We’d just driven home on the motorbike, so he’s in his rain coat and helmet.

Licking beaters.

A break from mowing lawn. ‘Twas a warm day.

He’s cooking. The box is his stove.

     

Dragon fruit. Havilah loves it.

Another milk break.

My friend Lia. She’s from Indonesia, married to an American—a Beachy man from PA, no less. Right now Michael is finishing up at Payap and then they’re planning to move to Southern Thailand. I was at her house because we swapped cooking lessons. She taught me to make lemon chicken and I taught her cinnamon rolls. It was a nice day. And by the way, this woman amazes me. She falls into the category of super-woman if you ask me.

Children in the pool and Timmy stitching raisins from the rolls.

People ask me how it’s going with Dru in school. I love it. He’s in his element. And, at least for this semester, his homework load is not unreasonable. He’s less busy now than he was before, planning English lessons. We both feel like this period of our lives is a huge gift from God. We didn’t realize how much pressure we were under until now, when we’re not under it anymore.

If you look closely, you can see one of our “pet” lizards. We even have one who sports a blue head. (This is not him.)

Before.

After: Havilah’s Happy Birthday Cake.

When I was in school my sister and I took cake decorating classes. The final day we were supposed to do a cake. For Jenny and I, it turned out awful. Just not our thing. When we walked into the yard with downcast faces, Mom was in the garden. She was so sympathetic and understanding! She quit her work and came inside and we talked about it. It was a bad day, but it was a good day in that Mom “got it.”  So now, over a decade later, this is my victory cake. The frosting tasted awful because I didn’t follow a recipe—but it turned out cute.  Jube wants a snowman cake for his birthday. I’ll follow a recipe for the frosting and I think we’ll be just fine.

Yes, you can see that my hand is unsteady and it’s not perfect, but I’m unashamed of this lady bug and his (Jube insists that it’s a daddy lady bug) children. 

Havilah’s Birthday Picnic on the mountain.

Of course I forget the candle! 

Once the frosting was gone, she was done with the cupcake.

My good man.

Watermelon beats cupcakes any day.

Happy Birthday my special little girl. How did you get to be one year old so fast?