dear emily,
now that you are so happily anticipating the arrival of precious baby
#5, i want to beg you to consider the possibility of getting some help.
isaac's sophomore year in high school included two basketball teams,
many honors classes, along with loads of school and church activities.
shelby, who was a freshman, enjoyed the pom squad, even more
honors courses, and every school and church activity.
max, sunday, and hailey (6th, 5th, and 4th grades) were involved in
basketball, cheerleading, ballet, missions trips, church, etc.
i was in way over my head, couldn't physically transport everyone to
their various activities, prepare healthy meals, help with honors chem,
pre-ap trig, honors english, science projects, and then attend all the
basketball games, etc.
enter the calvary in the form of the loveliest, most intelligent, well
rounded young lady, named aubrey! she was a sophomore at one of
our local universities, and she saved my life by chauffeuring, tutoring,
shooting baskets, giving fashion advice, making the most adorable
valentines, and doing anything legal that i needed.
to say that we adore her is an understatement, and last week, to our
delight, we were able to visit her in germany to see her adorable baby
girls and handsome husband. while enjoying a yummy german meal,
she exclaimed, "can you believe it was nine years ago i sat in your
kitchen wondering what in the world i had gotten myself into?"
can i remember each anesthesiologist who administered the epidural
before my babies' births? oh yeah.
love,
lea
"bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law
of Christ." galatians 6:2
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
theory of liminality
shelby took a literature class that studied the theory of liminality,
and her description of it transfixed me. arnold van gennep, a french
anthropologist in this past century, asserted that there is a threshold
between neither "here nor there" that we pass through.
intuitively, i understood it in the many stages of parenting, and it was
an 'eureka' moment. in this life, i will never arrive at that ceremony
in which medals are rewarded for gold, silver, and bronze in mothering.
on this side of the grave, i will always just be transitioning from one
stage of mom to another.
how bizarre is that? and how many times have we heard that our job
is over once we get them through high school? what a lot of bologna!
girls, and by girls, i mean wimpy, pathetic ME, we will be parenting
until we take our last breath.
hailey remarked in amazement when one of her very young friends
had her baby, "oh my gosh, mom, she is going to be a mom for the
rest of her life!" yep.
does it sound like i am complaining? i hope not, because i love my
children more than life itself. sometimes, though, i get overwhelmed
by the enormity and the consequences of my choices as a mom.
thankfully, i have a Father "who knows the number of hairs on their
head and has engraved them in the palm of His hand." (luke 12:7 and
isaiah 49:16) He has walked with us through many valleys, over vast
mountain peaks, along green pastures, under might ocean waves, up
rocky roads, on terrifying plane trips through turbulent weather . . .
(sorry, got a little carried away)
love,
lea
and her description of it transfixed me. arnold van gennep, a french
anthropologist in this past century, asserted that there is a threshold
between neither "here nor there" that we pass through.
intuitively, i understood it in the many stages of parenting, and it was
an 'eureka' moment. in this life, i will never arrive at that ceremony
in which medals are rewarded for gold, silver, and bronze in mothering.
on this side of the grave, i will always just be transitioning from one
stage of mom to another.
how bizarre is that? and how many times have we heard that our job
is over once we get them through high school? what a lot of bologna!
girls, and by girls, i mean wimpy, pathetic ME, we will be parenting
until we take our last breath.
hailey remarked in amazement when one of her very young friends
had her baby, "oh my gosh, mom, she is going to be a mom for the
rest of her life!" yep.
does it sound like i am complaining? i hope not, because i love my
children more than life itself. sometimes, though, i get overwhelmed
by the enormity and the consequences of my choices as a mom.
thankfully, i have a Father "who knows the number of hairs on their
head and has engraved them in the palm of His hand." (luke 12:7 and
isaiah 49:16) He has walked with us through many valleys, over vast
mountain peaks, along green pastures, under might ocean waves, up
rocky roads, on terrifying plane trips through turbulent weather . . .
(sorry, got a little carried away)
love,
lea
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
april in paris
dear emily,
our beloved uncle mat, who lived in paris for a few years, graciously
it is impossible to say what our favorite restaurant was, but chez georges
we spent an entire day at the d'orsay and the louvre but could have
revisited each day for a month and not seen all the exquisite art. hans
wanted to see normandy, and i wanted to see versailles, but that truly
was the dilemma. so many exquisite places . . . so little time! guess we
will just have to go back for another visit. :)
love,
we just returned from a magical week in europe! april in paris was the
highlight, and we saved the eiffel tower for the last night to sear into our
minds the gorgeous city of lights. it was the lovely bells ringing through
out the city, though, that captured my heart.
we tried not to plan too much into each day to allow for some sponta-
neity, and truthfully, some of my favorite moments were accidents. in
trying to find the jewish district, we stumbled upon the magnificent
notre dame!
our beloved uncle mat, who lived in paris for a few years, graciously
spent hours guiding shelby to the best shops, hotels, restaurants, and local
bakeries. i lost count of how many macarons i enjoyed from laduree but
do know i tried vanilla, caramel, pistachio, chocolate, and raspberry.
it is impossible to say what our favorite restaurant was, but chez georges
will always be a sweet memory, delighting us with everything from fois
gras to chautaubriand. if we hadn't walked miles and miles each day, we
would have gained ten pounds!
we spent an entire day at the d'orsay and the louvre but could have
revisited each day for a month and not seen all the exquisite art. hans
wanted to see normandy, and i wanted to see versailles, but that truly
was the dilemma. so many exquisite places . . . so little time! guess we
will just have to go back for another visit. :)
love,
lea
"for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Him be the
glory forever!" romans 11: 36
Monday, April 5, 2010
wisteria lane
wisteria is blooming around our fair city like a glorious floral fashion
show. each stem is heavy with clusters of lavender grapes, whose
intoxicating scent is turning the heads of busy bees . . . both species.
hans knows a man who divorced his wife because he couldn't stand
her scent. i had never thought of such a humiliation! what did he put
on the divorce papers? irreconcilable smells?
there is no disguising one's breath after eating raw onions or the awful
aroma in the kitchen after cooking broccoli. a pumpkin pie baking in
the oven, on the other hand, is heavenly.
my girls smell like cotton candy, but my boys are more like wet puppies.
i suspect my individual scent is influenced by many things, but my hope
is that, "i will be the aroma of Christ." 2 corinthians 2:15
love,
lea
show. each stem is heavy with clusters of lavender grapes, whose
intoxicating scent is turning the heads of busy bees . . . both species.
hans knows a man who divorced his wife because he couldn't stand
her scent. i had never thought of such a humiliation! what did he put
on the divorce papers? irreconcilable smells?
there is no disguising one's breath after eating raw onions or the awful
aroma in the kitchen after cooking broccoli. a pumpkin pie baking in
the oven, on the other hand, is heavenly.
my girls smell like cotton candy, but my boys are more like wet puppies.
i suspect my individual scent is influenced by many things, but my hope
is that, "i will be the aroma of Christ." 2 corinthians 2:15
love,
lea
Saturday, April 3, 2010
i have never doubted what i believe. many find it terribly difficult
to trust or yield to something they can't see or touch, and i respect
that, but to me He is as the air i breathe. i can't see, smell, or feel
it, but i know it's there.
that's how simply i believe God's plan for His creation. He sent
His Son to earth in the form of a baby, and i am convinced that
baby grew into a Man, respected and reviled, who preached the
kingdom of God.
once He had offended the appropriate people, they crucified Him.
imagine their surprise when He didn't "stay."
after He arose, He was seen by 500 people according to
st. paul in 1 corinthians.
He is risen!
love,
lea
to trust or yield to something they can't see or touch, and i respect
that, but to me He is as the air i breathe. i can't see, smell, or feel
it, but i know it's there.
that's how simply i believe God's plan for His creation. He sent
His Son to earth in the form of a baby, and i am convinced that
baby grew into a Man, respected and reviled, who preached the
kingdom of God.
once He had offended the appropriate people, they crucified Him.
imagine their surprise when He didn't "stay."
after He arose, He was seen by 500 people according to
st. paul in 1 corinthians.
He is risen!
love,
lea
Thursday, April 1, 2010
mr. z
in our fair city there is a kind and generous 93 year old man,
named mr. z. he has donated millions of his hard earned dollars
to our impoverished school districts, hospitals, mental health
facilities, and libraries.
my father in law, who is 87, has lunch with him at 11:30 every
wednesday at snow fork restaurant. their lifelong friendship is
based on mutual respect and affection.
"well, mr. z., what are you having today?"
"i'll just have whatever you're having."
and then they will share a steak sandwich. something about
the contentment in their tradition melts my heart. the next bit
of conversation goes like this:
"well, mr. z., the kids at the local elementary school need a
new gym floor. should we help them out?"
"i'll just match whatever you give."
my father in law is a committed Christian, and mr. z. is a
devout jew, but that has never hindered this sweet friendship
one dash. the disparate countries of the world could learn a
thing or two from these wise men.
yesterday, i was greeted at my front door with a gorgeous
easter lily. mr. z. sends one every year.
i hope our children catch the spirit of their generosity.
love,
lea
"honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all
your crops . . . " proverbs 3:9
named mr. z. he has donated millions of his hard earned dollars
to our impoverished school districts, hospitals, mental health
facilities, and libraries.
my father in law, who is 87, has lunch with him at 11:30 every
wednesday at snow fork restaurant. their lifelong friendship is
based on mutual respect and affection.
"well, mr. z., what are you having today?"
"i'll just have whatever you're having."
and then they will share a steak sandwich. something about
the contentment in their tradition melts my heart. the next bit
of conversation goes like this:
"well, mr. z., the kids at the local elementary school need a
new gym floor. should we help them out?"
"i'll just match whatever you give."
my father in law is a committed Christian, and mr. z. is a
devout jew, but that has never hindered this sweet friendship
one dash. the disparate countries of the world could learn a
thing or two from these wise men.
yesterday, i was greeted at my front door with a gorgeous
easter lily. mr. z. sends one every year.
i hope our children catch the spirit of their generosity.
love,
lea
"honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all
your crops . . . " proverbs 3:9
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
hurdles
the hurdles is an excruciating race for me to watch. when the
runners trip and fall, i bury my face in my hands. it must hurt
so much, but they just pop right up and finish the race. how
do they do that?
moms have more than their share of hurdles. we carry our
sweet babies within us for nine months, and then we birth
them, feed them, burp them, bathe them, rock them, sing to
them, doctor them, teach them, read to them, correct them,
and of course, love them.
and that is the easy part.
the hurdles of advising them about friendships, romances,
safe driving, college applications, and getting married are
quite a bit higher and come faster than you ever expect.
before we know it, we are tripping over hurdles left and
right. and we do not have the luxury of giving up, but we
brush ourselves off, make sure we are properly 'refueled',
and head toward the next hurdle.
i imagine the last hurdle will be into the grave, and by then we
will probably be ready for it. :) hopefully, we will be able to say,
"i have fought the fight and finished the race." (2 timothy 4:7)
after that i expect to enjoy some 'flying.'
love,
lea
ps. i thought it would be much longer before i came back. just
goes to show . . . that i never know what i am talking about.
runners trip and fall, i bury my face in my hands. it must hurt
so much, but they just pop right up and finish the race. how
do they do that?
moms have more than their share of hurdles. we carry our
sweet babies within us for nine months, and then we birth
them, feed them, burp them, bathe them, rock them, sing to
them, doctor them, teach them, read to them, correct them,
and of course, love them.
and that is the easy part.
the hurdles of advising them about friendships, romances,
safe driving, college applications, and getting married are
quite a bit higher and come faster than you ever expect.
before we know it, we are tripping over hurdles left and
right. and we do not have the luxury of giving up, but we
brush ourselves off, make sure we are properly 'refueled',
and head toward the next hurdle.
i imagine the last hurdle will be into the grave, and by then we
will probably be ready for it. :) hopefully, we will be able to say,
"i have fought the fight and finished the race." (2 timothy 4:7)
after that i expect to enjoy some 'flying.'
love,
lea
ps. i thought it would be much longer before i came back. just
goes to show . . . that i never know what i am talking about.
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