Fun Times, Beautiful Memories

The past two weeks have been full of fun memories ... Christmas celebration at Great Grandma and Grandpa Boeck's with the extended family ... Christmas celebration at Grandma and Grandpa Gerstenkorn's with Aunt Desiree ... baking Christmas cookies with Erin (something I wonder how my mother ever survived doing it all those years!), wrapping gifts with and without Erin (definitely quicker without, however, slightly less creative!) ... shopping with and without the kids ... Christmas celebration in Tulsa with Grandma and Grandpa Rahija at Aunt Krista's with Uncle John and Aunt Michelle and cousin Natalie ... helping Gary with some new gloves for Christmas ... Christmas Eve service at The Gathering ... preparation for Santa ... filling stockings with the adults ... David passing out and having a possible seizure before the kids woke (and the kids sleeping through it!) ... the kids opening their presents on Christmas morning ... Erin (aka Jessica) taking Aunt Michelle (aka Sarah) and Aunt Krista (Sheniqua) "shopping" at 'Queso Pula Apple' in their new fashions ... Erin opening her easel from us here at home ... the painting that ensued the following day ... watching movies curled up together under blankets ... so many fun things (David's episode was not so much fun, but did get the adrenaline flowing!), so many memories ... knowing of the sorrows of many this Christmas season, I am so thankful that we were able to spend quality time with those we love. As I watched Erin participate in the service on Christmas Eve, I saw the wonder of the Event that changed the course of time through fresh eyes, once again. She scooted her chair up to the one in front of it, so that her knees were on the seat of the one in front, and her chin rested on it's backrest. Both eyes took in the videos shown, and she listened fairly well, despite the distractions around her. She sang with beautiful intention of worship during Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Angels We Have Heard on High, and seemed to take in His essense during Silent Night. And, although she nearly caught me on fire a few times with her own candle, even having that seemed like an act of worship to her. It was beautiful ... "little Mary" was seeing the Messiah again, and through her eyes, I saw Him too, in His humble, glorious, splendor.

... and His name is Jesus!

This ended a hushed, excitement-filled moment for my eldest daughter. She was able to participate as "little Mary" for dress-rehearsal for the Bethlehem Experience at Grandma and Grandpa's church. Last year, we tok her through Bethlehem, and had to drag her from the stable while she screamed, "That's the wrong song! Silent Night is nice, but this is about Away in A Manger!".

This year, she was "in" it, surrounded, engulfed, invested. Why am I so slow to "get" these things?? As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, and anticipate His second coming, I need to remember to be "in" it ... immersing myself in His kingdom, His word, His love, and calling others to join me, "in" it, through relationship, example, being.

It will be a long time before I forget those dancing eyes, the whispered exultation, and the simple words of a 4 year old ... "Mother, I have been to Bethlehem! I have seen the Messiah, and His name is Jesus!" Does it get any more real than that?! Joy to you and your family as you continue on your journey. Read this, and remember the awe of the story.

Santa Case

This is something happening in Lawrence ... a 22 yr old KU student is giving of himself to make some Christmas wishes come true ... and he's sparked the whole community to join him! Check out this article and browse through the posts on Larryville.

How can you give today... tomorrow ... next April, ...?

Wish Lists

Well, on the heels of the last post, I feel kind of icky posting this right now. However, I don't know how much time I'll have to get this up through out the rest of the week, so here are some "wish list" ideas for the Rahija children (as requested by grandparents and other family members).

Updates on things that are "off" the list are marked with *** or red text

Erin:
Easel ***
magnetic board (like bulletin board,to display her art) ***
Leapster games
rechargable batteries (AA) for her leapster
CDs (children's worship songs)
Movies:

• Cars
• Over the Hedge
• Cinderella
• Ice Age 2
• Care Bears
• Dora the Explorer
  

Veggie Tales:

• Where's God When I'm Scared ***
• God Wants Me to Forgive Them?
• Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen ***
• any of the Larryboy movies
• Sheerluck Holmes
• Gideon: Tuba Warrior

Bed for dollies
Crown ***
Clothes: size 6 and up
Shoes: Size 12 and up
Hats - for play and regular wear
Digital camera - cheapo or old one just for her to enjoy ***
Ponies
Baby doll clothes


Avery:
dolly ***
toys
Baby Einstein movies
clothes: 9 months +

Thanksgiving thoughts

As we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I am reminded of several things to be thankful for ... my family, my health, the roof over my head, the new roof that will be over my head after Christmas (if everything goes according to plan!), ... Mostly, and most importantly, I am thankful for the faithfulness, love, and guidance of my God. This year has been full of changes, and He has brought us to each of them, and through each of them. Avery joined our family in March, healthy as can be. She is happy and loving, and has not taken after her sister in most ways (which is a BIG blessing to me!). She is her own person, and we love it! The baby that didn't join our family is cradled in heaven's arms now, and that is a blessing too - who could ask for more? Our marriage turned 5 this year, and that is a blessing too - we are still surviving and still love each other! Erin turned 4, which brought some trial, but not anything that has killed us yet. David's Bronco has finally been totalled, and now salvaged with a title transfer to Shane, and we are a 1-vehicle family for now. God is good, all the time ... He has gifted us, protected us, guided us, provided for us, and been faithful to His promises. I'm sure David will post about this latest display of God's divine timing soon, as we are preparing close on our first home! I hope you enjoy your time of thankful reflecting this year, as you recall how God has blessed your life, even if it didn't seem like it at the time :)

Thank you, Father, for your constant love, that never fades or changes. Thank You, for Your faithfulness to your word, that you will always provide for us, have our best interest in mind, and will never leave us or forsake us. Thank You, for the gift of Your Son, that You gave in my place, so that I would know Your love and live with You forever. Thank You for the gift of forgiveness, and allowing us to come into Your presence to ask for it. We deserve nothing but pain and strife, yet You give us life abundantly! I love You, Lord.

Long time, no blog

Well, I realized today that the last post I had posted was like 2-3 weeks ago, and quite "down" in nature. I don't really have anything particularly exciting to post today ... we are going to look at a house for the 2nd time on Thursday (which, by the way, I love this house ... it has an adorable kitchen, three bedrooms upstairs, and unfinished basement with a 2nd bath downstairs ... a great backyard ... a little shed/possible playhouse in the backyard ... a great garage with built in storage cabinets ... two-wide driveway ... and lots of charm ... did I mention I really fell for the place?). When we looked the first time, we were very interested, but our realtor friend, Ron, told us there had been an offer placed on the house a few days later, and the contract was pending. I called to check the status of that house, and Ron told me that it was still pending, but he'd let me know if anything changed. The next day, he called to tell me that 5 minutes after walking into his office, the listing agent of that house called to tell him that the buyer was getting "flaky" and might back out on the contract. This is why we are going to take a second look ... if we like it and the buyer does "flake", then we can be ready to put in a back up offer. I don't really know much about this whole process, but we're learning!

Avery is growing in size and ability lately ... she can sit up by herself from an almost flat position (just needs a tad of an incline to sit right up -- abs of steel!), she's trying to talk, and her smiles are more precious than ever.

Erin is growing too, and is often mistaken for a 5 or 6 year old. Her vocab is also growing. The latest "big" word is perservere. The other day she came up to me all excited and said, "Mom, I just finished cleaning up my closet. It was hard and I wanted to quit, but I kept working at it and I perservered! It's pretty clean now!" Yep, that's our Erin!

We've had some really neat relationship growing time within our "congregation" lately. It excites me to see that growth happening! We have also started working with the homeless/transient community in Lawrence, which has been a blessing to me. I feel like, in general, God is asking/putting opportunities in front of me that are way beyond my comfort zone/ability/skill set and giving me blind courage and ability in those situations that are blowing me away ... for example, building relationships with several of the transient/homeless individuals (I look forward to going under the bridge to check for Mark or Kevin, and I strain to hear Kimberly's morracas when we take sandwiches and coffee out on Saturday nights ... walking up to the door of near strangers to invite them to dinner at the ministry center ... hanging out with some people who are not who I would typically seek as friends ...). In words, it doesn't seem like much, but in real life, it has been a stretch, but one that I don't see until after it has happened, if that makes any sense. Maybe I am just learning to follow the leading of His Spirit without so much question, and letting Him be my strength in my weakness.

Well, that's about it. Avery spit up on me after eating a wee bit too much and I would really like to take a shower. This afternoon, I think we will go over to Erin's friend James' house, so the kids can play and the mommies can visit for a while. Enjoy this cold, blustery day!

Rain

Thanks to David's boss, we had tickets to see Phil Wickham, Audio Adrenaline, and MercyMe in concert! David and I, plus my sister Desiree and our friend Mary went and had a great time. The concert was fun, with lots of energy, great music, fun lights, and streamers/confetti, ...

However, my favorite parts were the "spoken" words shared by Bart from MercyMe. He talked about how we, as the church, often forget the important things, and how we exclude people, forget to be reverant toward God, and how our only purpose in life is to worship Him with our life (not just our singing, but with each action and posture of our day). He shared that last year while touring, many of the band members lost close friends/relatives and how hard it was to keep going, but because of their ministry and desire to further the Kingdom, they kept their schedule. Some people, trying to be sympathetic or encouraging, asked them how they could keep worshipping God with all of the bad things happening, and it struck a chord with them, that if we got what we deserved, we would all be in a huge world of hurt, but that because of God's grace, mercy, and love, we are sheltered and cared for, even in the midst of pain. They felt that as we are so pursued and loved by God, the only response we can offer IS worship, and if it takes heartache and pain to bring us to the point of glorifying Him, then "bring the rain".

As it has rained here all day (and on us as we briskly walked several blocks from our parking garage to the auditorium) I kind of began reflecting on the past few years of life, especially regarding this recent miscarriage. When we lost our baby in Feb of 2005, it was devastating, but we were carried amazingly and beyond our understanding by God's peace and comfort. I remember crying and thinking, what better could I want for my baby, than to be cradled in the arms of the Father, forever, surrounded by perfect Love? I know now, that even though that baby never warmed my arms, that God used her for His glory. This baby is different ... I am not devastated, I am at peace, if a little puzzled. We were not asking for a baby or planning for one so soon. I am not sure what the purpose is in this, but I know who does, and I am okay with that. However, as I sat through Bart's remarks tonight, and listened to the song, I did have tears, and rejoiced, that even though the rain has seemed to pour at times, that God offers His hand, and a rain coat (I think mine is bright yellow and comes with a hat and boots), and waits for us to realize that the rain is not washing us away, but washing us, turn our faces to Him to drink in His holiness, splash in the pools of His grace, and in the end, warm up in the dry safety of His love, showering Him with praise, adoration, reverence, and worship. This is not to say that life is cheerful like a rainy day in a yellow slicker, but we have the opportunity to respond to life in a way that reflects His light, even if we have to wade through the muck of "life", and praise Him all the more for bringing us through it. This is all just jumbling around in my head right now, but I wanted to share it, because it is fresh in my heart. Here's to yellow boots, mud pits, and the rain.

The fun just keeps on coming ...

Well, as my last post stated, we have had a crazy past month, and in the words of my friend Rachel, the fun just kept on coming. Right after publishing my last post (Saturday evening), the medicine kicked in, and by midnight, I thought we had completed that little chapter of life. I was, however wrong. Monday night, David had to take me to the ER in Olathe around 11:30, due to excessive and fast loss of blood. Dunley came to stay with the girls, which was a big relief that we didn't have to cart them to the ER with us! We arrived, and Dr. Peck had let the ER folks know what was going on, and they were ready for us. He was even on stand by incase I needed a D&C. Thankfully, though, I didn't have to have a D&C to finish things, they took care of it in the ER, gave me a liter of fluid, and dismissed me. I had great care from the ER staff at Olathe Medical Center, listened to a few exciting and interesting "cases" on some late night Court TV shows, and we arrived home around 2:30 am.

David stayed home from work on Tuesday to help me with the girls and allow me to rest (I should say, he took care of the girls except when I had to nurse Avery). He also was a WONDERFUL husband and sorted all the laundry and spent a large majority of the day washing, drying, hanging, folding, AND putting it away. I helped some with this, but not much. He cleaned the bathroom, as well, and was a great help to me all day. This trend continued all week, as he kept laundry going in the evenings (I don't know how to describe the amount of dirty laundry we had piled up around here, but "mountain" seems applicable, and I think the pre-sorting pile was taller than Erin, but shorter than David). THANK YOU, HONEY! I am feeling much better at the end of the week. I still feel weak sometimes, and I haven't been able to do much at a time without being out of breath or light headed, but that has gained each day. I am so thankful for my family and my health - my follow up appointment with Dr. Peck was fine!

On a slightly humorous note, Dr. Peck's parting remarks to me on Friday were, "Sarah, we love you and your family (both girls are favorites with the nurses, and Dr. Peck seems to get a big kick out of Avery's animal noises), but I think it would be best for you and your body if we didn't see you for a year, when you need to come in for your annual exam. In fact, we usually recommend at least 18 months between pregnancies." I responded, "I would recommend at least 36!"I thought it was a pretty funny ending to this experience. I love my OB!

Roller Coaster -- the past three weeks

Well, this is not a blog I want to compose, but I am anyway ... The last three weeks have been what some might call an emotional roller coaster. We have experienced the range of emotion, from shock to excitement to worry to disappointment.

Three weeks ago, after feeling icky for the past month, someone suggested I take a pregnancy test. I refused at first, (Avery is only 6 months old for goodness sake!), but after reevaluating the symptoms I was having, I gave in and got a test. Upon taking it, the flaming blue line that appeared before I could even set the test back on the counter confirmed that, indeed, we would be adding a third child to our brood. Well, tears followed, but not out of immediate joy and jubilation, but out of fear. How would we support another baby (we still have a few outstanding bills from Avery!), where would be put another baby, how would we transport another baby (the Bronco had been rear-ended two days previously)???

I called to make an appointment with Dr. Peck (the most amazing OB/GYN EVER!), and made an embarrased request for an OB appointment. I was also concerned because Avery is still breastfedand I didn't know how safe that was for everyone involved. One of the nurses called me back and told me it was fine to keep nursing, just add 500 calories to my daily diet.

October 5th, I purchased a cheap crib from someone in Lawrence, to help us with the bedding shortage in the girls' room.

October 6th, we went to Dr. Peck's for our appointment. We found a lot of new staff, but several familiar faces. I did the routine pee-in-a-cup, and we waited for our turn. My vitals were fine, and I was starting to get excited because I know he does a sonogram at the first OB appointment to make sure everything is going well. It wasn't. He could not locate a baby in the gestational sac, so he asked us to make a new appointment for the following week.

The week between the two appointments was really hard, as I felt really sick each day. The girls were not getting fair mommy time, and I felt horrible about it. We went to the appointment on Thursday afternoon, and the sonogram revealed no growth, just a blighted ovum, which means (to my understanding) that the egg was fertilized, but didn't get beyond that.

We are now waiting for the miscarriage to be complete, as I took 4 pills this morning to instigate the process. I took them at 10am and it is now 6:30 pm, and I haven't even started anything. I have, however, been taking Tylenol 3s, and they are making me dizzyish and woozy, which is not the most exciting thing. I also have had a headache all day. The girls are with grandma and grandpa Rahija, I'm sure having a ball, so it has been nice and quiet here last evening and today. I have had lots of rest, so that is good too. I just hate waiting on things!

As far as emotions/reactions go, we are surprisingly at peace. It was weird being in the same room as we were when we heard this news about a year and a half ago, and it brought up lots of memories. However, at that time, we were hoping and trying for a baby, while now it completely surprised us -- we were NOT ready for another baby, although we would have loved it just the same. I don't know why these things happen, and I don't question God's timing, I just know that His ways are higher than mine. We are thankful for our family and friends who have and continue to support us. We are thankful for our girls, who, last night before grandpa and grandma came to pick them up, joined us in a family prayer time, where we all cried (Avery, simply because she was hungry). I tried to explain to Erin, that my tummy got confused and thought that there was a baby growing in there, but there wasn't, and mommy had to take this medicine so she could get back to being mommy again, instead of tired, grumpy mommy. She cried because she didn't want me to hurt, and was scared. That's why mommy cried :) What a sweet spirit this girl has!

I am also thankful for my husband, who has been with me all day, bringing me juice, grilled cheese sandwiches, warming the covers with a hairdryer because my feet were freezing, and just being here for me. I am so blessed! Thank you, God!

Why, Mom?

There are days in the life of the Rahija family, that just seem to go better than others, and those that are quite the opposite, and are categorized into the "worse" than most. We've been having a few of the latter recently, following a nice stretch of better days. While going through some adorable pics taken of our family by the fabulous Ms. MacArthur, of Oklahoma, I found this one of Erin and Avery. The look on Avery's face seems to petition me with this silent question:

"Why do you let her touch me, mother? Why? She is loud, obnoxious, and continually tries to put my ears, fingers, toes, or cheeks into her mouth! She seems to think I like to have my head hugged multiple times each day - which by the way, I DON'T! -- and she also thinks I enjoy trying to sit up by being pulled by the top of my head, bending my neck at an unnatural angle, momentarily blocking my air supply. Yet, I endure it, except when it really hurts, and each day I feel the same way ... WHY?"

Hope you are having a "better than most" day!

Zoo pics

So I realized after looking at our pictures from the zoo trip, that we took pictures of mainly animals (which would stand to reason, as we were at the zoo), but have very few of us in the pics with the animals. There are a few, so I'll post them here. Erin, I think we decided, would have been pleased to mainly see the "land of the zebras" (which we didn't get to until late in the afternoon when she was really worn out from the walking) and the roly polies meandering around. She did enjoy the sheep too, although was disappointed that we didn't let her feed them. Maybe it will be different next year :)

Looking at the Sumatran Tigers

Spying on sunbathing kangaroos

Nervous of touching the sheep.

Baboon licking cement rock- disturbing.

At last, the Land of the ZEBRAS!

Zoo Memories

Today our family made a trip to the Kansas City Zoo -- it was the first time for all of us girls, only David had been before. I'll write more about the trip later, and maybe post some pics, but I had to share this before I forgot it ... as we were leaving the Asia exhibits, including the tigers and red pandas, Erin excitedly whispers a halt to our little procession. I stopped the stroller and both David and I turned to see what the excitment was about. Erin, hands clasped in utter glee, "whisper-talks" that she has found something we needed to go back and see. David and I looked around for an exhibit we missed, finding only a restroom hut, looked questioningly back to our daughter. She again, looks blissfully excited, and gives a description of the beast in question.

"It's small and curls up in a ball, and has lines on it's back."

I thought perhaps she'd seen a squirrel, or something in the top of one of the other animal areas. David guessed a snake.

"No, it's just back here!" she said, pointing to the ground.

By this time, Erin is so excited, I was afraid we were going to need a trip to that restroom hut, AND I had guessed the mystery animal. I didn't know whether to be exasperated or amused, so I chose the second ...

"Is it a roly poly, Erin?"

"YES! It's right back there! I SAW it with my own eyes, mom. Hurry, hurry, before it crawls away! I love those things!!!"

We pretended to see the roly poly, and moved her along to the rest of the zoo.

It just goes to show ... even if you do go to the zoo on "cheap" day, we coulda had just as much wonder and excitement in the backyard. Thanks for the reminder, little girl, that fun doesn't have to cost anything, and wonder is still alive and well in the world!

The Nub

This is in response/an update to my post from a few days/weeks past. Matt, our friend who was in the motorcycle accident, is doing well. He has returned to Phat Thursdays, Sunday worship times, class, and has even created a fun new website/blog to share about his experiences. Please visit it, and get to know a little about Matt's accident, and a lot about him! www.thenub.org

Whee -- It's 83!

Well, the big event has come and gone ... Watermelon Day, 2006. And yes, this was the theme for the big day. Anyone questioning just what is this wonderful celebration? Well, 83 years ago, a guy near the town of Gaylord, KS (yes, Gaylord), grew a bunch of watermelon ... down by the river, again, yes, "down by the river". There were so many, he invited his family and friends down to the river to enjoy a picnic and watermelon on Labor Day. The day was such a success, the next year, he apparently grew more watermelon, and decided to invite the Gaylord and Cedar communities to join in the picnic/watermelon frolic ... thus began the tradition of Watermelon Day, in Gaylord, KS.

Now, why, on earth, do you ask, would we pack up our car, drive 5 hours west and north into the land of pretty much nothing for a weekend?? Well, my grandparents live in the Gaylord community, and this year, they were given a Watermelon Day award. We thought they were going to be crowned, but instead they received a plaque, and a nice set of accolades. This happened on Sunday evening, prior to the big day.

Also, we enjoyed music from a set of sisters, ages 17, 16, 15, and 12, named Alika, Danika, Janika, and Lanika. They are quite good, for their age, and are called "Eternity Focus." (they'll be recording in KC at the end of this month with a guy who recorded Mark Schultz' first album, as well as some things for Amy Grant). Anyway, the reason it is particularly special to me, is that when these girls were little bitty girls, I was in a singing group that sang in their church and around the community, and these girls would always come up to us afterward and ask for our autographs, tell us how they wanted to be a singing group someday too, and the whole nine-stars-in-the-eyes-yards. It was so neat to see that they had followed their dream, and are on their way to something bigger, to bring glory to God's name. An even more sweet moment, was as I was holding my little girl, she was singing along with the "big girls" on some of the songs, and I saw parts of history repeating -- for His glory! Tears soon followed, but I quickly recovered!

Okay, enough nostalgia for the moment. The Watermelon Day morn dawned clear and bright, and we headed off to the parade -- Erin's first, I think. She was amazed that the people on the floats threw candy, and although she had trouble spotting the pieces that dropped at her feet, she didn't miss the lone piece that didn't make it to the side of the route, but landed in the middle of the street. Zipping out to save it from certain squashing or horse poop, the Daring Erin rescued the lone root beer barrel, bringing the parade, more importantly, the red sports car she ran out in front of, to a small halt. Proud moment for us ... Grandpa G was at the front line with her, and I don't know what he was thinking, but turned around to the rest of us, smiled, and gave a thumbs up. I don't know ... Perhaps the most exciting moment was the passing of the horses, no, no, I think it was actually the fact that she got TWO packs of powdered donut gems, from the Gene's Heartland IGA grocery store float.

With the parade over, we picked our way through the horse trail (mmm, horse apples) and headed to the park, where the rest of the festivities take place. We hurried to get in line for the homemade icecream stand -- it usually goes fast, and once it's gone, ... My grandma (the tall lady with the white shirt w/ red collar) is the queen of the ice cream stand. She works it every year for the first shift. I was a bit disappointed in a the choices this year, as they ran out of my favorite, Oreo (aka: "oLeo", as the sign plainly states) before we got there, but I enjoyed some Strawberry. We then went to find a place to sit, because I guess it's not good to eat homemade ice cream standing up -- mom and dad rushed Erin to find a place in the bleachers. This was fun, because we got to watch everyone walk by, and I ran into several people from the community that I knew. Erin, however, soon bored of the people-watching, and spied a Nextel train giving rides to the kids. Boy, did she enjoy that. She even was scolded by the conductor for attempting to do "the wave" in the back car --TWICE!

Next, she wanted to play on the playground, so she and grandpa headed for the teeter totters. Well, this was all well and good, until Erin decided she wanted to get down, but Grandpa failed to hear that decision. She ended up on the ground, hitting bum first, it seems. Much wailing and many tears ensued. Once that was cleared up, she returned to the play area for the slide and merry-go-round. She avoided the teeter totters for the remainder of the day.
Okay, time for lunch and the watermelon! Grandpa got burgers for us from the food stand, and Erin and Daddy watched several men unload the watermelon from a grain truck and whack them open with large machete-type knives. She found this very stimulating, and I believe, secretly, thought she would make an excellent addition to the slicing team. Thankfully, they were fresh-out of knives. We sat on the cement in front of the bleachers to eat, where several young boys were enjoying a scuffle, kicking dirt onto my hunk of juicy, red watermelon.

After lunch, the next exciting activity began ... the kids races! My old PE teacher/BB Coach was the leader. I liked her in Jr. High, but was scared of her when I had her in Kindergarten ... I could sense a similar vibe coming from my daughter. We got Erin's name on the list, and waited for them to call her age category. However, the youngest level was 5-6 year olds. There were several kids under 5, so they let them race with the 5-6s ... which made for very even odds ... after the first few races, they added the 4 and under category, and even changed the races for them, due to their motor skill level. Erin has not had much experience racing, and what she has had has been only running. The most difficult race was the frog-hop, which she did complete, but in dead last among the 5-6 year olds, and the pseudo crab walk (hold onto your ankles while you walk to the other end of the field). The surprising race was the sack race. I was very nervous about this one, but she actually finished first!

By this point in the afternoon, we are all getting weary, so after one more hamburger for Erin, we headed back to the car to leave for home. Erin, clutching her prize (a purple "Grimace" beanie bear from McDonald's) and Avery sleeping again. Erin was asleep within 5 minutes of leaving Gaylord, and slept until we woke her for a potty break at Manhattan, which made it a nice trip for us. Avery also slept most of the trip home, until about 5 miles outside of Lawrence, when we had to stop for a food break.

There are many more small stories, but this is all I can handle typing for now. I hope the pictures upload so you, too, can enjoy Watermelon Day 2006!

tragedy

Flurry of new posts ... it's been a busy week, and now, I'd like to take a moment to be serious, and ask for your hearts. Today, well, I guess it was yesterday, now, our friend, Matt from church had a bad motorcycle accident. We have been asked to not post much of this online, as we don't know Matt's wishes in regards to this, but I wanted to ask those of you who are reading this, to please pray for him. Thank you so much -- the body of Christ is such an amazing thing, with vitality and life beyond anything I can imagine.

Avery Layne Rahija, Child of God

We had a special moment in our worship service on Sunday. David and I presented Avery for dedication. Basically, we wanted to publicly announce our intention to, and ask for the support of our family and church family, raise Avery to know and love God, and know His only Son, Jesus as her personal Savior. We know we cannot make the decision for her, but we will try our best, with His help and guidance, to raise her in His ways. We know this is not a light task, and are so pleased that so many have and will continue to help us on our journey of parenting. It was so heart-warming to see our family and church family sitting in the same room (even if they were sitting kind of separately -- we meet in an auditorium, so it's kind of hard to all sit in the same area it doesn't start that way), and hear them promise to help us, and keep our child (children) lifted up in prayer, and through living with them in Christian community. We have been so blessed

Grandma Gerstenkorn made Avery a special dress for the day. She didn't want her to feel left out later when Erin had a special dress (made by Great Grandma Boeck) and she didn't. It was a nice end to the weekend.

Thank you, to all of you, who have given so much love and support, and promised to help us raise our girls His way. We love you!

Hippee! ("yippee" in Erin-speak)

Well, I am happy to report that Erin's birthday party went off with no huge hitches ... just a few minor ones, like a rainy morning so we didn't get the pool set up, a really muggy afternoon, and no cake :) Nice, I know, what a mom! However, I was quick on my feet, and came to the rescue with a huge hunk o watermelon with 4 spiraly, neon candles, AND a Birthday Bear CareBear.

She was pleased, and we are proud to say that we had 20 people in and out of here during the day on Saturday. At one point, there were 18 in our livingroom ... for those of you who have seen our livingroom, you know that this is a miracle in itself! Here, she is all a dither with excitement as Dunley tries to free Ariel, the Little Mermaid from her plastic/wire prison, which is nicely decorated in an "under the sea" theme. She finally found freedom, leaving behind bits of wire, and the nice "under the sea" box. Whew!

... you live in a zoo ...

Yes, yes we do! Anyway, today is another birthday in the Rahija household ...

Erin is 4 today (FOUR!!!)

How did this happen? How did my little girl turn into a big preschool girl? We are still working on finding a preschool, since the one we were planning isn't where she'll attend.

Soooo, Happy Birthday, Erin! We love you!

"He he he. That sucker doesn't even realize I kept his coin." (Jesus?)

Sean and David introduced me to these video clips. I laughed out loud quite a bit upon viewing them ... and then had a moment of seriousness, as these clips were made to show how many people view Jesus. Check them out, and see what you think -- I hope I'm not the only one who laughs out loud!
#1
#2
#3
#4

I'd like to get my computer to sing the Peter "I'm walking in dirt and rocks" when I log in.

Some more great videos are on the vintage21 site, "The Believer Way". (click on the projector) Another look at "Christian-speak".

... you look like a monkey

Belated birthday wishes go out to David (August 14th) and Krista (August 18th). We are going to celebrate over at mom and dad's this afternoon/evening ... I we just hadn't made a "big deal" about it yet :) Happy birthday, my loved ones! Erin's birthday is next Thursday ... how can 4 years have passed since she joined our family?!?!? I will never cease to be amazed at the quick passage of time when we aren't thinking about it!

... and you smell like one too!

BBQ

The BBQ is over (for this week, anyway!) and the "outcome" was different that I think any of us thought. David has a theory as to why we didn't have a single person come as a result of the flier ... agree mostly with his thoughts. I also am feeling badly, because I think I was maybe arrogant in my attitude towards the BBQ ... so sure that because of all the interest we had from people at the garage sale, from students at the info fair, from people living in the area around the ministry center, that there would be no place to put all of the people. I sometimes fear, as I think about it, that I was somehow to blame for this. I didn't let God be God, I was sure we had figured out the "formula." Then ... I re-read David's post and think about all the positive things that happened. We were able to have lots of one-on-one conversations with individual new people, and hear their stories. I watched the Random 1 video for last week -- David's obsession has grabbed me too! -- and there was a quote in there (I took notes, even!) that said, "Until we see where a person is living, you cannot understand the depth of their desperation" (or something like that ... my notes are downstairs right now). How did we expect to start relationships with 5000 people, when we only have about 25 "regulars" to circulate? That is simply ridiculous! Jesus fed 5000+ people at one time, and could do it again. I guess I'm just glad we didn't have to call on him to do so this week! We are more ready than we realize, but I also think God uses times like this to prepare us for the next time. AND, we did notice several car loads of student-looking individuals drive by, but think that with the scant crowd of 15 people in the front yard, did not want to be #16, 17, and 18. However, they saw our banner, and maybe will come another time ... after a while, the cafeteria food wears on you enough that the thought of free home-cooked food might be more exciting than the first week of school or, their spiritual hunger might direct them our way too. The freshmen all have our flier in their hands, in their room, so there is a point of contact, PLUS we have a whole bucket full of names that requested more info about UC at the info fair on Tuesday night -- that's a celebration in itself. We want to use this week to contact them and reconnect, one more step in the direction to a relationship!

Also, Sean and Rachel and I sat at the indoor info fair in the Kansas Union yesterday. We didn't get any more names, but we did visit with a few students who may attend our meal next week -- I can think of four that Rachel and I visited with who specifically asked for more specific directions to the event, and asked what we did. Again, it was only a one-time encounter, but we were able to actually visit with them since there were so few people.

This is where we turn things over to our Almighty Father, who is probably giggling at our bunbling attempts, but blessing our actions because our hearts are full of His Kingdom, and bringing glory to His name. Please continue to pray for us as we joyfully seek out those who are hurting and those who are seeking Him (even if they don't know it yet!). On to Sunday worship ... on to book club discussion ... on to Girls' Night ... on to next Phat Thursday ... and whatever God puts in our path between now and then!

As for this random ramble, it's done for now :)

Another Crazy Week

Hello! I've been a bit absent from contributing to my blog, but have enjoyed keeping up with everyone else this week! What a crazy time the last few weeks have been! After the garage sale, Natalie's birthday party (Saturday), Trinity Family Church presentation, Will's birthday party (Sunday), leadership team meeting (Monday), book club (Tuesday), free night!! (Wednesday), Sean's ordination (Thursday), house cleanup-hang picture day (Fri/Sat), District Wide worship service (Sunday), and that brings us to preparation for this week ... Hawk Week!

In preparation for this semester, we wanted to let as many students as possible know about UC, and interact with as many of them as possible. One way we did this is through fliers ... 5,000 of them. A great deal on printing gave us an amazing opportunity to get our fliers into the dorms (2500), into the hands of students at our garage sale, and our big night ... the Info Fair (all the new freshmen come to the lawn of Strong Hall and are innundated with information from the KU student organizations). We have a drawing for gifts certificates to the KU Bookstore, Hastings, and Yellow Sub, and this way, if students request more information, we have their contact info, and can reach out to them beyond the first week of school. Our fliers are advertising our Welcome Back BBQ, which is tonight (T minus 3 hours!)! As we passed them out to students at the Info Fair, it was interesting to see the reactions: some tossed it in their pile, signed up for the drawing, and moved on; some looked very leary, as we are a church, some seemed politely interested, but not deeply moved; some were blatantly offended by a church offering them a free meal; some were intrigued; some were excited by the chance for free food; some wanted information about our organization; ... some will come ... some will not. HOWEVER, I am so excited by what is taking place in our "family". We have students who attended our events and services last year taking ownership in things this year, helping and planning. We have tons of people who will return from the summer and start engaging in spiritual discussions/growth. Our music team has more depth, as two instrumentalists have joined us. The opportunity for furthing the Kingdom of God is infinite!

Okay, I'm kinda getting giddy over vauge things here -- there are specific examples too many to record here, so I'll try to get them out over the next few weeks. However, I have a cake to frost before tonight, as well, as a little girl's overnight bag to pack for a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house. And I need to change my shirt! So, until later, have a wonderful day, and please pray with us as we strive to reach hurting people!

Sold: Everything BUT the garage!

So, I am mostly recuperated from the crazy weekend we had ... THE GARAGE SALE! I posted about it before and wanted to share some of the "during" and "after".

Friday, I meant to get to Lawrence between 9:30 and 10, but David accidentally took the girls' carseats with him to work, so I was stuck here until he got home around 1:30. I left and headed to town with my baskets of clean clothes for the sale (after $27 at the laundromat from ONLY washing, Rachel and I still took several loads home to wash, and we had several baskets that we took to others' homes to have them dry). Upon arriving, I found lots of disarray, but that's okay, everyone organizes differently! I tried to start organizing and continued washing items that I found that were dirty -- we wanted to offer a "clean" garage sale, so even "if" we had leftovers to donate, someone wouldn't be getting dirty stuff. When my co-coordinator arrived later in the afternoon, she decided we needed to take everything off the tables and move the tables outside so we could start organizing out there (the tables would not fit through the doors of the rooms they were in without being on their sides). Thankfully, there was a breeze and the heat was not horrible. Matt and Dena arrived with food for the evening (THANK YOU!), and helped us get the tables out of the basement to the yard. Around 6, the UC crew started arriving, and we had a more constant flow of items going from the basement to the yard, and the storage annex to the yard.

Now, because everyone thinks differently, our main goal was to get the items out and on tables so many folks could go home and feel good about getting the stuff "out" on the tables. There were many different ideas on how things should be organized and also different opinions about prices ... all of our advertising said "most items are by donation", but some thought a price sticker would "help" people know what to give - geesh. Anyway, that is beside the point.

Okay, we're all bringing stuff up out of the basement and out of the shed, and we are filling the yard, which faces Kasold, a VERY busy street in Lawrence. Naturally, people see a yard sale, they stop in to check it out. On Friday night alone, we sold items that profited over $400. The yard was crammed with people and they were making piles of stuff to haul away. I don't know how to best paint a picture of the amount of things we had at this sale, but David estimates that we had at least 20 trailer loads of stuff. This filled 4 rows of "church tables", an 8'x4' table, the ground under the tables, the sidewalks surrounding the church, two queen sized blankets (toys alone), PLUS the area for furniture, shoes, sporting goods, and household appliance items (ceiling fans, foot spas, aquariums, ...). I felt bad, because so much of the stuff was still in boxes and not organized AT ALL! However, people still stayed to look and dig -- until 9pm. After that, the people from Faith church left, and we were allowed to start the organizing.

Rachel, Dena, Matt, Jimmie (sorry, Jimmie, I've been spelling your name wrong for a year now!), Sean, and I (as well as Avery) stayed all night at the church to "guard" the garage sale, but to organize it as well. After a few errands, we got to work, and spent the night sorting, organizing, and laughing about items we found. It took us until 6:15am to finish, but we all felt good about the progress were proud of what we had done. I would have to say that I was stunned about some of the items that people found appropriate to donate, but those laughs kept us going!

The next morning, we had customers arriving before 7, and we had a constant flow of people until 1, then we posted on freecycle and Larryvill.com that as of 1:30, everything left was free, and to come and get it! Another flood of people arrived, and carried away more things. At the end of the day, we only had three loosely packed trailers full of items left. EVERY item of furniture was gone -- all of it! Not too shabby! Thanks to Rachel, Dena, Matt, Jimmie, David, Sean, Lisa, Shirley & Don (Lisa's parents), Julie, Dott, Gary, Warren, Virginia, and Jan for all of your hard work!!

The fundraising part of our day was exciting, as we brought in over $2200, split down the middle between the two churches. Faith is putting their money towards a missions goal, and UC is putting our share towards the garage refurbishing project (we need more space, as our student center has met capacity again - we are converting the garage into a usable space).

The best part of the two days, I am so excited to share. The process and purpose of this garage sale underwent many changes throughout its entirety. At first it was simply a fund raiser. A few weeks into the process, though, we realized how much of an opportunity this could be to get out into the community ... IF we CHOSE to make it one! We met so many wonderful people through the freecycle/Larryville communities who donated items, and we were able to help many of them get rid of things they didn't want to move or store. Some of them have kept contact with us, and we hope to continue the relationship. The other way we were meeting people, is at the garage sale. We had our UC BBQ fliers and info cards at the table, and Faith also had an info card to pass out. As we were circulating through the people, I know the UC people were purposely connecting with customers, and inviting them to the BBQ. At the check out they also got info. The neat part is that when we see these people in WalMart or Dillons, we can reconnect with them, and continue to build a rapport with them, the beginnings of a relationship, a safe connection. I look forward to these relationships continuing and growing ... Erica, Josh, Erin ... Jana, Xiao, Shaunna ... Brian, Cher, John ... who knows where they are or where they have been or how we fit into that puzzle. I only know that Jesus was out among the people, making connections, being genuine, forming trustworthy relationships, and giving all.

Where else would we want to be?

HUGE Garage Sale in Lawrence, KS - 30+ families!

Hello, all! This Saturday, our church is having a joint sale with Faith Church of the Nazarene in Lawrence, KS at 1020 Kasold Dr. There is so much stuff, and I am so tired, I can't list it, but if you want to check out our ad ... please do! I'm excited to meet the people who attend, and know some new friendships have already formed through this process. I'll blog more about the entire situation after it's over! Please join us on Saturday!

Ours on Loan

I can't sleep ...

There is this sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach, at the back of my throat, in the depths of my heart. I feel awful, scared, ... faithless.

Erin, as I have mentioned several times lately, has been extremely in touch spiritually ... sharing Bible stories with friends she meets at the park, restaurant workers, at church ... picking out lonely hearts and seeking to ease the pain ... praying lots of prayers throughout the day and at bedtime (although sometimes it seems as if those are sometimes stall tactics, but what can you do? "Sorry, kid, no more prayers."?).

Tonight was different. On our way home, Erin was thankful for the stars, as she often is, and started saying like, "Is that Jesus' star? It's the brightest one. That must be where Baby Jesus is, and Mary and Joseph too. I want to go there, and be with Jesus." Nothing worrisome here, infact, very sweet, if off a bit theologically. As the trip progressed, things got a bit more serious, and she began asking more questions. We were listening to her Veggie Tales Worship Songs tape, and when the intro for the song In the Secret came on, it spurred a traumatic response in Erin ...
"... there's a place where we can hear God's voice ... it's a secret place ..." (kids on tape)
"Mommy, did you know there's a secret place we can go to hear God's voice? I wish I knew that place. I try and try and can't ever hear God, mommy. Why can't I hear His voice? I want to see Him and know Him." (I realize the last few phrases are from the song ... "I want to know you, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more. I want to touch You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You more.")

I tried to explain that we don't always hear God's voice, as in a physical sound or words, but that we know He hears our prayers and answers them, He gives us peace, and creates a beautiful world for us to enjoy and take care of as well as we can. Of course, I'm feeling very "out of my league" trying to explain this to her fairly literal mind in very abstract terms. The part that got me was when she started crying, no, sobbing, because she couldn't hear God talking to her. She kept spitting out phrases like, "There's so much I want to talk to Him about ..." "Why can't I hear Him?" "Why can't I be in Heaven too?" This continued all the way to the house, up the stairs, and through bedtime preparations (yes, she was exhausted from an early morning, and no nap). I pulled her onto my lap, and tried to comfort her, but she would not be comforted. During prayer time, she cried again, asking God if she could be in heaven and why her wishes (to be in heaven with Him and Jesus) had not been granted. Still distraught, she finally ended, and laid down to sleep. By this time, Avery was really hungry, so I moved to the rocker to feed her, which brought more distress to Erin, who enjoys me snuggling her at bedtime. She finally calmed down, and went to sleep, looking crumpled and defeated, but relaxed.

Now, why am I such a mess? "People say" (whoever "they" are) that sometimes people are more spiritually aware as they near death. They make closure with family/friends, take care of financial issues, wait for the "ok" from their family before breathing their last ... I can't help but wonder as I think about the last few weeks with Erin. The thing that tears me up, is that she seemed so unhappy in this place, and longed for intimate communion with her God ... and I had to fight the urge to try and dissuade her from that, because for her wish of being in heaven to come true, means that I lose my little girl.

That being said, I am reminded of several things ... 1. When Erin was born, actually, before she was born, we dedicated her to God, taking the view that she is a precious gift to us from our Father, on loan until His timing says different. 2. "Better is one day in Your courts than 1000 days anywhere else" 3. The song sung at her dedication service by a dear friend and his two daughters, I Can Only Imagine. 4. Sunday morning in our livingroom/kitchen ... David and I were running through music for worship service that afternoon, and were singing Blessed Be Your Name, one of Erin's favorite songs (on the Veggie Tales Worship Songs CD), and she drug a chair out from the table, stood up on it, her arm around me, bellowing out all the lyrics at the TOP of her voice.

How can I be so selfish, and want to keep anyone here, much less, my own child, when we, as the creations of the Holy God, will have the amazing (such a lame word choice, but what else is there?) joy of worshipping Him without end in the courts of Heaven? As the song says, "Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for You, Jesus, or in awe of You be still?" If you've ever met Erin, you will probably smile at this, and guess, as I, that she'll be dancing in His presence. Why am I not dancing myself, because my almost 4 year old longs to be in the presence of the Most High ... she looks at others through His eyes, follows the leading of His Spirit, and shows the compassion of His Son -- okay, maybe that's a proud mama talking, (if you've read many of the "Erin" blog entries, you'll know that she's no angel, and is very good at disobeying, hurting others' feelings, and being a general pill at times!) but every since Erin has had a personality, I feel God has used her as His vessel, creating opportunities in her life for ministry to others.

I still have yet to say exactly why I am sitting her snivelling and diverting tears away from the keyboard ... I guess, to come out and say it, I am afraid of losing my child. Just typing those words brings a flood of silent sobs to my throat, and a fresh stream of tears to my cheeks. I cannot imagine the feeling of going into her room and finding her cold and lifeless. I cannot imagine the pain of choosing a funeral home or picking clothes for her for the last time. I cannot imagine going into the girls' room to take her things out ... calling the relatives ... driving past a park full of kids playing without mine ... explaining to her baby sister in later years that her sister is with Jesus ... which is where she belongs ... we all do, it's where He desires us to be.

I said earlier that I felt faithless. I guess that is not completely true. Faith is what is keeping me from running down there every 10 seconds to check if she's still breating (I've only checked on her twice, and I was in there to lay Avery down both times), or laying down to hold her while she sleeps. I know she rests in His arms, as she has every night since they placed her in our arms at the hospital, and will every night until He really does take her home. I know He has had her days numbered from the beginning of time, as are mine and yours. It's funny, because just today she and I were talking about something that happened before David and I even met, and she asked where she was. I told her that she wasn't born yet, and was just a dream in God's eyes. Her eyes shone, and she said with awe, "I was a dream in God's eyes?!"

Yes, my beautiful, loving, ornery, mischeivous, stubborn, confident, amazingly faith-filled child, you were, and He is loving watching you grow in all matters -- he probably thinks it's hilarious to watch you make streamers out of toilet paper to decorate my room, mix up "cakes" out of salt and milk, and pick up that darn dead bird that keeps resurfacing in the backyard because you're curious. I will too, someday, I guess. No matter what happens this night, or tomorrow, or the day after that, I guess this is His way of reminding me what a precious gift He has given us.

This blog entry isn't meant for you, it was for me. Sorry for run-on sentences, bad punctuation, 500 links to song lyrics, and all the rest -- I don't care, it was raw, and I had to sort through my feelings. Throughout the course of this evening(morning), I gave Erin back to God ... maybe I have an inkling of the feeling Abraham had as he led his son toward the sacrifical altar, before the ram appeared. I am going to go kiss my children and go back to bed now.

Thank You, Father, for the gift of my beautiful girls. They are so precious to me, and I know even more precious to You. I know I have been selfish, and I want to lay them at Your feet, knowing that if You choose to bring one or both to You at any time, they will rest with You, in Your perfect arms of love, as you cradle our other baby. What a blessing, to know we have nothing to fear when we're safe in Your arms. Good night, Father. Thank you for holding me in Your arms, loving me, comforting my heart, and calming my fears. Good night.

Wrong, Again.

Well, I had my butt kicked spiritually yesterday by my nearly four year old ...

After spending the morning worshipping with another faith community, Faith Journey, Sunday morning, we went out to eat at Red Robin for lunch. We had a large party, and it was very loud. The hostess keeps a stash of helium balloons for the kids at the front desk, which was right next to us, and Erin had been eyeing a green one for the entire meal -- a long time for her! She was bored, full of spaghetti, and ready to have her balloon, so I took her over to get one (I thought we were getting close to leaving at this point -- I was wrong). While she danced about with her new green friend, I was getting Avery settled, and trying to move our little family toward the car ... our church in Lawrence was starting in an hour, and we hadn't gotten the music together yet. While my back was turned, Erin noticed a girl sitting outside smoking, and she turned to me, excited to the point of bouncing, and said, "Momma, can I go outside with that lady with the smoke?"

My first instinct was to say "No" immediately, but I wanted to find the root of her curiosity (I know, I should really give up that dream!), so I said in a kind of "put out" sort of way, "Now why in the world would you want to do that?"

She looked at me, with eyes filled with that look of "Duh, mom", and said, "Well, she's sitting all by herself, and I didn't want her to be lonely."

Wow -- that one hit me right in the heart. Tears sprung to my eyes, as I beheld Jesus in the eyes of my daughter. I smiled at her and shook my head yes, and she ran out the door. I was a bit concerned, as the parking lot was right there, so I kind of hurried after her, cutting off a woman who was also heading outdoors. I apologized, and explained that my daughter had just run outside to keep a girl company that looked lonely to her. The woman stopped and thought about what I said, while holding the door for me, and then said, "Wow, how old is she?" I told her, and she just shook her head in amazement.

When I got outside, Erin was sitting next to the girl, happily holding her balloon, swinging her feet, and smiling at her soon-to-be friend. I watched, as Erin scooted closer to her and complimented her shirt (it had sequins on it). The girl looked at Erin kind of strangely, and kept looking at her lap. She told Erin she liked her dress. Erin proceeded to thank her and tell her that her mom had got it at a garage sale (Thanks, Erin!), and just continued beaming at this woman. I noticed then, that the girl was looking at her lap because she was holding her cell phone and as she brought it close to her face, I realized that she had an ear piece in, and was just talking into the actual phone. I held my hand out to Erin and told her that we needed to let the woman finish her phone call, and that she wasn't lonely because she was talking to a friend on her phone. Erin smiled, hollered out a goodbye, and headed back into the air conditioning.

The girl, still looking confused, made eye contact with me. I quickly explained that Erin had seen her from inside and was afraid she was lonely, so wanted to come keep her company so she wouldn't be alone. The girl's face melted and she smiled at me. I smiled and walked back inside, fearful of where Erin's next adventure might lead without supervision. However, as I was opening the door, I heard the girl comment to her phone friend, "Oh wow, I was out having a smoke, and this little girl saw me from inside and came to keep me company because she didn't want me to be lonely..."

The tone of her voice said more than the words, and I had to stop again to evaluate what had just transpired. Once again, my daughter saw a need, came up with a way to meet the need, and executed it, in spite of my efforts to detain her. All I saw was a girl smoking (I HATE the smell of smoke and how it permeates everything from hair to clothes to your purse!), but Erin saw her through Jesus' eyes, and took a moment to share love with her. Where did Jesus hang out ... the docks, wells, the temple, with sick people, and among the masses (who probably smelled worse than a little smoke). Where am I hanging out???

As we pursue God's plan for us in Lawrence, KS, growing His kingdom, and sharing His love, I was convicted that I have so far to go. May we all take a lesson from Erin, and learn to follow Him with immediate action and love ... faith like a child.

No? Now that's funny!

Who could say "no" to this face?

Avery Layne ... 3 1/2 months

Daddy hasn't got a chance!
Gotta love baby grins!

Newest Erin-isms

Some new words from Erin:

"road canschection" ... road construction

"Blessed be Your glorious soufflet" ... "Blessed by Your glorious name" (Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman)

"compilot" ... billfold (I think she was confusing/combining "compact" and "palm pilot" -- two other things found in my purse)

"pullsherry see-ening" ... poultry seasoning



As always, it's a joy (and sometimes, a hoot!) to converse with my daughter!

New Feature

I found a new feature available on my personal website today!

Mary, Mary

We ran across the blog of some of our friends from our time in Emporia ... Chad and Angel, directors of our college ministry group during part of our college days. Their ministry in Tuscon, AZ seems somewhat similar to our ministry in Lawrence. I was captivated by one of their passions. Please read about it. I don't know that our ministry is ready for this yet, as we are kind of spread thin the way it is, but who am I to decide that?! I think this wold be a really special way to get immersed in the community. I can only imagine the hurt and pain that is living here. Let us pray that we would respond to His calling, even if it is against societal "norms" (in Christian circles, anyway), and seems so very far out of any box or comfort zone we have ever experienced ... OR ... if it is a place we have been, and removed ourselves from, that we are not afraid to be in and not of that very place.

Eek!

Remember the tale of Little Miss Muffet? Well, we had a similar experience here today, with a little variation ...

I was on the phone with Jill, my Mary Kay director today, discussing my team and how we were doing on our goals for the month. Erin, who was particularly needing to be right with me for most of the day, was at my elbow, asking every 20 seconds if she could talk to Jill.

During one of the 20 second intervals, she yells out, "Mom, there's a spider on my shorts!" I turned to look, and sure enough, there was a small black spider dancing illusively around on my daughter's purple shorts. Wanting to relieve her of this impending trauma, I leand over in my rolly chair to bat the arachnid from her little quivering leg. I was successful, however, just as I saw the spider drop to the floor and went to reach for it with my (bare - eww!) foot, I felt a loose feeling under me, and was powerless to do anything to prevent the chair from rolling backwards out from under me.

The trip to the floor was quick, yet felt as if it were in slow motion. My tush hit the protective floor mat, and I rolled up to make sure Avery (who was eating happily throughout the whole ordeal) was okay. She was, just looked a little bemused, and smiled at me anyway. I started to giggle, but was interrupted by the shrill squeaks of my firstborn, who was jumping around in a "potty dance"esque way, pointing at the floor mat.

"Mom, you didn't kill it yet, it's next to you, right beside you!!!"

"Where? I don't see it."

(Voice even higher pitched, and with even quicker, breathier delivery) "Mom, it's under your butt! You're squishing it with your butt!"

Now, by this point in time, I realize that the situation is fairly hysterical, and also realize that I am still "talking" to Jill. All is quiet on her end, and all I can say is "Oh my." We quickly finished our talk, and after hanging up the phone, having a big laugh out loud, I turned to Erin, who was still standing in the same spot, looking at me in a horrified way. She then kind of pointed to me and said, "Mom, that spider is still on your butt."

Needless to say, I "brushed myself off" and had another side splitting round of laughter. Yep, another day in the Rahija household. Don't you wish you were here?!

Shu Shu's Sheet

This morning, as I was checking my email, Erin popped into the office and said to me ...

"Mama, in my room, all the animals are going to listen to a song, but only the animals who have clothes on can listen to it."

"Oh, that sounds like a good idea."

"Yeah, but Mom, there's a problem. Shu Shu (one of her stuffed toys, a rabbit) really wants to hear the song."

"Okay. Does she need to get dressed?"

"Yes, but I have tried and tried to put some of my shirts on her, but they won't fit. So I need to cut off some of my sheet for her to wear. Where are the blue handled scissors?"

"Whoa ... why do you need to cut off part of your sheet?"

"Mom, I just told you, my shirts won't fit Shu Shu -- they're too big and fall off of her!"

"Well, have you tried some of your doll clothes?"

"No, Mama, they won't work. She just wants the sheet. Where are the scissors? That's just what I needed to get from here." (translation: If you hadn't have been in here, mom, I would have been happily snipping out a sheet tunic for Shu Shu right now.)

"Okay, well, I can see that Shu Shu is too little for your big girl clothes (the rabbit is about 8 inches long, and probably 4 inches wide), so how about some of Avery's clothes? They're much smaller, and might work nicely?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Well, mom, I don't really like Avery's clothes, especially her shirts."

"Well, we aren't going to cut up the sheets today, so you'll need to find a shirt of Avery's, or Shu Shu will just have to listen to the song another time."

"Ohhh, okayyy."

Erin dashed out of the room (I was careful to note the position of the blue handled scissors!) and came back a few moments later with Shu Shu and a yellow onsie of Avery's. We worked together to put it on Shu Shu, and snapped it, and held her up to survey our work. She did look quite cute, even Erin had to admit... and, Shu Shu was eligible to attend the concert :)

All I can say is, whew, I'm glad I checked my email this morning!

Welcome William!

Our good friends Jeff and Valerie have a new addition to their family! We are so excited that Baby William has arrived, and it looks as if everyone is healthy -- tired mama, proud papa, and pink, sleeping baby! Congrats on a beautiful little boy -- we won't call him beautiful later, but something more manly, like handsome or dashing :) For now, though, as he can't protest, he's beautiful!

Together again!

While David is downstairs writing an embarrassing blog about something I blurted out in a discussion about Johnny Cash and music in general ... I'd like to take a moment to share that Erin is home! She had a great time at the farm, and came home equipped with an even more prominent farmer's tan, a farm hat, and cat scratches across her lip (But she caught 'im!). She had a great time, and now is home to terrorize her little sister again (who is, yelling at me from her crib presently, so I shall close and rescue her from the monsters in her crib). We are together again!

Toilet Humor

In response to David's post, I was reading the Men's Restroom Survival Guide, or whatever it's called and noticed one rule that should apply in both the men's and women's restroom ... noise reduction. I posted a response on his blog, then remembered an article I saw on the Lawrence Journal World today, Solicitor nabbed; toilet explodes. Now, this caught my attention, and upon reading it, I realized that the two phrases were not connected, but some of the online responses to this "Crime Blotter" were amusing.

Anyway, isn't it sad how bathroom humor always makes us snicker?

Generosity

We've been a part of of several amazing acts of generosity over the past few weeks. Our church is partnering with Faith Church (Sean's other church) for a fundraising garage sale the first weekend in August. We are two small congregations, and were a bit unsure of how many items we'd have to actually sell. I decided to post a wanted ad on freecycle to see if anyone had things left over from their own garage sale or items they didn't want to drag along in a move, or just things they wanted out of their storage shed or garage.

I thought we might get a few responses with a few items ... I don't know why I try to limit God's giving ... we have had responses from 10-15 individuals who have given us trailers full of items for our sale ... furniture, freezer (full of food we will use for the ministry center!), clothing, toys, exercise equipment, books, and the list goes on ... I continue to receive emails from people who would like to donate. Faith Church has an annex building that is fairly large, and from what I hear, we have filled almost half of the building with items that have been donated. The church members have not even begun bringing their items yet.

It has also been neat to be able to be in the community and meeting these people. For many, this has been a great service to them, and they have thanked us for coming to take away the things that were cluttering up their home, or things they didn't want to haul to a landfill. For a special story semi-related to this, check out David's Blog. All I can continue to say, is WOW. Community.

Quiet Times

Shhh ... it's very, very quiet here! Erin is visiting Grandpa and Grandma G ("Derstenkorn") for a short week, and it's been so very quiet in our house!

Avery has found her voice, though, and has been talking up a storm ... poor David, he'll have to live with three chatterboxes! I love my little girl, just enjoying some time to think, do a bit of cleaning, and getting to know our baby a bit better!

I'm sure we'll have some "Tales from the Farm" to post later this week!

The Eyes Have It

Yep, they sure do ... after spending an afternoon with Eye Care Professionals, we know that the Rahija family eyes are a definite contender for the "Most Expensive Health Care Bill" contest we have going around here.

David and I both had eye exams this afternoon, and both had to have new glasses. David will also be getting new contacts, and I am going to try them to see how they work for me. Frighteningly enough, it has been nearly NINE years since my last vision appointment. I thought it was funny when the woman helping us fill our scripts said to me ... "You know, for being almost 10 years old, your frames are pretty good, not terribly out of style. Thank goodness you didn't have those big ugly ones that most people had then!" I quickly told her that I probably would have changed sooner if they were much worse than they were.

Well, like I posted earlier, the day was busy, but didn't seem to yield much blogworthy content. Hopefully yours did! Looking forward to reading some new posts!

Family News

Well, my sister has some new news. Exciting times ahead. Check out her blog to read about it.

Sorry sis, it seems my day, although busy and full, didn't have much to share, so I thought I'd share something from you. Give Jon our hellos.

The "F" word

Whew, I think I got here first ... tonight while celebrating Father's Day with the Rahija family, Avery was very flatulent. She was fussy, with good reason, as it sounded as if her bottom half were trying to detach from the rest of her body via explosives. During one of these episodes, Uncle John asked if Erin or Avery was the culprit, and was informed quickly that it was Avery. This led to a more in-depth discussion of flatulence, or as we frequently call it at our house, "tuting". Uncle John made the remark about how Erin had threatened to fart on him earlier. I smiled and said, "Yeah, we've been using the "f" word around her lately." - indicating that it was okay with us for her to use that particular linguistic gem.

Innocent enough, yet the room fell silent for a brief moment, before erupting in laughter. Of course, the four letter "f" word I was referring to was "f - a - r - t", not the more popular one.

Yep, chalk another one up to the Embarrassing Sarah-isms Hall o' Fame (hey, another four letter "f" word!). Happy Monday!

Garage Sale Day!

It's Saturday ... garage sale day ... woo hoo!

I love going garage sale shopping! It's fun, cheap, and you get to meet lots of interesting people! On the "search" list for today ... Erin is seeking a doll house for her dolls she bought at a previous garage sale. I am searching for summer clothes for Avery, shoes for Erin, and some new Mary Kay customer contacts ... obviously, I won't be purchasing that last item, but they fall under the "interesting people" segment of the day!

I'll let you know if we find anything spectacular! Happy bargain hunting!

Breaking Through

I thought this was fun ... Yahoo! was advertising the Superchic[k] song, We Live in their "Entertainment" section.

Blogworthy ... who knew?!

After taking the "How much is your blog worth?" test found on John's blog, the results are in ...

My blog is worth $2,258.16.
How much is your blog worth?

I don't know where one might "cash in" the value of one's blog, but I would be really excicted to find out more info on that! David, is going to list his blog on ebay and try to reap the benefits there. We'll see how that goes ...

In other related news ... I took an online IQ test and scored 133. The results page said that was highish, so for those of you who were guessing I was a genius, you were almost correct, I'm the category just below that :) The sad thing is, I really enjoyed taking that test :) What a dork I am!

Sweet Avery

David is helping me learn to post pictures on my blog -- I can't imagine it's that hard, but as the technologically challenged one in our home, I'm excited. This is a picture of Avery we took today as she was enjoying listening to the music from Beauty and the Beast. We didn't catch the whole smile, but a sweet look of content. We think she's pretty cute!

Bee Bites

Today was another first at the Rahija household. Erin, while playing in the backyard, encountered a stinging bug of some sort. She first told me it was a bee, then later, a wasp. All I know for sure is that she stuck her hand up under the "big green box" (some sort of utility box in the back yard that the kids use as their table and "play central"), a bug stung her right ring finger, and the bug, a large black stinging machine, flew out from under the box. She also said it had a nest with 5 holes in it, so I'm guessing a "mud dauber" or bumble bee. Either way, it caused much mayhem around here ... lots of tears, major swelling, lots of accusations of the bee/wasp/whatever, questions as to why God made those kind of bugs, and more tears. We called Rachel, our nurse friend, and asked for her expertise. She told us to use meat tenderizer. We didn't have any, so we made a quick trek to the store, and returned to make a paste for her finger. Later, we used ice, and between the two remedies, her finger is much closer to it's normal size, as the swelling has redused considerably! She tearfully told Avery about her misadventure, and I felt pretty bad for her as she squeaked her way through the story. Avery seemed to really not care, but cooed her sympathy anyway. Although her pain was great, she did manage to stop crying by the time we got to the store, and the Butterfinger BBs we brought home seemed to cheer her even more. Soooo, Erin is doing better, just a little worse for the wear! Always something fun going on at Rahija Central!

Another Month ... Another Chapter

Hello. Seems like forever since I've read, much less posted a blog entry. We have been kind of without the web for a few weeks, and as of today, we are back "online".

News to report: Avery is smiling and chatting these days, AND growing like crazy. She has passed the 10lb mark, and looks it. Erin grows browner by the day. She and the backyard crew are outside as much as possible, however, the increased temperature drives them inside more and more. They all like to come here and hint (or blatantly ask/demand) snacks and drinks. David is battling poison ivy and has spent the past week in agony. I am getting back into the swing of Mary Kay, with three new team members this week (welcome Laura, Diane, and Alicia!), and booking the Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon fuctions with as many guests as I can for facials and pampering.

Events of the past two months: My sister, Desiree, graduated from Kansas State University. The following weekend, we treked to Gaylord, KS to celebrate my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. What a special time, to honor the love and committment of 60 years. Last weekend we stayed with David's grandma while his parents are in Guatamala on a mission trip.

Upcoming events: Matt and Dena's wedding tomorrow (actually, later today), getting back on target for that illusive Pontiac Vibe, David applying for his local minister's license, a few more weddings, a few babies, and lots of summer fun!

Well, I think that's about it for now. I'll post more if I remember more details or some silly story about the girls. Looking forward to catching up with our little blogging community news!

Update

Hello all! I've been a bit absent lately, but that's because I haven't had two free hands to type with for the last two weeks! David, Erin, and I have a new family member, Miss Avery Layne, born March 21st at 5:24pm (following a brief 14 hour labor!). She is beautiful in every way, peaceful, and sleeps amazingly well! She weighed 7lb 11oz, and is getting close to being back to her birth weight. She eats very well, about every 3 hours during the day, and an impressive 5-6 hour stretch at night (I should be sleeping now, but with the two girls, I won't have time tomorrow!). She is such a sweet baby, and cries only to let us know of a wet/dirty diaper, temperature discomfort (usually cold), or a gas issue -- sometimes burps get stuck and build up pressure ... she woke David up with two really loud ones a few nights back!

Erin is adjusting to life as a big sister, and loves Avery very much. We are, of course, having some "issues" of boundary testing and finding our places in this new family setting, but at two weeks, I think we are doing pretty well. It's been great to have so much family support for her ... at church, Daddy's work, at home, and even people calling on the phone to ask her how she's doing. What a blessing!

Well, my old, tired body needs some rest (I turned 28 today -- no more "mid twenties" claims for me!). David has a few pics of Avery on his blog, if you'd like to see her with her big sis! Have a great day!

5 weeks and counting

Well, we had another doctor appointment yesterday. Baby is doing fine, with a heart pumping at 147 bpm, and measuring well. I had lost a pound this week, which is fine, because I had been gaining a little too much -- 2 lbs per week instead of the 1/2 I'm supposed to gain :) My blood pressure was great and baby is head down, ready for delivery. Doctor Peck is going to be gone two out of the next 4 weeks, so that will be interesting. He told me that in two weeks he'd introduce me to his partner, and told me that if I had to have Dr. McFarlane, that I'd like him very much. I hope he's right :) Dr. Peck is such a nice guy -- he seemed sad at the possiblity of not getting to deliver our little girl.

Erin got to go along with us yesterday. She was a big hit in the office. The nurse that did my bp and weight check (Leslie) took her out front to meet the other nurses and she came back stickered with Barbies and puppies. When she came back, she asked me when Erin's birthday was. Erin piped up and told her August 24th. Leslie asked how old she'd be then. When I told her that Erin would be 4, her jaw fell to the floor, and she told us how proud we should be at how well-mannered and poised Erin is. David and I smiled and said thanks, thinking of all the temper tantrums we've had in the past few weeks, the loud comments from Erin about how she doesn't like different names of people we meet, and other "precious" moments. However, it is wonderful to be reminded that we are having some positive impact on our daughter as parents, and that she is a precious creation. Nurse Leslie even wanted to give us her number so she could babysit for Erin sometime. I was very excited about that! As we left, they all invited her to bring her stethoscope along next time, so they could all wear them together (Erin has a real one, compliments of Grandma Gerstenkorn). They tried to convince her that is was okay to wear it around the neck, instead of constantly in the ears, but she was still not convinced, and looked at them suspiciously, as if David and I had bribed them to mention this to her :) She told them she didn't know how they could hear things with it around their neck, she could only hear with it in her ears, and that's how she intended to wear it. Stubbornness roots deeper still!

One funny moment about the doctor visit ... I had forgotten just how they check for "Group B Strep" in new mommies, and when Leslie brought the smock for the bottom half of me into the room, I remembered. Just a quick swipe with a cotton swab ... but this does require me to remove the bottom half of clothing. As I started doing this, I was trying to explain to Erin that Dr. Peck was just going to check me, and that it was okay and a "safe" thing. She was not near the end of the exam table, but up near my head. She looked at me, as I was disrobing, and said, "Mom, it is not appropriate for you to take off your pants here! We are not at home!" I about lost it, and had to agree with her, that most times, it is inappropriate to take one's pants off anywhere other than home, but again reiterated that at the doctor office or hospital, it was okay if a doctor or nurse asked that of you.

What a crazy time we are in ... the bridge between concrete and abstract thought ... learning to make logical conclusions from information that is known and new information. It makes me think twice about using "figures of speech" and other funny sayings as I have to try to explain them -- we use some strange word combinations, I have discovered! Here's to new discovery, new thoughts, and new levels of appropriateness!