My Potatos Are Sprouting

Both kids are sleeping and I have about an hour to do WHATEVER I want. This is pretty much what goes through my head:

"I think I'll shower.

Nah, maybe I should sweep the kitchen and clean the bathroom.

Well, maybe I could read a book, make a craft, catch up with someone I haven't in a while.

Take a nap?

(Pause to check Facebook for a minute. Be inspired by all the amazing accomplishments my friends are posting about).

Maybe I should write a book.

RIGHT.

(Inspirational song plays in the background).

My heart is overflowing and my mind can't keep up. Maybe I should blog about that."

Nevermind that it's been since 2012.

That's right. Over a year and a half since my last post. Part of me assumes no one will remember I ever did blog, and that's ok. It's therapeutic and helps me capture important things when I have time to type them up. The other part of me hopes someone reads it and something resonates. Today is a special day.

My heart is quite happy today, so the dew that threaten the back of my lids and forms a lump at the back of my throat stems from immense gratitude and humility for the gift God has given me. Make that plural. GiftS.

I often refer to them as E and M. Babyson and Babysis. Sweetness and Princess. You may know them as Elliot and Myla. Maybe you haven't seen a recent picture (I only post hundreds more than anyone other than Grandparents wish to see)?

Just in case.

Mr. "Ee Ee" (as He refers to himself)

 

Miss Myla

 

 

 

 

These two overwhelm me. Daily.

 

Such amazing gifts. I have never been as at peace in my life as I am now. Here in this trench of daily teaching, training, loving, feeding, guiding, watching, learning, struggling, praying. I will attempt to explain in brief below as I race against the ticking clock.

 

It's a whirlwind from the moment I get up. Babyson's voice floats over the monitor, tickling my ears and waking me out of a comfortable rest. "How much can I get done before he actually needs out?"

 

Dress. Brush teeth. Make bed. Open windows. Let's get him.

 

From there, more moments than I can share, up to this very one. Moments stacked until my eyes can't hold the grati-tears back.

 

+Watching Elliot feel so proud that he could help by rinsing sisters feet during her bath, and putting her paci back in her mouth when she cried

 

+Encouraging toddler conversations with him by acknowledging that I understand his version of English

 

+Soaking up the coos and gurgles Myla lets out as she joins the conversation

 

+Affirming E's love for his storybook bible and practicing his memory verse

 

+ Melting in my soul as Myla's smile stretches wide enough she has to close her eyes

 

Just watching Elliot pick up on things we've been teaching, reading, and saying is enough to put me under. He is a sponge and the responsibility that goes along with that is overwhelming. Amazing. And a joyful struggle. And we have plenty of hard moments too. With illness, disobedience, lack of sleep, loss of focus, attitudes and disappointments. But even those things lend themselves to the greater purpose of glorifying God in all things.

 

The emotion of all this surged upon my heart at once today, and that's why it overwhelms. Full glimpses of what God is doing in my home and with my kids, and that I get to be used in that...awesome. So this morning when I caught a glimpse of the basket of sprouting potatos atop my refrigerator, I almost laughed. They represent to me the many things I think are important (house, laundry, to do lists) -and they certainly have a place- but are humorous in comparison to the eternal investments being made closer to the tile under the refrigerator. Snacks, new words, bible verses, love, memories, and relationships.

 

That's all. Just praising God for His greatness and gifts. And being humbled by it all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somewhere Else While I'm Still Here

Whew, let me just say that tonight I am thankful to be out of the fog. Yes, it's supposed to get foggy here in my city overnight, but I'm talking about a mental fog. It seems to have been coming and going more frequently of late (I attribute that to the pregnancy). WHAT!? That is right - I am expecting a baby in September! My husband and I are so excited :) Finally able to share it with "the world" this week, and I have only now felt like I could get a blog together that wouldn't bore ME before I finished writing it. I've been that out of it, and I try to grab onto the spurts of energy and mental power as I get them. I'm having one right now.

The reason I decided to get with it on the blog tonight is because of an odd thing that happens every now and again. It's the sensation that although I'm here, I'm just as much somewhere else. Typically this phenomenon is brought about by a smell or person, object or picture that immediately takes me "back." Back, to some other place or time that I have been. Likely you can relate. For me, those experiences are typically pleasant, although bitter-sweet. And this one definitely was.

It started I suppose when reality began to sink in that this precious bundle of joy (now the size of a plum I might add) will, and to some extant already has, change my life dramatically. For example, I haven't been drinking coffee much and I've been avoiding certain foods and activities. Things I normally don't think twice about. But over the last couple of weeks I really began to think about how I will not be going back to Sudan this year. That's a big change. So much of my heart resides in a corner I call "Africa" and it grows and blooms every year with the thought of returning, seeing those friends and family across the ocean, and serving God alongside them. But this year will be different. VERY different. I can't even imagine all of it, which I suppose is good. None of us might have kids if we really understood the sacrifice and exhaustion that accompanies said joyful bundle ahead of time!

So I've been processing the fact that we will have a new assignment come September: parenthood. Might not have to fly across the sea to fulfill it, but I think it will more challenging, and hopefully even more rewarding, this next phase of calling the Lord has on our lives.

All that being said, there is still a part of me missing Africa. (I suppose the fact that I haven't felt well and don't yet look pregnant aid this wistful feeling). I'm still learning how to put that in its place.

Yesterday, I was browsing Pinterest and randomly come across a photo that is displayed over and over and over on the holding video on the KLM flights from here to Amsterdam / Amsterdam to Africa.

The video plays music as a video rolls of different scenes and poses around this fixture. Gets pretty annoying after about 15 minutes of sitting in your seat, waiting for take off, but always "takes me back" when I see/hear it. It is visually and emotionally tied to our Africa trips. 

Later, as I was working on my Bible Study, I realized I was a using  KLM pen (Not sure how I got it. Hope I didn't steal it). Didn't even realize we had one, but there it was in my hand. Back again.

I'm afraid to even get out the photos from when we were actually IN AFRICA:. Could be sentimental overload.

The icing on the cake came on my walk today. Someone was cooking with the windows open and it smelled almost exactly the way our food smelled while in Sudan. Rice and Beans, maybe some chips. Oi. I can picture myself smelling that smell in Sudan...does that make any sense?

All this to say, I've been in Sudan or on my way there a lot this week. Thankful for the time and lessons learned there, friendships made and ministry done. And thankful at the same time that our new assignment will hold its own blessings and lessons, and hoping that one day, I will get to return to Sudan, and maybe take our Plum Joy with us. In the meantime, I've got photos and memories to "Take me Back" as often as I'd like.

KJo