immigration rant

i have good news, and i have bad news.

bad news first. we just received a letter from USCIS asking for 4 more documents/proofs, all of which we've already submitted at various stages of this process. sometimes i think they ask for things like this just to test our patience and see how serious we are about our application.

good news. fortunately, they are all easy documents, and even better, this means that they are actually processing our application! someone actually has it on their desk! woot!

so pray like you've never prayed before! i am fasting and praying for the month of july, asking for a miracle - that our permanent resident status would come before the end of the year... which would be an unheard of speed. but God can do it... and i refer you to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

"Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." - Daniel 3:16 - 18

"even if he does not".... greatest statement of faith ever.

midnight music

so, i've shared my bed with meg for the last couple nights... i've never been so flung upon in my whole life! arms whapped across my face, sharp toes against my calf, knees up in my ribs - how does the girl get any sleep??

but last night, in the middle of the night, i was awakened by the most beautiful thing i've heard in a long, long time. my daughter, in the midst of her sleep, laughed. not just a little giggle, or a "hahuh", but a long, belly, full-out laugh. if it was music, it would have been two full phrases of laughter. it was absolutely delightful, and i fell back asleep with a smile on my face.

i hope many of her nights are filled that way. i love you, nutmeg.

of course, tonight i'll be sleeping alone... :)

my love is laced up

this was going to be my last week with no kids ... dinner parties, beach trip with a girlfriend, welcome home party... but everything changed when my mom lost a dear friend to cancer, and i was needed in KY. my parents are driving 24hr (one way) to canada to attend the funeral, and The Girls are doing a super cool day camp mon-fri next week which requires a grownup for the times they aren't doing crazy camp stuff.

so i am having a different week. but not a bad one. it started with being able to be at vincent's farewell "launch" party last night, and means that i will get to spend his last week at home with him... a treat, because i love him so much. it also started with the girls sleeping over at their new friends place, so i even have a quiet morning here. i will have the days to myself, which, while it might get a little lonely, will be peaceful, too. and i will get to experience the fun of hearing all The Girls camp stories first hand - seeing their faces alight with giggles at the craziness, or wide eyed at what they accomplished.

and best of all, i am being here for my mom & dad. they have been there so much for me in my life - and now i get to, in some small way, step in and be there for them. even if my week fell apart, it would still be worth it. my friend krii said to me yesterday, "kindness is love with it's boots on." ... well, my boots are on, and ready for as long a march as is necessary.

in the words of virgil "nos cedamus Amori"... and we ourselves yeild to love.

fun fun fun!

woot! guess what!? not only am i singing the national anthem on july 2nd, but i just got asked to sing the canadian anthem on june 29th! come out & let the good times roll! usa baseball national training center in cary!

updates....

THIS is what a vacation should be:

the best people in the world, who know you and love you, and just let you be you...

laying by the pool... or sitting in the hot tub in the cool breezes of evening...

sleeping in & staying up late, playing catan....

napa valley... domaine chandon, rutherford caves....

random food and drink, laughing, talking... just being.

better than all the tea in china.

california dreaming!

we are going on vacation! a for real vacation! without children, not to visit family, and not just in our own state! we are going to sunny california to visit our dearest friends andrew & shanna! for a whole week! WOOT!

this is waaaaay past due...

15 years & counting

turns out that curtis has secretly always wanted to learn origami!

we were strolling through barnes and noble last night when he pulled an origami kit off the shelf and said, "if i got one of these for christmas i would not be disappointed." huh! you think you know a person, and then, wham! :) so i snuck over to the counter where they have the little tiny box kits, and got him an origami for beginners box! we sat outside at the mall at one of the tables, and in the fading light curtis folded his very first origami creation... the swan! i was so proud!

frankly, his personal sense of accomplishment was charming! it made me laugh out loud! he's a nice boy... i think i'll keep him!

we interrupt your regularily scheduled programming....

i was going to post a long, funny story about why i am anti-"Jesus fish"... but instead, you get this.

MY STUPID LAPTOP AND IT'S ^%$#^@!# BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!!

that is all.

we did it!

unreal. today is the last day of school!

as i prayed for kyra this morning before she left, i said, "kyra, you did it! you survived your first year of middle school!" to which she replied, grinning, "with flying colors and straight a's!" :) she conquered a huge fear, overcame some panic, and grew up right before my eyes. i am so proud of her!

meg is headed into 4th grade, and is a girl of uncommon mercy. for such a wild child, she seeks out the unloved & "unlovable" to befriend, often being the only kind word or touch in the classroom. she is another straight A student, but i am most proud of her merciful heart.

i love these girls. madly. :)

*****
in other news, curtis thought this was offensive. i just thought it was funny. you can judge for yourself by clicking here. you are forewarned. :)

mark your calendars!

i can't believe it!

after watching me waddle onto the field, 8mo preggo with twins, and then begin with the wrong anthem, usa baseball has invited me back! frankly, i was shocked! pleasantly, obviously, but shocked none the less! so, on july 2, i will be singing the anthem for usa baseball v. guatemala! woot! who wants to come to the game??

(also obviously, this pic is from a different anthem-ing... a much thinner one! ha!)_

full to bursting

my parents are nuts.

yesterday, the first day of their summer vacation, they spontaneously got in their car with some omaha steaks and drove 8 1/2 hours to my house for dinner. yes, you read that right. dinner. and it was a lovely, tasty dinner, after which we hung out and be-ed a family. and then at 9 this morning they left for their return trip. may i remind you at this point that The Girls are going to their house on sunday, and staying til the end of the month... i mean, it's not as though they aren't going to see them!

so we let the girls stay home a bit this morning, for bagels & toast all together, and a little bit of couch snuggling. then we all said good bye at the front door and headed off to school, work, and.... kentucky.

nuts, i tell you.

it was ridiculous, true. but it was also the good stuff - the stuff life ought to be made of. and now i start my day with a heart that is fat and happy... full of the good stuff.

soothing the savage beast

some people are just plain good for you.

you know - those people who, when you are around them, make you happier just because you are in their presence. they are infectious, with beautiful hearts & carrying almost of fragrance of, 'it's gonna be ok."

i spent a couple hours today with one of my people like that - tenea. i want to be more like her... she was a spring of fresh water to me today, and someday i want to be like that for someone else.

thanks, t. medicine for my soul.