Hm, happy day

Fun day...

Random man yells at in the office in a way loud OUTDOORS voice, " Whasup!"  as I ask how I can help him. He says " where's my drink, isn't this a bar". I replied " If you think this is a bar, you been cut off, you've had too much". 

I ask my patient if they want to bill insurance. "Yes, I do!!"  Ok, I ask, what kind do you have. 

"Don't know" and sits and stares at me. For a long time. Time ticks by. I try again, your employer, your medical, do you have a card or id number?!  The wife pipes up "well, that would be a breach of info to give that". 

Oh dear! Let me go and feel my brain meet a brick wall. 

Maybe they will fire me. 

On other note to make you feel better about yourself.... 

This was the compliment that coworker gave me today. She was saying about that she broke out in hives on Christmas Eve. And they looked terrible, red, puffy, she said. "Like your forehead" as she points at my head. 

I teased her about it later and she says " well, I'm honest". 

Put the shovel down, PUT it down! 

Oh good grief, I already feel as ugly as a smashed bug on a windshield of a 48 hr trip. Thank you. 

Happy post Christmas or Happy New Year's Eve Eve.  Take your pick. 

Overwhelmed with Blessings

We got to sleep in and snuggle before we headed out for the whole day.  My dear sister-in-law made us sticky buns, so we had breakfast in bed.  We tried to absorb peace, quietness to calm our spirits for the day. 
I have not been a hug type of person.  I always said that I have a 'bubble of comfort space around me'.  Fortunately, I have friends that pushed themselves through my bubble space, and stayed.
I'm trying to change, my goal was to give lots of hugs for Christmas day, I gave a few and what a blessing of love.  Don't know why this is such a struggle for me, but I'm trying to open my heart and real.
Lunch was with his family, dinner with my family.  Just home in between to dump off and reload.

Seeing pictures of ALL the presents under the trees kind of makes me sad.  Christmas is about Christ.  But we get caught up in that Christmas is for us.  Presents for you, presents for me, presents for everyone.  How much do I sit and be..
Still
Believe
Worship?
I want to remember that I am nothing without Christ.   Because of Christ, I can believe, be forgiven and have peace. 

But even in the busyness of  the day, it is such a privilege to be surrounded Christ believing family.  I feel like I forget to thank God for this.  Family that truly enjoy to give, willing to sacrifice for others.

My family kinda surprised me (we had talked about it, but never made a decision) with giving enough money to sponsor two Chinese children for a year.
My heart is just full and running over.  It was again the reminder that I needed that we ARE doing something for God's kingdom.  That we are defending the fatherless.  I didn't need any gifts, this is all that my heart needed.  

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

When I look back on the last two years.. I think we are the same.

You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto,
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto!
   ~G always backs into his parking spot, ready to go, but I always pull in.
   ~He likes eclair pudding (this year’s birthday cake) but the thought of soggy graham crackers with pudding and icing makes me gag.
   ~I may like to exercise, well maybe sometimes, but not other times, but G likes it even less. So I signed us both up for a 5k with
   obstacles for his birthday. Cracks me up. lol
   ~One may have less hair, or the another more gray but both definitely more wrinkles. This morning I went to pluck a gray hair only
   to discover it was just toothpaste covered. Weird. And we ran out of toothpaste this week. What kind of wife does that? I'm thankful
   for those minis from the dentist. I stocked up from the dollar store on my lunch break. Woohoo. Bunny trail.
   ~G always knows where his cell is, I'm always looking for mine.
   ~Him Moes, Me Chipotle. Bottom line we love all food but our favorites are Indian and Japanese.
   ~I love the challenge of chopsticks, he does not. 
   ~He runs fire calls in the night, but I mostly sleep. They got to demolish a house for training and G got to puncture a water bed.
   He seemed rather pleased.

In the past, we would get a fair amount of water in our basement. After a huge rain and very soggy, smelly, and moldy carpet, I voted to rip it out pronto. So bam, we were head high in a giant mess. I later wondered whhhhhyyyy did I think this was a good idea!!! We sanded and sanded the floor and then realized it was asbestos tile. Sweet, our precious lungs. But we decided to carry on and caulked large cracks and painted ceiling, walls, floor, and stairs. We hired our favorite handyman Luke to replace some windows and a door. It turned into a mod little living room. We love it now that it's DONE.

I was whining to my coworker that I couldn't a normal photo of us from all year long. She said "Why do you want a normal picture, you aren't normal". Ok, then. That was a compliment, I'm pretty sure. So no decent pictures for you. :)

We did get to go camping a few times this year. As in three weekends in a row. We have these friends that believe in mountain camping as in no cell reception mountains. It was beautiful, in fact gorgeous. But we be city kids...someone may or may not have climbed on top of a camper to see if by a chinny chin chin they could get a few bars. Through out the 3 weekends, a rattler and a bear were sighted by neighbors, and a raccoon tipped over our big supply box and had a snack with our rolls. Crawling out of our tent for nightly bathroom breaks was not very popular.

In May, G got to be a part of opening a new Transply branch in Winchester. He loves it. He was selling there for 2 1/2 yrs after working in Greencastle for 12 years.  But now there is the advantage of having a office and lots of stock close by. In April, it will be 9 yrs of selling glasses and changing green nose pads for me. One should wonder if life can get better.

We tried out white water rafting in honor of our dear friend Lael moving away for two years. G found out on the bus ride to the river that he would be sitting on the EDGE of the raft and NOT holding on to anything but the paddle. He was not impressed and thought that he may kick the bucket.   Needless to say, he was at the back of the raft next to the guide and had his foot wedged so tightly under the bottom that if we flipped he would have been stuck hanging in the raft upside down.  And he is still very alive. 

We both had interesting expenses this year. G is in the process of a tooth implant and I got to go to China. I had prayed for God to allow me to go spend some time in a orphanage and God granted me this blessing. Pretty sure G didn't pray for tooth problems, but lo and behold.

We are still having physicals and being fingerprinted yearly just to make sure we haven't died or killed anyone.  We have to stay up to date for when the Lord finds us our little China child.

"Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life." Corrie Ten Boom.
May you be filled with Him!   Love

I'm not big enough or strong enough.

Most days I feel like my heart has healed (our maybe I have again harden my heart) from seeing those precious kids.  I'm better.  All fixed. 

And then wham, my hard crust crumbles.  At the oddest times.  And then I see those kiddos, some giving cheesy grins, or their little cute toes and fingers, their button noses, or laughing when you tickle them, or silent tears running down over their adorable cheeks. 

Saturday was one of the tough days.  I was looking at adoption waiting children online and I saw some of the children that I saw and touched with my own little self in China.  I am broken again.  Their little faces look different to me now that I have seen them in person! 

It feels like my hands are tied behind my back and I just can't get loose.  I know that God has this waiting period for me, specially for me, maybe to teach me to give up my will.  Those little children can't be adopted by me, because we are with a different agency.  So I just feel like I'm doing nothing.

I was given a book "Joey's Story" to read maybe a half year ago.  I was asked many times if I had read it yet and I hadn't.  It is about child abuse and I was dragging my feet.  But this was the weekend that I was going to plow through it and get it over with.  I was stomping my feet mentally.  It's NOT fair.  My heart is broken with helplessness already.  Really, God?! 
Joey quoted more than once that she realized that she couldn't change her life and thoughts by herself.  That it took a higher power, we are just NOT strong enough on our own. 

It is a message I took to heart.  It may not be my time to be the hands of God that touch these children personally.  I can't do it myself.  I'm just not big or strong enough.  G reminded me later that I am still working even if I just want to be done, but that allows us to support the nannies that love on the children.  God is still working through our hearts even when it doesn't feel like we are doing anything worth while. 

Meanwhile my friend over in mission land is loving on children in another orphanage.  Melts my heart, to see others getting to live one of my dreams.  I pray God rains blessings down in a way that they have never seen or felt on their lives... for the nannies, volunteers, directors, and the precious children of God.

Don't fear when you go through the fire
Hang on when it's down to the wire
Stand tall and remember what He said
"I won't give you more, more then you can take
and I might let you bend, but I won't let you break"

It's a white wonder world out there!

So we got our first snow this weekend!! I love snow. 

But Sunday was the first day that I didn't like it.  We had to travel to a Christmas party a hr and 45mins away.  The roads were TERRIBLE.  Only 5mins away from our house we slid through a entire intersection. The party was so fun and I was hoping since it was G's birthday that he would be lucky enough to win a prize.  And sure enough he did, a $50 Red Lobster gift card!  I always feel blessed at his company's party.  It is so family friendly and    We ended up spending 5hrs on the yuck roads and we were happy to see our little sweet home.  We felt so blessed to arrive home in one piece.  There is more than one way to make you think that home is the 'Bomb'.

Christmas season is such a busy time, one can get overwhelmed with (for a lack of a better word) "stuff".  And I'm still sick 'coughing' and that makes me unusually tired.  With the black friday sales and gift cards, I finally got my 'bowl' chair from Pier 1 Imports.  Let me tell you something, It is a amazing.  And it has this fabulous coZy fuzzzzzzzzzy cushion.
This chair has been my Christmas happy time.
Every little spare moment, I tuck myself into it and smile.
You may have to visit to believe.

My laundry and house may look like it has exploded, but I did manage to get LOTS of truffles made for his family and a few little gifts wrapped.  I feel like I have been a little bah humbug and didn't decorate.  But my dear G replaced the batteries in the window lights, and I set up my wooden Joseph, Mary and Jesus, and hung our stockings.  I think that should do it :). We even skipped two parties this year for the first ever (I surprise myself!) trying to maintain peace and calm.  

It's snow again this morning and I long for work to be canceled so I could remain in coZy pjs, drink hot choc in my fuzzy amazingness chair and build a snowman :).  I will continue to dream.  I used to steal my sister's kids to make it look normal building a snowman, but now I just don't care.