Mushy Mom night

I have a book about special quotes from mothers to sons, and I just love it. One of my friends has 4 boys and 2 girls, and also enjoys reading this book. Today our boys played outside on a water slide, and it was so fun to watch them through the window. Boys seem to take about 20 or 30 minutes to "figure out" how to play nicely--a few shoves then a few warnings from Mom, a few trials of king of the mountain then a few warnings, then all of a sudden the pecking order has been established and they can just PLAY. I love the chaos and activity that children bring---my experience at home is just with boys, but the laughter and joy a child brings into the house is one of God's greatest gifts in my opinion. I love the honest phrases (Mommy, is that another baby in your tummy? Well, no dear....), the good morning hugs, the one more book at bedtime procrastination, the fact that they will come down dark halls at night to our room just for comfort; I cherish the happy songs (you do know that screaming is a beautiful form of music, right??), the way they "politely" say "I don't want dinner, I want snack, Please!," the way they pray for a friend's grandmother who has cancer, or are willing to give up their birthday presents to donate to a baby in China who needs help. I LOVE watching my three stand up for each other, fight and make up with one another, and protect one another. I am so thrilled that my boys have a sensitive side. Jack, my 3 year old, is always concerned about where the Mommies and Daddies are.So, if we are reading Thomas the Train, he wants to know where is Thomas's mommy and daddy? At his young age, he KNOWS that everyone and everything should have parents. He already knows this is how you love. You need a Mommy and a Daddy to be there, to cheer you on, to wipe your tears, to have when you are scared at night, to discipline you and teach you right from wrong, to pray for you, and with you, and to teach you about God and His love, and to just BE THERE, wherever, whenever. As adults, we tend to get so busy. Our jobs, our chores, our errands, our kids activites....the list goes on and on, but we get so busy we do not notice the beauty and love around us. We take for granted the screaming 'song' (be quiet! ), or get annoyed at night when our kids come down (guilty as charged!), but these are the gifts God has given us---I know I overlook the beauty around me at times....until I stop, I pray, I listen, and I hear. Children are our future...and they all need a Mommy and a Daddy to guide them there.
From the book "Mother to Son: Shared Wisdom from the Heart" by Melissa and Harry Harrison:

At times, you will be blown away by the depth of your love for him.
Realize that from day one, he's wired to be self-reliant. Don't change that.
You'll remember his laughter at this age forever.
Right around the age of 3, he will heroically start to think he is your protector. This never goes away.
Don't forget: Praise is contagious. So is criticism.
Tell him he had a great game, even if there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. He just needs to hear you say it.
Remember , boys show their affection by wrestling, pushing, and bumping into one another.
Teach him to be kind.
As wild as they might be, little boys need hugs and security. So do big ones.
He will idolize his dad.
Give him a Valentine's Day Card every year. He'll say i's corny, but secretly he'll always look forward to it!
Talk to him often about God's grace and he'll grow up seeing it.
Don't tolerate meanness.
Make sure his home is a haven of love and peace.
Tell yourself, "He's not angry, he's not an alien, he's not mental. He's just 13."
Keep kissing him goodnight, even if he does not kiss back.
Teach him how he can earn your respect: always speaking the truth, keeping his grades up, treating all family memberswith kindness, doing his chores, and seeking to serve others.
Hold him accountable for his actions.
If you are constantly criticizing him, something is wrong. With you.
Teach him that sharing what he has is one of the keys to happiness.
Treat him like the man you want him to become.
Tell him you will always love him.
He will tell you that you're the best mom in the world.
Hug him fiercely.
Let him go.

LOVE. GUIDANCE. SHARING. FAITH. HOPE. All children need them. I am grateful what my boys have taught me! Tomorrow, stop, pause, and look for the beauty God has placed around you. It is everywhere...we only have to look.

Love,
Eve

Star Wars....a first

Yep, that is right. Tonight, my oldest is watching Star Wars (the version I grew up with) for the first time. He is stoked, to say the least. He took a nap today just to be able to stay up late with Daddy to watch. We are getting ready for his next birthday. They grow up so fast. Some days seem long when Alex and Ben are at each other, and Jack is yelling, but the other 98% of the days fly by. School starts in less than 3 weeks! I am really sad....we have had a fun summer! The boys are excited,though, and are eager to get back.
I have struggled today with a baby in China who needs a foster family to take him in for a few weeks in Hangzhou. He needs heart surgery soon but needs to "beef up" before then. I have contacted many people that I know in China hoping that someone will know someone who will know someone, but no word yet. This baby has survived 5 months in an orphanage, and needs to not go back, EVER! My devotional today reads "You can find Me not only in beauty and birdcalls, but also in tragedy and faces filled with grief. I can take the deepest sorrow and weave it into a pattern for good." SO , my prayer tonight is for sweet Nicholas, that a foster family will be found...it is in His control.
Love,
Eve

I am Somebody!

What a week! It has been really nice to have an entire week with no camps, no schedules, but lots of swimming and enjoying the kids playing together upstairs (plus/minus a few screams every now and then!). On Sunday, our team presented at one of the Sunday school classes to talk and share about our trip. Shannon and I worked on a power point slide show, and Trent, Beverly, Claire, Mary, Shannon and I all shared some about the trip. We had a great turnout, and several people talked to me afterwards. As for me, I LOVED looking at the pictures. Every time I looked, I noticed something I had not noted before. A sparkle in an eye, a tear on the face, one child helping another. Honestly, I could have continued to load pictures on power point and looked all day. The children at Hohhot haunt me. I cannot get them out of my head (wonder who is doing that?!) As we are home, and processing everything, my desires to help them with basic life skills, and potentially to learn a trade so they can work are growing. Few, if any, of the older kids will be adopted, and only 100 have been adopted from there in the last 9 years...so, are they stuck living in a social welfare institute the rest of their lives? Some of the kids are mentally capable of working and living on their own, but they need guidance, teaching and help to do so. My goal over the next 3 or 4 years would be to help integrate a "class" at the orphanage to teach some of these things, like how to wash yourself, how to clean laundry, how to cook...to give the kids that are able options. I realize some may choose to remain in the institute because it is home, and the only home they have known, but I want them to have the option...How to go about this will take time, and planning. I recently read a quote ( I am a huge quote person!) that really struck a cord with me. It is from an unknown person: " I wondered why somebody didn't DO something. Then I realized I am Somebody." if we sit back and wait, things will never get done. Life will pass us by before we know it. Life is meant to be LIVED, not observed. We are ALL Somebody; but, we just need to know what gifts we have to help. We are ALL Somebody, that by working together, we can make a difference. Please, when you go to bed tonight, take time to look in the mirror and ask yourself, really ask yourself, "What kind of Somebody am I, and What kind of Somebody can I be?" Pray about it, pray that your gifts are made obvious to you. You are Somebody!!


I am also praying for Nicholas, the new baby at Starfish who needs heart surgery this week. He is frail, and has to travel with Amanda to get to the hospital. Alex has selected him to sponsor, and is quite attached to his photos. We are also opening up sponsorship of Amanda's babies at church again, which I know can make a difference for many. Please pray he will have a good outcome after surgery!

There have been a lot of amazing meetings around Nashville the last few days with regards to a potential medical mission trip. I will write about this soon, but please read about the Morning Sun Center for HOPE on my site!

Love,
Eve

What a hot week for soccer camp! The boys had a great time, and were really pleased at the fun they had! I love the rosy cheeks and big grins, even though my little guy was not too thrilled the first few days. He "turned it around" as we like to say by the end of the week and really had a blast!

What is impossible?

I have now been back over two weeks....things seem back to "normal," and my youngest is now back to telling me "Go away" which is his trademark for "I love you but I am independent!" Our team has been meeting and emailing to prepare for an upcoming Sunday school class where we will share the details of our trip, and discuss Our Covenant's Call ministry. It has been very rewarding. cathartic, the beginning of processing what our trip was about, whatever word you would like to choose, it has been great! We are making a slide show and Shannon and I have been sending back and forth ideas and emails. As I look over each of the pictures, it takes me back to Hohhot, back to those who have no voice for them. Their eyes each have a huge story locked behind them, full of loss, pain, emptiness, loneliness, hunger for love....yet their eyes still have HOPE. Hope that they will find safety in their orphanage, hope that they can get an education, hope that we will be back in that yellow bus the next day, hope that the new orphanage will have heat, hope that they will find love in a forever family. Some of us might think it would be impossible for us to have hope in that situation....alone, uncertain of why you are in this place, wondering why your parents left you, what will you do next? Is there a next, and if there is, is it better than what is in the now? How can one face these questions and still have HOPE? Only by love from above....watching over them closely. I read a quote by Hudson Taylor before the trip but now understand it even more, " I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done." After the first day at the orphanage, we thought it was impossible, but we were wrong. We came away from Hohhot in agreement that we should go back......so, what is impossible? It would be impossible to NOT go back and look these kids in the eyes again and say we came back....to be with you and to treasure YOU. You are important to us, and you are NOT impossible to love. When I look my children in the eyes, and see their wonder, love and HOPE, I want them to know everyday, every minute just how much they are loved, how important they are, and how loving they can be, and this is something I believe every child should have. It is NOT an impossible hope from me. As I have said before, we can all do SOMETHING. Please think and pray about it. HOPE.

Love,
Eve

Pictures from Day 2 Hohhot

Definitely user error with the pictures "disappearing." I will blog this weekend, and try to get more consistent soon as normal life resumes...that seems like an oxymoron after the mission trip we had. More to come soon.

Re-do Happy Faces from Birthday Party

I wanted to update the pictures from the Hohhot birthday party. This is where each of the children received a new outfit, pair of shoes, fruit, cake, and a backpack that they had decorated. It was nice to see some of the children smile for the first time, like this little girl at the bottom of the pictures. She and Catherine bonded, and she ate so much watermelon that it brought smiles to her face! Of course, it made it really hard for us to leave right after this, and say good-bye, not knowing at that time when we might return.