GREAT, Birthday "9"

Ethan is 9 years old!
Ezra woke up the day after the party in our enormous, dancefloor kitchen, with a FUNKY POLKA hangover. He said, Ethan, you had a great birthday party. I said yes you did! The older children were a little harder to convince of the greatness, but to the little ones, with everyone at home for the party and all of the family combustion, It was GREAT!
We had a beautiful, store-bought chocolate cake and ice cream and played and danced the night away. We talked about playing charades but the jokes that flew around were more charades and the laughs were enough to lay me out. Now ETHAN is 9!

Pe day or pay day

Birthday is Pe day on our Hebrew alephbet. Pe for children which are a heritage of the Lord.
He met me halfway across the sky! I travelled past all of my pain thresholds and emotional thresholds to find the most wonderful gift. Ethan means strong and God is our strength in the time of weakness.
He carries us over all of the boundaries to meet us in the old and new relationships of this life. I hope that happens to me again today when I get to the end of my strength.

Ayin

What a pleasant day, weatherwise. Emergency DMV visit, got us off to a bumpy start to the day. We are trying to recoup the day and perhaps catch it on the second bounce by filling out the FAFSA and getting a woman directed in her studies and pursuits in Special sign language translation and transliteration. Godspeed to her and us.

Samekh

It is day Samekh in Camp COO-Coo monga. Summer is speeding by and we spent the night under the lights playing tennis at the park. Running and romping, getting into one anothers way and learning to get along. I don't know if we ever will all get along with each other, just tolerate, love and learn to work together, is what it means to be in a family.
The children identified my idolatrous tendency to conformity to "rules of decorum". I confess, this is true; but if I don't say anything about the misbehavior, I will have complete resignation to silliness. The tennis courts are somewhat sacred to me. Set apart lines. Stuff you do and don't do there, more special even than my living room? my prayer closet?
There is a time and place for everything and I guess you could call what we did last night in my book was midnight "skinnydipping" on the tennis courts. Stupid behavior and silly shoeless rantings is "skinnydipping" and only allowable at midnight tennis.

Birthday Blog 2008

A normal day marks the birth of the love of my life. It seems that there should have been fireworks or some great thing to mark this day.
It really is a quiet thing!
Amazing consistency is rarely noticed until it is inconsistent. One more year under the belt and the wonderful marksman continues his honing of the members of his team into little disciples of Christ, first and then of him.
Harmonize! Synthesize, just don't get in the way of progress.

Love AMERICAN Style!

Love American Style, truer than the red, white and blue!
This was the star spangled night and day.

Heth,Teth, Yod, Kaph...

My brain hurts from messing up, every day. I simply am using the schedule for a guide and most days, I am not even catching the ball on the second bounce. Psalm 119, "My soul faints for Your salvation, My eyes fail from searching your word...When will You comfort me?...
Summer is to learn new skills and free us up to serve eachother and grow in grace.
I didn't know these growths come from sinning against oneanother and forgiving, day after day...
We are definitely far from our schedule this week. But some of the children are learning to serve very well!
Happy 4th