Spring 2016 Sprinting Towards Summer

Easter Sunday.  Lisa, Grandmother Wells and Katie.  

Dad with Lisa and Cindy photobombs in the back.

Coco Puff and Little Kitty before she went to her forever home in December.  Her new name is Ivy and she is in the best home ever.  The Levanhagen's just adore her.  Her brother went to a wonderful home also.  We had such fun bottle feeding those two little ones from the day of their birth until they went to their forever homes.  Long story short, Cindy found these little Siamese kittens at her work warehouse where they discovered the momma had died.  Cindy took the night feedings and I brought them to work with me and fed them during the day for 3 weeks.  Then they became very mobile.

Sandy's 44th birthday (2/15/16)

Sometimes I wonder if keeping up a blog is worth it.  I mean if I am only posting twice a year.....Actually, I just looked and only posted once in 2015.  I guess I am keeping up :-)


These pictures seem pretty random, but I just downloaded them from the camera yesterday--that should speak volumes.  Even Hawaii pictures were still in the camera (that was from October 2015-the same time we had the little kittens).  Then it became 2016, then my birthday, then I painted the dining room and utility room, then Lisa's swim practices and meets, then Lent, then tennis, then Easter and Katie has One Act Play practice too.  THEN all the leaves started falling from the Oak trees.  It's been busy around here.

2015 Recap Before It Is 2016

I thought I should jot something down before 2015 is over.  The picture is from April, 2015.  It was taken by Julie Banks for Lisa's 8th grade graduation/photo.  In this picture Lisa was not happy that we all dressed in jeans and white shirt.  She has gotten over it now.  I think.

Lisa is in 9th grade at LHS.  In the summer she participated in the PREP program at UTSA.  It is a pre-engineering program during the summer that she qualified for.  She finished in the top 5 of her class and got to walk the stage at the graduation at the end of summer.  This year she is on the swim team.  Go Seastangs!  She is doing very well on it, thanks to one of her best friends, Claire, giving her pointers.   She also has a great coach who is very encouraging.  She is maintaining honor roll so far and has adjusted very well to high school.  We will start parent taught drivers ed soon (cannot believe that we are already embarking on this).

Katie is in 8th grade at Concordia.  She kept very busy over the summer volunteering at Threads of Love, VBS at Concordia and in Runge, the SA Mission trip and taking care of Gus and Elmo (the neighbor cats).  She is involved in One Act Play and drama at school.  Last year they went to state for OAP and Katie was a big part of that. They did not win, but it was honor to go. She was hysterical in her role.  It was so much fun and Lisa was also a part of that behind the scenes with the sound.  The play was called "Big Bad" and had a bunch of fairy tale characters in it.  Katie was the good fairy godmother lawyer who was trying to convict the big bad wolf of his multiple crimes.

Mike is working as a float NP for Wellmed and is loving his job.

I am still with Baptist working in the Regional Quality department.

In November, our family ran the Chosen half marathon in Gruene, Tx to help Melody and Zach's second adoption.  Mike and I ran it last year and it was my very favorite half marathon ever up to that point.  This year we signed the girls up to run it too.  It was wonderful and became my very favorite half marathon ever!  Mike, Katie and I finished in 2:39 and Lisa finished in 2:30.  I slowed us down because I had been battling an upper respiratory illness for a week.  Lisa took off and ran with a couple of pacer ladies and chatted it up with them for 8 miles.  We were impressed.

Cindy is living in the Cabana for a while as she gets things situated in her life.  We are so glad to have the space (although her kitties may beg to differ) for her to have her own space and live with us. Recently we got to foster two little kittens that she rescued from the warehouse at her work.  One of them still had the umbilical cord attached.  They turned out to be Siamese kittens and were soooo adorable.  They both were able to find forever homes.  It was a lot of work for the first 3 weeks, then they started to develop little personalities and were so cute.  We are so happy for their new families.

Coco and Lilly adapted to them and ended up really liking them.

Darcy had to go to a new home.  She was about to cause Mike to end her life prematurely.  She basically dug up the back yard, swam year around and liked to shake the water off at the back sliding glass door.  She also chewed up lots of things, would bury her chew toys instead of chew them and steal things from the garage and drop them in the pool.  It was our fault.  She needed a lot of attention and Binxy could not provide it all.  We were so busy with the girls in the play and softball and Prep.  We were gone so much so she did whatever she wanted.  We found a wonderful home for her in Austin.  She is the center of this ladies life and it is a perfect fit.

Frankie and Ellie both died at the ranch and are both buried on the hill.  They didn't die at the same time.

Over the summer we took the girls on a cruise for Galveston.  It was on the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas.  We went to Cozumel, Belize and Roatan.  Snorkeled in all those locations and had a wonderful time.

Mike and I went to Maui the week of our 18th wedding anniversary this past October.  He had a family practice conference that he attended for a week.  I got to tag along.  It was so much fun.  We explored almost the entire island.  The weather was perfect and we didn't have any issues with our flights.  We really want to take the girls with us in the next year or two.

Lisa, Aunt Cindy, Katie    April 2015

Lisa and Claire at 8th grade banquet, May 2015

Lisa's drawing

Lisa

It's Been A While

It has been a while.  We moved into this house over spring break and the move went very smooth.
Katie got confirmed, the school year came to a close, summer came and went in the blink of an eye.  The girls started 7th and 8th grade last Wednesday.

I would put some pictures in here, but I cannot figure out how to download from my phone to the pc. I will have to wait to for Mike to show me because when I googled it, it did not happen the way they said it should.

I facilitated the Women's Evening Bible study for the summer with my friend Amy.  It was Stronger by Angela Thomas and was very good.  I will facilitate the fall study with Beth Ann and it will be No Other Gods by Kelly Mintor. I can tell it will be powerful.  It has already caused me to evaluate some areas of my life and  make some adjustments.

 Mike is beginning his FINAL semester of school this week.  Yay!!  He will graduate in December.  We will drive up to UTEP and watch him walk the stage for his MSN, FNP degree.  He will have to take the board certification before he can work as an FNP.  It seems like he has been in school for so long on one hand and on the other is has been a blink of an eye.  In another blink the girls will be starting college.....

Frankie is still living with dad at the ranch.  He loves is out there and dad loves having him. It looks like he will spend the rest of his life living life on the ranch in doggy retirement.   Meanwhile, we bought a puppy golden retriever.  Her name is Darcy (and as soon as I can get pictures downloaded, I will post some).  She is the cutest thing.  She loves to swim and has stayed wet pretty much all summer.  She will go and just sit on the top step of the pool and hang out.  She loves, loves, loves Binxy.  We call him her "feline friend".  She always looks so happy and when she gets in trouble, she gives you her paw....hard to stay mad at that :-)  Her birthday is the beginning of May (we couldn't remember the exact date, so we say it is May 5--Cinco de Mayo).

Mike and I are training for the Chosen Half Marathon in October (to benefit Melody and Zach's second adoption).  I am up to a good 6 miles, but did run 8 today.  Actually walked the last 1 1/2.  Mike ran 13 today, but he had to walk the last 3 or so.  The girls are in cross country this fall.  In middle school they run no more than 2 miles in a meet.  In high school they run 3.1 miles or so.  We will see how it goes this year.  This is a big year for Lisa--8th grade field trip, picking a high school (which will most likely be LHS, God willing), Spanish 2, Algebra I and she may qualify to take a college credit US History course in the spring if she does well.  She is also taking an elective this quarter that I pray strengthens her faith in Christ.

It is exciting to see their little lives unfold, but very scary too.  I know they will have their own lives to live, their own walk with Christ will have to develop.  They will have their own faith walk, it will not be mine.  My prayer for them is that they choose to walk with Christ, for their lives to honor Him and for them to be "awe-inspired" by Him.  I recently had a conversation with Lisa which she said that the Bible is not "awe-inspiring", that with technology today anybody can walk on water and because she has been brought up with it, nothing is new.  I wish that I could have said something profound, but all I could do was listen.  It broke my heart, though.  She said that she has heard all of this since she was a baby.  True.  I prayed to God that He wants us to raise our children up in Him, this is what He has called us to do, so why does my oldest feel so far away, like it isn't relevant.  How do we do this Lord?

In October we will be a host family for a baby coming from Uganda for heart surgery through Samaritan's Purse.  They had our information from last year and kept it and gave us a call a couple of weeks ago to see if we were still interested in hosting.  We said yes and kept taking the next step and it looks like everything will happen.  We are getting the garage room all ready and the Cabana all ready.  Our hearts are ready and the girls are ready to have a "baby brother" for about 2 months.  His mom and interpreter will be with him.  Mike may get to fly with them back to Uganda.  I wanted to do that until I found out it would be just me, not me and Mike.  I can barely pick somebody up from the airport without getting lost, it would be crazy for me to navigate an international itinerary all by myself.

I hope to blog about our experience with this opportunity.

That is the top layer of our lives at this point.  I really need to start documenting our lives because it goes by so fast and I forget so much.

 

A Day Called Birthday

42 years.

4 decades and then some.

I don't want to sit here and think that my life is half way over--because that could have been 21 years ago...or it could be now.  Only God knows.

We are at an exciting time.  We will be moving from this apartment in 3 weeks and 5 days.  But who is counting :-)  Apartment life has been peaceful.  Except for the parking and the new dings in the doors, it hasn't been that bad.  The lady below us may beg to differ.  She may think that she has a herd of elephants living above her.

I know that there are things that I have taken for granted living in a home that I now have an appreciation for:
Parking: Suburban + small spot + full complex + hill=frustrating moments of parking
A bigger kitchen:  Our pantry here is the depth of a box of cereal.  The good news is that nothing gets lost in the back of the pantry.
A bigger kitchen:  Not more than one person can fit in the kitchen comfortably.  Once all four of us were in the kitchen when I was trying to cook.  Not one of my finest apartment moments.
A bigger kitchen:  counter space is at a premium.
A yard.  We love yard work.  We are moving to a beautiful 1.5 acres.
An indoor washing/drying area.  Our washer and dryer are out on the patio and I keep calling it the garage. Our washer froze when the temperature was in the 20's.  I always took for granted my indoor washer and dryer.  Not anymore!
Our pets:  Coco Puff and Lilly Pie are at Cindy's (learning VERY bad habits and annoying Cindy [and Isabel and Snickers]; Binxy is at the Goff's (they say he is a very friendly little guy and likes to hang out at the dining room window and look in and watch them home school); Frankie and Ellie went to the ranch to stay with dad.  Ellie died on January 21 after getting hit by a vehicle.  We are so thankful for dad.  He took great care of her in her living and in her dying.  He buried her at the ranch on the hill above the pond.  He made a cross and we went out there and he and the girls put the cross in the ground.  Ellie was a good dog.  Frankie seems to be fine.  Every year I think this is his last (for like the last 4 years), now I think he may be eternal.  :-)

We have been running/walking a lot.  It certainly keeps us from being all over one another and the benefit of exercise, win/win.

The girls do have a loft with their bedroom and their own bathroom--that is a life saver.

Today the girls are in a babysitting class all day.  They are learning the "whys and how to's" of babysitting.  A little CPR, Heimlich maneuver, what to do in case of emergency like fire/gas leak/water leak.  How to entertain the children you are babysitting...should be a great class. 
Mike is working today so that left me alone in birthday bliss.  A beautiful, sunny 75 degree Saturday with the whole apartment to myself.   Beth called me early this morning and it was so nice to visit with her. I did my Bible Study (parked on Epaphroditus in Phil 2--what a friend), went for a run, had lunch with Cindy, went to HEB and did laundry.  All by myself--with Pandora on and some essential oils in the diffuser and a cup of coffee.  Bliss.
Mike has something planned for tonight....it will be fun, I am sure.  Last night we took the suburban to a $5 car wash and as we were going through the wash tunnel he looks over to me and says "How do you like this Valentine's Day tunnel of love?"  :-)

Psalm 91:14  Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all of our days.

Psalm 100:5  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Our RVL Conference

2013 will go down as a not-so-stellar blogging year.

2013 went so fast and I suspect 2014 will fly by at the same speed.

We ended this year going to see Ray Vander Laan in Midland, Texas.  We had so much fun and learned so much.  He really reignited the flame to be in God's word and dig in deep, to ask myself as I read God's story, what does it reveal to me from God.  To know that God wants us to intimately not just know the story, but to join His story.  Be the message, not just bring the message.

Our friends Becky and Shawn rode with us and stayed in the same hotel as we did.  It was so nice to catch up with them and then to talk about all of the stuff we learned while at the conference.

We had some other friends who went along as well and it was so encouraging.  I love the people God has put in our lives; the ones who stretch you and make you try to understand just a little deeper; the ones who ask you why you believe that or where do you get your information from; the ones who encourage and help to fan the flame of digging into God's word AND applying it life.

Lisa and Katie had a great time also.  I was wondering if they would be bored, but they were not.  In fact, we had to sit in the first row for the entire conference. 
The front row.  The entire time.

Katie was in line to ask questions during every break there was.  RVL is sending them a couple of tassels for them to wear.  They are very excited for those to come in the mail.  He said that he takes seniors who just graduated from high school to Israel every summer and both girls could come along when they graduate.  How awesome would that be?  

We learned that Christians treat the Bible like it is two stories:  Old Testament and New Testament.  But it is really one continuous story.  We learned to ask ourselves as we did deeper:  why do I need to know this, where does it link, is there a connection? 

 RVL compared Mark 4:35-41 to the story of Jonah.  Jonah was asleep, Jesus was asleep, guys get Jonah up, disciples get Jesus up, Jonah was running away from his mission, Jesus was going towards His-Decapolis.  Then Jesus calmed the storm.  The disciples must have thought of  Psalm 107:28-29 "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.  He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed."  Of course, RVL does a much better job and had lots of insight to add, so this is just a feeble attempt to get my notes more organized :-)

There are so many more....to be continued.

A December Walk at the Ranch

Dad, Lisa and Katie on the hill at the ranch.

Walking with dad to check on feeders.

 

Jogging when possible.

Stopping in at Grandpa Baker's and saying "hi".

 

Christmas 2013: Simplicity

 

Merry Christmas

 

 

This Christmas season has been marked by simplicity.  We didn't mail out cards this year, didn't put any ornaments on the tree, except for 7 names of Jesus.  This Christmas season finds us about to move.  We will be living in an apartment for 3 months and then moving into our "new" home.  We are calling our apartment living and "adventure".  Our adventure begins January 6.

 

We weren't planning on moving.  But doors opened and we just kept moving forward.  Our home was on the market for only 1 day when we got a contract on it.  We can't move into the other home until March because the people living in will not be moving until mid-March.  They are building a home in North Texas to live closer to family.  The husband in this family has been a patient of Mike's for three years.  They live here in Shavano Park, so we are staying here, just moving to the other side of the street.  The people buying our home wanted to be in it before Christmas, but there was just no way we could manage that.

 

With a move comes cleaning out and purging.  It forced us to go through all of mom's stuff that had been sitting up in the garage for 5 years.  It was time. 

 

It is a good feeling to live simply.  I have heard Mike say many times "loose grip, loose grip."  That has been our motto along with "We can't take it with us"--meaning eternally.  Seriously, would we want too?  We come into this world with nothing...not even clothes, but yet sometimes I place such value on things.

 

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90:12

 

What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  James 4:14

 

Loose grip.

 

Simplicity.

 

Wisdom.