Aging Faster than Expected!

by Amy


When the Goodins were in town for two weeks earlier this summer, we all bought a Houston City Pass.  So, we had tickets to 5 or 6 Houston Attractions that had to be visited in a 9 day time frame - Great for people who vacation in Houston, not so great for Houstonians.  But, since the Goodins were vacationing in Houston, we decided to pretend we were vacationing as well.  So, we did fun things like go to NASA (absolutely amazing!), the Houston Aquarium (quite disappointing), the Children's Museum (AWESOME), the Zoo (way to Hot to visit in June), and the Museum on Natural Science.  One day, I may actually blog about all of those great places, and the fun time we had vacationing with the Goodins, but that day is not today.  Today is about Alex.....


When we were in the Museum of Natural Science, we all entered the Gem Room.  (we all = 4 adults, 3 girls and 3 boys.)  It was a dark area with several rooms and halls.  All along the wall were beautiful, well lit glass cases displaying all sorts of gems (and maybe some rocks?).  The overhead lights were out so as to highlight and magnify the sparkly gems.  Near the entrance was an interactive computer display.  Alex ran right for it.  The rest of us separated and walked through the display.  So, I'm guessing when Alex turned around, he couldn't see anyone he knew.  My kids are trained to just call out for me, if they can't find me.  "Mommy!  Mommy!"  (It works better in Asia when they're the only ones yelling "Mommy!")   But, because Brad and I had entered the VAULT and were admiring the lovely sapphires, rubies, and diamonds, and since some crazy music was BLARING in there, we could not hear the cries of our son.  I'm assuming some other kind person heard those cries and took Alex to the "Lost Kid Headquarters."  And, since we were in the Vault, could we hear my name over the loud speakers as I was being paged....  Thankfully, the girls were not in the vault, so they came running to find us, thinking I was in trouble.  About this time we all realized we hadn't seen Alex in a while....  So, being the bright mama that I am, I concluded I had lost my son -- (Such a bummer...I just about had the Mom of the Year Award in the bag, until this unfortunate event.)  So, I raced downstairs to find my son behind the security desk, waiting to be claimed.  


He hugged me and promised to never leave my side again; I hugged him right back and reassured him of my forever love.  I was a little surprised the security guard let Alex leave with me -- He didn't even ask my name.  Then Alex said, "It's OK. I told them what you looked like, so that's how he knows your my mamma."  "Really? What did you say?"  Alex responded, "I told them you have curly hair and that Daddy looks like a grandpa."  

Oh my!  We laughed so hard!  A. my hair is not curly (see picture above).  And B - well, what do you think?  Does Brad look like a grandpa to you?  Of course not!  You know that security guard was so hoping the "Grandpa-looking Father" would be the one to claim the kid.  Too funny!  


PS -- Alex held my hand the rest of the day!  

First Impressions

So, we've lived in Asia for over four years.  My boys were 2 and Savannah was 4 when we moved there.  We came back to the States for a 3-week vacation about 2 years ago, but that's it.  Needless to say, things have changed since the last time I had a home here.  These are some of the fun/funny things we've noticed:

You can pause your TV.  Yes, you're watching a TV show, (not a DVD) and you can pause it to run and get a drink.  That's crazy!  I've heard of this TEVO thing where you can record your TV shows w/o a recorder (I've never done it), but I didn't know you could pause it.  Crazy!  

Peter was out riding his bike one day and came in to ask me for a towel.  When I asked what he needed a towel for he replied, "I was riding on the sidewalk and those things that are cleaning the bushes outside got my bike wet.  Sprinklers....I guess we don't see sprinklers in Asia! 

Laundry Detergent....Oh my!  In Asia, I don't buy my own laundry detergent.  My helper always did that for me.  So, after not buying detergent for over 4 years, I was overwhelmed.  They have liquid and powder, tons of scents, and lots of sizes!  I literally spent 20 minutes in laundry detergent isle, trying to decide what was the best value, what flavor I liked, and if I wanted energy saving detergent - what in the world?!  

Sidenote:  On our first morning in America, I woke up at 2am.  After laying in bed for an hour, I got up and was out the door by 3:30, on my way to super wal-mart!  By 6:45am the only people I had seen in the store were the stockers.  How strange for the grocery store to be open, but not full of people!  Then, I went to through the checkout, with my 199 items (I had 2 carts!), and they rejected my credit card.  I gave them another one, and it was rejected.  Then, I pulled out a check (I hadn't written a check in 4 years) and they rejected that too.  I borrowed my checker's cell phone to call my dad, but he couldn't come help me.  Finally, I called the number on the back of my credit card, and got it squared away.  I told my checker that if I had to walk away without my groceries (after shopping for 3+ hours) I was going to cry.  Thankfully, no tears were shed that morning!  

The sky is blue and clouds are lovely!  

Finally, I think the most surprising thing is how people drive!  They notice my kids!!  Parking lots and streets, are safe!  People driving cars stop way back to allow us to cross the street.  When my kids are riding their bikes on the sidewalk, drivers slow down to a crawl.  It's amazing!  I really don't think I'll ever get used to that!   

I'm sure I could go on and on....but I won't!  Maybe I'll write about a few more things we've discovered in another post.  

My boys are 7!!

Yep, on June 8, 2011, my little, baby boys turned SEVEN YEARS OLD!!!  Oh, my, how time fly!  Their day was fun!  We started off by meeting their cousins at Shipley Donuts.  Mmmm!  they're the closest thing to Krispy Kreme in Houston.  Then, we piled the girls (Savannah, cousin Emily, almost 5, and cousin Amanda, 6 1/2) in Grandma Sue's car.  They boys, (Peter, Alex, and cousin Travis, 10) hopped in our car, and we all headed downtown to a free production of Camp Rock 2 at an outdoor theater.  It was a warm June day in Houston, but we were sitting in an open-air, covered theater and it was perfect!  (My kids all love Camp Rock 2 and loved singing along with all the fun songs!)

Emily, on the left is my brother's daughter, and Amanda, on the right, is Brad's sister's daughter. Aren't they cuties?!?

Then, my dad met us at a yummy Mexican restaurant for lunch.  (I tried to talk him into attending the play with us, but I just couldn't convince him!)  Mexican food.... you gotta love it!  We had 10 people, and including tax and tip, the whole meal was $60!  Granted, we weren't at Pappasitos, but it was pretty great!  After will filled our bellys, we went down the street to Chuck-E-Cheese.  My boys played and played and played!  They had a blast running around with their cousins and collecting tickets.

After playing for a few hours, we pulled out the birthday cake.  This is the first year in their whole lives that I didn't make their cake.  We had been in America for a week and I just couldn't get my act together. ( Last years cakes took about 8 hours to make and decorate.)  Peter was crushed when I told him I couldn't do it this year.  My husband assured me time and time again that he'd get over it.  He was right.  When Sue took him to Sam's and let them pick out what ever cake they wanted, there were smiles all around!  Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the cake they picked!  It was a small Toy Story themed circle cake with cupcakes around it.  

 
So, there you have it!  Alex and Peter are really seven years old!  I praise the Lord for each of them!  They are unique and fun!  What a blessing they are to this mama!  May they have many, MANY more birthdays to come!

I've fallen....

and I'm trying to get up!

Yes, I know it seems as if I've fallen off the face of the earth!  Technically, I just relocated on the face of the earth.  And, even though WiFi and Internet are FAST on this side of the world, so is everything else.  I tell you, we got off the plane on May 30 at 6:30pm and I have hardly stopped running since!  These last two months have been full!  And, I plan on blogging about it and posting fun pics, at some point, but the next 6 weeks are FULL as well.  So, here's a quick recap and preview:

Recap:
June 8, Peter and Alex turned 7!
June 9, we drove to OK to spend a long weekend with dear friends before they moved half way around the world, again.
June 14, precious friends from Colorado came to spend 2 weeks with us!  We did: NASA, Aquarium, VBS, Children's Museum, Dates, Swimming, Boating, Zoo, Cars 2, and much, much more!
July 4, Fun with family!
July 8, 9, and 10, Brad and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary, without kids, thanks to my awesome mother-in-law!
July 12 (and 13), Savannah's Brithday ~ Splashtown and circus
July 15, we went to Bryan/College Station to see friends, share about out life in Asia, baptize our boys, and preach.
And, this week, my kids have been at a rockin' VBS each morning.
On top of all that, my mom has been in the hospital twice, Savannah's had an ear infection, I've joined a women's Bible study, kids have been trained in chores, Brad's been writing his dissertation, and we've loved seeing our family as much as possible!

Preview:
Next week, I'm attending a Homeschooling Conference in the Woodlands (north Houston).
Next Saturday we'll spend the day at Lake Conroe with one of Brad's friends from 20+ years ago.
Sunday we'll share about our Asia-life at a local church.
Then, on Aug 4 we'll take off for Louisville where we'll spend almost 3 weeks re-connecting with friends there, while Brad meets with professors and continues working on his dissertation.
At the end of August, we'll travel to South Carolina to participate in a conference, and head back "home" to Houston sometime after Labor Day.

Whew!  Life has been rich!  And, the next month will be full as well!  So, my goal is for you to hear from me again before Sept. 15, but I can't make any promises!

Now, for a few pics....  These are from my boys' first Astros game!  (Savannah was 3 weeks old when she attended her first game!)  

Something's Wrong With This Picture

Last Friday night, we went to some friends' home for dinner.  When we were leaving their home, I was so confused because only one of each of my flip flops were sitting by her door.  How did that happen?  Kevin said he noticed my feet right as I walked in and he figured I was wearing some special orthopedic shoes or something (Thanks, Kevin!  I'm only 6 years older than you!)  No, I was just too scatter brained when I left my house that I didn't notice I had put on two different shoes!  


Yes, things have been a little crazy around here these days!  We are deep in to packing mode.  In one week from tomorrow, movers will come to collect most of our earthly possessions and put them in storage.  Then, on Monday, May 30, we'll hop on a plane (or four) and 26 hours later, Lord willing, we'll land in Houston.  I'll do my best to wear matching shoes from here on out!  

Photo Fun!

Recently, the kids and I have gone on a couple of photo scavenger hunts.  We've been looking for letters.  Can you read this?

Home - part 2

When we moved here, Savannah was four years old, almost five.  Now, she's eight, almost nine.  She's lived almost half her life in this apartment.  She remembers a few things about our apartment in Louisville, but nothing our time in Colorado.  Most of her memories have been made while we lived here.  She knows what to expect when she goes to school, and when she comes home.  She loves her bed and her room full of her favorite things.  She has friends and feels safe here.  The fact that her room currently has 30 packed boxes stacked in the corner has been a bit unnerving to her.  It's a reminder that she's leaving home and going somewhere unfamiliar.  What will her new room look like?  Who will she play with?  Will the kids laugh when she can't remember the right English word?  Will she get their jokes?  Will they get hers?  


We've been talking a lot about "home" in our home these days.  Not only do I want Savannah (and the boys) to understand that they'll never feel completely at home until they're in Heaven, but I want them to hold tightly to the most important truths -- truths that are familiar and not changing.  Our God is our God, here and there (in the US).  Our sins are forgiven, here and there!  I'm their mama, here and there.  Our family will be together, here and there.  


Ever since Savannah was little, she's had a hard time with transitions -- often having a physical response (getting sick, sleeping poorly, etc.)  So, pray that through this transition, we can encourage her to keep her feet firmly planted on the Rock of her salvation, and help her find peace as she trust in her unchanging Lord!