Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Happy Birthday Campbell Morgan

Opening what would be a hamster ball for "Java Bean"!
" Bizztro Berry" her favorite drink at The Bizztro! She also got a complimentary banana split!

Awww.....Marshall giving Campbell a little birthday love!

Another present was a "huli-hoop" as Haddon calls it, she is getting really good at it!


Making bagel pizzas with her Dad, that is what she wanted for lunch before she went swimming!
So, the little girl that I prayed for so long ago is now EIGHT!! She was born at a crazy time in our lives. Changes were going on in our "business" and 911 had happened just ten days before! Here I was in the hospital having just brought a new life into this world, a perfect gift, and all that was being discussed and shown on TV was the death and destruction that had taken place shortly before. It was a time of mixed emotion, joy at her birth but also concern over what was taking place in our country and wondering what kind of world she would grow up in.
Fast forward eight years and she is a beautiful, funny, kind little girl who has taken all of these changes in her life lately and thrived! Of course she misses "home" but she hasn't let it stop her from enjoying her new country and way of life. You would never know her brothers used to call her "Moyer the Destroyer" (if you've watched Veggietales you'll know that name). I also no longer let thoughts consume me about the world she will grow up in. I've read the book, know what's in store and trust the CEO with the details. I guess if I let fear control me I wouldn't be where I am today! We only have a short time on this big blue and green ball and we need to make it count, doing what we were made to do, what we have a call to do. I hope Campbell catches that from us, we always tell her, be smart, but don't ever let fear stop you! I would hate for her to miss out on all that an obedient life has to offer. I think she is off to a good start, she is always the first one to remind everyone that the CEO is in control!
She is named after G. Campbell Morgan who once said:
“We are face to face with an awful indifference to religion. That is due to the passionless condition of the Chr*st**n Ch*rch, and that in turn is due to the utter uncertainty of Chr*st**n people about the authority of the Manual. Suffer a word of personal conviction. Where is the remedy? It is not by the defence (sic) of the Word of the CEO, but by its study and by our own return to it until it so consumes us that we shall be able to say, ‘O L*rd, how I love thy law: it is my meditation day andnight.’ I have no panic in my heart as to its ultimate victory, my panic at the moment, if there is one there, is for the men and women who are neglecting it. My appeal is for a new devotion to it, a new answer to it. When our own people, of whatever section of the great Ch*rch of The Son, turn from books concerning it to the Book itself, to know it, to understand it, to live in the power of it, then you will have generated within their hearts the passion which it teaches, and for ever more makes possible to send the same message on to those in darkness.”(italicized, my words)
Sounds like a message for today as well doesn't it? My pr*yer is that she will live a life that let's her Light shine in the darkness and do all that the CEO has planned for her. On my kids bedroom wall back home I painted,
"Just think, you're here not by chance, but by God's choosing.
His hand formed you and made you the person you are. He compares you to no one
else. You are one of a kind. You lack nothing that His grace can't give you. He
has allowed you to be here at this time in history to fulfill His special
purpose for this generation." -Roy Lessin

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Sense of Humor Still Intact.....Check!


My second essay. I was going to bring him a new red pen but then I thought, hey, why not save him the trouble? :)
Okay, I printed one in black ink too, but I can't wait to see my Pelatih's reaction!! Thanks for the pr*yers, I can already feel them!! How blessed I am to have such a wonderful supportive group of friends and family all over the world! Your words of encouragement mean so much, thanks again! You guys are awesome! So now, in a show of solidarity......do hard things today, as unto the CEO not as to men!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The Ugly Truth

I'm cranky. Have been all week. Tired of studying, tired of struggling to grasp this language. Not sure when it started exactly and am not sure it matters, I just know that I need to get out of this mood. As I sit to write this I should be in bed or at the very least studying but........I thought purging on the blog might help me process some of what I am feeling (my, my, aren't you the lucky reader! :)


Maybe this is culture shock, maybe it is homesickness, maybe it's being a wife to my husband and mother to my four kids in a foreign land, attending language school, while my kids attend school, and we all come home with homework!! I'm just thinking"out loud" here people, work with me! :)


Why is it you can be surrounded by blessings and still only see what you don't have? That ticks me off! Seriously, don't you get sick of yourself sometimes? You think you'd be past it but no, that old nature comes creeping around and makes you a miserable person! Reminds me of Paul, "I do what I don't want to do....don't do what I want to do..". I told Barry the other day, I just need to get out and go to the mall, he said which one and I said, "Quail Springs!" (in OK) Haha I was having a moment where I just wanted to go somewhere where it would be easy. No scrambling for words to have a conversation, no endless walking to try to find out where things are that you need. A place where I know what to do, and how to do it, and can read the packages and tags while I'm doing it!!! By the way, this is the part where I admit that sometimes I regret buying the book "Do Hard Things" for Marshall because then I have to practice what I preach! How can I teach him while my heart is yearning for the easy things? Not a pretty picture is it?


Here's where reality hits. One of my favorite sayings is that I am "pro-rapture"! Every since I was a little girl and our pastor would do Rapture Drills (where you crouch down and then jump up when he yelled "Rapture!", it was SO fun) I have looked forward to it. Anyway, when things are a little rough and life gets hard I feel very pro-rapture, as if to say, "I'm ready come get me." The kicker is, I had that thought just yesterday, and then immediately after thinking that, I heard the call 2 pr*yer for the cousins. Uh huh, you guessed it......CONVICTION! While I am ready for the rapture, I am living in a country with multiple millions who are not.....OUCH!! Never did like spankings!! :)


So, here I sit in the quietness of my temporary home (in more ways than one) and ask you to please pr*y for us. Pr*y for me. Pr*y that I will not let the difficulties that I may face defeat me. That I will remember what was sacrificed for me and be willing to sacrifice in return. That I would remember if not me, then who? I must cling to the words in the Manual for life and draw upon the strength of the CEO, who is faithful to complete the work he has started.


I CAN learn this language because I was called to be here, I know this.....I just need to remember it! Although my own feelings are, hmm, how can I express my own feelings....oh yeah, that I would rather walk across a bed of rusty nails than give a presentation in class or write another essay, I cannot rely on my own feelings. They are fickle and silly and will lead my heart astray if I give into them.


Thanks for listening...er..reading, and for pr*ying. They do more work than you will ever know this side the pearly gates!! Here's to "doing hard things"! Wow, I feel so much better, it's always good to sit and talk with a friend! :) So maybe tomorrow will be better and I won't be so discouraged when my Pelatih empties out his red pen as he corrects my essay! Well, a girl can dream can't she? By the way, what "hard things" should you be doing? Just a thought! Gotta keep you on your toes! :)

Friday, September 11, 2009

Gotta Love a Reward


Simply because I am mentally wiped out and can't seem to get my thoughts together at the moment to share the stories I initially intended to....here are a few pictures of Haddon enjoying the "fruits" of her labor.
We have been after her for months now to put her face in the water and learn to swim, and while she did it at first, she then quit, so we did what any good parent would do..........and we bribed her with her favorite dessert........a banana split! :) Well, it worked and now that girl is a stinkin' fish in the water, seriously, she never gets out of the pool, is jumping into the deep, floating, and loves it! We took her to The Bizztro, it is one of our favorite restaurants here that serves western food. It's pretty expensive so we don't go often but sometimes go to enjoy the desserts or fruit drinks, you can tell she is one happy girl until the end!!
Haddon is also at her first sleepover tonight! She and Campbell are staying with their friend whose parents are the dorm parents for the company dorm. There were three giggly girls racing off to play when I left them.....*sigh*.......they are growing up quick!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Ready or Not......Unit Four Here We Come!


Here is a picture of the island's most active volcano. The picture is not great but you can see it has smoke coming out the top, it's pretty awsome to see!! We're safe....don't worry! :)

Now, onto today's topic........

Okay, so I froze. I mean total loss of my new vocabulary and it's sounds as if my Pelatih is speaking another language......I mean different then the one I'm learning! :)

For our evaluation we always have two Pelatihs. Today I had my favorite Pelatih and the DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL! Yikes! He is a very sweet man, but I am so intimidated by him!! I sit down and we start the process, I felt pretty good going in, I had studied and prepared for what I thought we would cover, but it took about two seconds before my mind went blank.....BLANK I tell you!! So here I am giggling like a school girl because unfortunately that is what I do when I am nervous....and I start talking in ENGLISH!! I actually recovered a bit and read the required portion of our book and it ended very nicely. I then get up to leave....before they gave me my corrections!! Another goof! We all have a good laugh and I say, "What? I need corrections?" Again, we all laugh because it was painfully obvious that I needed many corrections!

Here is what they said, I need to work on remembering my vocabulary even when I am nervous(shocker!) and I also need to stop using English in class (this one has been coming for a long time, but I justify myself by needing a "clearer" explanation to make sure I am understanding what they are saying, it that really so bad?! :)) Apparently it is that bad! They suggested I only use English inside my home......uh....okay. So here I am at a crossroads. I need to get this language down and be able to converse somewhat intelligently but I also need to overcome my English speaking brain. I know I can do what the CEO has asked of me but I am now even more painfully aware of how it will take His strength to accomplish this! Then again I balance it by realizing how far I have come in only three months of school! No excuses though, it has been done successfully by others and I can do it also (or so I am going to keep telling myself!).
Thanks for listening to the rant, it helps to get it out! I appreciate those of you who lifted us up during this evaluation........but next time lie prostrate and fast all day would you? Hahahaaa Just a little humor to end this post!!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Let the Culture Shock Begin.....

MEMORIES OF YEARS GONE BY.....
They loved going to games together! :)

I think 90% of his wardrobe is "Crimson and Cream" with an OU logo on it!! :P

One of my all time favorite pictures of Hudson!

This is the only picture I had here of my girls in their cheer leading outfits! I think Haddon must have just heard someone mention Texas!! :)

What's a Sooner jersey without a bowl on your head?! Funny....I guess they used them as helmets! :)



BOOMER SOONER!! Oh how we will miss being with our family and friends during this football season. It was always so much fun! Here's to another great, but different year! We will miss the flags flying on cars, the chips and dip, the grilled ham sandwiches, the nachos, hamburgers and hot dogs, Heath bar cake and ............OU FOOTBALL!! We are still figuring out the best and most cost effective way to watch the games but we are with you guys in spirit!! :)

Tomorrow we are having an Australian family over so they can watch Australian Football finals on our TV because they don't get the channel. Their football is kind of like a form of rugby. It's not the same for us but should still be fun!
Sorry this post may be offensive to those of you who are in other states and who root for a different team, but this is how we roll when it comes to college ball!! Thanks for understanding! Texas fans, we still love you......because grace covers a multitude of sins!! :) Just kidding!! Hey, that's not rude, that's funny!! :D

Thursday, September 3, 2009

First Soccer Game

Is that a Precious Moment profile or what? Pretty sure he wouldn't appreciate that, but it's true! :)
Dribbling the ball before the other team arrived.

Random shots, I didn't know the camera was about to die!

The Eagles, right before the game starts.

The opponents, they are a club team, not from a school.

Okay so I get this close up of the other team and then my battery goes dead!! I could not believe it! I didn't even get a really good one of our team! Oh well, next time!
Although I don't know the score for the other team (it was a lot), we scored two goals which was in itself quite an accomplishment. Not that I have vast soccer experience that I can make comparisons, but these guys came out doing precision drills in synchronized movements that were amazing! Barry and I took one look at each other and we were like, "Yikes!", and knew right then and there what the result was going to be!
However, Marshall had fun and got to play at least half of the game. There were some girls from our company dorm who stayed and watched with us, they kept things quite entertaining! :) All in all a good day!
I have some good......well.....interesting blog posts coming soon about some discussions we have had regarding local beliefs that I will try to share next week while we have a break, before moving to Unit 4.....assuming we pass our evaluation on Tuesday! (Gulp!)
Miss you all more than you know, but sticking with the call!!!!!