God, life, family, kids, etc…

This last weekend Coriena and I went up with my parents to visit my grandmother (called great-great-great Granny by Coriena.)  I’m so thankful I was able to do this before leaving for Kenya.

My grandmother has some memory loss (she didn’t remember me), and she often forgets other things.  But I loved that she still remembered Scripture - my mom would start a Bible verse and she could finish it!  What a great reminder to memorize Scripture now, so that maybe when I’m old and grey and don’t remember many things, I still remember the Lord and His Word.  One of my favorite times was one lunch when Granny prayed for our meal.

Coriena had a blast pushing Granny around in her wheelchair, being the youngest in the building by about 80 years, and borrowing Granny’s stuffed animals.  It was great to have her spunk and easy hugs there to keep us laughing.  She even won a couple Uno games we all played together.  She kept adding many “great”s to my Granny’s name - it was cute!

I often think of Granny and my dad’s mom (Grandma) when I wonder if I’m having any impact on the world just being a mom.  Between the 2 of them, they mothered 11 kids, and have about 35 grandkids, and about 30 great-grandkids (so far.)  Almost all of these are believers.  Talk about an incredible impact that my grandparents have had, and that doesn’t even include all the people outside the family that have been touched!

So thanks, Erik - for encouraging us go, and Pam - for watching the other kids while I was gone, and dad and mom - for the nice B & B we stayed at with very delicious breakfasts!!

After almost exactly 2 years of work for Take Care as a Nurse Practitioner, I turned in my two week notice a couple days ago.  I’m so excited!  But what I am most excited about is the faithfulness of God in all of this.

I started working full time 2 years ago so that Erik could quit his full time job, and have the time to work on his own consulting business.  Then he helped start Ushahidi, and the Lord has blessed that work incredibly.  Now we’ll be moving to Kenya the end of next month for him to continue his work with them from Africa.  After longing to move there our whole married life (10 years!), we’re finally getting the opportunity to go.

A couple mornings ago I was listening to praise music while getting the kids ready for school.  “Great is thy faithfulness” was playing, and I was reminded of God’s faithfulness to us over these last 2 years of me working.

• He provided part time work for Erik immediately, and funding for Ushahidi (which equalled full time pay for him) in less than a year from him quitting his full time job.
• My children were never watched by strangers.  Erik, Pam, my mother-in-law, my mom and 2 sisters when they’d visit, babysitters from church (most notably Sarah D., Sarah W. and Elizabeth), and even a couple neighborhood girls all took turns.
• I worked at a clinic 5 minutes from my house for all but the last 2 months of my work, allowing maximum time with my kids and the chance to come home at lunch.
• I had great collegues in Cindy and Emlyn - we worked well together, and I learned a lot from them.  And another good friend Courtney, that I worked with.
• Against my will, God moved me to 2 other clinics the last couple months, allowing me to work on my Biblestudy on my lunch breaks (instead of household chores), and not feel guilty about deserting my friends at my home clinic when I left the company.
• We got the chance to watch God answer our prayer of “please help mommy not have to work” that all 3 girls have been praying.

Praise be to God!!

So, I got double tagged by my sister Sarah and my brother-in-law Kirk to share 7 Rinnie facts/weird things about me. Since I already shared 6 Weird things about me, I thought I’d do: 7 things I’ve been doing lately (this will also serve to catch you up for the last couple months since I last blogged.)

1. We had a fun week at Myrtle Beach (for Erik’s 15 year high school reunion) and Charleston (a couple extra days of vacation) the beginning of July. Highlights: sitting under the canopy (thanks for bringing that Paul) while watching the kids play in the ocean, the kids at the petting zoo at a plantation in Charleston, the rainstorm we got caught in on an island while at Myrtle Beach, hanging out with old friends.

2. Two years later, we went to the Melbourne zoo again. The kids loved it, and were very interactive with all the animals. Meredith touched every animal she could, and we all sweated to death!

3. Erik was in Kenya for 3 weeks in June - I’m so thankful to have him home, but also really excited about all the doors God is opening up for him in his career. I’m also excited that my sister Meg is going to stay with me some this Fall when he travels - a huge weight off my mind!

4. Couponing: Pam and I and some other friends have been learning the couponing game the last couple weeks. My best deal yet: 100 diapers (3 packs) at Walgreens for $0.25. I did that deal about 4 times. I’m learning how to combine manufacturers and store coupons and sales to save money. There are some great blogs out there to help you with all this.

5. Lauren starts First Grade in 3 weeks. Where has time gone!? She is getting really excited about it. She also learned how to ride her bike without training wheels last month - she’s doing great. I discovered there are very many muscles you can get extremely sore while spending a day running up and down your street holding the bike seat of your learning child!!

6. Meredith and I have had a lot of fun in the garden - planting begonias (her favorite flower) and other flowers, as well as some vegetables. She loves to pick flowers, look for butterflies, and watch the tomatoes grow. She also loves her cousin Reagan, and talks about her multiple times a day.

7. Coriena: when she’s good, she’s very good and when she’s bad, she’s horrid. The other day while I was at work, Erik caught her under our bed, way in the back behind all the junk, eating a candy bar she’d found! But thankfully she’s also snuggly and sweet, and not always naughty. She loves her baby dolls, playing with her sisters, and fighting with her cousin “Zacky.”

OK, I know the last 3 things were about my kids, but since they are such a huge part of my life, I figured that counted!

So the rules of this are:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are the lucky 7 who are tagged by me: Pam, Mom, Amy, Kelly, Dad H, Kim and Jill.

Last night I was home alone all night for the first time since before Lauren was born almost 6 years ago.  Erik was out of town, and my mother-in-law offered to watch the kids yesterday and today while I was working.  She suggested that instead of me taking and picking them up twice, they could just spend the night.  The kids were thrilled, and talked about their slumber party at Grandma’s all week.

What to do with a night alone?  Watch a movie, read a book, visit friends?  I voted on TGI Friday’s brownie dessert via take-away, read my Bible and prayed for a little while (hadn’t done that in awhile, and was really missing it), and read my book in bed.  It was great, although rather short since I didn’t get home from work until 8:30. 

And then the potential to sleep in until 9am - I’d been looking forward to that all week.  I turned down the AC, closed all my curtains and door, and turned on a fan to optimize my sleeping in potential.  And when did I wake up - 7am!!!  I’d slept later the morning before with all three kids home and Lauren even in my bed (due to a bad dream and me too tired to kick her out!)  Oh well, at least I got to stay in bed until 8am, leasurely get ready for work, and have breakfast at Panera.

So thanks, mom, for the treat of 12 hours of solitude, and 2 days of free babysitting. 

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about God’s encouragement for older women to teach younger women. What wise, wise words of God’s. It has made me think about the many older-than-me women who’ve had an impact on me over the years.

First of all, my mother. I’m fortunate to have a wonderful relationship with my mother, who is a godly woman who loves the Lord, and her kids, and her husband. She loves the Word, and loves to pray. And so, not only have a learned about being a wife and mother and housekeeper from her, but have also learned much about friendship, godliness, and many other things.

Second, my mother-in-law. I have also learned about godliness from her, as well about faithfulness to commitments, and love for the Lord. From her I’ve also learned a lot about gardening and decorating.

I have been fortunate to have many other “mother figures” in my life at various times: my Aunt MariLou who taught me about befriending non-Christians and ministering to them where they were at (friendship evangelism.) Lisa, a friends from church who befriended me in college, and was a source of wise counsel for me then. Currin Ann, who has mentored me for a couple years now, and has encouraged me so much through her love for me and my family. My many Aunts, who have faithfully prayed for me and my family, and loved on me when I’m with them. Grandmothers, who also love the Lord and their families, and have impacted generations of their families through their faithfulness to God.

And if I shared about all my sisters and friends, who are also mothers, who have taught me so much about the Lord and been such wonderful friends to me, this post would be very long (and no one would finish it.)

So Happy Mother’s Day to all who have mothered me, to my friends who are mothers, and to my friends who will hopefully one day be mothers!!