Mei-Mei has

finally turned into a real basset!  She can frequently be caught napping in the sun!  She still has her puppy moments, but now that she is approaching two she is a lot more chill!  Hooray!

Memphis part 2

 One afternoon trucks showed up and replaced my parents electric pole.  This provided hours of entertainment!  The workers were super nice and showed the kids were they could stand and watch safely.

One night we went out to eat at Memphis Bar-b-que.  The kids liked the pork rinds until they found out what they were and then they wouldn't touch them!  They also had some really good (but not good for you) fried cheese balls with a mustard dressing.  Of course, the meat was good too!

 After getting back to Indiana we had an Easter egg hunt and had a good service at church.  Ana loves her new outfit and getting all dressed up.

It was also nice to get to see extended family.  I always enjoy hearing stories and other bits of wisdom!

Memphis part 1

For Spring Break we drove down to my parent's house for a few days.  It was quite a bit warmer and we enjoyed the sunshine.

 Ana always love to come to this huge playground in Nesbit.  She made an instant friend and played happily.

 We enjoyed some ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa.

 We visited the Memphis zoo one day.  I loved the tiger enclosure.  It reminded me of India.

 One neat thing was that you could get up close to many of the big cats!

 The seahorses were very active and fun to watch move around!

 I loved visiting the Chinese pavilion where the Panda Bears are housed.

 It was fun to watch him chow down on the bamboo.  (It's all grown at a local farm!)

 The gorillas were pretty amazing too!

This zoo is a little larger than Indianapolis' and had quite a few different animals!

An Encouraging Article

As I missed church (and Matt's birthday lunch at an Indian restaurant) this morning to literally wrestle some things out with Mitike, I had some time to read.  I found the following article encouraging! Click here  An older neighbor reminded me the other day that this time in my life is a season--IT WILL NOT BE FOREVER!  This article talks about how hard it is to pray when nothing seems to work, BUT it is still necessary.  I know it is difficult (even for counselors) to understand what is going on unless you've lived it, so just pray for us that God would help us to persevere AND give the team of doctors, counselors, life skill coaches, and social workers wisdom.  We don't want to be stuck--pray we keep moving on.

I just...

sat in my son's room for an hour praying and trying to help him get settled.  The issue??  We asked him to shower 4 minutes early.  Having two mentally ill children (who think they're adults) is mentally and physically draining.

The good side of this is that it has FORCED me to turn to God for renewal and refreshing.  Sometimes I think God puts us in a spot where we NEED Him.  I've spent more time in prayer over this past year than I ever have.  Although I'm too close to the situation to see a lot of change,  I do have a clearer sense of God sustaining me.

At Shepherd the staff is reading Soul Shift by Steve DeNeff and David Drury.  I liked this quote.  "When you don't know who you are, you act like someone you're not---a person who is less than you are meant to be.  And it will be harder to live like that than being who you really are.  Acting is always harder than being. ....You rob yourself and the world of what you could have offered if only you had been who you were meant to be.

Pray with us that our kids discover who they are meant to be and don't let past hurts and traumas determine their future.  

Grateful!

Thankful today for time with family, good food, beautiful weather, a fun trip to the Memphis zoo, SPRING, two dependable cars, a nice home, awesome neighbors, our dog, Mei-Mei, strength to keep pushing on, good people to minister with at Shepherd, and loads of fun memories!

Remember to take stock of all the great things going on in your life!  I certainly need to do it more often!

We're Still Moving Along!

We've been hanging out with my parents for this week of spring break.  It has been a nice change.  I so miss travel!

As I've been praying and pondering as to what we could do in our situation (and not receiving any clear answer!),  God has repeatedly pointed out to me that there will be times in life that aren't pleasant.  Times from which you want to run away and hide.  Times when the world shouts at you ways to go that would be so much easier.  God doesn't say, "Take the short cut!"  He says, "Do it my way and the end result will be for your good."  There is a possibility that our story won't ever have a happy ending BUT that doesn't mean that I don't want it to be written.  Lead on!

You can pray with us for wisdom in decision making.  A place for Mitike this summer.  A job for Matt that will be a good match for what he likes to do.  Continued progress with his right arm, hand, and speech. A softening of Mitike's heart and attitude's.  Pray for China that he will not allow circumstances to control his emotions/feelings.