Project 365 - Days 284-290

Wow!  Getting close to the 300th day already  - I hope I've been counting right ;-)

Day 284/365 - October 10

Ava was still running a fever so we stayed home from church.  She did feel well enough to go outside and catch some rays reading with her Dad and her sister.  We've had pleasant but above normal temps so we're just trying to squeeze in every last moment in the sun that we can ;-)

Day 285/365 - October 11

Tis that time of year again, or at least it will be soon.  That is, the time of year when we have a fire going almost nightly.  So, we got out to try and make hay while the sun shines and before it gets really cold to cut wood!  

Day 286/365 - October 12

Hey look!  A picture of me in the Project 365 & it's not even a particularly flattering picture (it was at the end of a long day sans makeup)!  But I'm so proud about what this photo is depicting that I will forego my vanity and post it anyway.  I can now give my horses their injections!  And I don't just mean the intramuscular injections (which are easy) but the hard ones where you have to get it in the vein!  Most horse owners know how to do this already but hey, I have an anesthesiologist for a husband so why not have him do it!?  But, I found out during Belle's colic scare last week that emergencies will arise and so I learned in a trial by fire.  The horses were due their joint injections so Jason came up to coach me and I did it!  Tommy is 'posing' for me here but he was always a piece of cake.  He stands so nice and his fur is so short and thin it's easy to find his vein.  Belle was more of a challenge but I even figured it out on her!  

Day 287/365 - October 13

This is a screen shot from the movie, Secretariat.  I was so excited to go see this and we did it on sort of a spur of the moment.  It was a fantastic movie!  If you haven't seen it yet, go do so!  I don't even think there was a bad word in it!  And I have to add, I could just really relate with Diane Lane (aka Penny Tweedy-Chenery) in that I always look just as nice when I go up to visit my horses in the barn too (see previous picture for proof ;-)

Day 288/365 - October 14

Sorry for the picture being grainy - I snapped it quick with my cell phone in the dimly lit x-ray room.  Yes, that is Ava getting chest x-rays and yes, it was a positive read for pneumonia!  It explains why she's been taking so long to get better.  I felt guilty about not taking her in to the doctor sooner but after the motrin would hit, you could hardly tell she was sick and running a fever.  Jason also pointed out that if I had taken her in earlier, before she developed the pneumonia, she probably wouldn't have tested positive and then we would just have had to go back anyway.  She was put on antibiotics and within a few days was keeping her fever down!  Yea!!

Day 289/365 - October 15

Even though it's been plenty warm, Jason heated up the spa and took the girls for a 'swim' while he read.  It was good for Ava's lungs to get the steamy air and they were corralled long enough for me to get some work done!  Amelia loves spending time in the water!

Day 290/365 - October 16

This was Jason's rocking chair when he was little.  This is serving as a 'before' shot because we've done some work to it.  Notice the ever-so-popular-for-the-era cornucopia.  

Nice, eh?  Wait until you see the 'after' photos...

Until next time...

21 Day Challenge

I may end up regretting this, and I feel a little silly talking about it here, but I'm just letting y'all know here that I'm starting the 21 day challenge tomorrow (and if you hear Jason laughing it is not your imagination because I start these new 'challenges' almost monthly)!  The reason for making this 'big announcement', is in the hopes that doing so will hold me accountable!  


And what is the 21 Day Challenge, you ask?   Well, it's something I've kind of expanded on from this book:

This book we bought several years ago and it has some really good workout routines that you can do with just a few free weights or if you go to a gym, they have workouts for nautilus machines.  But the part I end up using the most is the 21-day kickstart routine.  For 21 days straight you do either a free weight or cardio routine for 21 minutes.  Each week, the reps and sets increase a bit as do the weights.  It's intended to jump start a new workout routine that will stick and I've found that if I do get through the 21 days, I'm much more likely to continue the workout for months!  And then I fall off the bandwagon due to illness or vacation or laziness but still, this is the one I keep coming back to. In conjunction with the workout, I really like the Livestrong Calorie Counter App for the iPhone: 

This app has almost every food item imaginable out there - from restaurants to brands you find in the grocery store.  You can customize it so that it will calculate how many calories you should eat per day in order to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week.  I was never into counting calories but this is so easy because I usually have my phone handy, and it does all the adding and calculating, so it's easy to stay on track!  And here's the best part: it works!  If I stick to the calorie guide and do my 20 minutes of working out, it's very easy to start shedding those stubborn pounds!  While my goal is not to lose a lot of weight (just about 10 pounds) I do want to start eating healthier and get a good workout habit going.

But wait, there's more!  Not only will I keep up with my exercise and good eating habits, but in the next 21 days I will...

1.  Catch up on my 6 months of overdue paperwork!   

2.  Ride Tommy & Midnight 4 times a week

3.  Work with the other ponies on the ground to establish a good foundation and in particular, get Ginger over her needle shyness!

I could go into more detail about those three items but I'm afraid any readers I have might drop off dramatically ;-)

I feel like I've been in a rut the last several months and I'm really craving some discipline.   There are a few things that can throw me off - like rain!  Which we definitely need but if my arena is flooded out, it will make working with the horses more difficult!  The forecast for this week is calling for rain at least 3 days of the week so we'll see how far I get!  Or if one of the girls is sick (which has been the case the last 10 days).  

So if you see me, ask me how I'm doing!  Or leave me a comment here or shoot me an email -  I need the accountability!!! 

Until next time...

Video of the Week (Week 39)

This is one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time.  Had to make it my video of the week.  However, as you may  notice, I'm having problems with it loading correctly.  I've tried everything I can think of.  Any suggestions from those more skilled in  Blogger?  

Here is a link to the video so you can see it!



Until next time...

Project 365 - Days 277-283

Lots of stuff happening this week.  If I could formally put in this request now, I would like 5 extra days this week.  Five extra days where time stands still and everyone freezes in time except for me and I catch up on all the laundry, bills, paperwork, cleaning, etc.  If someone could make that happen for me, that would be GREAT!  Thanks.

Day 277/365 - October 3

While not the best photo, it's pretty good considering it was taken with a point and shoot from 10 rows back!  We had Amelia dedicated at church finally!  Our church only conducts dedications two or three times a year and we had to cancel the first time so we were not going to let anything get in the way this time!  Ava was so excited to dress in her Chinese dress to support her sister and stand up front with us.  That is our wonderful pastor, Tom Pennington with his back to us.  We are so blessed to have found this church and our pastor.  

Day 278/365 - October 4

It was Grandma's last full day here and what a great treat to have Grandma read the girls a Fancy Nancy book?  

Day 279/365 - October 5

The notes continue in earnest from Ava.  This one was left next to a fairy with a broken wing.  I loved the multiple choice answer at the end. 

Day 280/365 - October 6

I wrote about this event a few days ago but had to make it the photo of the day! 

Day 281/365 - October 7

Ava started a high fever the day before and has been home now with said high fever going on 5 days now.  I felt bad for her and pulled out this paint by number I bought last year.  She spent the next few days working on it while the children's motrin kicked in.  Now that it's complete, she wants to give it to her teacher, Mrs. Boyers.  So sweet...

Day 282/365 - October 8

Look who stopped by to say "hi"!  The man in the white shirt is Mike Jungkeit (Jason's second or third cousin - I can't quite follow the family tree that far to know for sure) and Mike's son, Matt.  Mike was the team leader for the Dominican Republic trip Jason took earlier this year with Children of the Nations.  Mike and his son were in town for a special weekend and stopped by for a few hours to visit.  It was so nice of them to drive out to the ends of the earth to see us! ;-)  We had a great time visiting and hope they'll come back again whenever they're in this neck of the woods!

Day 283/365 - October 9

Belle continues to do well despite our colic scare earlier in the week.  I take her out to hand graze her for about an hour a day.  We usually go over to this spot in front of the arena because it has some really lush coastal that she loves.  I took her lead rope off for a bit so I could sit nearby but had to put it back on later because Belle decided a nice roll in the warm grass would be nice.  I saw the look on her face and the way she acts before she's going to roll and ran over to keep her up and snap the lead back on.  She had a nice time anyway ;-)

Until next time...

Sunday Snapshot (Ava)

Sometimes we wonder where Ava came from.  I mean we know where Ava came from but she is so different from Jason and I in some ways that we just have to sit back and wonder.  And shake our heads in disbelief.


Take for instance Cheer Camp.  The Varsity Cheerleaders at our local high school held a mini cheer camp for elementary and middle schoolers last Saturday.  They sent home a flyer from school advertising this event earlier in the week.  Normally, I would just toss it in the trash but Ava had seen it and wrote in big letters at the top, "Please?"  So, I discussed it with Jason and we decided she could go.  She is, after all, our little spirit girl.  


So, Saturday afternoon arrived and Ava entered the gym to 30 or so other little girls and a handful of the varsity cheerleaders.

Now, if this had been me at her age, I would have turned around running out the door never gone in the first place (and neither would Jason - if he had been a girl)!   Ava saw a few of her friends, but was content to just enter the circle next to some strangers, grab their hands and join in on the fun.  They were taking turns going into the middle of the circle to do cartwheels, round-offs, back flips, etc.  Ava doesn't really know how to do any of these (now, she could do a plie, rond de jambe, or grand battement to beat the band thanks to 4 years of ballet!) but this was different.  Still, our little cheerleader did what she could and had a ball!  And oh yes, it helped that they were selling used cheerleading outfits out front and Mom caved and bought her one!

Later on, they broke into smaller groups to learn some cheers and routines.  You could hear Ava's gasp of excitement when they pulled out the pom poms!  And she was over the moon when she learned they got to keep them!!  

They are going to perform during the Homecoming Football game and Ava will be there with bells on (and a few pom poms and a color-coordinated hair bow).  

What can I say?  She is not like her homebody parents but I do envy her zest for life and unabashedly friendly personality.  This girl is unafraid and has never met a stranger.  And we are blessed to call her our daughter!

Adoption - is it for me?

This is a question I think many people ask (if they even consider adoption at all).  This is a question I used to ask myself, and quickly followed it up with, "No.  That's for other people. And that's wonderful what they're doing but it's just not for me."  And if I thought about it much, my reasons for saying this really came down to fear.  Fear of the unknown. Fear of the "what if."  Fear of a million other things.


Thankfully, the Lord changed my heart on this subject, a total 180 degree turn within a few weeks.  Yes, Lord, THANK YOU for changing my heart!!

Of course, all my fears didn't dissipate the moment we decided to adopt.  Sometimes it was an hourly prayer that the Lord would take away my fear, that I would rest in His peace about the unknown.  

The following is an article by Russell Moore on this very subject.  And it hits the nail on the head.  Read on...

http://www.russellmoore.com/2010/10/07/is-the-orphan-my-neighbor/

Is the Orphan My Neighbor?

— Thursday, October 7th, 2010 —

Posted originally at Q Ideas.


I will never forget seeing her pull the measuring tape out of her purse as she talked about the skull of her child.


The woman, standing in an airport in Russia with my wife and me, was, like us, an American. She, like us, was in the former Soviet Union to pursue adoption. But she was worried. She had heard “horror stories” about fetal alcohol syndrome and various other nightmares. She said that the measuring tape was for gauging the size of the craniums of her potential children, to “make sure there’s nothing wrong with them.”


The reason I think about this conversation so much these days is because I am finding—more and more often—that one of the primary obstacles for Christians in advocating for the fatherless can be summed up right there in that measuring tape: the issue of fear. As much as we might not want to admit it, many of us don’t think much about orphans because, frankly, we’re scared of them.


Orphans are unpredictable. Often we don’t know where they’ve come from, what kind of genetic maladies and urges lie dormant somewhere in those genes. Moreover, in virtually every situation of fatherlessness, there is some kind of tragedy: a divorce, a suicide, a rape, a drug overdose, a disease, a drought, a civil war, and on and on. We’d rather not think about such things, and we’re afraid often of what kind of lasting mark they leave on their victims.


Those of us who know Christ ought to recognize that fear is often a deterrent to justice, a deterrent that has been indicted, crucified, and buried in the triumph of Jesus. In Jesus’ story of the so-called “good Samaritan,” after all, Jesus presents us with a man who “fell among robbers” and was beaten, nearly to death (Lk. 10:30). With little commentary on why, Jesus tells us, simply, that two passers-by, both religious officials, moved on to the other side, to avoid the wounded man (Lk. 10:31-32).


While many have speculated that there might have been theological reasons behind their neglect (the fear of becoming ceremonially unclean from touching a corpse), the most compelling reason I’ve ever heard was from Martin Luther King, Jr., who wondered whether the passers-by were simply afraid.
After all, there were no streetlights on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho—the setting of this story. There was no police force. A man beaten by terrorists is a good signal that the evildoers are still about, perhaps hiding in the caves along the roadside, lying in wait for their next victim. Moving on along, quickly and quietly, probably just seemed like prudence.


But Jesus never was one for justification by prudence alone. He praised a Samaritan—a reviled outcast from the official religious structures—for the compassion he demonstrated toward this man. And the compassion Jesus commended—and commanded from us in imitation—wasn’t mere charity. The Samaritan didn’t simply help the beaten man; he gave him his own animal, set him up in an inn, and paid for all his expenses for his ongoing care (Lk. 10:34-35). Any Israelite hearing this account would have seen immediately what was going on. The Samaritan was treating the beaten man like family.


Right now, there is a crisis of fatherlessness all around the world. Chances are, in your community, the foster care system is bulging with children, moving from home to home to home, with no rootedness or permanence in sight. Right now, as you read this, children are “aging out” of orphanages around the world. Many of them will spiral downward into the hopelessness of drug addiction, prostitution, or suicide. Children in the Third World are languishing in group-homes, because both parents have died from disease or have been slaughtered in war. The curse is afoot, and it leaves orphans in its wake.


Not every Christian is called to adopt or to foster children. And not every family is equipped to serve every possible scenario of special needs that come along with particular children. Orphan care isn’t easy. Families who care for the least of these must count the cost, and be willing to offer up whatever sacrifice is needed to carry through with their commitments to the children who enter into their lives.


But, while not all of us are called to adopt, the Christian Scriptures tell us that all of us are called to care “widows and orphans in their distress” (Jas. 1:27). All of us are to be conformed to the mission of our Father God, a mission that includes justice for the fatherless (Exod. 22:22; Deut. 10:18; Ps. 10:18; Prov. 23:10-11; Isa. 1:17; Jer. 7:6; Zech. 7:10). As we are conformed to the image of Christ, we share with him his welcoming of the oppressed, the abandoned, the marginalized; we recognize his face in the “least of these,” his little brother and sisters (Matt. 25:40).


The followers of Jesus should fill in the gap left by a contemporary Western consumer culture that extends even to the conception and adoption of children. Who better than those who have been welcomed by Christ to care for the most feared and least sought after of the world’s orphans? After all, who are we, as those who are the invited to Jesus’ wedding feast? We are “the poor and the crippled and the blind and the lame” (Lk. 14:21). Since that is the case, Jesus tells us, we are to model the same kind of risk-taking, unconditional love (Lk. 14:12), the kind that casts out fear.


Yes, orphan care can be risky. Justice for the fatherless will sap far more from us than just the time it takes to advocate. These kids need to be reared, to be taught, to be hugged, to be heard. Children who have been traumatized often need more than we ever expect to give. It is easier to ignore those cries. But love of any kind is risky.


The Gospel means it’s worth it to love, even to the point of shedding your own blood. After all, that’s what made a family for ex-orphans like us.
Posted originally at Q Ideas.


Until next time...