Bummer or Blessing?

Your birthday plans are cancelled: the party, friends and cake.

Instead, family crisis came with relationships at stake.

Are you bummed?

But because it IS your big day, many friends will know,

So many folk will pray for you no matter where you go.

You are blessed!

You are confronted with a job and the order is really tall

Because it lies outside your gifts, you don’t feel adequate at all.

Are you bummed?

But here’s a chance to learn to walk more closely with the Lord,

Trusting Him to enable you as He promised in His Word.

You are blessed!

Life is not playing out the way that you were told.

In spite of careful foresight, it spins out of control!

Are you bummed?

But this is really just a setting, a background to display

That God’s control is truly real no matter what they say!

You are blessed!

What seems to be a bummer, in God’s topsy-turvy economy,

Is just a blessing misperceived, if we’ll take the time to see. 

Visiting Our Son

Last month we got to visit our son at boarding school. WOOHOO! That made this momma's heart very happy!  He had a lot of homework but I didn't mind. I just sat beside him and watched him!  I also learned very quickly that school nowadays is VERY different than school thenadays...that is, school "back in the day"...that is, school back when one just had a textbook and a notebook and a pencil.  Our son was whizzing around on his ipad emailing his homework in and accessing virtual flashcards and who knows what else. It was crazy and I was loving every minute of it because we were together again, even if I didn't understand half of what was going on during homework time!

It was also fantastic to see the brothers all back together again. I think they really enjoyed it too.

We enjoyed dinner at Chilis...Y...U...M! I promise we let our son choose where to go eat. I promise I had nothing to do with it. Of course, I didn't argue with his choice...I'm just a giver that way! 

The family together again after a month a part. The weekend went by fast, but it sure was fun. And the best part was...only another month until we would get to see him again. And the best part about THAT is that, since it took me three weeks to post this...it's only a week until we are together again!

Round Two

I found more pictures from our adventures in Africa/Middle East. I couldn't resist posting another trip down memory lane...

Boat ride on the White Nile...Kris is the one with the picture on his T-shirt.

Making Jabana (or boon...Beja coffee...double yum!) Here he is pounding the coffee beans.

But before that he roasts the beans over the fire.

Piled in the car to go on a picnic. Can you tell which one is Aaron? :)

Seth is checking out the White Nile with a family friend.

One of Aaron's first friends in the desert: a little Libyan boy next door. They couldn't communicate with words, but they had no problem playing together anyway!

Meeting a nice couple from Saudi Arabia. That's newborn Joel in the blanket I am holding.

Downtown Khartoum.

Riding a bike in a jallabeeya. Talent at it's best!

Pushing a broken down truck off the road. Yes, that's a road!

Woah! Wait, this lady is walking in front of her husband! Women's Lib!

The Mogran. Where the Blue Nile meets the White Nile. See the two colors of water?

Common desert scene.

I love that there is a truck parked outside!

But why ride a truck when you can ride a donkey cart! Yee haw! You think maybe these 2 donkey carts are playing chicken? Wonder who won.

I bet you know what this says!

Airport Road "back in the day"

I'm on the left. Wow, can you say "slicked back hair"? That pony tail is tight!

Double yum (except for the green slosh on the right, I don't do slimy very well).

Hee hee! That's Seth when he was a little tyke! This is our weekly visit to some good friends across town in the desert.

Attempting to pose for the camera with our little friend "Apple"

Memory Lane

While doing a little research for a writing project, I found some OLD pictures and I just had to share! But I don't have the energy to figure out how to put these silly things in order without it taking all night, so they are gonna be on here just exactly the way that they appear when I upload them. Hold on tight b/c it's gonna be a bumpy ride...Come walk with me down Memory Lane...

Camping by the Nile. Doesn't get any better than that!

Except for maybe SWIMMING in the Nile! Here is Little Seth!

Joel and I are sunbathing on the beach :)

Henna! I miss this!

Joel, hanging out on his blanket from Lola.

November 10, 2002 Here is where Joel joined our family! The Arab Heart Center in Amman, Jordan. Yea, I know, I know, it's anyone's guess why he was born in a heart center.

But the Arab Heart Center had an awesome private room with a private guest seating area attached, so I wasn't complaining at all! The cake is a gift from the hospital and the candies were treats for our guests.

Going back about a year, here is Chubby Seth posing while Aaron shoots hoops in the background! This is our house in our desert home, back in 2001/2002

And then fast forward back to Joel's birth. This is probably my very favorite picture of Seth, doesn't he look innocent!? Is he plotting to whack Joel over the head while no one is looking?

Well, I had so much fun looking through all these old pictures that I might just make you look at more in a future post. But for now, thanks for taking a walk with me!

A Day in the Life of the Kelleys

I woke up today and saw smoke.  I thought at first it was the neighbors burning their trash next to our back wall again. But it wasn't that.  It is the slash-and-burning in South Sumatra that is causing a haze to settle over the city and my lungs to feel like they are constantly inhaling smoke and ash, which they are, I guess.

I stumble toward the kitchen, thinking only of my cup of coffee.  Must...have...coffee... When I am intercepted by my dear son S who is wide awake and ready to tell me about the new story he is working on.  It is a longer story than I anticipated.  I sit down and think about my coffee.  When the story is complete I finish my trek to the kitchen. Ahhh! Coffee.  Starbucks...Dark Sumatra.  That's what I am drinking.  Hazy Sumatra is what I am breathing.  I take my coffee to my room for my prayer time.

Check email, check Facebook, get dressed, unlock front door, pull out breakfast for the boys ("pull out" is code for boxed cereal, as opposed to a healthy cooked breakfast), take a pill for the headache and sinus ache from the smoke inhalation.  Really, I'm not kidding.  Eat breakfast.  Chat with a friend who caught me on Facebook.

Now it's 8 O'clock and my two dearies and I begin homeschool.  We do Bible, history, science and Indonesian together and then they work on their own for the other subjects.  They are very good students and good at working independently.  I am close by for consultation.  While they work I whittle away at my enormous email inbox.  At break we go to the upstairs veranda and the boys skate and skooter and I don't do either one.  I relax on the chair and drink water so that I can breathe easier.

Ibu W comes to work.  She is wonderful and helps me so much.  Because she cleans and hangs the clothes to dry and irons, I am free to do school with the boys.

We stop for lunch and then back to work.  Ibu W leaves while we are finishing up school.  When we are done, it's off to the grocery store, stopping to check on drum lessons too.  They say we can start next month.  The noise levels of our house will soon rise about a million decibels.  I'll enjoy the rest of this month while I can!  On the way to the mall we pass...a new McDonald's being built nearby!  Woohoo!  Cheers explode in our car.  It has a real live no kidding drive thru!  It is not open yet, but we will be a frequent customer when it does.  Off to the grocery store to pick up food for the week.  Kris is gone to a conference this week, so I am making easy to cook food.  Not that I make difficult food, but I pick all the easy ones when I am single-parenting it.

On the way home I pull off on the side of the road at a tambal ban.  These are handy guys who have an air-compressor and will air up your tires for just a small fee.  Mine is worse than I thought and he ends up patching the hole, all right there on the side of the road with 18 wheelers and a zillion cars whizzing by just inches from the car, all for two bucks.  During all of this S is in the car singing to himself and J is outside of the car jumping around on an old tire and trying to make friends with a stray dog.

Back at home, the boys help me unload.  Then J wants to go bike riding. S wants to stay home.  So  J and I take a quick bike ride.  It is fun.  I have not ridden a bike in ages.  I bought a bike used for a good price.  Gears?  What in the world are those?  Hand breaks?  Good grief, it HAS been awhile.  My bike growing up had peddles and wheels, and a seat.  That's about it.  This is too fancy and is also some kind of crazy sport bike.  I'd like a cute one with a basket and streamers on the handles please.  Oh well, here we go.  Hope I don't crash.  I didn't.

Coming back to our house, my neighbor gets to talking to me and invites me in.  J goes back home and I go to visit my neighbor.  This is super exciting because I have been trying to make a friendship with her and it keeps falling flat.  We exchange numbers and I am so happy.  As I return home my other neighbor hollers a greeting to me.  What is up with these ladies FINALLY wanting to make an effort?  I've been trying for a year for goodness sake!  Aha, maybe they realize we are gonna stick around and now they are ready to be friends!  Great, I am too!

I glide into my house on cloud 9, I hope things go well with my two neighbors.  I've already been praying for them for a long time.  Dinner, what to cook?  I decide on taco salad which is a family favorite.  We eat dinner and watch kid shows on TV.  I don't love the kid shows, but I love the two kids who are watching them!

Later I chat just a bit with our oldest son who is away at boarding school.  He's doing good and made a good grade on his test yesterday.  Way to go A!  I talk to Kris on the phone.  He's cut his leg and is taking antibiotics to try to fight infection. He was not able to attend the afternoon part of the conference because he had to elevate the foot to keep the swelling down. Pray that his leg heals quickly so that he can attend the conference.

The boys and I read a chapter out of The Twenty One Balloons and called it a day.  Eddie the cat joins them in their room.  Lights out at the Kelley Home!

One Thing Makes Us Different

You don’t know me, but we are more alike than you think.  I am a son or a daughter, just like you.  I am a mother or a father.  I have a sister and a brother.  I dream of a better future for my children.  I laugh and I cry.  Just like you. If you take the time to reach out, you can touch my hand and feel my warm skin.  We are the same.  But there is something that makes us different, you and I.  There is something that is as big as life and death.  If we are sad, our hearts will ache.  If we are cut, our skin will bleed.  But if we are thirsty, my friend, you will reach for a cup and fill it with cool, refreshing water and I will just be thirsty.  If we are dirty, you will run your hands, your face, your body under a warm shower and I will just be dirty.  You see, my family has no access to clean water.  Do not think that I am unusual; there are 1.2 billion people just like me.  When you feel the strain of a drought in your country, you water your lawn only once a week.  When I feel the strain of a drought, I grieve over a family member who dies from the lack of clean water.  This common, you understand.  Every 22 seconds a child dies from a preventable water-related disease.  Dear Friend, do not throw your hands up in despair.  The problem is real, but the solution is possible.  For $600-$2,000 a low cost well can be dug for my village.  When you reach to turn on your water faucet, please consider reaching out to touch me.  Feel my warm skin, close your eyes and see my smile.  Hear my laugh.  With the help of people like you, people like me can reach for a drink when we are thirsty!  I dream of a life without the needless diseases, a life where my children don’t have to cry for the most basic need: water. Will you join the people at Water4 to reach out and hold my hand and dream with me?

After a Long Break...

After a long break...I am back to blogging.  I "processed" my finger in a food processor and have not been able to type w/out quite a bit of "ouch" involved, so I have not blogged.  I missed some great blogs entries too...or at least I thought they would be.  But I doubt I'll go back and write them...life moves on.  Next I will be posting a short article I wrote for a competition...I'll let you know how I do!  Anyway, it's good to be back in the blogging world...