Saturday, September 27, 2008

Rain, rain go away...

This weekend has been extremely rainy. O's soccer was canceled this morning, but S's was still on. I talked to another mom and she said that they had other games in the pouring rain this afternoon...and these are 6 year olds! Yikes! Anyway...

We finished our movie Herbie this morning, because it wasn't over by bedtime last night. We had a pancake breakfast, and headed to the doctor.

The boys did great with their flu shots! There was one dad there who was extremely outspoken talking to other parents about how horrible a local private preschool-middle school was and how they were kicked out of it. He said it was because his grandmother was dying so they had people who weren't on their pick up list pick the kids up, but I'm sure that there was a lot more to that story. There were 2 other dads there who were saying that they had good experiences there and were trying to defend the school. Then the outspoken dad started to try and scare his daughter who was in 5th or 6th grade by telling her that the needle is going to be huge and going to really hurt! O (who I didn't even tell we were getting shots) looked at me with fear in his eyes. I looked at the dad and told him that his child wasn't the only one in the room and he needed to stop because he was scaring other children. Other parents looked pleased that I said something. What a jerk!
I was very relieved when our name was called and we could get away from that guy. The boys walked right in and like I said, they did great! Not a tear from either of them!

We headed to the mall so I could pick up something. We bought a gift my friend Bryan. He loves gnomes and the Jets (poor football judgement, I know!) and they sell gnomes for all the different football teams! I had to get it for him!

We delivered the gift to Bryan, and invited him and his roommates to come to lunch with us. We went to Chick-fil-a. It was nice to hang out with some of my friends, and also let the boys get some energy out in the play place.

In the car on the way to Chick-fil and I had this conversation

S: "Miss Erin do you think that all the cars in the world are like God's toy cars?"
E: Maybe, so do you think that God is making the car move, not me.
S: Well, you are making it move, but God likes to watch all his little cars go everywhere.

SO CUTE!

We came home for a much needed by all rest time. When the boys got up S went to run some energy out of Tucker and then we baked cookies.

The boys put on their Notre Dame jerseys and we watched the Notre Dame/Purdue Game (GO IRISH)...and played some football.
We had some dinner and then got ready for S's soccer game...luckily the rain stopped for the game. Spencer had an assist! He kicked a corner kick and Brian kicked it in! yay!!

As soon as we got home it started raining. The boys went right up for showers and bed! I haven't heard a peep out of them since I closed their doors. It was a long day...but fun.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Adventures with S and O

This weekend I'm playing "Mom" to S and O. I have been with this family for almost 6 years now, and they have become my second family. I got here last night and I'm taking care of the boys until Sunday afternoon. We always have a lot of fun together, and we already have...

This morning I took the boys to school and then had a few hours to myself, which was nice. I picked the boys up from school, it was a half day! We headed to Qdoba to meet up with some friends. Friday lunches at Qdoba have become a regular for us...I bring O (S if he has a half day) and several of my other friends with kids come. Its a blast! Its actually been about 2 years that we have been doing this. There have been weeks where its like a 3 ring circus with all the kids...but we're laughing the whole time! Here are some pictures from our lunch...

Today we had 5 adults and 9 kids! Now that the kids have gotten bigger we were able to have the kids at one end of the table and the adults at the other. We were actually able to have adult conversation!

We came home and played with Tucker for a while...had some down time reading books. I asked the boys to clean up the play room. After a few minutes I heard:
S: O, You finish cleaning the playroom while I think about how to build a great train track!
O: Ok
Me: S! You both need to clean the playroom, not just O.
S: But Miss Erin I was just bargaining!
Me: (Trying not to laugh) Well there's no bargaining about this, you both need to clean.

Another cute conversation this afternoon...O and I bring my friend Mary a drink from Starbucks on Friday mornings. Now O is in school he can't go with me. Today as we were driving to Qdoba we passed Mary's work and we had this conversation:

O: Oh no! We didn't bring Miss Mary her special drink!
Me: Don't worry, I brought her one
O: Whew! That could've been a disaster!!


I love conversations with kids!

Christopher, Hannah, and Amy came over this afternoon. We had a mini movie and pizza night where we watched Diego and had dinner. They boys had fun playing together, and Hannah was adorable as usual! Once all the boys were done eating she would get down and play (she was more interested in the trains than Diego) and then come running back over "Don't eat my pizza Mommy! Don't eat my pizza Miss Erin!" She was very territorial about her food! Sadly she didn't have to worry about us eating her pizza...Tucker took care of that!


Once Christopher, Hannah, and Amy left the boys and I got into our PJs, popped some popcorn and watch Herbie!

It was a great day! Tomorrow its soccer and flu shots!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Jesus Is My Superhero...

Being a Godly Superhero was the theme of what we tried to teach the children in Cameroon. After spending maybe 36 hours in Paris after Hungary, the 16 of us on the Cameroon team headed to the Paris airport. We wondered the airport for a while trying to meet up with our luggage...after a little confusion we finally got it!


We saw God working from the very beginning! Once we got to the ticket counter we were told that "The Quad" (the four of us who went to both Hungary and Cameroon) were flying standby and it didn't look like we would make the flight. Immediately the kids started praying, and by the time we got to the gate "The Quad" was welcomed aboard. Every flight I was lucky enough to sit with Trevin, Caroline, and Taylor. God knew that we really needed each other to survive the month away. Here we are on that flight...our 4th flight together on this trip...obviously we had trouble fitting in the picture! :)

We were very tired, but so excited once we landed in Yaounde. We were greeted by Wendy, Gilles, Peters, and some other new friends. I had been emailing and "g-chatting" with Wendy for so long it was so great to finally meet her in person! We spent the first three nights with host families, Jessica, Erin, Emma, and I were with Wendy, Gilles and their kids. The first day was an orientation day where Gilles shared with us some cultural things we needed to learn, and discussed what we might expect during out time there. We had the rest of the day to sort through our belongings and get ready for the conference. The second day was more orientation time...and then the zoo!! It was a random but very fun excursion! We saw lions, a Hyena, tons of monkeys and more!

On Thursday we headed to the conference which was being held at a boarding school. We were the first to arrive, so we had time to get settled into our "home" for the week. Here is a video of where the girls stayed...



Teaching the kids taught us a lot too. We split the kids into 3 groups by age, and had a somewhat structured plan for the groups. We started all together singing songs, sharing the skit, and the Bible story for the day. We would split the kids into their age groups to discuss the Bible story some more, teach memory verses, do crafts, and play games. These kids were not used to the structure, so
we had to learn to let go and adapt to the culture. The first few days were difficult, but we were starting to know the kids better and having fun with them.
Robyn wrote an amazing skit for the kids based on being Godly superheros. Super E is teaching T Boy Boy how to be a superhero, teaching all the different things a superhero needs, and that each thing has to be activated with prayer. The kids really loved the characters and the learned the lessons!


Soccer...or futeball...was the favorite game, especially by the older children. We observed that basically any open area would quickly become a soccer field. These kids were very grateful towards anything that they were given. We brought out blocks and a few other toys and the kids of all ages were so excited to play with them. They had never experienced making crafts as we do here in the states. We made kazoos, foam flowers (which they gave to their parents and their parents were thankful) superhero masks, and superhero capes!


The third day into the conference Peters, the National Director of Navigators for Cameroon, invited us to come and worship with the adults. Their worship is so raw and real, just their voices, clapping and maybe a drum. After the singing Peters got up and asked for people to share what it meant for us to be there. Parents were standing up thanking us for coming, telling us that we were laying down a foundation for the next generation of Navigators for Cameroon. Parents also shared how their kids were learning and becoming more excited about reading God's Word, and memorizing scripture. Husbands shared what it meant to have their wives there instead of leaving them at home to take care of the children. Wives shared that being there they were able to have their questions answered, they could understand more about the ministry that their husbands were so excited about, and they can do ministry as a couple together. One man stood up and shared how he didn't have any children but the thought that 16 Americans would give up 2 weeks of their summer to serve them was hard to understand. Once the sharing was over Peters said they had a song for us. The started singing Thank you for what you've done, Thank you for serving us, My God bless you my brother, my sister. All the Cameroonians got up and walked around the room to look in our eyes and shake our hands while singing this song to us. It was the most genuine, heartfelt thank you I think I have ever had...I was in tears...as were many of my teammates. An extremely humbling and encouraging time for us.



We fell in love with the kids! They were so fun to play with, and always so excited to play with us. How neat that love is a universal language that everyone can understand. Two kids that I wanted to take home with me were Marvelous Peace and Kurtis. Peace is Peters' youngest daughter and she and I had a blast playing peek-a-boo together. It was a new game to her, but she absolutely loved it! I told Peters that he had to keep it up with her once I left. Kurtis was a handful, especially in the beginning. He didn't want to listen to anyone, but by the end of the week he had stolen my heart! Just before this picture of Kurtis and I was taken he came running up to me with tears streaming down my face saying "Auntie, Auntie, My mother says that its time for me to travel, but I don't want to go!" That made me teary eyed as well!


God knew that I needed some time to process everything that I learned in Hungary before I came back to the states and the daily distractions here. Each morning I had some intense times with God, sitting on the rooftop of where the girls stayed. We also had our team meetings on that rooftop. My favorite time was when we had the students be in charge of the meeting. They shared scripture that meant a lot to them, we sang worship songs together, and had a lot of time of intercessory prayer. It was amazing to sit on the rooftop worshiping God with this amazing team and look up at the African Night sky.


Being so far away from our comfort zone we really learned to rely on God completely. Jessica was constantly reminding us to pray continually, and give everything up to God. We also were given a huge lesson in humility, from the school grounds we were staying, and watching the sacrifices the Cameroonians made for us. The women in the kitchen bent over backwards making separate meals for us, among other things. Gilles lived out what being a servant meant and was a huge example to us. The entire week he was away from his family making sure that we were ok. He would bring us anything we needed, check up on us, get a doctor when we needed one. He even brought us peanut butter and jelly so our bodies could take a break from the food! What an amazing family! I had so many great conversations with Wendy and Gilles. I am so thankful for everything that they did for us while we were there, and for the friendship that is carried onto today.











Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Traditions...

Last night at the stroke of midnight my phone went off...normally I would me wondering who was texting me at that hour, but last night I knew...it was my brother. The text read "HAPPY B-DAY SIS! Love you-you're the best"

Once I went to college my brother and I started a tradition where we would call (or text) each other at midnight of our birthdays. We want to be the first one to wish each other a Happy Birthday. Back then it was great, because I was always up at midnight...and usually later. Now that I am old getting older...midnight is not always seen. Last night I was so tired, but I love the tradition and I love my brother. I hope it will be a tradition that will carry on...

What are some traditions that you have??

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Back when things were simple...

My old next door neighbor from growing up started a facebook group for our old street. It has been fun to reconnect with people. Today I looked at the group and saw that people have started posting pictures from growing up. It made me teary-eyed to look at them all.

I really had a great childhood. I loved where we lived. We were the beginning house of the cul-du-sac and there were several kids my age all around there. I have some great memories...

- My mom started an annual block party, where we would block off the end of the street, get a DJ and cookout and have a blast!

- The Wilsons down the street had a Christmas party every year, and when we were younger my dad would dress up as Santa Claus. One year we (all the neighborhood kids) realized it was my dad and we chased him into the woods behind the houses, where he sat for about an hour until he knew for sure that the coast was clear. He didn't want to ruin the secret for us.

- Another neighbor had an annual caroling party for the adults, and the kids would gather at another house and watch movies.

- Running all over the neighborhood playing flashlight tag in the summer

- Sledding down the Kelly's huge hill when snow fell

- Playing on the tot-lots, or sitting on the swings talking with friends when we were older

- Climbing through the "tunnel" from the creek that ran behind the houses, and then up into the sewer drain, just because we could! (Don't worry it wasn't gross)

- Ruth walking up and down the street every night, come rain, snow, sleet, or shine drinking her martini and smoking her cigarette and catching up with all the neighbors

- Helping Miles get honey from his beehives (yes he owned 3 of them!) and hearing him yell "Hey Youronski" whenever he saw me across the street. To this day I still don't know where that name came from.

- The lights the lit up the street at Christmas time

Here are some of the pictures from back then...
Kyle was a really cute kid! (1989)Beth and I...I'm not sure what we're doing here (1987?)The neighborhood boys at a Block Party (1988??)This was a 10 pound Chocolate Bar! We were all really excited!!! (1987)
Junior Prom...and no Mike was not my date, but our parents wanted us to get a picture together. I remember being annoyed here because my dad was on my hair! How dare he! haha! (1997)
David and Kyle at an O's game! I'm not sure who the kid is in the middle. (1990)

Life back then was so simple. First of all we were just kids, with nothing to worry about! We knew that we could lean on any of the neighbors around us. Since then, my parents have gotten divorced, and other neighbors too, people have moved all over the country. We have all grown up, some starting families on our own, working on our careers. Its great to look back and remember when things were simple...

Monday, September 15, 2008

Themes or Strengths...


Earlier this year I was given the book "Now Discover Your Strengths" by Marcus Buckingham. I read it and took the test, but didn't think too much about it. My friend Tony loves learning and exploring these things, and was the one who gave me the book. He is so encouraging to have people explore who God made them to be, and how we can use that to reach the world.

This past summer in Hungary I met with Michael Dauphinee, who is a consultant who travels all over the world to work with people and help coach them to be the people they were created for. One thing that Michael says is "Don't be well-rounded. If you're round, be round; if you're square, be square." It is so true! It has always bothered me that people and especially colleges always say to be well rounded! I have always believed that I was created to do certain things, so why should I change who I am to do other things? I have felt somewhat guilty thinking that way since it feels like the world is telling me do everything.

Meeting Michael and talking to him was crazy! I had literally just met him, all he knew about me was my name and that I was leading high school kids to come and serve at the CA conference. I gave him the 5 words that the Strenthfinders test spit out at me, and it was like he was inside my heart and my brain! Seriously...I didn't really know what to do! So this is what I am...

Arranger - People strong in the arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that compliments this ability. They like to figure out how all the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

Relator - People strong in the relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.

Maximizer - People strong with the maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.

Adaptability - People strong in adaptability prefer to "go with the flow." They tend to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.

Positivity - People strong in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.

Talking with Michael I also learned that Arrangers are always looking at what the next step is, always thinking ahead. Relators have 5 core friendships that mean the world to them. Maximizers aren't satisfied with good, they need things to be great. Positivity people get drained from negativity.

I really appreciate Strength Finders because it has opened my eyes to the way I view people. As I get to know them I can appreciate who they are and how God created them. I tend to try to identify what their themes might be if they haven't taken the test, or if they have it helps me understand them a little bit better.

There's a whole lot more that I learned, and I'm continuing to learn. I encourage you to check this out if you haven't...and help learn more about how God created you!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

A new favorite blog to read...

This is short and sweet...but I had to share this blog with you - Stuff Christians Like

It is absolutely HYSTERICAL! I'm adding it to my google reader...and you should too!

I will never forget...

I will never forget where I was on this morning 7 years ago. I had started student teaching that semester, but this particular day we went to our schools late because we had class in the morning. We started the class, with "BJB" Big Joe Barnes as we called him, at 8am. Just around 9:00 we were given a short break from the class, so we all started to scurry to grab some coffee from the student commons area. Everyone in front of me was frozen just outside the door with the look of horror on their face. I was really craving my cup of coffee and wondered what was going on, until I saw the tv screen. Both of the towers had been hit, and no one knew what had happened at this point.

I immediately ran for my cell phone and tried to call my brother, who was a sophomore at NYU at the time. Of course I couldn't get through to him, so I called my parents. Both of my parents were still home, and we all agreed that Kyle was far enough away from there that he was ok, and honestly he was probably still sleeping, clueless about what was going on. We joked that he wouldn't be dumb enough to hear what had happened and start heading in that direction.

BJB canceled the rest of class, this tragedy hit him hard because he had several friends who worked at the World Trade Center. He also told us that we could call our schools and tell them that we were not coming in, if we wanted. I knew that I wouldn't be able to think straight until I knew for sure that Kyle was ok, so I called my school and went back to my apartment. One of my roommates was also in the class with me, so we walked back to the apartment where we were glued to the tv screen. Several people called me to see if I had heard from Kyle, and with each call I became more and more worried. I kept telling them that his dorm and classes were far enough away that he is fine. Someone actually thought it was wise to remind me that he was looking for an internship for the summer, and what if he was there for an interview. I immediately got off the phone with her...seriously, who does that?!

Classes all over the campus were canceled, or people would go to class where the professor would lead everyone in prayer for the nation and then they would be dismissed. I remember sitting in my apartment all day surrounded with all my friends constantly praying for my brother and other people who were affected by this horrible tragedy.

I finally got a call from my parents around 6:00 that evening telling me that they had talked to Kyle and he was safe. PRAISE GOD!!! Friends had woken him up to tell him what was going on...and we were wrong. He immediately started running towards the Twin Towers, but quickly turned around when he saw everyone running the opposite direction. I guess we were wrong...

J'aime Paris!!!

Ok...so back to stories from my trip!

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to Paris once we left Hungary. We arrived Saturday evening and then had to lug ALL OUR LUGGAGE (hmm...maybe that's why its called luggage!) through the Paris subway system. We dragged it up and down MANY flights of stairs...switched trains I believe 3 times. It wasn't ideal, but I was amazed with how well the students handled it! Once we got to the hotel we got some pizza from across the street and just hung out for the night. We were all too tired to really do anything, and wanted to get rest for the next day.
Sunday morning we headed to a nearby park to debrief about the trip. This was a great time to talk and process some of the things we had learned, and also talk about what we wanted to do once we got home. It was neat to hear some of the students think of ways to reach their unchurched friends. Some of the graduated seniors were already planning ways to reach people on their campuses that they hadn't even met yet! After the debrief time, we headed to the train station to meet up with the Cameroon team! This took a little longer than planned, but it was great to see them once they arrived.

Instead of traveling in a pack of 26 we split into groups to go see the Arc de Triumph, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower. Rachel and I led a group together, which I was really excited about. We headed to the Arc de Triumph first. It was breath taking! As you walked up the steps of the subway it was right in front of you...and its HUGE! To get to the Arc itself you walk through a tunnel that is under the road that circles it. I was overwhelmed as I walked up under the Arc. We didn't get to go up to the top...that just means I will have to go back to Paris!
I kept saying the entire trip I couldn't really believe that I was in Paris until I saw the Eiffel Tower. I spotted the top of it from the Arc and got really excited. Everyone met at the Eiffel Tower next. On the subway there it was amazing to see it across the river.


Here is a picture of "The Quad" in front of the Eiffel Tower. Caroline, Trevin, Taylor, and I were the only four who went on both trips. We grew so close, like a family and I really love them!!


From the Eiffel Tower we headed to the Louvre! I was surprised when we walked out of the subway into a mall. At the end of the mall was the Louvre entrance, and La Pyramide Inversee, which is the inverse of the Pyramid above ground. It is also where the Holy Grail is located in The DaVinci Code. We tried to go into the Louvre to see Mona Lisa, but unfortunately it was closed. We walked around outside instead.

Our final stop was Notre Dame. What a beautiful church! Amazing detailed architecture, mesmerizing stained glass everywhere. My entire time in Europe I kept thinking about how there are so many amazing intricate detailed buildings and architecture all over the place. Buildings that were built like this hundreds of years ago by hand. Now we have technology to create things like this, and yet in the US we are so focused on getting things done the quickest and cheapest way possible so most of our architecture is so boring.

It was interesting walking inside Notre Dame because there was a mass going on inside while tons of tourists (including us) were walking around the building taking pictures. Once we came back outside we discussed how that was a perfect example of what Europe is like spiritually. Christianity is thought of something of the past. Huge gorgeous cathedrals are all over Europe, but are all for show and mostly empty. They were built with pride, not to honor God. I couldn't imagine being able to worship and focus on God while hundreds of tourists walk around my place of worship snapping pictures and talking to the people they are traveling with.

Once we got back to the hotel we all met in the lobby, both the Cameroon and Hungary teams. We had a time of prayer and worship. After we sang the Hungary team annointed the Cameroon team and prayed for us. It was a really neat and encouraging thing to do. It was strange for "The Quad" because we had officially become the Cameroon team, no longer the Hungary team.

I found out later that the guy that was working the front desk told Tony that he really enjoyed listening to us and thought that what we did was really great! How cool is that?! And we were scared that we were going to get kicked out! God is so much bigger than that!

The next morning we got up bright and early and headed to the airport. Tony got a shuttle to take all of the luggage to the airport, and 2 people from the Hungary team went with it to take care of it. It was nice to be able to get on the train to the airport without all the luggage.