the *belly* bug.

so i am not going to post any pictures of my kids puking.

but.

we finally got the dreaded belly bug that is circulating the community.

we are down. and out.

i am supposed to host Easter on Sunday.

hmmmmm.

not looking so promising.

ugh.

pray for us.

thanks. :)

p.s. at this point kaden and matt and i have not gotton it.

however,

we think we might be sick a couple times a day...so i wouldn't say that any of us,

"have our game on."

Happy Spring. and Easter. if i don't squeeze in an Easter post.

:)



just in time for easter.

you got it.

we got peeps. chicks. chickens. whatever you want to call them.

just in time for easter.

yippee.

can anyone hear the sarcasm in my voice?

:)

the chicken company we usually grow for was bought out by perdue.

so...this was the first time we actually got chicks from "perdue" per say.

it was kind of cool, i must say.

less work for us...

the driver drove the chicks around on pallets on his tow moter

 and we unloaded them from crates from his tow motor.

rather than me driving our truck around, with pallets matt unloads onto the truck.

yes. to that.

for all my city friends. who really care.

for the rest of ya'll. skip this part. :)

we get the rest of house 2 and all of house 1 from our "old" company tomorrow.

surely to be an interesting settlement come 6 weeks,

when we can't help but compare whose chicks did "better"...

not sure why they are mixing this way??

sent out the S.O.S. this morning to my praying friends.

i had a headache for 2 days...

it is finally going away.

hallelujah.

thank you for praying for me.

you can continue if you want. :)

looking like Matt tore his ACL again, playing volleyball on Sunday night.

didn't get an MRI yet, because chickens were coming,

but will be soon... 

guess there is never a "good" time to tear your ACL ~again~, right?

:)

off for a busy day of easter parties, and piano lessons, and little league, and then a girls nite...

i am going out for coffee with a bunch of young guns.

sheesh.

we'll see what the night brings. :)



man...

i am tired.

i am spent.

exhausted physically. mentally. emotionally.

a lot has happened this week.

the 40 day prayer challenge i am a part of is.

well. huge. but a lot. a. lot.

we also had renewal meetings at church.

they were *fabulous. exciting. and fun.

but. it's still a lot "extra" for this mom of 5 to get everyone to church for 4 nights in a row.

and leave your 20 month old crying every night.

*she*, karolina, is apparently not adjusted to me being back.

and not leaving again.

she will always settle, but...

she cries when i leave.

she screams when i put her down for a nap, or bedtime.

only for a couple minutes. but still...

she used to LOVE her bed. WANTED to get in it.

it's a bit frustrating...

yes, i try to love and snuggle and pray her out of it, but it's still...

frustrating

and exhausting

to know what's coming everytime i put her to bed. :(

yesterday was the first day she went downstairs with calli, and played with her.

without me. yay. i thought that was huge.

and now today.

no. go.

shoot. :)

~despite my tired and exhasuted feelings,

i am encouraged to rest in the Lord.

to love my children well. generously. much.

to celebrate life with them. with matt.

i will be still. and know that God is God.

that it is in his nature to reward and bless me and my family.~

seek Jesus' face today...



proverbs 31:17-18: "she girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong.
she senses that her gain is good; her lamp does not go out at night."

galatians 6:7-9: "do not be deceived, God is not mocked;
for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
for the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption,
but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap
if we do not grow weary."

and a challenge to me...now that i am 35. ha.ha.ha.

titus 2:3-5: "older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior,
not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may
encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible,
pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that
the word of God will not be dishonored."

and did i mention i finally caught up on my chile and mountain laundry?
it feels good.
did i mention that kaden hid 10 days worth of laundry under his bed?
i said, "kaden...why couldn't this laundry  make it to the hamper?"
"i didn't want jackie to have to much laundry, mom, that's all." 

:)

*open* up the heavens.

my spirit is drinking in this song this week.

it's a culmination of things really. continuing to reflect on my trip to chile. the things the Lord stirred in my heart over that time. how do i not forget them? how will chile change my life? how will it change other's lives? and...

i am doing a 40 day prayer challenge with a group of Christ followers...more reflection. hitting my knees, earnestly seeking the Lord for what he has for me and my hubs and my kids, and...

we have renewal meetings at our church this week.
and we are rockin' this song every night.
it's one of my favorites...

(i hope that no one stops in this morning, and sees me rockin' it out. :) ...i mean i LOVE visitors...i love to have a "reason" to sit down and enjoy another cup of coffee with a friend...so please drop by, but ONLY if you promise not to video me rockin' it. :) )

may YOU be ~blessed~ this day...

she *WON*

thanks so much friends.

for all of you who checked out the video of matt's cousins wife, mary lou.

and *voted* her way.

she *WON* the grand prize...

on friday. on the LIVE with kelly and michael show.

(i was so bummed, i did not see it, we were at the mountains. the no t.v. mountains. :)  )

i think it's $100,000.00.

and they won a cruise to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary coming up.

can you even believe it?

i'd say she's famous.

i have never, ever known anyone to win that much money. :)

awesome.

20,000 applicants. 15 finalalists.

then 4 more finalists.

and SHE won.

way to go Kelly for even thinking of nominating your mom.

how special.

we are going to see if we can get her autograph and quick photo at church tomorrow.

ha. she's gonna love the papparatzi now. :)

vote *mary lou*

i haven't watched the kelly and michael show since i was a little girl...

and then it was regis and kelly LIVE...

and my dad watched it when he came in from the barn, and ate breakfast. :)

until now.
when my sweet friend kelly stoltzfus, honored her mom by writing a letter to the show

about her "unstoppable mom".

you can check out the video below...

all these moms are super-fantastic...there seem to be two that really stick out to me
as being "unstoppable", and mary lou, hands down, is one of them. :)

kelly and her husband kyle, were a part of our youth group, when matt and i were leaders.

so of course they hold a special place in our hearts, as anyone we have mentored in that way.

neal, kelly's dad, mary lou's husband, is the brother to my sister-in-law, naomi...

so there are more connections.

kristy, kelly's sister, mary lou's daughter, is our top notch babysitter.

and well. mary lou. who doesn't look up to her?

they also go to our church...
and although their faith was not accentuated in the video...
i love that they trust in Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Savior...

we love their family for many reasons,

and think it would be an absolute astonishing honor for her to win

"the unstoppable mom challenge".

check it out.

voting starts thursday on the kelly and michael homepage.

http://unstoppablemoms.livekellyandmichael.com/entry/10413244

CHILE. 2013.

Matt and I joined 9 others on an IMPACT construction team mission trip to chile.

we left our home on friday, 3/1 at 3 p.m. headed to Philadelphia International.

once our bags were checked, we found out that our flight from miami, to santiago,

had been delayed from 11:15 p.m. that night, to 7 a.m. the next morning.

boo. hoo.

matt, who was one of the organizers of the trip, stood in line at the rebooking desk from

9:30 p.m. until midnight.

they had one lady working the desk, most of the time, to service the whole flight.

while he stood in line, we tried not to get cranky, and tried to find a hotel room.

no. such. luck.

it is spring break in miami. :(

at midnight, we were able to get the last 2 rooms the airport hotel had available.

we got some food vouchers for lunch and breakfast as well.

we had a quick dinner at subway at midnight,
and fit 11 people into 2 rooms.
i think i might have gotton 2 hours sleep that night, on the floor.
matt's dad snores REALLY loudly...my prayer for the night had been,

"Lord, please just let me fall asleep before Aldie."

no.such.luck.
love you poppy. :) moppy slept with earplugs. :)

hopped in the shower at 4:15 a.m. and out the door at 4:30 a.m.

to head back to the airport,

to board our long flight, which would now be during the day, vs. thru the night. :(

schedule was:

7 a.m. devotions and breakfast to follow.

8:45 a.m. leave for the jobsite.

1 p.m. lunchtime on the jobsite.

4:30-5:30 p.m. pack up/leave the jobsite.

7 p.m. dinner where we were staying.

freetime.

Sunday night we attended a church service at a Cornerstone Church.



we traveled about 45 minutes each morning from Pichilemu, Chile...
home of the YWAM base,
into the mountains of Espillio, Chile to construct
a "community center".
the building will be used for a church,
and community center of sorts...will also have 4 bedrooms.

this is the home beside our job site...

it is a newer home. their first home was destroyed in the earthquake 2 years ago.

(we were able to walk down and see her old home...have lots of pictures).

they didn't often accept help in the kitchen, but this day they did.

these women prepared our lunchtime meal each day.
(we had soups, lots of tomato salad, which is fresh tomatoes and onions, in some kind of vinegar/sugar juice,
always coke, or sprite, chicken- freshly killed from the back yard, and/or pasta...soup had lots of veggies and always beans too.) food was always good. *

we ate at tables under the tarp each day.

there were several piles of lumber, that the ladies carried from here,

over to the jobsite...

our evening meals were where we were staying.
we ate lots and lots of good bread, at every meal.
sandwiches were our usual dinner, sometimes with a good pie.
their pie crust was more like a cookie tart. um. yum. :)

our hostess was so sweet. Cecelia, and Denillo.
and they had a 6 year old daughter, Paula, and a 9 year old daughter, Daniella.
They were dear. I loved on them a little extra. :)
somehow i have no pictures with them. :(

this is the cabana were matt an i stayed. it was only a couple years old. very nice and clean...

a small kitchen area, microwave, flat screen t.v., table and chairs, bed, and bathroom.

showers were sometimes ice cold. my only complaint. :)

then there was the view from our cabana...

the owners also ran/operated their own sawmill...that is wood drying on the racks...

off in the distance is the ocean...this is the only picture i took, unfortunately on a cloudy day,

but on a clear day you could see the ocean well...and we could hear the waves

like they were right next door.

it was pretty wild...

oh man. the guys worked so hard. trusses and all. drawing pictures, trying to communicate with a different metric system. they did so well, and most of the time with a happy heart. this man above, wanted to help in the worst way, which meant he sometimes got in the way...and lots of times, he was in my way. :( when i wasn't sunning myself, i mean. :) i don't have any finished pictures of the house, just yet...but it's up...roofing finished, and siding almost complete. ready for the winter....i told you they worked hard. :)

the ladies, and aldie, did go to visit a rural school...there were 7 students ranging in age from kindergarten thru 6th grade...then once you hit 7th grade, the children move to Pichilemu, where we were staying, and go to school there, and live there...only seeing their parents on the weekends. can you imagine? that's so little, to be on your own. :( it was their first week of school...they are just starting their fall/winter season, so that was a bit strange for me to think about. :)

friday the ladies took the day off to sightsee...the men were on the roof, so there really wasn't much for us to do...a day full of fun and adventure...the market. lots of yummy fruit. and that squash. we did have squash and potato soup one day. it was pretty good.


many, many people evacuated to the mountains...where we were working, 2 years ago, when chile experienced that 8.8 earthquake, that rocked their towns to the core...running from the tsunami that followed. i can't even imagine a wave so big...and these waves here were so HUGE...so much bigger than anything i have ever seen on the east coast, or west coast for that matter. just HUGE.

Pichilemu is known for it's great surfing...the town is filled with cabana's people rent...it is packed out all summer long...a big tourist beachy town.

who doesn't LOVE a llama on the beach anyway? :) and me. posing with some limes. and i also saw pears, lemons, grapes, watermelons, squash...the list goes on and on.

thanks again for all your prayers. it's been a week full of adjustment already. kids are grinding back to having parents again, and responsibilities.  :) i didn't get much done today, karolina screams whenever i put her down. now i know what the babysitter meant when she said, "they were pretty spoiled, hope your week goes okay." got it. :) it was a fabulous week, not one that i will soon forget. there is something about going to another culture that you can't get in any other way...i treasure the time we had there, as a team, and as husband and wife...here's to being open to what God puts on your heart...even if it seems impossible. xoxo.

we're home.

we are HOME.

i am very weary.

and will not take the time to write or post much now.

(our IMPACT team: back. L to R. Emily Blank, Bill Blank, Judy King, Diane Umble, Bill Umble, me, Matt.
front. L to R. Emillio- chilean pastor who ran our project, Kim Mast, Aldie King, Janet Umble, Ivan Umble.)

we left Pichilemu, Chile yesterday at 11:30 a.m.

to head towards Santiago for some shopping and lunch.

(a 5 hour drive)

Arrived at the airport at 7 p.m.

Left on our flight at 10 p.m. and were connecting and flying until our arrival in Philly

at 11:30 a.m. this morning.

thank you all for your prayers.

whether you called, texted, e-mailed, or wrote.

i cried. :)

i was a mess.

but was much better once i got out of here.

the time went quickly for us and the kids.

i don't know about the babysitter. :)

good.night.

thank you.*

it is no surprise that i am kind of a bawling mess right now.

i am a *cry baby*.

i think i cried at all of my graduations.

i cried everytime i came home from college and had to leave again. my WHOLE freshman year.

eeeekkkk.

my wedding.

my babies births.

every funeral i have ever been too.

anything sad.

and sometimes happy things too.

you need a good cry...i am your girl.

i am also thinking a bit how rediculous i am at times.
how the Landis' had to say their final forever good-byes yesterday to their little boy.
their little boy who fought cancer for 2 years.
ugh.
i cannot imagine.
trying to grasp the glory of re-uniting one day in heaven...and
until then. pictures and memories will have to do.
i am so sorry for all this pain on earth, that we will never understand...
only trusting in God's great, great plan...

and here i stand.

i am realizing how lucky and blessed i am.

my family

and

friends are coming out of the woodwork.

even my kids teachers from this year, and years passed...

emailing, texting and instagraming, :) (my newest favorite addiction.) me, and phone calls...

how great my trip is going to be, how excited they are for me...

how they are going to hug on my kids a little extra. :)

the list goes on and on.

the thing is you all know i am a cry baby...

so the Lord is prompting your spirits to encourage me, because He and You know.

i need it.

:)

thank you again so much.

today will be a day of cleaning and laundry,
writing cards to the kids and leaving surprise love notes on cereal boxes they find when i am gone.
i have bought so much junk food and little fun gifts for them to open...
i guess that's the guilt in me, or that i love gifts, so i give them. kind of often.

and finalizing that i can really get that zipper shut on my borrowed suitcase. :)

[i wanted to buy REALLY cute luggage on clearance at t.j.maxx.

it was navy with little red and pink hearts on it.

i thought it would blend into this feminine family just great.

*but* i didnt' get the "clearance" i was hoping for.

so we borrowed luggage.

it's great. thanks kendra and marilyn!!]

i think my kids are going to have a blast.

i mean. a babysitter for 10 days?  :)
with junk food.

i hope to do some posting in chile...

continue to pray for us.

for a momma who can disengage, with far less tears in my opinion, is best.

(my kids have not seen me cry yet...BONUS),
the babysitter. :) the kids. me.,

for health...matt is feeling better, but still cranky, :(,

good flights, safety, a breeze thru customs, protection,

our spanish, our construction skills, team unity, great warm and sunny weather,

(the weather forecast is going from 80s, to 70s, to 60s and some rain, all in the time we are there!!)

the list is endless.

i covet your prayers.

big time.



("it's you flying away mom," campbell (age 5.9999) she will turn 6 on tuesday. )



until we meet again.

xoxo.

~mis.

oh. and HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPPY and AUNT NIK.
(don't get confused. our good friend Nicole. she's not our aunt. but feels like it. :) )

i don't think i ever posted a picture of my new quilt.



this was made by my dad's parents.
richard and sara.
my grandfather has cross stitched ever since i can remember.
and my grandmother has quilted since i was a child.
many memories of each of them includes cross stitching and quilting.
and letting me try on occassion. :)

this quilt was needle pointed by my grandfather and quilted by my grandmother.
the most special part about it is that my grandmother cannot see much anymore...
so she is unable to quilt. something that brought her so much joy...
and i imagine prayer time too, sitting around all those quilt frames...

i found out the grand-daughters, there are 4 of us, were each getting to chose a quilt.
around the same time i ordered my bedroom set.
and while this will match my new bedroom, i would much rather preserve it for awhile,
and keep it hanging in my kitchen. :)
it receives many more complements there!!

isn't it gorgeous?
the HOURS that went into this is crazy.
i am so blessed to add this to my collection of afghans, and another quilt i already have,
and all my cross stitch pieces...
i love having special things from family...generations.

i have several dishes from each of matt's grandmothers, and some quilts
and huge old crocks filled with homemade soap,
and a mennonite cookbook with favorite recipes marked,
all who have passed on already,
and several dishes from my mom's mom too.
and my favorite cookbook, with her penciled favorite recipes in the front.
it's the best.
i treasure it all...

a much happier note to end on. :)

impossible. possible.

it's becoming reality.

i will accompany my husband to chile. along with 9 others. in just over a week.

i have bathed this trip in prayer for about a year.

i questioned. i wrestled. i sought wisdom.

it is here. it is happening. and i am going along.

i am teary about leaving my kids.

that started yesterday.

don't know if the rest of my team is prepared for that. :( 

but that's how this momma rolls.

i hope to be better once i get there.

and my heart lets go a bit.

started writing things down for the sitter.

it's going to be a book.

eeekkkk.

and updated my kids journals.

xoxo. :)

do you know what goes into a momma leaving her babies...leaving the country?

whew.

it's wearing me out.

anyway. as i run around and prepare. and pack.

and give more kisseys.

and keep giving medicine...we are still "not quite right" around here.

talking things and questions thru with the littles.

kaden and kaycee are very detail oriented when it comes to mommy leaving.

e-mailing teachers. measuring luggage.

stocking the freezer.

this song has become my inspiration.

for leaving. for serving Jesus this day.

i hope people see Jesus in me.

not just in Chile. or the airport.

everyday.

i hope people see Jesus in my face. in my heart.

everyday.

this trip seemed to be the impossible.

i seem incapable.

(i haven't spoken spanish in a good 16 years...you know)

smile. and wink. right? :)

but Jesus makes the impossible possible.

the incapable more than able.

He is the WATER that NEVER runs DRY.

this prayer for my children...

that they would find the living water...

the water that never runs dry.

listen.

AND...i am finally on instagram.

just what you wanted to hear... :)

follow me at:

melissa_erin14

hope to post lots of chile pics. :)

thanks so all of my dear friends who are praying for me.

i love.love.love. it...

please pray for us the whole time. :)

the kids. the babysitter. our team.

you got it. 

xoxo.

~mk.

the parent drop off lane and 7.

so. we have a parent drop off lane at school.

do you?

there are posted signs.

do not pass.

and we have gotton literature instructing "us", the parents, do not get out of your vehicle.

 the stipulation is to pull up as far as you can,

child hops out of car,

you move on.

HOWEVER...

it seems there is a BOATLOAD of parents these days,

who do not heed any written instruction.

and then we wonder why our kids don't listen?

fascinating to me.

why is it necessary for moms to pull up in the line.

not to the very front.

but right in front of the building.

(i guess so their child has the shortest distance to walk into the building.)

put their car in park.

get out of the car.

walk around the car, to the rear passenger door.

open the door.

kid pops out.

then proceed to hug and kiss child.

then walk back around the car.

get in.

look around.

and wait. and watch. 

 until your child walks IN the door.

proceed to pull away.

while the drop off line goes to 12 cars long.

this problem has become MUCH worse since the tragedy in CT.

i love to hug and kiss my kids when they first get up.

in my house. in their beds. or around our kitchen island.

now.

i am not a huggy/kissy person. ESPECIALLY in public.

shoot. my kids don't even want a hug and kiss in the car anymore. :)

i know we are all different.

but it irks me ~every~ morning.

and i am not exaggerating at all.

the line is for sure 12 cars long.

and when you have different buildings to go to...

it sure takes a lot of time to watch all these hugs and kisses take place.

it's especially funny.

because i see these kids pop out of the car, on their own, in grocery store parking lots,

at church on Sunday mornings, and even little league games.

but the school drop off line.

no way.

mommy better do it.

sorry for the judgement.

i just had to get that off my chest. :)

and if you are one of the mommies who do this.

i am sure i still love you anyway. but now you know.

this does get on my nerves.

my problem. i know.

i am working on it.

we now leave 5 minutes early. to wait in line. :)

*******************************************************

now. on to a book i have finished just in time for my trip to Chile...

7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence. In the spirit of a fast, they pursued a deeply reduced life in order to find a greatly increased God.

have you read it?

it is astounding. astounding the way it REALLY made me think about my life...

here are some of my highlights, and i quote...

"In so many ways I am the opposite of Jesus' lifestyle.This keeps me up at night.I can't have authentic communion with Him while mired in the trappings He begged me to avoid.
i wouldn't dare call this negative reaction to 7 persecution since that would be laughable. Jesus, was always misunderstood for His counterculteral ideas:
~The least shall be the greatest.
~Blessed are the meek.
~Humble yourself like a child.
~Sell all your things and give to the poor.
~Don't gain the world only to forfeit your soul.
I can't imagine these were popular ideas either. He seriously knew how to thin out a crowd. He always gunned for less, reduced, simplified. He was the most fully and completely unselfish, ungreedy, unpretentious man to ever live, and I just want to be more like Him. It's as simple and hard as that."


"There is no end to my advantages. For whatever reason I was born into privilege; I've never known hunger, poverty, or despair. I have been blessed, blessed, blessed-relationally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. My life is so happy it's almost embarrassing."


"We were a crowd of women in ponytails and old jeans, not trying to impress one another or paste on a Christian face. I wish women could regularly enjoy this freedom together, liberated from competition and comparison. There is something so marvelous about women comfortable in their own skin...God reminded me that gathering the saints is powerful not because we look our finest or make a big production of the details but because we unite to seek Jesus. I suspect God is more glorified in a humble room of earnest worshippers than a massive production designed to sound "relevant" to the listeners but no longer relevant to God. When the worship of God turns into a "worship experience", we have derailed as the body of Christ."


"If the poor cannnot be enriched enough to become consumers, then grown-ups in the First World who are currently responsible for 60 percent of the world's consumption, and with vast disposable income but few needs, will have to be enticed into shopping...This is why I have 327 items of clothes in my closet....I am part of the problem, a contributing member of inequality. Every time I buy another shirt I don't need or a 7th pair of shoes for my daughter, I redirect my powerful dollar to the pockets of consumerism, fueling my own greed and widening the gap. Why? Because I like it. Because they are cute. Because I want that..."

"But all together, we've spent enough to irrevocably change the lives of a hundred thousand people. What did I get for that budgeting displacement? Closets full of clothes we barely wear and enough luxuries to outfit twenty families. This is hard to process, so it helps to imagine standing in front of the families of my Ethiopian children, who were too poor and sick to raise their own beloved babies. As I gaze upon their hopelessness, I imagine them calculating what I've spent on clothing alone, realizing that same amount would've kept their family fed and healthy for thirty years."


****************************************

so...i guess that's enough of some of my favorite thought provoking and guilt inducing lines...
I am not even a quarter of the way thru my highlites.

it was a very good read for me...





tried so kick some sickness out of the kids today,
by playing outside a bit...

happy friday.