A near miss?

At the beginning of our 5,000+ mile trip we were almost hit by a drunk driver.  By almost, I mean that he was within a foot of our van.  We had been driving on a mostly empty freeway in the middle of Texas.  I had just about passed a semi truck, but was not far enough ahead to pull back into the right lane.  I saw a white mini van coming up behind me very fast.  It was easy to see that he was going to try to pass me on the right and go in front of the truck.  I pulled as far to the left as I could so there was less chance that anyone would get hurt.  There was not room for him to get between me and the truck, and he lost control.  He swerved back and forth a few times coming withing a foot of hitting us.  He ended up going off the road and away from us.  He rolled a couple of times.

At this point we were pulling over as quickly as we could.  Paul was calling 911 and threw the phone at me and ran out the door back to the van before I was even stopped.  Paul was the first one at the van, but there was no one inside.  The driver had been thrown, and was already dead.  Our biggest fear was that there were children inside, thankfully there weren't.  Paul said he could smell the alcohol even without before he was close enough to examine the driver.  He had been driving drunk.  His recklessness nearly caused a tragedy for our family.  But, he was dead, I couldn't be angry, only thankful that we had escaped.  The fussing and whining of our kids didn't sound so bad afterwards.

The more I think about this incident the more I learn from it.  The first thing is that God really is protecting us.  My view is that angels pushed his van away from us.  We were on our way to visit one of my sisters.  She has been worried that we were being reckless taking our kids to such a far away place.  It taught her that God is watching out for us. 

It also seems that there is another lesson God wanted me to learn.  I am a careful mom, I keep my kids close to me and do my best to make sure they stay safe.  There was nothing I could have done to prevent this guy from coming our way.  I had no way to get away from him.  If I can't keep my family safe here in the U.S. how can I expect to keep them safe in Asia?  Instead of making me more afraid, it makes me feel more bold.  How long we survive is up to God, not me.  Knowing that there are people in the world who could hurt us is not going to keep me from going to help when God seems to be directing us to go.

I WILL TRUST GOD.

Crazy Field Trip

 We have been on this crazy cross country trip for almost two weeks.  Here is a sampling of what we have learned.

1.       Chili on top of spaghetti and smothered in cheddar cheese at Skyline in Cincinnati, OH is pretty tasty.

2.       Our kids are terrific even when they are stuck in the car for several hours a day and several days in a row.

3.       Leaving a hotel during 36 degree weather while it is raining is not fun.

4.       God is protecting our family… even from drunk drivers.

5.       3463 miles in a car with five children may be doable… but going back the other way looks pretty daunting from this angle.

6.       Having a sick kid in a hotel is better than having a sick kid in a car.

7.       The four year old version of museum is much more fun to say…  ‘zoozam’.

8.       Crossing into a later time zone the same night as daylight savings time makes getting up the next morning REALLY hard.

9.       Our kids are able to make friends quickly and seem to get along well with everyone.

10.   Listening to three replays of one Dora DVD in a day is three too many and after a while, you don’t  even need to play the DVD to hear everything on it. 

Suitcase parade

About a week ago we realized that with only four large suitcases we had to go shopping for more.  At a discount store we found lots of suitcases with nice small prices, and we happily let the kids choose the colors they wanted.  It was only as we were paying for nine suitcases that we realized we had to get them home.  Remember we have five children, two adults and only seven seats in our mini van.  Now might be a good time to mention that we also had a half dozen folding chairs riding in the back of the van.   Yeah, it was crazy.  But we are crazy, it's part of what makes us a family.  It only took us about 10 minutes to get the kids and suitcases loaded.  Three of the suitcases were a little larger than the others, so we packed a smaller one in each.  Only two fit in the back with the chairs.  One rode under the two year old's feet.  One went across the laps of the three oldest kids in the back row.  One more fit in the space between our four year old and the door.  The last suitcase rode on Paul's lap while Diane drove.  This is what that craziness looked like.

Managing to get the suitcases home is only half the story.  They also had to be packed.  We spent the next few days sorting and trying to organize the things we most want to take with us to Cambodia.  We were overwhelmed with the prospect of getting it all packed.  One at a time we started filling and weighing suitcases.  As we got them done we shuffled things around so that none were too heavy.  We also happily added things from the want pile when the need pile was all packed.  By the time we were finished we were looking at this.

I'm sure it will be fun to watch us make our way into and out of airports with all these bags and five children.   This is sure to be one of those stories we will look back at with laughter ten years from now.  It's good that we don't have to wait to laugh, because this sure has been a crazy week and I need a good laugh.

Proverbs 17:22a
A cheerful heart is good medicine...

Taking a break

The family that builds together...

has fun!

We hung out with some friends.

And had a great time.

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SOLD! Again...

After losing our first buyers two weeks into escrow, we were pretty discouraged.  We cleaned up our piles of sorted things, and got the house ready to show again.  It took just over a week to get another offer, and we are on the fast track to closing once again.  This second set of buyers is a young family that is a much better fit for the property.  That makes us all feel better about leaving. They are even excited to have our chickens! 

So, out come the piles, and the sorting starts again in earnest.  What to take?  What to store?  What to get rid of?  Most of it goes into the last category.  I've always wanted a fresh start without all the clutter and this is my chance.  I get to choose what is most important to me and let go of everything else.  Making those choices is proving to be very hard.  But, since the reward for choosing is a trip to Cambodia, we will do it. 

One step

When we started this journey to Cambodia it was a simple thing.  We just wanted to learn about the country, the people, and what God is doing there.  I'm not sure we were really seriously considering flying halfway around the planet at first.  It was a crazy idea, completely unreal, but we wanted to find out more about it.  So we took a baby step.  We started researching.  We talked to friends and family.  We prayed.  And we repeatedly said that this idea was crazy.

After taking the first step, we saw where the next one led, and so we stepped out.  One step was flying to Cambodia for a two week whirlwind tour.  After that, it was clear that we were going to take our family over there long term.

The next step was clear, put the house on the market.  Houses in our neighborhood have been taking close to a year to sell.  God found us a buyer in less than two months! We were ready to start planning the next step.

But our buyers backed out.  After two weeks, we have rooms that are now empty.  Our office has no desk, our dining room has no table or chairs.  Stuff that has been sorted into keep, sell, and take piles are making the house look messier than usual.  There is a large pile of things we were intending to sell now sitting in the garage. 

I'm finding it harder to trust at this point.  The timing was exactly what I wanted before, and now?  I feel like I have lost control when I never really had it.  God IS in control, I am not.  If I really believe Him, then I have to trust Him. 

So, we will take each step as it comes, trying not to worry about the steps that come later.  After all we have seven pairs of feet to take through each step. 

Philipians 4:19  And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Handmade with love

I am a DIY crafty sort of gal.  I've always wanted to do things myself.  Sometimes to save money, and sometimes just because it sounds fun.  I've painted furniture and made lots of curtains for our home.  But what I really like to do is work with small pieces of fabric or a nice length of yarn.  I could pretend that I make useful items because it's cheaper, but it's not.  It's very slow, and when you add up the amount I spend on materials and the time it takes to make one quilt the price is outrageous.  

One thing I have found over the years is that if I start with good materials the end result will be nicer.  It is also more pleasant to work with good quality fabric.  After many years of working with fabric and yarn I can feel the difference in quality.  The good stuff costs more money, but lasts longer.  The end result will be better quality that my family can use for several years.

What I put into a project is worth it because of the end result. 

Today my living room is draped with my handmade quilts.  My children are playing tents and climbing under and over the projects I spent countless hours on.  I hope they understand that they are worth it to me.  And I hope that the quilts will last for years and continue to tell my children how much I love them even when I'm not near them. 

I hope that our move to Cambodia will show the children there that they are worth our time and our effort.  I hope that they will see Jesus love shining through our eyes.  I pray that they will find His love, and that lives will be turned right side up.