Tonsillectomy

Well, it's final. Exactly one week from Friday, those ghastly, festering, strep-loving, worthless hunks of lymph tissue will be gone forever. In a last ditch effort to avoid the weekly infections and feeling crummy all the time, I went to the ENT practically begging him to put me on some low grade antibiotic (I learned from my at-home medical advisor (aka the internet) that this was sometimes a possibility). Well, I got a "No way, Jose" from the good doctor and was promptly scooted out of the room to schedule my tonsillectomy. At least I was able to strategically plan it so that I can enjoy eating on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I also roped Chris and my mother into taking some time off of work to wait on me hand and foot. After all, the doctor DID say that I would be out of commission for 10 days. And I'm pretty sure that includes no dishes, no diapers, no cooking, and DEFINITELY no laundry. Yep, I specifically remember him saying no laundry. Sounds like the best vacation I've had since I was single....minus the really, really bad sore throat, of course. I'm also about to order a new historical fiction book on China for my down-time. Has anyone read "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang? It looks very good, although I may have trouble keeping all of my dictators straight while doped up on liquid Vicodin. On the other hand, my altered mental state could make for an interesting review of the book. I'll let you know. So, if you want to leave a comment, please only share about the easy, nearly-pain-free adult tonsillectomy rumors you've heard, since I think I have quite a collection now of the other kind. Until then, have a happy Thanksgiving....you can bet I will be thoroughly enjoying my turkey and pecan pie!

Happy Anniversary!

1994~Sweethearts















1999~Our wedding

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits...who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like an eagle" Ps 103:1-5

Dear Chris,
It's hard to believe we have been married for 8 years...even harder to believe that we have been friends for 15 years! The goofy look on our faces only highlights the fact that we had no idea what God had in store for us. For example, who knew that we would actually stay in the full-time ministry for as long as we did. Remember us making bets on how long we would keep our jobs? Those were wild times...changing our address every couple of years, starting all over with relationships again and again. Amazing that God used us to make any kind of impact on people when we were really just trying to figure out life ourselves. As if life wasn't crazy enough, I decided to become a college student again. At the time, Meagan was 2, and my life was full of Barney and dirty diapers...I thought, what graduate school would give me the time of day? You gave me the courage to apply to the really good schools and repeatedly told me that I was smart and valuable. Your enthusiasm never waned, even when my dreams meant that the only affordable apartment had chain smokers living downstairs and was in the not-so-nice part of town. Even when you were stuck being Mr. Mom, and me on the verge of a stress-induced nervous breakdown. Even when you picked up a part time job clearing trash and cleaning toilets at Starbucks so that we would have health insurance. Now, for any ladies reading this, that is the very definition of romantic. And I certainly never imagined that our prayers for children would be answered in the way that they have been...with the unexpected birth of a daughter, the loss of a daughter, the adoption of a daughter and the years of infertility woes in between. I knew that life would throw us curve balls, I just didn't think there would be so many. Many times when I am tempted to beg, "God, why can't my life just be normal?", I stop and remember standing there, staring at you on our wedding day. I can't say that I was secretly praying for a normal life. I looked at you and you looked at me and I wanted a happy life with you by my side. What God acutally gave me was that and so much more...a full life, with unexpected delights at every turn, bursting with adventure (more adventure that what I am comfortable with) and peace. God has given me peace. I think about that Psalm quoted above. When we placed it on our wedding invitations and I had no idea that it would become the song of my life. The rest of it goes..."bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of his benefits, who pardons all of your iniquities, who heals all of your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things..." In a way, you are the "good things" in human form, that God has lavished on me. Do you ever wonder how on earth have we managed to cram so much life into eight measly years? If the next eight are anything like the last, then bring it on...joys, heartaches, ups, down, ins and down-and-outs. God has a funny way of making sure that we are not bored, and you, my dear, are His very unexpected way of showing His goodness to me. I love you.

Jen

The Pigtailed Princess

Happy Halloween

Here are a few shots of our cat and ladybug. Thanks to my friend Karen for the cute bug costume. We got lots of ohhh's and ahhh's from the neighbors, which, of course, is the goal of dressing your kids up in goofy outfits. Anyway, there was a little bit of a learning curve for Nini with the whole trick or treating thing. At first she tried giving the candy back or putting it in Meagan's bucket. Once she realized that it was something sweet, all of that generosity ended. I very rarely give her anything sweet, in spite of the tremendous amount of persecution I receive from grandma and Aunt Laura. So, here is documented proof of Alina eating her first chocolate bar. At one point, we caught her sitting in the middle of her loot, repeatedly signing
"more"!