Interview with Jon!

I thought it would be fun to interview some family members and get a chance to ask questions I might not otherwise ask! So without further ado, I present my brother Jonathan, who has been my brother for 29 years. I was an only child for ten years when my mother became pregnant with Jon. I remember being very excited to be a big sister, especially since I had prayed for a brother or sister for five years. Our family had spent the summer in Canada while my Dad took a course in Greek at a seminary. When my mom got home (California), she felt "funny" and went to the doctor to discover why - and so began the journey of life with Jon!

Jon is married to Christy and as of today, they have one son, Jackson who will be two in April. Their second child is due any moment and we are anxiously awaiting his/her arrival (though none more eager than Christy!). Jon is currently the part-time worship/music director at the Baptist church in Ontario, Canada, where our Dad is Senior Pastor. Jon is also attending school part-time in preparation for full time ministry in the church.

I began our interview with the "easy" questions:

Favorite Book other than the Bible: Mere Christianity by CS Lewis

Favorite Hymn: Come Thy Fount of Every Blessing- because of its honesty about our spiritual condition (prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love) and the grace of God in seeking us out.

Favorite Food: Indian

Pet Peeve: misspelling and poor grammar coming from someone claiming to be academic and learned.

Hobbies: reading non-fiction, swimming, playing guitar and playing with son Jackson.

Special Bible Verse: Philemon 1:7- For I have received considerable joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed, brother, through you.
This verse is special because it speaks of "refreshing the hearts of the saints", which I see as my goal in ministry.


Are there ways in which you resemble your parents?: I see my attention to detail as a reflection of my parents. I feel that I am aesthetically geared and am aware of the impact of the environment on me. Like my parents, friendships are important to me. Mom and Dad had a commitment to their friendships and like them, I also value deep, meaningful relationships.

Do you have a special boyhood memory?: I remember walking with Dad to the creek which was down the road from us. The creek bed was often dry, so we would walk on the stones in the empty bed. The neighborhood children would sometimes come along, too.

How did you meet Christy?: While I was attending a Bible College in Canada, my roommate was a friend of Christy, who had attended that Bible College the year before and was now back home, working. Christy would call her friends from the school and since my roommate was often gone when she called, she and I would end up talking to each other. We became friends over the phone and then more so when she came for a visit :).

When did you know Christy was the one for you?: I had a sense early on in our relationship, as we got along well and enjoyed talking to each other.

How has parenthood been different than you thought it would be or surprising in any way? Although everyone warned me that parenthood would change my life, you never fully understand how until you become a parent. Parenthood gives you a new identity- a communal/ family identity. There is also a new responsibility as a parent as you are the one who gives shape and direction to this new family.

Parenthood also changes your sense of time. On the one hand, you spend a lot of time with your family doing simple, daily activities and time seems to slow down during these. However, as you watch the development of your child, you realize that time is going by quickly.

I have also found that parenthood has brought a new depth of meaning to my life and that being a father has enriched my life and gave it new significance.

How are you feeling regarding the impending arrival of your second child? : I am looking forward to discovering how this child will add to the family and contribute to the family identity and experiences.

How has losing your mother at an early age changed who you are?: Losing mom at an early age just became the "new reality". It is difficult to see how I would have been different since that experience becomes your life and you don't know any differently. Losing a parent early brings with it the sense of the transience of life and that relationships are not forever on this earth. You find yourself waiting to lose the next person you love and find yourself guarded emotionally at times. I feel that my role as a father has a more nurturing/ mothering type aspect to it than I might have had otherwise.


Benefits from growing up in a blended family?: In a blended family you have more opportunities to learn about human relationships and to work through difficult situations than you might have had otherwise. Although life was very difficult for awhile, now, as adults, it is beneficial and enriching due to the relationships one might not have had, especially due to marriage and children of brothers and sisters.


Any advice?: I recently heard this: When we make our lives too full of good things, it makes our life too full for the best things. Take it slow, don't hurry through life.

Thanks, Jon, for sharing a bit of yourself with me! You know your big sister loves you more than words can say!

Can I Just Say...

... how windy it's been lately?

When we first moved in, Brian bought several $5 Home Depot trees in hopes that we could have something green planted before we turned fifty. This guy was the last surviving member of that little group. All the other ones also got blown out of the ground, albeit much sooner. I had high hopes that this one was going to make it.

I read a decorating book last week that strongly advised against buying trees from Home Depot type stores because their trees are shipped from all over the country- and probably won't do well in your area. Interestingly enough, the woman who wrote the book lives about half and hour from here and ALL the trees she bought from Home Depot (over a hundred) died.

The only foliage on our property to survive so far have been purchased at local tree farms. Hmmm.

Before company comes, I tend to look at my house with a critical eye. I see all its imperfections- the torn and stained slipcovers, the places that need repainting. I wish for newer, matching furniture.

After the company is gone, I see my house in a new light (temporarily, unfortunately). I see the places where we had conversations, where my children played with loved ones, where we all enjoyed a good meal.

My home seems to glow with the joy of wonderful and happy memories. If only I could see it that way every day!

Family

Enjoying breakfast this morning. I woke up to Rhonda playing piano- what a great way to start the day!

Aunt Rhonda and Hope having tea.

Aunt Brenda is taking piano lessons and played two of the songs she has learned so far. Aunt Rhonda offered her help to both her and Hannah.

Saying good-bye at the airport.

At least Doug won't be leaving!

Mold Update

The basement mold was ice-blasted away on Monday. Even more basement stuff now resides on our lawn. But now it is snow covered. Maybe the neighbors won't notice it as much for a few days...

I am washing curtains and quilts this week, vacuuming and dusting the mold away (I hope!)

It's Curtains For Me

This picture is from an old Ethan Allen catalog. I have wanted to do something like this for the master bedroom since it needs new curtains.

I don't have any ball fringe like the curtains above, but I am hoping to add some small lace to the sides and bottom.

In getting ready for company (and just because it needs it) I am trying to play with these white curtains I bought from the "Country Curtains" catalog. I like them, but I don't know how to get them to look right. Perhaps the fabric is too heavy? I may have to run a gathering stitch up the side, but so far my attempts at the Ethan Allen curtains have been a failure. I tucked the curtain header behind the rod, too, and the girls didn't like it too well.

In the Master Bathroom the curtains were faded- and those were the second set in that room! Before I had put up napkins on the curtain rods, so I wanted to duplicate that idea again. This time I went to the fabric store for the two blue prints and added navy blue grosgrain ribbon and some white napkins I already had on hand. The navy button is just pinned for now- I'll need to sew it on later or it might fall on someone when they are taking a bath!

I am planning to add a small amount of lace to the cream colored napkins when I can get back to the store.



I can't believe I just put pictures of my bathroom on the internet! I have no shame now...

Getting Ready for Company

This photo was on the back of a Pottery Barn magazine. I have been planning to use this idea when we host Easter dinner this year, but I think I'll give it a test run with our company next week. I'm planning a fancy Valentine's dinner for some of my favorite people! With Brian's oldest brother serving in Iraq, I want to make it a special day for my sister-in-law and her children. Some other family members from California will be coming, too.

Over Christmas Brian painted the back hallway. I am attempting to put up a gallery of the children's artwork on the walls. I thought if I used black frames, it wouldn't be hard to match when I need to pick up other frames in the future.

I put out a few Valentine's decorations. I had a dream last week about Valentine's day candy, so Brian picked some up to have on hand when our company comes. Now if we can keep from eating it before then!
(Edit: I checked on the candy and it's *half gone*. I put the rest away or it won't make it through the weekend...)

Lord willing, our mold removal will be next Monday! I'm sure our guests will enjoy not having all of our basement stuff in the guest bedroom and on the back porch. Our neighbors might be glad as well.

Cowgirl

I found these pictures on the camera today. I'm not sure who took them or even when. I can see Jacob's influence on Hope in these (as well as his outgrown vest and hat from Disneyland!).

The Park in Winter

Abby has been busy using up her left over yarn knitting mittens. She is making up the patterns as she goes along- the only pattern she knows is for socks.

I found some yarn in the clearance bin for her yesterday and she already has half a scarf knitted up today!
She's going to make the perfect grandma someday because she makes good cookies, too.

But warm inside...

...while we recover from the flu.

Daddy is home again today, but feeling better. The rest of us are limping along at various levels of wellness.

Baby, it's cold outside...

Just Thinking Out Loud :)

I read an article in my college alumnae magazine that came the other day about a man who "converted" to the Eastern Orthodox church after being in a mainline protestant church for his growing up. He mentioned how he felt connected to all the saints who had gone on before him as he worshiped in this new church. As I read several books on Catholicism from the Catholic point of view last year, I can see how this more encompassing view of church history and our place in it can enrich one's spiritual life. What I appreciated most from my Catholic readings was the emphasis on remembering the Christians who have gone on before us and seeing the continuity of the church from Jesus until now.

These past few years have been a time of spiritual upheaval for me and I am still processing through a lot of things. I have read about church history and the tenants of other Protestant faiths and the Catholic church (and even others outside these groups just to see where their beliefs came from). The last time I went through such spiritual wrestling was after my mom died twenty years ago when I asked the questions "Who is God and what does He want from me?" I went through the Bible and every time a verse said "God is...." or talked about an attribute of God, I wrote it down into a long list.

This time, however, I have focused on studying core beliefs and what can be considered "open for interpretation". I wonder, too, how much our gravitation towards a particular flavor of Christianity has to do less with the way we were brought up (although that is a part of who we are) and more with our personality (preference for hymns vs praise songs, charismatic vs liturgical) and stage in life. As the man in the article stated, when he was young, the Eastern Orthodox church "made sense" to him, it was a good fit for where he was in life (and he ended up becoming ordained in that church). As we move through the years, our needs change and the expression of who we are changes. I know I am not the same person I was twenty years ago and what would meet my needs spiritually is different in some ways now. Perhaps as a teen-ager one might prefer praise songs and as one matures, might prefer a more liturgical style worship (or the other way around). As a young adult we might hold certain teachings more strongly than we might later on when we have had a chance to grow more in grace.

My belief in the core tenants of the Christian faith remains the same and in some ways even stronger than before. But being encouraged by the emphasis in other Christian traditions has broadened my thinking and enriched my faith. It has soothed the wounds inflicted by oppressive teachers (most specifically in the homeschooling realm) and helped me to grow. It has helped me view the Christian faith as a journey and that the outward expression of one's faith can change in response to what is happening within us and God's moving in our lives.

Music- One of God's Most Wonderful Gifts!

I thought Yo-Yo Ma did an excellent job performing at the inauguration and we enjoyed listening to it again on youtube. This, however, has to be my all time Yo-Yo favorite.

January Days

The weather the past two days has been just like Spring- it was over 70 degrees this afternoon. We have been trying to up our vitamin D level to fight off the flu-type illness Jacob and I are fighting.

A great benefit of homeschooling- being able to do your schoolwork outside in the nice weather! The kiddos are reviewing state capitals and teaching them to Hope (who, when it was her turn, read from the card and asked "What is the capital of South California?" Mommy answered "Mexico").

Abby cut out her skirt today from some silky black fabric. It's her first time to sew on anything other than cotton. I see frustration in the coming days...

Oops..

I sent our Christmas cards yesterday. I've never sent them after Christmas before and I hope people will forgive me. I knew I was in trouble when I retrieved a phone message from a friend worried about us because she hadn't gotten our Christmas card yet.

And all along I was thinking we were just "fashionably late". Guess not!

Blonde Goes Back To Work After Many Years

Abscessed Teeth and the Musings They Inspired

Today Hope had a baby tooth pulled by an oral surgeon. On Monday, she had quite a bit of pain in her tooth, which I assumed was being pushed on by a permanent tooth. On Tuesday when we were out, Abby said, "Mommy, did you know Hope's cheek is all swollen?" Sometime after lunch Hope's face began to swell, so on our way home we swung by the dentist's office for an x-ray. The dentist said Hope had an abscessed tooth and it would need to come out. So, today, it did. We hope that the infection will now go away and she will soon be back to "normal".

Before we went to the oral surgeon, the dentist had referred us to a pediatric dentist to have the tooth pulled. I called the dentist we had used when the girls were little (big, big mistake). This woman takes the worst case scenario and presents it to you as if this is what you will be facing. She warned that Hope might end up in the emergency room on IV antibiotics - Hope, listening in the chair with tears streaming down her face. This was the same dentist who warned us that Abby would *almost certainly* loose her permanent front teeth due to an eye tooth situation- and Abby is just fine today.

Mulling over the situation, I realized that this dentist uses fear to gain power over people. She uses her theatrics and medical knowledge to create panic in loving parents who only want their kids to be alright. Even her dental hygienists treat parents with scorn when they learn the child doesn't floss twice a day and if the child has a cavity, you'd better run and hide! I wonder if creating unwarranted fear in people gives her a sense of importance (since *she* has the answer for you and if you don't do as she says, your child will suffer harm).

Mulling further, I thought of a woman who runs a very nice fabric store nearby. However, the atmosphere in the store is suffocating and the employees have a meek and scared demeanor! The owner was at the cash register once when I was checking out and I could see why. She controlled everyone through threats and fear.

Many people in religious organizations and in the church do this as well- "If you don't live your life the way I think you should (dress the way I think you should, eat or don't eat what I think you should, etc.) you'll be in danger of hell... Control through fear.

I can see how fear of hell can be a good thing in causing us to turn to Christ, and He certainly did warn people about it while on earth and through the Bible, but that is not how God deals with us. He doesn't try to control us using fear and intimidation. It seems that looking around lately, whether it be situations at Brian's work or at the dentist's, it amazes me how many people try to control other people (it's like a bunch of toddlers in grown up bodies!).

Anyway, these "musings" are just for my own reflection- I think that domineering people are one of my "pet peeves" and this dentist taking advantage of Hope's situation to create more panic than was necessary (even the first dentist used the words "too much drama" in referring to her...) made me think on this.

I am grateful that Hope is feeling better tonight and that her experience with the oral surgeon was a positive one. We pray that the infection will go away now and that this will be the end of this adventure!

Knit Skirt

Abby (finally) finished her skirt. I think it turned out cute!