The Grateful Tree

Once upon a time in late August, there was a leaky dishwasher....

                 

                            which led to a slow saturation of the wood floor 
causing it to buckle.

                                      which led to tarp ...
and an obnoxiously large, drying tank 
                                                                   ...which hummed, and vibrated and sucked every last drop of water out of our floor boards...........for three whole weeks.

Then the floor was ripped out....

             along with the dishwasher....

                                  to prepare the space for new floor boards...and the refinishing of our entire kitchen...with the fumes, and the sawdust. 

                                                

So we packed up.
                                  And moved out. 
                                 The entire family.

 to grammie and grandpa’s for four days. I'm glad they love us so much ;) 

  But then, we moved back in,  back to a house with the refrigerator and tables in the living room—>

       However, one week later, it is all a distant memory because everything is back to the way it was, with new floors...(with new dents already..)

I have to say, I’ve never been so grateful for a dishwasher or fridge or anything in my whole life. The past two months have been a season of transition and an exercise in being grateful in all circumstances. 

Yes, and truly I do know that there are worse things to be dealing with in life. 

I do recognize that most of the world does not have a dishwasher. 

Most of the world does not have a refrigerator or wood floors. 

However, this whole situation was like an irritating fruit fly to me, buzzing around me, irritating me. 

It’s so easy to start complaining. 
However, complaining and being negative does no good for anyone, especially me.

Being grateful despite circumstances is really a mindset. Positive people choose to see things in an optimistic light. There is an attractive energy that radiates from positive, grateful people. My hope and goal is to raise children who are  grateful, no matter what!

SO, I’ve been trying to have small conversations with Evie during the day which encourage her to recognize her everyday convinces as extraordinary blessings! 

November seems to be a month when everyone pauses to remember all the “good things” in their life. I want this to be a natural mindset everyday! However, I did jump on the Thanksgiving bandwagon and I borrowed an idea from a friend and constructed a “Thankful tree.”

 Walking into Micheals to get the appropriate supplies to construct this creation, it was a little out of my comfort zone because I can hardly sew on a button. However, I was pleased with how the finished product evolved. It’s a simple construction; a flower pot, a Styrofoam ball, an attractive branch from outside and a few cut out leaves. 

Each day Evie and I sit down and she tells me one thing she is grateful for. The irony of her gratitude though is that it usually reflects and directly contrasts my grumbling, ungrateful heart. 

For example, the refrigerator that was placed smack dab right in the middle of the family room area became her object of gratitude for that day. 

The table that was just stained by dumped nail polish was what she recognized as valuable;

She was grateful the floor...

               the pouring rain outside…

and our couch that desperately needed a vacuum. 
Evie is able to see things and blessings for what they are. 

Her insight and her heart of gratitude humbles me everyday, and I learn from her. 

However, she is human and grumbling and whining and complaining drives John and me to almost the brink of insanity sometimes. Basically, she acts sometimes how adults (i.e.. me) want to act, in a "kicking and screaming sort of way."

Everyone has a choice to focus on the good in people and in circumstances rather than the negative. Our kids notice us. They listen to us. Evie picks up every word, attitude and remark from me. They are little sponges, absorbing it all. It makes me consider what I can be grateful for in every moment. I have a lot.

Rainbows for Africa: Teaching and empowering kids to make a difference

Evelyn still lay awake in bed that damp, chilly fall night. She stared at the ceiling, not satisfied with our simple, routine prayer, a prayer for the hungry to find a meal tonight; a prayer for the kids without beds to have soft place to lay their heads; a request and a hope that everyone would find comfort and warmth tonight.

 Trying to teach my kids about gratitude in a culture of insatiable consumerism, we’ve made it a nightly ritual to pray for those who do not have a bed, or a home or a meal.

“But why, mama…why doesn’t God give them food to eat?” my three year old daughter asked with genuine concern and frustration.

Caught off guard by this sudden question, the silence that followed was a bit awkward and made me realize that I didn’t have a good answer for my pensive daughter. Her question was relevant, real and raw. It addressed a questioned that I think all people ask and struggle with, “why do some people seem to have so much, while others seem to struggle to survive?”  Her unanswered question hung uncomfortably in the dark bedroom.

After discussing this with my husband, we came up with a reasonable answer and a plan. The following morning at breakfast I said, “Evie, you know that question you asked me last night before you went to bed…you know, why do some people have so much and some don’t even have a meal at night?”
She stopped what she was doing and looked at me with expectation in her eyes.

“Well, I want to respond that. You see, not everything in life is exactly fair. We live in a world that is broken. We need to be grateful for the good things we have.”
I could see her veil of innocence being slightly torn away. However, I didn’t want to just stop with giving her facts or mere answers. John and I felt like it was equally important to empower her to do something about it. We wanted to feel the satisfaction of being a small part of a solution.
“You see, when we have more and some people don’t have enough, we are responsible to fill that gap and fix that need with the abundance that has been given to us. It is our job.”

She looked at me, processing all I said. “I want to,” she replied, simply and sincerely. “I want to feed the kids that don’t have anything to eat.”

“Do you want to send them money?” I opened a World Vision magazine that was laying on our table. I pointed to a little African boy with dark, hopeful eyes.

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “I want to help him.”

Right then and there I could have written the check and sent some money in Evie’s name to feed that little boy. However, something in me didn’t feel right about that. Something told me that I wanted Evie to be apart of this process.

“Evie, what can you do to feed this boy?”

She looked confused.

I continued to further explain my reasoning. “Food costs money. Money is earned by working or selling something that people want to buy. Do you have any skills that could earn you money?”

Evie really didn't know how to respond. She looked around the kitchen, searching for an answer to my question.
On our kitchen table were a few half drawn rainbow pictures. Lately she  has spent a lot of her time painting and drawing pictures of rainbows, and sunshines and blue skies.

 She creates each scene with precision and care, each color intentionally added, each cloud and sunshine placed above to create a picture that exudes happiness.  On the bottom, she practices signing her name.
With each attempt, her lines get a little straighter; each stroke her signature becomes more real. Our eyes both fell on the various rainbow pictures on the table.
“These rainbows here make me smile, Evie. What if you drew lots of rainbows and sold them for a dollar and sent all the money to feed that boy in Africa?!”

She looked at me with determination in her dark eyes. “Yes. I want to draw rainbows and send money to Africa.” Immediately she sat down and began meticulously drawing one rainbow postcard after another.

Evie doesn’t know where Africa is, but she understands that there are people in the world who do not have it as comfortable as her. And from that moment on, her mission was drawing rainbows.

She painted and colored and crafted those rainbow postcards every spare moment she had. She loved that little boy in the picture. Each stroke of color was part of a promise that life would get better for him.

We announced to friends and family about Evie’s Africa Rainbow project. Some people jumped right in, sending checks in the mail. Others approached Evie personally, handing her a dollar bill in exchange for one of her rainbows.
“Why are you selling those rainbows Evie?” one woman asked.

“ To buy food for the little boy in Africa.”

She handed Evie her dollar. Evie handed her a rainbow. She happily took the dollar and put it into a jar in the family room.

I am humbled when I think of my three year old daughter. She has more compassion, more enthusiasm and more motivation to do something about the injustice in this world than I do.

 I realized that my simple prayers were incomplete. Faith and vision without action is dead, and Evie’s concern and energy has ignited a renewed sense of hope and enthusiasm in me.

As we go into the holiday season, I encourage us all to replace our good intentioned thoughts and prayers with a verb.

A three year old girl in Tualatin sits at the kitchen table painting rainbows.
A three year old boy in Sudan is finally able to satisfy the ache in his empty stomach.

What rainbows can you paint today?

Fall Festivities

October has been one big pumpkin patch experience. Evie has gone to so many pumpkin patches this year I think she’ll turn into a gourd.

Our area has dozens of fall festivities and "pumpkin extravaganzas" to choose from; this is such a wonderful, fun time of year here in the Pacific Northwest. 

After all, we have to capture the perfect family pumpkin portrait, right?!?

Sadly, probably our best one

It's hard to believe that two years ago I was at this same pumpkin patch, still with all four kids, but things looked very different. 

A lot easier to capture the perfect shot when three of them are 20 weeks...

This year it was extra special to visit the pumpkin spots because my mom was in town for 10 days to join us. 

                                                               We did a variety of activities and enjoyed the gorgeous fall weather.  

Hayride to find the perfect pumpkin

Climbing on park monuments

Grandma love

Grandma and her munchkins

We ventured to several pumpkin patches...

One pumpkin patch was quite interesting and different. It was called the "Wild Side Farm."
 In addition to the piles of pumpkins, there were also Lions and Tigers and Bears...and kangaroos! 

This little "ma and pa farm" is someplace I've read and heard about for the past few years, but I never actually saw it for myself. This year however, I was determined to get there. Located about 20 min from our house down some country road, there was a barely noticeable hand painted wooden sign that read "Wild Side."  We entered the gravel drive and we were greeted by a fenced in area of mules, goats and zebras. 

Yes zebras. 

After we parked and got out of the car, the kids got excited by the cage of kangaroos. 

Farther into the hay stacks and pumpkin vines were cages of panthers, tigers, lions and a grizzly bear. 

The boys were pretty oblivious to the predators that surrounded them.  Evie was a little unsure about the turkey that was freely declaring it's territory around the cages. 
What was a bit unsettling to me though was the lion who was pacing the cage, stalking my sweet little boys. I watched him as he literally licked his chops and lunged at them through the bars. 

The whole experience was very surreal. The couple who owns the place explained that they have a special permit which allows them to take in and care for exotic animals who are illegal kept in Oregon. 
Hmm...so that means there are people who actually think lions from Africa are good house cats?!! 

There is much to ponder on this subject so I'll just stop here and focus on another close wild animal encounter. Ducks. 

The boys love ducks. They quack like ducks, point to ducks and say "duck." SO, One beautiful afternoon we took the kids to George Rogers park by the Willamette River and they fed the ducks. 
This duck feeding experience was pretty intense. Swarms and swarms of ducks started waddling and flapping towards us. 

Evie was very uncomfortable by her decreased personal space. 

James was just plain terrified. 

Caleb ate the duck bread. 

And Levi thought it was the best thing ever.  

So really, the point of this post is just to post some picture of what the family has been up to this fall.

First Starbucks fall drink EVER!

Collecting chestnuts
Collecting chestnuts. Yes, the kind that roast on an open fire. They actually have pretty intense spikes! Ouch! 

Caleb in the tube

Both look a little uncertain

Letting them run wild at New Seasons. Watch out!

My girl and me on a perfect fall day. 

Roaming the beach

Just hanging out

Lunch with Grandma before boarding her flight back to Chicago

The Tualatin Fall festival

carving the pumpkin

...and painting it too.

Evie's trip to dentist to get her teeth cleaned. 

Evie's preschool class trip to Ryser's pumpkin patch

Levi joined in the fun too....

Evie's cute little preschool class.

Meow. Happy Halloween!