Fiestas galore!

My husband is a champion. For his birthday, while we had tickets to a play, he had to stay at home writing his thesis. Every free moment, he has been spending writing this thing. I read itWhen he finally finished, I couldn't help but cry. Well, a couple weeks ago, he traveled to Michigan to defend his dissertation. After giving his presentation and answering any questions, he waited while the professors discussed his dissertation. "Congratulations, Dr. Franklin!"

Since then it has been super busy. We seem to have things going on all of the time. Yesterday, for example, we had a birthday party for my son. I took 5 (it was 4, but last minute, another boy came along) boys to Discovery Gateway Museum and then for ice cream. Unfortunately, we happened to go on a super busy day, so I spent the whole time making sure the boys played in the same area and counting them over and over. Well, nobody got hurt, they all left accounted for (easier said then done with 5 boys, 2 of them wanderers), and they all had lots of fun.
So I wanted to do something special for Rob. I planned a surprise party, calling people at Rob's work, at school, where we used to live, friends here, and family. And miracle of miracle... we surprised him! We got together at a nickel arcade and ate, talked, played. It was fun and thanks to everyone who came and helped us over the last 8 years. Thank you all!
Some of the friends and family who came

Enough with the whine

I have been reading in the Bible about the Israelites the last couple of days. It seems all they ever did was whine. Moses lead them out of slavery, they whined because they saw Pharoah coming. They were saved from Pharoah and they began to complain how hungry they were. They received Manna and began to moan about the lack of variety.

This theme of traveling through the wilderness has struck a chord with me, as we are living in the 5th month of a temporary move. I felt the Lord's direction to sell our house when we did, and we have definitely received guidance on what NOT to buy so far. We just haven't made it to the promised land. But I think of how the Israelites traveled in the wilderness for 40 years. For that generation, the wilderness WAS their promised land because they were unable to be content or even hope for more.

This has gotten me thinking in 2 directions. First, I don't want to be a whiner. I know I do it sometimes, but I really have got to eliminate it. (The second direction will have to be another blog).

So I think that I will list a 4 things I am really grateful for in my wilderness.

1. I am overwhelmingly grateful for prayer. I cherish the thought that I am heard and someone who knows the future and has my best interest at heart can hear and respond to me.

2. I am grateful that Rob has been busy doing something that he enjoys. He could have been gone all the time working 2 dead-end jobs. Instead he has been able to do research and work in an area where he can potentially make people's lives better (he is currently designing sensors that can help amputees move prosthetic arms easier and better).

3. I am thankful that I have developed the ability to operate and run the household on my own. With Rob gone a lot, I have found out that I am stronger than I thought I was. I have been able to teach myself things like putting up light fixtures, staining my deck or furniture, and using the new imovie... stuff I would have probably just delegated to him. I think that I have also become more sensitive to the amazing women who do everything alone because there isn't someone else to do it with. Before, I never thought about doing things alone like easter egg hunts or carving pumpkins... but now I know what it's like to be, and hopefully I can be sensitive to others who may be struggling. I shouldn't say alone. I mean one-parent. My kids are really fantastic and I have had a ton of fun with them going a TON of places with them. We've even vacationed just the 3 of us a bunch.

4. I am thankful to live in family housing. It is funny to move backwards in life when you know it isn't permanent. A lot of things are funny when you know that they aren't permanent. I think only 1 bathroom per family is funny. If we had more then 1 bathroom, I would never have had to explain to my children that they should not go the bathroom on 1 toilet at the same time even if they could do it.