Hi everyone,
It's Jen, and I wanted to drop you a line to let you know that Buddy is officially
en route to Germany, somewhere over some country. (He was frantically
looking for tracts in Saudi Arabian so he could hand them out in Abu Dabi
where he has to get off the plane in the middle of the night...as if we just
happened to have some laying around! :-) Ever the evangelist.)
Buddy and I discovered what will probably be key to our children having a
healthy confidence regarding themselves...taking them to an airport where
lots of Japanese young girls will transform their lives more than our best
intentions, I think. It was the Rathmell kid show last night, Jack
running and falling, charming people with his infamous "uh-oh", Adrianne
being coy...following him around, and Megan, well...just being an infant
in Japan qualifies you for severe doting. There were pictures flashing
for about 30 minutes, some from cameras, mostly from cell phones and now
all these young girls will have three little geising children to show off.
Ever since we had our friends, the Kelly's, over for dinner last week (they
are perhaps the happiest people in the world), Jack has transformed into
such a charming boy! (Except for when Buddy and I gave him a buzz cut with
the clippers..."charming" is not the adjective I would use to describe him
at that moment!) I think they have a special power to transmit happiness.
Whatever it is, we'll take it.
So, I drive away and Megan begins screaming her head off. This girl
is unparalleled in her ability to scream. She actually breaks out in
a sweat and all her little baby hair on the top of her head starts to glisten
like dew on the early morning grass. It's amazing. Does not bode
well for our cross country trip this summer. Buddy's solution is to
blast the music very loud (I say it just covers up the scream, but he states
that that ALSO solves the problem :-)), so I try it, and the only music available
on our one station is Rap music. Picture me...this non-rhythmic mother
of three with her car pulsating with every beat (much like David O'Neals
car, if any of you remember him). What a sight. I thought, this
is a comical way to begin our 7 day stint without Daddy.
And lastly, I wanted to remind you what my dear friend Allison reminded me
of the other day...that the families of these incredible soldiers who are
deployed are the real heroes because they do this single parenting thing
for months, even years. I think 7 days is enough to enlist the prayer
support of all of you dear people. A bit of healthy perspective for
me.
I'll keep you guys informed...you just might be a catharsis for me this week.
Jen
Oh yeah, another funny Jack story. I tried the method of learning colors
that my genius mother suggested and which worked wonderfully with Adrianne.
Using M&M's. This, however, does NOT work for Jack because there
is no time for tutelage in the .3 seconds that it takes to get from the little
pile on the floor to his grubby mouth. It made him so mad that I was
even talking that he just swiped some and ran away. Anyone have a better
idea? :-)