randomness....

brody likes to tell us how old he is... often.

little boys and daddy.
all of whom can't wait until summer.

Happy Valentine's Day

This year we elected to get a family gift that keeps on giving, for Valentine's Day... as the children would say, a "Hotel Waffle Maker"


And keep giving it did...

because i don't have words...

Unbloggy.

i have been feeling unbloggy lately.
it is not that there aren't things going on,
things that i could talk about.
it's just that i haven't even begun to process thoughts these days.

i don't know why.
it just seems like
sometimes, i don't want to think about stuff.

a friend sticking up for her daughter,
another friend's 25 year old son has cancer,
friends without jobs,
friends dealing with racial slurs being flung at their family.

sometimes it's just too much.
and makes me not want to think.
not process.
be, unbloggy.

A gift for Voices!

We are sending out this great shopping bag to all who have signed up for 300 Voices, as a thank you, as a reminder, as a tool.
This is also the new logo we will be using on everything water related!
Isn't it the best?

We had a very generous donor cover all the expenses for the bags, and we are so very thankful!
So, if you are a voice, be expecting your bag in the next month!
AND, we still need more voices!
Tell all your friends, and your family...
300voices.blogspot.com

it is monday indeed.

steve and i got away for the night on friday.
got home just about ten minutes before church on saturday.
sunday was rushed as well.
lots going on.
school today.
laundry.
dishes.
and my e-mail isn't working.
seriously.
it is monday indeed.

Micah on lifeguards...

Lifeguards are very important.
They save people's lives...
and clean puke out of the water.

i am so blessed.

 

thinking today about other moms
just like me
who cannot even enjoy the kiss of their little boy
because their entire existence
revolves around finding water.
water that is contaminated.
water that will kill
their little boys.

i cannot even begin to imagine
the pain in that.
the pain in not having a choice.
the pain in watching your baby boy
die in your arms.
no longer feeling his kiss.

we can change that for those moms.
and it is so easy.
be a voice.

Oh how I long for early Summer!

i wanna be like tape.

i had this revelation this morning,
while i was putting away the recently purchased new roll of tape.
the only word that was written big enough to read,
on the outside of the packaging, was:
transparent
and i thought, yah, that's what i want to be.
i want to hold things together,
my family, my marriage, my friendships,
all the while
being completely transparent.

love.

my prayer today:

Lord, do not let me be a resounding gong,
a clanging cymbal
to my world,
to my children.

may i approach everyone
with the grace
that i myself do not deserve.

Lord, allow me to glimpse
the people around me today
with the eyes You long for me to have.

give me love.
and only love.
so that i might love
those i deem unlovable,
even if "those"
includes me.

be.

if we actually loved people
with no preconceived ideas of power or caste
really desired relationship
and not authority,
can you imagine what we could do?

love people
because it is what you were designed to do.
www.300voices.blogspot.com

a welcome surprise

steve called me this morning around 9am...
asked if i still wanted to go to the bakery in Amana.
do you even have to ask?

 

brody and i picked him up a half an hour later,
and were on our way.

 

we enjoyed the beautiful sunshine,
and iowa cold.
it was a great morning.

 

and yes, i am spoiled.
very, very spoiled.

 

she's just one voice.

i had mentioned before that emily, my 12 year old daughter, had expressed an interest in signing up to be one of the 300 voices.
we talk about clean water a lot in our house,
so she understands the need,
and the ease in which we could achieve it.

yesterday before school, she asked me if i had signed her up yet.
i said that i had not, because she had talked about joining with a friend, so the expense wouldn't be so great for someone with little income.
and then i reminded her, that if she committed to this, she would have to follow through every month, with a $20 donation.
i asked her if she thought she would have that much money to give away.

she looked at me,
much like i look at her.

she pulled $40 out of her pocket,
and said, here is January and February.
i decided i want to be a voice on my own.
that way i can encourage other kids to join on their own too.
she said, i will have the money.
if i run out,
i will work.

she is only one voice.
but clean water matters to her.
and she is willing to work
to give it all away.

kinda puts things in perspective.

can't roll over.

pent up again.
so i apologize if i offend,
if i come across harsh or calloused.
if my passion for water
causes you to move on,
to the next blog
without stopping to consider what YOU could do.

but i can't roll over.
i can't stop talking about clean water
until there is no longer a need.

we still need more voices.
300 voices.
standing together
from many towns, many cities, many countries.
being the change.
bringing clean water to Liberia,
one voice at a time
one month at a time,
one donation at a time.

i can't roll over.
not until every voice
has been raised.
not until the need is gone.

partner with us.
300voices.blogspot.com

beauty on a window sill

 

we're home...

but not without good food, and good friends to finish up the trip.

 

 

 

 

it's a new morning

and we are still without our kids.
we still have lots of coffee.
we still have our computers.
it will be a good day.

More from the road trip

 

 

 

 

chicago. the surprise.

one hotel.
one night.
4 computers.
coffee.
4 moms.
without our 18 children.
we are having a seriously good time.