Doings

Claire and I tagged along with the college students to the BASIC conference this past weekend. It was a great time with lots of significant ministry from the Lord-- and Claire was a peach, which I had been very unsure about beforehand. She slept pretty much the whole way to Rochester and played happily with Alexis the rest of the time. She stayed up late both nights without much whining, and then slept in Kara's arms Saturday night so I could be a part of the altar prayer time and late-night worship. She didn't wake either morning until 8:30am, which is a record not only for her, but probably for all of my 1-year-olds! Sunday morning she was starting to seem a bit fried, but Holly entertained her for quite a while by giving her rides up and down the escalator over and over and over again. Louissa, who graciously chauffeured us the whole weekend, was the one who had to put up with fussing the last 45 minutes or so of our drive home, when Claire officially "expired"!

I was so glad to be a part. I know that what I do here at home to release Daniel to ministry makes me a part all the time, but it's really a blessing to be able to see a bit of what God is doing in lives. It's so encouraging to see so many people loving Jesus and hungry for His Word and work.

The 4 big kids stayed here in Madrid with Nana and Papa, which they loved. A giant sleepover! The aunts always spoil them, Nana always makes good food for them, and they got lots of help dressing up for the church's annual Hallelujah Party on October 31st.

Yesterday I did massive amounts of laundry (how do 7 people create that much laundry in just 3 short days???), made the enchilada sauce for tonight's celebration of Claire's first year (I think there will be about 35 of us since all the relatives are coming + the Criscitello family), and blitzed the house to get ready for the CFA Mothers Meeting that I hosted last night. Claire's birthday cake got baked this morning (thank goodness for Carina, who will help me decorate it a bit so it's not as ugly looking as most of my cakes), all the kids got baths/showers, and now I will begin the packing process for our morning departure for Pittsburgh before setting up for the party this evening.

School this week is mostly of the home ec variety, but will be finished off on Friday with a trip to the museum of natural history with Grandma Rah-Rah. The reality is that the toilets needed to be cleaned and the laundry needed to be folded more than the math sums needed to be figured-- and I am very content to graduate a 1st and 2nd grader who know how to do those things as well as they know how to read. Just last night I was reminded that good grades don't = knowing how to work, and I want my kids to know how to work! The bottom line is that a good work ethic is highly esteemed not only in the workplace, but in God's Word, and knowing how to work will enable them to learn! It's such a blessing to work together as a family and then enjoy the fruits of our labor, which this week is a house that's ready for guests and the opportunity to see friends and family and attend a special wedding.

I haven't actually written much or even thought much about Claire being a year old. We both, Daniel and I, are shocked that a whole year has already gone by. What a blur. The days really are evil and I feel so challenged and encouraged to make the most of each moment I have. My life is but a moment, and I want to serve Jesus with my whole heart here on earth while I have the chance.

Which today looks like baking and cooking and packing and voting and celebrating and loving on my family!