Adam, my appendage

Today is Father's Day and Wednesday is Adam's birthday, so it's time for my annual ode to Adam, my husband and father two the two cutest, smartest, and sweetest kids I know.  (Just ask them and they will confirm that as a fact.)

Some families will be able to let their father relax for Father's Day, but it's impossible around here right now.  We've got floor laid in two rooms now and a bathroom, hallway, and den to go.  We also have baseboards, cabinets, and walls to paint, and all of this will need to happen before construction finishes, ideally next Saturday.

Tomorrow Adam's taken off work and we will take a family trip to Six Flags, but today will be church, painting, and reconfiguring of furniture.

Seemingly a lifetime ago, I fell in love with this skinny boy who was good at math.  Two kids and twelve years of marriage later, I still love that guy.  We became best friends before even thought about dating and I used to call him "Adam my Appendage."

He is like a part of me.  We always joke that I am completely right-brained and he is completely left-brained so together we make one brain.  Lately, he's been extremely busy, probably busier than me.  He's had some major projects at work so he hasn't been able to think about leaving the office before 8.  Each lunch time is taken up with a trip to Home Depot or a trip home to supervise the contractors. He also balances the checkbook, pays the bills, cleans the pool, and fixes anything that's broken.

The family is used to having him around, so it's difficult for all of us when he's pulled in so many different directions.  I get frustrated, but I know he's doing his best.  We hope and pray that once we get these floors in, that we won't be needing to do any more major home improvement for a long, long time.

So today I am thankful for Adam, my appendage.  He is such a part of me that when he's not around, I feel like I'm missing something.  I don't claim to know what it's like to be an actual amputee, but in my imagination, it's in small ways comparable to this.  I get used to having him around, and then when he's called other places, life functions differently.  Luckily his phases of busy-ness are just phases and not a way of life.

Here's a picture from 2008 when we were the Holy Family at church.  I was supposed to be Mary full of Grace but had just fallen off the donkey.  There Adam was, helping me up.  I love that guy!

New Friends

Last fall in my United Methodist Women circle, we decided to do the UMW study on the Sudan. About the same time, a Sudanese family visited our church. We became fast friends and have been since.
Both Adam and I were interested in their story immediately. Simon got to the United States via a refugee camp in Kenya. He walked for months through his country to find a place of peace. His wife, Ayen, is part of a family that was fortunate enough to leave the Sudan via plane.
Simon and Ayen live in a small apartment in Fort Worth with their two daughters and her brother, Emmanuel. They are some of the nicest, most generous people I have ever met.
After we became friends, Ayen called me and asked if I could come help her learn how to cook American food. I jumped at the chance. I love cooking!
So at least one afternoon a week, I would come to their apartment with my two kids and a bag or two of groceries and we cooked. I taught her tacos first and moved onto lasagna, baked chicken, roast in a crockpot, and other favorites.
Claire and Paul love the two little girls, Blessing and Glory. They all play together and when Simon arrives home from work, they all jump in his arms, Claire and Paul right next to Blessing and Glory. Unfortunately Ayen had to get a job and start working, so our visits to their home are less frequent now, but we still call each other and visit as much as possible.
We have received many blessings and learned lessons from our friendships with this beautiful family. We've had them over to our house for dinner a couple of times and are humbled. Ayen always helps me clean the kitchen, and then she moves onto other areas of the house and starts cleaning. I have to make her sit down or else I wouldn't recognize my house by the time they leave. Simon always says a blessing over the food, but he also always concludes the night with prayer.
Adam and I are pretty social and have people over for dinner often, but Simon and Ayen are different. No one else prays to God, thanking him for the food we served them and asking that God bless us in return. They don't realize that they are the blessing.
Last week Simon graduated with a two year degree from Tarrant County College. We were honored to be invited to the ceremony and a party afterward.
Many of Simon and Ayen's friends and family were there and after the ceremony they were taking group pictures. Everyone in the picture was dark as night and six foot tall or more. And then there was Claire. She included herself in every family photo. We kept trying to pull her out and let them take pictures without her, but everyone insisted we leave her in. "We love her!" they all said.
Simon works in a nursing home, from 5 a.m. until the afternoon. Ayen works at a cellular phone plant, from 4 a.m. until 2. Neither of them ever complain and nothing slows them down.
Today is Ayen's birthday, so we are all going to the Omni theater together as one family. As Simon says, "We are one family."

Messy Blessy

Our house is a mess. I have no excuses, but have to admit that our house is always a mess. Every time I set my mind to clean it, two little helpers come behind me and undo everything as I'm doing it.

If I'm sweeping, Claire gets a broom and "helps" me by sweeping my pile away. Paul sees a pile of food remains and goes to eat it. Wesley, our dog, comes up and sniffs it to make sure there's nothing he would want to eat.

When I pick up toys, either the kids suddenly remember they love that particular toy and need to play with it right now, or they are inspired to get out other toys to play with.

I run the dishwasher and handwash dishes daily, but my sink stays empty for approximately 15 minutes. It's always either snacktime or mealtime around here.

Then the laundry. Even if I do four or five loads in one day, the next morning, I have at least one load to do. I do laundry every day.

Recently, I was thinking about all my chores and how they never get done and how we have so much clutter in our house. Usually thoughts like this lead to depression and frustration, but that day, I took a different route. I became grateful.

I'm grateful for our clutter. Pictures of our beautiful children, stacked everywhere, notes from loved ones, coupons collected from friends and family to help us save money. Our clutter means that we are loved.

Toys all over the house represent the two happy, healthy children that live here. If I worked outside the home, the toys wouldn't be scattered so much, but only because the kids wouldn't have as much time to play with them. I'm grateful they get full use of all their toys, even if it is all at once.

Our house is furnished almost entirely with gifts, from the couch to the dishes, so I decided that now, when I see a pile of dirty dishes, or laundry on the couch, I'm going to be thankful for our friends that gave us the dishes and couch. I'm also going to be thankful for the food that was served on those dishes.

It is frustrating when you feel like you just stepped on the 100th Cheerio of the day. And just now I tripped over Claire's shopping cart, which is loaded with every canned good she can steal from my pantry. But I'm trying to think gratefully. I'm trying to think, as I sweep up Cheerios and pick up toys, that I'm thankful. Many families don't even have junk. They don't even have Cheerios, much less toys cluttering up their house. All this messiness just shows how blessed we are.