On Missions.

I have a heart for missions.  No, like a heart that wants to move to Kodiak, AK someday to help with missions on the Emerald Isle - kind of heart - for missions.  I feel very called to serve in that particular place for my Lord.  But, the time is not yet.  Regardless of my love for the people of Kodiak I know that the Lord has me here, in this time, and in this place for a purpose.  He's been teaching me about contentment.  He's been teaching about my role and job as a missionary to my neighbors.  He's opened doors and shut them.  He's moving and creating opportunities to share the Good News that is Jesus Christ.  (Can I get and Amen?!)  

That said, Husband and I have talked several times about instilling a love for missions in our children.  What does that look like?  How do we do it?  How do you show them to perceive the needs of others - both spiritual and physical?  When is too soon?  When is too late?

As with most things parenting, we determined you can never start too early.  :)  

Our Middle School kids are doing their yearly mission trip this week.  There is no grand trip across, or out of, the country.  Our kids are preparing the grounds of an area where Missionaries come to rest between travels. They are working in a local food bank.  They are doing work which they will see the results of in their own community.  Awesome. :) 

Husband is with them.  We decided since I am 2 weeks away from birthing Little Squirt that maybe I shouldn't be shoveling dirt, digging ditches and hauling metal fencing, so I'm visiting them and taking photos.  :)  Although, all that manual labor could through me into a welcome labor.  But them husband would miss the rest of the trip.  And that would be sad.  I digress...

Sesame and I visited yesterday morning.  On the way over, I explained that we were visiting the kids and we would be helping.  "I wanna diiiiiiiiiiig!"  She shouted from the backseat.  I sighed to myself thinking, she totally doesn't understand in her little 2/5 year old mind what's going on.  She is totally going to be unhelp.

No.  She jumped right in.  New shoes dirty and grimy.  Her little Elmo shovel in hand, placing tiny bits of dirt into wheelbarrows.  Little Sesame grunts echoed around the open field as she tried so desperately to move the wheelbarrow.  It rocked.  :)  Afterward, on the way to Pappy and Yia Yia's, I asked her what she thought.  She replied, "I like ta help the people."  "I know, aren't the kids cool!" thinking she meant the middle school kids. "No, Momma!  You tell me dah fish-uhn-rees (missionaries) we helped." I paused.  "Yes, Sesame, we helped the missionaries so they can go tell people about Jesus."  "I like Jesus," she said, "An i cream (ice cream) We have i cream?"  

While she doesn't totally understand, something got through.  :)  At least Jesus came before the ice cream.

We brought our own Elmo tools to help with.

 
She jumped right in without hesitation - but what kid doesn't want to dig in the dirt and help with wheelbarrows!  Come on!  :)

 
Takin' a break after an entire hour of work!  Whoa baby!  :)  She even got to drink kool-aid out of a big girl cup!  Look out world!  :)

January 1, 2011

Sounds like a holiday. Wait. I think it is a holiday. Let me check my calendar. Yes, definitely a holiday here in the USA. In the Golbov family it could also be a birthday.

That's right. Baby Number Two (aka Bean) is on the way.

Surprised???

So were we. :)

Sesame is taking the news welll. I told her there was a baby in Momma's tummy and she patted my belly. Now she'll give Bean kisses. Awesome. :)

She also thought it was funny. :)

Oh and here are some photos of how we live when I'm overwhelmed with work:

So look out world...another pajama unzipping fiend is on his/her way! :)

Tiny Hands

There's just something about tiny hands exploring the world around them. Those pudgy little fingers with razor-like nails. The unexpected grasping and turning and inspecting that occurs between thumb and forefinger.

Nells has a petite quality to her hands. They already remind me of mine. My mom's. My Pawpaw's. Her folds and creases are deep. I envision them turning into road maps for her grandchildren to traces with their rolly-polly pointer. I can hear her tell her daughter "I don't mind. It's developing their fine motor skills."

For now, she crunches leaves and twirls twigs and discovers sights and sounds between the planes of her fingerprints. She giggles. She laughs. She squeals with delight because her hands are teaching her.

This darling babe of mine will be grown someday--

but for now I will stroke and squeeze and cuddle and hold those

tiny hands

of hers.

A Realization...

I love books. New ones, old ones, plastic baby ones and thick leather ones. I. love. them. all. :) I think it's a genetic disorder. My Pawpaw has so many books they won't fit in his library. Subsequently, he's boxed some of his dear friends (that's what they're called in my family) and put them in hibernation above his garage. My cousin Blair, it is told, suffers from the same affliction. I'm sad to say this disease has reached not only my husband (we aren't allowed unsupervised in bookstores together - it results in the spending of all our savings...or at least all of our Christmas money. If you're wondering, that's why you didn't receive a Christmas gift last year. Silly Half Price books.) BUT my daughter as well.

She recently discovered she has a bookshelf in her room. After deciding gnawing on the walnut rungs was a poor decision, she moved on to pulling everything off the shelves. Dr. Seuss stuffed animals provided little to no entertainment. Toy cars were sneered at and puzzle given a glance and tossed aside. But the books. Oh the books. She removed them in a hurry, but ever since has slowly inspected them. While she still has to be coaxed into listening for more than 30 seconds, she works over time when it comes to inspecting the covers, pages and letters on a page.

Last night she spent some time reading with Daddy. (P.S. Those are the moments when I get my paycheck.) There was a mirror in the book. FOr the first time she looked behind the book for the baby. :)

I cannot wait for the day when I will teach her the smell of old books and joy of turning the crisp pages of a new book. OH! And the satisfaction of breaking in the binding of ANY book. I just got chills. No. Really. I did. :)

God always gets His will...

i'm thinking about going back to school...already. i'm thinking that God's going to force me to be a teacher whether i want to or not. signs pointing in this direction include but are not limited to:

A) we're randomly studying Jonah in Wednesday morning Bible study...which is all about not doing what God tells you...and the consequences...and how despite your will and human excuses he works His will anyway...

B) i received a letter from a former teacher asking what i was up to. we've stayed in contact since the first class i had with her. she said "I hope you're teaching. Of all the student's I've had in the college classroom, you, by far, are the one I would choose to teach in my place."

C) my mom told me to teach...and write a devotional about the blessings in the first year of marriage. i trust her insight more than anyone, save Conrad, my husband. [side note for another post: it's amazing how much closer we (momma and I) have become since I've been married. :) She is wise beyond her years - something I never gave her credit for earlier in life.]

i think He's been trying to tell me for a long time now that i need to be in a classroom -which i've avoided at all costs. i tried it for a brief semester, but caved in when something went wrong. i suppose i never allowed myself to fall in love with the job - always caught up in how i was doing, was my teaching doing any good, was i explaining in a way the kids could grasp the concept - when in actuality teaching isn't' about how i feel at the end of the day, it's about the students.

So. here i am, jobless, still a little confused, but LOVING IT! :) God is teaching me patience right now - and what a grand job he is doing. :)

final finals.

this is my last week of finals. ever. unless of course i pursue graduate school. we'll just have to wait and see. :)

let me know what you all think of the playlist i added. it's totally 110% random. i like this one because you can pause it if you want or skip to other songs - not listen to the say song 150 billion times. :)

happy studying to my fellow students.