A Perspective on Poverty

This is a picture of  Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya.

As I was scrambling to get the kids to an 8:15 well child appointment, my mad scurry was interrupted by a ringing cell phone at the early hour of 7:30 am.  After wondering who in the world would be calling me that early, I rushed to answer the phone.  The director of the International Center in town was calling to let me know that the young child of one of the refugee families we recently met had just been been taken to a children's hospital 2 hours away.  The mother was able to go with him but the dad was at home still working night shift and trying to care for the other 4 young children at home.  As far as we know, they only know one other Somali family here who is able to help them while trying to care for their own 8 children.  He encouraged me that this would be the perfect opportunity to try and help them.  Unfortunately, I was already completely booked up yesterday and unable to do anything but today I got my act together and made them some food.  We plan to visit in just an hour or so to see if there is anything else we can help them with.  As I was preparing the food this morning, I was struck by some very obvious contrasts between our families and situations in life.  I was struck overwhelmingly by just how rich our family was.  I decided write up this list of comparisons to help us take off our blinders and realize the truth of our situation.

This is their 3rd hospitalization in the past 2 weeks.  Even though we were sick last week with cold/flu type symptoms, none of us have ever been hospitalized and we do not regularly take any medications.  We are rich in health.  

When a member of our family gets sick, we know how to get to the hospital or the doctors office and we can understand the directions for medications and the explanation of our health.  Even though it drives me crazy at times, we are rich to have such a good health care system.  

We have cars to take us to the hospital, grocery store, school and anywhere else we need to go.  Even though we recently discovered that minivans cost and arm and a leg, we are rich with adequate transportation.  

Even though we may not have money to eat out all the time or buy things like steaks and fresh seafood, we can still buy all of our favorite ingredients and familiar foods at any number of nearby grocery stores.  There are no Somali or African grocery stores here.  We are rich in food. 

When a we need help, we are surrounded by friends and family who are always ready to lend a hand.  This refugee family needs help and they literally only know one other family.  That's it.  And apparently they aren't even particularly close friends.  We are rich with those who care about us.  

Our houses are overflowing with clothes, furniture, and stuff.  At first I thought that their apartments would be super crowded with 10 people living in one small space but I was surprised to find out that this isn't true.  When you don't have enough clothes to warrant a dresser or enough toys to need a "play room" or even a toy box, you'd be surprised at little room 10 people can take up.  We are rich with more stuff than we really need.  

One family was only able to afford sending one son out of their 8 children to school.  There is no question that each and every one of our children will have an education though we may feel gypped because we can't afford to send our children to the fanciest of private schools.  We are rich with education. 

Though we are tempted to think of these refugee families as poor, really they are the lucky ones.  They have escaped death, rape, pain and suffering in Somalia.  They have left behind the crime, overpopulation and squalor-like conditions of refugee camps.  For the first time in their lives, they have plumbing that provides them hot water whenever they need it and a washer and dryer of their very own.  

At the end of the day, we are so, so rich.  Is there anything that we truly need and lack?  Have you ever gone to bed hungry or wish that you had been able to go to school to learn how to read or wish that you could speak the language of the people around you just so you could complete basic tasks? The best part is that we not only are blessed with physical riches, we also have so much more! 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."  And Isaiah 55:2 tells us to stop looking for stuff delight ourselves in the rich food that is Christ's body shed for us!

"Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?  Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food."

As we think about poverty vs. wealth, especially as it concerns helping others, we need to approach it with an attitude of gratitude for the all the physical and spiritual blessing that surround us.  We need to give with hearts that overflow but also keep in mind that our new friends don't just need things they need Christ.  

Between Busy and Bored

Right now I'm feeling stuck between two extremes: Busy and super bored.  Do you ever have those moments?  On one hand, I'm doing and planning a ton of things.  But then the all the other times I have no clue what to do with myself.  Here are the list of the things that I'm actually working on now.

• Starting a ladies' fellowship/Bible study thingy at church!  I'm so excited about this little project.  Our plan is to only meet once a month in the style of Titus 2.  Each time we'll have a different "older" woman speak about topic.  We'll also have snacks and coffee because well, who doesn't love snacks and coffee.  I'm also hoping to get enough volunteers to provide free childcare each month.  
• Legalizing backyard chickens in our city.  This one is actually going decently well.  I'm on hold while I wait for the Mayor to make his proposal to the other commissioners though so I'm not actually doing anything for the time being besides researching chicken poop. 
• About 6 months ago, we watched a movie called A Good Lie. While it wasn't the best movie I'd ever seen, it was definitely informative on refugees who have been relocated to America.  This inspired us to contact our local refugee center.  We found out that on average we have 130 refugees come into our city every year from either Burma or Somalia.  Due to some things out of our control, it has taken us a long time for the stars to line up.  Finally, last week we were introduced to two families.  Our job is to act as "ambassadors."  We'll befriend them, teach them how to ride the bus, how to use basic appliances that they might never have seen before, and the like.  The best part is that our local director is a Christian and so he is excited for us to show and tell them about the love of Christ.  My favorite part about this ministry is that it is something that we can do together as a family.  There is no need for us to find a babysitter and our children can get a front row view of how to serve and also what a different culture looks like.  Hopefully, I'll someday have some amazing stories and helpful insights to share. 

When I'm not working on one of these projects, I almost don't know what to do with myself.  I've been reading a lot and randomly working on quilt squares but I feel like I need a project to really inspire me. 

I guess that is all I have to say.  I just wanted to update my blog so it wouldn't look so dead. 

A New Year, A New Style

I don't know if it starting a new year or maybe just too many episodes of Fixer Upper, but I'm ready to declutter and restyle.  Out with the old and in with the new!!  High on the list are getting rid of junk, redecorating and organizing Kira's room and finding a new bookshelf.
Kira's room needs a makeover.  Every time I look at it I just think it looks so blah and cluttered.  Anybody have any amazing tips for organizing kid's toys?  I have know a few tricks but the room still seems perpetually messy.  I'm also kind of tired of the paint/furniture scheme.  Something needs to change.  I'm trying to a little research on pinterest to see what I like before I really dig in.  We don't have the money to throw out all the furniture and start over so I'm going to try rearranging and painting.  I'm trying to go gender neutral because the plan is to have Will move in with her when he is big enough to sleep in a toddler bed.  I'm still lacking inspiration though. What are your favorite decorating blogs?  I've seen things that I like but nothing has really stood out to me yet.
I'm excited because this week I get to go with a friend to a flea market type place and search for new wooden bookshelf.   Ours are super old cheaply made ones leftover from early in my grandparent's marriage.  Change is long overdue.
The other project I've been working on slowly deep cleaning different sections of our house.  I don't really like cleaning but I always feel super productive while working on it.  One long forgotten section of my countertop has been cleaned off and it is actually capable of being used now.  I love it.
Other than thinking very organized and clean thoughts, I've also been trying to care for super grumpy and sick children, make my own sourdough starter, trying to eat a lot of vegetables and stay away from sugar to make sure I lose those extra pounds I brought home with me from Florida, snatch up a few Christmas clearance items, organize a chicken petition, and start a women's Biblestudy thingy at my church.

The Serious Business of Heaven

As you've probably noticed, I don't really write serious stuff.  It takes too much time, effort and wisdom.  I lack all of the above.  However, a friend of mine recently asked me to write an encouraging note for a friend of theirs who recently moved to a new town, has few friends and is morning sick.  Here is what I came up with.  Since I'm super lazy I thought I'd get a two-fer-one deal and post it on my blog as well.  

I used to think that I was a sacrificial person…and then I had kids.  Before kids you selflessly drink your coffee every morning, before you selflessly drive to work in total peace and quiet, and then you selflessly eat a meticulously prepared dinner with your spouse before you selflessly go to bed whenever you feel like it.  It isn’t until after children that all those Bible verses about sacrifice and loving others really come into play. 

            Whenever you’re feeling worn out, tired of being a parent, or maybe just annoyed by the other human beings around you, stop and think about yourself.  I know that sounds like strange advice coming from a Christian writing about sacrificially serving others, but just trust me for a second.  Think about who you are and who Christ is. Think about how the King came not to let you serve Him, but so that He might serve you.  All of the troubles, aches, and pains that you are going through are nothing compared to what Christ went through for you. Just in case you are tempted to think for a second that you somehow deserved all this, think about how Christ died for you when you were still His enemy as a free gift for you.

            Look around at those troublesome things and people surrounding you, Christ was willing to give up kingship in heaven for you, how much more should we be willing to sacrifice a few small things.  If Christ is willing to be born in a barn why am I complaining about giving up my nice flat abs to make a room for my baby?  And if Christ is willing stay up all night praying before his betrayal and death, why am I throwing a fit about getting up to nurse my baby in the middle of the night on a nice comfy couch while I watch the next episode of Sherlock?

I have a natural inclination to do whatever I feel is my duty to do but this doesn’t mean that I’m always happy about it.  I was having a few days like this not too long ago.  I was annoyed with my husband so I decided to give him the silentish treatment while I sacrificially made him his breakfast before work.  My kids were being their usual needy selves so I sacrificially tended to them while I barked out orders like a drill sergeant.  I was miserable and I was doing a pretty good job of making sure my family felt miserable as well.  Then I happened across this quote from C.S. Lewis, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.”  Jesus didn’t endure the shameful death on the cross just because He had to but rather because of the joy that was set before Him.  When I decide to put off all my grumpiness and smile, laugh and express gratitude, I’m giving Satan a big ol’ kick in the pants.  When I can puke my guts up again and again but still thank God for the life He has placed within my womb, God is glorified.  When I can serve my husband eggs and a genuine smile even when I think he doesn’t deserve it, Satan gets really nervous.  When we joyfully and sacrificially serve others, we are storming the very gates of Hell. 

                                                                        

DIY T-Shirt Cloth Napkins

For some reason it was really bothering me that my kids were obsessed with wiping off their fingers.  One would get the washcloth and wipe off their face for 0.2 seconds and then suck all the dirty water out of the washcloth.  Ga-ross!  The other would go through about 3 paper napkins per meal and since I store them too high for my children to reach (on purpose), I would have to get up multiple times per meal to help them. About this time, I remembered that I'd been meaning to keep an eye open for cloth napkins at garage sales and thrift stores but I always forget.  I looked into buying cloth napkins but they are kinda expensive especially since I don't do laundry every day and I wanted to have enough for every meal if need be.  Finally, I decided to make some of my own.  I scoured pinterest and found these adorable ones.

I liked the idea (check out the tutorial) but I didn't want to have purchase a ton of fabric for every day use.  So I decided to make some upcycled napkins. The best part about this whole project is that my closets are getting cleaned out and junk is actually going to get used! I decided to create a short tutorial.  These things are easy-peasy especially when I got my system down.  This is the perfect project for sewing newbies or to use to teach your children how to sew.  

DIY T-Shirt Cloth Napkins

Materials - fabric (I used equal parts old t-shirts and leftover quilting cotton but you could use just about any type of fabric that makes you happy) 

Sewing machine 

Thread 

Sewing scissors

1. Start by cutting your fabric into a rectangle or square.  Since these are more "family" napkins as opposed to "company" napkins, I didn't make them all the same size.  I just cut as many as I could out of each t-shirt.  They all ended up being around 8in x 12in.  I think it works the best to use a rotary cutter but you could use scissors. 

2.  Also cut a rectangle of your quilting fabric to match the size of your t-shirt rectangle.  Pin these together with the front of each fabric facing each other.  

3. Sew all the way around the edges except for one 2 in opening on the side of your choosing. 

4.  Cut the edges and turn your fabric inside out.  Then iron it so that it lays flat. 

5. Top stitch around the edges of the napkins and you are done!  

Seriously.  That is it.  I made 9 of these yesterday. Today I want to try and make some with left-over flannel instead of the t-shirt material.  We all love them.  I put them in an easy to reach spot so that Kira can help herself and also set them out as she sets the table.  

Crunchy mama for the win!

This and That...

Our life has been kinda busy and kinda not so busy.  We do things but it doesn't always feel like we've actually accomplished anything.  Since I don't have much to say, I thought I'd just stop by and share a couple of things I've been thinking about lately and some funny things the kids have been doing/saying.  

- Nana took the kids to McDonalds to get some ice cream and Kira told me that she "loves Old McDonalds."  

- Speaking of Old Mcdonald, I found this book at the library and I loved it.  Buy it here.  In it, Old McDonald starts a urban homestead much to the chagrin of his neighbors.   

- Speaking of urban homesteads, my current dream is to buy an old fixer-upper farmhouse that is only kind of in the country and create a hobby farm complete with a garden, honey bees, egg laying chickens, and some kind of meat source.  First step, convince Aaron.  Second step, actually find a house since there are never any such houses for sale in our price range on the side of town we need to live on. Though in all honesty, we're planning on staying in our current house for at least another 1 1/2 years as it would be financially beneficial for us.   

- Did I mention that my almost 17 month old son can say several sentences and phrases?  Starting at 12 months, he would say, "I go ou-side." Now he can say all sorts of things including, "Wha dat?," "I want some!!!" "I'm done!!!" "Mom-mom, I boop (poop)" and he responds to affirmatively to question by using "Uh-huh" or "sure" which he says in the sweetest little high-pitched voice.  I don't think Kira started talking in sentences until around 20+ months.  What a little smartie-pants.  

- Kira is so excited about Christmas this year.  She loves everything from Christmas lights, to the fact that Christmas is baby Jesus' birthday, to any and every Christmas decoration.  The other day I was listening to the holiday pandora station and after each song came on she would shout at me, "Mom!  It is a Christmas song!" 

- Kira is also super in bedtime stories. She used to complain about going to bed and about having to wear a mitten at bedtime to keep her from sucking her fingers.  Now all we have to do is promise her a story and she hops right into bed without a single complaint.  Of course she does start to complain at the end of every story, "But that isn't the end."  So far we've just stuck to Bible stories and a couple fairy tales.  We'll probably run out of those in another few weeks and we'll be forced to venture into the realm of made-up stories.  

- PSA: Homemade salted caramel is where it is all at.  Just saying.  Just mix together some sugar, heavy whipping cream, butter, salt and voila!  This year one of my Thanksgiving contributions was a pumpkin cheesecake with a salted caramel topping.  I may or may not have eat most of it by myself.  Check out the recipe.

An Inexpensive Bathroom Remodel

So we've been working on remodeling our bathroom since..ahem...this past January.  Lets just say that we keep getting distracted and lazy.  When we moved into our house, everything was a mess.  It was a foreclosure that had sat vacate for 2+ years.  We took replaced all the flooring in the main part of the house, painted just about every single, piece of trim, ceiling and cabinet, got a new HVAC and water heater, and took out a wall.  There were a few projects that we put on hold though.  We just got our dishwasher 1 year ago, replaced the roof by ourselves last fall, and this past summer we did our deck.  Another project that we wanted to take on was the bathroom but since it all worked and didn't look absolutely awful, we just left it alone.  Just to refresh your memory, here is a picture of when we first bought the house. 

So there were a couple of things that we changed double quick.  We cleaned out all the moldy caulk around the tub and put in new caulk, replaced the toilet since it leaked and also added a fan/light combo since the old fan didn't work.  Other than that, we lived with it "as is." for 2 1/2 years. 

I was so excited to finally be able to get it done this past year!  Here are some before and afters.  It doesn't belong in any design magazines but our goal was to get it looking as nice as we could and spend as little money as we could.  I think it ended up costing us around $300 but since the cost has been spread out over 9 months it is hard for me to know exactly without consulting Aaron and the budget. 

BEFORE

AFTER!

         

So what was up with this funky light? Did someone really pick out this light and then hang it from the ceiling and think that it actually looked nice?  The mirror was really worn looking and way outdated.  The "new" mirror is actually something I picked up at a garage sale for $5-10 before we were ever married.  I was never quite sure where to hang it but it fit perfectly in the bathroom. All I did was paint it the same color as the vanity.

We we got rid of the mirror, we also lost some storage space.  We tried to make up for that by adding this shelving.  I love my new ikat pattern that I painted.  I'm thinking of making another design and hanging them in matching frames above the towel rack but for now this works.  See that glass jar?  That did hold q-tips until they all got knocked over.  Just keeping these pictures real.  I do plan on replacing them next time I go to the store.  

So the spot above the towel rack is still empty.  I'm trying to decide what exactly I want to do. I'm thinking of hanging my ikat patterns as I previously mentioned.  I do love the color we chose.  It was a tan/beige color and is now a nice light bluish gray. It coordinates very well with the main part of our house.  

We also painted the vanity gray and replaced the flooring.  We tore out the old linoleum and put down new vinyl stick-and-peel tiles with real grout in between them.  We thought about doing real tile but we only have one bathroom and didn't want to have to move out of our house for days.  It was super cheap but still looks decent.  It almost looks like real tile.  

I wish I could better capture the transformation.  My camera just isn't that great, there is absolutely no natural light in the bathroom and it is tiny.  But we like it so I guess that is all that matters.