Summer Fun, You Win Some, You Lose Some

School has been out for a couple of weeks now, and the kids have been keeping themselves busy in various ways. Christian has spent a lot of time at the new desk, coloring and cutting and making an assortment of things (and a big, happy mess). They haven't spent a lot of time outside because, along with being hot, it's mosquitoey. We have all been bitten more than we care to have been bitten. 

Michaela's softball games are getting us outside. (I'll be honest...her 8am games? Mike took her to those.) 

Just sitting is hot. It has been 90 degrees at 10:30am. 

As the season progressed, her hitting improved. In the last game, she got two hits, at least one of which was a double, and because her team was short on players, Christian played and assisted her on an out. 

She pitched in many of the games, and took it seriously, practicing and learning how to pitch a softball (as best she could in a few weeks' time). 

I am proud of her for her hard work. The team has a losing record, but she is still enthusiastic about playing.

Aside from ball games and a couple of pool parties, we have been indoors! The other day Christian said all of a sudden,"Let's go bowling!" He had received some free bowling passes from school at the end of the year, so we made the spontaneous decision to go. 

The girls...

smiling for me...and Christian...

Yep. That's about right. 

The bowling alley was dark, but had black lights (or whatever), so we were all glowy. 

 

I thought Michaela had a most-fun outfit on to be in such an environment. 

She bowled really well. Her second frame, she got a strike! 

Michaela was a very deliberate bowler.

Christian, however, went flying up to the line and let his ball fly down the lane. It was all very fast and wild. 

Eliana had to figure out how to give the ball some force and not just drop it with a little forward movement. 

She got the hang of it as the game went on. 

While waiting on your turn, there are many ways to entertain oneself at the bowling alley. 

They had a lot of fun. 

After the first game, they convinced me to start another game. We had time, so I said yes. Eliana was winning that game from the start, and it made someone a little grouchy. 

Eliana was tickled, however. 

They used the metal ball guide, and Christian and Eliana had bumpers. I can't decide which way I think is the better way to go for him (bumpers or no). 

He kept sitting in the one place that had the best light for taking pictures, so I kept taking pictures. He tolerated me. 

Eliana led the whole game, and I think she ended up with a score in the 90s. 

The other two were exasperated that she won, and I told them we should have just stuck to one game if they were going to be so fussy. They still fussed. I'm inclined to tell them next time,"No fun for you!"

Another big hit lately is Monopoly. Christian is good at the game, and he also, somehow, gets lucky rolls. Mike and he were continuing a game that Christian and I started yesterday; Michaela sat down and played with him today, and Christian pretty much bankrupted his opponent, no matter who it was. He had hotels built on three of his properties and houses on three others. He had five monopolies and owned three of the four railroads. How do you beat that? 

  

See how happy he is when he's winning? 

 

But then when the game was over, he didn't want to have won...because he wanted to keep playing! Even winning is losing! 

Ah, tomorrow is a new day. We'll be ready for Vacation Bible School (a win!), lunch with friends (a win!), and who knows what else. (Probably laundry...a win?) (If it gets done, then yes!) May you have a winning day too!

Father's Day

On Father's Day Mike spent the afternoon (and, in fact, is still working) on painting Michaela's new (to her) bed.

He sacrificed a steak dinner because my car keys went AWOL for the day (they mysteriously appeared while Christian and Eliana were playing a game on the stairs next to our entryway) (I have a suspicion that a certain, ahem, Mr. Nobody, or his elusive friend I. Dont Know, had a sudden attack of conscience), and I was looking for them all over. I checked the fridge, y'all.

He is the calm to my crazy. When I'm flipping out, he is usually not. I am very grateful for the steady, even-keeled dad that he is. The Lord knew these children would need Mike's wisdom and his brand of silly fun to balance out my offering of wisdom and silly fun. Hopefully, they each have their place.

So Mike, if you read this, know that one of my favorite things is watching you with our kids. When Eliana bounces at the door when you're trying to get inside, when Michaela dishes out a joke right back at you as quick as a blink, when Christian beams because he gets to help you with some tools on a project, I am delighted. They love you very much, and so do I.

Already, But Not Yet

As I go about my day, thinking of the myriad tasks that I haven't completed, or even touched yet, it's easy to have the thought,"I'm always 'getting there,' but never arriving." It's not a necessarily negative and discouraging thought. Today I did think just that, and right after it I thought another, better thought. While the world is telling me all the time that I'm almost...the gospel is telling me that I already am, because He is.

Do you need encouragement? I know I do. And I often look for it in nooks and crannies, when all the while I have an entire storehouse of encouraging promises: in Scripture. What a treasure!

No map required (and if I were to tell you about my escapade once I left the federal building downtown (with my passport!!) then it would be abundantly clear what a relief that is. (I'm not gonna lie. There were tears.)

We give him our sorrow; he gives us his joy.
We give him our weaknesses; he gives us his strength.
We give him our trials; he gives us his rest.
We give him our praises; he gives us his peace.
We give him our lives; he gives us his Life.

Waiting for the fullness of God's promises is hard, especially when we are so accustomed to almost immediately getting most of what we want. (People! I just acquired a passport in 48 hours!) But remembering that God has already accomplished...well, everything, is such a boon.

My words are not sufficient. But his Word is...in every way. Hallelujah!

The End of the Story (And Hopefully the Beginning Too)

After my stomach settled back down into its proper place, I called the number for the agency and managed to speak with a person relatively quickly. Mainly I wanted to know if there was a serious consequence for not showing up to the appointment. Or even a slight consequence.

The sweet woman I spoke with may have thought I was being flippant about not showing up; I remember very distinctly laughing nervously as I asked my question. I was not, however, being flippant. I was covering up how close I was to nearly hysterical. She assured me that there was not a consequence, but I just needed to schedule a new appointment. 

As quickly as I could, I called the automated service again, and I went through the choices for the soonest appointment, which was not until two days later, Wednesday. I made my appointment for 11:30am (surely I wouldn't sleep through that one) and hoped that even though it was two days later, the chance for me to receive a passport in time was not greatly diminished. 

Since I was now wide awake and feeling as though I needed to do something Very Productive to make up for such a screw-up, I decided to go get my photo taken and run a few errands. Mike stayed home with the kids and I ran around town getting things done. First I went to CVS in order to get the picture made. 

Is getting your photo taken one of your favorite things too? I am totally, totally, totally, like, totally kidding. I don't like pictures of myself at all. I have an egghead. And really crazy baby hairs around my face, but only from just above my temples down. It's much like Albert Einstein's, just not all the way over my forehead. And brown instead of white. (Okay, I am sure you are developing quite a mental image of my hair.) At any rate, I stood in line while another guy got his picture taken for a passport too (he is going to South America, in case you care to know). When it was my turn, the gentleman taking the photos pulled down the little white screen and I stood in front of it. 

He told me he would take a few, then he pushed the button on his camera and checked the screen. He said it was a nice one. He tried to take the second picture, but nothing seemed to happen when he held the button down. He moved the camera away from his face and inspected it, then tried again. Apparently he got one that time, and said,"Just one more!" The same thing happened, and on his second try, he got the final shot. Then we went to look at them.

After he inserted the card into the machine, about ten pictures showed up. He looked surprised and said,"Oh! I only took three...I don't know why there are so many!" We laughed and said maybe the camera took a lot of pictures very quickly those times that he thought it wasn't taking any. It was a funny little moment. We picked out a picture that seemed decent (My crazy hair!), they were printed in a few seconds, and I bought them. 

Now, this isn't entirely relevant, but I also decided to get a Snapple fruit flavored tea, which is normally not my thing. But it was cherry-pomegranate flavor, made with sugar and not high-fructose corn syrup, and wasn't soda. It also had much less sugar than a Coke would have, and I was about to be running around; maybe a refreshing drink was a good idea. 

It was delicious! 

I left CVS with my pictures and my tea and a mission to Accomplish Things. I successfully returned a shirt that Christian never wore for his baseball season. (I have to tell you, I just typed shisrt, and it made me laugh. Does it make you laugh? I actually say the words that I'm typing in my head as I'm typing. Do you do that? Too much info? But please, just say it...shisrt. It's hilarious. I'm sure I'm so wrong. Help.)

What else did I get done? I also returned some undershirts that I had bought for Mike, but they were the wrong size and he wished for me not to exchange them (I got one package that was the right size, and he told me they were enough). I also returned some shorts that I had bought for Christian, which were too big. 

I ended up buying the next size down shorts for him to try, along with a package of chicken. The chicken was for dinner and had nothing to do with the shorts. Sam's...a little of everything. Or a lot of some things. Anyway, I headed home and started preparing dinner. 

I was quite productive. I made Mindee's marinade for the chicken and stuck that in the fridge. Then I made tortillas. The chicken fajitas were quite tasty!

bbbdddddppppppddddddpppppppppbbbbbbddddddddppppppppp (I'm fast-forwarding.)

Wednesday morning I woke up, not panicking, which is lovely. Michaela and I were supposed to have a hair appointment, but it had been cancelled, which ended up being a good thing. I dropped the kids off with friends and headed downtown with my folder. Right next to the building (the court house) was valet parking (yuck), which made it easy. I went through security and ended up in the line to check in for my appointment. The woman behind the counter asked me for each item: my application (check), my previous passport (check), my birth certificate (check), my driver's license (...) (...) (...) (uh, oh).

WHERE WAS MY DRIVER'S LICENSE?!

I tried hard not to appear frantic as I went through my credit (and other) cards for the third time, and finally the woman said calmly,"Take your things and sit down, and look thoroughly. Then get back in line when you find it." 

Walking away from the window with my open folder and no driver's license felt like a walk-of-shame. I found a seat as far back in the room as I could and went through my purse one more time. 

Nothing. (Well, not nothing. There were many things. But NO LICENSE.)

I thought maybe I had taken it out and put it in the folder with the passport and other documents so that everything would be together. I went through the papers carefully, bending them slightly with the hope that I would come across something hard and not flexible, LIKE MY DRIVER'S LICENSE. 

I did not come across my license, but I did come across a license likeness. I discovered the photocopy of my ID, front and back, that Mike had made for me, and then I sat straight up and realized my license must still be in the copier. At home. Not downtown in the office where I needed it to apply for a passport.

I was so sad. 

But then I was hopeful! I had the photocopy. I also had my old passport, both my social security cards, and my birth certificate. I was also willing to let them fingerprint me and/or take a blood sample. I went back to the line and pleaded my case, explaining what had happened. She made a little note to explain the situation and said,"We'll see." I took my number and sat back down.

When I finally got to go up for my application appointment, the woman behind the counter took my packet and read the note. I explained what had happened, pointed out all of the documents, and watched as she went through all of it. She asked questions as she looked over my papers, and I answered them. Is it just me, or do you also get very nervous when someone official is asking you questions? Even if I don't have anything to be afraid of, I feel very anxious, like they're gonna find out! Find out what? I don't even know, but whatever it is, it'll be bad. 

After several minutes, a few more questions, and a moment when she stepped away from her area, she said,"Your passport will be ready on Friday."

I was like,"Friday? As in, two days from now? As in, this Friday?" I didn't say that out loud, but I was shocked. And oh. so. grateful. She reminded me to get my license as soon as I could and stick it back in my purse, and told me I HAD to bring it when I picked up the passport. I paid my money and left the building. 

Y'all. I can't even tell you how happy I was. In spite of all the ways I messed up, this worked out. I also should say that while I was in there, CNN was on the TV screen and one of the stories they covered was the protesting in Instanbul. I am leaving it in the Lord's hands. 

That's the safest place for anything really. My purse, for example, cannot be counted on.

Passport to Crazy Town

When we found out about our upcoming trip, there were about four weeks until the day of departure. My old passport expired in 2005, and I did not have time to apply for a new one without expediting the process. I discovered that Dallas has an office for just such a purpose, however, in order to get an expedited passport, your travel must be in two weeks or less. I had to, on purpose, wait a little longer to go to the office.

I called and through a painless experience with an automated service I set up my appointment for 9:30am, Monday, June 10. Things were looking good.

Sunday evening it struck me that Monday morning I had an appointment downtown to apply for a new passport. I should clarify: evening =11pm. (See my previous post on forgetting things, please.) I began printing the information pages from the website so that I could read through them, and collect every important document I would need, and also fill out the application. I checked and double-checked to make sure I had the correct form, and I enlisted Mike's help in order to find my birth certificate and old passport. We both had a good idea about where they were.

In the meantime, the printer ran out of paper. Annoyed, I went up to the bedroom, which is where the big box with computer paper presently lives. I asked about the paper and he went to the cabinet where the box is. When he reached in to get a new package, he found a folder resting in the box. Would you like to guess what was in the folder?

If you said,"Christina's birth certificate and old passport," you would be right! Along with those things were also my Social Security cards indicating my name change.

We looked at each other and grinned goofily, grateful that he didn't have to go digging through a four-foot box of papers.

I finished printing my instructions, filled out the form, and made sure I had all that I needed, including proof of travel in less than two weeks and a photocopy of my driver's license. The one thing I was missing was a passport picture, and I planned on leaving early and going to CVS; I even had a coupon. Once everything was in an organized, triple-checked stack, I went to bed. It was so late that I tried not to look at the time. I went to sleep soundly.

I woke up at 9:44am.