loss

When I was still single, I attended an awesome group at church. We didn't have a cool name like the "Uprising" group at our church does -- we were simply the "college and career" group. Same thing though: bible studies, serving the community together, fun get-togethers, missions.

In one of the year-long bible studies we had I made some great friends who really challenged me. After a year of meeting together you get to know each other pretty well -- and I got to know my best friend's little brother Max. (not real name, of course) Max has a long family legacy of Christ-followers, and yet he always had this "angst" in him. I like angst, it's so raw and honest. I always appreciated Max's open demeanor, and his struggles with God and the way He wants us to live. (you know, things like in Colossians 3)

Then, back in '93 Max openly walked away from a life with Christ...he had already joined the service, had some family struggles, real life stuff that we all can relate to. During the last several years God blessed Max (that's the way I see it) with a best friend in the service named Rob. Their families were close, they were close. And this week Rob died. Killed in Iraq. Roadside bomb. Very frustrating. Very sad.

So, now what about Max? Will he become even more bitter towards God? Will he turn to Jesus who still stands at the door and knocks...waiting for Max to open the door again. As of yet this story has no conclusion, yet I know how I would end it if it were in my power. Now you know the kinds of things that occupy my thoughts and prayers for my friends.

problem with mascots

I mentioned before that Dave has a problem with mascots! Just look at this photo! See what I mean?!
(Thanks Dennis!)

Dunked!

I was dunked by my own son! Today was field day at the kids' school and I volunteered to get into the dunk tank! You should have seen how big T.Michael's eyes got when I climbed up into the tank -- He didn't know I was going to do it. (Heck, I didn't even know I was going to do it!) What a kick!

Champions!

Yesterday T.Michael's baseball team won the championship game for Centennial Little League! Congratulations THUNDERBOLTS!

God's Inner Artistry

Dave's boss has assigned him a new book to read called, "Confessions Of A Pastor; Adventures in Dropping the Pose and Getting Real with God" by Craig Groeschel; Multnomah Publishers, Inc. 2006

Like all good wives, I like to sneak a peek into what is going into my Hubby's great mind -- it's like having secret access to a really great library! Right away I found a fun story about the author's encounter with Chuck E. Cheese (page 111). It caught my eye since, as some of you know, my man also has had the occasional conflict with mascots! (A great story if you haven't heard it yet) But the really good stuff I found on page 191 when Pastor Craig talks about failure:

"Are you struggling against failure right now? Does a recent failure linger painfully in your memory? You thought you were creating the next Mercedes, but you got a Pinto. What do you do now?

Look for what God's teaching you. What's happening to you is not as important as what God's doing in you. Maybe He's shaving off some pride, or teaching you to depend on Him, or building some undeveloped character trait. Look past the painful outward circumstances and embrace God's inner artistry. Whatever you do, don't give up. If you hang in there, you'll eventually succeed God's way and on God's timetable (see Galatians 6:9).

So you've been knocked down. Get up. Again. And again. Learn and move on. You'll face another fight tomorrow--and when you do, you'll be stronger and wiser than you were today."


Galatians 6:9

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

A New Chapter

This weekend marks the end of a great chapter in our Proehl-family year. A few of our changes include:

Our exchange student completes school tomorrow and heads back to Korea on Saturday. Our son is playing in the baseball championship finals, and baseball season ends this weekend. Also, in a couple weeks he will be a 2nd grader! Our daughter had a dance recital last night and will soon be a 5th grader! There is more, but those are the biggies.

It's like we are ending a chapter and starting a whole new book!

at the movies

...the absolute BEST part of seeing the movies with the 4th Grade class (continued from blog below) was watching little Rosa wait hand and foot on another student named Alyssa. Alyssa moves around in a motorized scooter and it was interesting watching the dynamics of how the children interacted with her. She's a solid part of the class, popular and has her share of friends.

However, on this field trip there was only ONE person that walked along side of Alyssa, made sure the door stayed open for her scooter, made sure she made it up the ramp to the special space left open for wheelchairs, sat alone with Alyssa when the other children in their excitement took two steps down to sit in a row that Alyssa couldn't possibly reach, and then proceeded to take initiative to occasionally kneel in front of Alyssa (so as not to block her from seeing the movie) to give her popcorn and hand her drink to her (as the drink holder was too low for Alyssa to reach from her scooter) and that person was Rosa.

Watching Rosa was like watching grace in motion. The other children were "kind" to Alyssa, but Rosa was serving, giving, watchful. I'm sure that Rosa herself didn't even know she stood out in the crowd with her humility. This is just how Rosa lives, it's in her nature, it's who she is and how she was raised. This is a demonstration of her beautiful, rich Mexican culture that she unknowingly shares with us.


(all the names in these two posts are made up)

Narnia!

I had the privilege of going along with my daughter's 4th grade class to the premier of the Prince Caspian - Narnia movie and it was so fun...of course I'll have to go again when I can focus a little more on the movie but those kids were so much fun to watch!

Oh the POWER they seemed to feel, walking up to the counter and actually getting to choose what they want -- like a small candy and small drink for about fifteen bucks! (okay, really it was $8 but it felt like $15!)

Then there was R. and T., obviously year-long buddies who had to go to the bathroom twice since the "small" drinks are about a gallon each.

At one point I enjoyed watching a little guy in the front row turn around during the movie and scan the crowd with the biggest smile on his face. His eyes were big, and he looked totally taken with it all. Obviously a future movie director!

Two of the girls in my group kept getting up and walking to the aisle then sitting back down -- I asked them what was going on and it turns out they were just throwing away their trash! They pick now to be meticulous?! Still, I admire their sense of duty.

And then the classic kid-movie moment: The kids were totally grossed out when there was a very small kissing scene. "Gross!" "Sick!" "Yuck!" Their judgements were clear and quick. The adults not with the school group laughed.

...poor adults not with the school group...hope you saw more of the film than I did!

Mothers are...

In our "Club 56" class (5th & 6th graders) at church Saturday night, we played a game to see which group of kids could list the most things about Moms in a couple minutes. The following lists are what they came up with:

loving; fashionable; nice; bossy; caring; grumpy; helpful; needs coffee; smart; loves chocolate; kind; comforting; good cook; loyal; carefree; fun; beautiful; awesome; spectacular; funny; entertaining; creative; compassionate; Driver; Friend; understanding; merciful; stupid; cooking; giving; lovable; house cleaner; crazy; weird; First Aid

(published with their permission)

around the table

My sister hosted a brunch in for my Mom on Mother's day. It was so fun getting our family together with the kids and even a new grandchild!

Us "older" ones seemed to prefer a table to sit at to eat, and at one point we laughingly realized it was the same table and the same group of us (Mom, Dad, my sisters and I) eating together! For a tiny moment it was a throw back to about 25 years ago...and it was good!

my hero

I want to brag about Super Dave again! When we were flying home from the East Coast there was a Soldier at the airport ticket counter in front of us. It turns out the young man's bags were so many pounds over the limit, and the person behind the counter "helping" him wasn't, um, very helpful. We were doing what any travelers in line would do at this point (eavesdropping!) and it turns out the Soldier was going to have to make other arrangements and fly out the next day -- cutting his 21 days leave down to 20 with his family. And so Dave, my hero, walked over and paid the fee. Super Dave!

Cinco de Mayo in Portland, OR

To say we enjoyed the Cinco de Mayo celebration would be an understatement! We had the best time as a family, and with our friends the Popescu's -- what a day! We all had our favorite parts:

For me the dancing from Guadalajara where I lived and studied!
For Dave it was the tacos and pepper-covered mango!
For the kids it was the rides!
For all of us it was spending time with good friends.
For all of us it was being in the sun. Finally!
For all of us it was enjoying the Mexican people we have come to know and love!

they got me wrapped around their little fingers!

Gross!

freedom

Galatians 5, verse 1:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

This one is for you!

There is something that really stands out about the first time "freedom" is used in that sentence...for me it's like a little bump in the sidewalk that I trip over every time I read it.

It is for freedom...for freedom...notice it is present tense.

When I was growing up we talked a lot about "Salvation" and "being saved." But in this verse it clearly talks about freedom. Some of us go through really rough patches when we don't feel free at all. I'm not talking about when we let the cares of life rob us of our peace, I'm talking about when we feel (and sincerely think we are)defeated, tried and convicted, unsalvageable, condemned.

Also, in the old days, we talked about the difference between conviction and condemnation. It's good to be reminded of the difference, because the last one does not come from Christ. So the next logical question is, if not from Christ, then who does this condemnation come from? Another question to ask is, who gets the glory from keeping me in this "stuck" holding pattern? (I think you know what I'm getting at) How do I know this? I know this simply because it is written:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

check this out!

vacation!

We had the absolute best time a family could have on vacation this past week. The first few days we spent IN THE SUN, in Williamsburg, VA where our niece was our tour guide through the wonders of our country's history there -- plus a great day at Busch Gardens a fast-paced amusement park that can give even Disney a run for their money!

Then we had the honor of exploring our nation's capitol as we spent the last two days of our trip sloshing through the rain in D.C. (Just preparing us for the rain we were about to return to!) We had a very enjoyable tour through the capitol building -- thanks to Alex (originally from Moscow!) from Representative Blumenauer's office; and ended our time in D.C. with a tour through the White House with Jeremy who has been working in Vice President Cheney's office. Our family really enjoyed being together and exploring together -- it was truly refreshing! Dave is gifted at planning a vacation and making it so fun!

livin' in survival mode

Lately I've had the privilege of caring for two sweet little baby twin girls, their four year old brother and my own three wild kids...so blogging has been a little low on the list!

It's been a good season, but also a reminder of how isolating it can be to parent young children even when everything is going great!

We're off on vacation in a couple days -- so we'll see if I can find a little R&R with my family on the East Coast!

Things That Are Green, a list by McKenzie

(I found this list in McKenzie's room & published it with her permission, all misspellings & punctuation left in for your enjoyment!)

1. The color green.
2. A frog
3. Some trees.
4. Some snakes.
5. Boggers [I think we all know what that was supposed to be;-]
6 Slugs
7 traffic lights
8 Moldie bread
9 Paper
10 Turtles
11 seaweed
12 Money
13 gass [I think this was supposed to be grass]
14 poop
15 Brocolie
16 Asparigas
17 Brussel sprouts
18 green peppers
19 perrots
20 Houses
21 paint
22 cars
23 crayons
24 Throw up

Oregon Spring Break

Got Snow?

I usually like snow...in JANUARY!
But, nooooooooooo, we had to get it during spring break! Brrrrr!

My kids are toopers though, instead of planting our garden we did things like:

Play endless games of Mancala with Uncle Jim;
Explore the Air Museum in McMinville;
Go to OMSI and see the dinosaurs and the Planetarium;
Slosh around the Zoo in the snow!
(pictured above)