"Leaving Las Vegas...Leaving for good..."

Here's the rest of our Las Vegas trip....

The Egg & I Restaurant: freshly made banana nut muffin... yum! 

Nate's stuffed strawberry french toast

Corn beef hash skillet with country potatoes 

Heading into Red Rock Canyon
This was just down the street from a new residential area...
wouldn't it be fun to be neighbors to this place? 

Surrounded by sandstone

Millions of years ago, this was the ocean floor

Don't look at the husband's shorts....it was freezing cold with strong winds that
practically blew us away!

"Hey mommy! It's those trees that move in RANGO!!!" 

Taken by Nate
(Where's the husband, you ask? In the truck. Like
I said, it was COLD!) 

gypsum .... a common stone/mineral found in the canyon

My two bunnies...

I have a phobia for cactus....But I'm getting better...
I got quite close to this Joshua Tree...

When we left the canyon, we passed a Dunkin Donuts and HAD
to stop by for a snack. Mmmmm...childhood memories of stealing
sips of mom's coffee (CAUFEE) in Jersey ....

Buffet dinner at Planet Hollywood...
Yes, that's cotton candy!

The drive home....we went from sunny to cloudy...to rain...sleet and SNOW!

I don't know why but the blue color of this truck thing looked
beautiful against the snowy background....

Thanks to Judy (Olive's godmother) for house sitting...
We came home to a clean house, happy dog and welcoming message!
We LOVE you, JUDES!!!! <3


Hope your week is going well, readers!
Look for His blessings wherever you go..... 

"Viva, Las Vegas!"

Ok, maybe it's not the typical way to begin a Vegas trip, but we started the first morning with a simple brunch at a local dim sum place. The food was.....eh.... a little underflavored (is that a word?) for my taste. Of course, we had to stop by to get some Lee's crack coffee....oh my gosh, I think we may have an addiction problem to their coffee. It literally jolts your eyes open! 

One of my favorite things from dim sum: sweet tofu soaked with a light ginger syrup. It taps into my childhood memories of being 5 yrs. old again.

The infamous coffee: I think we had more energy than our kid that day.  Parents, wanna outrun your kid(s)? Get Lee's coffee! 

 After a yummy brunch, we headed to the mall and shopped....window shopped mostly but got a few goodies as well. By late afternoon, we headed to new adventures....

Silverton Casino: a huge aquarium that mesmorized the boys

Nate's drink: Starbuck's vanilla steamer (hot milk with vanilla syrup and frothy whipped cream;
topped with caramel) 

My drink: Misto (half coffee & half skim)= perfect
Don't worry....it's decaf.... I was still "awake" from this morning's coffee from Lee's!

Even though he's 8, I'm glad he still has his "baby eyes".... 

Nate teaching us how to fold his intense paper airplanes. I still don't know how....

"The Headhunter" plane

Favorite Thai place: Lotus of Siam
Tom Yum Noodles: hot, sour, spicy goodness

Jay's dish: short ribs with penang sauce

Nate's favorite: Pad See Eiw

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. Nate quickly got ready for bed and climbed in for a short movie.  Of course, he had great company with his Perry the Platypus (2 of 'em!) *sigh.....what a life!

 So that was DAY ONE. It doesn't sound like very much but it was full of good times as a family. It was nice to be able to reconnect with each other....relax....and enjoy. Every family should have moments like this. More to come.....

Vegas, Baby!

We had such a fun time last weekend in Vegas. It was a nice relaxing getaway from the crazy routines of life. I'm in the process of organizing photos to remember our weekend. Many friends asked what we did from Friday-Monday. Well, just enough to have a blast! More to come, readers!

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops..

Another song that spoke to my heart.....HAD to share....

Just Isaac

What a week it has been!!! We went on a weekend getaway trip to Vegas and I'm still stunned that the week has started already. I guess it just seems busier when you've got a sick kid by your side as well. It gave me a break from our routine week nights though. I tutored Nathan through his school work that he'd miss from the day.... prepared dinner.... cleaned up for fellowship tomorrow night.... and sat down to watch a movie with the family. Not bad for a busy day. I just finished my devos for the evening and had to blog some of my thoughts from what I learned because it really "wowed" me.

The story begins in Genesis 16 with Sarah who sorrowfully carried the burden of not being able to conceive a child. In those days, not being able to have a child meant you were probably pretty worthless in society. These days, it's much different. But for any woman out there that's gone through disappointing pregnancy tests, one can empathize the pain of Sarah's sadness. Thinking the Lord had abandoned her in this area, she took things into her own hands and gave her maidservant, Hagar, to her husband and demanded that he sleep with her. That's how extreme her pain was! How far would I go to take things into my own hands? We should not judge her desperate ways....

If you continue to read this heart wrenching story, you'll see the tragic chain of events that affects a circle of people that leads to 2 generations: Isaac and Ishmael. By the time we journey into Genesis 21, we read that God (in His perfect timing), GIVES Sarah and Abe a son. Ishmael was the son of Hagar and Abe, and Isaac was the son of Sarah and Abe. Ishmael was a reminder of what happens when we take things into our own hands while Isaac is a reminder of God's ways.

I find that when I force things to go a certain way or I feel like I need to control things (because God doesn't seem to be showing up) , things never turn out the way I envision. My human side wants things in life to be smooth....easy....happy.....peaceful. Anything different thrown my way and I sometimes want to throw a temper tantrum. But being the adult that I try to be....I hold it in....or I vent .... and it leaves me drained. But tonight's devos beckoned the question: DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE SMOOTH AND EASY? "If everything is easy and doable, it doesn't require faith." Yikes....so true.

So my eyes opened this morning at 6:44 a.m. to Nathan saying, "I don't feel good." My immediate response was to roll over and cringe....I screamed in my pillow. The husband wondered why I was mad at  our son for being sick. Noooo... you see, I now have a totally crazy morning. I need to call mom and I know I will get chewed out for not being a better mom. (Somehow when Nathan is sick, it's always my fault...."Did you have him wear his jacket?!!! It's been cold! Oh, it must be when you took him to Vegas this past weekend! Ai-yoh...why did you do that?!" "Yes, mommy, I took Nathan outside in the cold with no clothes on..." ) I rushed around for jeans, a tee shirt that wasn't wrinkled, pinned my hair up in a messy bun, found 2 shoes that somewhat matched, and threw on a few layers of pearls thinking THAT would make me look put together. Somehow by the grace of God, I got Nathan dropped off at mom's for the day and made my way to work JUST IN TIME for my lovely playground duty at 8:15 a.m. I looked like the wind blew me in but nevertheless...I made it.

It was my drive (ok,  race) to work from my mom's that I heard the Lord speak to my heart. My heart was pounding from rushing around...and He asked me a question: "Do you know WHY you can't focus on Me right now? I answer easily at a red light...."Yes...I'm angry at being a poor mom ( in my mom's eyes) and I'm frustrated that my morning was so thrown off." And He gently reminded me that if I stayed focused on my own anger and swam around in my own puddle of emotions, I would never see Him in my day. In other words, I can choose to control the day by staying frustrated OR I could yield my day to Him. I relented .... relaxed my hands on the steering wheel.....and cruised my way to work. The rest of the day took moment to moment effort to stay focused on Him, not me. But the result was a calmer self and it even allowed me "space" to bless others. His grace is sufficient for me....for us.

The author of my devos book penned a song with an interesting chorus. I thought it closed my day so appropriately:

Just Isaac

By Kelly Minter

Chorus:

Just Isaac, nothing more

Just your promise and not my forced, crude hands helping out

Adding stuff til it crashes down

Just Isaac, nothing more

Just your promise and not my forced, mixed blessings and surprises

When everything I ever wanted was just Isaac

Complications and Ishmaels

Why couldn't I believe that you'd be faithful

That you'll have your way, either way

With all my extras or just plain.....

Oh that I may strive to keep the "Isaacs" in my life and not be tempted to create "Ishmaels"! 

Blessings,

Jen

From A Child's View

I have a very inquisitive group of 30 students this year. They are tender-hearted and sweet. Of course they have their "moments', but for the most part, I love my children. The news of Japan's devastating crisis had touched my students' hearts. In the middle of a lesson today, I realized that all the questions and comments revolved around earthquakes, Japan and tsunamis. So, I pulled down the map and we looked at where Japan was located. They learned that we share the same ocean. The looks of sadness and some strong emotions were quite apparent. I decided to stop our lesson, passed out post-it notes and allowed the kids to write messages, thoughts, blessings and prayers (yes, I said prayers) to/for Japan. I left it as an optional activity. But almost the entire class raised their hands for a post-it note. The room was quiet as they wrote down their thoughts. One student, when finished, asked if he could stick it on the map next to Japan. I nodded with brimming tears. So kid after kid walked to the map and stuck their note on the map with quiet reverence. I thought it was amazing how even at a young age, they knew the magnitude of importance this had on the world, and felt a longing to be a part of helping in some way...even if it was just a post-it note thought.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation on the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved....God will help her when morning dawns." -Ps. 46:1-5

"Be still and know that I am God." -Ps. 46:10a

Healing

No mountain, no valley, no gain or loss we know

could keep us from Your love

No sickness, no secret, no chain is strong enough

to keep us from Your love

to keep us from Your love

How high, how wide

No matter where I am, healing is in Your hands

How deep, How strong,

And now by Your grace I stand, healing is in Your hands

Our present, our future, our past is in Your hands

We're covered by Your blood

We're covered by Your blood

How high, How wide

no matter where I am, healing is in Your hands

How deep, How strong

And now by Your grace I stand, healing is in Your hands

Praying For His Mercies

It's been heart wrenching seeing the damages and destruction upon Japan's recent earthquake and tsunami. How does one pray for something at this magnitude? What do you pray for? It's so overwhelming. When all the images I see are frightening, I find myself escaping. So I found this photo of Japan....on better days. And I like how it seems to bring hope. Our God is bigger than a 9.0 earthquake. May His mercies be new every morning...

Our God is greater

Our God is stronger

God you are higher than any other

Our God is Healer

Awesome in power

Our God, Our God...

and if our God is for us

then who could ever stop us

and if our God is with us

then what could stand against?

-Our God, C.Tomlin

Springing Forth...

I'm having a hard time reminding myself that today we lose one hour. It's tricky when you keep putting off the things that really need to be done. I'm planning on making cupcakes for tomorrow's Kairos Snack Table but what was I doing instead? Playing outside with Nathan and marveling at the beginnings of Spring and new life growing in my so called garden.

Last night, the hubby and I attended Marla's memorial service. It was a bittersweet way to say goodbye to a  sweet friend. I had made buttons for my staff to wear to the service and it was awesome when the officiant had all of us raise our hands during the service to acknowledge "Team Roper"! The service was an emotional one when I looked at the ocean of people from her family, friends, staff and even students. At the end of her slideshow, a bagpiper played a song as he walked down the aisle and that's when I lost it. Music has always spoke to my soul in a way that nothing else could. Towards the end of the service, I was shocked to see one my current students walk down the aisle to the podium to say something about Mrs. Roper. He never had her as a teacher but he wanted to acknowledge how even in passing her in the school library, he was touched by her kindness. I was so touched by his courage to stand in front of so many people. The evening drained my spirits so as we left the service, the hubby decided to get a late dinner at a korean tofu joint. Besides music speaking to my soul, food is the other one. Korean tofu....oh so healing...

Today I woke up and lounged in bed. I can't remember the last time I did that. It was so nice to wake up in conversation with the Lord....praying about last night...and about a million other things too. I finally got up, picked up Nate from his sleepover, went to my mom's and made plans for lunch. Lunch was at Thai Specialty, a little Thai joint in Brea. It was nice to have my sister with us too. We settled down and ordered some green tea. 

My latest favorite colors...can you tell?
Burnt sienna orange and greenish turquoise

What my sister ordered: Pad Thai 

My dish: Pad Wood Sen (glass noodles)

Doesn't my mom look cute in orange?

An auntie & nephew moment...

Welcome to our garden!

I spent time marveling at His goodness and patience
 in growing me lately.

He spent hours outside by the pond today....
"Mommy, this pond makes me feel safe. The
sound of the water makes me feel peaceful."

I love the reminder that Spring brings:
Regrowth and renewal...

Looking forward to dinners out on the patio...

There's something so sweet & innocent watching
Nathan play in the pond.... (even if he's loudly
role-playing something about a race between
sticks and leaves)

I don't want him to grow up...