One Year ago today...

...we were getting ready to leave Armenia behind...

Daddy and the kids walking around our block in Armenia.
-I'm standing on our front porch taking the pic...

This is part of a quick email I just found that I'd written to my Mom on Nov. 29th, 2010...

Had our last devotions at the office.

Kev sold some music gear to a church in Hrazdon... yea. About half price or
less and now will use that money to get some guitars for some church planters
here...

I haven't read that Karon book yet! I saved the Christmas book for on the
plane!

Trying to get the right kennel for Rocky. We went to check on a bigger one
today to see if we could trade (I think the airline wants it bigger than what we
have...). Vet was closed for today! Sigh. :) Again, tomorrow.

Iren is a penguin in a school Christmas program tomorrow. 

Band is coming over for one last time tomorrow. (They'll buy the drums.)
The international church will buy a few things, too... :) (money to buy
guitars...)
Last day of school tomorrow...
Mark and Kim might come on Wed. They bought our homeschooling desks!
Marine bought our big wardrobe. Hopefully she'll get that this week! heh! :)
The girls from the office are coming on Friday, I think.
Hakob is done working this week but wants to come say goodbye on Sunday!
Packing all throughout that! :)
Finishing up!

the day before we left,
we went downtown
one last time...

Reading all that makes me want to take a deep breath.  It was so hard to say good-bye to everyone!  Whew.  What a blessing that we were able to be a part of life and missions in Armenia.  What good friends we left behind there.  We are still in touch with most of then because of the internet.  Yea.  But it's still just not the same and being together.  Quite often now, especially when we sing songs about the nations, etc...  I think how great it'll be to be reunited forever in heaven.  God stretched open our thoughts of heaven, first when Joshua went before us, and now with a hint of understanding of what it will be like to celebrate Him together with the nations!  And with our good friends...  Whoo!  :)

Loving, and missing, Armenia this week...  xo

(what pics to I choose of everyone...  go back in the blog to a year ago and I think all of those are the ones I looked at just now!!)

Gestational Diabetes... or maybe not?

My blood sugar numbers were a little high for the routine gestational diabetes tests.  Hum.  So now I have the poker/tester thing.  But my numbers have all been fine for over a week...  (except for Thanksgiving day, I had a higher number after eating pie(s)!  Heh.)  So this week, we'll see what the doctor thinks of that.  Maybe I won't have to poke as often?  But I have learned some about diabetes!  Since it runs in my family, I guess it's good info to know, right?

Other than that...  Baby's doing great and is super active.  They'll keep their eye on him and me to be sure all is well.  Crazy to think that in less than two months, we'll be holding another little one.  The kids are all excited!  I told them we'd get to see the baby in the next few weeks...  "You mean, face to face!!??"  Yup.  Exciting days are ahead!

-I'll have to post a pic later...  :)  I must be getting bigger because everyone's been asking me, when are you due?!  Heh...  not too much longer!  January 18th.

Emotional week

I am not the type that is extremely emotional.  But this week, man, what's up with me?  Whew.  I am just feeling...  feeling.  Ha.  I know women say sometimes they just need a good cry.  Really?  I guess maybe this week?  I dunno.  I keep thinking, what's that all about?  Then realizing...  well, first of all I'm in the 8th month of pregnancy.  That alone could be it.  Heh!  Then, you know what, having your husband working 5 jobs is stressful, not just for him, but for me/us, too...  whew.  Lord, give us strength to pull tight when we're so busy and tired.  Four busy kids...  that could be it.  Another huge thing on my mind is my aging parents. Anyone have experience and encouragement?  Watching them need help and not knowing what to do...  whew.  Then, our four room house...  not four bedroom.  Four rooms.  Total.  We have no space.  Squished.  I'm blessed (for another month or so) with quiet time when everyone's in school but the other five who live here don't have that luxury.  We've decided that everyone (and some more than others) need that alone time to function well.  Hannie stays out in the van after school to do homework because there's just too much going on in the house!  Girlie.  She and her daddy.  Our doctor said that he's seeing more people suffer with anxiety these days instead of depression...  housing situations??  Squished can be stressful.  Possibly, we could be stressed over money, or lack there of...  not even gonna go there!  Bah.  Heh!

Anyway.  While I'm pondering all this, I'm like...  okay so then what?  In the middle of all that, we are incredibly blessed and provided for.  We have a house, when many in our area don't even have that!  There are lots of people around here living in cars and campers!  Crazy.  God has been meeting our needs even when we still feel like we have more needs.  He knows our NEEDS.  And He is teaching us things in the middle of whatever it is we're going through.  When we're stressed...   He is not.  He is in control and is always going to be.  I picked up my Bible the other day like, Lord...  tell me something!  And I read Psalm 42 that says (a few times),

Why are you downcast, O my soul? 
Why so disturbed within me? 
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, 
my Savior and my God.

I felt better about talking to myself (and our dog) during the day, when I read that David did it, too!  Do you ever talk to your own soul?  Heh...  And he asked the same question - What's up with me?  Well, like David, I will tell myself today...  "Put your Hope in God and praise Him."  Thanks for the reminder, Lord.  I will do just that.  You are my Hope.  You are the same always.  You have good plans.  You lead us beside still waters, give us rest.  You are my Prince.  My Prince of Peace.  Im Der Jan...  my sweet Lord...

Commercials

Being overseas taught us many things.  One thing that I've noticed in the past year back in the states is that we don't watch TV.  And if we do, it's purposeful...  something we've decided to do.  We hardly ever just turn on the TV to see what's on.  We got used to choosing a movie or watching an old TV series.  The kids love the Cosby show and Kev and I have been watching Monk!  (Thanks instant NetFlix.)

Charlie Brown and Squanto!  :)

On Thanksgiving day we saw Charlie Brown had two shows airing.  Every time a commercial cut in, the kids were surprised and moaned!  Ha.  I thought it was really funny.  They totally are not used to commercials interrupting their shows!  After about the 4th or 5th commercial, Benjamin says sarcastically, "So it's Black Friday tomorrow..."  Hi, repeat yourself much?!  Ha.

Besides it being interesting to me, and funny, too, I got to thinking...  really we've spared them from so much wanting this and needing that.  They are pretty content with what they have.  They're surprised at all that other friends have.  They don't see all the images of what you should do and what you should look like and what you should have.  They just are.  Nice.  (They do want IPods...  heh!  Music is big at our house...)

Our family devotions this week was about commercials and how we should watch what we put in our head and watch what we think we need...  One of the questions was something like, Why do you want what you want?  The kids said because it was something that we've talked about.  Because Mom mentioned it!  (Nothing to do with commercials...)

I like that our family is the desire maker right now for our kids!  Heh.  And hopefully we can stay grounded in what the Lord desires for us.  He is the One who meets our needs and delights us with our desires, too!  What are we letting repeat itself until it becomes our desire?  Let us hunger and thirst for You, Lord, surround ourselves with You...  choose what we tell ourselves we need...

Our October birthday girl

Hannah Christine turned 11 years old in October!  Crazy girlie, growing so fast!  She continues to be a compassionate, delightful, quiet, silly girlie.  She's an encourager and a great memorizer.  It's so easy for her to get memory verses to stay in her head!  She knows her Bible and is kind to her friends.  She was even told by friends at school that they don't think she ever gets mad.  (Sometimes she does...)  :)  She likes baking and dancing and singing and drawing...



Hannie is the one out of our four who would most like to be homeschooled again.  She's our homebody.  She says she has a great teacher, is making friends, and getting good grades...  but that doesn't mean she'd rather be in school!!  Heh.  Being home is nice.  I'm glad she's doing well there and that she loves being home with family, too!

For her birthday this year, she had two girl friends over for the afternoon.  She wanted the party to be at home so we had to keep it small.  They went to the park to play and came home to play.  Of course, we did cake and presents and played some more.  I think it was a good celebration!

Then the next day on her actual birthday, all the grandparents come over to celebrate their first granddaughter!  We had her traditional pumpkin cake and talked about how strange it was that we're not in Yerevan to go to Republic Square to watch the lights and the fountains!  But we were thankful that we were surrounded by family!  What a treat.  I know not every child has both sets of grandparents so close and so in love with them and with Jesus.  We are blessed.  Blessed with family.  And blessed with Hannie!  So thankful that God gave us this beautiful young lady.

Happy Birthday, Hannie girl!!