Wednesday, April 19, 2006

They really can hear us

Any doubts about whether my kids can hear my voice have been clearly laid to rest. Sometimes (and any other honest parent will concur) you wonder whether your kids simply can not hear your voice any more. They seem to hear/listen to others just fine most times, but for some reason just can not seem to hear their own parents’ voices, no matter how close in proximity.

Last night we arrived in yet another new town on our whirlwind tour of America and I needed to run out and pick something up. I quietly asked my son if he wanted to come with me, and before the words were even out of my mouth, from the other end of the house came and extremely emphatic “I WANT TO GO TOO!!!!” from my 2 year old daughter.

Had I been asking her to pick up her toys or something else, I could have screamed at the top of my lungs and she would have feigned ignorance. However, a trip somewhere, and her ears apparently developed super-sensitivity.

So there you have it. ‘Scientific’ proof that kids use selective hearing.

Generosity and graciousness

One of the things we are being amazed with on this trip is the generosity and graciousness of people we meet along the way. Basically everywhere we go we have had people pouring out all kinds of goodness on us that has touched us, and quite honestly amazed us. It is surreal to the point of seeming like a joke at times, but we know it is not a joke. It is simply people wanting to show their love and concern for us and to minister to us in a tangible way.

This would include very thoughtful things like little goodies (or even baskets full of goodies) for our kids, but it also includes incredibly generous things like giving us use of a first-class vehicle while we are in the area to save us the cost of renting a car or the open invitation to stay in someone’s home with them rather than in a hotel, etc.

As we prepared for this trip one of the big factors is cost. We were scared at how much this time was going to cost, but our friends and loved ones have so generously and graciously come through for us in such creative ways, finding options and suggestions that have really blessed us.

Now the challenge for us is to be good receivers of all these blessings (being generous and gracious as a receiver is a totally different skill in some ways than while being the giver) and to be equally or more giving of these qualities back to others.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Strange weather

Since our arrival in America a couple of weeks ago, we have seen the weirdest weather. We arrived into Detroit with freezing cold temps, which was a real shock to the system after the mid-90s we had left the day before at our house. Thankfully things warmed up a little along the way.

Once we got to Denver things were looking pretty good until we got up one morning to find a few inches of snow on the ground and more coming down quickly. We were due to fly out the next morning, and were a little worried until hearing the weather forecast (mind you this forecast was being made while there was active snowing going on, in fact near blizzard-like conditions for a while) of 70+ degrees the following day. From snow to 70+ in less than a day? That is nuts!! Where we live it goes from 90-91 the next day not from 30 to 70 in one day.

Boise was not much different in terms of odd-factor. There were several days it would look like heavy rain all around us, but where we were was dry and reasonably warm. We even got in a round of golf one day and got sunburned in the process. The day before leaving Boise my wife got caught in a sudden downpour of snow-like stuff while she was out on her daily walk. Thankfully she was not too far from the house and did not get too badly soaked. But then the next day was beautiful and sunny – it was a perfect day for driving to Portland. What a gorge-eous drive through the Columbia River Gorge.

So what will the weather be like for out time in Portland?

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Time with friends

We had a chance to catch up with some friends over the last couple of days. This was the result of a stop on our itinerary that brought us close to where they have relocated to. It was great to get to see them and spend even just a short time with them catching up and seeing what is new in their lives. These are the kind of friends who you can not see for years at a time (although not preferred to be that way), but when you get together you can pick right up just like you were never gone. Those are cool kinds of friendships I think.

We laughed, ate together (dipping pizza crust in honey is not all that weird after all) and watched a tv show together that we normally all watch independently. Fun times! Thanks Debbie and Angela. Always good to see you both.