Life On Lisburn

My devotions today included 2 Cor. 10:5 (an exhortation to take captive every thought).  For me, among other thoughts, that has included arguing with myself about "I can't do more days of this" because well "we can do all things..."  Don't get me wrong -we've been making memories - and I'm starting to realize a little bit what life somewhat isolated on a mission station must have been like for my parents (hats off to you Mom and Dad) but today has had more 'shake it off' moments than some of our other days. Today I said thank you that we don't currently have a newborn although we'll have one in under ten weeks.  I have said thank you that I speak English and reside in my country of origin.  I have said thank you to Disney for the creation of Duck Tales circa 1987 (and for Disney Plus) so that two out of three kids are distracted for a bit.  Thank you whoever created the wonderful peanut butter filled pretzel - maybe Geo...

I'm sure you're wondering how Wednesday, Thursday and Friday worked out on Lisburn Rd.  Suffice to say, we're exercising our senses of humor in addition to exercising our bodies outside in the beautiful weather! Yesterday's 75 degrees proved to be a glorious reminder that Summer will return.  Let's see what's been happening - memory lapses from not enough coffee (LOL), we've been reading, and Anna is learning how to braid her hair and she's pretty excited about that.  There has been baking, TV watching for a few people, all kinds of water play, increased laundry because of the water play (haha), we've colored, we've painted, the Legos are out in full force and seem to be multiplying.  The list of house projects has grown and the Quarantine Bucket List has been created.  I've lost track of the volume of coffee consumed but have been relieved that the creamer supply at our local grocery store remains plentiful (fingers crossed) - but found a ...

Y'all - it.was.a.day.  That whole pride goes before a fall thing....well the fall started somewhere around 4.30 this morning and just.kept.going. I thought yesterday went fairly well and had just started thinking "okay, this is going to be okay." I'm laughing because if I don't the tears won't stop! Let's see if I can summarize 7:45 a.m-8:45 a.m. - Meltdown from Anna because her leprechaun trap didn't capture evidence of said leprechuan - Tears from D because the straw in his milk was bent funny and his sister ate the last chocolate chip muffin -Bath #1 for Jamesey -Clean up spilled milk for D because he was just going to drink without the straw because the bend was making it hard to drink -Hear water running and sprint up the steps to find the bathroom sink overflowing and Jamesey splashing in the overflowing sink happy as a clam having plugged said sink and independently turned the water on. -Clean up water and help settle J in the tub. -Settl...

Whelp - here we are on Day 2.5 (only halfway through day 3 lol) and it's prompting all kinds of thoughts.  Campus suspended classes for spring break (with adaptations at the conclusion) but school for the kids launched into prevention mode full scale - and I support this! Our quarantine started off with a bang - J was home from school Friday with pinkeye and the rest of us were just monitoring communication channels waiting to see if the anticipated closure would happen.  It's been an interesting 72 or so hours and I thought I'd write a bit to clarify my thoughts for myself. First, I shared with someone, I (and my imagination) really wish I had steered clear of Dean Koontz, Robin Cook and most specifically the book "Fifth Wave".  The resolution in these books rarely encourages optimism.  So off I go to bury my head in 'fluffy' fiction and some substantial Faith development. Secondly, I'm really not a fan of news outlets and the generation of chaos....

Today is Jer-day. If you don't know Jer - well, you should.  He's the better half of us for sure and I see that everyday in a thousand ways he cares for, for our family and for everyone around him.  I think it's cute that we agree lifestyle changes should optimally start on a Monday and if not a Monday then the 1st of a month.  He knows my coffee order.  Because of him I've watched way more foreign films than I ever dreamed I would and he's seen classics like The Return of the Mummy and Blue Crush in theaters (I'm a connoisseur of popcorn flicks and he indulges me). Our epic romance (#jerandjoy #theadventuresofjandj) dates back to 2000 and it's been fun thinking about the experiences and elements that have shaped our story so far.  Ellis Family by the numbers looks something like -  15 years married this May, 4 incredible kids (#4 isn't here yet, but clearly she'll be just as amazing as the other three), 3 advanced degrees, 3 lay-offs, 1 side-...