Sunday, March 22, 2009

Going Back






So, today I found some sweet pictures I hadn't seen of the kids preparing for Cardiff to come at the airport with their cousin, Bella. I thought I'd share them.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Around the World with the Dear Family in 26 letters


I saw something similar to this in the Land of Nod catalog and decided to customize one for our family. Since I told a few of you about it, I thought I'd post it on our blog. One of the few things in life I've really started and finished and not got burned out in the process :).

I chose cities around the world that either we've been to, want to go to, support a missionary from, have hosted a student from or are our children's names :).

Sunday, March 1, 2009

"Mom, Why Did God Make Me Have Diabetes?"

Wow! I'm not sure I could have ever been prepared to answer this heavy question and tonight, as I tucked my sweet eldest son into bed, after being gone from him for a few days, that was the question he popped on me.

Teary-eyed, I answered him that God let him have diabetes, but that he loves him very much and promises to take care of Him. We talked about it for awhile and I asked him how he felt about having diabetes and he said "good". Then, a bit later he asked "When am I not going to have diabetes?" The reality of this answer made me again quite sad and not wanting to explain in detail I answered "unless God makes you better, you'll have it your whole life".

If only I could just flat out face the Lord with those tough questions myself my relationship with Him would be so much more authentic. Tonight was really the first time we've had a heart-to-heart like that and, while the content wasn't fun, the conversation had a new depth and I was honored to listen to Tallinn's deep concerns and be a part of what goes on in his head.

A little later we talked about the new possibility of getting a "diabetes" dog. I asked him if he wanted me to pray about it and he said "No, let's talk about the dog first." I went over the list of responsibilities it would require-cleaning up poop, feeding, exercising, which he agreed to do. Then, he came up with a name--Scooby Doo Adventure :). After we finished talking about it I asked Tal if he wanted to talk about anything else. He said "Let's pray about the dog."

So, we did and God is good and I am thankful for this little honest conversation we had, just the two of us. And, while I know this is just the beginning of many questions to come...I feel like we connected and addressed his four-year-old concerns with hope.

I'll finish this post with Tal's life verse as I feel it so applies to what he is going to face in the future.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6