January 12-14, 2007

I had been anticipating this trip to Phoenix, Arizona for several months now. So when Peter ran a fever for a few days prior to our departure, I was praying hard that he would recover quickly. His fever did break but he continued to have a sore throat. Rather than let me make the six hour trip on my own with the boys, Peter was a trooper and came along anyway. It had been several years since we had seen our friends, Shane and Andrea Hipps, and the first time we met their precious fifteen month old girl, Harper. They opened their home to us despite our germs and we had a wonderful time with them. Shane and Andrea make us laugh, think, reflect, question, and enjoy ourselves way too much. It was sweet to see Brendan playing with Harper, though sometimes a bit scary like when he gave her an underduck on her play swing and she flipped over the front. Thankfully, she was wearing her seatbelt so she just hung upside down until Andrea rescued her. Despite the craziness of Shane’s pastorate and the stress that means for Andrea as she parents a busy baby, they both seemed to give the best of themselves to us. They have a remarkable ability to be present and in the moment, a wonderful gift.


On Saturday, we spent a few hours with our friends from IBTS, the Spoustas. Matthew and Olivia moved stateside a month ago and were with family in Phoenix but were leaving for Portland in a few days where they will settle. It was beautiful to see Aidan and Jason checking each other out as they approached and then run up to each other and give big hugs. It was wonderful to reconnect with them again, although a few hours on a Saturday didn’t seem like enough after getting to see them every day at IBTS.

Peter’s sore throat only seemed to worsen so we decided to head back a day early. Monday morning was spent at Urgent Care. He came home with a diagnosis of strep throat and antibiotics. He is slowly healing and so far the rest of us have only caught colds.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007
One of our friends commented that Prague seems to be mentioned in each journal I send out. This time is no exception. Denise, Prague runs deep within us still! This morning I went to the Rose Bowl to meet up with friends for our weekly 5K walk. The three of us ladies got our kids in their strollers and had them set up with snacks and toys and whatever else they might possibly need to get them through the hour walk. It was very brisk, yet nothing like Prague, but it was overcast as well. We had heard there was a chance of rain but didn’t believe it because, after all, this is Southern California! We had only walked a few minutes when we felt the first few drops. We decided to push through, thinking it wasn’t going to be too bad. A few minutes later, we were caught in a full on rainstorm! There were even a few hailstones on the top of Jason’s stroller! Ahhhh, just like Prague. Nothing like getting caught in the rain!

There was an extra benefit to getting soaked. Our walk was cut short and I went home to change instead of going to have lunch at a park with another friend. Of course, I was scheming on the way home, knowing that Peter was home, half recovering and half trying to get some work done. I laid out my plan for him when I got home which involved Jason staying with him and me getting to go to a café for uninterrupted time with a good friend over a bowl of soup. Peter was willing and even encouraging, because that is the way he is, not because he was sick for a week and the workload was unevenly distributed for awhile there, which is what I was thinking. So I went and enjoyed a lovely lunch with Annika!

As if the day wasn’t interesting enough, that afternoon there was a possum in our backyard. It was staggering around and looked to have mangled one side of its face. We watched it from our balcony and then ran downstairs to get a closer look. The boys wanted to go outside but I had visions of my boys being mauled by an angry and injured possum. Peter laughed at me and said in the voice of Piglet, “Possums are one of the m-m-more fiercer animals.” But we all stayed inside and that was fine by me.



Saturday, January 20, 2007
It seems that much of my life these days is planning fun and interesting things for the boys to do and then convincing them that they will like it. Sometimes a bribe is necessary to get them to the place where they will have fun because they don’t trust that I have a good sense of that. Granted, I have struck out a few times but I’m sure they learned something even if they were bored. This morning I dragged the boys to the Pasadena Symphony’s Musical Circus. For the first half hour, different instruments are available for the kids to test out. Brendan attempted the flute and clarinet but wasn’t too successful. He was marvelous on the cello and violin (perhaps due to his violin lessons – another thing that he insists is something I want but that he doesn’t). Jason made some nice sounds on the clarinet and then went over to fiddle and tap his foot. Then we went to a huge room where there was a blues band performing kids songs like “Three Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” and “Hey Diddle Diddle.” Another man was playing the washboard and other percussion instruments that he had made himself. Then there was an elderly black man whose energy matched Jason’s who told the story of Brier Rabbit and John Henry. At the end of the performance, Brendan said he did like it after all. You know I wanted to scream “I told you so!” but I somehow managed to constrain myself. Then we went to Target so they could spend their gift cards, the bribe that got them to the interesting, cultural experience in the first place.

Sunday, January 21, 2007
After what feels like an eternity of waiting (no comments please) we finally had our MCC eligibility interview. This was the next step in the process and what needed to happen before we could even start talking to MCC about the position in Zambia. Our good friends and small group leaders conducted the interview and bombarded us with questions for an hour. As they left church, friends pleaded with them to sabotage the interview so that we wouldn’t leave Pasadena. But alas, the interview seemed to go well and after they write up the report and send it off, we should hear from MCC again.

Peter related a conversation he had with Brendan this week. They had heard a car alarm ringing and Brendan wanted to know what it was. Peter explained that it is supposed to keep car thieves away. Brendan replied, “But if someone wants to take your car, and you are a Christian, shouldn’t you just give it to them because they probably need it more than you anyway?”