A Great Roadtrip Adventure

A late night recall of our road trip to New Hampshire...

This trip was full of fun and friends!  We started out early Monday morning and made it to our pre-planned destination of Streetsboro, OH.  All is uneventful, in a good way so far.

Tuesday we made decent time getting to NY, but then we hit traffic.  When I say traffic, I don't mean traffic that slows you down for a couple minutes.  I mean traffic that forces 8 lanes down to 2 to cross the Lincoln tunnel in NYC during rush hour going 2.5 miles in 3 hours with 2 children who need to go to the bathroom.  Yeah, I know you envy that section of the journey!

We arrived at our hotel in Long Island City, NY only to find out that there is limited parking.  And again, by limited parking I am referring to 16 parking spaces for 2 buildings that are each 10 floors high.  Hmmm...and did I mention I have a large SUV? In down town NYC?  Our vehicle was almost unscathed. The concierge working at the hotel told me there was one spot left to park in the parking garage.  I entered. Well, let me take that back.  I attempted to round the corner into the garage and it was so tight that I could not make it.  It scraped the rear fender. Booo for the fresh concrete scrape on my Enclave.  OK, so I was in the parking garage and I get to "the one spot" and it is not even close to being wide enough for my vehicle and I can not turn around to get out of the garage.  This got ridiculous.  I had to back out.  I am not happy.  Not only is the spot unusable, I now have been driving since 7:30 am with the kids, they just sat through the 3 hours of moving slower than a snail and now there is no where to park.  Grr.  I stopped and said a prayer of desperation.  "God, please help me to find a place to park. I am so frustrated."
I drove around the block.  I saw a spot on the street to park.  But, it made me so nervous (this was not the best area to hang out in) that after a few more frustrated pleas to God, I left that spot and circled back to the hotel with the anticipation that God would find me a spot (one of 16 for the 2 hotel buildings...a minor miracle!).  Well, I entered the surface lot and there was one free spot!  And, I could actually fit my vehicle in the spot.  Thanking God, I took the spot.  It was so tight I let the kids out before I pulled in, then crawled out the hatch.  But, we made it!  So we gather our stuff that we need for the night and we head to the elevator to go up to our room and who do we see, but my fabulous friend Alyssa, her mom and her son who we were meeting in NYC!  It was such perfect timing!  Bless her heart, I was so frustrated I could hardly talk but she was so gracious in taking care of us to get us settled and calmed down.

OK, next day.  Alyssa and I had not seen each other for 10 years and we planned to have the day together to hang out and catch up.  It was such a treat to see her, I don't think it really mattered what we did.  However, we were able to take in some fun sights.  One of our favorite was the Statue of Liberty.

We were also able to take in some obligatory hot dogs from a street vendor.  They were actually pretty good. :)

Then after lots of walking we (mostly Alyssa) navigated the subway system and found our way to Central Park.  Zack and Owen enjoyed playing with Noah, their new friend.

Then it was about time to call it a day.  We headed back to the hotel and ordered delivery.  It was the best delivery I have ever had!

The next morning we continued our journey to Watch Hill, RI.  Along the way we needed to pull off for potty breaks.  We saw this car when we stopped. 

After taking the pictures of the car I noticed there was a guy sitting in the driver's seat.  Oops. Hope he does not mind being featured in my blog. :)

We continued on and made it to Watch Hill.  It was a great afternoon of waves and sand.

The last thing we were able to do in RI was ride the world's oldest carousel.  The kids loved it! (even though Owen's face does not look like he was enjoying himself, he talked about it for days!)

On the road again...

Next we made it to Taunton, MA to see another great friend, Katie and her family.   Katie, thanks for the pic!  (I like that Apollo snuck in there too!)  Zack and Owen enjoyed seeing some more kids on the trip.  They liked that they knew who they were before we got there too.

After a night in Taunton with such a gracious host, we headed up to our final destination of Campton, NH to see my parents.  We enjoyed almost a week with them.  During our stay I got to see some of my best middle school friends!  We reminisced on the playground that we used to play on but this time it was our kids playing.  How fun! 
Tracy and Penny, it had been way too long! Can't wait til the next rendezvous!

I also got to see another dear friend, Melanie whom I grew up with.  I again wish I had taken a pic of us too for memory sake.

I was able to visit with my grandma in Littleton as well.  These moments are treasured but bittersweet.  I LOVE seeing her, but she has the terrible disease of Dementia and no longer remembers who I am.  I still have such fond memories of my sweet grandma and am so thankful for the many years I had growing up so close to her and the impact she had on me.

During our free time in NH we enjoyed hours at the pool.  Everyone went in the water...even my mom!  (Although not pictured here, Dad was in the pool too.)

We had such a fabulous trip of seeing friends and family.  We even were blessed to see a gorgeous New Hampshire sunset one of the last days there. 

Our trip home was not quite as fabulous as the whole adventure.  We left early Thursday morning in hopes to get a good start on the 20 hour drive home.  All was good until Thursday night.  We found a hotel in Elyria, Ohio and were just getting settled in and Owen was sick.  Poor guy.  It seemed to come out of no where.  I figured that was it and he was doing better.  Nope.  Friday morning we packed up and ate breakfast.  We just got in the car to head home and before I had even closed my door Owen was sick again.  It was not a fun time.  I found the housekeeper and got some towels and disinfectant spray and cleaned as best I could with what I had (and did I mention it was raining out?) but the smell was awful and Owen was feeling miserable.  After we got on the road again he was sick several more times.  I never have enjoyed Chicago traffic but it is even worse when there is a sick child.  He did perfect aiming in a bag, at least.  Poor guy. 
It was a glorious moment pulling into our garage and getting out of the car for all of us when we returned home.  And, our poor car dealership down the road did a fantastic job detailing our car. Thanks Symdon. :)

So there you have it.  The adventures of roadtripping with me.  I think Dan may have been wise to stay home with the dog, but I had fun.

8 Years Ago...

Today is Zack's birthday.  I spent this morning looking back at our pictures from when he was born.  This was a monumental and eventful time in our life for several reasons.
Here is a recap of our major events in 2004...
(While reading the first several events, keep in mind that I was due May 8th)

March 26th Dan and I moved to a new Apartment in Appleton, WI.  We were excited to have a washer and dryer for our soon to be family of 3!

April 7th We were both working for Humana Insurance when Dan came down to my desk in agony.  His lung had collapsed at work so I frantically rushed him 30 minutes away to our hospital in Appleton where he underwent 3 surgeries and stayed in the hospital for several days.  I was a wreck with terrible thoughts and HIGH emotions.

April 23rd is my last day working but not without a crazy ending.  Leaving 2 weeks before I was due was essentially like quitting and I lost all of my financial maternity benefits.  I did not care.  I was DONE. 

Sometime around May 3rd Dan gets a call from Epic offering him a job as a Computer Programmer!  I looked for the picture but could not find it of Dan's reaction after the call...it was one of his most animated moments ever as he was dancing around the living room! Oh happy day!  He no longer needed to work at Humana in the call center.

May 8th comes...and goes...no baby yet.

May 13th I am at the grocery store and a random middle aged gentleman asks me, "When are you going to have that baby?" 
My response: "The doctors said 5 days ago."  He chuckled. 

May 15th A week overdue.

Getting ready to go!  I had to be there by 7:00 (to be induced) which was no problem at all!  I did not sleep much at all because I was so excited!

Heading out the door to go have a baby!

               

We got things started at 8:30 and at 1:30...Zackariah Amos Fawcett made his debut!

We were so thrilled to have our son! 

(Zacky at 3 days old)

May 20th We travel down to Madison and endure a 13 hour day of house hunting.  Zack, being only 5 days old, did fantastic.  But, let me tell you...that was not a fun day for this new mamma!  We put an offer in on what we felt was the best option of what we saw.

May 22nd We found out we did not get the house and set up another day to go house hunting in Madison. Yuck. (Oh, and remember we just moved 2 months ago!)

June 7th Dan starts work at Epic.  For the next 3 weeks we live in Extended Stay...a hotel room.  A one room hotel room.  With a newborn.  Who wakes up every 2 hours or less. 

June 25th We closed on our first house and was it ever a joyous occasion!  Not only to own our first house, but to get out of that hotel room after 3 weeks! 

These major events, Dan's collapsed lung, having a baby, Dan and I each starting a new job (mine was being a mommy!), and buying a house made for quite an adventurous couple months. 

And now, 8 years later we still know and feel God's awesome blessing on our family.   

Dan is healed with limited restrictions.

He is still working for Epic.

We have our second home in the school district that is perfect for our boys.

And, Zack, he continues to grow in wisdom and stature. 

 What a great morning reminiscing 8 years ago.  God has surpassed my expectations for our family in every area possible.

I'm thankful for so many blessings.  Today, I'm especially thankful for my newly turned 8 year old (and Dan and Owen too!).    I am beyond blessed.



Bulging with Challenges

I've been bulging with challenges to myself in the last several months.  I want to better myself in so many areas and there are multiple pockets of my life that are surfacing that I want to improve.  Here are 5 goals (although there are more!) I have for myself:

1. I had never read my Bible from cover to cover.  I've read chapters and books at a time but never front to back.  I started in February and want to finish before school is out for the summer.  I hope I'll make it. There are so many things that I want to stop and study to learn more about as I am going, but I feel God is calling me to just read through and then go back after I finish. 

2. I want to be more bold and purposeful in creating and improving upon friendships.  I use the excuse of being shy and not overly outgoing.  This brings me out of my comfort zone, but all for good purpose.  People and relationships are more valuable than anything else.

3. I have been impacted by the simple line in 1 Cor 13, Love does not boast.  I think upon this phrase often while trying to be a better listener than talker.  It is easy to let insecurities take over and feel the need to live life to a monetary fullness.  But, that leaves emptiness... in your pocket and in relationships.

4. I want to be a wife of noble character.  This takes a change of focus.  I need to be more considerate and understanding toward my husbands work pressures and free time.  The good news...I want all the time I can with him!

5. I want to be a Mom that the kids remember as loving them and Dan more than anything else in the world.  That challenges me to be more hands on and physically focused toward them.

 I read a story that impacted me...

Son: Mom (from a different room)
Mom: Yes?
Son: Mom (still in a different room)
Mom: Yes?
Son: Mom
Mom: What? I am listening to you.
Son: You can hear me but you are not listening with your eyes.

Ouch.  I'm guilty of that. 

I am sure that everyone has their list of challenges as I do.  Perhaps you can not relate to some of mine, and perhaps I have brought new challenges to you through writing mine.  Whatever the case, God will reveal things to you as you are ready.  Be sure you are listening.  Then, be sure you are acting.

How Do You Come?

How do you come to God?

This is a question that has surfaced many times over the past month.  I have been reading some excellent books and have been diving a bit deeper and longer in my walk with the Lord. 

My question has created a stirring in me.  I like to think that I come to God in prayer just as He asks us to do.  In reality, my thoughts are often off.  I come to Him in prayer saying "Please help me with such and such" and "please help so and so in a particular way" etc...but it is like reading or speaking a laundry list of my thoughts to God. 

I don't think that is what He means when He asks us to bring everything to Him in prayer.  He wants us to pray in faith.  He wants us to fully anticipate an answer and not just speak out of obligation.  He wants us to rip free of our traditional coined prayers and put some heart into it. Put some faith into it.

Are you a type to pray fervently and come to God with a deep faith that He'll answer your request, or are you, like me, the type that can fall into the pit of repetition and obligation?  Are your dinner prayers or bed time prayers the same thing each day?  A task of something to check off your list for the day?

Why do we have God in a box?  Why do we think that we can fool or trick Him by doing our prayerful duty of reciting our lists?  God is so much greater than that.  God wants us to pray with a deep faith AND He wants to answer those prayers! (Although it is not always how we see it best).

I heard about the famous Corrie ten Boon.  She often spoke to crowds.  While she was speaking, she would look down most of the time.  While she was looking down, she was working on needlepoint. She would lift up her creation at the close of her talk and how the audience the back of the piece.  Of course it looked like a jumbled mess of strings that had no rhyme or reason.  That is how we may see God working in our life.  We see the strings that do not go in a sensible order.  BUT, when she revealed the other side of the creation, it was a beautiful piece of art just perfectly crafted into a beautiful piece of work. That is how God works.  We see the jumbled mess, while he is working miracles and creating masterpieces. 

We serve a mighty God who does great work in our life.  He knows what He is doing.  We need to pray with a faith that can move mountains so we can see the mighty work He is doing in and through us. 

I'd like to challenge you to consider how you are praying.  If you are praying with token prayers out of obligation, realize that is not what He asks of us.  We are talking to the almighty creator of the Heavens and Earth.  Don't forget His place.  And, He loves you and made you in His image.  Don't undermine His love for you.  He will sustain you and care for you, because you are precious in His sight.  Keep seeking after Him.

Jamaican Adventure

"Whatever is illegal in the US is illegal in Jamaica."  This was what we were told right before we ported during our cruise to Jamaica.  You may laugh...but here's my story.

After a fun time zip lining and riding a Jamaican bobsled (cause you just have to do that if you are in Jamaica right?!) we eventually caught a shuttle back to a tourist shopping area.  By eventually I mean that they have no sense of time.  We were completely full and loaded on the shuttle and the driver decides that it is time to eat lunch so our full shuttle of about 25 people watch our driver exit the bus, sit down with some buddies and leisurely eat his sandwich.

OK, so we are now dropped off at the shopping area.  A complete tourist trap.  We like those, for a little while...you know, long enough to peek at some obligatory souvenirs.  So we decide to explore a bit and go find something to eat for lunch.  We walked out of the shopping area and went right.  We walked past tons of little shops full of everything you could think of.  They were not the most presentable either as the poverty level in Jamaica is very high.  So, their shops represented that well.  At the entrance to each shop there was a salesperson asking us to come into their shop.  We politely ignored most of them.  After walking a while an only recognizing KFC we decided to seek out some sort of Jamaican cuisine. 

We noticed a abnormally clean white building called "The Castle" and it did not look sketchy. So, we decided to turn around and walk back to that place to see about getting some lunch.  We get to it and there is a guy outside asking if we want to come inside.

We walk inside and he asks what he can help us with. 
Dan: We are looking for some lunch.
Guy: Oh, I have food here.
Dan: OK
Guy: Follow me. 

We walk into the nice white building.  There is NO ONE in there.  OK, so small red flag for us as we enter a completely empty building.

Guy: Come on up stairs.
Dan: OK

We walk up the stairs thinking that is where the restaurant is.
It is also completely empty of people but has several tables and chairs set up. (More red flags but it almost seems too late to turn around).

Guy: So, what can I get you today?
Dan: Some lunch.
Guy: So, uhhh, would you like some scrabbled eggs and toast?
Dan: No thanks.  We were looking for lunch.
Guy: Oh, OK.  So like, uhhh, some rice and peas and chicken?
Dan: (shrugging his shoulders) Uhh, sure.
Guy: OK, sit down.
(We sit)
Guy: Oh, uhhh, would you like to sit by the pool?
Dan: Uhh, sure.
(We move over to sit on the balcony overlooking the pool...also where no one was).
Guy: What would you like to drink.
Kirsten: Water?
Guy: Sure, I be right back.

So the friendly Jamaican guy returns moments later with a bottle of water and pours it into some glasses.  We smile and say "Thank you."

Guy: I be back in a few minutes with you food. It takes a few minutes to cook it
Kirsten: (nodding) OK.

(So at this point we have no idea what we have gotten ourselves in to.  There were not any menus and no one else there to see what they were eating.)

About 10 minutes later the guy returns with 2 huge plates.

Sure enough we had rice and chicken (no peas but it was replaced with coleslaw). 

Now wouldn't you know, this was the best meal we had the whole vacation trip!  The chicken was juicy and tender and not spicy and the rice was delicious with some unique spices.  I have no idea what type of seasoning they used for either of the items, but it was yummy!

OK, so we are sitting and eating our delicious meal and we think...hmmm, how much is this going to cost us. (Remember there were no menus to indicate price)

After we finish we get our check.  The meals were $11.95 per plate and the water is $3.  So my calculations made that be just under $28.  The itemized bill looks like this:

2 chicken's $11.95
1 water $3.00
Total: $38

Wait a second there...that's either (A) bad math or (B) cheating the Americans.  I am opting for option B.  But, our justification, it was so good, we'd pay that much in America.  So we pay and don't complain.

As we get up to leave the guy walks us out.
Guy: How was your meal?
Dan: Fantastic.  It was really good!
Guy: Is there anything else I can help you with?  You need a place to stay?
Dan: No thanks.
Guy: (What Dan hears anyway) Do you like Bob Marley?
Dan: (Shrugging his shoulders), Yeah, sure.
Guy: (His eyes lit up really big), YOU DO?!?! You want some weed?
Dan: Oh, uhh, no thanks.
Guy: You sure?
Dan: No thanks.

After a few more steps the guy goes back to his "White Castle". Two more steps a friendly Jamaican guy (guy #2) asks:
Guy #2: Do you want to buy a cd of Jamaican music?
Dan: No thanks.
Guy: Do you want some Bob Marley smokes?
Dan: No thanks.

So we keep walking, heading toward our cruise ship.  Up approaches another guy (guy #3).

Guy #3: What are you doing?
Dan: Just walking.
Guy #3: Where you going?
Dan : This way.
Guy #3: Well, where are you going?
Dan: This way.
Guy #3: What are you doing?
Dan: Just looking at shops.
Guy #3: I have a shop. You want to come to my shop?
Dan: No thanks.
Guy #3: Well, what are you doing then?
Dan: Just looking at shops.
Guy #3: Well, I have a shop.  Come to my shop.
Dan: No thanks.
Guy #3: I really do have a shop.
Dan: I believe you.
Guy #3: Just come to my shop. I have stuff to sell.
Dan: No thanks.

Finally that guy leaves us alone and lets us walk.  About 3 steps alter another guy comes up to us.
Guy #4: What are you doing?
Dan: Just walking.
Guy #4: Where are you going?
Dan: This way.
Guy #4: Can I show you where to go?
Dan: No thanks. We are just walking.
Guy #4: Well, what are you doing? 
Dan: Just walking and looking at shops.
Guy #4 I have a shop. You want to see it?
Dan: No thanks.
Guy #4 Do you want some Bob Marley smokes?
Dan: No thanks.
Guy #4 (after following us for what seemed like forever asking the same questions over and over again): Where are you going?
Dan: Back to the ship.
Guy #4: You are going the wrong way.  The ship is that way. (He points in the opposite direction).
Dan: OK, thanks.
Guy #4: I'll show you.
Dan: No thanks, we are fine.  We just want to walk.
Guy #4 (getting irritated with us): Fine. You're acting strange, man.

So we turn around and start back toward the ship past all the guys who offered us weed, and for us to visit their shops.

Another guy tries to fist bump Dan.  Dan ignored it.  But this is guy #5.
Guy #5: How you doin'?
Dan: Good.
Guy #5: Want some Bob Marley smokes?
Dan: No thanks.

That guy walked away a lot faster than the others, thankfully.

So after an interesting encounter for a mystery meal and 4 offers for weed, we made it back to the tourist shopping area.  Then, eventually back on the ship.  We realized we went the wrong way and left the tourist trap for our lunch...and boy did we get an adventure and true Jamaican culture!