- Hope you had an incredibly restful Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday. Downtime with family... excellent food... no stress of gifts... no one's in too big a hurry. I just love it. We feasted like kings, and I got to hold my one-month-old niece-- joy!
- We're staying in America. That's right, not heading back in January. We'll continue to be here in Texas, able to love on family & friends in person. If you're one of our (real-life) friends and this is the first you've heard of it, I'm sorry... we made the decision about 2-3 weeks ago, and have let it out in waves.
- Yes, that means lots is changing for us... looking for a job, house, couches, mattresses, sheets, dishes... wow. We may end up shipping some of that back from Istanbul; we're working out logistics over the next few weeks. Still, lots of changes coming our way. I'd appreciate your prayers.
- Black Friday-- you venturing out? My mom & I are... I think we'll go to Joann's, and then I need to get socks for my youngest three children. Somehow, every time we go to leave the house, none of them can find any socks. We are, apparently, the Clampetts.
- I'm LOVING this book Margin by Kevin Swenson. If you haven't read my last few posts about Margin, you should. This book has its finger on the pulse of the entire modernized world, and I think the author really has some challenging words.
- Weight Watchers is so awesome. I love being able to eat real food, and even enjoy crazy-good-food holidays like Thanksgiving and still be a-ok weight-wise. I've now lost 20 pounds, and still have about 20 more pounds to go.
- Whatcha thinking about this Republican field of nominees for 2012? Here are my thoughts:
- Perry is embarrassing, and Cain is just underwater now... between his women issues and his continued misspeaks, even if he is a good leader, he is just a rotten candidate. I wish either of these men (or both!) would be humble enough to recognize that they are a drag on the race and resign, but no, they just keep right on.
- Romney had a weird blip this week. He was in a good position, to just wait it out and hope for Republicans come to the conclusion of his inevitability, but then he went and made this ad where he completely misrepresents something Obama said. It's a flat-out lie. I don't understand the reasoning behind this decision; he was sitting pretty and is now potentially in hot water.
- Gingrich has somehow positioned himself as a smart, potentially palatable non-Romney. I think he and Romney are battling it out for the top.
- Paul is continuing to present the message of freedom and not being the world's bully. People don't like that last part so much... but really, how has that approach (the "bring it on" mentality) worked for the last 12 or so years? There's a reason why Ron Paul gets more donations from the US military servicemen than all other candidates combined. He knows what he's talking about, in regard to both the budget & foreign-policy.
- Bachman & Huntsman have actually both appeared more presidential & commanding with foreign policy issues in recent debates. It is possible that one of them might have a chance, but it's a slim chance.
- Santorum's campaign confuses me. I don't really know anyone who supports him and it makes me wonder if he's trying to run for veep?
What say you? About the debate or any of the rest of this rambly post... I'd love to hear your thoughts.
13 comments:
How exciting about staying! I'd love to get together with you sometime if you wanted :)
We need socks over here too...baby and daddy.
Congrats on the weight loss! That's awesome! My mom has done WW before too.
~Kati
I agree about that "Margin" book. From what you've shared it sounds like a really insightful, dead on look at the root of the exhausting nature of the average modern American daily life. I hope to read it soon, and I'm going to come back to read your posts again too.
About Black Friday. Tis the season for me to have major sanctification opportunities. In other words, it's hard. The Christmas season always proves to make me feel like more of an outsider than at any other time of the year. Some people can buy food, diapers, and hopefully pay the heat bill and that's it, end of story. And yet the assault comes on full force about deals and steals and since I'm not in the position to participate in any of it, even for items we really need like pants for my son, it just makes me feel like a loser at the game of life watching people spin around the stores in a state of retail-enduced mania, many of whom have all their material needs met and then some, engaged in a buying frezy just for the thrill of it. I think it would be prudent to go to the bible and see what it has to say about contentedness vs. covetousness. That can be my Christmas project.
I'll be praying for you guys as you transition back into the states and figure out all the logistics!
And I agree, Weight Watchers is awesome! It's so nice to be able to have the freedom to enjoy all the delicious food and still be headed in the right direction weight-wise.
Hope you enjoy Black Friday!
Beth
Exciting news about the changes in your life. Change is GOOD! (I have decided this after our own recent switch-a-roo.)
"We are, apparently, the Clampetts." LOL!!! I thought that was just us. We now own only white socks in all sizes so even if they're wearing 2 different sizes, no one can easily tell. ;)
Jess,
That is exciting about your staying in America! Especially Texas! I am near the Houston area. Not sure where you are settling, but I hope all the transitions go smoothly. Blessings to you this holiday season!
I can't get through this post because I'm shocked (and a little sad) about your news! :( I know that was a hard decision, and I'm praying for you guys and you sort through the next steps...
I'd love to keep in touch, so don't be a stranger! sheilastover@gmail.com
Wow. I was surprised to read that you were staying in the states. If you guys decide to crate back, look into the US customs fees carefully. Our friends were just charged an additional $1600 USD for a required customs inspection. Also, each box had to be labeled with EXACTLY what was inside: 6 knives, 8 books, 22 plates, etc. They said they would not crate again. Hope you found some good black Friday deals. hugs.
Just wanted to say that I enjoy your blog immensely, even if I don't comment.
Thank you for sharing, it's always a blessing.
You have my prayers as you transition back to the states. We only lived overseas about 5 years, but the transition back was a doozy!
Also - I am with you on the socks. For pity's sake, where do they go? Not just mates, but whole pairs!!!!
Holli
Well, it cost nearly $50, but now we are all well-socked. :) My youngest three children now have very warm and adorable options for footwear so we're moving on up from Clampett-ville, I guess. :)
Kati,
I'd love to get together... maybe we could set up a meet up all together with Lindy soon?
Kate,
I really can relate to what you've written in regard to struggling financially and watching others spend and splurge. I'm sorry this is a painful season for you. One of the things I really enjoyed about living overseas was the freedom from commercialism. We were free to simply marvel & celebrate Christ's birth. I pray we will continue to do so here, despite our surroundings.
Beth, thanks for your prayers. It's been fun to do Weight Watchers with you. Today I lost another 2.2 pounds... I'm really starting to see that I CAN reach my goal weight, and beyond. Very exciting.
Tara, NOPE. :) You're not alone. You should've seen the pathetic, stained socks my poor little Moses was trotting around church in. No more! He is looking sharp indeed. :)
Ruth, we are from, and are looking to stay, in the Dallas area.
Sheila, I KNOW!!! I am bummed to not have more time near/with you. Glad we still have blogs, facebook, and pinterest where we can keep up.
Sandra, sorry for the surprise. As I was going through my e-mail list, I realized there were a number of people who we just didn't have e-mail contact for... people we contact in other ways, like you. Thanks for the tips about customs. We haven't decided what we'll do yet as far as getting our belongings back this way. Sadly, a big portion of our stash is homeschool books and personal books. Heavy, and valuable...
Hearth, thanks for the encouragement!
Holli, I appreciate your prayers from a place of understanding. And yes, the socks. We must have about 14 socks that are lacking a match... what is UP with that? When we came here 9 months ago, I only brought whole sets. How can that happen so quickly???
Thanks, everyone, for your comments. I love reading them.
Whoa. Big news. I'll be praying for as you transition. I'm sure it's not as simple as just a quick mention in a random post!
As a former journalist (before mommy), the only thing I wonder is about Cain is--who's behind the attacks? If the reports aren't true (and they honestly don't seem to be), is someone in the Obama camp working hard to smear his name? You run enough negative publicity (even if it's not true) and you can take out a candidate. So I just wonder who's behind it, and why. Maybe he would be a big threat to Obama and the black vote...
No, Phyllis, it has not been a simple, quick choice. It's been a quick change and yet, it took us about 10 days of intensive prayer, fasting, and seeking as much wise counsel as possible to make the decision.
Now that the decision is made, it's still not simple! Lots to be done. :)
Moms-In-Need-Of-Mercy:
I could see that if it was just the other women just speaking out, with no evidence. But a 13 year relationship with another woman, that his wife knew nothing about, to whom he gave money, and texted all hours of the night, dozens of times over the course of a few weeks? That is not a negative publicity stunt. That is simple, plain idiocy on his part, to think that no one would find out. And beyond idiocy, it's arrogant to think you can get away with it and run for the highest office in the land, having NEVER been elected, and having had things like this going on for years. It's appalling that he would take his family, and Republican voters, on such a stupid ride.
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