Well, hello blog land! I had a very nice email from my friend Helen the other day...just saying that she missed me and my posts. I'm on vacation this week from work. I'm just staying home and catching up and hanging with my kids. No escape to the tropics or anything grand. Kind of like the good ol' blog days... So I thought I'd give you all a recap on what the fam has been up to in the past...oh...year and a half. ;) I can't say that I'll be updating this regularly once again, but be assured, I do stop by everyone's blogs now and then to see what everyone it up to. Wow, that sounds creepier than I meant it to be.
Thus I give to you: THE 2011 SABELHAUS UPDATE! (Update...update...Pretend like that was in movie announcer voice with echo effect)
Numero Uno: My kids are not so little anymore. Sure, seven, five, and not quite three sound like small children, but they are WORLDS away from a couple years ago when I had an infant, toddler, and preschooler. Annabelle loves to read chapter books and learn anything she can about animals. She's enjoying the Nintendo DS she got for her birthday. All big kid stuff. Dancing, singing, drawing...she loves the artsy stuff, too, and has aspirations of a career in the arts. I'm afraid I have her hooked on HGTV as well. (Gotta love House Hunters.) Joey is getting ready to begin kindergarten next month. How a five year old child could be so smart, logical, and matter of fact and yet still have such a HUGE imagination, I'm not sure. But that's my Joe. He loves his video and computer games and playing in imaginary worlds with his sister. Some days it's frustrating having a kid who tells it like it is. If he's bored, you'll hear about it. If he doesn't want to do it, it probably won't happen. But he's grown up a lot in the past few months and I think he's going to dig school. I suspect that he has determined that preschool life is beneath him. And then there's Jay. Ahhhhhhh, Jay. The sweet easy going baby that didn't do much the first year and half of his life has certainly made up for it in the next year and a half. He's my fireball. And my momma's boy. He's determined to master the universe and do it his way. This can make for a long day when he's throwing the mother of all fits and you have to carry him out of Wal-Mart under your arm football style and somehow he manages to kick you full on in the face. But his sweet moments are that much sweeter. When he sings "Jesus Loves Me" and says a little prayer with an "Ayyyy MEN!" at the end, you just melt into an ewwy gooey puddle of adorable. Jay's current loves are Barney, trains, school buses, playing in the dirt and destroying whatever his brother and sister are doing.
Next Up: I have been married almost 10 years. Yup, the tenth anniversary will be in September. I don't want to get too mushy, but I certainly love, appreciate, and respect Frank more with each year. It's almost funny to look back and see how the things that frustrated me about him those first couple years have become little things, and how he's always had the major things right. He's had a change in jobs this past year and now works for Sony DADC. A step up in pay but also a step up in time at work, so we've all had to adjust a bit. When he's not at work, he's been working on the house- redoing our bedroom, redoing the deck, building a swing set, and trying to convince me that he can build a garage... Anywho, since he's been at Sony, he started working out at the gym there, and I have to say I'm pretty proud of him for sticking with the exercise thing and losing quite a bit of weight. We had to go get him a sweet new wardrobe. He's stylin'.
And little ol' me? I'm doing well. I'm getting back into running a little bit after taking a few months off. Chug. Chug. My job is good. Summer is a transition time of helping the graduates start life in the real world and getting things ready for my new students. I was really close to the class that just graduated; some of them have been with me since I started the job almost two years ago, so it's going to be strange not to have them in class anymore. But that's one of things I like about my program. I DO get the chance to get to know my students that well! Other than that, I'm not up to much. Work and family tend to fill up the days pretty quickly. I've been trying to take a little time to hang out at the lake or just read this summer.
What about the church? I would say we're in a transition period in ministry right now. We loved being a part of HealingPointe, the church plant we helped start in 2006, but as 2011 began, then Frank's new job began, and some burnout began, we started understanding that it was no longer matching God's vision for us. Living in one community and ministering in another with three kids and two full time jobs wasn't really effective. So we transitioned out in February and have been attending the church we used to attend before HealingPointe. It's strange to just go to church. Frank and I have occasionally played in the worship band, but we're not "in charge" of anything. It's a good and obedient thing, but I do miss leading worship. I miss my friends at HealingPointe and I haven't totally re-kindled relationships at our current church. It's a process, I suppose. Frank and I are waiting and praying on what might be in store for the future. Frank finished up his Master's degree in Church Planting this May (Woo hoo!) and we know that someday we will be a part of another church plant. But what's in store for Frank and I in ministry until then...and where and when that plant will be...we really just don't know yet! That causes some head spinning with the endless exciting possibilities and some impatience. So keep us in your prayers, please. :) Brings me back to one of my all time favorite verses, Isaiah 40:31 "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
Hope you enjoyed the post, Helen! If you drop me a line in the comments demanding more posts, maybe I'll update again in a more timely manner. :)
