I am a huge analyzer. I mean HUGE! I analyze everything. I love knowing what makes people tick. I love to analyze myself too. Tonight I come up with a new discovery about myself. I came to the conclusion that it could be a self-destructive thing. So...he it goes...
High Expectations.
I don't just mean High, I mean REALLY HIGH Expectations. I know that's why my year in Asia was so difficult for me. I remember while I was student teaching I had an amazing co-operating teacher. She was the best. Well I gave myself the expectations to be as good as Miss Mckevitt. How could I have attained to that. She's been doing it for 10 years, me not even a month!
Now as a mom I have super high expectations for myself and for my kids and how they should act. I have a few influences in my life from the past and present of "super moms." These are moms that are naturally great at being a mom. I put expectations on myself to be like them. To be a "super mom". Now my parents would argue you to the grave that I'm a great mom, but they are partial, so they don't count (totally). Sorry mom & dad.
Anyway, that's not the point at all! The point is the dangerous road to which this will lead me. I will aways be disappointed. Always. I will be let down by anyone or anything I put high expectations on. So what do I do? How do I turn away from this road? I don't know.
The only thing I know is that I can fully put high expectations in Jesus because he already paid the penalty for me, but how do I live that out in my everyday life? How does that fact translate into this "super mom" thing?
To be contemplated...
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
What are your traditions?
Christmas at the Brindley's...We don't put the presents out until the kids are in bed on Christmas Eve so they come down and see all the excitement.
Dave and I also decided once Lilia was born that we would (almost) always have Christmas with the kids at our house, then head out to where ever we had to go.
After presents we get ready and head over to family's house where we eat a big yummy meal and exchange even more presents! The kids are allowed to pack up a couple of their favorite presents from under the tree to bring along.
We are super fortunate that our families like each other and enjoy spending holidays all together. We are also super fortunate that our families live close by too. It's great having everyone all together, except Dave's sister Julie and her husband Pete who are in Colorado.
It was a really nice Christmas this year. Enjoy the pictures!
Team work
Lilia and Alex are really fun ages this Christmas. Lilia will be 4 in March and Alex is 14 months. She of course thoroughly loved opening presents and once Alex got into it, he loved tearing the paper. Lilia helped him out and it was so cute.
Love at first sight
Alex is 14 months and the thing he loves the most are balls. For Christmas I got him 4 of them. He was doing "Ah ball" in this moment. There is another picture of him holding this same ball with incredible excitement!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas Eve, opening 1 present
My father-in-law cut out blocks for Alex to play with as one of his Christmas presents. I was so amazed! Of course the first thing Alex did was put them in his mouth!
No more hammers to cut down a tree
You may remember from an earlier blog entry from this month when Dave was using about 4 different tools to cut off the bottom of our Christmas tree. Well right away I called his dad and requested at least a good hand saw. Dave got to open this gift, which were some good tools!
Candy, candy, candy!!!
Lilia, my dad and I put together a gingerbread house. Lilia has been asking every day to eat the candy. She wants to eat the whole house on Christmas. Slowly she eating away at it...and loving it!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Alex & Poppy
If you have not been to the Comcast building to see the show they put on, then put it on your to-do list. They use fiber-optics and an intensely amazing high-def screen to put on a "movie" for lack of a better word.This picture is Alex in aw of what he's seeing. I took my parents down to see it and they were blown away and thankful for the experience.
The Comcast building is located at 17th & JFK Blvd.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Rejection
In preparation for Christmas I put out books for Lilia about Christmas to read at bedtime. Every night she chooses 2 books to read. We can't seem to get away from animals. This is not just animals in the story, but factual stories about animals. I have to limit them some nights. It's becoming an obsession.
Anyway, I told her last night how Christmas is coming up and we should read one of her stories. Well I got total rejection. "No, I don't want to read about Christmas. I don't like Christmas."
What she doesn't like is celebrating Jesus' birth. As not just a nominal Christian, but as truly a Christ follower (I try most days) this was heart breaking. I thought back to days on West Chester's campus when students would reject Jesus after hearing why he came to this earth. It's kind of like that old phrase, "Don't shoot the messenger." They aren't rejecting me, they are rejecting God.
That's how I had to interpret last night. I called Dave up b/c I wasn't sure what to do. Do I force it or let it go. We came to the conclusion that forcing it would only cause rebellion. My only option is prayer.
Maybe you're reading this and you aren't a Christian and you think I'm crazy, but it was really hard to have my 3 yr old daughter reject the God that I so humbly serve and follow.
If you are a Christian and you're reading this, would you quickly say a prayer for Lilia. Say one for Alex too. They are both strong-willed children. There are no guarantees that my children will become Christians. Pray for a softened heart and an openness to Jesus.
I know they are so young, but this is the time to set a firm foundation. Then later in life if they choose to rebel or not walk with God, I'll know I've done my part and will continue to do my part to pray.
Thank you.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
A sea of faces
We probably had about 30 people over last night for a Christmas party. Some Americans were there, but mostly Chinese. We played games, sang Christmas carols and shared the story of Christmas in Chinese. Dave also shared a message about the humility of God becoming a baby in the form of Jesus being born. Then a Chinese friend of ours shared his story of becoming a Christian. People hung out and stayed. It was such a great night!!!
Charades
Another game we did was charades. For the most part the students got it. One of the ones Dave wanted to try was New Years Eve. He mimed, "3, 2, 1," and then the ball dropping and cheering. No one got it. I guess it's too much of an American tradition.
Wrapping gifts
One of the games we did was two teams had to wrap 3 presents and who ever finished first won. One of the teams did a fairly good job, the other had a really tough time. It was funny to watch them figure out how to do it. I think they had a good time!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Snow!!!
Lilia was trying her hardest to make a snowman. There wasn't quite enough snow to do it, nor was I able to help. Alex didn't like being put down.Oh and when Lilia saw that it was snowing she said, "Mom, snow! It's Christmas!"
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
My own tree
My mom brought a mini Christmas tree and ornaments for Lilia to decorate and have in her room. She loved it!
Lee How Fook
Incredible! Last night Dave and I got to go out for my birthday. Our new team member, Courtney, offered to stay with the kids while we went out. We headed down to Chinatown to a small, but incredibly delicious restaurant...Lee How Fook.
If you have never eaten there, you must. We showed up around 7ish and it was packed. After we sat down more people came in and it's a small place. We got vegetable and shredded pork soup, Buddha vegetables and lemon chicken. Oh MAN! The meal was SOOOO good!!!
In case you wanna go, the address is 219 N 11th St.
Monday, December 13, 2010
A new Christian!!!
This picture may look familiar to you. Well it should. It's from last month when Dave and I went to the play on Penn's campus of The Great Divorce. The man standing next to Dave is named Jack. Dave just got an email today saying that on Friday Jack became a Christian!
It is incredible how open the Chinese students are once they come to America. So many people have become Christian this semester alone! How exciting.
Rejoice with us and pray for Jack's new faith in Christ!!!
Twas the night...
Twas the night before my birthday and all through the house,
I was busy cleaning even under the couch.
The clothes were all hung in the closet with care,
in hopes that the children will have something to wear.
The floors were so clean, oh how they glistened
and they sparkled and shimmered until the next morn
when the children awake and make a mess once more.
But I will enjoy the fresh feeling all through the night,
because in the morning it will soon look a fright.
Ah, I love a clean house!
Friday, December 10, 2010
But he gets the job done.
If you want something done around the house by Dave Brindley, be prepared for it to get done in a nontraditional style. Dave is the king of ghetto rigging stuff!Please note all of the tools in this picture. Before you do that let me explain what he's trying to do...
Task: Prepare the Christmas tree by making the bottom of it level to sit in the tree stand.
Tools needed: Hacksaw, Zawsaw, Circular saw & hammer. (Because how does any job around the house get done without a hammer!)
Gosh I love my husband and I hope he never leaves his current job!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Developing thoughts
Last night we ate dinner near Penn's campus. It was dark and you could see the tall buildings that house students all lit up. I pointed them out to Lilia and explained what they were. I then asked her if she was going to go to college one day. She replied with a no. Her response surprised me. I then asked her why not."Because I'm going to live at Aunt Julie's zoo."
If you remember from the first day of preschool, Lilia wants to be a giraffe when she grows up. That desire has not changed. In fact, that thought has developed. Obviously giraffe's don't go to college! What was I thinking!
Monday, November 29, 2010
There are steps, then there are STEPS!
Alex has come a long, long, long, long, long way. The first 5 months were awful. (Even my pediatrician said I had it bad.) Then slowly he got easier, although he never got easy.I do have to say that this past week has been so incredibly different. He plays by himself more often and he can be more independent of me. Today was huge if you know Alex at all. I was in the kitchen making lunch and Lilia and Alex were upstairs playing!
To put it in perspective, there are some times when Lilia and Alex are playing in Lilia's room (his favorite room in the house) and I walk out just to throw something away, then he crawls after me crying. This is the same kid who played so independent of me today!!! Unbelievable. I am so grateful to God.
On anther note...Alex will be walking by the end of the week. Today he was in a sitting position and stood by himself then took about 4-5 steps! He's getting it!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving
And what a great Thanksgiving it was...
1. Alex slept in until 8:15 and still took a morning nap.
2. We got to stop by and see Pete, Katy, Ava, Jude and their new baby Piper Rose. That means that Lilia got to play with one of her best friends, Ava. Piper is so beautiful!!!
3. We had an awesome Thanksgiving with our family. We were at Dave's Aunt Linda's. I think there were 13 adults and 2 kids. Lilia had a blast with Aunt Karen, Aunt Julie & Uncle Pete. They played with her a whole lot.
"Ah"
Alex has a blue teddy bear that he cuddles, loves on, and uses to fall asleep. Dave's cousin Caitlin's slipper was a similar texture. He kept pulling it off her foot and cuddling it."Do 'Ah' Alex."
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Courtney Webb
Courtney Webb is our newest team member! She joined our Bridges team last week. We are SO happy to have her. I love her, the kids really love her and Dave is thankful to have someone else bear the burden of campus ministry.
She came over for dinner last night and The kids just ran up to her with a warm welcome. Alex, who is very clingy to me, dove right for her and stayed in her arms for a few seconds (which is a long time.)
Those Blue Eyes
We took a zoo trip today. November at the zoo is great. The Big Cats were awesome. A tiger attacked the glass b/c this maybe 2 yr old had a hat on with ears. Everyone was fine. I don't think it even scared her.The best part today was the Treehouse. If you aren't a member you can go free from Nov-March. If you are a member you get in all year for free. It's a total adventure land with huge versions of everything. Check it out next time you go!
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