View from a Bus Stop

April 13th, 2012

I walk up, hoping the time works out. One never quite knows…will it be late? Are they running on time today?

I check the schedule…13 minutes of waiting…this is when the show begins. I find my spot and stand to wait. There’s an unwritten rule that the bench at the stop is for the pregnant, elderly, or mothers with ornery young children. I meet none of the these requirements today, so I stand. Like a volume button slowly turning up goes the sound of the people walking past the stop. I see them a few feet out, then as they come closer to make their way past It’s like a game deciphering which language they’re speaking. I rarely played that game in Texas. Here, there’s plenty of opportunity. Today I heard French of course, Spanish, and something totally foreign to my ears.

I see fashion. Major fashion. Like someone shook out the pages of the latest edition of Glamour magazine. I look down at my totally American tennis shoes and smile to myself. I’m not wearing Marc Jacobs, but boy my feet feel cooomfy.

Some “strut,” some speed past. I’m waiting next to a man and woman of East African descent, so in love, her smile is infectious. And the way she smiles at him? Even more infectious.

A girl, 20-something, walks past the stop with seemingly the world on her shoulders. She’s a backpacker and probably has a car folded up somewhere in there; it’s so big…and pink. Her hat is even more intriguing…some sort of hand-knitted masterpiece; multicolored and just plain fun. I’m fascinated by her “haute couture” and huge backpack and so watch her walk past. My intrigue grows as I witness her lift her hand and slap a hot-pink heart-shaped post-it to the light pole. She continues on. A man also waiting for the bus walks over to the pole and takes a gander at the post-it, then pears back at me with a look that says “don’t bother, it says nothing.”

The bus is here; we mount. Today the smell is like a pungent mix of every body type. I wish this blog had scratch-and-sniff capabilities so you could experience the smell too. Then again, maybe it’s better left up to the imagination.

Each face tells a story and I like to “listen” with my eyes. The elderly woman over there checks her watch, lifts her eyebrows while simultaneously rolling her eyes then lets out a deep sigh. Sometimes body language is the same in every language. The group of young boys next to me joke loudly as if they’re the only ones on the bus…a kid teases her sister much to the chagrin of her mother. Has it been a long day for her? It’s a full bus, so stories are playing out all around me. “This is better than TV” I think to myself…

There and Back Again…A Story of Missing the Mark But Finding it Again

April 10th, 2012

I thought I would update on how our homeschool year is evolving because I want to A) record it for posterity sake B) make my Mom laugh at how much Dani is my mini-me.

So, what’s the latest?

Around here, you could call us a Charlotte Mason home. In fact, I’m pretty sure she and I would’ve been great friends. You know, supposing I was born in Wales around 1842. I love her methods, vigor in inviting a child to learn from quality sources, and championing the idea that a child’s mind can be challenged by higher, more complex literature, particularly when literature is read-aloud. She believed children need to be given the opportunity to hear good, classical literature that might even seem “too high” a goal of understanding for them to reach. The other side of her methods is a down-to-earth/relaxed view regarding the pace at which a child learns; basically the idea is that you can relax and resist the urge to jam in tons of info/memorization sheets/long sessions seated at a desk/etc. in order to “cover all your bases” so to speak. It’s ok to take a more holistic view of education and have “big idea” goals while letting the daily educational “flow” be more natural, paying close attention to how each particular child is gifted and how he/she needs to learn. This approach works well with the tactile learner/creative/abstract type of child. Dani IS that child.

Long story short; we had derailed gotten a bit off track. Dani was really struggling to stay “on task” and our table time was pushing 3 hours every day save Fridays. Mind you, this is after a full morning of French school for her. Needless to say, we were both discouraged and tired. I knew in my heart that this wasn’t working for Dani girl, and it was really bothering me deep down to see her pushing against schooling. I know the difference between Dani simply not wanting to practice diligence and Dani deflated. I wanted to spur her on to diligence, encouraging her to work with all her efforts, but at the same time do MY part as her Mom to find that “way” of teaching that would bring out the best in Dani and invite her to want to learn. So, we called in help. I love how God puts people in my life who have such wise words to speak into situations where I myself am just kind of dumbfounded as to what to do. My Sister-in-law was very much “there” for me, full of empathy and understanding. That meant a lot! Another missionary here has a daughter 1 year ahead of Dani, so she has been a GREAT resource. We sat down together and talked through a better strategy for Dani’s schooling. To find a more workable situation is of vital importance since we’ll be homeschooling in Ouagadougou. My friend just helped point out where I should relax and where I could put more focus in order to not stifle Dani with too much that’s just not her.

Let me tell ya, it’s a different house around here! Instead of the evening feeling heavy with “unfinished work” and yet another missed quiet time for Dani, we’re feeling much more joyful and rejuvenated as we strike a better balance. She comes home from French school, we eat lunch the 4 or 5 of us, then Dani begins her home portion of school. She’s done by 2/2:30 and goes down for a quiet time, which her mind and body desperately need.

Our school is broken up into a few key subjects, Literature/Reading being of the highest priority. I read aloud 1 chapter out of the Dover Children’s Classics (5 book series, we’re on book 2). Then, she reads aloud to me her current chapter out of her Rod and Staff reader. Reading had become quite the challenge and each day was met with whining and lots of “I don’t knooooooow this word” even though I knew she did know it. After re-prioritizing, I can happily report that her reading has sky-rocketed and she’s suddenly wanting to read…like, goes off during play/free time and CHOOSES to read for fun! She happily declares  from her bedroom “Mommy! I’m reading! This is a NEW book I haven’t read before! It’s like she’s waking up to the joys of reading and her great potential in having that independence. It’s a JOY to witness!

Current Reading

We’ve been signed up with starfall.com and are still loving it. We utilize different portions of it to help enhance her learning. For example, another aspect of her school right now is “journal time.” We use the talking calendar on starfall to go over that day’s date. Then, she tells me what she’d like to record about the day and I write it on her white board. This is her copy work/handwriting portion. Again, before she was really dragging this out, but now that we’ve backed off on other subjects, she’s finding a renewed joy in doing her journal! Oh, and I added in that she could color a picture under her text to help illustrate her journal entry which helps giver her motivation to finish the copy work since she just LOVES to draw. Another score for re-prioritizing!

Much Better!

Of course I need to mention sweet Lily and what she’s been up to! My other, just as important goal in all this “homeschool soul searching” was to really make more of an effort to help Lily feel included and special. She is ALL of 2 1/2 right now, so we’re in the midst of quite a challenging season with her. In order to help keep her out of trouble include her, I made her her very own school box in which I placed her special school things. I need to post a video showing her excitement when I pull out her school box. Its so cute, it could end all wars. In this box I currently have play-dough, her set of crayons, washers that slide over a wooden dowel rod, pipe cleaners, and a notepad. I make time to sit down with her while Dani’s working on something and read 2 books out loud to her. Those down there are her current FAVES. Notice a theme? Yup, middle baby’s needing some loving attention!

For Math Dani does “egg carton counting” (which I’m SURE you’ve seen a picture of somewhere seeing as it’s pretty much the most popular early math method out there right now). She uses the centimes here to make different combinations adding up to the number written on the bottom of the egg carton slot, each “slot” being numbered 1-10. We’re using money because we can come up with all kinds of combinations based on the coin’s worth, rather than just being limited to counting the physical piece(s). On other days, she’ll instead do an addition speed drill which she loves because it’s like a game, and if she beats the timer she received a small reward.

Today we implemented a different angle to her journal. Today she listened to a classical piece of music while closing her eyes. After a few minutes, I turned it off and told her to draw what she saw in her mind while she listened to the beautiful music. She drew a 6 part image set of Bambie the deer starting from when he couldn’t walk to, (in her own words), “being able to jump!” It was really cute! We talked about our minds and about our thought-life so it seemed like the perfect moment to bring in Philippians 4:8 to help clarify why we should think on pure, lovely, excellent, and beautiful things, to the glory of God! It was so much fun!

Everyday is an adventure, and I’m praising God for His help in going deeper into understanding Dani and Lily’s individual personalities and needs.

Hope this post was encouraging, and does not in any way make anyone feel discouraged in their own homeschooling journey. I know there was a time when looking at other blogs on homeschooling was just downright frustrating to me because I knew we were missing the mark in our own homeschooling. The reality is that there are seasons of ups and downs, and it’s NEVER perfect. Don’t be fooled by ANY blog or by ANYone. It’s never perfect:) Tomorrow will probably bring full meltdowns and I’ll chuckle to myself that I wrote this just the night before;) Let’s keep it real!

Flawed beyond measure and saved by His loving grace alone,

Annie for the Dorinites

Tradition While Living in Transition

April 9th, 2012

This is something Matthew and I have never quite figured out. Some holidays I feel we’ve done great on keeping some sort of tradition alive, salvaging what we can through cutting out the “fluff” and truly boiling our traditions down to things we can “keep”, even while moving about the globe. That being said, other times of the year we’ve totally dive-bombed. A part of my heart sinks when one of us mentions “oh, you mean ____ *enter name of typically celebrated holiday here* is tomorrow? As in, within the next 48 hours? Oh. Woops.” This isn’t about holding to an idea that’s vain or empty or feeling culturally pressured into buying stuff or keeping up with some materialistically-driven standard. As a former kid myself, I happen to remember just how beautiful and memorable these snapshots along the pathway of life can be. I LOVED holidays growing up and enjoyed being in a family who valued celebration. So, this is something I desire to carry on. Ok, so fast-forward to life now. France. No cheap $1 section anywhere. some holidays with little to no decoration or “feel”in the air because this culture doesn’t celebrate that holiday (think 4th of July). Living transitionally. Not having access to the same food/craft items. Missing the warmth of family near. All these factors add up to a certain “struggle” to keep traditions alive. However, looking at all these things makes us want to work harder at keeping traditions alive.

So Easter. We knew it was coming….of course we valued it’s vital importance….the remembrance and JOY taken in the Lord’s conquering of death that brings us new life! We’re washed clean as snow! Liberation from the chains of sin, alive in Christ! I mean, this MUST be celebrated. Emphasis on must. Must. So, fri. and sat. we sat down and spoke with the girlies about the events that had transpired leading up to Jesus’ death on the cross. Sat. night, Matthew and I were tag-teaming on hand dishes, and he mentioned feeling like we should do more to celebrate…really do something they could file away in their little memory banks. I agreed whole-heartedly, and we set to work making a little “basket” of sorts for the girls. I rifled through the recycle bag full of goodies for making a cut out Resurrection reenactment “set”, grabbed the good crayons, scissors, and tiny stapler and set to work. Matthew and I had an incredibly fun time together, building our friendship over making cut-out Mary/Risen Jesus/tomb and large stone complete with roll-away action. We laughed our heads off (we can attribute this to it having been midnight at this point) at his Biblically-accurate rendering of the angel, and just genuinely enjoyed each others company while stapling it all together. We both allowed for our inner 2nd grader to emerge as we colored the whole thing. I promise I shared the colors. Yes, even robin’s egg blue.

The set came out beautifully and the next day (Sunday) we really enjoyed watching the light and wonder in the girl’s eyes as they acted out the account while Daddy read it out loud from the Bible. I honestly could sense the beautiful presence of the Holy Spirit with us as we earnestly sought to joyfully share the GOOD NEWS with our precious girls! They were SO full of wonderment, it really was amazing….they both seemed so, so…enamored, like their little minds and hearts were just soaking it up. It was a blessed moment as a parent, and I’m truly grateful for it. Among all the hustle, bustle, tension, weariness, fit-throwing (both me and the kids;) etc. that come with having 3 littles, it’s moments like these that make me turn my heart to heaven and say “thank you for this moment Lord.” I don’t deserve to parent these 3 incredible gifts from God, but I’m so grateful we get to.

Here’s a mini-photo fest!

Ders da box Mommy! (She found the Easter box)

Are we ready to open it Mommy?

Checkin' Out the Playset

HE IS RISEN!

Let’s keep it real with a few vids from this past week!

Lots of love and hugs!

The Dorinites

If a Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words….

April 5th, 2012

..what’s that make a video worth? Here is a small collection of some videos AND pictures!

Superman Micaiah!

The Boys Bonding

Chillin' with my Guys

I know it, yet they still "hide" there

Fave Nap Location

It's a Life!

Intl. Kids

Snooze Fest

Laundry stand, where have you been all my life?

Our Fair Lady

These are random, I know, but I hope they help make the ocean just a little bit smaller;) We miss you guys somethin’ terrible and trust that the Lord is comforting your hearts as He is ours while we spend these years on different continents. What a glorious place Heaven will be!

Caio for now,

Annie for the Dorinites

On My Mind; On My Heart

March 26th, 2012

Good evening precious friends and family! This post has developed from it’s infancy beginning a little over 1 year ago when God placed a special desire on my heart.

If you’ve ever spoken with me for more than 10 minutes, you know I have a deep love for midwifery and the midwifery model of care. Our 1st baby entered the world in our Ft. Worth home with my wonderful, caring midwife right there coaching us along this life-altering pathway. She was faithful to help us, pray for us, and give us sound wisdom as we walked the dark road of multiple miscarriages over the years following Dani’s birth. Then, a special gift from God, Lily came along. She was born at a birth center with my dear midwife by my side once again. Through our years of contact with midwifery/midwives, Matthew and I have come to a place of recognition in the blessing of this form of care. It takes highly-skilled, very sensitive people, outfitted with incredible training, a love for the natural process and the people God’s placed in their care.

Back in Spring 2011 God graciously blessed us with a financial gift to use “as we saw fit.” That week a midwife friend of mine posted to facebook information for a training seminar titled “Midwifery Volunteerism in Developing Countries” put together by this ministry. My heart wanted to leap from my chest when I read the description of the seminar and after praying about it and speaking with Matthew, I decided to go for the training. It was incredibly informative, packed with useable information, and just really struck a note with me and what God may allow me to be a part of as we serve in W. Africa.

I concluded the training, gained certified continuing education hours, and generally felt a huge sense of joy/anticipation as I scribbled down all my notes that I later scanned and organized into a file on my computer in preparation for moving overseas. Drug sheets, suggested dosage amounts, breastfeeding information, training on managing labor crises specific to the developing world and her issues, etc. Needless to say, my head was packed each night after the training ended. Here’s where I insert a huge shout-out to my wonderful Brother and Sis-in-Law who not only gave me free room and board, but also humored me as I processed the new info and talked their ears off about what I had learned that day in class! Thanks guys, you both rock!

So, what does this mean for us going forward? 1st off, our #1 priority in going to W. Africa is to follow the call of the Lord in direct obedience to our loving Savior, wherever that may lead. We have set our course for W. Africa as He has led, and at the heart of our ministry call is to aid in Bible translation. We believe God’s Word is central to life, and so desire to serve with Wycliffe Associates to do our part in supporting Bible translation. Our home-life mission field is also a direct call from God, and we pray daily for His help in teaching us to be reflections of His Son to our kiddos. At our core, we desire to see our children grow in love for God, to know Him, serve Him, and desire to “remain in the vine.” As you can imagine, these 2 callings (which are not perfectly sectioned off into 2 parts, but rather each build into the other) keep us busy enough, so how do we envision seeing Annie’s heart for midwifery care grow and develop? Well, we “think with western minds”, so let’s break out the pie charts/projected goals, shall we? Okay, so no pie charts. Sorry, maybe next time;)

goal #1- Faithfully remain in prayer for creative ways to continue in my path to further certified education.

goal #2- Arrive in Burkina Faso ready to observe, learn, and soak in the culture making mental notes and paying close attention to the type of maternal care I witness.

goal #3- W. Africans are relationship oriented, so focus on developing relationships with the women of the area and possibly host small breastfeeding support groups  chez nous. (At our house).

goal #4- Since “Mooré” is the local dialect and spoken by a large percentage of the population (along with French), I will pray God provides a reliable language partner and begin implementation of Gregory Thompson’s approach to language learning. Being able to connect linguistically may help me gain the trust of those I hope to serve.

goal #5- Spend our 1st term learning to live with nothing “pursued” beyond that midwifery-wise. Matthew’s sound advice was to observe/learn to live/make relationships the 1st term, then we’ll be able to better pinpoint what type of further education I need and can possible take during our 1st furlough back in the States.

Watching Danielle and her mannerisms during my pregnancy with Micaiah made me realize that this “Mama ministry” the Lord is growing in my heart will be a way for my children to be involved as well and grow in their compassion for others right alongside their Mama.

Friends, this is so near and dear to my heart. Writing this out to you is exciting and I hope in some way it excites you as well. I leave you with 2 of my favorite quotes:

“I never look at the masses as my responsibility. I look only at the individual. I can only love one person at a time, I can only feed one person at a time…I picked up one person…The whole work is only a drop in the ocean. But if we don’t put the drop in, the ocean would be one drop less. Same thing for you, your family and your church. Just begin. One. One. One.” -Mother Teresa

“God is practical. He doesn’t ask us to do what doesn’t matter. What seems a drop in the bucket to you is a sip from the wellspring of life to someone about to thirst to death.” -Beth Moore

Interested in learning more about maternal care in developing nations? Check out Vicky’s ministery and watch for further blog posts on why this issue is so dear to my heart!

Peace and love in Christ,

Annie

You Know That Moment….

March 24th, 2012

when your brain is in one piece and not scattered in 1 million 15 directions? Nope, me either.

I’m sitting here on the couch next to Matthew reflecting (in a rather non-organized fashion) on this past year. That’s right, next week brings us to the 1 year anniversary of when our plane landed here and we began the adventure and craziness that is language learning. Oh how we look back and smile/laugh/maybe even cry over our 1st few months here! Challenges were inevitable. Take 2 saved sinners, 2 small children, no previous French experience, a new pregnancy along with fresh nausea, arriving 4 days before school began, learning a whole new way to live, place in a blender and put on high speed for about 6 months, and you’ve got a “hang on tight” smoothie! Yum. Oh, don’t forget a heaping spoonful of chicken pox 2 weeks after arrival in France. Voilà!

We learned, OH HOW WE LEARNED, that reliance on the mighty strength of the Lord is all we have and all we need.
The battle-hymn of our family was “a chord of three is not easily broken.” We could utterly trust in the fact that He knew our genuine needs, and He was graciously (albeit it felt “roughly” at times) sanding down the jagged edges. People, I had edges I didn’t even know existed. Here in France the Holy Spirit has revealed parts of my heart that are downright ugly…just “bleck.” Sometimes I’m surprised by my own capacity to complain. Back and forth, truth-speaking followed by whining, followed by more truth. He led me, was so, so patient with me, and called me to grow into a new version of myself that would be MORE readily available to serve Him here, and in West Africa.

Then there are the amazing gifts the Lord has lavished upon us during our time here….you know, other than life and breath, which are incredible gifts in and of themselves? 1st off, a BABY! This incredible bundle of squishy loveliness who captures our hearts with each smile and reminds us that life. is. beautiful.

Micaiah Then

Micaiah Now

The other day Lily came in with her headband in hand and holding it up announced “der it is! I found da headband-a-lion!” It’s those moments when the world stops turning; for just a moment I’m jettisoned into a place of shear joy, enrobed in warmth towards this precious 2 year old. I mean really, headband-a-lion? I really don’t think I’ve ever heard or ever will hear anything cuter. Thank you Lord for sweet Lily.

Lily Then

Lily Now

And Dani…oh our special Dani girl. How we love the little lady she’s turning into! A glimpse into her life would be summed up in in 3 words; questions, French, and singing. She’s asking a boat load of questions daily and having me learning things all over again so that I can give her a proper answer! Also, she’s at the point of speaking/understanding French at an incredible level and she regularly astounds me with what French comes out of her mouth as we walk home from her school together. Her love of singing is really spreading it’s wings. She “writes” music by drawing illustrations along with notes meticulously placed on the bars underneath said picture. She is such a spark-plug, full of life and love. She’s been offering to help me with a lot of household tasks, and I never refuse her help! That girl can hang laundry like it’s nobody’s business! Can I get an amen to that?!

Dani Then

Dani Now

While Matthew’s not saying cute words like headband-a-lion or drawing musical notes, he is growing;)…namely in His incredible leadership of our family. I do not envy his job, and no amount of searching would ever turn up the words it would take to accurately describe how thankful I am to be following this man. His tender care is rejuvenating, reliance on the Lord is astounding, and honest acceptance of his humanness is humbling. He leads with love and forgiveness, and I’m happy to walk, stumble, run this path with his hand in mine. P.S. I do not have “then” and “now” shots for him. ;D

Here’s a pic I took last week. We try to do something a little special as a family on Friday nights, so last week we played “ice cream shoppe.” Dani priced the toppings and she and Lily brought their coin purses to the “shoppe.” Dani made sure the whip cream was the cheapest;)

Recent pic of Daddy...ice cream night!

It’s been a good year. It certainly has been a stretching journey filled with hope on our foundational rock, Jesus Christ. In Him our hearts have found their resting place.

Oh, and I’ve failed to really update you on our French progress! Let’s just say we can both now comfortably get along in casual conversation and are continuing to reach, push, aspire, and trust the Lord to lead us to the “finishing line” of France, all the while keeping in mind that being a language learner is a life-long process.

SO glad to have been able to update you guys! Maybe you’ll be reading this during afternoon naps because it’s bed time for us! Happy rest of your day:)

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,

Annie for the Dorinites

Pics? Nice. Video? Better!

March 5th, 2012

Lily’s sick today with what’s probably a tummy flu. Throwing up, fever, and general malaise. (Does saying “general malaise” make me a legit Dr. Mom?) Really though, her “general malaise” is certainly showing itself as she’s now onto nap #2 throughout the course of the day and it’s only 1:56 p.m.

Moving on, here’s a teeny-tiny update…in video form!

The words “it’s going to be a huge adjustment” don’t even begin to describe in depth what it’s like for a family of 5 to move to W. Africa, though we have a deep undertone in our hearts of solid commitment to the Lord’s plans.  He has faithfully watered us when we’ve been dry, healed us in His timing when we’ve been sick, shepherded us when we’ve wandered off, and nurtured us when we’ve been malnourished. We’re preparing ourselves as best we can with what He has given us TODAY, and we’re trusting Him for the future. The large-scale building project set to begin there in Ouagadougou has us really excited!

Caio for now!

Annie

On Continue en Français…

February 13th, 2012

Howdy! Bonjour! Salut! And all those good ways of saying hello….

We’ve been in France for roughly 9 months now. Some days the time feels as though it’s passing at light speed, other times we feel it’s passing as slow as molasses. Learning French, being an alien, eating tons of cheese, catching the city bus to go anywhere, shopping at the outdoor market, and hearing the sermon/worship music in French, all feels “normal” now. In fact, a HUGE praise is that French sounds normal to us! When we first encountered being surrounded by a different language, it was an experience to say the least. Now when we step out the door, French enters our ears without our minds stopping to mark it as “different.” This is a huge step in growing as a language learner.

So, little-by-little, we’re making it by God’s grace to the level of French we need to serve in West Africa.

We are happy to report that we’ve been cleared to leave here around mid-July at the conclusion of Matthew’s language school. We’re still planning on going straight from here to Africa. As you know, when we left the U.S. we weren’t sure whether we’d be going from here to Cameroon or to Burkina Faso. Well, it’s shaping up that it will probably be Burkina. We’ll be stationed in…okay, get ready for the name…..Ouagadougou (wa-guh-doo-goo), the capital city. The only “unknown” is if the project in BF will definitely be ready for Matthew to step into at the exact time we plan on leaving here and flying there. We’re keeping this before the Lord and our leaders in Wycliffe. We’re trusting that God has a specific place He wants us to go in July and we’re pretty sure it’ll be straight to Burkina.

Language learning has many battles, one of which being the inability to measure continual progress. For example, I might be able to sit down and read a short book in French and comprehend 98% of the content but that same day glance at a billboard and see a phrase I’ve never read before with vocab I’ve yet to learn. 2 steps forward, 1 step back kinda deal. But, it’s forward progress! So, to the glory of God, we soldier on!

Matthew’s schedule is still full with formal school and tutoring. You might be wondering, “So Annie, what are YOU doing now that you have a newborn?” Good question, glad you asked because this is such an answer to prayer! I’m meeting with a language exchange helper on Monday afternoons while Lily naps, Dani does computer time, and Micaiah eats/sleeps:) Monday and Friday mornings, I go to a little group called “1, 2, 3 Soleil” where Lily plays with toys and interacts with other French children, while I get to sit with Moms and listen to French and bud in with language questions. This set-up is great for me (c’est génial pour moi!) Just this past week, I familiarized myself with the Chambéry community center. Through this, I can attend free language classes with free childcare included. And, the women who run 1, 2, 3 Soleil are the ones who watch the kids during the 2 hour French class. This takes place on Tuesdays. Lily can play in the adjoining room and Micaiah sits with me, so it’s a very easy childcare situation. I’m incredibly thankful to God for raising up language opportunities that allow for me to both care for our precious newborn and really capitalize on being immersed in French.

A while back we asked everyone to be praying for us to develop deeper, more meaningful relationships at church. This is one of many ways in which God has been so gracious to us this past month. We have met two French families recently and had the chance to have them over for dinner. One family in particular has really made it a point to spend time with us. We have shared meals together, swapped baby-sitting, and shared testimonies all in just a short amount of time. This has not only been great French language practice, but has been an exciting cultural experience as well. Matthew has also just met a young man from church who is studying English, so they are planning to meet together to swap English/French. Long story short…thank you for your prayers!

These are the latest “goings-on”, so thanks for reading! We again just want to give a massive thank you to everyone who’s supporting us, both prayerfully and financially. We’re truly humbled by your sacrifice to serve the Lord through prayer and giving. To be getting a solid base in the French language is truly a gift, and we lift our hands to the Lord and say “here we are, use what you’ve given to build your Kingdom Lord!”

He fits mama!

Warm fuzzies

"Look mom, salad dressing America!"

Family pic 2012

Onward, Upward, Forward!

January 3rd, 2012

I personally love this time of year. That feeling of all things beginning anew, even though we all know just as well that a “resolution” made on January 1st is only meant if it’s one you intend to keep even if you were to start it December 31st. There is no time of year that’s best for resolving to become more mature, confess where you’re letting sin take a grip, and grow in Godliness in any given area. This should really happen all year long! But, the New Year beginning is symbolic. I used to kind of laugh at making resolutions. As a mom and wife, I’ve renewed my view on them since it’s hard to always make the time to really take a hard look at what’s going on. Since I can hardly remember if I’ve brushed my teeth or applied deodorant from day-to-day, it’s nice to have a day, January 1st, where the rest of the world kind of reminds a person that it’s a day for reflection and resolve as we look into a new year. And, my favorite part, is bringing it before the King to ask His blessing and guidance on the areas in which I need to change.

I have 2 dear friends who have written posts about their view on, and list of, resolutions. And they’re both named Keri/Kari!

To start, my dear Sister in Christ Keri wrote a great post with 4 wonderful reasons why making time for resolutions is a good thing. http://brentosterberg.blogspot.com/2012/01/resolutions-and-convictions-of-house.html

Next, another dear Sister wrote about picking one specific word to represent what you hope to see play out in this new year. http://refiningvision.blogspot.com/2012/01/intentional.html

I love these ladies and LOVE that God’s placed such godly women in my life. Amen to that! Ooo, and technology. Glad for that!

Word: “Dependent.” This word is inspired through John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” I want to be radically, desperately, actively dependent on God this year, more so than last year. I want to mature and grow in my deepening dependence on Him. Lord knows I need it! I can’t love my husband well without remaining in Christ. I can’t love, lead, and Mama my children well without remaining in Christ. I can’t move our family to West Africa well without remaining in Christ. I can’t bear fruit without His vine sending life-giving water to my branches which can only happen if I remain attached to the Source!

List:

-Pray together more often with Matthew

-Call all language helpers I have numbers for and get more creative with French language learning. Focus on learning like a child.

-Potty train Lily (Yes please!)

-Remain nutritionally sound/steady. (For me, this looks like being faithful with doing the prep work it takes to prepare nutritionally dense foods for my family. Stay AWAY from sugar, that nasty beast. Feel free to enjoy sugar yourself, I don’t judge. My body just doesn’t jive with sugar. My Mama always tried to warn me;)

-BE IN THE WORD OF GOD.

-Read 2 books: 1) “Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands” by Paul David Tripp and a refresher of “Child Training Tips” by Reb Bradley

-Shower. Choose a time when everyone’s asleep. (Okay, this might sound a tad ridiculous, but those with 2+ small children are nodding their heads and mumbling a “mmmhmmm, sista.” You get it!

-Get more creative in homeschool with Danielle.

-Kiss my love more often, and for no particular reason:) Affirm before God, each other, and others that we deeply love each other and are in Holy matrimony together! Amen to that!

-The biggest area I see myself struggle sinfully (and this is hard to admit) is in my patience/calm tone of voice/loving correction of our girls. The Holy Spirit has convicted me of my making excuses for my “losing it” (losing self control) with the kids. I tell myself that it’s due to overwhelming stress. The foreign context in which we live, my missing our great support system in TX, trying to be faithful in learning French, being cramped in an apartment with no car to hop into to just go somewhere with the kids to break up the day. It’s an event to get us bundled up, rain geared up, bags packed, then happily walk/bus ride it to somewhere. But, NO MORE excuses. No more justifying my sinful reactions to the kid’s misbehavior. God calls us to have gentle speech and be filled with the fruits of the Spirit, and I’m very sure this produces more willing listeners and a more peaceful home overall. Cool fact for ya: after coming to grips with my sin and spending time handing it to my Savior, requesting His power to reject using a harsh tone of voice, I hopped onto a great blog “Women Living Well” and voilà! Just take a look at what her January challenge is! http://womenlivingwell.org/2012/01/introducing-the-gentleness-challenge/

Wowzers! God is so in control. His timing is amazing, and I’m excited about checking in every week to watch the video and take notes on the Scriptures Sally Clarkson brings to bear on the topic of tending to your child’s heart and using gentle speech. Did I mention that I’m thankful for technology?

Well, that’s it. Not perfectly categorized, because I’m just not that organized. I have brought this list before the Lord, asked for His blessing over it and I trust that He will trim the unfruitful branches and prune the good ones. To him be the glory, for it’s ALL about Him.

His really is the sweetest name we know! Happy New Year everyone! Bonne année à tous !

Annie for the Dorinites

Reflecting on the Holidays

January 1st, 2012

So, It’s been weighing pretty heavily on my heart that I have not been regularly updating you all, our dear friends and family. As you all well know, keeping up with life as a family of 5 takes up….99.9% of our time. Blogging? Um….that has to fit in there somewhere. I do feel it’s importance though, as it helps keep that connection going between us and you. We don’t want to become isolated where we’re going through trials and triumphs, yet failing to share them with you! We rely heavily on your prayers as well as desire to keep an ongoing camaraderie. How can this happen unless we’re writing regularly? It cannot. So, without further adieu, let’s get this update train going!

November was a big month as we met our latest addition, Micaiah Jay on the 21st! My amazing Mother came out to stay with us for a little over 3 weeks. Her help was golden, and only somehow wish we could’ve kidnapped her for the remainder of our time here in France. Dad would not approve.

Thanksgiving came upon us days after Micaiah’s birth. We were incredibly thankful to the Lord for our new little turkey:) Fun fact: if it weren’t for my Mom, we would’ve probably had cold cereal for Thanksgiving dinner. But, anyone who knows my Mom, knows she can cook, and cook she did! She braved the language difference, went out and found turkey! She cooked up homemade gravy, and many wonderful sides. I know it’s just food, but to feel the warmth of having my Mom here, sitting around the table, praising God together, eating Mom’s homemade food literally brought tears to my eyes.She even brought pretty Thanksgiving napkins and plates! Like I said, we would’ve tried to kidnap her…

Newest Dorin

Thanksgiving table

People, she put flowers in a vase on the table….flowers. It was special:)

Next up, we celebrated our main man’s b-day! on the 6th Dec., we celebrated my wonderful husband, who brings such stability, leadership, thoughtfulness, faith, and love into our lives. He’s a loving father to our children, a true man of faith in the Lord, and it was a joy to take time out to celebrate his life! Highlight: having our 1st homemade, totally all-out American dinner of cheeseburgers and fries! Mom was the fry master while I did the cheeseburgers. Here’s some proof that it actually happened….

American food. Complete with a Coke! it became

During Mom’s stay, we had an unexpected surprise…this wonderful Auntie showed up!

Marry Poppins...er, I mean, Bethany came to visit!!

Then, Christmas time was upon us. I was deeply moved to think about the true account of Christ’s coming to save us, and was continually filled with awe while I held and nursed our newborn son at how it must’ve been to be Mary as she mothered and cared over baby Jesus. What wonder to ponder what God did to save humanity! Amazing….

We really enjoyed putting up a few decorations. Namely, a tree!

Just for kicks. That's the box the tree came from!

Girls dancing with balloons in front of the tree

There was gingerbread house making with friends…

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And cookie making too!

Christmas Eve we had a wonderful gathering with a couple of the other missionary families here. We ate a meal together, talked about traditions we had previous to coming onto the field, then ended the evening with a time of worship through singing carols together. My heart swelled as our voices were lifted to the Father in grateful melody, remembering what Christmas is…Christ.

Singing by candle light

We were blessed with some thoughtful gifts from family and friends, and we’re truly thankful. Some gave to us to make it possible to enjoy something special at this time off from school. So, Matthew and I decided to take a small trip with the family and do something out of the ordinary. Wednesday of this past week, we bundled up, packed day trip bags, and headed out to Lyon! It’s about an hour train ride NW of Chambéry. It’s a major French city with 3 train stations, one being massive in size!

Funny story: we happened to pick the same day as our missionary friends to go to Lyon! Fun to bump into friends at the train station:)

on the train

tic-tac-toe fun with Daddy

Yay for Yogi Bear on the ipod! And a sleeping baby...

Square at the train station

We found an aquarium! What a treat!

After enjoying maaaaany hours at the aquarium, we left there, took the city bus to the underground metro and made our way to the older part of Lyon. There we found an old, T-tiny museum called the “musée d’automattes.” Here are some videos to show them in action! I was a bi creeped out by them, honestly.

What about you? Did you find that creepy? Lily is undecided….Dani loved them:)

We raced back to the train and made it on 5 minutes before it pulled out of the station. That’s how we roll;)

New Years Eve….we didn’t even realize it was New Years Eve until yesterday evening. That’s life with 2 kids and a newborn!

It played out like this: Matthew had a men’s gathering at our apartment, so I stepped out with the kiddos and went across the complex to another missionary’s apartment to hang out with her. After getting back home, I sliced into the eggplants for dinner, but one was rotten. So, suddenly dinner was cut way down in scale. Matthew fed the kids something else, bathed them, and sent them off to bed while I worked on putting together a “spontaneous date dinner” with the good eggplant:) We really enjoyed having a surprise candlelight dinner together while Micaiah slept in the wrap. We prayed and reflected together on the past year and all it held. It’s amazing to think back over where God has taken us and where He’s continuing to send us! Praise be to the Lord! For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:36

Annie for the Dorin Clan