Our changing days

Some things are different around our PNG house these days. Presents every day!

Tortillas from Aunt Karen made the best quesidillas!

More at the table for fun meal times!

And a lot more smiles on our faces.

Worth the wait!

Here is the plane!

Yipee!

Reading books!

Walking to school!

Waiting...waiting...waiting....

Busy surgery week!

It has been a busy, but kinda normal week at surgery week. 17 year old with necrotic bowel...

God truly saved this boy's life with the surgery, even as he got shocky with surgery and we prayed...God was with us all.

This 16 year old boy had a horrible osteosarcoma, the rest of his body was wasting away. We amputated the leg and will keep praying for his recovery.

This gentleman had a pretty bad day before he came into our ER. I don't know what the fight was about, but his cousin was not playing around with the bush knife. Amazingly, he was alert and had all functions that we could assess after these chops!

Jello Party

Well, on Wednesday's from 2-3 we have RI (religious instruction)or bible study. So this week, we had Jello DAY!

The 3rd-7th grades come to my house and what a crazy time! Sipping Jello through a straw, drinking the dry koolaid with sugar and water, then running to mix it....

Catching Jello jigglers in their mouth....

And getting sick of Jello for the rest of their lives (or at least for the day). The lesson was Romans 12:2,"Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit in without even thinking. Instead fix your attention on God."

2 Cor 12:15

This is Dr Jim. He has been working as a surgeon in PNG for 25? years.
Jim and his wife Kathy, are amazing examples of Christ for our family and for the PNG people.

My Utmost for His Highest devotions for today is based on the verse
"I will very gladly spend and be spent for you".

I think this is the Radcliffe's family verse, or a verse I will give to them. They are continually laying down their own interests for the needs of those around them.

I am thankful to be serving with them!

Em

This is Emma, last Easter, when she was 7. She is now 8 and has her big teeth in the front. She talks about getting her hair cut off because she hates having it fixed in the morning.
Em is a ball of joy. She is bubbly, talkative, silly, funny and very creative.

Since Christmas however, she has become a grumpy child. Does this happen to all 8 1/2 year olds? I don't remember. My mom would probably say that I was grmpy from 13-16 years old. Emma bites people's heads off and her sisters can to nothing right.

I don't know why this phase is happening to our usually cheerful child, and really am at a lost of how to help her through it. So, what does a mom do? I listened to my words to Emma for awhile and realized how critical and bossy I can be to her. Therefore, I focused on using kinder words like, "What can I do to help you finish getting ready for school?" instead of "Emma! You only have 5 minutes! Hurry up!"

Kinder words might have helped some, but the problem is still there. Now I am trying a more forceful attack on this bad attitude. I am trying to lavish her with love. We made little books at Valentines and that is what I am trying to achieve with Em.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

So, practically, what does this mean?
I try to wake her with love, by playing with her face and talking with her and singing a silly song.
I try to have my work done so at 3:00, when she comes home from school, I am available.
We read together. (instead of me reading my own book)
We clean up together. (instead of me sending her off to do it on her own)
I want to talk with her and play imagination games when she takes a bath.
Give her lots of 'mommy time'.

As I am lavishing love on Em, I am learning to do it to all of the girls, my hubby, my friends and all those around me. Maybe Emma's grumpy period is for me...to learn to love more.