Preparing for Lent

"It is not repentance that saves me;

repentance is the sign that I realise

what God has done in Christ Jesus."

~Oswald Chambers

Over breakfast this morning, Daja's family was discussing Fat Tuesday tomorrow, Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.  Belgee, her soon-to-be 4 year old says, "I'm fasting Puttanesca."

Definitely a child of a foodie.  I had to go look it up.  I had no idea what Puttanesca was.

But, I have been thinking of Lent.  I am preparing.  Last night I made a folder for the blogs that I will be reading during the season.  See, I’m giving up my Google Reader. Sounds strange, right?  Google Reader is supposed to be a simplifying tool!  And it is, but I just have so many blogs that I want to read each day.   So, I made a folder for the blogs that I will be reading during Lent – my family’s, a FEW good friends, and some devotional types.  I’m giving up most of my craft, decorating, cooking, thrift, health, and organizational blogs -- and the folder labeled “People I Know”. Yep, lots of blogs I just can't seem to live without. We’ll see what happens after Easter. Maybe I’ll go back to them; maybe just some of them; maybe none.


Last year I gave up Facebook. It was a bit difficult to pull away, but it was SO good for me. It put my even being on Facebook in perspective and gave me freedom. I think that’s one of the reasons for any discipline. Discipline really does give you freedom. I’m going to say that again. Discipline gives you freedom! Amazing how that works. Just like dying to live and giving to receive.


I read a good post this morning by Edie from life{in}grace regarding Lent for those of us who are not Catholic, or even from a liturgical church. No, Lent is not a scriptural command. But, fasting, repentance, prayer, and discipline are. Following the church calendar just helps us not forget those harder things when we are celebrating the “fun” things like Easter and the Resurrection.

"In many cultures there is an ancient custom

of giving a tenth of each year's income to some holy use.

For Christians, to observe the forty days of Lent

is to do the same thing with roughly a tenth of each year's days.

After being baptized by John in the River Jordan,

Jesus went off alone into the wilderness

where he spent forty days asking himself

the question of what it meant to be Jesus.

During Lent, Christians are supposed to ask

one way or another what it means to be themselves...

to answer questions like this is to begin to hear something

not only of who you are but of both what you are becoming

and what you are failing to become.

It can be pretty depressing business all in all,

but if sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it,

something like Easter may be at the end."

~Frederick Buechner

So, even though I am from a non-denominational, evangelical church, I will be observing Lent. Even though I may not be giving up Puttanesca.

Aquarium, Part 2

So, I thought I'd better post this before Part 3 happens.  Which happens tomorrow.  Part 1 is here.

Way back in May, we took the Gombojav children to the Monterey Bay Aquarium as part of their last year's Christmas present.  We took the Abdelaziz children in March, and the Correa children get to go tomorrow.  Now, it might be awhile before I can post Part 3, because we cannot post pictures until the adoption is complete.  *sigh*  Sometimes, paperwork can take forever.

So, here we go!

 Not a little excited, are they?

If you can overlook all the political environmental propagada all over, it is really a fun place.  I love that children can have so much hands-on experiences and learning.

Where there is a will,

there is a way!

Though some may think some things are just too wet and slimy to actually want to touch.

 Pure joy.

These two big ol' kids:

are these two (on the left)!

They've added a few siblings as you can see.

Belgee, second from right.

If you look really closely, you might see baby penquins in that nest.

I understand the feeling.

The following picture was requested by Israel as we were passing this store.  Just because his mom would really like it.  Enjoy, Daja!

This time we stopped for cinnamon rolls as we were walking back to the parking garage.  Nana's choice.  No one minded.

Saraa Turns One!

It doesn't seem like it could be, but little Saraa turned one a few weeks ago! 

We celebrate first birthdays in a big way in this family.  Daja gave her a western themed party that was a heapin' bunch of fun. 

Saraa's name means "moon" in Mongolian, so the themed music was "Buffalo Gals" because of the last line in the chorus:

Buffalo Gals, won't you come out tonight,

Come out tonight, come out tonight.

Buffalo Gals, won't you come out tonight,

And dance by the light of the moon.

Most of us came dressed in at least a bit of western duds. 

Daja served chili, cornbread, cole slaw, and potato salad on the cutest red, white, and blue table.

Sarah-Kate taught the kids a little dance which they had a hilarious time learning and performing.  And the parents thought it was just as funny.  Plus a whole lot of cuteness.

All the children got plenty dirty.  Which equates to a good time, right?

Saraa wondered exactly what was she supposed to do with this pretty rose cake with a horsey on top.

Hmmm........

Ah, she figured it out!

I thought the placement of the gift table just made the prettiest little picture.

We (Papa and Nana) gave her two very special dolls, Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy.  She loved them!

One of the most special parts of the birthday celebration was Saraa being blessed by Jael, her godmother.  Of course, there were tears.  Jael takes the honor of being Saraa's godmother very seriously, as you could hear in the love she put into her blessing.

Every party is eventually over.....

Gana's Big Day!

So, last Tuesday evening Sarah-Kate, Jael, and I made the trek down to Pasadena for a momentous occasion that was happening early Wednesday morning. What was this momentous occasion?



My son-in-law, Gana, was becoming an American citizen!

Gana taking his seat with the other 1,955 soon-to-be new citizens.


Waiting and waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The judge.

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity

to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty

of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;

that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws

of the United States of America

against all enemies, foreign and domestic;

that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;

that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States

when required by the law;

that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law;

and that I take this obligation freely without

any mental reservation or purpose of evasion;

so help me God."

I was quite impressed that there were several new citizens

who were already a part of the Armed Forces.

They were introduced individually.

It was a very memorable and significant morning. We were all so proud of Gana. I think he was feeling the same.

I know Daja was!

WooHoo!

After the ceremony, Sarah-Kate and Jael had to leave for home. But, they passed Gabe coming down. He had just flown in from meetings in Indiana, but was trying his best to make it down for the celebration party that evening!

I forgot and left my camera in the sleeping baby's room, so I didn't take any pictures until after we had dinner.

Dinner was delicious and beautifully presented. Daja did a wonderful job! (Of course!) Here you can see some of what it looked like after we had attacked it!

Gorgeous Russian desserts.

One of Papa's funny "jokes":

How much do you love Papa?How much do you love Nana?

Lots of guests brought gifts, which embarrassed Gana a bit, but none of us seemed to care!

Sarah-Kate's red, white, and blue gift basket.

Gabe and I figured since Gana was now an American citizen, it was a good time to also be a property owner. So, we bought him one of these:

In his name, of course! He now has bragging rights that he owns property in every one of the 50 states!

Well, it's only one square inch in each of the fifty states, but he does own it, and he can pass it down to his children!

Congratulations, Gana! We love you!

(Daja also blogged about this here.)