MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008

And for this we are most grateful... on the mend, recovering, and becoming more independent everyday. Christmas was low key, quiet, and no one is complaining about that. Less is more when it comes to Christmas too. I think I missed my daddy more this Christmas than the previous two, but there was a special grace Christmas Eve and Day to focus on now and the new year and to realize that daddy is complete and whole and I wouldn't wish it otherwise for his sake. We still mourn for us, but that mourning has turned into joy this holiday season.

I think this was the most precious moment for me from our "Shaeffer side" Christmas Eve and requires a little background knowledge. When we were waiting our two years to bring MeiLing home I, like any mother, prayed for the usual things. I prayed for her health, good survival skills, etc. I had a selfish prayer in the midst of all of the usual prayers that went something like this..."Lord Jesus, keep my baby healthy and intact. Help her not to be lonely and let there be someone to hold her in my place until I can get there and bring her home. And by the way Lord, would you see fit to make her a little musical?" When we were in China, we put a set of headphones on her and from then on she was hooked. There is not a moment when she is busy doing the things that little 6 year old girls do that she is not singing something. She's taken to the piano like a duck to water and so it was no surprise that she asked for a guitar for Christmas. Jonathan taught her the names on the open strings and the scale on the E string in 20 minutes. She still was playing what she had learned the next morning. I remembered my prayer from 8 years ago and had much to thank God for. I absolutely love this picture.

I knew I couldn't post this picture without explaining why Kelby is in a knee brace with crutches in the background. After years of "athletic-ness", Kelby's knee is now much older than his actual age. The latest MRI shows, no cartilege, bones fusing together, bone on bone, arthritis, and a cyst of some kind. So he is probably headed for some kind of surgery in the new year. I think the thought of the athletic feats fleeting away is worse than the pain he is enduring on a daily basis.

It was Milgrim Christmas day this year which usually involves Kelby's mom Ruth, his brother Darrin, sister in law Kim, and their two boys Royce and Rylan. We gathered for the the traditional devotional time, dinner, presents, and games. This year we involved the kids in the devotional time by "making them" participate :) Royce acted out a play he had written, Rylan sang "Mary Did You Know", and MeiLing played "Away in a Manger" and "Go Tell it on the Mountain" on the piano. We had a great time together and declared it a great day.

We've had quite a few people ask about the ministry in Ajo. It came about when we found out that the Indian Assembly of God church in Ajo would be closing because of the lack of a pastor. There is another Assembly of God chuch in Ajo but this was the home missions work and historically speaking it was a shame that it would be closing. Kelby found out and offered to take the position with the understand that we could only devote the time to one Sunday morning service. We started going in September of 2007 and have been going out every week since. There were three ladies left in the church that had basically been members since they were teenagers and cried that first service when they found out that their church would not be closing. We are located just across the street from an open mine pit that has been closed to operations since the 1980s. With the close of the mine came the drastic population change in Ajo. There are probably about 3000 left in the town with half being winter visitors that are there about 6 months out of the year. We now have a congregation of about 20 and meet in a tiny sanctuary. This is our little wiseman for this year's live nativity. When I told MeiLing she might have to play Mary if no one showed, she was horrified. She had her heart set on being the wiseman that carried the gold.

No wisecracks please :) This is Jesus the donkey. For those of you who are not used to the Spanish, it's pronounced (hay suess) :) Jesus has been a part of our live nativity for several years now. He's very sweet and gentle.

And here we have the whole crew. My 8 year old Mary, my 5 year old Joseph, one shepherd, one wiseman/woman, and an angel. They did a great job.

By the way, so much for trying a new layout on my previous blog. I'm going back to my boring layout and ways.

Fall in our backyard

THIS POST IS CALLED CATCHING UP THE BLOG BEFORE I POST THE REALLY IMPORTANT CHRISTMAS STUFF.
Okay... this is what happens when I tell MeiLing I can't play right at the moment. She then engages the dog in a lively game. :(


...and the Suns games live on. I have to add here that Tom Chambers was my favorite Sun in the early 90s so I was pretty impressed when Kelby called and said they had met him while catching the end of the Cowboys game at the bar behind the studio and proceeded to hand the phone to him. He said hello and I said something stupid trying not to sound like a stalker and couldn't believe Kelby had done this etc. It was pretty fun though and Li got a couple autographs.

We start with a last practice and little inspiration from papa.

The Yamaha program is a complete program that includes sight singing and ear training. All holiday concerts start with two holiday songs sung by the kids usually in words and in solfege. This year it was Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells.

MeiLing's teacher is Ms. Chung. MeiLing absolutely loves her. She's getting her background music programmed to start.

...And it's a flawless performance of Go Tell it on the Mountain. :)

Notice the dress is long gone. She changed as soon as she hit the car. She asked if she could put her jean legs in her boots and I thought proudly that she was showing a little fashion sense. When I said yes I heard, "oh good, now I'll look like a pirate".

...And we all know it's all about the chocolate chip pancakes afterward. :)

We are truly thankful.

Thanksgiving 08

We were first thankful that Aunt Evelyn took over the food preparations, and we were glad to do what she asked. The turkey and her dressing recipe are fantastic and were definately the best part of the meal.

Gordon and I were trying to decide how long it had been since the Thornes and Shaeffers spent a Thanksgiving together. We decided it was too long to remember when. The only people missing from this photo who appeared at our house for Thanksgiving were Ruth Milgrim (Kelby's mother), Uncle Norm who came for the morning preparation activities, and Brian who spent the day with his uncles.

This blog should be titled the Halloween that should have been, and be filled with our little mummy, MeiLing. It was also 20 year high school reunion time for us, so that is the picture I have posted. The text is in green in honor of the Phoenix Christian High School cougers who won the homecoming game 48-7 rah. This picture is about thirty-five or so of us 20 years later all responsible and talking work and kids. My how time flies.

Now about Halloween... We were all ready to have MeiLing dress up like a mummy and bought the wraps and everything. However, three days before Halloween she got into trouble at school and lied to her parents. We are kind of into shock and awe when it comes to punishment since I really would rather deal with this behavior now and not when she's 14 years old. However, this was really hard because after all, how many Halloweens do we get to do this. So it's no candy for MeiLing this year and hopefully the lying will be curbed for a while anyway.

State Fair 08

Many people think that the Arizona State Fair has become boring and waste of time. Kelby and I had our first date at the fair in 1986, so it has always been a bit sentimental and a tradition to go every year. We would never admit to each other that it had become a bit boring because, darn it, a tradition is a tradition. Most people remember the fun days of the fair when they were younger I guess because, well, they were younger. Thank goodness MeiLing has revived our love of the fair and now it is anything but boring.

My all American girl

I really didn't think this was a big deal at the beginning. I figured she'd get a few feet and stop. HA!

This is where I started to get nervous. She's not at the top but believe me when I say, she didn't stop until she was at the top. I just stopped taking pictures after this because my main goal became getting her down.

The petting zoo was one of the best I've seen. They had the usual goats, pigs, and barnyard fare. However, they also had a baby giraffe, camel, water buffalo, baby bison, turkeys, ostrich, and llamas. Most pens had babies of some sort. The 4H kids were showing cattle in one of the barns and we also watched that for awhile.

The annual Shave Ice tradition, but unfortunately, I missed the traditional Indian Fry Bread picture.

Ah, to be six again.

We are so happy to have daddy back from the Philippines. Below are some things MeiLing did to pass the time.

MeiLing lost her deck of cards and decided to create her own set. To make sure she made the right ones and ended with a deck of 52, she kept a very close watch on her list and crossed off each card as it was made.

Here is pooh bear sporting his kleenex box helmet.

MeiLing's house
I guess the lastest change in the household is MeiLing's artwork. We have gone from the 2 dimensional "this is a red elephant" stage to some 3 dimensional stuff that she's done all her own. I don't attempt to understand how her mind works but just look appreciatively and make the appropriate comments. Every mother thinks her child's artwork is genious and I'm no exception. It's my job. She put everyone in their beds (she of course is on the top bunk in her room) what you can"t see is the little sister image on the bunk below. Lest you think the family all shares the same room, she designated rooms by drawing on each wall.

Beginning

Wow, an 80's girl blogging... Hopefully Miss Uselmann, my middle school english teacher, won't see my posts and notice how rusty my writing skills have become. I can't promise that this will be the most interesting or even remotely entertaining reading one could do but I will do my best to keep it interesting since this is the closest to journaling I believe I will ever get. Sometimes my thoughts get the best of me and I MUST write. The weird part is that usually happens during Autumn for no reason at all, so here I am. Anyway, if this is the best way to update family and friends as to our comings and goings then so be it.