Defend The Weak & The Fatherless...

Today's service at church was powerful.

Stella's Voice was there to talk about what they do.  If you are like me and have never heard of Stella's Voice, you can read more about them Here.

Here is an excerpt from their website:

Stella's Voice is the last cry that remains from an orphaned girl who was sold, used, and dead from AIDS by 19. There is no one in the entire world more vulnerable to sex trafficking than orphaned girls; no one knows or cares when they disappear into the night. And there is no country that fuels the engine of sex trafficking in all of Europe more than Moldova.

Stella's Voice provides a home for poverty-ridden girls in Moldova after they are aged out of the state-run orphanages at the young age of 16. The ministry also has the only Christian orphanage in the country, as well as a separate home for boys.

Stella's Voice is more than a cry for help and rescue. It is also a beacon of help and hope, making an eternal difference for desperate children.

Oh my goodness.  I could not stop the flow of tears that streamed down my face as I sat there.  There were a group of girls present who live at Stella's House in Moldova.  They are all orphans who's lives have been changed.  Some of them told their stories.  They also told stories of their friends who were not as fortunate as they were.  Stories of friends being sold into sex trafficking.  Heart-wrenching.  Unfathomable in my mind.

I posted this a few months ago and it sprang to mind as I sat there today:

God is changing my heart very slowly, I can see it.  I feel like I need to quit sitting here thinking about it and go do something.  Am I being moved to adopt?  No.  I'm pretty confident that's not it.  I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing but the more time that passes, the more confident that I am that I should do something. 

For now?  I'm just going to keep praying and asking God to show me what he wants me to do.
 
I feel like that something involves helping orphans.  I have no idea what it looks like but Mark and I have talked of little else today.  We need to do something, we just don't know what it is yet.  I cannot sit here in my comfortable, blessed life and do nothing while innocent children are sold into slavery for sex.

For now?  We'll be supporting Stella's Voice and we're going to keep praying and asking God if there is more that he wants us to do.

Fun Summer Fridays

I've been back working part time for over 3 years now and I am still struggling to figure out how to balance Summer and the kids.  I hate that I have to leave them at home every day while I go to work.  Yes, I only work part time and no, they do not mind sleeping in and lazing around.  Doesn't matter, I still suffer from "Mom guilt".

Don't get me wrong.  I love my job.  I love that during the school year, I am home to get the kids off to school and I'm home to greet them after school.  Working while they are at school is great and doesn't really affect them.  Summer is a little different.  My schedule doesn't change all that much, even though they are home.

This summer, I am making an extra effort to make sure they get out and have fun.  For starters, we joined a pool that is about 1/4 mile from our house.  They can ride their bikes there and swim with their friends while I am at work.  They have been loving that!

Since I only work Mon - Thurs most weeks, I have coined Friday as "Fun Summer Fridays".  I have been trying to go and do something fun every Friday.

The month of June was a bust.  Between our vacation and my trip to Vietnam, there were no Fridays available to go and do.  Don't feel too bad for the kids though, their 11 day vacation was plenty of fun and certainly covered more than the 4 Fridays they would have had.

The first Friday in July ended up being more of an errand day since Mark was off and we had stuff to do.  That means we've only had 2 Fridays (so far) that actually qualify as "Fun Summer Fridays".

Last Friday, we utilized our season passes and headed to Six Flags Great America.  We were there for the rope drop, did a couple of rides, then spent the rest of our time there at the water park.  Nice.

This Friday, we stayed a little closer to home and went out to lunch, went miniature golfing, headed to Haagen Daz for some ice cream and went to play on the paddle boats at The Riverwalk in Naperville. 

Picking a day where the heat index was in the upper 90's may not have been the best idea but we had fun anyway.

I've got some fun Fridays planned over the next few weeks.  I may deal with "Mom guilt" Monday - Thursday but Fridays are pure fun!

Weight Watchers it is!

I've been a bad blogger since I returned from Vietnam.  The month of June was so busy and I have been scrambling to catch up.

Nope, I'm still not there.  Please don't tell my husband how far behind I am on balancing our checkbook.

Anyway, getting stuck in that sniper bunker in Vietnam was certain confirmation that I have failed miserably at losing the weight I said I would.  If you missed that story, you can read about it here.  I knew when I got home I needed to take it seriously so I signed up (again) for Weight Watchers Online.

Signing up 2 days before the 4th of July wasn't a smart idea and I got off to a dismal start.  Things are looking up now and I can finally say that I am tracking regularly and am making progress at getting into better eating habits (again).

I will freely admit that staying within my points is near impossible for me.  I'm just always hungrier than that. 

I'm going to have to start running again to earn enough activity points to eat.  Speaking of running, I think I should head out for one now...

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone is taking time to be thankful for our freedom this Independence Day.  Having visited a Communist country recently, I was reminded that I take some of our freedoms for granted.  I appreciate even more now, the sacrifice that our military families have made/are making.

We started the celebration a day early on July 3rd.  Our tradition for the last 14 years (maybe more?) or so is to head to the polo field in Oak Brook to watch the fireworks.  We always have a great time relaxing, socializing, munching & playing while we wait for the show to start.  There is a core group of friends who have been going since the beginning but over the years, many others have joined in on the fun.

Our good friends David & Kelly

This morning, I finally got to sleep in for the first time since I got home from Vietnam.  I probably would have slept longer had a neighbors lawn mower not woken me up. 

This afternoon, Matthew marched in the parade with the Downers Grove North Marching Band.  It was his first performance with the band and his first parade.  He played the cymbals and came home with a few battle scars.  Bruises on his arm where the skin was pinched when he crashed the cymbals.  I hear that is common with new marching band percussionists and he seems to be wearing his bruises with pride.

Kelly got a great picture of him marching!