country side of me....

Well, when your sister is marrying a farmer it tends to bring out the "barefoot, bluejean kind of night" in you. If I thought of her or I marrying a farmer when we were younger, I would have always thought I would be the one rather than her. (She's a lot better in the kitchen etc. than I am!)

Here is my sister future farmers-wife making ridiculous amounts of jam the past two weeks. She is a trooper!



Isn't she a doll? She's gonna be the best farmer's wife ever!

My country side has been coming out however - check out this video me and the future farmer's wife, my future farmer brother in law and long time adopted brother Cole made as a joke for our awesome friends, the Duffys! :)



And this friends, is the first time I drove a tractor. I fell in love I have to admit.. the farmall is my new favorite toy. After driving this red beauty around for one day - two months later the future brother in law decides to sign me up for the Clarksville Tractor Games...

umm??? Sooo.. hesitantly but because it's me and I'm always down for a good time and trying anything new/making and idiot out of myself I agreed.



After dragging a chain behind my lovely Farmall and maneuvering the tractor back and forth to get the chain inside a metal box, I completed game #1 fastest in the women's division, {a minute and 30 seconds!}, pretty good considering I was competing against a pink tractor mama who had her own custom PINK Farmall tractor and matching pink shirt. Oh boy.. :) Game #2 had me backing my tractor until the hitch on the back bumped an egg but not crack it. Guess who completed that one fastest in the womens division? If you guess the never to be farmer's wife, aka me you also guessed correctly! The future brother in law farmer also happened to win this game for the mens division! What winners we are!



So I guess the country in me is coming out a bit, and I'm completely ok with it - as long as I'm not in a kitchen doing farmer's wife sorts of things that I'm terrible at! But give me a Farmall baby and I'm feeling good!

love-starvation

It's 5 am (oh jet-lag baby!) and I'm freshly back from China with a heart that is full of the stories of my time there and His precious children and a fire in my spirit that makes me come alive. All at the same time there is a feeling of emptiness - of loss. A feeling of leaving my heart behind there, in China.

I remember that happening last year. Of certain things being painful when I came home. Looking at pictures, certain triggering of the senses reminding me of something that happened in China, all usually causing the same effect - tears or laughter.

So - the life we live, serving and following Him - joy and pain. Tears and laughter. Joy IN pain, laughter through the tears.

The precious little ones in China have gone through so much - yet they can smile and laugh and are filled with joy in the simple things. Ice cream for the first time, McDonalds (we ate there about once a day the first week of Continue Home, kids choice!) ;), coloring or doing simple crafts of things most people in America would throw away as junk.

Yet there is this physical hunger and need for touch. Their need for hugs and kisses, sitting on a lap and holding hands is desperate! Sure they love the fun things we do, swimming, scavenger hunts, assemblies but I think what they love most is simply being physically loved.

Walking along a China street and feeling that little hand in mine. Little hungry-hearts, dying of love starvation. Someone to tuck them in, to give them kisses, to hug them when they fall down and kiss their boo-boos. To tickle them until they squeel.

I know not everyone is called to China but where are your little Gracie's and Hannah's who need love? So many kids are dying for love all over the world. Where is your heart and how are you helping fill the love-starvation so many children are dying of?

My heart is left in China - and every summer I will go back. Maybe someday I can move there forever and be a mother to all the China babies who need so much love that God has put in my heart to give them and teach them about "A Father to Fatherless..."