Embrace Yourself Today

It is said the average person spends nearly 1/4 of their life waiting in some capacity; whether that be waiting in line, for a phone call or in traffic. If we spend approximately 19.5 years waiting I pray we are doing something useful and purposeful while we wait (statistic based upon 78.2 yr life expectancy)! In our line of work, we tend to do a lot of waiting! Our every job depends on the next contract...and we spend a lot of time waiting for that next contract overseas. So here we are again....waiting....with so many other basketball families.  Even though we are still here there has never been a point where I said, "I guess it is over, I guess we are done" and there has never been a point I have not though Josh is not good enough and no one wants him...I know he is an asset to any team he is a part of...It is just a season of waiting for so many of us basketball families. So, as we have been waiting I have been thinking: Are we just waiting for things to fall in our...

Reader be warned, this may seem a little "ranty" however, it is meant to be an eye opener. I realized in high school, my junior year, how different the generations after me were. I noticed they had bigger attitudes, were a different type of "mean", lacked respect, wore less clothing but paid more for it, failed to heed the advice of their parents and the list goes on. Fast forward 10 years, I am a teacher. The students I see in school are far different from when I was in elementary school. When I came into kindergarten most of us could tie our shoes, we all knew how to write our name, knew our ABC's and numbers...At every grade level children did not come in with homework left undone, that wasn't even thought of! Parent's were involved and THEY WERE ON THE TEACHER'S SIDE!!!!! We would visit the library for books, not games and videos in the summers, parents would request 'summer take home work' took keep kids memories fresh. Today.....whe...

We patiently waited for our name to be called by the Department of Interior associate who would help us process the paperwork necessary to record the birth of our daughter in Israel. At this time our sweet girl was 5 days old. Leading up to her birth I was asked and re-asked the same question in one way or another, usually with an undertone suggesting I am crazy : *Why don't you have your baby in a hospital? At first I would offer people the numerous reasons I chose homebirth: 1. I want a natural birth (truly natural) 2. I want a relaxing environment 3. This is not a medical condition it doesn't require a hospital to occur 4. I have always wanted to do it 5. My body was designed to do this and the best place for me to do it is at home 6. I feel it is the safest option for my child and myself 7. I don't agree with hospital protocols for childbirth and the list goes on....(I am more than willing to expand on these reasons if you would like, just email me). H...

It is no secret, Israel has often been known as a country of unrest. However, the 'unrest' in which a small part of Israel experiences, is often misconstrued as mass chaos throughout the land, by the media. In fact I remember the first time I learned Josh would be playing here...I was petrified at the thought! The media painted Israel to be this war ravaged country with car bombs exploding daily and suicide bombers walking about the towns. I was pleasantly surprised to learn otherwise upon my first visit, which was a time the country was in actual upheaval, and there was a 10 day war that broke out upon the day of my landing....even with this, the land was peaceful (all but the south that is). Here we are in our 4th season in Israel; and finally, after 4 years my family is beginning to believe me when I say this is a peaceful and pleasant place. It is not a place filled with fear of the onset of a massive war. Even though they are beginning to believe us, they are still leery;...

It is dangerous to wonder....it is even more dangerous to share what you wonder, and why you wonder what you do, but here is to the daring!!!! Josh and I were sitting here...just staring at our little darling as she drifted off to sleep and we began to wonder.... Have you ever watched a baby...especially a newborn when they are awake? You will see them looking above you and behind you with great focus and alertness. I always wonder...what are they looking at? Sometimes they coo and smile at whatever it is so you can't help but wonder, what do they see? What about when they sleep? Do you ever notice how they smile so much as they sleep? What do they dream about? Roselyn laughs in her sleep and it is the sweetest thing! What is she laughing at? I have heard it been said more than once that babies can see angels. The Bible indicates that God reveals things to them; "At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things fro...

February 8th has long since passed...it is now the 13th...I am beginning to feel like a failure. Why hasn't my body began working to get this baby out? Josh was away at practice and so I decided to drown my sorrows with a hot bath. As I sat and thought about the possibility of not having a home birth as planned due to what could be an induction I began to cry. I had this dream, this vision how how great this birth would be. I dreamed for years of a water birth, a home birth...the relaxing environment a healthy baby...and now I am faced with the potentiality of being forced to deliver in what I consider to be a cold, medical environment. I sat there and cried out to God. For 9 months I had prayed for the perfect day. I prayed the night before labor I would get a great nights rest, and He would wake me with contractions in the early morning around 5:30-6 and that she would be here by noon-1pm...I was CONVINCED she would be here by now. As I cried out I heard God's gentle reminder...

So this past week we had a tough week receiving news of a possible trade that could take place. Our team has lost 3 games in a row and we are without a point guard (ours left for a better opportunity). With all of this going on, and no available Israeli point guards the team was faced with the thought of a trade. There was a team who had asked for Josh...they also had a point guard they wanted to trade/release. The timing of it all was/is horrible being that our daughter is due this week. We are still in somewhat of a limbo, but a more certain limbo of staying here with our current team. We won this last week with God's help and the talent He blessed Josh with! The team considering Josh also won and their point did well...so it seems like trade talk is at a stand still. With our new guy in as our point I think this team will work. ANYWAY....I was really writing to share this clip!!! 1.1 seconds remaining down 2 pts....GOMES FOR THREE.......................... http://www.youtube.com...

Frustration to the up-most: What we have when we cannot control things in life. When I feel out of control I feel most helpless. I need control, it is my professed weakness. God deals with me constantly in this aspect of my life. This is my wilderness lesson that God repeats year after year in my life. He may spend the next 40 years beating me with this lesson, and I welcome it, because with each beating He opens my eyes. Unfortunately, I cannot understand why the lesson does not sink in so I can move onto a different lesson. Since arriving in Israel, as many of you know, life has presented us with MANY challenges. I guess I wasn't expecting these challenges. See, the year before my husband and I got married I prayed over every aspect of life by categories (as not to forget anything) every day of every week. Our first year of marriage was so smooth, Josh's basketball contract and everything that went with it was perfect! So I did the same knowing we had baby on the way...and I...

Well friends, yesterday was full of a lot of firsts! But let me begin with a story of irony (if you can call it that). My godson, Jeremiah, told me I'd be having the baby today...we kind of joked about it all day. Well he wasn't so far off, we indeed spent time in a hospital, and I did have a little scare that Rosie was going to come today. How did this all begin? It began with a bunch of 'firsts'. This afternoon I accompanied Josh to the car to collect receipts so I could itemize our taxes. He was getting ready to go to practice and I wanted fresh air. After I got the receipts, Josh went into grab his coat. Our neighbor dog was sitting by the car, so I joined him and "my cat" on the curb. I was petting him. After about 5-10 mins I decided to go back in and get back to work. Upon getting up from the curb the dog just latched onto my face. He didn't growl or warn me at all, he just lunged and bit. I knew not to pull away. When he let go I began to stand up ...

Many are aware of the story of how God brought His people out of Egypt and away from the persecution Pharaoh. It is a famous story of a down trodden people who were less than favored by the insidious ruler of Egypt. These people, the Israelites, were slaves. Their lives were hard and full of pain. However, they had God’s favor. Before God brought them to the Promise land they lived in a land ridden with blood, sweat, tears, brutality, and harshness. There was no hope for them in Egypt. Then God raised up a leader named Moses who would bring these chosen people into the land he promised Abraham; a land filled with richness, vastness and full of promise. From the moment the Lord brought them out Egypt, the children of Israel tested His patience by murmuring and complaining about the food (manna from Heaven) and constantly speaking unbelief in God's promise of the Promise Land. Numbers Chapter: 14 records the most impressive and important bit of lessoned learned when one is going th...

This past week we had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah with one of Josh's managers. We had some great food, I picked up a recipe for amazing soup, and we ate lots! It was great to see the family side to Hanukkah. We were able to witness the signing that takes place before the lighting of the menorah and we watched them light the menorah. After that, we did some EATING! Below are pictures from our celebrations!