Dusting off the Cobwebs

So it's been a little while since I posted.  Ok, it has been two years since I posted.  I am a little behind :)  Perhaps I should catch you up on what has been happening in my little corner of the world.  Where should I begin?

It's funny.  As I sit her trying to think of a way to describe the 40,000 fabulous things that have happened over the past two years, I can reduce them all to one thought.  God has blessed me.  That's it.  Full stop. The kids are doing great.  Phil still has a job.  I have a job that I love.  I graduated from the bachelor's portion of my degree.  Don't get me wrong.  There has been some tough times too.  We struggle financially.  Gabe has had many challenges as he has transitioned to public school.  In March, Phil's dad lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.  And last Friday, my dad was sentenced to prison.  But fortunately, I serve the one true God who never leaves or forsakes me, so I know that the battle is already won! And PS, the victory is mine!  So no matter the course of my life, in abundance or need, through tears of joy or tears of sorrow, the one thing I remain sure of is that a life of gratitude to the God all of creation is a life filled to overflowing with peace and joy. Good stuff!

I have about 15 weeks before I head back to school and begin my graduate work.  I will be using those weeks to clean my house (it REALLY needs a deep clean), organize my life, exercise, eat better, sleep longer, love on my family and, more than anything draw close to God.  Feel free to encourage me, pray for me, laugh with me or join me! 

The Big Picture

See the picture up there, the one at the beginning of this blog?  That's Gabe.  He is our ten year old son who is diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.  I love this picture of him, because it is the big picture.  He is at homeschool gym class, socializing, being lead by someone other than his mom (thanks to two truly special women Jaclyn and Julianne - do you know them?  If not, you should.  A true example of Christian sisterhood...I feel a blog post coming on!).  He has been asked to stop, stand still and listen and feel the rhythm of his heart.  His face is so serene; he is at total peace.  Why?  Because he is listening to his inner rhythm, the beat of the unheard drum that creates the base line for the harmony of his life.  I believe that is why Gabriel is successful.  While he strives to be part of this world, to make friends, to go to Sunday School and to be social, he is also amazingly able to be still, hear his own beat and be at peace.   Oh, if only I could learn that lesson from my dear, sweet boy.

For those of you who know and love and appreciate the quirky wonderfulness that is Gabe, thank you.  He could not be who is or do what he does if it weren't for your love and understanding.  More so, thank you Jesus for loving Gabe, for allowing us to be his earthly parents and for allowing him to find strength and comfort in you.  You are his rock, and reading your word is how he soothes himself.

The big picture... knowing who you are and being happy with it, loving people and knowing they love you, knowing God and finding you strength and peace in Him.  Gabe's ten and he's got it all.  Gabe, you probably won't read this, but Tommy will and he will tell you all about it.  You are my joy, and I love you to the moon and back.

My awesome gray bag

One year, how long ago I can't quite recall, I went birthday shopping with my mom at the Army and Navy Store.  Not the girliest place to go and pick out a birthday present, but thanks to Camp Wood Haven and Snow Mountain Ranch, my leatherness (that whole bit will make more sense in future posts; obviously things I need to explain) was in full effect, and I was looking for things that would help me in my wanderings.  I loved this gray bag at first sight.  It has pockets for everything.  It goes across one shoulder so you can have it on your back and then swing it forward to gain access to the pockets.  Because there is a place for everything, I never forget anything.  When I use this bag it is the only time I am guaranteed to have tissues, hand sanitizer, a water bottle, extra batteries, my camera, my wallet, ibuprofen, band aids, wet wipes, cell phone, pens and a sharpie.  Because of this, it tends to come along on our outings.

Recently, my family was gifted a day at Hershey Park through the virtual charter school that my sons use.  A full day at Hershey with catering and parking is not something in the Craig Family Budget, so we were thrilled to be able to go.  I of course grabbed my gray bag so that we would have everything we needed for a successful day.  As I began to open it's pockets, I was praising God for the opportunity to take my children on such an extravagant outing.  We are not the kind of family who take vacations every year or go to theme parks every summer, so this was truly special; a day the kids would never forget.  I went about the work of cleaning out the pockets and restocking necessities, and  I was awestruck at what I found in the pockets: pamphlets from our Scouts sponsored day in New York City to see the Intrepid, ticket stubs from our free day at the Philadelphia zoo, a Knoebel's bracelet from the trip we took courtesy of Phil's parents, a Disney card from our once in a lifetime extended family trip to Disney - a Christmas gift from Grammy and Pappy.  There is a tear in the bag from one of our outdoor adventures, a mud smudge from the mines we went to with our homeschool group, and paint from an art activity we did at an outdoor festival many many moons ago.  This bag is full of memories of simple pleasure, tremendous generosity and family fun.  Whenever I begin to think that I have it so rough, when I feel those pangs of jealousy as my friends head for the beach I will look at this bag and remember it is not the destination.  The trick is enjoying the journey with the people you love.  I don't need a sandy beach, a mountaintop or a theme park, I just need the wonderful people God has blessed me with in this life.  That is more than enough vacation and adventure for me.

By the way, for as long as I have had this bag it still has tons of life left in it.  If you are up for an adventure, a hike, a little letterboxing... give us a call. We'll bring the bag. 

Just to gross out Emily and Tommy!

Pardon the quality of the photo, but I an having trouble downloading photos from my camera, so the phone photo will have to do.  Now I know I said this was just to gross out two of my favorite people, but it's also because this was so yummy and delicious and from my own little kitchen and well.... I'm proud.  Let me tell you a little bit about what you are seeing here in this picture.

A few months ago, I went to Whole Foods and tried some of their Curry Tofu Salad.  It was good, but not vegan.  So last night I decided to give it a shot.  I used pre-cubed tofu as I find that helps with the watery icky texture thing that keeps many people from trying tofu.  I seasoned the tofu with salt, pepper, cumin and curry powder and browned it in a little olive oil.  While the tofu was getting a tan, I chopped a golden delicious apple, two stalks of celery and a chunk of Vidalia onion.  Then I stuck my head in the pantry and looked for raisins.  I found some poor, sad raisins at the bottom of a container, and while they should have been compost bound, I threw the little buggers in the bowl.  To all this goodness I added some Veganaise, curry powder, salt, pepper and just a smidge of cayenne.  I added the browned tofu, mixed it all up, ate more than I should have and put the rest in the fridge to meld for the evening.  What you see up there in the right hand corner of the post is all that yumminest on a couple of pieces of sprouted sourdough bread.  Let me tell you, that is some fine eating!!

Now if I had all to do again, and trust me I will do it again and again and again, I would do a few things different.  First, instead of petrified black raisin I would use some fresh yummy golden raisins.  I would also have some chopped walnuts on hand.  And maybe a red apple for color as I am not big on peeling apples. 

Really yummy, and the added benefit of grossing out Em and Tommy!  Life is just delicious!

Splendiferousness ... when things are so good you make up words

There are so many super fantastic things to tell you.... birthday parties, getaways to Atlantic City, shopping at the Hershey Outlets with women who have been my friends for decades, Preschool Celebrations.... so much. I am so tremendously filled with joy and so deeply touched by the love that has been shown to me.  Let me try to put into words some of the goodness.

1. For my 40th birthday, my husband planned a little surprise party.  My dear friends Tonya and Darren and their super fabulous daughter took me out for dinner while the guests arrived at my home.  I had such a great dinner, and then came home to my family (including my dad who had never seen my house) and our good friends Joan and Morgan.  During the party my mom, sister and sister-in-law gave me a most amazing present - an all girls Bahama Cruise for the 4 of us!! I still can't believe it.
2. My friend Susan has a way of making the mundane fun and the fun incredible.  For my birthday, she took me to Atlantic City for three days and two nights.  Thanks to two icky rugs and both of us taking turns stepping on questionable wet spots, we were upgraded to a suite!  It was amazing.  I am still considering moving in to the bathroom as it was huge.  We also had a spa day, ate amazing food, discovered the down falls of surface parking and survived The Ridge and have the t-shirt to prove it.  It was a wonderfully fun and relaxing trip.  Thanks Susan!
3. My preschoolers and co-workers are the best.  The teachers had the kids sign a huge terra cotta pot and then filled it with perfection - purple petunias. They also made we wear a special tiara (which I did with joy) and served a lovely snack and treated me like gold.  Teachers from the Pre-K room gave me goodies for my spa get away. After school, we had our annual teacher's appreciation luncheon, which was simply lovely. I work at the most amazing preschool where the kids, their families and my co-workers and just the best.  Thanks students, families, Andrea, Sharon, Emily, Tammy and Andrea.  You may my day GREAT!
4. On my  birthday, Tommy and his baseball team won a game ..... for the first time! Thank you Williams Township Yankees for making my day extra awesome. 
5. This past weekend, I met up with my college housemates Tonya and Betsy for a girls' getaway.  We stayed up way too late, shopped the outlets, ate great food and gout caught up on each other lives.  I love these two women so much, and it has been far too long since we have been together.  Thanks to both of you for spoiling me rotten, and to Tonya's mom, Bea, who took us all out to lunch.
6. Sunday I took time out and was treated to a yummy lunch by my friend Steph. It was great to catch up with her and hear how God is working in her life and to remember how He is working in mine.

There is more, much more, but time has flown and I need to get some snuggle time in with Phil.  We have been so "on the go" lately that our time together has been limited, and that make me cranky!  So, I am going to go an get my daily dose of Phil. Thanks to everyone who is part of my splendiferous life.  I  have so much to be thankful for that I can't help bu remember that fine Veggie Tale song, "A thankful heart is a happy heart".  I couldn't be happier!

By His grace and for His glory,
Dawn

PS - The picture has nothing to so with anything, I just like Gabe in it :)

And a happy vegan morning to you!

Since November, I have been trying to be more aware of how I treat my body. I have been doing crazy things like trying to sleep for more than 3 or 4 hours a night, moisturizing, being more active and being aware of what I put in my mouth. I know it seems radical to many, but I have been eating mostly vegan, and it works for me and my body. This morning I splurged and decided to have a little Toffutti cream cheese. It is soy based, so I don't use it often, but today it was just what I needed. So it was lightly toasted, sprouted sourdough bread with a healthy schmear of onion "cream cheese", topped with onions, garlic and spinach lightly sauteed in a spritz of olive oil and just a dab of Earth Balance. Trust me when I say, "Yummmmmmmy"!

Yikes! There is someone out there who understands me!

Have I told you about my friend Emily? She's is a truly amazing woman. She is a tremendously gifted writer, teacher and friend. Emily also shares my deep desire to find new ways to reach special needs children. More than anything, she is a woman of God; someone who eagerly seeks His face and direction. She has taught me much these past two years. I often have to stop and remind myself that she is only 19. I just can't wait to see what God has in store for her.

Perhaps one of the neatest things about Emily, as far as I am self-centeredly concerned, is that she totally gets me. She completely understands the weird way my brain works. This makes for lots of good times at preschool. Working with a bunch of four years-olds is too much fun to begin with, but add in someone who understands and appreciates your quirky view of the world, and well lets just say I laugh until I snort on a regular basis.

When I titled this blog, it definitely had a double meaning. To many people, "To Hear You" is representative of my life goal of hearing from those who have no voice. While this pertains to those with special needs and my desire to help them be heard by the world, it also includes those who are oppressed and persecuted. My greatest hope is that I will spend the rest of my life working towards this goal. But the even greater meaning behind "To Hear You" is my daily desire to hear from God and to know His will for my life. Living the life He created for me, being in His will is the greatest joy. Emily, knowing this is my heart's desire, got the title immediately. She sent me this on Facebook last night:

Hi Dawn,

I really like the title you've chosen for your blog...all night long the phrase "To Hear You" has been bouncing around my head. There's a poem there. I haven't quite found it yet, but I've started digging...


“Grace”

To learn, to know, to listen
Though thunder fills my ears
To see beyond the lightning bursts
To feel You dry my tears
To wander from You when I'm lost
And wrestle when I'm found
To shed my pride and take Your hand
To hear You in each sound.




It took me a while to get my jaw up off the ground. It is an amazing thing when someone you deeply love and admire understands you and helps you clear the mud from your ears and eyes. Emily is one of those people in my life. I thank God for the road that He has allowed us to walk together, and I pray we will continue to share this journey for the rest of my life.

Do you know my friend Emily? If not, I strongly encourage you to get to know this amazing woman of faith. She has touched my heart and enriched my life. I will never be the same. Thank you, Jesus!