A New Normal

Many days of our lives are special for different reasons. Just a few of those for me are: my birthday where Sallie and I had the chicken pox, many nights driving to Savannah for dance lessons, being surprised Christmas Eve with my new car, first day of college, my wedding, and of course all my children's "birth" days. Life changes every time we have one of those days. And then there are the days like today. A day where, many years ago, I first experienced death. When Eddie was killed, I know a lot of people wondered why. After all he had been through, why then, when his life had just gotten straightened out. I never questioned it. Sure, I hated it. I didn't sleep for weeks. I cried. I got angry. But, I never questioned it. It was then that I truly realized God had a plan for each of us. And his plan for Eddie was to come home. That simple.
So, since that day in October of 2000, we "Simpsons" began living another life. A new normal. A life without Special Ed. Since then, we have grown and changed so much! We have welcomed LOTS of kids into the world, we have moved and moved (and moved :)) and we have welcomed new members (we love you Jeff!). Even in our loss, God blesses us.
Today I am reminded of how fleeting this life truly is, and how we should live each day to the fullest. How Jesus died, too, just so that we won't have to! We each have a choice. We can make the choice to live a "new" normal- A life for Him, not for ourselves.
Oh...And be sure and tell those around you how much you love them. We never know when the new normal will have to come. Love to you all-
Amber

A New Side of Paul

When we were in Virginia at our 8 week training earlier this year, we read through some of the New Testament together. So I decided that I would just continue to read through it as my quiet time here, and I am just about through. I have enjoyed studying about the NT Church and how much we have "changed" what church is really supposed to be. (But, that is not what this post is about-I am sure that could be another post in itself!) What I have noticed is a new side of Paul. It has never stood out to me how much Paul longed to be "at home" and with other Christians. I guess since I have never known that feeling, these verses have never stood out to me like they do now. Now, don't get me wrong. I am in no way comparing myself to Paul-I am and never will be on the same level as Paul. But, it is good to know that even he, the strongest of all missionaries, had feelings like this! AND, he not only longed for home, he wanted to know that they were striving to be the best for Christ while they were "at home" and he was away. SO, that is what I want from you! I want to know that YOU are living for Him. That you are sharing Him with those around you. That you are striving to be the best you can be. This will make us stronger while we are here, away from "who" and "what" we know and will push us to be those things while we are here. Because, this is where God has put us and we wouldn't want it any other way! Praying for you all-

Amber

ElternAbends........

Well, we have officially started our new class-A2- and there are 5 or so of us in the class. We have a good teacher, but she ONLY speaks German with us and also tends to talk VERY fast. Our tutor from the first class was very slow, patient, and probably spoiled us by speaking too much English with us. But, I have a feeling we aren't the "most" lost ones in the class, so I think we will have a few days of repeated information and we can learn how to handle these new teaching habits.

In the last week I have attended 2 elternabends (Parent/Teacher Meetings) with both of the schools the kids attend. They both lasted at least 2 hours and let's just say I have a major headache when they are over. I concentrate so hard to try and understand as much as I can, and I probably only get about 60% of the conversations. I was blessed, though, in Leonard's class that another father spoke great English and translated a lot of the info for me. I have a feeling at one point in the meeting that I was nominated to be the "room mother", but I relied on my famous statement........" Ich spreche ein bission Deutsch" and just smiled! I think this convinced them to move on to another parent. The teachers were all very pleased with the kids and their progress so far (well, at least that is what I am telling myself they said :))! Leonard's teachers all said that he is teaching them English while they are teaching him Deutsch. Does that surprise anyone?

Movin' On Up!

Well, we did it! We passed our first course in the German language. We still haven't received our "official" scores, but the proctor who gave us the test said we did super. He said that he thought we are almost in the middle of the second course, too! This is a great testimony to our God- he provided us with the ability to have an awesome tutor, good neighbors to talk with, and the ability to learn quickly. So the rest of this week we have a mental break from learning and will start back with the next course, A2, next Monday. Thank you all so very much for all the prayers on our behalf. We hope to continue to learn as much as possible so that we can minister to those around us! Veilen Dank and Liebe Groβe-
Amber

P.S. If you see my daddy anytime soon, give him a big hug and a Happy Gebortstag from me. I love you Daddy and hope you have a great birthday.

P.S.S. Mom, you know you have to physically show this to him. We all know he hasn't been on a computer. ever. :)

Count Your Blessings.....

I have debated all week on whether or not to share this out loud or not, but here goes. I want this journey to be one of transparency for all of you to see- so I need to share the good AND the bad, huh? Well, last Sunday was Abigail's birthday. It is still hard to believe she is 4 years old! We had an awesome party on Saturday with friends from the neighborhood and also from our company. She had breakfast in bed on Sunday (a family tradition now :)) and then we went to church. It was there that something hit me right in the gut-homesickness. I haven't felt this homesick but maybe one other time in my life (Mom-remember when you left me in Texas after that surgery?? We all thought I had lost my mind :)) Well, anyways, we were singing some song and I realized that this was the first of many birthdays, Christmases, holidays, etc. that we will be spending away from our families. I just started crying and couldn't stop. For those who know me know that this is definitely out of character for me! And then, God did something awesome. After my little cryfest, the preacher was starting to preach. And wouldn't you know that his message was about God's blessings for our lives, and he was reminding us of Abram's story. (Now, I know you are thinking WOW she is really learning German fast if she can understand the preacher already! But, let me share a little secret. We have english translation through headphones at this church. So don't think too much of me yet!) He was sharing how Abram was told by God to leave everything- his family, his home, his land-and that he would receive a blessing in return. This just reassured me that we are exactly where we are supposed to be. Does it make it any easier? Not always. Does it mean we still won't have moments of longing for home? Never. But, it does mean that, as long as we are in God's Will, we are and will be blessed. Everyday.

Have you recognized His blessings in your life lately?

And who said Germans aren't friendly???

I am really just kidding about this title, but we were told by several different sources that Germans aren't as friendly as "us Southerners" are known to be. But, after the last few days, I would tend to disagree! We have met some great people already here; most of them being right here in our apartment complex. A couple of nights ago, we were hanging outside with the kids and the boy from the next complex wanted us to see his new pictures of his "futball" team. So he spoke with his Mom and she invited us up to their apartment to see them. This is a BIG step for us! We ended up hanging out with them until about 10:00 that night, just playing games and having conversation. Then, last night our neighbor who is a hairdresser actually brought her supplies home from the salon and cut AND highlighted my hair in my own kitchen! She even trimmed Abigail's and LK's, and even "highlighted" LK's hair! (She only put a couple of small strips of blonde in it, but it made LK feel very grown up :)) She let me pay her, but it only cost a fraction of what it would have cost me to go to a salon. She said next month she would cut everyone's hair, including the boys. And she speaks very little English, so it was quite fun. I am so excited that these neighbors are letting us into their lives! Please be praying that we can be their link to Him!
On another note, we are so excited that we will be having our "first" birthday celebration this weekend. It is Abigail's 4th birthday and we have invited the neighbors and some other friends here to come and celebrate with us. We are so thankful that she is the "spitfire" that she is and we wouldn't want it any other way! Check back with us after the weekend to see some great pics! Love to you all!
Amber

Our First "Present"

We have been blessed this week by some precious people at our church in Union City. We came home today to a big box of cookie mixes, country time lemonade mixes, ziplock bags, and Listerine. (All of these things are either impossible or hard to find, or when we do find them very expensive!) These came just in time for two things- Abigail's birthday is next week and we are having a party, and LK had a program today at her summer camp and we were supposed to bring desserts. So I made chocolate chip cookies- something most Germans don't or haven't eaten. They were a hit!! And Abigail is so excited about having lemonade at her party! So THANK YOU so much, those of you who did this for us. We have been blessed, and because of your generosity, we can be a blessing to those around us here! We love you!