Our Experience at Getting Passports

Our first attempt ever at getting passports was December 23. That's right, December 23- a Saturday - the Saturday before Christmas. We live in a small midwestern town where the post office was closing at 1 pm that day. I got out while hubby stayed in the car with the children. If we had to fill out applications, we certainly wanted to do that in the car while the children could be entertained with a dvd, rather than in the post office where they would amuse themselves with all sorts of getting into things they weren't supposed to, and bothering each other very loudly in sight of all the patrons.

So, yours truly ventured into the post office at around 11 am on said Saturday to get the information on passports. The line was rather short, which was a good thing since there were only 2 employees working behind the counter that day. I went to the passport line. I was greeeted by a kind man, even if he was a bit, shall we say, small town (read: redneck - hope that doesn't offend!). I asked the kind man about the passports and he gave me the forms to fill out. I then inquired about fees and such, implying that we would need the passports expedited.

To quote the man, "Oooooohhhh, that's gonna cost ya."

My reply, "Thank you, sir. We're aware that it will be costly, but we are needing them quickly."

Then, I made my most grievous mistake -- I implied to the man that we were intending on applying for the passports that very day and would need photos taken there, as the last place we went to get photos did not seem to have a camera that would properly fit children. After the kind gentleman recovered from his shock and disgust that we desired to get the passports right then, two hours from his Christmas vacation break, he then proceeded to give me all the explanations as to why we did NOT want to apply for the passports that day, saying things such as, "There are only two of us working today." "The line's gonna be all the way out the door." And other such things. It was quite an experience. I want to add that this experience wasn't rude, just comical. In no way am I trying to disrespect the postman.

I'm sure I'll miss these kinds of exchanges between myself and other midwestern kinds-of- folks (of which I'm one). My next bureaucratic exchanges will undoubtedly have a more high-brow, English, sort of tone. I'm sure this experience will continue be interesting.

Stay tuned for our other exciting adventures!

It's Official

Posted in our family life
Well, hubby accepted the temporary position in London, England. We'll be leaving mid-January. This has all happened very quickly. We're big home-bodies, so it will definitely stretch us. We are very excited about the opportunity for our family and for hubby, career-wise. Please pray for us as we plan, pack and leave in a very quick fashion. Please stop by for some short update posts as the days progress. I hope to be posting more regularly, but the posts will probably be shorter.

Big, Big Stuff

Please bear with me as my posts are few and far between. Not only is it the Christmas season and my daughter's fourth birthday, but our family is considering a temporary overseas assignment with his company. It would happen very quickly. We would sure appreciate your prayers! I will be planning to post details soon of our plans. Merry Christmas, everyone! Oh, and a new devotion of mine is up on our church website in case you're interested.

Christmas Busyness

I haven't been around much this week. Three things...I've been waiting for homeschoolblogger to get back up to speed since the upgrades; I've been sick with a sinus infection and bronchitis; and I've been working on finishing some Christmas projects, including some devotions (Here's one. I'll post the other one when it gets up on the site.) for our church website. I've also been doing what so many of you I'm sure have -- wrapping, buying, and baking. This is a busy time of the year! So, stick with me as my posts are slimmer. I'll soon be posting more regularly again. Sometime this weekend, I plan to post my favorite way that we're keeping Christ the central part of the season this year. Stay tuned.

December's DIVINE Lines

December's issue of DIVINE Lines, our church's women's newsletter is out. To view it, go here. My column is entitled His Name Famous and this month, I continue with my series on the paralytic from Luke 5. The focus of the article is trusting Jesus and believing Him, as the friends did in the story of the paralytic. Enjoy.

Response of Contentment

No matter how many times I read the story in Luke of Mary's visit from Gabriel, I never cease to be amazed by Mary's response. She's just been told that she's going to be giving birth to God's Son. She's not yet married. She's probably very young. Her response? "Be it unto my according to your word." She doesn't complain, question, or throw a fit. She simply says, "Let it be so."

I reread the story again yesterday and thought about my usual response to God, especially if He seems to be giving me a hard task, or something that doesn't make any earthly sense. I definitely don't react the way that Mary did. I more question Him, become angry or pouty with him, or just plain out disobey him. Again, I'll just say, in light of the way I usually respond, I am in awe of our Lord's mother.

I wonder what it would take for me to have a "Mary response"? When a difficult thing arises, when dying to myself is something that comes around again and again (I'm a mom, remember?), when I'm called to forigve a deep hurt, could I respond with such grace, such contentment as Mary? I'm trying to let these words sink deep into my heart and soul so that maybe, just maybe, one day, I can respond to whatever Jesus calls me to do, "Be it unto me according to your word."