He's a Moving

Wouldn't it be cool to win one of these: Madsen Cargo Bike

Fall 2010 at DC Academy

Upon returning from our road trip, Cami and I had 10 days to prepare for the Fall semester. In that time the school got a facelift (all at the hands of my husband), we reworked the school schedule and enrolled all our students. Cami spent the majority of the week working on construction projects while I handled most of the administrative tasks. Along with the help of some generous students Cami ripped out desks, painted walls, hung new blinds, updated computers and built new storage compartments. It was a lot of work, but in the end well worth it.

As for the change in school schedule, we now have two groups of students working at different times during the day. From 8am-Noon the residential students are split into a boys and a girls classroom. Then from 1pm-5pm all our non-residential students are in school. There were two main motivations for this:

1. The school was designed for the residential students, to give them a safe environment to focus on their schoolwork without all the distractions and influences of public school. Unfortunately, this wasn’t really happening with our former schedule. Having residents mixed in with non-residents gave them access to money, drugs and a plethora of other temptations the residents are trying to avoid by entering our program. It also made if very difficult to enforce program rules. So although these students had signed-up to be in a residential treatment program, they were given a free pass 8 hours a day – not really an effective path to recovery.

2. Secondly, we are short on staff and this new schedule helps us utilize them most efficiently. Rather than needing teachers for 40 students all day, we simply need them for 20 students twice a day, which reduces the number of classrooms we need running at a time.

Limited staff has always been an issue here at DCA but we are especially low this semester. Technically, we only have 1 part time teacher at the moment. She spends her mornings in the residential girls classroom and then manage our attendance office in the afternoons, as we have lost our secretary as well. Cami runs the other classroom for nine hours a day. He spends the mornings with the residential boys, supervises students during their 30-minute lunch, teaches chapel (the only time all our students are together) and then runs the non-residential classroom in the afternoon. Daily I am impressed with his patience, compassion and consistency as he spends nine hours, without a single break, pouring into angry, unmotivated students. Yet as of this week he has a TA in both of his classes. So he is still in the classroom all day, but at least now he can step out to use the bathroom if he needs.

Although it is an enormous amount of work, Cami has been grateful at the opportunity to return to the classroom with the students and get back to the basics. We spent so many months trying to make the school work with unqualified help that the classrooms were getting out of control. Our enrollment is the smallest it has been (38 students) since we started here 3 years ago, but we believe that we are more effective now than we have been in quite some time.

As for life at home:
Cohen is now 5 months old! I am continually amazed at how he grows and learns so quickly. Just two days ago I was looking at some family pictures we had taken in late July – he looks so different now, much more like a baby and less infant-like. He has been rolling over for about 2 months now, but only rolls from his tummy to his back at will. He scoots around some, and is slowly becoming aware of the fact that he can move himself. He sits up on his own, but much prefers to be standing. And he has started eating more foods. He loves rice cereal! I cannot feed him fast enough; he actually whines a little between each bite because he is so anxious for the next one. Cohen is always full of smiles and really enjoys it when we play with him. He continues to be a happy, laid back baby who already shares his dad’s love of literature. We are so grateful to have him in our lives.

And cause pictures are so fun:

The Newest Challenger

(que the Rocky music)

And a few more pictures just for fun

best buddies

"Cohen are you awake yet"

Well get him out so we can play!!!!

video

I uploaded some new videos on our youtube channel. They were too big for blogger but the link is just to the right. Hope you enjoy.

Our Summer Roadtrip

Six weeks in an RV! Surprisingly, Cami and I loved every minute of it. With 30 feet to share between the three of us, we had plenty of space….but being able to take our home with us as we traveled was the best part. We covered seven states and drove over 5,000 miles on our trip! As you can imagine, there is more to say than should be put in one email. So I have decided to just list the highlights and if anything specific sparks your interest, you can ask and I will tell you more. :)

Some of the best nuggets we came away with are:

1. We can and should expect more from the parents/guardians of our students.
2. New ways to approach rehabilitating the families alongside the residents.
3. Fresh ideas on how to train and equip staff without requiring an excessive amount of time and energy from our already overworked directors.
4. Innovative approaches to discipline and handling behavioral issues.
5. Some of the latest resource on teaching teens conflict resolution and communication skills.

Things we are most grateful for:

1. Becoming a part of a larger community of people working toward the same mission. There are hundreds of people doing what we do around the nation with the same goal in mind: restoring the lives of broken, ‘at-risk’ youth.
2. The boundless hospitality and comradery we were met with at each program.
3. A chance to take a step back and reassess what we do and why we are here.

Struggles that face us now:

1. Funding – every program we visited was 12-15 times more expensive than our program and many of our participants already struggle to cover the tuition.
2. Staffing – how do you run a high quality program with qualified personnel when you don’t charge your participants enough to pay them? We need people willing to raise support.
3. Where do we go from here? There was much momentum before we left in June, but since returning everyday needs have taken over and the progress has slowed.

A few highlights:

1. Many of the programs we visited were close to National Parks, so we visited: the Grand Canyon, Zion, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and Coral Reef.
2. Camping in the North Cascades with most of the Potter clan.
3. Introducing family and friends in Oregon to our handsome baby boy.
4. Cohen is a champ and took to life on the road without ever looking back!

I think that is enough for now, but I will post again in another week with news on what life has been like since we returned. Thanks again for all your love and support.

Random Snipets

Pookey's mom left :( Less that a week after I posted of her return I got word that she left. Apparently she came by our apartment the night she left, but we were both working late.

Last Tuesday one of our previous students stopped by. It was at least the 5th time a student has asked to move in with us. On two of those occassions we said yes. Tuesday was not one of those times. And suddenly I wonder, how many other teacher are put in that position? Oh how I wish we had a mansion to help all these teens.

I want to quit my job. Don't get me wrong, I have great job and an incredibly flexible schedule to accommodate my new life as a mom. I just don't want to work anymore, but quitting only leaves my husband to pick up the slack. So I work.

I will post highlights from our summer trip within the next 24 hours. I am just waiting for Cami to look over what I have and see if he wants to add/change anything.

She's Back!!

I promise I am working on a summary of our trip and that will be up soon, but this could not wait....

POOKIE'S MOM IS BACK!

Many of you probably don't know, but last October Cami and I took in a dog, Pookie, so that her mom could join the women's program -- in an effort to protect her we will call her Susie.

To make a long story short, Susie had/has a severe heroine addiction but was hesitant to join the program because she would lose her dog. Susie has no one, Pookie is literally her only family member. So there she was, on the stairs outside our apartment, with nothing but her dog standing in the way of her recovery.........so we took in her dog.
It was an emotional ride that only lasted about 6 weeks with Susie leaving and returning a couple of times, but in the end, she fell off the radar and her road to recovery seemed to be cut short. Yet in that short time her and I became very attached. She felt almost like family and with us caring for her baby, we were invited straight into her heart.

Well, as I was sitting here in my living room working I heard someone outside asking about Cami and Deidre repeatedly, so I peaked my head over our balcony.

And there Susie was!!!!!

In that wonderful black DCD t-shirt!

She has returned and entered the more intense program in an effort to turn her life around. We can't talk yet.....we have to wait 2 more weeks for her to finish orientation. But then I will hug her and celebrate with her as she travels this difficult road. I have hope as the Dream Center has a few recovery programs and after failing in the less rigid of the two, she has returned to join the program that says she is serious this time.

I cannot wait to hear all that has happened in the last 9 months, introduce her to my new baby and hear about the journey she took to get back to this place.

Today is a day worth celebrating!

On Parenthood

It seems that everyone is asking, "So what is it like to be a parent?" But the funny thing is, life doesn't really feel much different than it did before. I know that much has changed, but it is hard to quantify it. And this is just our new normal now. Perhaps this is the case because we have such a delightful baby. I know many new parents really struggle and we have had our moments, but for the most part it has been a rather natural adjustment. Cami even says he is ready for number two!

Cohen is a very pleasant little man. He is content in most situations and loves to take in everything around him. He is wide eyed and inquisitive. Cohen is learning how to "talk". He loves it when we talk to him; he holds eye contact and tries to mimic the movements of our mouths. He has taken to talking to his toys now, it is really quite fun to watch. His smile is so bright and lights up his whole face. He really is a delight to have around and it is fun to watch him learn new things. As a matter of fact, he discovered that if he kicks his legs vigorously while in his bouncy chair, the toys go wild. Well the other day he was in his car seat with a monkey dangling in front of him so naturally he began kicking his feet like crazy. Unfortunately, the monkey didn't bounce around like his other toys and Cohen was quick to tell the monkey that he was unhappy with his performance. He is so fun!!!!!

Hopefully I will be able to upload some new pictures soon.

Road Trip Update

We are currently 2/3 of the way through this summer road trip and still going strong! I was worried that we would be exhausted and tired of living in such a small space with our environment constantly changing, but that is not the case. We are all enjoying ourselves quite a lot actually.

So we started out in Arizona, Cami visited a program while I helped my good friend Rebecca prepare for her wedding. After the Father's day wedding, we went back down to Mesa for another day with the wilderness therapy program there. The program we were scheduled to see next canceled last minute, so we spent a week visiting the Grand Canyon and Zion National park.

After our time in the national parks we traveled to south-central Utah to visit another wilderness therapy program. Next we headed to northern Wyoming and visited a 40,000 acre cattle ranch for troubled boys. From there we swung by Yellowstone, drove through the Grand Tetons and are now in Idaho about an hour outside of Boise at another ranch for struggling teens.

Visiting the various programs has inspired some great conversations between Cami and I. We are learning a lot and as we hoped, seeing new ways to approach our teenagers. I really think we are going bring a lot away from this whole experience. In addition to visiting these programs, Cami is writing an article summarizing what we see. So when that is done I will forward the link to all of you.

Lily Andrea Potter

This entry is dedicated to our ever-so-special cat

Lily Andrea

Cami and I adopted Lily when she was 2 months old, shortly after we married. She is a spunky, adventurous and often mischievous little kitty. She is playful and quirky but slow to trust strangers. She loves to run around outside stalking anything that moves (and is smaller than her). Sunbathing is how she spends her afternoons and she is extremely affectionate around dinnertime. And she puts up with our antics, although it is clear they annoy her.

Needless to say, we love our cat immensely!!!!!!

So as you can imagine, we were heartbroken when she bolted from the RV last Friday night. The wilds of Yellowstone were just too much for our headstrong girl to ignore any longer............
That is right, Lily made a run for it. And when Cami tried to catch her, she just thought he was playing and ran off even further. It was late and very dark, so our cat disappeared into the darkness rather quickly (dun, Dun, DUN). I was convinced she would return, but when morning came and there was still no sight of Lily, I began to worry -- we had to checkout of our campsite by 11am.
To our surprise (and the surprise of the campsite hosts) our site was available for Saturday night as well. So Cami and I paid for another night and waited for our kitty to return.

We waited and waited and waited and waited and waited.

Although we were in an incredible national park, we spent the day in our RV, occasionally stepping out to search the acres of nearby forest for Lily. Dinnertime came and went and still no sight of Lily. Around 9:45 Cami went out on one last scouting trip, this was our last chance, we had to leave in the morning.

He searched, I prayed. He searched some more, I prayed some more.

After 30 minutes in the woods with no luck, Cami began his return to the RV. As a last ditch effort, he turned on his headlamp, looked into the forest and called for Lily. Suddenly, there was a little green pair of eyes, gleaming in the light. And they weren't afraid of him. Cami called for Lily again and this time an unsure meow responded. Stepping into the forest Cami realized that Lily was still apprehensive. Cami decided to sit on the forest floor, shine the light on himself and continue calling out for our kitty. Slowly but surely the meows grew louder and before he knew it, Lily was in his arms!!!

HE FOUND HER!!!!!!!!!

Here is a quick synopsis of our life at the moment

DC Academy:
We have arrived at the end of another semester, a semester that was probably the most difficult we have had since being here. It's hard to believe that this is the close of our 3rd school year here at DCA. Even though it is a small school, we have seen well over 200 students in our time here and worked alongside several wonderful people. Unfortunately, we will be losing the majority of our staff again and will have to start next fall with a whole new team of people yet again.

Ranch:
We are making some progress towards purchasing and running a teen ranch. Nothing is official at this point, but we are in the process of seeing years worth of dreaming coming to fruition. We are still a LONG was off from there being anything tangible at this point, but we want to share that we are the closest that we have ever been. Towards that end, Cami and I are taking a 6 week road-trip this summer to tour other programs that are already doing what we want to do. The idea is to see what others are already doing and learn from them, rather than trying to start a program out of nothing.

Family:
Cohen Nathaniel is already 6 weeks old! Cami and I have been so blessed to have TONS of help. My mom arrived the day he was born and stayed for 10 days. While she was here Cami and I simply recovered and adjusted as she took care of everything. She literally did everything (cooking (lots of cookies ) cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, changed diapers, you name it). As you can imagine, we were all sad to see her go. But a few days after she left, my 15 year old sister came to visit for a week full of fun adventures (shopping, beaches, etc.) And the day after she left Cami's mom arrived. She stayed for a week, and again Cami and I were spoiled by her servanthood! And they keep coming: this weekend Cami's sister and dad are visiting at the moment. We are so blessed by all our family and it has been fun to introduce them all to our son.

And here is my new favorite picture

Welcome Cohen Nathaniel Potter!

Born April 22nd at 1:03pm

9lbs 1oz 22 inches long

WARNING! Several of our lady friend have requested a telling of the birth experience; so if you would prefer to stay innocent, do not read on.......but if you just want the highlights, scroll to the bottom.

Before I tell you about the actual birthing, there are a few things you need to know:

1. Our baby was due on Monday, May 3rd.
   
2. Cami and I wanted this be as natural of a process as possible, uninterrupted by human convention or unnecessary 'standard' medical procedure.
3. At our last visit the doctor told us that if my water broke to call him immediately and that he would induce labor because without the amniotic fluid the baby's risk of infection increases.
4. My mom worked as an OB nurse for 25 years, so we really listen to her wisdom.
5. All the books we read encouraged us to stay home through the first part of labor, as we would be more comfortable at home than at the hospital.
6. On average, first time labors last 12-14 hours, with the majority being fairly light while the uterus dilates.
7. Our doctor is wonderful and was excellent through the whole process, so understand that most of the negative things said below were a result of my emotions not my satisfaction with him.
   

On Thursday morning I awoke at 6:15am to warmth spreading down my legs and quickly ran to the bathroom yelling to my husband, "Cami, my water just broke!" Luckily I made it to the toilet in time for most of the amniotic fluid to make it in. Cami quickly made his way to the phone and called my mom who was on constant standby. As I sat on the toilet, I heard him respond to my mom telling him that we had 24-48 hours to get the baby out. In addition to that, based on what I had read I knew I probably had several hours before the baby would come. So I opted not to call the doc and got in the shower (let's be honest, my legs were covered in fluid).

At about 7am I started having contractions but was doing a horrible job of telling Cami when they started, so we were not really able to time them very well. Cami decided to shower as well and I tried to finishing packing our hospital bag. As he was in the shower I found myself running to the bathroom every 3 minutes because with each contraction more fluid would leak out. That is when I realized, these are really close together.

Now out of the shower Cami started putsying around the apartment, also expecting several hours of labor at home. However, my contractions were very intense, very close together and I was experience immense back pain that did not give me much relief between contractions. At one point I was laying on the kitchen floor, but eventually made it to the couch. At 7:30 my husband reluctantly called our doctor and left a message. Within the next ten minutes I was telling my husband that I was really scared and didn't know if I could make it through. I was just thinking, this is really hard and I have so long to go, how am I going to make it. Even though I had read a lot, I was really scared and didn't understand what was happening. We were going to wait for the doctor to return our call before we left for the hospital, but Cami remind me that everything we read said the stages can come so quickly that you might not see them pass. If it was time to go, it was time to go. So he took a load of stuff down to the car as I laid on the couch. I asked the Lord to let the pain subside long enough for me to make it down our 47 steps to the car. Almost instantly all the pain was gone and I headed out the door. Once in the car (about 7:45) our doctor called and chastised us for not being on our way to the hospital, but I assured him that we were.

We arrived at the hospital some around 8:20. They wheeled me up to pre-labor room and a nurse began to get me all checked in. Although we had preregistered, we were not in the system. In addition, she could not find any doctors. Honestly I think they really weren't in a hurry because it was my first labor and I wasn't screaming or complaining too much. A couple of residents showed up in the room about 8:45 and informed me that they were going to check to see if my water was broken and if I was dilated at all. The next thing they said was, "we see the head." I was fully dilated and plus 1 (basically the baby was quickly entering the birth canal and I was less than an hour from needing to push this baby out). The feel of the room changed very quickly and I was immediately transported to a delivery room. I just remember being annoyed that my doctor chastised me for not rushing to the hospital immediately and he wasn't even there yet.

At about 10 am the pushing contractions began and my doctor was there (he is actually a very kind, sweet man and I am glad we had him as our doctor). I don't really remember much of the next several hours, besides lots of pushing. I remember feeling like nothing was happening and getting really discouraged. Earlier in the morning one of the nurses had commented that I was near the end (apparently most women push for 30-60 minutes) so I thought, "okay, I can do this until noon." However, I was pushing with all my might every couple of minutes, but there was no crowning. My doctor and nurse were not constantly at my side, so I knew that the baby wasn't coming anytime soon. Everyone kept telling me that there was progress, but I didn't feel it.

Noon rolls around, and our baby is still in the birth canal, not yet past the pelvic bone. At this point they realized that he is posterior (face up) and that is another reason why this is taking so long. I have to lay on my left side and start taking oxygen between contractions because they are worried about the health of our baby due to the length of time. I am discouraged and tell my husband I don't know if I can keep doing this if nothing changes. The nurse informs me that they will only let me push for 3 hours before they intervene. At the end of each contraction my doctor is chanting, "stay, stay, stay" to the head, but it keeps retracting back in. Then my doctor disappears again for several more minutes and although my coaches (nurse, husband and friend Tracey) are super encouraging, I know not much can be happening if my doctor is not even in the room! Moments later he returns and explains to me that even though I don't want an epidural, it is looking like he might need to use forceps to get the baby out, at which point I will need an epidural. He had been out talking to anesthesia and they were going to set up a port, just so we would be ready in case forceps were needed. Yet with the next contraction our baby was through the birth canal, crowning and I was up in stir-ups. And for the first time, my back didn't hurt! Relief!

More pushing and more pushing and more pushing! I don't remember him saying anything, but apparently, the 3 hour mark came and my doctor asked for the forceps. Yet again, the threat of intervention was all we needed. With the next contraction the head was out and we were done! Because he had been in the birth canal for so long, the nurse called in a team of pediatricians to check out our baby, but he was fine and healthy 9lbs 1 oz. Because he took so long to come out, his head was REALLY molded and his face swollen. My doctor did end up giving me an episiotomy, but I still ended up tearing the rest of the way :(

Later we discovered that baby Cohen had so much trouble getting past the pelvic bone that he actually has a scab on his head due to all the friction. They also ran a bunch of extra tests because he was so big and his head so molded, but he is healthy and fine. We have experienced no troubles with breastfeeding and I am actually not sore at all (well not in the breast, the tear is definitely painful).

Water broke at 6:15 am Thursday morning
Fully dilated and +1 by 8:45 am
Started pushing at 10 am
Cohen Nathaniel was born at 1:03 pm without the assistance of any medication
He is a happy, healthy, beautiful delight to have around

Pictures Galore!

Here are a couple of pictures of how our "nursery" has turned out.
That B-E-A-UTIFUL crib is just another one of the many gifts our Father has blessed us with.

And because Ro so politely asked, a picture of me at 38 weeks.

And finally, of the 4 years Cami and I have lived here we have had the privilege of going to the Long Beach Grand Pris 3 times --- all for free!!!
Here are a few pics from the race.

Recent Hiking Pics

Wasteland

So we have reached that point in the semester, a very familiar point that we reach each semester but always seems to catch me off guard. It is the point when:

1. I wonder why our staff still need our guidance so many times through out the day.
2. I have to daily remind myself that our most veteran-ed staff have only been working with us for three months.
3. many of our students have decided to give up on the semester's work.
4. many students have given up on learning because the material requires just too much thinking.
5. Cami and I spend hours each night discussing how we can do what we do better, but eventually try to intentionally distract ourselves from work so that it doesn't become all consuming.
6. we both begin to wonder if what we are doing is actually making any difference at all.

It's a rough point, but a very familiar point. The point when I begin to wonder if I have the energy to keep bailing buckets in order to keep this boat afloat.

It is my desire to affect change, to help this organization run more effectively and efficiently. But I have reached my limit. There is not much more change I have the authority to make. And unfortunately, I work for such a large organization that my voice is not loud enough to be heard by those who really hold the power. Add to that the fact that they are so far removed from us, they don't understand the impact their decisions have.

This is the point when Jesus reminds me that if I spend my life serving at the Dream Center because He wanted me to meet one person, to love one person, to be His hands and feet to one person, that is a life well spent. I may not be able to build an excellent residential program or develop a good alternative education system for inner city teens. I may not leave any impact on the Dream Center as a whole, but I will have fulfilled my purpose and His call. It is at this point that I remember why it is that I do what I do everyday. Not to leave a legacy, not to influence change, not to make an impact, but to love like He first loved me, to pour out my life in response to His call.

Hosea 2:14-16

"Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wasteland
and speak tenderly to her.

"There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

"In that day," declares the LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband';
you will no longer call me 'my master'."

Affective vs. Cognitive

Cami came across this the other day and I could not stop laughing. I vividly remember the moment in my senior year at MBC when I had this same epiphany.

Thank You!

If you would have stopped by our home last Wednesday, this is what you would have seen:
Cami and I spent the entire evening assembling and sorting! YHWH blesses us so abundantly! And as I sat amidst the massive piles thanking YHWH for taking such good care of our child, I realized that we weren't just sitting in our blessing. I was humbled when I realized that we are reaping the benefits of our parents' blessings as well. Both the Potters and Tafallas have dedicated their lives to serving the Lord - as missionaries and pastors. Our parents love to give gifts and have often expressed that they wished they could give more, but as I sat in my living room last Wednesday evening I wondered, "what more could they give?"

So this is my thank you. Thank you mom and dad Potter. Thank you mom and dad Tafalla. Our child is reaping the benefits of your faithful service to our beautiful Lord. Thank you for understanding the value of eternal blessing over material blessing and for the many sacrificing you have made along the way. Thank you for teaching Cami and I what it is to live life surrendered to our most gracious Saviour. Thank you for your commitment and perseverance. Thank you for these many blessings. The four of you are the best parents we could ever ask for. Thank you!

Jehovah Jireh

So last Wednesday was the day and let me just say that God goes way beyond providing for our needs - He spoils us! In addition to all the stuff we were given, the team in the warehouse told us they were low on supplies and would like us to come back in a couple of weeks to get some more and will continue to hook us up throughout the baby's life with whatever we need. So here are the details:

As for everyday essentials we got:
Over 600 wipes
Over 400 diapers
56oz of Bubble bath & Wash
56oz of Head to Toe Wash
27oz of Baby Lotion
22oz Baby Powder
40oz of Baby Shampoo
6 tubes of Desitin
5 bottles, 150 bottle liners, 2 pacifiers
2 Breast pumps, 84 nursing pads
Teething Ring, Munchin Food Processor
An Avent Bottle Sterilizer

And for the really fun stuff we got:
An Eddie Bauer Pack & Play
An Eddie Bauer Booster seat (designed to fit a child from 40-100lbs)
A $130 High Chair (we saw it at Target the other day)
A Jogging Stroller (just happens to be the very one we registered for)
A beautiful Bassinet
An Activity Seat

But we also got:
A new living room rug
A dehumidifier
An excellent new vacuum
A shelving set
And an air mattress (for when everyone comes to see our little one)

In addition, my brother and his wife welcomed a little boy into the world yesterday (!!!!!) and we are able to bless them with a infant car seat and travel bed.

And because pictures are always fun (and I am really proud of myself).......
Cami, one of our students and I summitted Mt. Baldy on Monday - a 6.5 mile hike with nearly 4000ft of elevation gain.

Me and one of our students on the way up

Taking in the view

Pregnant pose on the Summit

Authority

Sorry there was no post last week, we were in Phoenix at a conference. But through some conversations we had while there, Cami and I have been wrestling through some ideas about authority.

Before I get started I want to say that I am not exactly sure how I want to say what I am about to say. So I hope it all makes sense as I try to share some recent musings with all of you.

The Dream Center is good at many things and not very good at other things, but one area that the Dream Center really shines. This organizations is excellent at teaching its disciples the value of honoring your authority. I have always been a fairly compliant person and have never really struggled with authority issues, so I didn't think I had much to learn in this area (conceited I know) but I have learned so much about what it means to honor authority since working at the Dream Center. And for that I am very grateful. It is refreshing to be a part of a community that values this principle so much.
From my experience, I do not believe that the American church is very good at this principle. Especially when the authority figure is not a Christian, but doesn't the Bible say that ALL authority is appointed by God......I am not sure about you, but all includes non-Christians in my mind. So why is it that if I believe God is telling me to do something: like change positions, or start new programs, etc. (not ethical issues, that adds other dynamics) yet my boss is not in alignment that many would say that I am justified in continuing down the path I feel God has told me to pursue. Do I not believe that God is capable, do I not believe that He can change the heart of my authority. The example of Moses and Pharaoh comes to mind. When it was time, Pharaoh released them and God was greatly glorified. Generations later Rahab said, I have heard of your God and what He can do, I don't want to defy Him. Moses did not leave until Pharaoh released him, until god softened Pharaoh's heart. What has changed? God hasn't.
I am sure I could continue to unpack these thoughts, but I must admit that a blog is a weird place to share such ideas. So I think I will stop for now, though I would love to talk with any of you about this further :)

Oh! But before I go, tomorrow Cami and I get to go "shopping". The Dream Center gets thousands of dollars worth of donations from different companies. Those donations are stored in a warehouse before they are distributed to the community, but tomorrow Cami and I get to go through the warehouse and pick out whatever we WANT. They were very specific that we should not only take what we need, but what we want as well. Just another reminder that God is our Jehovah Jireh!

So here are some pictures of the "nursery" (a.k.a. the other half of our dining room) but more furniture will be added tomorrow!!!

From the living room looking into our dining room/nursery


From the dining room into the nursery.
As you can kind of see in the background there is a nice sized closet in the nursery also.

And finally from the hallway into the nursery

Baby, baby, baby!

As of yesterday I am officially 6 months pregnant ~ 26 weeks and 1 day for those of you who want specifics :) We have entered the third trimester and the nesting has really begun. I try not to let baby dominate our conversation, but with all the motion going on in my lower abdomen, our little one makes it hard for me to think about anything else. But I will try....

School is going well. It is now the third week of school and I think we are all getting into the groove of the new schedule. Our new teachers are still here praise the Lord - the first month always is the make it or break it mark and we seem to be standing strong.

Oscar came to church again on Sunday. Then he and Cami went for a bike ride on the beach. We are so blessed that he is still pursuing relationship with us and hoping that Sundays will continue to be a day we can spend together.

There have not been many additions to the "nursery" since last week, but we did get a friend to agree to paint a large tree on the wall for us. I was going to post pictures of where we currently are, so you can all experience the progression, but the camera got left at work. So perhaps we will post some tomorrow :)

A New Year...

Sometimes it seems that things change behind your back.

You've been busy working on some other project in some separate corner of your life, and when you return, nothing looks the same.

In many ways, that is the value of a blog. It lets you sit down and think to yourself, "hmmm...what has happened since the last time that I wrote?" It forces you to notice the changes, to become aware of the things that so quickly become routine.

Since we last posted (I use the royal we, since I - Cami - haven't posted in probably over a year) school has started, Oscar has moved out, and the baby room is beginning to take shape.

School is always a handful. As much as we plan and prepare beforehand, it seems that the game is always changing seconds before kickoff. This year, we changed the schedule to make it possible for 3 teachers to teach 12 classes and constantly supervise 35 kids. Then, after a week of classes, one of the teachers decides that he doesn't want to work with unmotivated kids anymore, and quits....via text message...15 minutes before the beginning of school. I'm not sure what your momma taught you, but if she didn't teach you how to quit properly, call her up and ask her how it's done. You should know. Really...

So now we get to figure out how 2 teachers, with some administrators helping out, can handle the school. That will be interesting.

Oscar left. We made an agreement that he wanted to be treated like an adult and pay rent, $50/month, to live here. He hasn't paid in 3 months, moreover, he decided that he wasn't interested in paying or working something out for it. It seems that he had gotten tired of trying to become a new man. He stopped coming to church, stopped visiting his baby momma, and baby, and would drive down to South Central to hang out rather than look for work.

Since leaving about a week ago, we did see Oscar at church this Sunday. He seems to be doing okay, and seems less hardened than he was a week earlier. The Lord doesn't give up on His kids. That's one of the ways I really want to be more like Him. Never giving up. Being just, being merciful, being strict, being gracious. I feel like I can't hold on to all of those. Like I'm trying to juggle them and can only hold on to 2 while I'm throwing the other 4 around. Ah, how unsearchable His wisdom, how far my thoughts and ways are from His.

Baby room. This is Deidre's new passion. She is the definition of a pregnant nest-er. We have been to IKEA twice in the last 2 days. We've put up curtains, assembled bookcases, arranged stuffed animals, and organized parts of the house that I haven't seen in months. I didn't know that the nesting carried over into other areas of the house as well; found that out the hard way. I'll have to bring my "A" game to all my household chores for the next couple of months :)

The baby room is starting to look like a room, which is a big first step for us, seeing as how it used to be part of the dining room. We'll have to put up some pictures when we get a chance. I'm sure that all the die-hard fans that have read this far are going to be interested in seeing what we've got. I must say that Ro inspired the dividers, which look good (lil' shout out to the homey Ro). The dividers are ceiling to floor length curtains, which are definitely Lily's favorite part of the house right now. She's taken to curling up on them.

On a separate, ending note. Deidre and I were thinking about applying for WIC. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of WIC or not. Government welfare vs. going it on our own. We definitely qualify financially for it. Just not sure if we qualify morally. Free money? Responsibility? Anyway, we'd love some feedback and advice if you've got any.

Cheers
C & D