Shine On

Still Framing

2010-10-23T15:11:00.003-04:00

Our framing team has had perfect weather, and they are moving fast. Here are some framing updates.

Those three middle squares are windows into our master bedroom, there are three matching ones on the third floor above the kitchen sink, too (no upper kitchen cabinets).

Cana considering her career as a builder, she says , "I'm going to be a builder, see I'm wearing a shirt." Way to break sterotypes kid. Those are technically pajamas you are wearing.

That entire top floor is the great room. We used the majority of the square footage for this space, therefore we have small bedrooms. Who cares? We just sleep in them.

AP undoubtedly deck dreaming. (He's standing in the french door rough in that leads to a deck that runs that entire side of the house.)

Inside the Great Room. (Standing in the kitchen, looking at the fireplace.)

In the Great Room from the fireplace into the kitchen. Check out that window on the right, there will be three of those, the kitchen sink is under the center one.

Now, onto important questions. Our house needs a name. I think that houses should have a first and last name like a person. In this case the name should say "laid back, loves the outdoors, and can appreciate crisp clean lines". Any ideas?

Progress!

2010-10-07T21:58:00.004-04:00

Someday I'll tell the story of heartache and pain we've gone through to build this house. I'll fill you in on the insane process of closing on this piece of land, the 3 times we thought we were not going to get the building loan (after we owned the land), and the absurd ways we've had to fight with the bank to use the money from that loan (not to mention the 22 weeks it took to get a permit and the tons of rock we removed from the earth). But, today I'm just going to bask in the glory of framing.

The sweet smell of fresh 2x4s.

Sitting in the windows.

Playing in the stairwell.

Dancing in Grammie's room.

Oh yes, for all of the difficulty, this is really fun. I love that our design and building team is genuinely excited about this project and that the story of our family living in this house is going to be amazing.

A Little Homesite Video

2010-09-04T11:12:00.002-04:00

Here is a quick clip of the home site. Be advised, the perspective is all off. That back wall is actually two stories high.

See it here.

Work it Out

2010-08-12T21:48:00.004-04:00

Inspired by Krissy and Alli, I'd like to give you the update on what has been going on at our house with Cana. She's two, and that means that we've still got some suffering to work out in her, when you are two sometimes suffering comes in the form of discipline (giving up your wants for what is best). At her dedication a friend told us that her suffering would be worked out early in life. That's good, especially if you believe this little gem:

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5:3

I really want my kids to have a lifetime of perseverance, character and hope.

At our house part of discipline is submission to authority. We've asked Cana to say, "yes Mommy" or "yes Daddy" when she needs to submit. This works for us. There is something about saying the words that makes her change and obey.

About three weeks ago on a Friday Cana wanted to sit in my lap at lunch. She was supposed to sit in her chair. We clearly laid out the expectation, but got a loud "NO" over and over again. I re-explained the expectations and reminded her to say "yes mommy". "NO!" I stayed calm. AP was right there with me. I continued to repeat the expectations and ask her to say, "yes Mommy". I get "NO!" Stayed calm. Repeated. Prayed for her. Hysteria ensued. Big tears. This continues for a good 8 minutes. AP prays over her, repeats the request. She gets out one final hard, heavy cry. Then she looks at me and says, "I'm sorry mommy, I'm so sorry. Yes mommy."

Whew. She happily obeyed and we celebrated (like she does most days). After she left the room I teared up. This parenting thing is hard sometimes, I'm so happy to be in it with AP. I'm happy to have my mom's support and a crazy great community of friends to learn from. We continue to work it out daily around here.

Food

2010-08-09T21:00:00.002-04:00

Wake tried rice cereal for the first time at dinner tonight. He ate the entire bowl, and then licked every remaining morsel off of his hands.

Foundation "Footers"

2010-08-08T14:39:00.004-04:00

I don't know what that title means. It's just the words that my husband and Jeff (our project manager) have used about 100 times in the past few days. And here are some pictures of progress.

You know what I like about Jeff? He sent us these pictures because we were out of town, he introduced himself to the neighbors and let them know to call him with any problems, and he calls if they need to make a decision that we haven't discussed. This experience is going well so far, and much of that is because of Jeff. The fine team at Kurt Platte Architects/Black Rock Construction is really impressive.

Dirt Work Complete -- On to Foundation

2010-08-06T00:24:00.006-04:00

The other day one of the men working asked Cana what she wanted to be when she grew up. She said, "I'm going to have a baby and drive one of those (pointing to the track-hoe). "

Before and after:
The biggest improvement is that the culvert in the foreground of the first photo has been filled in. This increased our flat space, and greatly reduced the chances of someone driving their car into the creek (that creek wasn't very pretty to begin with).

This house is being built on rock, literally. Check out what the excavation team has pulled out. Some of the slabs were as big as 8 feet x 8 feet. We're going to have some great landscaping utilizing them.He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
Luke 6:48

I am continuing work on the interior. Who knew there were so many decisions to be made? I answer an email with about 35 questions once a day from our design team. It's a lot of work, but I know I'll appreciate every detail when I see it in person.

Love Your Neighbors

2010-07-29T00:03:00.004-04:00

Our note:
Thank you for putting up with our construction! We left a loaf of fresh baked bread at your side door that Charlotte made today, enjoy it.

Her response:
What a great surprise- it is my 81st birthday! What a great gift.I knew when I met Charlotte that I was glad she was going to be my neighbor. Jeannine

Demolition

2010-07-26T15:06:00.008-04:00

This is the house we purchased to tear down:

Today at 2:08 both kids were settled down for a nap. I decided to go take a few pictures of our home site to capture how much of a difference the trees that we cut down made. Imagine my delight when I got to witness the demolition of the cabin. It took approximately 46 minutes, and I enjoyed every bit of brick falling, glass breaking, dirt flying fun (sitting safely in the woods across the stream).

When I arrived the deck and the bedrooms were already gone:

Chandelier hanging from the excavator:

When I left they were tearing out the basement, not as entertaining:

One of the men working told me that more than once they have demoed a house and money has come flying out of the attic. Sadly, that did not happen to us. Happily, this is the official beginning of construction!

Two Months

2010-07-21T23:14:00.002-04:00

We've had this adorable boy in our home for two months now. Yesterday he had his two month appointment with his new pediatrician. We really love our former pediatrician, but it takes about 40 minutes to get to his office from our new place. So, he gave us a recommendation for a new pediatrician, who just happens to be his wife. Her office is a mere seven minutes away and she is wonderful. Cana went along because she needed two vaccines. Imagine her confusion when Dr.Manfroy had turned into a woman. That's a lot for a two year old to understand. (I put the links to their websites because I get questions all of the time from new moms about who my pediatrician is.)

Wake is doing great. He weighs 12 pounds, 13 oz. At this point we don't pay much attention to all of those percentiles they throw out. I mean the method of measuring height isn't exactly scientific -- a couple of dashes on a piece of paper combined with a wiggly baby. I think that he's average in height and weight.

Cana watched Wake get his shots. I let her know beforehand that she would be getting shots next. She peered over the table and watched the needles go into Wake's legs. She watched him cry. Then, she looked up at me and said, "give me my medicine, I'm ready" and climbed up on the table. After the shots went in she was silent for a second, then turned bright red and the tears started flowing. She looked at me and said, "I'm crying mama, I'm crying." She got two stickers and a sample of fiber cereal on the way out, and was good to go. We've noticed this summer that Cana is completely void of fear. We see it in the swimming pool, with bugs, with trying new things, and then this doctor's visit. I like that about her, my fearless little girl.

Every time I have to hold one of my kids down for vaccinations I am reminded of the intense relationship between God's perfect love and suffering. How many times am I experiencing suffering and His perfect love at the same time? Yet, there is no way that I can comprehend it from my limited perspective.

Guess What?

2010-07-14T15:49:00.004-04:00

As I type with an infant asleep on my lap ...

Trees are being cleared from our property (dead ones) so that demolition of the old house can happen tomorrow, and the foundation can be laid next week. Progress! I'm planning on getting over there to take pictures of the process.

Meanwhile, we're in full decision making mode with the interior designer. She's fantastic, and it's fun. With every light fixture and tile choice I'm picturing all of the fun we are going to have in our new home.

Speaking of our little family, today I explained to Cana that since there are TWO kids in our house now, it's a good time to learn to play by yourself some, and share everything you have. We've had some rough days with two kids in the house. Days that I feared Cana's overwhelming love for Wake would endanger his life, and days that we both fell into bed thinking "are we doing this all wrong or what" while a two year old was screaming at the top of her lungs from bed (a completely new phenomenon).

Cana must have understood our little talk, because today has been our best day yet. She's made it all day with no accidents as far as potty training, she's been gentle with Wake, she read books by herself while I fed Wake (when she reads Brown Bear, Brown Bear the blue horse sees Kate Little, and the yellow duck sees baby Colten), and she colored quietly while I made lunch. We are practicing other things she can do on her own while I help Wake. Another favorite is cleaning. Give that girl a wet wipe or a broom and she's off.

What other activities can kids do around the house on their own?

The Great Room

2010-06-29T23:10:00.005-04:00

Here it is, a room designed for lots of time together with friends and family. It's the third floor of our little lake house, and has amazing tree top views.

Yes, the kitchen is huge, but that's where everyone hangs out. It's set up for baking (my mom) on the right with electric double ovens, and cooking (my husband) on the left with a 48" range with double ovens. Two islands, for two cooks working at the same time, or fabulous dinner buffets. The people at Ikea thought we made a mistake when ordering because there are no upper cabinets, just giant 6x6 foot awning windows that sink down into the countertops, and look out at the trees.

The "bump out" at the top is a study with bookshelves and a coat closet.

The fireplace is on the other side of that. Then, the powder room. The fireplace will be wrapped in silver cedar salvaged from an old scale house on AP's family farm.

The front door is in the stairwell (see it now?). And a deck actually runs the entire right side of the house (doors opposite the stairwell).

This is one great party room, for sure.

(click the picture to enlarge)

Who Needs a Swimming Pool?

2010-06-26T22:49:00.003-04:00

This is where we've been swimming this summer (and will be for many summers to come).

Siblings

2010-06-24T12:42:00.002-04:00

Cana at one month:

Wake at one month:

Matching baby acne, how cute.

Wake was 10lbs. 10oz. at his 1 month check up. And, he's received some extra attention this week. Cana is at the farm in Columbus having adventures like riding in combines, feeding cows, and enjoying the undivided attention of lots of two loving grandparents. This has given me the opportunity to have some extra bonding time with Wake, and to take lots of naps when he does.

House Details

2010-06-24T12:06:00.006-04:00

I like details like finding the powder room sink. Here it is, acquired at the Burlington Antique Market a few months ago for $34. It will be a sweet detail for our modern lakehouse in the woods.

Building a House

2010-06-23T00:06:00.008-04:00

We loved our old house, but it became apparent in February (when AP accepted a new position at work) that we would move to a different part of town. We started talking about selling the house that we loved. It didn't take long for friends to snatch it up for their very own. We couldn't be happier. So, in March our first house became Ben and Grace's first house.

In April we purchased a house on a one acre lot, in the middle of 250 acres of woods to explore, with a lake to swim in. In short, it is our dream location. We've moved to a rental house just a mile away and are enjoying nightly swims in the lake as a family during the hot summer days.

Here are some pictures of the house that we will be tearing down to build a new house for our family. We're working with a great friend as the architect, and the process has been fun so far. We're waiting on some final permits, then demolition and foundation work will begin.

The front:

The back:
View from our future kitchen windows:

I've loved making house decisions with AP. It's an exciting project to work on together.

Family Building

2010-06-22T21:35:00.004-04:00

It's 2010 and we're in full fledged building mode around the Peters' household. Up first, we built a baby. I made an entire human without using my hands. That's pretty remarkable if you ask me. We fell in love with his laid back surfer style from the start. Let me just remind you of his blonde cuteness.

Wake Shepherd

I've never really been a fan of being pregnant, but I am a HUGE fan of tiny people to love and cuddle. Wake is entering our family dynamic beautifully. I am sure that I blocked out newborn phase entirely. The amount of problem solving and patience it takes to care for a brand new person is staggering. At one month, we're starting to hit our grove around here.

Mumbai

2009-10-20T00:30:00.006-04:00

I wouldn't give Mumbai a great review if you are looking for a place to vacation, but should you find yourself headed that way -- stay at the Grand Hyatt and thank me after you eat six freshly baked croissants in one sitting. This is Biddy hanging out by the window in our room.

Oh the city of Mumbai, it's one of the most hopeless, exhausting places on earth. I cannot believe my dear husband has been there more than once, and I'm thinking of returning.

Ahhh, the most beautiful place in the city -- St.Catherine's. Crossroads keeps this place operational. Seriously, it's fully funded by crazy revolutionaries that don't hold onto cash too tightly.
Sharon, IJM saint. Yep, she's that beautiful -- inside and out.
Cana meeting all of the girls at St.Catherine's. She likes to be in the middle of the action.

Cana dancing with one of the sisters at St.Catherine's. She's naked because it was crazy hot.

Mumbai

2009-08-17T21:10:00.002-04:00

It's the most oppressive place I have ever been in my life. Six hours into our trip there I was seriously contemplating locking myself in the posh hotel and not coming out, our friend Dave was thinking of jumping on a plane home. It took every ounce of energy I had to get though a day there. So I did not write. I have stories to tell, but right now I'm resting up.

If going to Mamelodi, South Africa is as spiritually refreshing as having water dumped on your head, then Mumbai is equivalent to digging your own well through concrete to get to water. You get water both ways, the latter is just much more exhausting.

Cambodia Day 5

2009-08-13T13:40:00.002-04:00

This morning we met 15 girls at a local bowling alley. The two hours that followed were chaotic, hilarious, adorable, nail-breaking fun. It was by far the highlight of the trip. No one stayed in their lane. Sometimes girls threw the ball like a shot putt, and it crashed onto the hardwood. One score screen showed all strikes, all morning long, and no one even thought of correcting it. We ran halfway to the pins to stop a ball from going into the gutter. All bowling parties should throw all the rules out the window. Cana was passed around from girl to girl and bowled for the first time, too. All of this, followed by pizza. Then, we had to say goodbye to them. It wasn't easy. At all.

Cambodia Day 4

2009-08-13T13:33:00.003-04:00

Today we volunteered along side of the Transitions girls at a local orphanage. The fine people at Transitions believe that a part of reintegration is showing the survivors of sex trafficking that they have something very beautiful to give to others. I'm a big fan of volunteering in general, but today was sweetness overload.

Adorable Cambodian orphans that love to play patty cake, mixed with stunning Cambodian girls that are figuring out just how amazing life can be sent my heart into overload.

This way of thinking that says you don't have to lock trafficking survivors up to heal them is revolutionary and it is working. By far, the girls at Transitions are more alive than any other survivors I have met. They have true personality and a great deal of spunk.

Cambodia Day 3

2009-08-08T03:45:00.001-04:00

James loaded up Katie, Olive and I into a took-took to meet some of the women who are not yet free. As we rode along, I prayed that we’d be magnetic, and that God would make us a bright light in a dark place. James warned us that no girls would talk to three women and a man in the first bar that we went to. He was wrong.

About five minutes after we walked in, Soephogn walked up and began to talk to us. She’s 38, and has a 15-year-old son who would like to be a doctor. She’s been exploited in Cambodia since I was in the 5th grade. I tell her that I have a baby, and she asks to see a picture. James took one on his phone of Cana when we arrived, so he pulls it out. Soephogn stares at it, rubs Cana’s pixilated little face, and then kisses the screen. Other girls see that we’re having a great time at our table, and also join us. We see lots of pictures of their children, and some disturbing pictures of their “boyfriends”. Soephogn is brilliant. She speaks Cambodian, French, English and Vietnamese. She glares at the nasty American, Austrailan, and French men patronizing the bar, and gets feisty when someone takes her spot at the pool table. She hugs me tightly for the $5 I gave her at the end of the night, and runs out of the bar for a moment to wave as our took-took drives away.

At the next bar we sit in a booth and six girls quickly join us. I meet Neang, who has a daughter Cana’s age. This stops me dead in my tracks. I force my tears back as we talk about what it is like to have toddlers, the cost of formula, and how to teach them to talk. Both of our mothers watch the girls while we work. I coach her in teaching her daughter English words and beg her to read to that little girl 30 minutes a day, even if it is the same book again and again. She watches one of her coworkers leave with an overweight white man. She says, “I don’t want to do that.” I don’t want her to either. We keep tipping the girls at our table so they will not have to tend to other customers.

Three American women walk into a bar known for sex tourism. Men who are clearly there as predators feel so uncomfortable that they leave a 10 foot buffer between us and then, and many leave because they can’t stand to see us there, knowing that we know the evil they are up to. Maybe we should just bring 1,000 women to the city and camp out in all of these places. Darkness cannot push back the light.

At the Royal Palace

2009-08-08T03:36:00.002-04:00

Cambodia Day 2

2009-08-08T03:16:00.002-04:00

“Baby, baby!” Two women yelled as we hit the door of a local Non-Government Organization (NGO). They were watching 4 very young children so that mothers (who have all been exploited in the commercial sex industry) could work on jewelry, sewing, and cake decorating upstairs. Cana saunters up to the woman holding a four month old.

“Baaaaby, baaaaby!” The women all laugh, and we let Cana and the Cambodian baby talk, reach, and kiss at each other. It’s a sweet moment. At one point the Cambodian baby starts to cry (because Cana poked her in the eye) and I pick her up to bounce with me. Instinctively, I begin to whisper into her ear prayers as forcefully and boldly as I can. (Thanks, Kim for teaching me to do that – it’s not creepy.)

The tour continues to the next floor and we enter an 8x8 room with four girls sitting on the floor around several bowls of brightly colored beads. They are taking each individual bead and drilling a hole in it. It’s tedious work. They all light up as Cana hits the doorway. “Come here baby!” The bright beads hypnotize Cana. She sits on the floor and organizes all of the beading supplies. I meet the girls; they are adorable, smiley and fun to be around. They say my name over and over and over again. We need to continue with the tour, so I tell them that Cana and I will return. The rest of the building is filled with equally precious women. They are all working hard on various crafty projects that are all delicately made and beautiful.

One of the girls in the sewing room begins to cry when I hand her Cana. I ask if she’s okay, and she just holds Cana tightly, closes her eyes, and lets it all out. I try desperately to hold back my own tears. She opens her eyes, smiles at me, and says, “thank you”.

Next, I find myself in the middle of an English lesson complete with flash cards being taught by a Brown University student. The girls in the lesson are trying very hard to say each word exactly right. Cana gets in the mix and holds up some cards for them, then gives her very best baby applause.

We make our way back to the bead room, where I purchase a bracelet for $6. One of the girls smiles directly at me. “I made that one.” She tells me her name, and while I do not know the details of her circumstances, I know that she is a loving girl who is patient and hilarious. She sings Cambodian pop songs as she works and has some sweet dance moves. Cana adores her. One girl gives Cana a hair clip from her own head. We spend about twenty minutes on the floor together, and then give hugs and say goodbye.

We’re off to lunch at an aftercare home run by our dear friends James and Athena. We hit the gate of the home, and cheers ring out from inside. On either side of the doorway, there are 7 or 8 beautiful girls who have been waiting for us all morning. I wonder if they knew I’d been waiting for them over a year. A girl in a traditional Cambodian bright pink dress reaches out for Cana. Cana leaps into her arms. I didn’t hold Cana again for several hours. The 15 girls range in age from 14 to 17, and Zaya, who should be on a Crest commercial, mothers them.

We tour the facility while the girls complete the preparations for lunch. Lunch consists of 5 of the best dishes I have had in weeks. All homemade, and my own mother would point out, made with love.

We spent the afternoon with 15 girls who glow when you love them, and are on their way to true freedom. They watched Cana while we met about the program that cares for the girls and when I returned Cana was dancing, laughing and drinking green tea. She may never want to leave Cambodia. Cana cheers as we hand out care packages, and then takes a hairbrush from one of the gifts, walks up to a girl and gently brushes her hair. Love. Beauty. Freedom.

I talked to one girl for most of the afternoon. She’s been there for one week. Her sister was rescued at the same time, but she is in a different aftercare home. She tells me that this place is much nicer. She loves it. She is so happy to be there. The team there is actively trying to get her sister transferred, so they can be together again.

The crazy thing about interacting with these girls is that you get lost in their smiles and have to remind yourself why they are there. They are so pure and innocent, so beautiful, that you cannot bring yourself to imagine the evil they have been subjected to. I love them.

(no pictures on the blog, to avoid further exploitation of these girls)

In Cambodia

2009-08-05T20:33:00.002-04:00

We're in Cambodia with AP's work. It's good. Cana is here with us. She made the 40 hours of travel seem easy, and slept 12 of the 14 hours of our longest flight. When traveling with a baby, it's essential to get that bulk head seat with the sweet bassinette. She made it into a fort, and then promptly crashed. Here's hoping we get it on the way home, too. Strangers even commented on what an angel she was on the flights.

Yesterday was filled with visiting some of the people on the front lines of freedom. Our group of 8 was in large conference rooms all day, getting the full report of the situation in this country. Because Cana doesn't really like to sit still and ask questions in big meetings, we adventured around these organization's offices. In doing so, we hit a gold mine of people with amazing hearts. I got to hear to the story of an Austrailan woman, K, who knew ten years ago that she should use her social work skills to do something here. She prayed, and asked God for a way. Then, four months ago she raised money for her own paycheck for two years, and volunteers full time for an incredible place here. Her first order of businees upon arrival? She found a local woman to teach everything she knows, so that in two years the work will continue. Cana and I had a great time haning out in her office for 40 minutes. She is a play theropist, so Biddy tried out each and every toy on the shelf. Then, she gave K an extensive lesson in baby signs, which K had never seen before. K was excited to learn more about baby signs, and thought that they could really help some of the children that she works with. K gave me hope that social workers here have someone backing them up, looking to make them better. She also said that there is a need for more social workers here, even from the United States.

At another office, Cana and I met V, an accountant with the heart of a hero. I learned how she came to know Christ through a friend (that's very rare in Cambodia). Then, she told me how she actually started following Christ when she accepted the job with this organization. She told me how she wakes up in the night praying for the girls that they have rescued, and the ones that still need to be recused. I taught her a new english word -- innercessor. She now understands that her prayers are just as poswerful in the Kingdom of God as the reports of investigators, the brute force of recuers, and the love of social workers. We prayed for eachother while Cana pulled every tissue out of a box in V's office. It was sweet, sweet time. Yes, you can be an accountant and use that skill to rescue people from slavery.

We had an incredible dinner and then Cana and I came back to the hotel. AP had another experience entirely.

It's 7:45AM here, and today we get to meet girls who are on their way to freedom. Cana is all rested up and ready to blow them all lots of kisses.