Amanda's Books and More: blessings

Showing posts with label blessings. Show all posts

Friday, April 26, 2013

Make My Saturday Sweet - Blog Hop #34

Do You Believe in God?

Last March I finished teaching high school German levels 1 and 2. These were private lessons at the high school. We completed the textbooks and workbooks that we began a year ago. I knew in my heart that I should finish with my students and not try to get a new group going, but I didn't really know why, except that there really wasn't enough interested kids to make up a good-sized class. At the time, I believed I was being led by God, but I was left wondering what to do next.

Then last week I got a phone call about a part-time job at a private school. The principal had heard that I was available to help as an assistant teacher, primarily in the English department, and he wanted to meet with me. I was being offered the job first and I could choose my hours within the school time. I told the principal that I am a volunteer at the Blind Institute every Wednesday morning. He was fine with that. He also offered that I run a German conversational club (for a fee) at the school as there are a few German speaking kids who are getting rusty in their German. This had never even crossed my mind, but I told him that I would be interested.

The arrangement is that I work 3 hours a day, 4 days a week, not including Wednesdays. I start at 9 and finish at 12. The English classes that I help teach are grades 5 - 9. I'm also helping with grading and such, but because I'm employed for those hours only, I don't have to take any work home. My first day on the job was Tuesday. It's been lots of fun, because I enjoy this kind of work.

Amanda's playgroup is less than five minutes away by car and her class finishes at 12:15, so I pick her up after work. I also give a 45 minute Bible lesson for a grade 4 class at the primary school once a week from 7:30 - 8:15, so I can continue with this too. It's such a perfect arrangement for me in every way. I'm still amazed. I wasn't even asking around for a job. I'm so glad that I believe in a God who cares about the details of His children's lives. I'm very blessed.

Now on to the blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Precious Baby

As a baby, Amanda loved teething on corn cobs. I took this picture of her in 2009. Isn’t she just adorable? Many people are born out of unplanned pregnancies and Amanda is one of them. Does that make them less precious? Do they have less purpose? As you can see, we have been immensely blessed to have this child in our lives.

Below I have added previous stories related to the challenges and blessings of having another child. They are listed in order from top to bottom:

Saturday, May 5, 2012

He Satisfies

This picture was taken on Amanda's 2nd Birthday. Here she is eating a healthy snack of grapes and giving me quite a laugh.

"For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things" (Psalm 107:9 ESV).

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Dora the Explorer

The other day, Amanda received a cute jean dress with Dora the Explorer printed on it. The dress was a hand-me-down from a friend who is a couple years older than her. A lot of the clothes she owns have been handed down; some are even from her sisters. When I first found out that I was pregnant with my fourth child, one of my concerns was how we’d be able to buy all the clothes she would need. I had given all the baby things of her sisters away by that stage, except for one or two sentimental items. Not only did God not let me down, He surprised me with how abundantly He could provide for her.

Amanda hadn’t owned anything with Dora before, so when my four-year-old saw a series of adventure books with Dora at the store, I let her pick one. She chose Dora Saves the Snow Princess. I read it last night to her and her friend. It’s an interactive storybook, so it’s nice to have a friend do the actions and speaking parts with.

Below I have added previous stories related to the challenges and blessings of having another child. They are listed in order from top to bottom:

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Blessed to Have You in Our Life

Amanda was a princess for the day.

Yesterday we celebrated Amanda’s 4th birthday. The card we got her had Tinkerbell on it. Inside I wrote, “Just like Tinkerbell, you brighten up our lives. Our family is so much richer with you in it.”

It always amazes me when I get a sympathetic or correctional look from someone when he or she finds out that I have four children. How am I worse off for having four kids and not the traditional one or two?

Amanda's Disney Princess cake at play group.

The more people you have in your life the richer your life is. Of course, there will always be those people that you would be better off not having around you. My in-laws have a fantastic plaque in their kitchen. It states, “We enjoy all our guests… some when they come and some when they go.”

Cherish and bless those that are in your life and, where possible, avoid those that suck the life out of you. I wish for you today that you will have more of the former type of people in your life and less of the latter.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happily Ever After

This post follows on from “More than a Prince.”

Amanda with her dad at the Cape Town airport.
Don't you just love the Disney Mermaid suitcase!

It’s funny how little girls get romantic notions. Amanda’s Disney movies send the message that when the pretty girl marries her prince, they live happily ever after. The future holds no more cares or worries. It’s blissful oblivion. From my perspective, they stop existing, because existing means to feel love, happiness, joy, satisfaction, disappointed, discouragement and pain. Life is all these emotions and more.

My advice to any woman wanting the perfect husband is not to go for a prince, but rather go for someone with substance. Find a guy who not only wants to be the champion, but who also wants to champion you. Life will continue after the wedding. It might not always feel like “happily ever after,” but it will be the real kind of existing in a real world.

The best kind of living is one with relevance and purpose.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Surprise, I’m Pregnant!

This story follows on from, "Thinking About Having Another Child?"
You can imagine then how I felt when I found out that I was pregnant! My husband was elated, but I was not so sure. We told the children that same day and they were just as happy as their dad. My son’s excitement surprised me the most. He immediately ran to tell his friends, but since his friends were all boys, they didn’t quite mirror his exuberance.

I went through morning sickness and depression. I lost 8 kg. (which was good for my figure). I noticed something else, that somehow our family, despite all our good intentions, had been experiencing a bit of a disconnect. I don’t know when or how it began, but that independence that I mentioned earlier did not always produce positive results.

During my time of morning sickness, something happened, which made me marvel. Those first few months when I spent most of my time in bed, my son would come and give me a hug. Then my daughter would come and do the same. My other daughter would give words of encouragement and an occasional hug. This was unusual behavior coming from them and of course very appreciated by me. It took this unplanned pregnancy to bring us closer together.

Thinking About Having Another Child?

In 2007, my husband and I already had three kids, ages 7 – 11, who were growing up and becoming independent individuals. They were big enough that life for me was beginning to have some kind of normality to it. To be more specific, I was able to sit down for dinner and eat my meal while it was still hot (without interruptions), watch an entire program on TV, and sleep through the night. Bliss!

My husband and I always wanted a big family, but with things beginning to calm down, I didn’t see the need to disrupt what we had. This story continues in "Surprise, I’m Pregnant!"