Swimming with the Twins

Before our Florida trip, Neely invited Madina to go swimming in River Run with her twins. Madina loved this pool because it had this really cool current running around this canal. You could just float around in the inner tube. She kept sliding down the middle of the tube, but she had fun. They also had this huge set of curly slides and Madina got the courage to try it! She was so brave by this time. I snapped a great picture of her coming out the end into the pool. The lifeguard was there to catch her. It was a fun afternoon... I was having a hard time getting her out of the water by now. She was a cute little fishy!

I hadn’t realized at the time, but this was Madina’s last time swimming in a pool... probably forever. She always assured me “Kabul no swim.”

Downtown Charlotte

Pam (host mom to Manija) and I took the girls into downtown Charlotte one day. We were talking away when we realized how overwhelmed the girls became when looking up at the skyscrapers from ground level. Maybe they have never seen buildings this tall? We were headed to the Discovery Museum to see an iMax film on the architectural history of Greece. We parked on the top level of the parking garage and the girls were amazed at how high up we were. They ran to look over the edge. We took the elevator down and they both started swaying and laughing. I think it was their first time in an elevator because they loved it!

The iMax film was awesome! If you’ve never seen one, please do. If you’re name isn’t Manija, then you will love! She starting crying right away because it was loud we think. She covered her ears and did not enjoy the experience. Now, Madina loved it and was wide-eyed the entire time.

In looking for a place to eat lunch, we walked around downtown a bit. The girls spied a really cool waterfall and were fascinated by it. They kept pointing to the money and tried to get it. Pam and I could tell they were confused as to why Americans would throw out perfectly good money. This was actually a common theme with Madina. Every time we saw a fountain with money, she would point it out and say “Wow... Mom!” I can just imagine how this translated back in Afghanistan... “those Americans are so rich, they just throw money away!” HA!

Mountains and Valleys

2008 has been a very tough year for our family. I had to put my dog, Shelby, to rest in May. She was my sweet baby girl for 14 years and I can’t begin to express how much I loved her. Then God called us to the mountaintop when He brought Madina into our lives and changed us forever. Last Friday Joe’s dad passed away. He was only 68 and had Alzheimer’s Disease. We’ve been in Michigan this past week with his family for the services. We are just in a season of grief.

Though the valleys are painful, I know God never ever leaves us. I know He has a good plan for our lives. I know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. I know that He won’t waste a single hurt I’m feeling. I know all this not because of how I feel, but only because His word is truth. So despite feeling depressed, I will choose life and I will choose to believe in Madina’s Hope.

Thank You Lydia’s Loft

Lydia’s Loft is a wonderful ministry that provides clothing for families in need in our community. LNCR arranged a time for us host families to go and pick out warm clothing to send back with the kids. This was essential for us because the stores don’t have winter stuff out yet. It was stressed to us that we needed really, really warm clothes. The winters in the Afghanistan mountains are incredibly brutal. Madina picked out clothing for her twin brother and baby sister as well as herself. This was very exciting for her! When we got home, she immediately put her jammies on and dumped out the clothes in a big pile. Then she started rolling around in them and being silly... She was so happy! 

Swimming with Jesse

This was another special day for Madina. She loved the water so much and really enjoyed playing with Jesse. If we were swimming on a particular day, Madina would make up little songs and sing them while dancing around the house. The song for this day was titled “Swim Jesse Swim” I'm guessing because the rest of the words were in Farsi. She was always singing little songs under her breath.

LNCR Event at a Farm

This turned out to be a scary event for the farm owners. Most of us guests went inside the pasture with the animals. I guess one person opened the gate and went in, so we all followed like sheep of course. When I walked over to the field and saw all the children running around with the animals, I thought “Oh cool! We can go in there with them? Wow… I like this farm!” Well, it turns out nobody should actually go in with the animals. It’s not safe. So just picture this… we have approximately 75 people in this pasture hand feeding dear, petting the donkeys, screaming at goats and running from ostriches, while the moose and buck run around the perimeter as people were trying to get a closer look. I was trying to avoid the land mines everywhere and take pictures when the owner ran in and immediately told us all the evacuate. Oh, she was so glad nobody was hurt by the animals. I guess they can be mean and charge you… YIKES! Thank you God for protecting us!

Madina and NASCAR don’t mix

No surprise to us, but taking Madina to the racetrack was another thing she didn’t like. For those that don’t know, Joe retired from the #99 team earlier this year after 17 years at Roush Racing. He’s been home more in the last 8 months than in our entire 10 year marriage! The Nextel Cup schedule is grueling for a transporter driver week after week. I’m glad he has made the change and was here to be with Madina and I.

Now Joe is a contract driver for many teams and also the account manager for the Pilot Truck Driver Challenge. He runs this competition for the Nextel Cup truck drivers. Well, Joe had a chicane (driving course) event in Charlotte and I decided to take Madina for a couple hours so she could check it out. Joe was going to give her a ride in the big truck. We thought she would be in awe of this. As you’ll observe from the pictures, she has that “I don’t want to be here look” again. I could barely get her to stand by the truck, let alone get in it for a ride. So, Joe gave her a ride in the golf cart instead, which she enjoyed a little better. Madina was just really annoyed by the loud motor and stinky fumes of the transporter. She would turn her nose up and grimace at it every time it would come by and say “icky”. It was so very comical to us… we were just laughing! Oh that look on her face!