the new... and the not

i had begun writing another post...but i realized it was nothing more than my traditional diatribe on...well, on tradition. i shall try to stifle that for tonight, but it may still creep into my other thoughts...

i had an enjoyable thanksgiving with my family, for whom i am extremely thankful. i do have to say, though, that i'm realizing that the things i'm enjoying the most are the things that are new, the variations to the tradition. namely, the kids. i have two nieces (Iris, 6; Lila, 3) and two nephews (Jacob, 2; Caleb, 1). Each of them has a unique personality and adds individual flavor to the family. it is great watching them grow up as they develop and discover their personalities even more.

last night i had a lovely evening with two dear friends. sara, beth, and i have been friends since middle school. we ate a dinner of chicken with broccoli and rice, then had a wonderful time of catching up as old friends do. this seems to be going along with the theme of the month. a couple weeks ago, i went to wisconsin to visit another friend, this one from college. we have seen each other once or twice a year since then, the most recent being my wedding in april. this friend, ashley, will be leaving in less than 4 months for east asia. (you can read about her journey into missions here.) we have shared countless hours together, crying and laughing (sometimes simultaneously), talking about everything from the mundane to deep matters of the heart- and now we won't see each other for several years, at the very least. these three women have been with me through the thick and the thin, sparing me from going through life's joys and challenges alone.

for these and so many others...
...thanks be to God.

clarification

one more thing...i keep meaning to clarify this...when i said i was wearing "army paraphernalia," i did not in any way mean anything camouflage...sorry for the confusion...i meant this cute little black athletic vest that has the army logo in the corner!

two great things

remember in the last post when i said i have purposed to be jolly? i'm proud to say that i'm being rather successful. everyone at work is already annoyed with the amount of christmas music i've listened to...must be doing something right! tonight katelyn and i are watching "elf"- i strongly recommend it. "there are a few things you should know about new york: 1) if you find gum on the street, leave it. it's not free candy. ... 3) if you see a sign that says "peep show," that does not mean they're letting you look at the presents before christmas." what wonderful words of wisdom from santa.

last night i went to an adoption meeting thing with amy. it was fabulous. it made me want to adopt internationally! they had 3 families share their stories. the coolest was this family that has 11 kids in 14 years- the oldest, the youngest, and one toward the middle are the only biological. they have 6 different cultures represented in their family. 2 of the oldest boys- who are now 30 years old- were there and shared their side of it. that was really neat, to see it from the perspective of an adult who was adopted. the theme of the evening was how to integrate the child's birth culture into his/her life and the whole family. they had some really great practical suggestions. they offered tips on not only incorporating food, clothing, or simple phrases into daily life, but also to volunteer to teach your child's class about his/her birth country, or to have an "adoption day" every year commemorating the day the child was brought into the family. then, we ate food from the three countries their adoption agency works with- china, guatemala, and russia. i quite enjoyed it.

so, my two recommendations for the day: 1) watch "elf." 2) adopt internationally. (hey, one out of two ain't bad...)

oh, a few more quotes for the road... "i like smiling. smiling's my favorite." "i'm just happy to meet another human who shares my affinity for elf culture." "have you seen these toilets? they're ginormous!"

the secret enemy

i wrote this about 2 weeks ago, but never posted it...enjoy…

well, i finally figured it out. this week i discovered why stores put out christmas decorations so early. to make more money? nope. to satiate consumer’s need to have? wrong again. it’s for military families who have to start thinking about christmas ridiculously early in order to get it overseas in time. yep, i have thoroughly convinced myself that the world is good and they do this all for me….

seriously though. tuesday night i ventured to meijer to buy some decorations to send to jon. an entire corner of the store dedicated to such an event! then, it started. yes, what every military wife dreads. the tears. they are like this secret enemy lurking in the depths of your being, waiting to attack at the least opportune time possible. one time it was the camera section at best buy. this time, meijer. as i pushed my shopping cart down the aisle, choosing various lights, ornaments, and decorations, tears streamed down my face. then, of course, i started laughing at the fact that i was having a near breakdown in meijer. what a sight i must have been!

see, not only did the realization hit that i will be spending christmas alone, but also the memories of jonathan…we met at christmastime. ah well. it must have just been a low ES day. (i have a system rating my level of emotional stability- it helps people in my life know how hard or lightly to tread!) so thus begins the season of merriment…i have decided to get into an extraordinarily jolly christmas spirit to try to combat me wanting to kick people in the shins when they talk about holiday plans and such…but who knows…maybe sometime that secret enemy will rear its head too…

6 Down, 6 To Go!

yay!! it's november 15! to many people- especially in my neck of the woods (rather literally...) november 15 means none other than opening day of rifle season. but not to me! november 15 marks the half-way point of jon's deployment- also known as "6 down, 6 to go" day. in honor of the oh-so-special occasion, i'm wearing army paraphernalia. woo hoo! let's celebrate!!!

the butterfly effect

for as long as i can remember, i have always been intruiged by other cultures. even in elementary school, i would ask for books about people in the world for christmas. i have been to guyana, south america; and hungary, europe. i find it absolutely amazing. to think that there are people living a completely different lifestyle than me, different stories that found their cultures, different principles and governments- it reminds me that i am just a part of something much bigger. we get so wrapped up in what is going on in our own little world that we- well, at least i- tend to forget that it isn't all about me, that others have dreams, goals, and fears that are just as important to them as mine are to me. to think that what is happening on the other side of the world could one day dramatically affect my life. to think that America isn't God's chosen nation, that he loves his children across space and across time.

there are a couple things going on that bring this even more to the front of my mind. one of them, of course, is having a husband in iraq. that culture, the issues of that country, have affected my life. and josh and amy (jon's brother and sister-in-law) are in the process of adopting a little girl from china right now ("paper pregnant," if you will). When they go to pick her up in about a year, she will probably be between 8 and 15 months old. that means that at any time, any day- possibly even as i type this- emma mei lennox fisher is being born, though no one knows her as that quite yet. our family will never be the same. emma will bring a fantastic diversity to the fisher family, serving as a constant reminder that life is bigger than us.

the butterfly effect, in short, is a theory that one butterfly flapping its wings on the other side of the world carries global effects. isn't that amazing to think about? that there could be things happening right now thousands and thousands of miles away that will change your life? i can only imagine...

november 4

yesterday was my birthday. it was better than most. i had done my family party (parents, both sets of grandparents, my sister & brother and their families, and jon's brother and his family) the night before, and i wasn't expecting anything grand. someone brought me a gift at work with a cabbage patch helium balloon, which i particularly enjoyed. i love how the stuff that was popular when i was a kid is coming back in. i had gotten a gift in the mail from jon last week, but waited until my birthday to open it. he was able to call, so i opened it up while on the phone with him. it was a brass turtle with pearl spots on the shell, and when you push on the tail, the shell is lifted revealing its identity as a box. there was a necklace and bracelet inside. if you know me, you know i'm not much of a jewelry person...but my husband seems to be beginning to change that. the necklace is silver with these navy blue stones...hmm...i'm doing an absolutely horrible job explaining it. the coolest part, though, is the bracelet. it's very persian- think princess jasmine of aladdin fame. the bracelet has a chain that connects to a ring. i would love to wear this jewelry, but it could only be worn with just the right outfit...which i am now on a hunt to find. it would be easier to find something to wear only the necklace with, but i think it would be so cool to wear all of it.

last night i went to josh & amy's for my annual cappuccino pie. i'm realizing more and more how tradition-oriented and nostalgic i am. my mom has made this pie for my birthday for probably the last 5 or 6 years- i don't think it'd feel like my birthday without it. i wasn't expecting one this year, but when i got to my sister's for the family party, my mom handed me the pie to take home with me. yay!

the only thing that could have made my day any better would have been to spend it with my husband. it's days like that that i miss him the most. our birthdays, our first christmas, our first anniversary- will all be spent apart. it helps to have other family around me, but it's not the same. on the up side, november 15 will mark official "6 down, 6 to go day"- soon and very soon...

the collision

what a week. sunday afternoon, i was just laying down for a nap when i got an email from jon saying that he'd been in an accident and had broken his face in 2 places. he said he was ok, but "ok" could mean a million things- everything from "i'm in no pain but have minor injuries" to "i'm not dead." i had no idea where his "ok" fell in the continuum. i knew that i was only moments away from total breakdown, so i ran out the door to josh & amy's house. (josh is jon's bro) i ran in the door and up the stairs to amy, and just said... "jon got hurt." she grabbed me and hugged me. my mind was racing- what happened? how bad is it? i went over to email him back- a thought that hadn't occured to me when i first got the email. i was in the middle of doing this (well, mostly staring blankly at the screen- where do you begin?) when the phone rang. amy looked at the caller id and handed it to me. "us government." my heart sank. in this split second a thousand things went through my mind. i knew he at least was alive, otherwise military personnel would make a personal appearance. i did, however, think that it may have been them informing me that the accident was serious. then i realized that they wouldn't call josh & amy's house. yes, all of this flashed through my mind in the amount of time it took me to answer the phone.

i was rather relieved to hear jon's voice at the other end. i told him i had gotten his email. come to find out, his accident was a soccer accident. he went to head the ball, and headed someone else's head instead... it was very serious nonetheless. he broke his left cheekbone in two places. you know where your cheekbone curves out? his is a dent.

after 2 surgeries, much pain, and finally some apple juice, he is on the road to recovery.

it's weird, having a husband in the hospital in iraq, and not being able to be there. we have gotten to email and call several times, which has been great. the doctor said that if the hit had been much higher, it would have hit his temple...which would have made it a lot more serious. as bad as it is, i'm thanking God that it wasn't ten times worse.