Hanging of the Greens

My Dad will probably look at my Mom upon reading this title and say, "Who are the Greens and what did they do?" So predictable.

Yesterday was a fun afternoon for the Mohr's. We went tree hunting! Eliot was on the verge of sleep when we stopped by the tree lot (and by tree lot, I mean Home Depot. Just trying to make it seem a bit more fun...) but came to life once he got comfortable.



He found a pine cone and was proudly carrying it around for all to see!

He was curious as to why Dad was giving "Agua" to the tree.

He was quite the helper with the lights as well!

Yes, this is Eliot chewing on the probably-full-of-lead-paint-made-in-China string of silver beads. Also pay close attention to the movie playing in the background....Mohr family tradition.


You'll have to wait to see the finished product. Oh the anticipation! (Don't get too excited, there's not some big surprise, I just didn't take a picture of it finished because we were on our way to dinner at a friends house...)

Have a great weekend!

Mohr Family Christmas Card

Cut and paste this address into your browser. Have fun and feel free to copy the idea and use it as your own...we did!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9604665316

Noel

I'm pretty sure the guy who wrote that song had a son named Eliot. Tis the season?

More Mohr family pics!!

Jodi met us in the park early this month and we had another quick photo session! Here's a sample of her amazing work!! She's so gifted at this!!












Jodi had the idea of capturing E in his Monkey costume! These kill me!

Confessions of a 4 a.m. shopper

Yes, I was one of "them." The alarm was set for 3:30, the car warmed up and at Bob and Margie's by 3:40. My official Christmas shopping began at 4:04 with several hundred of my closest friends at Kohl's. Oh my. If you have a degree in psychology and haven't been through this experience, consider your certificate invalid. There's an ironic sense of sleepy panic as you walk through the doors and realize you're late. You had to park in the annex parking lot, all the carts are gone and you're already lower on the pecking order of dedicated shoppers with your inadequate mesh bag. You ask yourself, "how did I let this happen?" The bustle of a woman carrying a box twice her size with her superhuman-super-shopper strength jars you out of your tardy pity party.

That was the beginning of my day. This is the first time I've stopped today and I'm not sure how long I can keep my eyes open to finish this blog entry. Some highlights of my day included, but weren't limited to:

*Engaging in a discussion/argument over the differences between BabyPhat and FUBU.

*Hearing eye witness accounts over the parking spot altercation diffused by the men in blue.

*Arriving home 5 hours after I left having no idea what I've purchased.

*Running errands for new friends (aka strangers you're in line with for a greater part of your morning)

*Being in the first group of Target patrons to make it to the electronics department only to realize half of my list is already 'sold out' at 6:15 a.m.

*Realizing how good I am at lying to those I love the most on the spot.

*Feeling tempted to grab a "this season's must-have" out of someone's cart and making a run for it, just to see what would happen.

*Join the "I'm selling this on ebay before lunch" crowd.

*Announcing to the anxious crowd awaiting the official unlocking of the great glass doors that it's snowing and it's a Christmas Miracle as if it were the culmination of a great movie.

*Enjoying great coffee and greasy eggs with good friends in between store openings.

*Putting into effect the "one for you, one for me" policy when I've found an amazing deal. Oops.

*Having secret cell phone conversations from dark corners of Old Navy.

*Coming face to face with the ugly theory of "impulse purchase".

*Realizing half way through my day that it's only 8:30a.m.

*Tearing up when I realized who all the little toys are for in my basket.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is definitely a different Thanksgiving than I've ever had. I've been on the edge of tears all week.

This time last year I had two enormous bags packed. Just weeks before I was introduced to my first blog of a woman living in Guatemala as a 'foster mom' until her daughter's adoption was completed. There wasn't a day that went by last November that I didn't check her blog at least twice. I wanted to get down there so bad! I was just days away from getting to hold my Eliot again. I hadn't seen him since he was 7 weeks old and he was over 6 months old now. We planned me leaving after Thanksgiving on purpose so that I wouldn't miss any holidays since I'd be home by Christmas. We clearly had no idea what would happen over the next year in pursuit of the completion of his adoption.

What a year it's been. What a story we have. Life changing to say the least. My heart is full. The tears keep coming. I praise the Lord that it happened the way it did, no matter how tough it seemed but I also praise Him that it's over. I'm squeezing Eliot harder and holding him longer this week. He probably thinks I've lost my mind. I can honestly say I've never been more thankful before. I'm humbled by my life and the blessings woven throughout.


Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Julys and Novembers

I hesitate in posting a blog today only because I want to make sure you read the one titled "Tis the season". I still need A LOT of stockings so please take a minute and read that, too! And then take another minute to email and say that you're helping out! (I only have 10 claimed so far out of 84! help!)

Okay, so why are the Mohr's moving? Well, rewind with me to a year and a half ago, July 2006. We had just returned from Northern Ireland on a mission trip and a comment was made casually that the reason that Russ and I were friends with Beth and Mike was to plant a church someday. Mixed reactions of "how fun!" and "holy yikes" were shared. Also during 2006 our church announced plans of planting another church, which they've done in the past. In our minds at the time, this wasn't the right one. We thought maybe the next one after that, as in around 5ish years.

Now fast forward to my arrival home this last July. I came home to conversations about planting a church more frequently than once a year. In fact the first week I was home there was a meeting held by our church with a larger group of young people who were interested in this idea. Dreams were building but they seemed far off and unrealistic. Somewhere along the line someone brought up the city. It settled weird. By that, I mean that it didn't sound preposterous like it should. It was an odd meeting where as each person spoke of their idea of an ideal church plant, we all realized we were on the same page. Everyone's desire was to see what the Lord was doing in the city and build on it. Up until this point, most of the church plant talk centered around moving west not east.

After a lot of talk between Russ and I and a lot of prayer, we resolved that if our church announced plans to move east with this (towards the city) that we would commit to being involved. If they moved west, we would sit still. Last month, a letter was mass-mailed to our congregation announcing Lafayette Square (in the city) as the location for the new plant.




Now, St. Louis is one of the cities where it really only takes 20 minutes to get anywhere. So, why would we move? We can just hop on the interstate and get to church like we do now. From the beginning of this on-going conversation, this idea was a no-brainer. If we're going to serve a community of people and show them God's love we need to be in their community, not just visiting. We truly feel that the Lord is restoring the heart of the people of St. Louis just as people are restoring all of the buildings. We are just itching to get down there and get moving. I picture the Lord as a moving train and now is our time to jump on that train before it just takes off!

When I stop and think about it, it's a little odd to feel such a passion out of nowhere for a city I already live in. It's like (and not like) when someone decides to move to another country to be a missionary. We're really only moving about 15 miles away from where we live now, but our hearts are different. A quote that Melissa put on her blog struck a chord with me on this topic:

"Compassion ~ is not a bending toward the underprivileged from a privileged position; it is not a reaching out from on high to those who are less fortunate below; it is not a gesture of sympathy or pity for those who fail to make it in the upward pull - .....On the contrary, compassion means going to those people and places where suffering is most acute and building a home there. God's compassion is total, absolute, unconditional, without reservation. It is the compassion of one who keeps going to the most forgotten corners of the world, and who cannot rest as long as he knows that there are still human beings with tears in their eyes."

(all photos done by Brad Edwards, fellow church planter...)


So, yeah, we're moving to the city. Not sure where Eliot will go to school or who is cute little friends will be, but it doesn't matter. Not sure where we'll grocery shop. Should I add pepper spray to the diaper bag? Who knows. People do this, right? Raise kids in the city? God seems to think it'll be fine.

On the flip side, please don't see me wearing a "Martyr" hat in this time. We're not achieving some level of glamorous holiness here. In fact, the house we're looking at and praying for is way nicer than the one we live in now. For now, we feel our calling is this. It may be a season or a lifetime, we have no idea and frankly, we quit making plans of our own a while ago. Yes, I like adventures but they also make me want to throw up and run the other direction.

It's November again and the Lord is turning my world upsidedown just like he did last November (this week is the anniversary of when I left for Guate!). It seems that July is the time for important conversations that I need to pay attention to and that November is the time for me to run and hide or buckle up for the ride.

So, that's it. We're moving to the city to see what the Lord is doing there and hopefully He'll let us be apart of it.

'Tis the season!

No, this isn't a blogger complaining about the fact that she saw Santa at the mall yesterday or that neighbors already have their tree up and lights on the house. This is way more fun than that!

If you've kept up with our blog you probably read this post about Capt. Erick Foster "http://katiemohr.blogspot.com/2007/09/for-erick-foster.html" Well, Beth (his sister)and I are putting together holiday packages for his troop still in Iraq. Beth is in charge of the main package and we (notice I said, "we" As in: you and I and all our blogging friends...)are putting together stockings for each soldier. How fun is that? It's so fun that we need 84 of them!

Here's how this is going to go down: While you and your family are out shopping at the grocery store or the mall or anywhere in between over the next 3 weeks, you're going to add to your shopping list some of the things that are on the list off to the side of this blog. In order for them to get there by Christmas, we need to ship them by Dec. 11 which means all stockings need to be to us by Friday, December 7th. If you'd like to help but don't have the time to get out to do this, you may also 'sponsor' a stocking (a.k.a. give me money and I'll shop for you!)

In review:
1. decide this is a great idea
2. confer with your family whether you're 'adopting' 1 soldier or more.
3. agree with your family when they say at least 2
4. email me at katielmohr@hotmail.com to let me know you're doing this
5. take a look at the list and copy items that you think would be fun
6. shop, shop, and shop some more! Have fun, get creative!
7. Go buy a stocking per soldier (nothing super fancy, these are military men don't forget...), fill it with your goodies, and drop it off with me or Beth. If you live outside STL, throw it in a box and ship it to me.

Coffee catch-up chat...2

*Friday night was a women's retreat for my church. It was my first night to be away from Eliot since I've had him which is almost a year now. It was harder than I thought. I wasn't even gone for 24 hours for the retreat but for some reason the overnight part got to me. And just as suspected: he got cuter while I was gone.

*The Parents-As-Teachers lady came over today for the first time. She's my new best friend. Why? Because she spent most of her time with us telling me how brilliant and adorable my son is. Yep, she's in.

*To make sure E's vaccinations worked from Guatemala, we had to get bloodwork done to see if all the anti-bodies were there. So yesterday Russ and I went to the hospital bloodwork lab with Eliot. 8 viles of blood later, Eliot was still not crying. What? Who is this person? He's amazing. He's more mad when the toothbrush is taken away from him than when some overly-friendly lady is sticking needles in his little arm.

*Aunt Manda was here this weekend! She and E had a great time bonding. I'll let the pictures tell about her time here! She was especially helpful this weekend since we had so much going on! It was one of those weekends where you start a conversation and it lasts all weekend in between all the different activities! She was a huge help while we got so many things done!

Shower for Sharon cont!

The "Cyber Shower" was a success! Through good connection and bad, we were able to webcam Sharon, Irene, and Bella into our party on Sunday afternoon. Brian and Cheryl also got a cake for them across the country so we all had cake at the same time! Isn't that funny? I'll leave you with pics of our end of the party. Also, if you haven't sent your cards/gifts yet, shoot me an email and I'll get you their address! And for those who didn't know, Sharon +family arrived home Friday night! She's actually already home, been to Target and Cracker Barrell! Praise God!



(Eliot and Bella were showing each other their belly buttons at the same time!!)

(Eliot's new friend Jack! So cute!)




(Jack and Eliot were both acting like they were sleeping. Hoppin' party, huh?)

A Windexing Tornado

A few insights came upon me this morning as I've been moving like a tornado through my two-dogs-and-a-toddler-messy house trying to make it sparkle like a toothpaste commercial. Now wait just a minute, you might be saying, why are you a cleaning monsoon if you've kept to your perfect little schedule? Well, the schedule works great until it's a Thursday morning and cleaning certain parts of the house isn't listed until Friday but you have realtors coming over.

Yes, you're allowed to read that last part again. Realtors. We're selling our house. Just typing the sentence fills me with anxiety both good and bad. Such a declaration makes one sweat and giggle at the same time. (I may be a little awkward to be around right now, what with all the giggling and sweating...) To make a REALLY long story short, one of our dreams that we didn't even know we had is coming true. A year and a half ago the Lord began planting seeds in our hearts for the city of St. Louis. As in, c-i-t-y. Not suburbs. As in, eliot better keep working on those b-ball skills.




Not only am I picking up a small animal's worth of dog hair, but we've already made our 'list'. If you've ever gotten a house ready to sell, you know the list. Repaint bathroom, sand and paint the window sill that Daisy ruined, fix the handrails in front, etc. When we sold our other house 3 and 1/2 years ago I was amazed at how nice our house was once it was ready to go. After we slapped on some paint here and fixed this, we realized we had a nicer house than we even knew we did and those problems that just nagged at the back of our minds were so simple to fix once we buckled down to do them. It also always surprised me how in just 3 and 1/2 years, the little problems have accumulated in this house. Once you let one thing go then it seems that many of the little issues become apart of a bigger list labeled "someday". Then Life happens and instead of reducing the list when you have some free time, you choose something else.

So, as I'm Windexing (yes, Windexing could be a verb) everything that should be transparent but has lost it's ability thanks to dog-snot, I had a thought. Is this how I am in other areas, not just home-maintenance? Are there habits that I have in being a wife and mother, or even as a friend, that I've let slip in, put on the list for "someday", and forgotten about? What behaviors would I fix if someone were to consider my relationships for their own like they will for this house? Things like "oh, I've been so busy, I haven't had time to return phone calls" come out as quickly as scrambling to explain that the fence looks that way because of the neighbor. When you sell your house you bring it up to a higher standard than in regular life. So, how does that (or does it even?) transfer to relationships? What would it look like to hold myself to a higher standard in those areas (over choosing selfishness or laziness, not talking perfectionism here...) Anyway, just a little check in my life this morning that I thought I'd share.


And if anyone wants to buy my house, give me a call...

follow-up

Many of you mentioned that you thought the pic of E and Daisy was so cute. Well, here's what yesterday looked like...





Here's the "mom and dad won't let me_____" classic look that I'm sure will make more appearances. In this case, fill in the blank with "won't let me sleep yet!" It's 7:30p.m., thanks to Daylight Savings Time. Eliot time 8:30.

Coffee catch-up chat...

*Eliot has gone through another 'growth' spurt of sorts. He's on his way to his 12th tooth. Yes, 12. He's gotten the last six within just the last few weeks. He did this for the first round of 6 also. I don't get it.

* I discovered diapers.com. The prices are amazing!! Here's the miracle though, this is the first time we've paid for diapers since I got home from Guate 4 months ago! Our youth group at church held a diaper shower for us before I left and it's carried us all the way through this time. There's actually even more in the basement but they're the next size up! AUGH! It's amazing!

* The fridge is displaying the new "schedule".(In reference to post on 10/15) It's even color-coded. So far, so good. I did take the advice of several bloggers on checking out flylady.com. Took some nuggets here and there and now there's organization, routine and a schedule for me, not just Eliot.

* I've managed to accomplish the best of both worlds. Sort of. I got a call from a school that I previously worked at to see if I was available to tutor 10 hours a week. The student isn't currently in school, so I'm able to work my time with her into my schedule. I've got my foot back in the teaching world without the major time commitment!

*Mr. Toddler is experimenting with little fits. They're not much and not often. The main time he throws them is centered around brushing teeth time. The odd part is that it occurs when I have to put away the toothbrush! I can't wait to remind him of this when he's 14...

*Eliot goes through spurts where he drinks water all day every day. For the last week, the first thing he does in the morning is find his water bottle and drinks 9oz. Needless to say, we're rolling through the diapers like mad! He's easily drinking over 20oz before lunch, not counting the average 7-9 oz of milk!

* Eliot went to his first real movie on Sunday! We went to see "The Bee Movie". He loved it! He basically sat in my lap for the entire hour and a half. He was intrigued with the enormous screen!



And, eliot's new security blanket is Daisy. He drinks most of his sippy cups in this spot, usually with his tag blanket. Daisy doesn't seem to mind.

Note to self 7

Daylight savings time is not the friend of a SAHM on a regimented schedule. Extra hour? That's funny.

Shower for Sharon!

If you've been a faithful reader of our blog, you're aware of our dear friends still in Guatemala. Well, if you'd lost contact with Sharon's blog when she moved it, you may not know that SHE IS COMING HOME! I get emotional every time I think of it!! Bella will be home in just a few short weeks, close to mid-November! Can you believe it? I know I can't still, I can't imagine how Sharon must feel! She will have been there over 15 months. That's insane.


Anyway, to honor how faithful the Lord was in this time, I'm throwing a "toddler shower" (Bella's closer to being a teenager than a baby...) for them, hopefully before they get home. If you want more info, email me at katielmohr@hotmail.com. I know how overwhelmed I was when I came home with all the needs Eliot had that we weren't prepared for. Thankfully, people had thought ahead and sent gift cards so we went shopping! Everything from Target trips for me to BabiesRUs trips for Eliot. Even if you don't live in the STL area but would like to contribute, shoot me an email and I'll give you the details. There was never such a cause for total celebration as this, let's make it as worry free as possible!

Thanks for making my friends your friends throughout this process. You guys are awesome! and Yes, Sharon and I are already trying to scheme to trip to St. Louis for them so she can meet her St. Louis fans!