Saturday, February 26, 2011

God looks after the little things.

Recently Abu Tulip and I were talking about how insignificant our lives really are, considering the population of the earth and the conflicts befalling nations surrounding us.  Yet it is at times comical how important the tiniest details matter to us personally on a daily basis.  We are told God knows the number of hairs on our head.  Although I am confident in my faith, I am still surprised at little miracles such as this morning.

Last night we went out to a restaurant for dinner.  Abu Tulip just left for a work conference, and my mother-in-law and I are holding down the fort.  It was a lovely "date night".  Seafood ravioli.  Yum.  Afterward we stopped at an ATM to make sure we had enough cash for the week.  The ATM was poorly lit, and as Abu Tulip opened his wallet a few things fell out.  I bent down and found a credit card and a receipt.  I didn't notice anything else around.

This morning we were heading out our road for Abu Tulip to drop us off at school and then return to finish packing his suitcase.  As we pulled out, we noticed our neighbor waving frantically at us from the car behind.  We pulled over and Z came up.  "How's it going?" we asked.

Z is a young shab who is loads of fun and his mom makes the best maqloubi I've ever had.  I learned a lot of Arabic from this family and they are dear friends.  "Well," Z said, "my buddies and I were out last night and we stopped at an ATM.  My friend found this credit card and showed it to me.  It's yours!  So here you go."

Dumbstruck, we headed on our way to school, marveling at God's intervention in our lives.  That the lost card would be found by a good friend is beyond me.  Had it been stolen, a lot of damage would have taken place before we would have ever noticed, especially with Abu Tulip traveling this week.

I guess I needed to be reminded of His care and concern.  Thank you, Lord.

~ Um Tulip

Monday, February 21, 2011

A few pics for now.

Still working on editing some photos and forming those posts.  For now....can you name where this one was taken?  Do you have any idea what "Best without taste" means?







This one is of a family restroom at a nice hotel.  Again, what were they thinking!  As a mom of three boys, I have been in this situation before and let me tell you, I nearly wet myself the first time I saw this sign.

This is just a shot of the lovely fabric my MIL and I got downtown for a great price.  She's been busy this week making curtains for our living room.  They are beautiful!

Teddy Bear made this valentine for us last week.  I edited out the name of his best friend for privacy's sake, but I think it's adorable.
 More to follow.  ~ Um Tulip

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

My Valentine's Day Song

I've been back from the states a couple weeks now, and have formed about 20 blog posts in my mind.  However, we've been too busy getting back into school and then fabric shopping and choir rehearsals that I haven't actually posted anything.

Linus turned two, and the terrible twos are well underway.  Pics of Elmo cupcakes need to be posted.

The pictures of our star wars pancake morning are ready to post, too, as soon as I load them.

For now, as I need to get back to the kiddos, I'll leave you with my current favorite song.  We ordered the CD "Counting Stars" by Andrew Peterson off Amazon.  Yes, we have yet to switch over to downloading MP3s.  I can't get through the song "Dancing in the Minefields" without tears. 

Valentine's Day was busy with work and choir so we didn't really celebrate, but this song reminds me why I married my best friend and I'm so thankful for the choice we made, now 10 1/2 years ago.

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I was nineteen, you were twenty-one
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young
But we did it anyway

We bought our rings for forty each
From a pawn shop down the road
We made our vows and took the leap
Now fifteen years ago

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

"I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard
Is a good place to begin

'Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price
For the life that we have found

And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storm
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

So when I lose my way, find me
When I loose love's chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith, till the end of all my days
When I forget my name, remind me

'Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man
So there's nothing left to fear
So I'll walk with you in the shadowlands
Till the shadows disappear

'Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos, baby,
I can dance with you

~ Um Tulip