Gratitude Journal

Abundant Blessings

February 28, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

Today was an incredible day. Its incredibleness is most of the reason I haven’t blogged until now–much past my bedtime. Being blessed is a position–something we already possess whether we know it or not–but on certain days, it’s obvious. Today was one of those days.

It started with an email.

My husband wrote to say we have an apartment. He’s been searching for the last week, and his success was mixed. Although the very first apartment he sent pictures of made us all want to move right in, having walked through it, he felt it was just too small. He held out, and in the end the apartment he found exceeded all our expectations, and met every qualification the kids and I had for it on our dream list of features, which included the following:

Western toilets
a bathtub
two bathrooms
balconies (Sprout’s request)
a nice-sized kitchen
storage, if possible

The apartment he found has it all! I’m overwhelmed! We all are.

This is the stack of money he paid for the apartment. Chinese culture lesson #1: you pay your rent advance, usually every six months.

NewImage

And the day just kept getting better. Here are the blessings I’m counting today

120. We have an apartment!!!
121. Our apartment is everything we could have wanted and more.
122. The landlord is providing us a refrigerator. The refrigerator has double doors! (Our previous refrigerator in China was relatively small. This one won’t be.)
123. It’s strawberry season in China, and my wonderful husband is going to buy some and freeze them for me. You’d have to understand that there are very few berries sold in China. You can’t buy them frozen, so you have to buy them fresh when they’re available. We get strawberries in February-March, mulberries (yum!) in June, I think. (I can’t quite remember). And blueberries for a very short while at the end of the summer (they’re expensive). I usually try to freeze batches so we can enjoy them longer. This goes very well with the fact that the refrigerator is larger. I’ll have more capacity for berries! I was concerned we’d miss the season, but JavaMan was already thinking of me. Isn’t he wonderful?

NewImage — Our apartment is on the top floor. The bay window will be our new homeschool room!

124. I am making headway on the bins. Still trying to focus on the positive and believe I’ll make it all fit.
125. I found out we may have the chance to visit with friends while we’re on our 12-hour layover in Hong Kong.
126. We had a bit of a financial mix-up last week that meant I was short some money. But we were blessed unexpectedly today–very well-timed for some of those last-minute purchases.
127. I had a chance to teach my daughters this week about needs and wants and how to make wise purchases. 128. I have wonderful children.
129. I have a wonderful husband.
130. I am so blessed to have such trust in my husband that he can be half a world away and I know all is well and he is thinking of me and his children.
131. There was a bit of a snafu with JavaMan’s visa. However, it looks as though the situation will be quickly resolved, and without too much extra hassle or financial repercussions.
132. There are only [fergcorp_cdt_single date=”March 12, 2012″] more days until we get on a plane and go!
133. I seem to be recalling lots of Mandarin, and I think I won’t have too much trouble getting my stride back in the language when we get there
134. JavaMan is feeling better about his language abilities since we had the chance to invest in Rosetta Stone last year. It’s wonderful to hear his confidence in the language improving. (When we lived there previously, I had more opportunities for practice than he did, since in his interactions with his colleagues, he mostly used English.)
135. It’s wonderful to be in a small town for this bit of our waiting period. I received some wonderful help on my last-minute-quilt-finishing-up as well as some help with knitting this week. Neighbors and small-town business owners are wonderful.
136. I’m grateful for several opportunities to reconnect with friends before we leave. I had a lovely chat with a friend this week.
137. Made another little schedule change and have been really enjoying homeschool since I decided to relax about what we achieved before we left. Packed away the Math books today.
138. Sprout has been making great strides in reading lately.
139. She’s also doing better with her lisp. More on that later this week!

See what I mean? Overwhelmed.

Multitudes on Monday - Carey Clark

Possibilities

February 20, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

JavaMan is in our new city, looking for an apartment. We already miss him. And we all wish we were there with him, our feet on the ground of the city we love, seeing the familiar sights that have no doubt changed since we were there last.

There are [sct date=”3/13/2012 20:30″ align=”none” size=”1″] until we leave. Sometimes it seems like an eternity, and sometimes it seems like hardly enough time to do all the last-minute things.

Our flights are booked, as of today. Tomorrow, after homeschool, the kids and I will go to apply for our visas.

There is so much to be thankful for.

ourcity — One of the parks in our beautiful city

100. Medical and dental appointments are all behind us, and with the exception of a couple of cavities that are now taken care of, everyone was just fine.
101. My shoulder continues to heal, and should be in great shape by the time we leave.
102. I am making progress on my giant list of things to do, and feeling much less pressured.
103. We saw JavaMan off and he has safely arrived back in China.
104. JavaMan has a place to stay while he searches for apartments.
105. He already has a number of good leads to great-looking places.
106. The last time, someone searched for our apartment for us. This time we get to look for ourselves. It’s exciting and promising!
107. We were (finally) able to connect with friends in China who helped us with our move the last time.
108. The same friends picked JavaMan up at the airport.
109. The kids and I have had some time to relax and reconnect since JavaMan’s departure. We all feel refreshed.
110. We have some fun things to do before we leave to help us keep our minds off Daddy’s absence.
111. I was able to get some much-needed perspective on homeschool last week, and feel much better about how we’re spending our time until we leave.
112. I’m organized! My plans for upcoming weeks of homeschool are organized and in the CM Organizer. We had our first chance to really see it in action today. I’m really happy with it, and think I’ll plan into our time back in China so we can get back into things as soon as jet lag wears off and we’re settled in.
113. Because of the aforementioned shift in focus this week, we’ve slowed down and spent some much-needed time out of doors together–a walk to the library on the weekend, and a nature study time last week.
114. I’m so grateful for my children. They are such a blessing to me.
115. I’m grateful that I have a wonderful husband, whom I can implicitly trust to find us the best place to live.
116. I’m grateful that this season is drawing to a close, and I’m grateful for the shift in focus it will bring.
117. I’m looking forward to speaking Mandarin again on a daily basis.
118. ’m grateful for all the things we’ve been able to do while we were back in Canada–for visits with family and friends and wonderful experiences.
119. I’m grateful for snow (you won’t hear me say this much) My kids have been hoping and praying for a good dose of winter before we leave Canada, and the weather hasn’t cooperated. They got a good dose of it in the last week–enough to have fun building a snow fort with Daddy before he left.

- Carey Clark

All the Details

February 13, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

{Don’t miss this review of After the Snow Falls at Isn’t that the Craziest Thing.}

This week, we’re still plugging through a lot of the details of our move. My thanksgiving list still looks a little like a completed checklist, but I’m starting to get excited and homescick for getting back “home.” On the other hand, I’m feeling a little tearing away for what we leave behind here–but more for the sake of my kids, who are feeling the imminence of the move.

When there are so many details to be mindful of, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but it has been proven to us over and over again that not only is “God in the details” as they say, but that He cares about them too.

Just this week, I had an experience with that. I have been wanting an iPod Touch for some time. I have put off purchasing it, balancing it between a want and a need, but I wanted a camera I could keep on hand for quick shots when we’re out and about in China–but something I could tuck in my purse. We also plan a weekly video blog, and a techie friend recommended the iPod touch as the best tool for what I wanted to do–especially now that I have a Mac! In addition, I use an iPod for language learning and podcasts.

I could almost justify spending $199 on an 8GB, but really felt more comfortable with the memory on a 32GB. Yesterday, I was able to get an amazing deal on a 32GB, which basically gave me the extra memory for the same price as an 8GB. I don’t have it in my hands yet, but it is a tremendous blessing to get it at that price! So my first item of thanksgiving is:

80. A bargain on something I needed/wanted for our return to China.
81. In spite of all the busy-ness, we had a good homeschool week last week. Despite the change in location, and a bit of a lack of organization, we’re keeping up!
82. We have several of our appointments out of the way (doctor, medical reports, etc.) and our passports–all except one.
83. We had some family time on Saturday: we went swimming!
84. While swimming, Sweetpea passed her “swim alone” test–a real milestone for her. How wonderful to leave on a note of victory!
85. Sprout has suddenly found confidence in her swimming–she is jumping into the deep end (albeit with a lifejacket), swimming underwater (without one), bobbing like a maniac, and even started what looks a lot like a front crawl.
86. Had a chance for a real heart-to-heart with Pumpkin last week, who was feeling the pain of our move. It didn’t make everything perfect again, but it got him back on track emotionally.
87. We had an unexpected financial blessing last week–all these little blessings are wonderfully timed, since there’s a lot of last-minute resources we have to gather together before we leave (a year’s worth of vitamins, just as an example, and all the spices I want to take with me, because they are much harder to come by there).
88. I was feeling a bit spiritually out of sorts, and I got back on track this week.
89. I’m thankful for the resilience of children.
90. I’m thankful for the ability of my children to make me see what’s truly important in life.
91. I’m thankful for homeschool. Can you imagine living our life without it?
92. I’m thankful for my parents and their home. This is not Plan A, but it is good to have a Plan B.
93. I read the blog of a military wife this week. I really just stumbled on it. They are in the midst of an international move themselves and she remarked how they had found their home, a new church and a number of other key ingredients all in the space of four days. I was very encouraged by this.
94. In the meantime, we’ve been receiving updates from a real estate agent and the Chinese office manager at the office Brian will be working at, and things are looking very hopeful on the apartment front.
95. Have been really encouraged by friends lately: their friendship and their prayers.
96. I had a chance to encourage someone yesterday. As I did so, I was so grateful for just this very exercise. Counting one’s blessings certainly brings about a different perspective on life.
97. While I haven’t been able to write much of substance lately on either of the projects I’m working on, things at the planning stage (character development, etc.) have been progressing in the background, and I’m really grateful for 750words.com. It’s been very useful for helping me brain dump, helping me become more fluid in my writing, and helping me feel like I’m getting somewhere in my writing development in a season when it’s difficult to see big leaps of progress.
98. I got a little window into the workings of a situation that had baffled me. It’s good to know that even when you don’t understand what’s going on, God is in the details.
99. Laughter–in the face of every circumstance in life, it’s such a gift.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s post: a special Valentine’s guest post and GIVEAWAY!

So much to do…So much grace in the process

February 6, 2012 by Carey Jane Clark

{Don’t miss the latest review of After the Snow Falls at Mom Loves 2 Read.}

I am counting my gifts to one thousand along with the folks at Ann Voskamp’s blog (author of One Thousand Gifts). Thanks for joining me.

Forgive me if while I count my blessings this week it looks more like a checked-off to-do list. There is no shortage of things to be done these days and the first gift I am thankful for is:

60. More checkmarks on my to-do list.
61. After unpacking and repacking, I managed to fit quite a few more things in THE BINS for THE MOVE.
62. I was able to restore some level of order with most of the items that need sorting gone through and all of the bins safely tucked away in a closet where people aren’t tripping over them
63. JavaMan (gotta love him) and I finished cleaning the house we just moved out of
64. Everyone is safely ensconced at Grandma’s awaiting THE MOVE
65. We have tentative flight dates! This is one of THE biggest blessings of the week. Can’t express how excited we are. We will be leaving in [sct date=”3/13/2012 20:51″ align=”none” size=”1″]
66. After all the chaos was said and done, I had a chance to really connect with my kids this week in some rewarding family time. We played games together and read together. Reading together is such good therapy! I’m so thankful for good books and times to enjoy them with my children.
67. Speaking of good books I enjoy with my children, I participated in last month’s Books that Made me Love Reading Challenge with Emlyn Chand, and yesterday found out I won the prize basket as a result!
68. It’s a gift how blessed I was feeling even before winning the prize simply as a result of the stroll down memory lane with the books I loved from childhood and the chance to share them with my kids.
69. I had a chance to be alone with my youngest for a couple of hours Sunday afternoon: a rare gift indeed. We had a tea party and played her favorite game.
70. I have a wonderful husband who observes me under stress and knows I need his patience. He is more than gracious.
71. Another unexpected blessing this week: I received an email with comments from a reader–a man–who said my book wasn’t his normal fare, but he was glad he read it. He proceeded to tell me how the book touched him. I was blown away, and so humbled.
72. I received my new Mac, and I’m working my way through updates and software and finding programs similar to what I’ve become accustomed to on the PC and feeling so very blessed and grateful.
73. Received another email from a fellow author that was very encouraging.
74. I took a break from my blogging over the weekend to actually breathe and enjoy life, and felt (almost) no guilt about it.
75. We applied for passports, finally. Our old ones were still valid, but didn’t have enough pages left for all the visas and stamps, and would run out before we plan to come back to Canada (The bonus? My passport picture for the new passport looks A LOT better than the old one.)
76. I’ve been so excited about my new novel projects and the ideas have been flowing. Yay! I love this stage. I love all the stages.
77. Had a wonderful (last) visit with some great friends this week.
78. So grateful for the seasons in our lives. My kids and I sat down a couple of weeks ago to list all the wonderful things we were blessed to experience while we’ve been home in Canada–from riding on a combine in Saskatchewan to a road trip to Texas to living in rural Ontario. We were reluctant to come home in the first place, but it has been a blessing after all.
79. We had the opportunity to see the movie Courageous for the second time over the weekend (made me cry just as much or more than the first time). It made me grateful all over again for the wonderful man I married: a good husband and a good father to his children.

« Previous Page