AoO Chapter 13: Small Steps to Big Change

It is never too late to change yourself and bring lasting change to your family. Mountains are not conquered in a single step. Relationships do not change overnight. Tripp provides more practical steps for parents:

• Stay calm - "Man's anger does not lead to the righteous life that God desires" (James 1:20)
• Keep conversation open (see Strategy 2 in chapter 12: "Three Strategies")
• Demonstrate how the Bible interprets, explains, and organizes life - God's Word rules and directs every part of our lives or it does not (see chapter 8: "Convictions and Wisdom" and 10: "Heart for God")
  
• Be willing to show your own struggle (Paul does this for us in 2 Cor. 1:3-11)
• Keep Christ and His work central - It is not enough to speak about Christ, we must demonstrate His life in our life (see 10: "Heart for God" and 11: "Leaving Home")
  
• You're a sinner. Don't act surprised at your teenager's struggle with sin (see 4: What is a Family?")
  
• Plan for temptation (see 5: "Parents Meet Your Teenager")
  
• Make accountability your teenager's responsibility - There are always places to hide. An army of people cannot successfully hold a person accountable who does not want the help
• Be a good listener and observer (see chapter 12)
• Don't give in to problem allergy (see 1: "Opportunity or Survival")
• Always keep heart in focus (see 3: "What is a Family: A Definition")
• Do your Biblical homework first
• Always speak lovingly and constructively - communication problems happen not simply because of a teen's character, but also because of our idolatry (see 2: "Whose Idols are in the Way?"
• Be willing to overlook minor offenses - not everything is equally important
• Always deal honestly with your own attitudes (see chapter2)
• Expect, welcome, and respect differences - The goal is for a child to be made into the image of Christ, not ourselves

Questions to ponder:

• Tripp presents a lot of advice all at once! If you could pick 2 to work on, which would they be? Why?
  
• Which piece of advice was something you wish you knew years ago? How can we make sure we don't get discouraged?
• What are pieces of advice you have already taken to heart? How can you encourage a fellow parent through what God has taught you?

Anniversary!

It's hard to believe it's already been a year since we got married. This weekend we're going on a little trip to Fredricksburg to celebrate! Our plans are to hike Enchanted Rock and Inks Lake, and then go stroll the streets a little bit during Oktoberfest and grab some yummy German food.

I'm about to embark on a little foray into fancy Chinese cooking. Whenever we travel, my aunt always brings these delicious braised beef shank sandwiches with cilantro on a shao bing, so I decided that I would learn how to make them.

Even buying the right cut of meat was a trial. I naively thought that HEB would carry the right cut of beef shank, but theirs is already cut up into filets, and when I asked the butcher if he had any more, he went into the back and brought out the actual leg, shrink wraped, with skin, bone, and all. :P A trip to MT led me to what I was looking for, and now it's sitting in my refrigerator, silently mocking me.

I found this recipe that looks pretty good. We'll see how it turns out!
http://www.tastehongkong.com/recipes/stewed-beef-shank/

moustache bunny

A few of Alex's coworkers have a yearly tradition of growing out their beards in the wintertime until sometime in March. They're looking pretty scruffy by then end of it, with full out beards covering their whole faces.

Alex seemed interested in doing it (although there are only two weeks left) because his coworker Kameswar has joined in this year, and Kameswar is a bad influence on Alex ^_~. He's not usually one to be wild and crazy, so to encourage his "wild side," I told him he should try it. I think it'll be cute.

I'm looking forward to the results. Today was his first day of being Moustache Bunny. He really can only grow a moustache, so I'm envisioning some really thick Luigi-like growth that can be calmly smoothed while drinking a glass of wine. Very refined.


But realistically, it'll probably end up looking more like a used car salesman. Maybe he should get a plaid suit to match.


Doesn't my bunny model look happy?

an attempt

So recently I took a day off of work and decided to learn how to knit. It's been really neat to see all these scarves come out of certain people, and it's made me have the itch to want to learn. I had some old knitting needles from when I tried to learn in college, and set out. You'd be amazed at what awesome tutorials there are nowadays on the Internet. Who needs you, $50 class, when I've got Youtube?

So I've been kinda toying with a sort of 101 in 1001 list, so here's a start:

Make/upholster a headboard
Re-upholster a chair
Finish wedding thank yous
Visit 4 Seminaries
Learn to live on one budget
Make a hat from yarn
Repaint a frame a bright color and use it for something
Learn to tile and install a green backsplash in our kitchen
Go on a road trip with Alex
Learn how to use a serger
Adopt a dog (Corgi) and teach said dog to do tricks
Finish our study (hang things on walls/organize)
Memorize Philippians
Read a few chapters from Bible Doctrine or Systematic Theology

Post-wedding adjustments

I didn't think that we'd have much trouble adjusting to sleeping in the same bed. My mom always said that I kicked, but that was when I was younger, maybe in elementary school, and I personally never have issues with sleeping. I ususally sleep like a rock, even through alarms.

On our honeymoon, we slept really well, in both Maui and Oahu. But when we got back, I was still really sleepy when I woke up, even when I got a full night's sleep. And later on, I found out why.

Earlier this week--
Alex: "I think I kicked you last night."
Teresa: "Yes, I said, 'OW! You kicked me', and then went back to sleep.
Alex: "Sorry..."

This morning--
Alex: "I poked your eye last night."
Teresa: "What?!? I don't remember this!"
Alex: "Yeah, I think I had my arm around you and my finger was in the wrong place, and all of a sudden you said, 'OW! You poked my eye!'"
Teresa: "I don't remember this... but that explains why I'm so tired this morning."

Ah... growing pains. I wanted a king-sized bed, and Alex wanted a full, so we compromised with a queen. Maybe we can buy a twin and just add it as an extension. :P

fried fried fried

I can't believe it's Thursday. Another week has come and is almost over. Craziness. We're trying to get a lot of wedding planning stuff out of the way, mainly because Alex is so on top of things. I think if it were up to me, I'd probably wait until the last moment. But it's weird-- I've heard that usually you're doing everything at the last minute, but for us, I'm not sure if there'll be that much to work on next week. I think all we have left to do is meet with our coordinator, do seating (lumping 10 people together at a table and hoping they get along), and then burning a few CDs of MP3s. I'm also getting my dress bustled, but that's not really a Teresa task as much as a seamstress task.

So yeah, I was going to go and take next week off, but I'm wondering if I really need to. I think we'll probably be done with everything by then... or maybe I'm deluding myself? I could also need the rest too-- we've been working ourselves pretty hard, both at work and with wedding stuff. It would be nice to have a few days just to spend with God/packing a little bit. Any advice?

Ooh-- an update on my dress-- it came in and was all fixed up beautifully! The Belle Saison people told me that the seamstress who worked on it had to repair it by hand, and was fretting about it the whole time, concerned she hadn't repaired it enough, and that I wouldn't like it. But she did an awesome job fixing it, and while you can tell if you look closely that it's not perfect, I like how it reflects the journey it took for God to get it to me. It has character. And now all it needs is a bustle because it fits perfectly. Praise God. :)

I gave away Camille almost a month ago. By this weekend it'll have been three weeks. I think I've actually gotten used to her not being around, but when I look at my cell phone, my background is set as a picture of her, and occasionally I'll get sad and miss her. But I know that God has provided a home for her, and I'm so glad that there's so many people that can play with her, give her affection, and all the attention she really needs. I need to go over sometime to show them how to clip her nails, so hopefully I'll get to see her soon, but I don't wanna cry, so maybe I should give her... I mean myself... a little more time. :P

home stretch

wow, I can't believe that our little wedding is in a little over two and a half weeks! It's hard to believe it's flown by so quickly. I can't wait to be married :).


A few things that need prayer--
- My dress was sent to be fixed and it was shipped back, but it's currently stuck in Houston because of Ike. If the fix doesn't work, my bridal salon also ordered a completely new dress that will be overnighted-- I'll get that one the week before the wedding :P. There's no ETA on this yet, but somehow I still have peace about it.
- Songs (we don't have any picked yet)
- Whether or not I should take off either the later part of the week or the whole week-- pray that everything at work gets done in time so I don't think about that at the same time
- The Gospel and its role at our wedding
-Programs (don't have any yet...)