Blind Bartimaeus . . . . Revised Barbie & Ken Version (RBKV).

Checking to make sure this blog still works... bringing it out of retirement soon!!!

sick ,sick ,sick

almost everyone in our house has been sick,sick sick with the stomach flu.some of us kunkels like mom and i have already had it.but Dustin still has it.Zoe hasn't got it yet.i am hoping you will pray for dust and Zoe.i will be praying.other than that everything is smooth and cool in the kunkel house.
i would love feedback on how i am doing on the blog.it helps me be a better writer.goodbye.



love from,
lily

Question coach

Hi,
it's lily kunkel, yesterday i learned something and i would like
to share it with you.except you wouldn't understand without a
story so i will tell you one.it was yesterday and zoe,my dad,and i
were on our way to Phil and patty's house.Now so you know our families
have been friends since like forever.

So anyway we were in the car then my dad said i have a surprise for you guys but you have to guess what it is you have 20 questions.my sister and i kept blowing questions
all we knew was it was bigger than a car window ,smaller than a car,
it played music and plugged into an electric socket.when we had 10 questions
left we gave up.when we got inside we talked with Phil and told him about
the 20 questions.we asked him to help us and he did.he got us some clues
that helped .then we watched a movie.at the end of the movie we asked a few

more questions than zoe guessed its a keyboard and i was out of ideas so we asked
find out we were right!then we gave Phil and my dad hugs.

the lesson here is clear
sometimes you need help.you can't always do everything by yourself .
bye,
lily

Question coach

honduras

readers,
in March we need your prayers Dustin my dad is going to
Honduras
in central America to scout out all the good places to go
for a family trip and to support the mission of training servant
leaders at camp Cerro De Luz . Also pray for the U.S.A. It is going through
a hard time.Keep us in prayers when march starts and i lily
will keep you updated
love,
lily + the kunkels

collecting food

hi its Lily kunkel,
today i went and collected food for the food bank in Portland with my friends.their mom said there isn't enough food.so we went and collected donations from our neighborhood.it was very fun.So if you don't have something to do think of how to help someone in need.As here in the kunkel house we're fine.everything is going smoothly.keep reading our blog readers,

lily joy kunkel

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Interpretation Is Everything

A couple of weeks ago as we were packing up to move I noticed Zoe's silence once again. So, same as many days I yelled out to her "Zoe, what are you doing?" And that dreaded answer "nuffing" (she still has trouble with her 'th' sound). So, I kept packing. Pretty soon she came into the kitchen asking for a big bowl. Enjoying her being so content I gave her the bowl without asking any further questions. A bit of time went by and I hollered again "Zoe, what are you doing?" Her answer, "I told you 'nuffing' mom!". I went out to make sure it was really "nuffing".

Zoe had taken the bowl and filled it with dirt and rocks and was pouring water in and packing it down. I stood at the window wondering what she was up to. Pretty soon the bowl was packed with rocky mud. She flipped the bowl over and patted it to make sure she got all the mud out. She then took her barbie dolls---all naked--and placed them in a sitting--legs straight out line around this pile of mud. She then took her Ken doll and put him on the top of the mud in up to his knees so he could stand firm.

She the started speaking as if she was Ken to the rest of the Barbies. She was telling them that Jesus loved them and that each of them was amazing and beautiful and going on and on. I was really curious at this point so I said "Zoe what are you doing?" this time she looked up at me with this "duh mom" look and said "Mommy, it's the sermon on the mound!". I loved her interpretation of this Bible story.

Our kids continue to make us laugh and smile in the midst of our craziness. We are now settling into life living back in NE Portland just two blocks from where Dust and I met over 16 years ago!

We have decided as part of Lily's homework and helping her develop writing skills, we are going to have her write on the family blog a couple of times a month. Watch this space for musings from the point of view of 8 year old Lily Joy!

Switchfoot sings for "Prince Caspian"

See the youtube box on the right for a winsome song by Jon Foreman and Switchfoot for the new Chronicles of Narnia film. "This is Home" captures the essence of Chronicles. Jon is quoted as "trying to capture how I felt when I was six years old and our Dad would read them to us."

Spring Poem

The poem below was written a few days ago. A great accompaniment as you read my poem would be to download Jon Foreman's "Spring" EP from here:

http://store2.bandfarm.com/jonforeman/product/?catID=&prodID=1621

I highly recommend listening with headphones or earbuds, since the music -- acoustic as it is -- has many sonic layers that you'll miss otherwise.

Well, here's the poem:

"Waiting for the Buffleheads"

Driving back from dropping
off Lily the road winds
up past the stop sign on
Valhalla road,
Takes two sharp curves
Drops in a gentle turn by
the flooded and marbled wetlands.

I look each day for first sign
of waterfowl.
There are watery edges now
between the snow on the banks
and the humps of vegetation
and the sickly ice.
Soon, it goes.
Soon, they come and play, mate, and live.

This patch.
This little wet spot.

Some man's hand touched it and made it,

Sinews bent and turned

Unravelling and ravelling.

Even better -- such beauty

lies here on the edge

of a curving road

So we can't look straight

and say,

"I didn't see."

Keeping up the Blog

Some of you may be wondering if this blog is going away... since we're not posting like we used to ...

A good question.

At the moment, we are simply both working and the time is not available. We recognize our present state isn't sustainable, so if you're reading this and want more... have hope!

And pray that some things come through for us so one of us can be at home more often -- for the children, and for you!

Kenyans for Peace

A friend of ours is in Kenya right now, working to help the people suffering from the violence and hatred. Through him we found out about a unique music video -- made up of Kenyan musicians from across the tribal lines, all of them singing "Wakenya Pamoja" (Kenyans Together). See the the right column to watch the video.

Keep the people of Kenya in your thoughts (and prayers if you talk to God). Its a tough time, and they haven't made it to peace just yet.

Kunkel Fam Vid Moved to Sidebar

We've moved the kunkel fam vid to the sidebar on the right. Its much smaller, so if you want to see the larger version, go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAL03zKAi7k

A Wild & Snowy Winter!

For those who've wondered what we're up to.... here's a look at the weather we've been dealing with: Our snows have broken the record set in 1915!!!

http://www.krem.com/topstories/stories/krem2_020608_cdasnowrecord.96d1a329.html

Kunkel Fam Summer Video

We realized that many of you may not have a picture of what our lives are like -- particularly in the summer time.
The video slideshow above is an attempt to give a feel for Kunkel Fam life during summer camp 2007. Our daughter Brandi (25) moved to camp this summer to work as camp staff and she's in the pictures too.
Of course... things you can't see in the video:

1. Dust working in the wee hours/late hours to finish his dissertation.
2. Janette looking for work (her job as Day Camp Coordinator was done in August).
3. Our other older kids who are growing, changing, and facing life's challenges as adults and parents themselves.

Musings on Marriage and Motherhood in the wee hours of the Morn

First an update on my dad and Zoe and then my musings from this morning.

Dad came through surgery and is doing great! Thanks for the prayers. Sorry we have yet to get Christmas cards out since we hit the road to go see dad. We do have a family Christmas video and greeting on www.youtube.com and I will get Dust to post the link on here once he is up today.

Zoe has gone back to the doctors twice since writing the first time. She has had a series of treatments and the short of it is that the mass in her intestine has shrank in size. The doctor now thinks perhaps it was an inflamed intestine--great news! They are watching her white blood count as it is low and went down a bit from her last test. She had a whole new series of tests on Friday for allergies, Thyroid function, blood count and who knows what else. She is so brave and doesn't even cry! She likes to watch the "bubbly blood" come out of her arm. Please continue to pray with us about the test results and that the Dr. will have a clear understanding of what is going on in Zoe.

Now for story time!

I got off work at 6:30pm on Saturday night from working at the hospital ER came home loaded Brandi into the car and took her to the hospital--right where I had come from. After explaining a half dozen times how a 34 year old could be the mother of a 25 year old the Phlebotomist came in to do a blood test on Brandi. She said something to the fact that she had gone on to be a Phlebotomist after her children had gotten older so blood and bodily fluids don't get to her.

At 5:30 this morning Lily was screaming from the entry of our bedroom "Zoe puked all over me!" We jumped up out of bed to see chunks falling off of Lily. We ran to see Zoe sitting in Bed with well, you can imagine all over her and the bed and a trail on their floor to our room from where Lily walked. Lily and Zoe share a queen size bed because they still insist they sleep better together (that might change when Lily wakes up again).

Without really coming up with a game plan Dust and I sprung into action. He had Lily in the shower rinsing off while Zoe was getting undressed and on standby. I was rolling up soiled bedding and stuffed animals and running them to the shared laundry room here at camp. I had to survey the damage and prioritize what got washed first. Bottom sheet, pillow cases, pj's and Grey Dust--the stuffed bear Lily sleeps with that was Dustin's from the time that he was a baby. Grey Dust has lived in West Africa, Scotland, Oregon, Missouri, Montana and Idaho not to mention that he traveled to Greece, France and England and where ever Dust took him as a child.

I should back up and tell you that today is Dustin and I's 12th wedding anniversary and I had these fantasies of sleeping in, lingering in bed with a magazine and cup of tea. 12 years!

Lily got all cleaned up and got into our bed to get a bit more sleep. Dustin helped get more soiled laundry out of the house. It's amazing how quickly the smell of puke spreads! I went and washed Zoe's hair and got her out. Dust got her set up to watch a movie with a nice big tupperware bowl while I cleaned chunks out of the laundry room sink. We decided that Dust should go snuggle up to Lily and get some sleep in hopes that later we can tag team allowing me some sleep.

I came back in to check Zoe was doing alright and went back to the laundry room. The first load was done. I opened the washing machine to find chunks all over the place. 35 year old stuffing from Grey Dust everywhere. It's that point where you just laugh because there is nothing else to do. I shook the sheets, pj's, and pillow cases out, finished getting the last bit of stuffing out of Grey Dust and began to sweep up the mess that I had dumped on the floor. I began to sing in a rather sadly sarcastic tone "Happy Anniversary to me".

I wouldn't change this morning for a morning of sleeping in and being lazy...well maybe I would. But I appreciate moments of barf and mounds of laundry in the wee hours of the morning. I appreciate a husband who jumps up with me and springs into action and the teamwork that happens without having to talk about a game plan. I appreciate my girls who are both sound asleep now.

I don't want to leave you wondering about Brandi in the hospital. She has some inflammation in her hip/pelvic muscles that the doctor gave her a nice shot in her rear and a prescription to help.

The snow began to fall early this morning putting a new blanket of white all over everything making it clean and beautiful. Our house smells of lavender cleaner and the Island Spa candle the girls got me for Christmas and Zoe has just woke up crying about her tummy and I can't help but thinking "here we go again" and humming "Happy Anniversary to me".

Prayers Please!

It's been one of those weeks where you throw your hands up in the air and say "bring it on Lord!" because you feel like He is throwing everything else your way and might as well bring whatever else may happen too.

Zoe's first treatment for her bowel obstruction went well and we wait a few days now for the second round. Once that is over with she will have a little procedure to look further into the mass that was found through her x-rays and ultra sound. Pray that she can continue having such an amazing attitude and not really realize what is going on through the whole process.

The phone rang late last night-well late for a call to be coming from my dads house(thanks caller ID). My dad was taken to the emergency yesterday after a co-worker found him laying on the floor with heart/chest pain. My dad underwent heart surgery a little over a year ago and now will have to have surgery again on Tuesday morning. He is in the hospital in Bend. I was able to talk to him tonight for a few minutes and he cracked a couple of jokes and kept telling me how bad he wanted out of there so I know that his feisty spirit will get this through. Please pray for my dad Leon to come through the surgery with a very healthy strong heart and for my step-mother Phyllis to be embraced by their church family there and be able to experience rest and peace during the next few days.

Thank you to all our faithful friends and family that continue to embrace us! It's been a crazy year!

Janette

Craziness!

We have come to terms with the fact that we live a crazy life.

I can't tell you exactly when I came to that conclusion but it's a fact -- that much I do know.

I was talking to a good friend--Brent Brelje--on the phone the other day when it really hit me. He was sharing something with me and asked "do you think that we are crazy?" My response was "Brent, I think you are probably asking the wrong person."

dictionary.com defines craziness:

1.	mentally deranged; demented; insane.

2.	senseless; impractical; totally unsound: a crazy scheme.

3.	Informal. intensely enthusiastic; passionately excited: crazy about baseball.

4.	Informal. very enamored or infatuated (usually fol. by about): He was crazy about her.

5.	Informal. intensely anxious or eager; impatient: I'm crazy to try those new skis.

6.	Informal. unusual; bizarre; singular: She always wears a crazy hat.

7.	Slang. wonderful; excellent; perfect: That's crazy, man, crazy.

8.	likely to break or fall to pieces.

9.	weak, infirm, or sickly.

10.	having an unusual, unexpected, or random quality, behavior, result, pattern, etc.: a crazy reel that spins in either direction.

I couldn't have defined the Kunkel's better myself! Well, not all of them but some of them some of the time. While some people may say "oh yeah, they sure are unusual, random and unexpected, I am referring to numbers 3 and 7 when I say we live a crazy life or a life of craziness.

#3Informal, intensely enthusiastic; passionately excited: crazy about baseball.

Yes, we are intensely enthusiastic and passionately excited.

About what?

About loving on the people that some find it hard to love. We are passionately excited about giving the best of the best to the least of the least.

We are intensely enthusiastic about where God has taken us and taught us and sharing that with others. And we are passionately excited about where God will take us in the future.

So go ahead Brent Brelje--and the rest of you--live a life of Craziness--it's GREAT!

Your crazy friend,
Janette

All Saints Day

Hard to believe, but this is the one year anniversary of our return to the States from Edinburgh, Scotland.

I remember sitting on the plane a year ago, in the haze over the Atlantic, with Bono and U2 playing "The Saints are Comin'"

Yes.

They are.

And there's no stoppin' the meek from inheriting the earth.

The literal translation for "saint" is "holy one." A saint's a mess, but a beautiful mess. Beautiful because the work's done, and a saint dives into the life already won and done by Someone else. Holy people are into giving Life away to others, like their Father.

Like Bono says, "see the bird with the leaf in her mouth, after the flood, all the colours came out . . ."

In honor of those who went before, and all the rest of you saints too . . . . the above youtube bar should give you some good playtime!

Circle Up!

I have been thinking a lot about circles lately...
Not the kind of watching your dog chase his tail kind of circles even though that is amusing.
Not the kind of being so busy that you feel like you are going in circles.
Not the twirl in circles till you think you are going to puke kind of cirlces--thats fun until you feel sick.
Not the kind of watching my daughters and remembering being their age and my mother at their age--that is a good thought though.

No, the kind of circles I have been thinking about lately are the kind that God himself orchestrates.
Here is where the thought started...
While living in Edinburgh we met some amazing friends from Japan. Our neighbors Nobu and Rika Kameai. Over the course of the two years we got to spend a lot of time with them. They came to us for help to set up their phone, to go to prenatal appointments in the later part of Rika's pregnancy, hours with them in the Prenatal ICU once Ena Grace was born, praying for Rika and comforting her when her father passed away, having them join us going to worship at Community Church Edinburgh a few times and giving them a Bible in Japanese.

Our relationship with Rika and Nobu was a wonderful and beautiful thing. They had us over and taught us about their culture, making yummy food for us. Rika would have Lily and Zoe over to her flat and teach them origami. They would come to our flat and eat American food. Rika and I would do baking together--her favorite was Blueberry Cobbler. We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with Rika and Nobu. On Easter they came to church with us and listened to Dustin preach.

So you can imagine when the day came to say goodbye to them how much our hearts hurt. Not only because we had really grown to love them and cherish their friendship but because we had planted a seed and began watering their faith and now we had to say goodbye. It's so hard to trust sometimes if God will bring anyone else along in their lives to carry out what we had begun. This was one of the hardest parts of leaving Scotland, we wanted to bring things full-circle and couldn't.

We have kept in touch with Rika and Nobu and baby Ena. We have been able to share the joy of their new pregnancy over the phone and laughed about how much harder it is to communicate over the phone without our hands and facial expressions. We pray for them every day. For someone to come into their lives and tend their faith a little more.

This summer one of our summer staff Lindsey Gibbon shared that she was going to Japan to do missionary work teaching english. Just like you guessed it, a light bulb went off in my head, I was so excited I could barely get my thoughts formulated and out of my mouth to Lindsey. I shared with her my prayers for Rika and Nobu and little Ena and how my heart had ached for them. We also have a college friend who is teaching English in Japan--Des.

I quickly was on email to Des and Rika and Nobu trying to get everyone connected. They all agreed that they would love to meet up, help Lindsey and spend time together.

Lindsey left a couple of weeks ago for Japan. They have all been in contact through email and telephone. Rika is arranging with Lindsey for her and her mother to come to the Lutheran Language institute to take English from Lindsey. Rika wants to take Lindsey to see some sites, Lindsey is asking Des for cooking advice and somehow, they will all meet up.

Circles....it is so amazing to me to think how God has brought us back in to camping ministry to then meet Lindsey who has traveled all the way to Japan to meet friends from two different chapters in our lives to continue what God started through us.

Go ahead, twirl in circles until you feel sick and be thankful for the circles God moves in!

Janette and the gang