This weekend I had a huge "Aha" moment. Also known as the light bulb moment.
I've been complaining and yelling to God these past couple of weeks about some issues my family is facing. I've been telling him what I want, what I think I need, what I think my family needs, I, I, I.
Deep in my heart I know God has us where we are for a reason, but the grass just looks greener on the other side.
Last week I think God got tired of my complaining and said, "There. Take it." and gave us an opportunity to address our issues the way I wanted them to be taken care of. And you know what? We didn't take it. We knew it wasn't the right thing to do. And it hurt.
Sunday night as my wonderful husband and I were discussing our situation he said something that finally caught my mind and heart. He said, "Bek, we've got to enjoy where we are now."
Hmmm? That sounds so familiar (sarcasm intended). I posted previously on enjoying my children's various stages in life but I just hadn't applied it to the stages of life that God places me in. So, while I don't like this situation we're in I can choose to look at the blessings that are in our life right now. Because before long I'm going to be in a new phase of life looking back on today and I want to remember the blessings not the pain.
So, the Happy Home has a few issues. One being...boogers wiped on the walls.
Yes, eeeew.
Honestly, I can't really pin it onto one child - as I haven't witnessed said wiping on the walls. But I find plenty of evidence. It is GROSS.
The line was crossed today when I found a nasty big-one dried on the front of my pretty stainless steel fridge.
So, in a fit of grossed-out-nauseous-rage I tried to get a bit too creative with said boogie disciplinary action. As I wiped the dried chunk with a rag and looked at it in disgust (during my tirade. thank.you.very.much) I blurted out, “This is disgusting. Boogers are nasty. If I ever find another booger on any surface of this house I will make you eat it!”
Happy Boy smiled his ornery smile and calmly said, “Okay.”
Happy Girl looked at him in shock. Then snapped back with, “Go ahead, eat it then!”
And, my friends, the boy licked the booger.
Yes he did.
WOW! These past few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind! To try and recap it all would just be impossible. So, with the help of my hubby and dad I'll get a couple of big stories out of the way. Labels: Happy Girl, life
Last week my dad visited Happy Girl's class to talk about book writing. He's written several books and he recapped the entire visit beautifully in his blog! Check out his post here.
Hubby shares about her audition for the school talent show. Read about the experience on my hubby's blog here. Go on....then come back here to finish up the rest of this post.
So, she rocked the house at the audition! She rehearsed with sound and moves reminiscent of Hannah Montana, but just before hitting the stage asked me if it would be okay if she didn't use any "moves". The nerves were kicking in for her but she didn't hold back. She was amazing! During the middle of the song she began to get comfortable, tried to get cute by crossing a few steps to stage right causing her to fumble on the lyrics. Nothing big, but for a first time performer something like that could be devastating...not for my little diva. She recovered and finished strong. I could not have been prouder!
Today she hopped in the car and screamed, well, squealed at the top of her lungs then proceeded to tell me she made the cut and is in the talent show. Then I proceeded to squeal. And in complete brotherly love and support, Happy Boy began to squeal. It was such a fun memory. I am a proud mama.
Then tonight was the First Grade Musical at school. Only one kid had a vocal solo and she and a friend had a duet. They were the only ones in the entire first grade who had solo/duets. I'm beaming! She, again, did a fantastic job. She sang right into the mic like an old pro. And she was just so pretty and gleaming on stage it was fun to watch her.
Sigh
My kids are growing up.
Yesterday Avant, the mission agency my husband works for, held a day of prayer and fasting in support of their short-cycle team heading to Central Asia. Click the link to learn more about this awesome team and how you can help through prayer and/or support.While I wasn't able to make it to campus to pray with the Avant members I did get periodic updates from my husband throughout the day.
*Side note: I am not a perceptive person. My mom once had her master bedroom completely redecorated and as I stood in the room I had the feeling that something was different but just couldn't pin it. LOL. My mother could have just strangled me, it took her pointing out
ALL of the changes before I caught on. Yeah - I'm quick I tell ya. The thing is that I like to go about my merry way just thinking about butterflies and happy rainbows that I just sometimes don't stop to see the whole picture - next thing I know I'm splashing through a mud puddle or tripping over a bush. It's the price my friends and family must pay for having me in their lives. Back to my story.So, I'm fully aware of the prayer and fasting. I've been praying periodically through the day. When my husband called me the final time it was on his way home, recapping the wonderful day it was and just how awesome God was at making the fasting part not be tough for him and all. To close the conversation I say, "I'm so glad everything went well! We're having eggs and bacon for dinner, how long before your home?"Yeah....I did. I forgot to fast all day - even through the updates from my husband it totally did not set in. Then, I top it off by making dinner for him. I'm such an idiot! Excuse me while I chase this pretty little butterfly towards that happy rainbow.
I always enjoy seeing God make his presence known in my children's lives, usually it is in ways that most would deem "small". However, to them it is huge.
Today was the latest pleasure. My son and I were at a friends home when we heard the ice cream truck nearing. We tried so hard to run out the door to catch it only to see it rounding the corner and driving off. My son was heartbroken. When we left we had about 15 minutes to kill before my daughter's school dismissed so we decided to drive around the neighborhood to find the truck. No luck. We drove all around the school and my home's neighborhood and just couldn't find it.
We picked my daughter up and headed home. We had about 15 minutes to pack a dinner before we had to head out for the evening's activities. As we headed out the front door, you know what we saw?
The ice cream truck was parked right in front of our house!
My kids flipped they were so excited. Ice cream in hand we buckled into our seats in the car and gave God an awesome prayer of thanks.
Now, you may think I'm crazy for thanking God for ice cream. But I want to teach my kids to see God in everything. Ice cream may not be a very important thing to an adult, but to a child it means the world. And there is nothing sweeter than seeing my kid feel loved by God.
