Wish I'd Thought of This Today

Today was a rainy day. Cold and rainy. My least favorite type of weather. I'd honestly rather have a blizzard than a whole day of cold rain. Blech.

And I didn't really do anything fun with the kids today (I had chicken stock to deal with, along with some other stuff), so they got to watch some TV and play on their own, which never lasts for too long without someone crying over something. And I remembered (only too late) what fun they had a while back with this:

They built houses (with a little help) out of a set of foam floor padding (which is also really fun to make paths with), and pretended to be neighbors. They had little neighborly feuds, and then were friendly neighbors who visited each other - it fostered such imagination!

I wish I had thought of this today. Ah well, perhaps tomorrow. It's still raining now...

It's Snow Fun/To Be Sick

Aren't I clever with the double topic post that makes a punny sentence when said altogether.

I have decided that I need to update the blog a lot more often. There is a lot that goes on around here, and I have been slack in my responsibility to update the family and friends (nay, the interested world, ha-ha). So I aim to post something at least twice a week. I will do some retro posts (the big boys' 4th birthday comes to mind...) as well as current ones. Having said that, here is a current one:

Today was a snow day. We got quite a bit of snow (especially for Tennessee) the last couple of days. We ran a few errands yesterday, and discovered that the lane up to our house (which is decently steep) was treacherous and almost unmanageable. Chris had to drive up backwards, and we were spinning our wheels quite a bit for a while. The boys were stressed (as was I), but Chris was absolutely determined to get up that hill. I was envisioning having to lug the kids and groceries up through 6 inches of snow and slush along with leaving our van at the bottom of the hill, and was grateful to have a very competent and confident snow driver for a husband. But that is a side story. The point was that once we did get home all safe and sound (and warm), we decided we wouldn't be journeying anywhere beyond our yard the next day. And we found out later on that church services were cancelled anyway. So we thought some sledding would be in order.

The boys have been begging to play out in the snow every time a flake falls. George especially. But the last couple of days, George had an ever-increasing illness setting in. This morning it seemed about the same, but just as we were getting bundled up to go outside, he got sick and threw up. Poor little guy. So we banned him from the snow play. I decided to go ahead and take Josh and Blake out, as Chris was happy to stay inside with George. George cried just a little bit, but got over it quickly, which indicated to me just how poorly he was feeling. Normally he would have cried buckets and wailed for hours at the thought of not getting to go.

So while he was inside watching a movie of his choice (his first viewing of James and the Giant Peach, he decided), Joshua, Blake, and I were outside loving the sun and snow, as you can see:

Blake after we first got outside.

Josh immediately grabbed a chunk of snow and came at me with it. He started laughing uncontrollably the closer he got, knowing he was going to throw it at me.

Blake quickly shed the gloves and sunglasses and went straight to eating snow.

Mmmmm......

It shouldn't have surprised me, considering that this next picture was the first time he was ever in the snow (almost exactly a year ago) and you can see what his favorite part about that experience was.

I would have taken him out in the snow the year he before, but I'm not sure he could have appreciated it considering he looked like this:

So while Blake was eating snow, I was busy getting in a workout. I mean, building a snowman. And here it is! Why yes, that IS a real carrot nose, and even more impressive is that it came from our very own garden!

Here's our snow-loving doggy.

Josh worked up an appetite, and thought the carrot nose was a bit too tempting.

Chomp!

There goes the nicely pointed nose.

Then Blake took matters (or carrot, as it were) into his own hands.

Aww, buddy, I'm sorry I tried to eat your nose. I still love ya.

Blake loves ya too.

I can't stand how cute this picture is.

And here is Blake's very first sledding experience, which he of course loved (he is MY son, after all).

Blake was trying to lead me somewhere, but we had more sledding to do, and he wouldn't come willingly. So I carried him, kicking and screaming. I should mention it was past his nap time.

While Blake and I sledded a bit and then I dropped him off with Daddy for his nap, Josh effectively demolished our snowman.

So we did some more sledding. Here we are, getting ready to take off.

How much happier could a boy get?

He even cheerfully dragged the tube back up the hill. Repeatedly.

And poor sick George missed out on all the fun. Isn't that just the cutest misery you ever saw? He did have fun hanging out one-on-one with Daddy, so it wasn't all bad. Maybe next time it snows big here in Tennessee, little buddy.

Single Parent

Chris is away on his first business trip since Blake was born, leaving me with all 3 kids for almost a week for the first time in my life (without help).

Things with the kids are pretty much fine, though I am more tired at the end of the day (obviously). This is the second night but only the first full day. I figure tomorrow mid-day will put us at about the halfway point. Bedtime takes a little longer, and I've had to reinstate the SuperYard (sorry Blake!). But overall I feel that it could be worse. It would be nice if the weather wasn't so icky.

Two bad things have happened so far, and they are both completely unrelated to the solo childcare situation.

1) I spilled an entire cup of water on my beloved MacBook. I fear it will never be the same again, but time will tell. I am encouraged by the comments on Facebook by those who have had their laptops survive such a catastrophe.

2) We have a mouse (or mice) either living in or frequenting our pantry. We noticed the other day after the boys' basketball game that the bags of crispy nuts I had made had some little chew holes in them. Then tonight, as I was looking for rice to put my aforementioned addiction, er, computer into (a friend suggested this tip - said it would draw out the water), I discovered that almost EVERY bag of rice, beans, and grains has holes. Not to mention some *other* evidence that left no doubt about the culprit(s). So now I have popcorn, beans, and grains on my kitchen floor and who knows where in the pantry. I'll have to clear off the shelves and dump out the organizational baskets to find it all. Grr. I spent 45 minutes putting most of it into glass storage and labeling it. What a pain! And I'm still not finished, but I need a break to blog out this frustration.

Did I mention I'm tired? And I really need to start on this online Bible study I enrolled in, but now instead of doing it from the comfort of my bed, I'll do it in our freezing spare room (where the "house" computer is). Having gotten all of that off of my chest, let me say that I am super grateful that Chris insisted we get this computer as well as the MacBook. Also, let me say that I realize I am complaining about things that are completely trivial in the light of the Haiti earthquake, the economy, and a myriad of other issues that are infinitely more important. Just so we're clear that I do have a smidgen of perspective here.

So I must drag out the vacuum cleaner and suck up all of the little bits of potential mouse lure (since the glue trap isn't working thus far). And then I might just go to bed.

Feeling God's Presence

Meet Melanie:

Melanie is my best friend. We have basically grown up together since our early teen years. We stayed close all through college, were roommates after college, she was a bridesmaid in my wedding, and she attends our family functions as one of our family members. She knows me: good, bad, and ugly. She accepts me and loves unconditionally. She is willing to tell me hard truths and call me out on poor behavior or misplaced attitudes or perceptions.

Melanie was a church-goer her whole life, but truly received Christ's salvation just a few years ago. Since then she has undergone a transformation, and strives each day to bring glory to God and make this world a better place (the latter of which she has always done). Melanie inspires me, prays for me, encourages me, and makes me want to be a better Christian. I miss Melanie fiercely when we are apart. But the Holy Spirit has reminded me more than once that I can rejoice in the knowledge that Melanie and I will spend eternity together, in the presence of our Savior.

Melanie and I were catching up on the phone earlier today, just before we were getting ready to go to our Wednesday night church service. Melanie was telling me about a Bible Study that she is involved in about stewardship. We talked a bit about that right before we hung up. My family and I go to church, and I looked at the sermon notes to find out that the topic is "God's Economy." Coincidence? I think not.

I started thinking about how God has been getting my attention over the last 6 months. Repeated themes, uncanny situations, and even certain Scriptures that I thought I had just randomly read somehow ended up having real-life application soon after I came across them. And tonight, it occurred to me that all of these are instances of feeling God's presence in my life. I know that God is real. I know that God loves me. And I know that he has a plan and a purpose for my life. It is a humbling thing. I have always loved that God has promised to be present when two or more have gathered in His name. But I didn't realize that promise could include a simple phone call between best friends. But it does. It definitely does.