It was a bizarre night. Initially sleep eluded me because of the many things on my heart to pray about. I felt at peace, just not physically at rest. Eventually I slipped off to sleep for a while until I felt Jon kiss me. Oh, I love middle of the night, unexpected and random kisses! What a delight! Several hours later, in the early morning hours, I heard footsteps and a hoarse cough... Jacob had another nightmare. Jon scooped him up and placed him between us, his little hand holding mine and his head tucked under my chin. We all slipped in and out of sleep for a while, sleep interspersed with whispers of "I love you," until Jon carried him back up to bed. But I think Jacob must have passed on the nightmare bug, because after he left my dreams tormented me until morning. My alarm sounded and I ignored it hoping to sleep a little before dawn. Later I remember Jon hurriedly getting up to get ready for church, but at the time my mind made no mental connections. I went back to sleep and to another dream. Suddenly it was 7:19...
Michael and Olivia were quick. I did their hair while they ate, and they took their tooth brushes to church to finish getting ready while Jon was in elders' prayer.
The boys and I had a nice morning. There was needed down time for them, and the calm allowed me to do some reading. I've decided to read/study on the Person of the Holy Spirit because I have come to the conclusion that in my world this subject has been greatly overlooked. Perhaps there will be more on that another time, but for now I am very excited and I'm anticipating my life to be impacted.
Later in the morning, the boys went outside for some air and a change of scenery while I worked on lunch. They brought me in some blooms from a little fruit tree... the tree that hasn't produced fruit in the past but has several good branches of blooms this year. I thanked them. It was too late to say anything else. In a while I'll explain that the blooms turn to fruit. For now they grace my kitchen window sill, and I will look at them as the "fruit" of their love for me. (A stretch, maybe...)
Andrew's clothes were mismatched: He was wearing plaid shorts and a plaid shirt. Before breakfast I pointed out his clothes and casually said that what he was wearing didn't really work together, and so he changed into a different pair of plaid shorts. I guess I should have been more specific. At that point I didn't want to discourage him so I let him wear his chosen outfit. There are enough times when I have to make clothing choices, and today I didn't want to make issues about the unimportant. For a moment, however, when he was heading out the door to play I thought, "What will people passing by think? ...that his mother doesn't even care what he looks like?" Oh well, think what you may, dear passer-by.
Our end of week trip was fun. To us mini vacations tend to be more restful than longer times away. Maybe it's partly because they tend to be spontaneous and we have no specific agenda.
I was expecting it to be really cold (for the desert) so I didn't even ask the kids to pack their swim suits. I hid them in my bag thinking that maybe they would like to sit in the hot tub Thursday night. We ended up going to an open-air market instead, so the next morning while Jon was in a meeting, I surprised them with a trip to the pool. It was warmer than I ever expected, and the kids played in the pool while I roasted in my jeans.
Obviously, there were not a lot of people who expected to go swimming either.
It took Andrew a while to decide whether or not he wanted to swim without goggles...
In the end he chose not to be left out. Jacob didn't care if he had floaties or not... He was busy making friends with an old lady who loved to talk as much as he does.
We bought some breakfast food at the grocery store the night before. I let the kids pick out some cereal and they chose Rice Crispy. (To me they are empty puffs of nothingness, so I don't usually buy them.) It was Jacob's first experience with "Snap, crackle, pop!" He was intrigued.
OK. That's a little sad. They are not that sheltered, I promise.
And like I did the last few times we've taken a short trip, they were permitted to pack a few things themselves. Of course the boys all had plaid shirts-- an obsession at the moment-- but everyone brought pad folios and spy game disguises. I find it so amusing to watch them play.
It was a good thing we had our outdoor fun when we did because on our way out, really just miles out of town, we could see and feel a cold front coming through. I took some pictures from the car 'cause it was so pretty...
It poured on our way home and remained cold through the weekend.
I think years from now I'll look back at our little getaways with fond memories. I feel so blessed for the flexibility we enjoy as a family, and I'm thankful for the time we have together. These years are fleeting and I want to make the most of them.
~Katherine
i love reading your thoughts. they are encouraging to me. i can relate to you! wish we lived in your neighborhood- i'd be hanging out with you :) love, deidre
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