Joy in the "ordinary"

Price along with his cousin Brett, spent the night with YaYa and Poppy last night (my mom and dad). This morning, Jon and I went over to eat breakfast and have coffee and pick up Price. Brett is just 9 months younger than Price and they have a great time together. My parents had quite a bit of work to do around the house so I offered to take the boys so they could get stuff done. We came to our house and had a blast! The boys played "super heroes" and locked up the "bad guys" in the tent set up in the hallway. They played with every truck and ball! Price's room was evidence that a good time had been had! A few hours later, I located socks, shoes and coats; got the boys in the car and headed for the mecca of all three year old eateries...McDonald's (or as Price calls it "McDongel's")! After chowing on chicken nuggets, the boys spent the next hour in the lofty tubes of the Play Place running themselves ragged! I ran a couple of errands for myself (Cingular store and quick 4 item grab at the grocery store) then we headed back home. After a Backyardigans DVD and a cherry popsicle, my parents arrived to get Brett. Price and I watched a movie and snuggled under the family quilt on the couch. Price asked for a hamburger for dinner,and since he is not a huge fan of red meat and has been known to be anemic at times, I was thrilled to fulfill his craving. We dined in at Braums and shared a banana milkshake! We laughed and talked about all the fun he and Brett had that day. When we got home, we played a few games together on the computer and then started the bedtime routine. When Price was asleep I had time to reflect on the days events. It was an "ordinary" day. Nothing special...or was it? I felt joyful about the day. I smiled when I remembered some of the dialogue between Price and Brett. I giggle out loud when I recall some of the faces that accompanied the dialogue! As I kept thinking to myself "it was an ordinary day" yet feeling so joyful, I wondered why the word "ordinary" has kind of a mundane or boring ring to it; when it turns out "ordinary" is wonderful! It is comfortable, casual and routine...I pray for more opportunities to find joy in those ordinary days! Simple are His blessings..

Jaw dropped!

Some of my most precious girlfriends and I are helping each other to memorize Psalm 139. A few days ago, I said the first six verses for Price, adding theatrical elements for fun (in a bath robe with a towel on my head)! Ha! I got big applause and "Great job Mama!" He has heard me practice saying Psalm 139 in the car, while emptying the dishwasher and folding clothes....
Part of Price's bedtime routine is saying scripture. We started helping Price to memorize scripture when he was two. He now recites 9 scriptures from memory every night, then he prays and goes to sleep. Tonight we were doing the usual, but after saying his scriptures he said "Now say yours!" "Okay" I replied. I started to recite Psalm 139 and paused for a moment to find the words of the next verse, when my awesome preschool boy fed me the line!!! "your hand of blessing is on my head" My jaw dropped!!! "Yes! That is right!" I exclaimed. My heart leaped with joy! I laughed out loud and hugged him! What a blessing to have my son help ME learn God's word!

God is never late!

Today, I watched two babies (for 2 of my friends) in addition to my nearly 4 year old son, Price. Addison is 9 months old and Lynnie is 5 months old. Addison can crawl all over the place, but is not yet walking and Lynnie is not yet able to sit on her own. As I was juggling diapers, wipes, bottles and pacifiers and playing musical chairs with walkers, bumbos and johnny jumpers, I felt so humbled.
My husband, Jon and I have been trying to have another baby for the last 2 years. After four miscarriages and many appointments with a fertility doctor, we still are waiting for another child. As I played and rocked the baby girls today, I watched Price. I studied him. He is so wonderful with the babies. He talks to them with a tender voice and called each of them "sweet baby girl." (He actually says "grearl", which makes it even more cute!) He shared his toys and laughed at their silly ways. He would get in each of their faces and just smile. I giggled and asked him what he was doing, and he said "waiting for her to smile back at me." At one point, he thundered up the stairs in a rush and returned with one of his favorite books about zoo animals. With Lynnie in the jumper and Addison sitting next to him, he opened the book and showed the girls all the pictures. "Dolphins live in the big water and they are blue. Giraffes have long necks and like to eat leaves."
I say all of this because God is showing me a new picture of what my family is going to look like. We had planned to have another child alot closer in age to Price, but that is not the plan God has for us. After letting go of the image of what I thought it would be like, I am starting to not only know in my head that God is in control, but FEEL that TRUST in HIS plan and HIS timing.
I love that when I was feeding one of the babies, Price said "Mama, when you are done feeding Lynnie, can I have some pretzels and juice?" I love that when we have another child, he will be old enough to better understand and practice patience. I love that I will have had these precious infant, toddler and pre-school years with him alone. I love that when our next child joins our family, Price will be at school during the day and I will have that one on one time with the baby. I love that we will have at least 5 years between buying a car when they turn 16! I love that we will only have one child in college at a time! I love that God knows what is best for me and Jon and Price!

He's a hoot!

Price and I had a blast today! We were outside all afternoon soaking up the sunshine! After cleaning out the flowerbeds, watering all the new growth, playing with sidewalk chalk,shooting some hoops in the driveway and getting an icee at Gas Mart, Price and I went for a bike ride. He was on his Radio Flyer tricycle and I was on my bike. Because I obviously cover more ground than he does, I will ride a little way ahead and then circle back around him (basically to keep moving at a pace that keeps me from falling over). While I was up ahead of him, he peddled as fast as his feet would go and yelled out "Wait up, Mom! I am not as fast as I used to be!" I laughed so hard I nearly hit the curb! My little man has a great sense of humor. I am sure he will be the subject of many of my posts!

I'm actually blogging!

Well, here I am! I honestly never saw myself having a blog, but I did it! Woo Hoo! I am thrilled to post about the everyday stuff that makes up my life! As mundane as it seems at times, the small stuff makes me laugh and I get the urge to share it with friends, so this ends up being the perfect outlet for me! Off I go to finish putting the bling on my blog!