Just Towels

God, in His wondrous mercy, did not give us children when we thought we wanted them. No, He waited until we were old and way less energetic. Just kidding. Just old. Ha. Ok. Anyway.

As I have mentioned before, I am rather task oriented. And the older I get, the more I get that way. It may have something to do with the fact that for 17 years my husband and I were alone. Alright, we had a dog, but still. We got married, got jobs, he finished his masters, we got different jobs, we moved 9 times, we bought five houses, we traveled. Together. But alone. We made the best decisions for the two of us.

To be honest, that creates a certain way of life that is hard to shake. What works for us. What do I want to do now. What restaurant should we eat at tonight. What kind of car do we like this year. What activities should we do to fill our free time. To what charities would we like to contribute. I don't know if you noticed, but it's a lot about us. The two of us. For almost 20 years.

Then, we adopted two beautiful children. I was two weeks away from my 35th birthday when I became a first-time parent. I was one week away from my 36th birthday when I became a mom for the second time. For the parents of two biological children, this is hard. But I know women who have had children less than a year apart. It is possible. They have an inkling it's coming, and they might be able to prepare mentally for it better than I did. For me, it was, and is, overwhelming.

I have learned that though I thought I was a good multi-tasker, I really am not. Two children, my control issues, and an era of "ME" have taken a toll on my perceived parenting skills. My frustration level shoots through the roof at minor distractions. When I take a step back, I am selfish and pathetic. I lose my objectivity much earlier than necessary. By a long shot.

But God, in His wisdom, shows me His grace in strange ways. Take, for instance, laundry. I don't know about little boys, but with little girls, laundry does not just double, it exponentially multiplies. Especially when little girls have different outfits for the different parts of their day. Breakfast time, outside time, nap time, TV time, after bath time, and bed time. No. I'm not joking. One night, in the past couple of years, I was doing a load of towels. And I shouted up to my husband, "I just did a load of laundry that was nothing but towels!" At that moment, I was aggravated. HOW much laundry would I be doing in my lifetime if I had to do a load of JUST towels every few days. Really, it's mind-boggling to think about.

And then He reminded me that just a short while ago, I could fit ALL of our laundry in two loads. And I was begging Him for children. And He answered my prayers. And children create laundry. Therefore, laundry, especially a load of JUST towels, was a BLESSING. And to this day, whenever I do a load of JUST towels, I smile, and thank God, and am content in my heart. His kindness to me is overflowing.

Psalm 30:11-12

11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Do You See What I See?

Heard from the tent just a few moments ago.

"Hey, get off my eyeball!"

I'm assuming she's not wearing these.

Love those little things I get to overhear.

Oh, and her eyeball is fine.

And yes, we have a tent set up in the living room. Well, if you consider this set up.

And yes, there are two little girls in there.

Happy Mother's Day!

Jo says, "Mom, I love you more than ice cream!"

Not to be outdone, E says, " Mom, I love you more than bee stings."

Considering J gets brain freeze with ice cream and E had a horrifying encounter with bees last year, I'm glad I rank a little higher for them.

Um. Thanks, girls.

You Know You're From the Midwest When...

1. You save your bacon grease for later. So you can make amazing green beans.

2. You know the difference between Iowa, Ohio, and Idaho.

3. You have to explain to some people that yes, you do have indoor plumbing.

4. You have four beautiful seasons.

5. You have NEVER gone to the zoo to see cows.

6. You know how cold the winter is going to be just by looking at a fuzzy caterpillar.

7. You get a deep sense of satisfaction during planting and harvesting time.

8. You don't ask for help unless an appendage has fallen off.

9. You have been driving since you were 14. Earlier if you had to help on the farm.

10. The veterinarians in the area have more business than some of the doctors.

Any others I'm missing?

Wednesday

I haven't left the house today,

Everyone has gone away.

Except my sick one,

Jo and I.

We've spent the day doing some things,

Like reading books and songs we sing.

But now it's dark and time for bed,

I'll pray with her and tuck her in.

And know tomorrow morning comes

With promises of leaving home.

She is getting better so

Off to school we plan to go.

The sacrifices made for her

Are drenched in love, of that I'm sure.

And never will I wish away

The time I spent with Jo today.

It's Viral

So, when I took the Littlest Girl into her eye appointment, I didn't tell you she was also sick. Fever, major chest congestion, runny nose. (I didn't tell the doctor either, until it was too late. Bwa, ha ha ha!!!) For those of you that know me, I've slid a long way.

I figured it was a cold. A nasty one, but a cold. It started on Saturday night. By 4:00 Sunday morning it was a full blown snot-fest. Yeah. I said it. She had a fever of 102.3 that day. It "broke" on Monday. 99.5. (Which is why I felt safe to go to the eye doctor, BTW.) But was back up in the 100 range yesterday.

So this morning, I called the nurse. Asked her what she thought. Because I HATE going to the doctor to have her tell me it will run it's course and don't worry about it. I don't hate that message, that's a great message. I hate spending $100 to have someone tell me that, when I pretty much knew it myself. Anyway. The nurse said with the fever and the congestion my Littlest Girl should come in, so they could rule out bronchitis or pneumonia. (sigh) I made the appointment.

When we got there, the nurse took her temp. She said it was 98.6. She had a new-fangled thermometer that took maybe .75 seconds to register. I knew she was wrong. When I took the Littlest Girl's temp this morning at 8:00, it was at 100. I gave her ibuprofen, but that had been 5 hours ago. Her fever would be climbing again.

The doctor takes a look at her. Listens to her chest, checks her ears and throat, says it's probably a virus. That's fine. He doesn't want to give her any meds. I'm overjoyed he doesn't want to give her meds. I tell him I don't believe his new-fangled thermometer, and he says he doesn't either. The one we have at home is probably more accurate. (LOVE this guy at this point.) Tells me to call back if her fever hasn't broke by Friday.

Go to the store, come home, put her to bed. No meds since 8:00 am. Measure her temp this afternoon. 98 degrees. Just measured again. 97.7 degrees.

Just goes to show, all you need is a doctor's appointment to break a fever.

Update

I took my Littlest Girl in for her eye doctor appointment today. He said everything is fine! She'll probably have glasses at some point but not yet. Thank you, God, I don't have to worry about it at this point.