Worse for the Waiting

We are getting closer now, and in some ways it was worse than it was a month ago. I have been trying to stay busy so that I am not counting the minutes (even though since we don't have an "official" date I don't even know how many minutes there are!) but even that is not working so well! Jocelyn asks me about 5 times a day, "Is it August yet, when my daddy will be home for real?" Just so you know, "for real" differentiates between him coming home to stay, and just to visit for R & R. I have done so much recently you would think that I would just want to relax but, no, I just don't want to relax until it is with Joel!

I just got home from my parents last Wednesday and have had two lunch dates, a board meeting (I was asked to be childcare liaison for PWOC and if you don't know what means suffice it to say A LOT of work!) a baby shower, and company that arrived on Saturday. My friend Ruth and her cousin Rachel drove down from Illinois to spend their vacation touring Southern Colorado.

Yesterday, we went to the Denver Botanic Gardens. It was fun, not too hot. Jocelyn was so cute, she loved petting the "tickly" lambs' ears (of course, the plant variety). I loved the zen Japenese garden. Carson did too, but that mostly had to do with his deep desire to swim with the koi! We also stopped by the 16th Street Mall (a first for me). We didn't really do any shopping but we did have lunch at a cool place called "Mad Greens" that made terrific salads. We also got to ride the light rail bus which both the kids loved. Then on the way home we stopped at the Castle Rock outlets to take advantage of some great deals at the Children's Place. I got some steals on summer things for the kids next year.

However, even with all that fun I am still just itching with anticipation. A year (even one short by few weeks) is still a really, really, loooong time to be without your honey. I guess I will just keep plugging away... And it doesn't hurt that I have doctor's appointments, another baby shower, PWOC duties, more company coming and lots of "chores" to take care of between now and then. I guess I better get cracking!

Stop and See the Rocks

So, I'm driving today (seriously, I have all my best epiphanies while I am driving) and I am thinking about where my friends and I are going to lunch, that the driver in front of me is going too slow, that Josie should be sleeping so she won't be such a crab later and a bunch of other miscellaneous things. I am looking at the car in front of me, obeying all the traffic signs and staying in my lane. Good, right? Yeah. Except for that I was driving through the Garden of the Gods.

I had met Ruth and Rachel there after church so that we could go to lunch. I have been there several times (if you have lived in, or even visited Colorado Springs you have been there multiple times.)but not really recently. I finally look up as I am about to exit the park and realize that I have missed all the amazing scenery that makes that place such an attraction. Sure, I wasn't doing anything wrong, I was just going about my business. I was doing all the "right" things. But, I had missed all the God things that were surrounding me.

When I finally stopped to look around me I saw those beautiful rock formations that only my awesome God could have made and I felt ashamed. I had been so caught up in the "everydayness" of living that I couldn't take five minutes to appreciate His creativity and thoughtfulness. I guess that probably happens more than I care to admit, and probably a lot more often than I realize. I think that the joy is in the journey. Focusing on the end result (of heaven) is important, but God didn't make us robots. I am sure that it must make Him happy when we take time to appreciate the little things like a child's laugh,a pretty weed or a free coffee. And especially when we take time for the big, huge things like a husband's safe return from Iraq, or a baby being born or enormous rock formations. :)

Help with the Bill...

I have to say that my life has been crazy busy, but not really anything too blog worthy. I am still too close to VBS (I just have to make it through tomorrow, yay!) to post on that just yet. Today,though, Carson did something I thought was so cute.

I believe that I have blogged before about how much we love the Schwan's man but I didn't realize it trickled down to our smallest family member. Carson and I were playing in the living room today when the big, yellow truck pulled up. I got up but Carson beat me to the door. As soon as I opened it he greeted Don (yep, I know him by name, no apologies!) with a hearty "Hey-Dough!" and immediately tried to offer him the dollhouse person he had been playing with. "Herego" is Carson's sharing phrase. Don politely declined and Carson decided if Don didn't want the toy then maybe he wanted to hold Carson instead. I rescued the Schwan's man by giving him my order and he left to go fill it.

Carson was highly displeased so I took him with me to get my debit card. He loves anything from my purse mostly because he isn't supposed to be in there (which makes it all the more exciting) so he took it eagerly. As soon as I put him down, he raced towards the window and started banging it towards the truck and yelling, "Herego, Herego!". As soon as Don came back with our items Carson handed it right to him with a proud "Herego!". It was so cute. I guess they really do pick up things fast, although I didn't realize I had trained him in the use of plastic. I guess that is what I get for never having cash. I will be glad to let Carson pick up the tab from now on!

Excitement on an Endless Loop

Jocelyn has a new favorite movie. "Favorite" is not a word I use lightly. She would watch it from dawn until dusk. Anytime she gets to watch tv she wants to watch "Space Buddies". Definitely a cinematic masterpiece! I'm not really sure what she sees in it but I do know that there is a part when the "Buddies" (5 Lab puppies) have to pilot a rocket ship back to Earth. (Please, do not ask me how they got to space in the first place. See the above sarcastic comments to deduce my feelings on this movie.)All I know is that the first time it got to that part I hear vigorous pounding on the floor, squeaking and Josie yelling, "They did it, the puppies did it!". Later, she comes back downstairs and says, "Mom, the puppies did it! They got back to Earth! Yay!!"

So, that was the first time she watched the movie. Then the same thing the next time, and the next. No matter how many times she watches it, it never gets old. Her level of excitement remains the same. Always, the screaming, and the jumping up and down (on MY bed!). She loves that movie and she doesn't get tired of seeing it repeatedly. She rejoices in the success of the imaginary dogs as much as if the story was unfolding in real life (maybe more!).

I love that she loves it. I love that her enthusaism is not dampened by knowledge of what is to come. I hope that she will feel that way about Jesus someday. That His story will never get old. That is pretty much how I feel. No matter how many times I read it, there is always something to rejoice over. There is always something new to learn. I want to help her I can't say that I jump up and down, but maybe I should start!:)

Finding My Flip-Flops

Anyone that knows Carson knows that he is not a lover of shoes. Unless they are his sister's. Of course, he is fascinated with Josie's shoes. Which she obligingly leaves all over the house. This morning he repeatedly brought me one of her pink flip-flops. I couldn't figure out what he wanted until he threw it at his foot. Then I realized that he wanted me to put it on him. I tried to talk him out of it. It isn't that I care if he tries to wear them but he had on footed pajamas! He was insistent. I put the shoe on. Sure enough, he took two steps before it fell off. Back to me so I could put it on again. Needless to say, with a 1 year-old, we repeated this scene about 4 times. I tried to persuade him that they weren't his size, not his color, and he doesn't like shoes anyway! Finally, after he would not give up, I took off his pajamas. We put on both shoes and still, no success. He couldn't walk. I am sure that in his little mind, those flip-flops looked pretty exciting. They are hot pink, they are easy to put on and the biggest plus: they belong to Josie and anything that is her's is instantly attractive. I couldn't explain to him that they weren't meant for him, he just knew that he wanted what belonged to his sister.

I got out his shoes. No go, not what he wanted. His own shoes are adorable. They fit his chubby little feet and he can walk in them.But, they are his. He only wanted what wasn't his. He only wanted what belonged to somebody else. It didn't matter that they weren't meant for him, that they would never be the same on him as they are on Josie. He didn't even care that his Dad would be appalled by his fascination with hot pink footwear. He just knew he wanted them.

Since I am getting to be known for finding spiritual correlations in the strangest things it shouldn't surprise anyone that I started thinking about all the times I feel that way. All the times that I have wanted someone else's pink flip-flops and pouted when they didn't look as good on me. Or, I couldn't afford them. Or, they didn't fit my feet. Like when I wish my husband had someone else's job. Or I had their clothes. Or their abilities. Those aren't my flip-flops! It would be like me trying to wear skinny jeans- ha! Sometimes I just need to appreciate how great their flip-flops look on them. I have my own shoes, and if I let them they look just as good on me.

I just think it must make God sad when I don't appreciate my own shoes. He tries to convince me that what He gave me is just perfect- for me. Wanting what someone else has only leads to falls and disappointments. I don't have to settle for what I have. I can be content knowing my Father knows what is best for me. My flip-flops are just right.:)