Longing for the Calm. Joyful in the Storm.

Friday, August 23, 13

I thought things would start to calm down after Maddie’s birthday party, but they have been crazy! At times, I felt very overwhelmed by everything that was going on, but God is faithful. He is teaching me about patience, endurance, joy and His provision amidst all of the stress. 

First, we were visited by a mouse in the house last Wednesday and, while Dr. Seuss might think this a moment for a delicious meal, we immediately stopped eating our dinner and went into mouse-catching mode.  It was chaotic chasing the mouse through the kitchen, behind the fridge, into the living room and trying to corner it with a metal bowl and an empty oatmeal container, but we finally outran the little stinker.  Phil (to the rescue!!!) caught the mouse in the oatmeal container and released it outside.  Phew! We took a breathe: a sigh of relief. Then, off to small group I went!

How can you not love this face? 

As most of my friends and family know, I L.O.V.E. my small group. I look forward to the fellowship with the women from church and gaining a deeper understanding of God and His word through communication and sharing differing perspectives.  And, the ladies I share this time with are just the best – I love them all! So, as you can imagine, I was deeply saddened when I found out last Wednesday night that our small group wouldn’t be meeting anymore.  I see God opening doors for me to connect with my new church through this change, but the end of my Wednesday night Bible study doesn’t come without tears.  God has used this group to grow me so much in the past year and I am really going to miss it.

So, then Thursday rolled around and I noticed a few spots on my stomach.  Huh.  Over the course of the next couple of days, I discovered that the spots were hives that popped up due to an antibiotic I had been taking.  Sheesh.  These thinkgs were brutal! They spread so quickly and extensively.  By Friday, I was covered from head to toe with red, itchy welts.  They were everywhere but my face. My chest looked like it was sunburned because there were so many and they had all merged into one, giant, hive-y mass.  I was not pretty.  On Saturday, I got a prescription for a steroid and they started to clear up almost as quickly as they had spread, but those couple of days were rough. 

I also went to the dentist on Friday to have a temporary crown made for my front tooth.  While the outcome was good and the tooth looked nice at the end of the appointment, it was not the most pleasant of experiences.  Between the yanking feeling as the dentist pulled and the cracking sounds as he broke off the pieces of the old crown I had on there, I was petrified.  I also made the mistake of asking to see what remained of my tooth once he finally got the old crown off.  Well, let’s just say that it is not pretty.  Mistake mistake mistake. 

Meanwhile, I have been weaning Maddie from breastfeeding. This topic deserves a blog post of it’s own, but I will just summarize by saying that it has been emotional.  I am down to just the morning and nighttime feedings now. So, I’m enjoying the freedom of not worrying about where, when and if I will be able to feed Maddie during the day while in public. Sippy cups are so much easier than trying to get Maddie under a blanket in a quiet room with no distractions.  On the other hand, every time I do nurse her, I find myself sentimental and emotional as I realize that in just a few short weeks, Maddie and I will be moving onto the next stage. She’s growing up too fast.  ::sigh::

 

My princess jumped from the 5th percentile to the 25th percentile in weight at her 1 year check-up.  I couldn't believe that she fit into this little jacket that seemed so big when we first bought it.  

So, last week was just nuts, but I feel like things are calming down a little bit and we are getting back into our routine again as of this week.  I finally found some time to do some cleaning, I read a chapter in a book, Maddie and I went for a trip to the petting zoo with some of our friends and we have spent tons and tons of time playing, singing and dancing.  I resumed my running and became more diligent with my Bible memorization, too.  At our last small group meeting, I recited Matthew 5 (the first chapter of the sermon on the mount) for my friends. Praise God for hiding even more of His word in my Heart and giving me the endurance to finish this chapter.

Ah, and that brings us to Thursday.  Puja came over to celebrate Maddie’s birthday since she wasn’t able to make it to the party (she was out of town). It was a blast.  Puja made cupcakes and ordered pizza for us. We sang to Mads and watched her stuff her face with funfetti and chocolate.  Then, we opened presents.  Puja and Shu got Mads a nice, winter jacket, a snuggly blanket and some new sippy cups. It was so fun having another celebration. 

 

"Mmmmm. Delicious!" 

Oh, and another fabulous gift came from Erica and Tim this week. Or, should I say that I went to retrieve it.  Ha! Oh, Erica…. She sent it to house #11 instead of 10, so I walked down the street and kindly asked for the box.  Well, when I opened it, I was super jealous.  They were adorable shoes, Nike brand, green and purple with Maddie’s initials on them: MKJ.  She looks so cute wearing her new sneakers. I can’t wait until she can walk and is running around in them. 

 

"Mom, back away from the shoes.  I'm serious. These are mine," 

Well, here’s to a relaxing weekend.  I feel like we’ve earned it after all of the craziness that’s been going on.  We’ll see if there are any more surprises.