Recognizing Miracles

Yes, that is ink all over my two year old Angel's hands.  I am so grateful that in the moment I turned to find him standing there all innocent looking exactly like the picture above, I actually didn't shout.  For once I kept my cool.  I literally saw him, gasped, closed my eyes, breathed in, and told myself, "someday you will laugh", and then I grabbed my phone to snap a picture.  I will confess that this is not typically my reaction, also the above scenario is not something that should surprise me, it's moments like these that have become more of an everyday occurrence rather than an occasional annoyance.  Michael, oh Michael, people actually warned me about the name, they said, "Oh, you named him Michael, he's going to give you heck."  At the time I thought it was funny and never thought it could possibly hold any truth.  WELL, they were all right, every single mother out there that has ever told me that, YOU were all RIGHT.   Michael is a force to be reckoned with, he laughs harder, runs faster, climbs higher, cries more, sings loud, stomps hard, he loves the most, he essentially has been living his life on full throttle since he entered this world - TWO WEEKS late I might add.  I should have known, his delayed entrance into this world was the calm before the storm.  He is my most sensitive, the one who is very much in tune with his own emotions and feelings, and he has an unquenchable desire for excitement, something that worries me for the future.  He also is super sweet, and caring, he adores all of his siblings, especially Rose, and he likes to ride the dog - yes, he has successfully taken a ride on Frank.  I have been praying for patience, for the ability to keep my cool when things hit the fan, and today my prayer was answered and there was a miracle to boot.  You see, when I come around a corner and find Michael like the picture above, typically that is just the tip of the iceberg.  I was expecting to find ink smeared all over at least one wall in a very Jackson Pollock kind of way, and I was certain the couch would show Michael's personal handprint stamp of approval in at least a dozen locations.  To my completely humbled and grateful heart, our Lord has granted me a miracle today, none of the above happened, it was only his hands.... today.  Some of you may not believe in miracles or even in our Lord for that matter, but for me today was proof enough and I am over the moon elated that we will not be needing to replace the hotel's sofa sleeper, at least not today.   Today's life lesson, when life hands you lemons, don't scream, take a breath, and hope for a miracle.

The Kids are alright....

  We took the kids to Mayville this morning for the Alexis Soba benefit.  Thinking about Alexis and all her family has been through definitely helps to put things in perspective.  Alexis has glioblastoma (brain cancer) and has been fighting the last couple of years to remain Here.   What an amazing little girl, her strength seems unwavering.  My heart goes out to her and her family.   It was nice catching up with my Great Aunt Molly as we enjoyed our food.  The kids just enjoyed being out of the hotel for a while.   Mayville is a small town, beautiful, seems peaceful there.  My mom was with us as well and Eleanor was sad when she woke up in the car and we were back to our temporary abode and grandma was gone.  Here in this small hotel room I've been looking at some magazines my Aunt Jeanie gave me called "Reminisce" that she brought to me from her mother's house.  The pages are filled with vintage ads and photos and articles about how life used to be.  The photos are amazing and make me think of my own childhood and how things were different.  This hotel room has also helped me to realize even though my kids are accustomed to a life filled with technology and toys, even though I try my very best to keep them to a minimum.... I sometimes wonder how all the stuff tends to multiply despite my best efforts.  We've lost almost every single toy that was in the house due to the fire.  Plastic cannot be cleaned of the filth of a fire apparently, so anything plastic that was in the house was a loss, so essentially every toy.  I guess it would be normal to think the kids might be crushed, devastated, and very disappointed by this.  To my complete joy it has not fazed them.  I know some of you are thinking that they are probably too young to realize, trust me, going from our house that had what I would consider an abundance of childlike entertainment options to a hotel built for traveling business people without a toy in sight, they have noticed.  Thankfully they do have a few play items to play with that have been given by the grandparents.  What makes me so happy is that they have been opting to create their own fun.... by-passing the few toys we do have and making their own fun.  At bath time, straws have proven to be an exceptional bath time toy as they can create bubbles, hold water when elevated, and create ripples on the top of the water.  Last night they set up water bottles like bowling pins and proceeded to throw/roll the one small pumpkin we have at them.  None of the activities have required any prompting from me.  The kids are thriving and making "this" work all on their own.  I feel proud watching Ellie and Michael play school today.  Ellie spent ten minutes just trying to get him to sit "criss-cross applesauce".   As for me, I'm sick for the second time this week.  I got hit like a freight train by the flu on Tuesday, literally nothing would stay down, Jim got home just as the heaving started, thank goodness, because I had instructed Paul on some basic babysitting skills, but five years old is a bit young to be in charge of a 3 year old, 2 year old, and 7 month old..... but he was all hands on deck ready to tackle the task at hand- bless his heart.  Jim, was hit by the same bug the very next day.  Now a head cold for me..... but this too shall pass.  Fingers crossed the kids do not get any of this.  Todays trip helped me to focus on my blessings and not on my stressors.  The kids are alright, they are doing great.