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.