A Belated Summary of our Trip
Since Audrey's and my trip to Vermont, sickness has plagued this house!! I had wanted to put up a post telling of our adventures in snowy Vermont, but time and energy haven't allowed it. Of course, I'm not sure how many people really even read our blog, so maybe no one has been chomping at the bit in anticipation of my update.
Vermont was great. Audrey loved being with her cousins just as I suspected she would. She was constantly torn between running around with Mercy and Silas or stopping to be the helper with the babies. It was such a dilemma for her - to be a kid or to be a little mommy! Audrey's only dislike of the experience was being away from her Daddy. She was especially concerned about her daddy when we called home to check on Doug and found him to be quite sick. This was just so disconcerting for her. But, we called him several times a day, sent him a card, and prayed for him every day!
Audrey did well during the long travel time in the van. She kept busy with DVDs, school work, books, games, her LeapPad book, and her favorite - SNACKS! She rested when I told her to and was overall, an obedient, pleasant child! Audrey really enjoyed playing in the snow. In fact, the new environment coupled with a well-loved cousin as a playmate, brought out a different side of Audrey. Usually Audrey is reserved and fearful of physical tasks. But she threw all caution to the wind and leapt, bounded, and burrowed through the snow, undeterred by tall snow mounds, wet feet, and boots that fell off! I was really proud of her eagerness to try something new!
It was so nice to see Craig and Tiffany. We didn't get nice long opportunities to talk, which bummed me out. Obviously, with 2 babies needing to be nursed every few hours, getting up in the night, Craig's work at the church, and our desire to help Craig and Tiffany with housework, I didn't get the privilege of long hours of talking. But it was so nice to finally see their house and their church. It's good for Audrey too. It's hard for a 4 year old to picture the life of her family that live so far away.
March Madness
Ever wonder where this popular term comes from? Me too. Nonetheless, it seems to describe our month of March. Or at least it describes my current chaotic state of mind! We've had church activities, school, more sickness, overtime at the office for Doug, get-togethers, financial concerns, etc. And despite all of the flittin' about here and there to keep up with our schedule, routine daily activities of a wife still go on. No matter how busy I get, my beloved golden retriever still keeps shedding making me need to vacuum! Spring weather reminds me that grass will soon need to be mowed. Meals still need to be cooked if we're going to eat. And imagine - I have to buy that food I'm going to cook!!
I've seemed to maintain these regular chores for almost 10 years now with relatively little trouble and relatively much enjoyment! And yet, this past week, you'd think I was new to the whole situation. I mean how in the world can Doug come home from work and it suddenly dawn on me that we're going to have to eat dinner soon? And then the thought comes, that maybe I've forgotten to purchase food for my family so that I then may cook. I let wet laundry sit in the washing machine for almost 3 days before I remembered the usual rhythm of laundry - sort, wash, dry, fold. I somehow got stuck on step number 2. I even forgot to bathe Audrey for a week.
Praise the Lord for a husband who'd much rather come home to fur-filled carpets, no clean socks in his drawer, dishes piled in the sink, Audrey and I still in PJs, and cornflakes for dinner, as long as there was a smile on my face!!! I could have a spotless house, professional make-up applied, an immaculately groomed lawn, a gourmet meal placed on the table complete with crisp linen napkins, and Audrey having learned to speak French that day -- but if I was stressed, had a headache, or a hint of tears, Doug wouldn't be able to enjoy one minute of it. I'm so thankful that a haven for him doesn't require a certain level of cleanliness, only a certain level of sanity for his wife!! He's a good man. In fact, I know no better man.
A call for ministry
The last few weeks, Doug and I have felt the urgency to be more involved with the church, the body. We've spent a great deal of time talking about the various ministries at our church that require more hands to do the work. We've mentioned nearly every family in our church as folks we'd like to have over for dinner. We feel like with being so far away from the church and with my health we are so limited. And yet we have been praying for God to help us accomplish some things that we otherwise feel are too stressful or to unlikely to accomplish. We want to be used by God and we want to be more willing, more generous, more mindful of the needs of others, more able to meet those needs.
Along with this desire to be more willing and assertive to meet the needs of those around us, we've ask God to make us more dependent on Him. So often I feel weak and unable to accomplish responsibilities at church and home. Doug and I have prayerfully begged God to mature us, make us more trusting of Him, and to make us more willing to stretch ourselves a little more than we think we can in order to help others. I want to put my hope in the fact that when I am weak He will make me strong. I want to trust God that if I am willing to reach my hand out to others, no matter how tired and frail these hands may be, that God will cause my hand to reach much farther than I think possible.