This Past Week

Well, I would have to say that this past week went by in a fairly uneventful manner. I stayed home a lot, and tried to get a lot of house cleaning done. I don't think that you can tell that from they way my house looks right now, but I did work on it.

On Wednesday, I had yet another appointment with my foot doctor. I am now able to wear normal shoes, as long as they have a shell to them. So, no flip-flops, or anything with a soft bottom to the shoe. Anyway, now although my bunions don't hurt so much, the rest of my foot is a bit sore from learning to use those muscles again after not using them for almost two months. OUCH!!! But, I am not complaining, because I get a lot of foot massages and a little soreness is better than the constant pain I had before.

So, while I was at my doctor's appointment, my good friend Nicole watched my children for me. It was during their nap time, but they did not nap. She said they were good for her, so that was fine. But, Nate fell asleep on the way home, and slept for about an hour. He then woke up so cranky...bedtime could not come fast enough that evening. Brianna stuck it out a little bit longer, but finally gave in to the sleepiness during dinner. It was so cute that I had to take a picture.

Thursday, I again stayed home and cleaned. Nathan had been waking up with a cough for a couple of mornings, so I decided I needed to really clean our bedroom. So, I dusted everything (and we have a lot of wood in our bedroom), I did all the laundry, I changed the sheets, vacuumed the bed, vacuumed the floors. You name it, I did it. Subsequently, Nathan is no longer coughing, but I am. That is why I am posting this a six o'clock in the morning.

Friday, was a great day. I went to my monthly MOPS meeting, which is Mothers of Preschoolers. We had a great time of fellowship and prayer. I love the group of ladies that the Lord has put in my life to encourage and uplift me.

Saturday, Brianna and I went on a little mommy-daughter date. It was so cute...when we got in the car, we were pulling out of the garage, and Brianna asked me, "So, are you going to talk to me or sompthin?" (That last work is "something" in Brianna talk.) So, we turned off the radio/CD player and just talked about her day. It was so sweet. A friend from MOPS who is moving was selling some of her girl clothes and boy clothes, so we went shopping for the kids at her house. Her children are just older than mine, so the sizes worked out perfectly. We then went to the commissary to grocery shop. It was a really good time with Brianna.

That evening, Nathan and I got to go out on a date to one of our favorite places here in Anchorage. It is the Bear's Tooth Theater. It is unique because they have taken out every other row of seats and put in tables, so you order your food (which is from a local pizzeria called the Moose's Tooth) and sit in the theater and they bring you your food while you watch the movie. It is so much fun! We saw the Bucket List, which was a pretty good movie.

So, there is our week in a nutshell. This next week, I just have more cleaning to do. It should be fun!

Adventures at the Mall

So, yesterday we had a lot of things to do. First, we had to go by the hospital on base to have more blood work done for Nate. (Nothing serious is wrong, he just has low iron, so they like to check every once in a while.) Then we went out to Gymboree at the mall to redeem my gymbucks- Nate needed clothes for the summer desperately. So, we were there, and the little area where the kids get to play and watch TV is right by the little boys clothes. So, I let Nate get down and walk around a little bit. As I was looking at a shirt that said "Mommy's Little Monkey" on it, I looked down to check on Nate, and he was gone. Mind you, I was just a couple of feet away from him this whole time. So, I start looking under all the racks making my way to the front of the store. I was about halfway through the store when a man says, "Hey, someone's kid is walking out into the mall!" I said, "Is it a little boy?", he answered yes, and I tried to run after him. (Luckily I dropped the monkey shirt at the door, or we would have had another interesting situation on our hands.) However, keep in mind that I still have walking boots on both of my feet, so I just hobbled quickly after him- I am sure that was a sight. Another nice man in the mall stopped him on the other side of the mall, so I could actually catch up to him. Of course when I did all this, I left Brianna in the store, so I got back into the store, and Brianna was walking around yelling, "Mommy, where are you?" Needless to say, I felt like a horrible parent at that point. I was just glad that both of my children were safe with me in the store. Nate spent the rest of the time in either my arms or the stroller, and then as I was checking out at the cash register, he started chewing on some cords coming out of the table. What kind of sick is that? The other ladies in line were laughing about it, and I just smiled and said, "He is all boy!!!" And, I did buy the monkey shirt...I figured after all that, he deserved it.

Crazy Day

So, I woke up Saturday morning, and it was snowing. And, it snowed off and on all day. The temperature was hovering around freezing, so the snow stuck to the grass and trees and stuff like that, but not to the roads, until this evening. Nathan and I went on a date, and on the way home we passed at least eight cars on the sides of the roads. So, we will see if the snow continues through the night. Did I mention that it snowed today, and it is April 5th?

Also, Nathan lost his wallet while we were on our date. So, after returning home, we called all the places that we had been. The restaurant didn't have it, and the movie theater said that the next movie had already started in that theater, and no one had turned it in so far. So, we were thinking we were out of luck. But, Nathan went back and retraced all his steps. Let's just say that he had a huge amount of cash in his wallet, plus credit cards and his military ID, so we were pretty intense on trying to find it. After searching the movie theater twice, he found it in one of the seats, with all the money inside. Praise the Lord!!! And, after all of that, Nathan went to the store and because he was there at 11:30 at night, he had the opportunity to minister to a lady who was not having a great day and he was able to invite her to church.

So, the Lord works everything together for HIS good, doesn't He?

Update: It did snow overnight, and all Sunday morning. We got a total of about 4 inches.

I Will Hold You So Tight...

Lately, when putting Brianna to bed, she will give either Nathan or I, or both, a great big hug and say to us, "I will hold you so tight so that you can't go anywhere." And, of course as a mother, that just melts my heart.

Today, in my quiet time, I read Isaiah 40:11-

"Like a shepherd, He will tend his flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes."

As I read this for the first time (out of my Bible for Moms), I thought that this was a great picture of how I should be with my children. To keep them close and teach them and nurture them. And, it is.

But, as I continued to read and meditate on this verse, I saw another picture. It was the picture of God, holding me so tight so that I cannot go anywhere. I thought of the times that I am holding my children and they struggle to get down, but I won't let them, for whatever reason. And then sometimes they snuggle and cuddle and it is just great. I think that sometimes I am like that with God. Sometimes I rebel and I want to do things my own way, in my time, etc. But, through those times, he keeps me in His arms, teaching me and nurturing me back to His plan for my life.

What a peace that we have knowing that God is holding us so tight that we can't go anywhere outside of His plan for our lives.