My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

This past weekend was so wonderfully jam-packed with friends and family that I didn’t take as many pictures as I had intended; but I did manage to get a few of the girls with some of the kids we were visiting.  I think both the girls and I wish we could have taken these playmates home with us! 

Susie: “Us blondes have to stick together.” 

Becky (on left): “I’ve got my very own brunette buddy, thank you very much!” 

Jim: “I’m making sure Becky remembers that she’s too young to cuddle with adorable brown-eyed redheads.” 

When I stop and think about all the ways the Lord has blessed our family, I can only shake my head in thankful disbelief.  The Lord provided Jim and I with salvation from our sins, raised us in loving, God-fearing families, brought us together from distant corners of the country to be united in marriage, infused our relationship with abiding love and companionship, brought us into the fellowship of saints in a local assembly, surrounded us with beloved friends and family both near and far, has given Jim consistent employment so that he can provide for our material needs, blessed us with twin daughters who He kept safe through a difficult pregnancy, faithfully cheers our hearts with their healthy development and growing personalities, and now, once again has blessed us with the opportunity to bring another life into this world.  We are humbled and grateful and thrilled to announce that we have a baby due at the end of April.  We have learned from our journey that we can’t take any blessing for granted, so we are simply thankful for the life that has been entrusted to us, however temporarily, and seek to use it to bring honor and glory to the Lord.  For He is the author and sustainer of Life, and our utmost prayer for all of our children is that they spend eternity with the Lord. 

It’s exciting and a bit overwhelming to envision what our life will be like with three children aged three and under in the near future.  I know my big girls will be very helpful…I can already imagine them informing me every time the baby needs to be changed (“P-U.  Baby stinks!”), or is sleeping (“Baby sleepin.’  You need da be QUIET!!!!!!!”) or is upset (“Baby cwyin’.  Boo-hoo!”).  Maybe I’ll even enlist them to push the baby’s stroller.  Although on second thought, given how they drive their own toy strollers as if participating in a demolition derby, I may not delegate that task to them just yet!  

I think Becky’s fall yesterday must have either knocked a screw loose, or just made her very grateful to be alive.  All day today, she spontaneously came up to her sister and me and bestowed kisses upon us.  Several times, she wrapped her little arms around my neck and said, “I love you.” 

Think that melted my heart?  No doubt.  But this exchange melted it even more:  Becky walked over to Susie this afternoon, who was sitting and reading.  Becky leaned down, put her arms around her sister’s body, leaned her head into Susie’s head, and said, “You’re a good family, Suey.”  Then she turned to me, by way of explanation, and said, “I love Suey, Mommy.”

I don’t know how long this love fest will last, but I’ll cherish every minute of it!    

I’m not really a mall person.  I don’t like to go clothes shopping, and I’m generally flustered when around large quantities of items for sale.  I think it all boils down to the fact that I’m very indecisive, so I’m boggled by the idea of searching through dozens of racks of clothes when all I really want is one shirt.  I think that’s why TJ Maxx will forever be my go-to store.  There’s one rack of shirts, one rack of pants, one rack of skirts, etc. and they’re all cheap.  That’s my kind of shopping!

Anyway, despite my usual reluctance to darken the door of a mall, I thought it might be a nice change of pace to go there today.  The girls were ecstatic.  They ARE mall people.  They both positively squealed for joy when we pulled into the parking lot.  Although they wanted to head straight for the play area, I was starving, so I first fed them some of my delicious Panda Express lunch and then set them free to climb and jump and slide to their hearts’ content. 

That was all well and good until Susie spied a McDonald’s in the distance and suddenly wanted nothing more than to go get some “i-fweam” (ice cream).  So playtime came to a crashing halt and I got the girls their own milkshakes.  And since they were slurping up the sugary goodness, I decided to join in their gluttony with my very own Starbucks Mocha Latte.  Life was good.  Very good. 

And then life got even better when a kiosk worker handed the girls red balloons on a stick. 

So maybe my girls are going to make me a mall person after all.  Because how can I not be in love with a place that makes the girls so happy?