Weekend Review

He wanted to go the trampoline park Saturday afternoon and when we arrived, Christmas money clutched in his hand, the line was out the door and we declared jumping would be a safety issue and asked him for plan B. He decided to check out Target's toy aisle. Curious about how that would end and wondering if he would purchase Nerf or Lego, he wandered and explored but ultimately replaced his broken headphones instead of selecting a toy. We have noticed in recent months this growing up of sorts, not quite ready to empty his room of toys but rarely playing with them. He and a buddy had a sleepover here Friday night and we heard big kid words like Dude and Bro as they played manhunt outside with flashlights but when bedtime arrived, both boys snuggled their baby blankets. Big kid and small. And that sleepover? They slept about seven hours but he still required some rest Saturday afternoon.

His bag says family size but he argues they are just his with a smirk. And because out in the open, everything is fair game around here, his sister hides her sweets in a not so secret pouch in her nightstand drawer.

Kate puppy sat this weekend, or as it appeared, the puppy sat upon her.

She otherwise relaxed and enjoyed a quiet weekend until a sleepover at her best friend's house Sunday night. She has needed this social time away and we trust that family to observe our girl closely for symptoms.

Winter showed up Saturday night and no one here was pleased. With a real feel temperature of seven that all by itself feels less than lucky, Greg argued it was better than negative seven because this is where we are on the optimism scale these days.

We started a new bible study for couples Sunday afternoon and I confessed a few hours prior, I worried it would be one of those June Cleaver submission stories of which I no longer subscribe. Laughing I recalled my kitchen table bible study years ago where a good friend smacked down an Elizabeth George study and declared it crap. Taken aback, I giggled in response because I was so worried as a young mom in my twenties about checking all the "good Christian woman" boxes, I failed to deeply consider the implications. Time and life are far more on my side now and I too will join my more mature friends in calling crap, well..... "crap".

That being said, as I seek additional messages of faith and pray for Greg's next employment opportunity I can't help but wonder if God is using this experience to call us closer. Of course He is. We went through the Chazown experience last year and I still believe in my heart we have been called to foster. Greg, with serious reservations about the impact that decision will have on our family and me in particular because my heart breaks so easily for children has decided against moving forward with that decision. I don't make the rules but twenty years ago I prayed for Greg to grow closer to God because of the aforementioned holier than thou goals I had going for my life in my twenties. And then Greg had his accident and had nothing but time to connect with God. We were in church a few weeks after Greg was released from the hospital and heard a message about the nudge God sometimes uses to get our attention and Greg understood for the first time, he may have been pushed from that billboard after all. Fortunately he forgave me for that prayer but as he wrestles with his current situation, I am praying God either absolves this stirring in my heart or puts it clearly in Greg's. May no one be knocked down twenty five feet as this story unfolds. Please and thank you.

Monday morning, Martin Luther King's birthday observed and only Ty has somewhere to be in the early morning; much to his dismay. Greg offered to drive because once again the weather app warned of single digit "feels like" temperatures and I suggested the cave man may be more equipped to brave the elements. And as they left, a holy hush of sorts fell over the house as I drank in the silence I have craved and missed these last several weeks. Because whereas I love time spent with my husband, he messes with my routine. I still have a to-do list I have to keep working through and he likes the sound of the television. Always. However, I am still very much looking forward to our empty nest years because I recognize we will not have the rushing through routines to contend with in those days so time spent together won't include the children who constantly need shepherded out the door.