There’s a story that we used to read to C when she was little. The book had her first and middle name in the title. “C___ _____ Battles Bedtime.” In the story, the little girl doesn’t want to go to sleep in the evenings because she wants to get all the oomph out of her day.

Well today, we certainly got all the oomph out of our day.

The kids had eye exams this morning. They had been scheduled for weeks and since Big E recently didn’t pass the color section of his school eye exam, it was great timing. I was a little disappointed that the doctor didn’t really test him for it, said he was red/green colorblind, and sent us on our way. It was strange because they tested C, so I was pretty annoyed. Yes, I know he is color blind. I want to know what version and how badly, but I didn’t get those answers today. Sigh. Anyway, all three kids got their eyes checked and they all did pretty well. The big kids were nervous going in, but by the time we left they said it was a lot of fun.

After the eye appointments, we took the kids out for lunch and headed back home. Baby E had a date with his grandparents and his favorite cousin to celebrate their birthdays together. Their plan was to play at the house for awhile, go to IHOP for dinner (you can’t go wrong with pancakes), and then head to the store for them to pick out a toy.

With Baby E occupied for the rest of the day, we made a very impulsive choice to drive into DC and visit a museum. It was already around 2pm, so we knew we were cutting it close, but we decided to go anyways. We got there in time to make it to the Air and Space Museum, which we have tried multiple times to take the kids to, but it has always been too crowded. The kids enjoyed it a lot, especially the areas where you could go inside various aircraft, etc and look around. They have short attention spans, so we breezed through most of the museum in record time, but they had fun. We left right before they closed and then walked down to the Washington Monument so the kids could see it up close. They were pretty amazed by how tall it was. We ended the evening with a quick drive past the Lincoln Memorial and we headed home, where we found a very excited Baby E with a new Batman toy. It was exhausting to squeeze so much into one day and I am pretty happy that we will have tomorrow to recover before heading back to work. 🙂

I should be in bed right now. I should have been in bed hours ago, but Tim and I have been trying to find time to finish the second season of Stranger Things so we stayed up this evening to make progress. Now it is midnight and we realized we have only one episode left. Now, we could be responsible adults and get ourselves to sleep, but I think we are going to play truant and stay up this once. We will surely regret it in the morning. While my sweet husband is making me some hot cocoa to sustain me through the next hour, I figured I would come here and say good night.

When I picked the kids up this evening I decided to take them to the library, we haven’t been in weeks. But it wasn’t until I pulled into the parking lot that I realized that they close at 5pm on Fridays. So instead we decided to take a trip to the beach. The weather was cold enough for coats, but there was no wind so it was actually quite pleasant and the kids had a fabulous time. I’m glad we snuck in that short visit to finish off our week. When we got home there were a few cousins here, so the kids played with them for awhile.

And once the kids were in bed, we started our show. The rest is history.

I’m still on the fence deciding if Wednesday evenings are worth Thursday night meltdowns, but if you asked me tonight I’d say they weren’t. The kids got to bed late last night, and for some unknown reason the boys were up by 5:30 this morning. Ugh. Needless to say, when I picked them all up they were all in bad moods and an unpleasant ride home was had. When we got home, everyone went to bed while Mommy made dinner. They were allowed out for dinner, and homework and then back to bed.

While C was working on her homework, I helped Big E put together a paper doll of the Incredible Hulk that someone at work had given us. It was a calm, quiet activity that didn’t include television watching, so I think it was a success. Big E was pretty excited about the outcome. The book the doll came in has several other superheroes, so I imagine we will be putting those together in the days to come.

I was on my way to work this morning when I heard the news that famous American evangelist Billy Graham had passed away in his home at the age of 99. My first thought was, “Finally.”

Not “finally- it took him long enough to do it,” or “finally that man has been silenced.” No, it was neither of those, not even close.

It was, “finally, he got to go home.” It didn’t matter how good or bad my day was, I knew Billy Graham was having his best day, and that made me smile. Unlike many, I didn’t grow up on Billy Graham sermons, I never saw one of his big revival meetings, but his name has been present my entire life. They said on the radio this morning that throughout history, he was the one man that met the most people ever– and that statistic became even sweeter when I thought about how he brought Christ to most of them. Well done, sir, what a legacy to leave behind.

Most of us will not be called to go and preach the Word to masses of people. We likely won’t visit third world countries and translate the Bible into native tongues. Our spiritual resumes may pale in comparison to the giants of the faith, but each believer is called to minister in their corner of the world- their families, their friends, their place of employment, the grocery store, the gas station, the library, the local McDonald’s. Those are the mission fields most of us encounter. So while our legacy might not be millions of saved souls, let us strive to leave a legacy, one that’s worthy of a “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

We were all saddened towards the end of December when we learned that our local fresh market was going out of business. The kids and I had made a tradition of stopping by there about once a week and buying huge apples, roasted peanuts, and cherry tomatoes. We would then walk down to the end of the boardwalk, find a place to sit, and have a picnic with our delicious treats. With the closing of the market, I mourned the end of an era.

But after a month of being closed, and some significant restructuring, they decided to give it another go! I couldn’t be more delighted. With temps in the mid 70’s today, I thought it would be a great opportunity to revive our old tradition. What I hadn’t anticipated was the 20 degree drop from the daycare to the seashore, so when we pulled up, it was actually quite chilly.

But we are a hardy bunch and decided to brave the temps anyways. We got to the store, chose out our apples, found a bag of peanuts, (there were no cherry tomatoes), paid for our treasures and headed to the pier. It’s been awhile since we have been there, the weather has just been too bitterly cold to try. And while I shivered through our picnic this evening, I could tell that the kids enjoyed it. We have one more day of nice weather before the cold and dreary returns. I’m so glad we got to take advantage of it. 🙂

A very special woman is having a birthday tomorrow… my mama! My mom is one of my best friends and has been for many years. We talk almost daily, usually on my ride home from work. And today she got to spend the day with her grandkids. From what I can gather, Naona and Baby E even took a nap together. 🙂 I love that my kids enjoy spending so much time with their grandmother, and that my mother enjoys them as well.

I’m grateful that God gave me such a godly, loving, and industrious woman as my mother. I have learned so much from her throughout the years and I hope I do justice to her lessons as I pass them down to my children. She is a blessing.

So happy early birthday, mom! I’m sorry I won’t be there to celebrate, but the next time I see you we’ll get sushi and eat cake! I love you very much!!

I have no desire to cross the ocean, feet planted on the deck of a ship, waves pounding the bow- no, that is not for me. But on sad days, in lonely moments, when my world feels heavy, I need the sea. I need to stand by the water, to hear the waves lap or crash upon the sand. I meet God by the sea.

That’s not entirely true, though. I meet Him everywhere. I meet Him when I open my eyes in the morning. I meet Him in my car. I meet Him in the kindness of strangers. Of course, I meet Him the most in His word.

But there are days when the sea is where I must meet Him- my friend, my Savior. I whisper my fears and my hopes to the waves, knowing my Father in heaven can catch them before they get lost in the spume. We wrestle by the sea. I beg for answers. I stand in silence. I marvel.

I marvel at a god that can count the grains of sand and knows my name. I wonder at the one that channels the winds and cares for the minnows. I am in awe of the creator I share with the tides.

By the sea I am small. I am insignificant.

And that’s ok… because I am.

Without the overwhelming sacrifice of my Lord Jesus, that is all I would ever be. I would forever be a captive to my own shortcomings, my own sins, and my own folly. But because of that sacrifice, I am the daughter of a king- with rights and responsibilities fitting a heavenly command, and the concerns that weigh so heavily on my mind, the ones that keep me up at night, all fade away when I meet God by the sea.

My sweet family has gone away for the night. Tomorrow is a day off for the kids, and while I had initially planned to take the day off too, I decided it was best to go in- after all, I missed four days last week from sickness. Since the daycare is closed, they are going to the new house for the day and they will spend time with my mom and sister. So I’m here, in our basement palace, missing them desperately, but also excited about only having myself to get ready in the morning. I talked to them on the phone before they went to bed, and by now they should be deep into their dreams, snuggled in their beds. I’m counting down the hours until I see them again. 🙂

Today was the birthday party for Baby E’s favorite person in the world, his cousin Ms.B.

Ms.B is three months younger than Baby E, and while they have picked on each other since the beginning, they absolutely adore each other. I often catch Baby E having conversations with an imaginary Ms.B and he includes her in many of his fantastical adventures. When he heard it was her birthday party, he got very excited 1- because it was for her, and 2- because there would be cake.

After our rough week, it was wonderful to watch the children playing with their cousins and having so much fun!

This evening each of the kids took turns giving me huge hugs. It’s sad to realize I went even a few days without their tiny arms around my neck. I’m so grateful to be feeling so much better.

This morning I woke up early to get the kids ready for school. When I finally got them to their daycare, I made the final decision that I was going to stay home. I still wasn’t feeling well, and I knew I wasn’t up to going in. So I came home and went to bed. And I slept until almost noon. Even though I wasn’t hungry, I knew I should eat, so I had some lunch and went straight back to bed and slept until 3. When I finally crawled out of bed I was feeling much better. My fever is completely gone now and except for a minor sore throat and being tired, all the other symptoms are gone. Finally. This has been a long week and I am so grateful to have a weekend to spend with my family and get a little more rest.

Hopefully things can settle back to normal tomorrow. I’ve missed cuddling with my kids and enjoying my family.

Well friends, I really wish I had the version of Strep that C has because by noon this afternoon she told me that her throat didn’t hurt at all! Today did not treat me as well, and while she spent the day watching tv and playing on my iPad, I spent most of it napping or just lying around. This one has put me through the wringer. I tried to clean up a bit this afternoon and the simple act of bending over made my entire head throb. Ugh. But the good news is that I ate my first full meal since Tuesday lunchtime this evening, so that’s looking up! I’ve been on the antibiotics for about 32 hours now, so hopefully all the symptoms will start waning off soon. In the meantime, I’m going to spend the rest of my evening in a dark quiet room with nothing but a fireplace to keep me company. 🙂