"all your ways are loving and faithful..."psalm 25:10
like when you spend an awesome memorial day weekend with the fam, have a picnic supper and play date at the park on the way home and then...BOOM!
your van tire explodes on a busy MN highway
and you've got four littles and 15 bags of mulch in the back end
it only took an hour and a half to get us back on the road.
while i would not put my children in the "angel" category 100% of the time,
they apparently know how to shine when it counts because they were nothing short of perfectly patient while j worked on the car and we waited for help
while i was having visions of tackling them as they wandered away from me like littles tend to do, they happily tickled each other with grass, sang songs and wrote their names in the dirt.
i kept thinking...here it goes, they're going to get crazy.
if we have to wait here five more minutes, the wheels are going to fall off...
any second now, this whole, peaceful thing is going to come crashing down.
but it never happened.
while i was having visions of tackling them as they wandered away from me like littles tend to do, they happily tickled each other with grass, sang songs and wrote their names in the dirt.
i kept thinking...here it goes, they're going to get crazy.
if we have to wait here five more minutes, the wheels are going to fall off...
any second now, this whole, peaceful thing is going to come crashing down.
but it never happened.
in fact, i'll take a moment to brag...
the police officer who stopped was so impressed that he busted out some teddy bears to reward their patience and sweet attitudes.
i won't lie...it stunk to end our memorial day weekend like that.
but, if we were going to be stalled on the side of a busy road, this was the night to do it.
it wasn't cold.
it wasn't hot.
it wasn't raining.
and i did not feel one bug...not one.
stranger angels stopped to help j and worked for over an hour to get the spare tire loose before the tow truck was able to get there.
the kids played happily in the dirt and we didn't hear one fuss out of any of them...
the baby slept through it all...
though i feared it, i did NOT have to nurse a 6-week-old baby in tick-infested grass.
that, in itself, is cause for wild rejoicing.
though i feared it, i did NOT have to nurse a 6-week-old baby in tick-infested grass.
that, in itself, is cause for wild rejoicing.
finally our awesome neighbor came to the rescue, picking up me and the kids while j continued to wait for the tow truck
when i looked back on these pictures, i got teary thinking how lucky i am to have a guy who was still smiling at the end of it all.
we tucked peach into bed at 10:30, after baths and a thorough tick check and i told her that i was kind of glad we had that flat tire.
she asked why and i had a fabulous opportunity to tell her how proud i was of her for being a good example for her sisters. she was tired, but i could tell she was proud of herself, too.
i fell into bed next to j, exhausted but smiling...
there are days when life is beautiful.
and there are days when life is hard.
but choosing anxiety and frustration only magnifies the mess
sometimes we miss teachable moments.
sometimes we blow it big time with our kids
but this time, we chose to laugh
and they learned to be thankful for all the good things
and to trust the Lord with all the rest.
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