Miriam's Life

Elise has said that twice today:  “This is my worst day ever!”  Of course, when you’re 5 it doesn’t take many bad things to erase all the wonderful things that  happen in a day.  Come to think of it, that may not have anything to do with being 5.  :)

It has been an excellent day actually, but ended with an adventure.  Elise went to Bible School this morning while I was at the store for a half day (our first day on our grand opening sale).  We had a record number of customers at the store, so when I came home and sat down with Elise to eat lunch I shared the good news with her.  She’s been very interested in “The Grand Sale” as she calls it.  So interested that she has been more than willing to pray at bedtime so that she can pray for the sale.  I’m surprised as it has taken so much of my time this week to get ready for it, that I haven’t been able to do anything extra with her.  Anyway, I shared the good news with her so she would know that God was answering her prayers and I said we should thank him for that, so she asked to pray and told God thank you for answering her prayers about the sale, and asked that it would keep going well, and also thanked him for helping her have a good time at Bible School.  It was a very grown-up prayer and I was so proud of her.

Her day had obviously not started out badly, because she talked to me for quite some time about all the things she had done at Bible School and brought me the invitation that they had given her for the program tomorrow night.  She was disappointed of course that we won’t go to the program, but didn’t seem too upset about it.

I worked at getting caught up on online orders during Elise’s naptime and then after nap, Tio (Herbie) came to play with the kids while I ran to the post office.  She talked him into letting her watch a cartoon.  Sometime during the afternoon came the first rendition of “This is my worst day ever,” but to be honest I don’t know what it was about.  I think she hurt herself or something.

John called a little before supper to let me know I needed to bring the keys back to him so he could lock up, and I told him how I had forgotten to thaw the meat for supper.  We decided to meet him at the office, lock up, and then go out to eat, something Elise was thrilled about.  My mom had already picked up our car to use to transport those going to a wedding in Pennsylvania to the airport tomorrow morning.  We are supposed to pick up her car at the shop tomorrow morning.  In the meantime, we have John’s Dad’s truck.  So, I loaded the kids in the truck, letting Elise be a big girl and sit up front with me, while Will sat in the back seat.  When we were getting out of the truck at the store, Elise burned her leg on the seatbelt and I’m sure felt that this reflected badly on the whole day.

We eventually got to Callahans where we enjoyed a good supper.  Elise assured us that this was her favorite restaurant, partly because of the good food, and partly because there is a horse painted on the wall in the entryway.  Around 7:00, slightly past Will’s bedtime, and nearing Elise’s we loaded back into the truck and pulled out onto Hwy. 412 to head home.  In the turning lane before John had a chance to merge into traffic the truck completely died and spilled oil all over the road.  John tried several times to restart it with no luck.  Elise, of course, was starting to stress and said she “doesn’t like this day!”  We prepared to have John push the car through traffic into a nearby parking lot, when thankfully two firemen in a small pickup stopped to help.  They stopped traffic for us and helped up push the truck to safety.  Then they gave us a cramped ride home.  Elise said that she thought firemen only helped with fires, but they said they tried to help anyone who needed it.

We got home safely, and Elise is still convinced that the day was no good, even though it ended up OK.  She said she was scared, and I don’t blame her, it was a little scary.  Although it would have been scarier had not John been with us, and had the firemen not stopped to help.

I encourage you to read this story carefully and see how many good things outweigh the few bad things that happened today.  Perhaps next time you feel like you are having the “worst day ever,” you will be able to see some good in it as well.

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I have been so busy lately I hardly have time to sit still during the day.  Well today that changed.  Why is it that God decides to force me to rest sometimes?  At least he gave me the foresight to get a bit ahead on work last night.  I was a bit behind and decided to catch up and get a bit ahead on embroidery for orders that were going out today.  That way I thought I would have lots of extra time today!  Hehe.

Anyway, this morning as I was trying to do some basic household chores before heading down to watch the store for my half day I noticed that Will was unusually grumpy for that early in the morning.  When I picked him up he was also warm.  Since he turned his head away when I stuck my finger in his mouth I figured he was teething and gave him some tylenol, but decided to go ahead and take his temperature too.  It was 100.3, which is a bit high for just teething.  Thankfully I knew that Laura’s kids had strep and that he could have been exposed, so I went ahead and made a doctor appointment.  It is a good thing I did, as he did have strep and even with starting antibiotics today his fever climbed to over 103.  He has slept most of the day and is down again for the night now.  I will have to check him later though, as I don’t want his temperature to keep climbing.  Usually I wouldn’t have taken him in on the first day of symptoms because I like to wait it out first to see if it is necessary to pay for an appointment.  I’m glad this time I knew enough of what it probably was to take him in.  Especially since John and I are going away for the weekend for our anniversary.

Well, back to my forced rest.  I actually did get a little bit of time at the store while John took the kids home and put Will to bed and Elise in front of a movie.  Elise had been complaining off and on of a sore throat, but I didn’t know if she was just worrying about getting sick because Will was.  The doctor had looked at her throat too and said it looked fine.  Anyway, as the day has gone on, Elise also now has a temperature, so we will be calling in antibiotics for her tomorrow as well.  So, with all that, while Will took a very long nap, I was able to get all the orders out that needed to go and then when I took a break to check on him, he was so grumpy and miserable that he ended up just cuddling with me for an hour.  I’m definitely not complaining.  It was a good rest time.  Unfortunately I have not been as patient with Elise.  Sigh . . .

Elise is about ready to go to bed now and then I am going to do some more work.  But I do plan on just doing a minimum and then sitting down to REST.

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Will turns 1 this Saturday. It is hard to believe that he has been part of our family for one whole year! Here are some of the things he’s learned lately:

-Walking is easier than crawling.

-If you pull hard enough on the toilet handle the toilet will flush, and it works over and over again!

-The toilet is just the right size to give your teddy bear a bath in.

-Wet teddy bears are fun to suck on.

-If you blow on a whistle it makes a noise, but it is hard to do if you are smiling at the same time.

-What phones are for: to beep, hold on your shoulder, and say “hi” to. Every once in awhile a voice you recognize might answer back.

-Wii remotes are really fun to play with. (And also to chew on.)

-Mommy doesn’t like it when I play with wii remotes.

-If I scream really loud, people look at me.

-When my sister is bugging me the best thing to do is scream really loud.

-Screaming really loud sort of sounds like a cat’s meow, and so is the best method of communication with them.

-Dogs are nice, but also scary.

-Cows say moo.

-Soap doesn’t taste good, but the texture is nice.

-Cat food is a great snack when you are hungry and mom hasn’t fed you yet.

-When Mommy puts her hand under your chin, that means to spit out whatever is in your mouth. (Not sure why she does this, but it makes her happy if I do it.)

-Cars go “vroom,vroom” and bears go “Grrr.”

-If you are sitting in the sink and the faucet is on, you can get a drink pretty easily. Just be careful about getting water in your eyes.

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It was three years ago today that we welcomed Emma Anne into our lives. Yesterday I remembered my labor, long and hard, and the way that God came alongside me to give me strength. Emma’s labor has been my longest so far, but also the most spiritual. It was then that God began to make clear to me how much he was there for us, without us really realizing how much we would need it.

I remember her birth, the lifeless body that was nevertheless still filled with life. I remember how tiny she seemed, that her hair was wavy, and that she was more worn out than I was from the labor. I remember my joy at being able to hold her in my arms. It would be later that there would be worry and frustration over her health, but for that day her life seemed full of hope and promise just like any little baby.

When I try to imagine her here with us now I have a very fuzzy picture. You see, I don’t know what she would have been like, whether she would have learned to walk, to talk, to eat. I don’t know how our family would be with the busyness of caring for her needs above all else. But when I imagine her happy and healthy and playing in heaven, then I feel like the picture clears. That was her future all along. That is where she belongs.

“Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.” Proverbs 14:10

“Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief.” Proverbs 14:13

“Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5b

“You have turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent, O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.” Psalm 30:11-12

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