Tidbits: Oh, the things they do...and say...

The last 10 days have been a whirlwind, yet I count every day as a blessing. In doing discipleship with a friend this week, we got to talking about John 21:11-13:

 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.

So many times, we miss the little miracles. Yeah, we get the big ones all around these verses- Jesus raises from the dead, appears to the disciples (this is the 3rd time), Peter walks on water, the nets were full of fish... But...Dd you see it? The nets- not broken, not torn, no repair needed. Let's completely low ball it- a good friend's husband says 5 lbs per fish, think 450 lbs. And John tells us they are "large fish, 153," to be exact- no small feat! But do we see a parable attached? Do we see the disciples falling on their faces, in adoration for their Lord, and that the nets didn't tear? Nope. We look over the little things so often. Jesus simply made them breakfast in their awe.

I am making it a point to recognize the little things. To know that, while my kids are young, boisterous, and rebellious at times, it will pass. That yeah, we can't always pay bills on time, but we have each other. We are healthy. We have a roof over our heads. We believe in  God that is so many things to us- Creator, Redeemer, Provider, Counselor, and so much more!

So here are the tidbits from the last 10 days or so...Enjoy!

Levi is fascinated with what makes him a boy, and that his brother has one too.  Tonight, the kids were in the bath together...Micah is trying to have "relaxation" and is basically meditating. He has decided that the bath tub is the perfect place to lay down, close his eyes, sink in, and forget he has a mom to listen to. While he was under with his eyes closed, Levi was trying to rip Micah's floating, um, goods off. I tell Levi that "pee pees are not for touching" and try to distract him. I tell Micah to sit up unless he wants to end up in pain. I pop out to get towels, and then I turn around and Micah has a set of stacking cups in the most appropriate of areas for "ultimate protection" and Levi is laughing hysterically. Oh, my boys...

I am really starting to notice my body changing.  We are really trying to avoid using our dryer much, and Jose's mom gave us a dryer cleaning kit to help our old machine along. I got all gun-ho about using it, started taking the dryer apart, and got in WAY over my head. I tried to move the dryer (what was I thinking?!) to get behind it and just started laughing at my self. Like I could fit back there and bend over, hah! I had to call Jose in for back up, who was just shaking his head at me the whole time. Wait until I start nesting...

 I think the dog is going into heat, and she took it out on our bathroom floor. Oh my goodness...that one was a huge mess. When she goes in heat (this is the second time), she gets diarrhea before hand. We went out all morning running errands, and when we came home it was like a war zone in our bathroom. Jose has bowel issues since having his gall bladder out, and he was in the boys bathroom probably 5 times doing his thing. At the same time, I was up to my elbows in bleach, towels, and black trash bags trying to contain the Hazmat situation on our floor. Thank God it was on tile, not the carpet!

God provided Jose with a new job!  In case you didn't hear, Jose accepted a position as a Medical/Peds/Onc nurse at St. Lucie Medical Center. He starts his orientation on July 10. And it's DAYS! I am so excited to have a husband that is able to sleep in the same bed as me again, and not have to keep the kids corralled on one side of the house and shushed up. God is so good!

And last but not least, I'll throw in a funny breastfeeding joke for kicks: 
The night before, Jose had woken Levi up while checking on him,  and I had to nurse him back to sleep forever. The next night went like this:

Me: If you wake Levi up, I am going to make you pay with YOUR boobs.
Jose: I can't pay. I have insufficient funds. Buahahahaha.

Oh, baby. You're lucky you're suave.

Ten Years and Two Missing Kids

Ten years ago yesterday, my future husband passed me a note in our high school library. We had been talking for about a month, and our friends were desperately trying to set us up. And come to think about it, he didn't really pass me a note. I was sitting at a table with my friends, he walked up and handed it to me (folded all cute, oragami style of course), said nothing, and walked away.

It was the basic, high school style note from a guy putting out feelers and trying to figure out if you felt similar before he took the plunge and actually "asked you out." Like a test drive, if you will. But on the back was a question with two boxes:

Would you go out with me? Check yes or no.

I, smiling like a fool because he finally pseudo-worked up the courage to ask me, quickly checked the box yes. I walked across the library where he sat with his group of friends and dropped it on the table, and kept on walking. Later on, he said he was surprised that I checked yes because "it was only a joke, and I had a real plan on how I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend." I say you don't practice purposing to someone, so it was the real deal.

And here we are, ten years later. Seven years of marriage under our belt. Two kids. Four addresses since we got married. Three surgeries (one for me, two for Jose). Weddings. Funerals. Picnics. Pets. Fights. Makeups. Valleys, hills, mountain tops, rocky ground, high roads, and everything in between.

We decided that we deserved a grown up night out by ourselves after all this time. Originally we wanted to go away for a night, but it just wasn't feasible after paying down our big debts, buying a new bed, and the fact that Levi is still not sleeping through the night consistently. I just couldn't do that to my in laws.

Jose worked the night before, so he slept all day. I didn't get to bed until 1am, the kids got up at 6:30am, and I was exhausted, so I took the kids to Jose's parents to keep them for the afternoon so I could rest a little before we went out to dinner. I was to call her later and let her know if we would pick them up or if she should drop them off at our house later. I left there at 2pm, laid down for an hour, and then met a girl I am mentoring for a little while. I called Jose's mom to check in at 5pm on the way home, and got a weird disconnected sound.

Not thinking anything of it, I continued on home and got Jose up. We didn't end up leaving until close to 6pm to drive towards Outback for dinner. I should have known our night was going up in flames. We were told it was going to be an hour and a half wait despite call ahead, so we left there and went toward Stuart to find a restaurant. Nearing 7pm, we decided to call Jose's parents and check in. No answer from Jose's mom. No answer from Jose's dad. Both numbers say they are disconnected. We try 3 different restaurants. Hour wait. Way too under dressed. Extremely expensive.

By now, I have hardly had any sleep, haven't eaten in 7 hours, can't get a hold of anyone watching our kids, and have had 4 restaurant disasters, so I started to fall apart in the parking lot. Jose could feel it, and was thoroughly agitated at his parents, so we left and headed towards their house to check on the kids. We pulled up to an empty house, lights off, no one home. I am ready to panic at this point. It's 7:30pm, I haven't talked to anyone since 2. Disconnected every time we call. Jose starts to drive to our house in case they are there. On the way, I remember that Micah said something about Chuckie Cheese (another blog for another day- one of my most hated places)- so I call there and they are being paged. No one fits their description.

We pull up to our house at 8pm, and no one is there either. We leave a note on the door: "If you get here, go to your house. CHECK YOUR PHONES, PLEASE." We head back to Jose's parents to wait. He says if they aren't there by 9pm, we are calling the police because we have no idea where our kids are, and can't contact any one. The worst starts running through my mind, especially since my in laws speak pretty broken English. What if there was an accident? They have no phone to call an ambulance...Nine o'clock comes and goes. Jose and I are on our knees in his parent's living room, asking for peace for us and protection for our babies...and protection for Jose's parents, that we don't kill them when they get there.

The truck rolls into the driveway at 9:30, nearly 7 1/2 hours since I kissed my little goblins goodbye and left them in hands that I trust. After all the events, Jose and I were mentally and physically exhausted. We were also enraged at Jose's parents. They forgot to pay their bill and got their phones cut off, and because they didn't think to ever call us and check in, they never checked their phones.

It could have ended so much worse. Every situation running through my mind could have been a reality. We rode home with two gorgeous boys sleeping in their seats, one kid sized and one bite sized, worn out from a date with the greedy, gambling, giant rat. We rode almost silently, hands laced and fingers gripped tight, thanking God that our babies were safe. Hunger paled, exhaustion didn't matter, they were safe.

I have no idea what it would have been like had things ended differently to our night, but I know one thing: we would weather it together, best friends, hand picked for each other by a God who has amazing plans for us. Ten years later, and a million hard moments, we were able to take a stress that could have decimated a couple and push right through.

I love you, Jose, and wouldn't change a moment we have had together. The naysayers came and went saying we were too young to get married, and where are they now? Standing in awe at how strong our love is.

Tidbits

Snapshots from my life over the last week...

Mama. Levi said his first word, and I was so stoked about it because Micah would only say Dada for the longest time. Levi will only say it if he is crying and frustrated because I am not picking him up. He has said it three times so far, and every time he says it I get ever so giddy. Definitely one of the best tings about being a mom- the first time your child says your name, says "I love you", and kisses you are some of the sweetest things in life.

Micah flipping off the WIC waiting room. It was way more innocent than it sounds, but all the moms thought it was hilarious nonetheless. Micah and I had to get our hemoglobin checked, and it's just a finger prick. Micah was so good, sat on my lap and held his finger out even though he was scared. The lady picked his middle finger, of course. When he was done, the lady put a small band aid on his finger, and then decided that what he really needed was a giant band aid on his tiny finger. And then she drew a happy face on the band aid. So naturally, when we got to the waiting room, Micah proudly held up his middle finger to the ladies and their children and announced, "LOOK AT MY BLOOD SURGERY, EVERYONE!"

My heart was bursting with pride for my husband.  The nutritionist we saw immediately commented when she looked at my file and then looked at my baby that he was a gorgeous, healthy, perfect gem...commended me on my efforts to exclusively breastfeed, which of all the clients she sees, is extremely rare...she then asked how my experience with nursing has been and what support I have had...and then looked at my hubby, and said the following: "Dad, I just want to commend you on how supportive you have been. I mean it- you are great. More moms would breastfeed if they just had support from their husbands. Seriously, you are doing a great job, and your beautiful baby shows." It was a rare moment for my hub to have a little praise, feel included with the breastfeeding, and it just made me so content with the choices we have made to feed naturally despite the roadblocks in the early weeks.

Poop. Levi has decided that every time we are in the car, he will poop. I don't understand it; Jose is convinced that the vibration from the car seat induces it. He says we should make jiggly seats for constipated patients in the hospital to shake it out of 'em. In other news, Micah has regressed since we added Levi to the family. He has been fully potty trained since about 2, and since Levi arrived, he started going in his pants again. I am pretty sure it is to get attention, and boy does it get my attention but not in a good way. It is something we are working through, and from what I understand, when Micah hits his next big developmental milestone, it should resolve itself... Which brings us to our next point.

School. My first born with not be with me every day for the first time in his life, other than an occasional mission trip. He starts Sept. 6th, and I don't know whether to laugh, dance for joy, cry, or try and take a nap every morning while he is gone.

Hosanna vs. Jose. Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest... Micah blurts out during worship in Sunday morning church, "Why are they singing about Daddy?  They keep saying Jose." Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest... Oh well. At least he is making an effort to listen. I had to stifle the laugh and then explain why we call Jesus another name sometimes.

I absolutely love my life since deciding to be obedient to the Lord, making the plunge, and deciding to stay home. Every day is a new adventure. Most of them involve some off-the-wall incidents, way too many bodily functions, moments where we laugh, moments where I am at the end of my rope and ready to let go...but all in all, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Not money, not fame, not retiring early, not a night of full sleep, not getting dressed up to hit the town. I heard a funny expression this week, and it was "baby rabies". And yes, I think I have been bitten.