On the lighter side

Yesterday was another one of those "grace upon grace" days that are such a gift. The kind of days where you laugh a LOT and the kind of love we are meant to give and recieve just flows more freely. I didn't expect yesterday to be one of those days because it was flu shot day. Oh, the dreaded trips to the health department. Juliana is now big enough that I must tell her ahead of time that she needs a shot. Once we step inside the nurse's room Evan's memory brings him quickly up to speed on the malicious nature of the trip. I told Juliana at lunchtime that we would be leaving after nap for our shots and she was VERY sad. Somehow I got her settled down enough for her nap. Once we got there she was trying to be brave but wanted to always be holding my hand in the waiting room. On a side note, one of my absolute FAVORITE things in the world is to hold my kiddos' hands. I delight in the feel of their little hands in mine. I imagine once they get bigger I will still enjoy holding their hands, but there is just something soooo sweet about walking beside my child with their tiny hand in my own- I think it has something to do with the feeling of trust that it expresses. Anyway, as we sat in the waiting room the Lord prompted me to study the scene that lay before me. A scared little girl, a greatly dreaded trial around the corner, a momma who absolutely knows that pain will be caused - the cost of the dreaded shot that must be taken. A momma who rejoices in holding her little girl's hand and comforting her with truth. Reflecting that I choose the benefits of this pain over the desired escape of it because I want my little girl to stay healthy. All this to say, the Lord whispered to my heart, Here I am. This is you and me. Not whispered to my ear, mind you, but to my heart. He promises us a relationship, not just a blind faith. I feel like I am just beginning to stick my little toe into the waters of the riches of His grace in this unbelievable fellowship He has offered to me. Yesterday was such sweet evidence to me of the love of a Living God for those who seek Him.

Continuing on, Juliana did well and was really psyched b/c the nurse told her she had a nice muscle in her arm. We successfully recieved our flu shots and headed straight out to Runza b/c we had a free ice cream cone coupon. I proceeded to get Juliana her cone and Evan a dish of ice cream and wrangle the kids into their seats. Before I knew it the cone ended up upside down on the table and as I scooped the ice cream back on with my hand I glanced over just in time to see Evan's dish landing upside down on the floor. Oh my. I salvaged as much ice cream as I could. Runza is the only place in McCook that has one of those kids play-place gyms so after eating I had the delight of watching Juliana give her best 3-year old effort at climbing up these alternating levels that were as high as her shoulders at the top. She tried for so long and finally figured out how to maneuver herself in a really odd way to pull herself up. She was soooo excited when she got to the top! I remember yelling up at her simply trying to make conversation and asking if there was anyone up there with her because I could only see her and she replied, "I'm not alone, God is here with me!" as she jumped up and down and rejoiced in her accomplishment of climbing what was seemingly impossible. Why didn't I think of that? Evan for a reason unknown to me finished the Runza trip with his first public tantrum complete with spaghetti legs and horrible screech. He spent the rest of the day mad at the world and I still can't figure out why...but it was really amusing : ) Truly there is even more to this day that is notable, but I must go to bed.