Plans That Didn't Work Out & Other Blessings

This weekend, my husband and I were planning a slumber party for our daughter Trinity’s birthday. On Friday, I went to the store for the food and gifts, prepared the ornament crafts and put the candy bags together. Jocelyn and I stayed up late drinking hot cocoa, listening to Christmas music and wrapping individual smores for the party. 

A few hours after going to bed on Friday, I woke up feeling terrible. On Saturday, my hubby and Jocelyn completed the remaining chores for me. They cleaned up the kitchen, baked the cupcakes and helped me decorate when I finally made it out of bed. I knew that I wasn't going to be much help, but I was hopeful that we would still be able to pull it off! Unfortunately, a few hours later my husband started feeling just as sick. We decided to cancel the slumber party. We knew that there was no way we could care for, feed and hike the mountain with ten girls!

We managed to pick Trinity up and drive over to my parents' house to sing to Happy Birthday to both dad and Trinity. My husband didn't make it and slept in one of the bedrooms during the dinner and gift opening, and I barely moved from my spot on the sofa. The girls did get invited to spend the night at their cousins’ house so things still worked

out for them.

Yesterday, while my husband finished up some of the chores, I was thinking about how lucky I am.  I have a husband who willingly picks up where I leave off. Had he not gotten sick, he would have been happy to assume all responsibilities for the party and would have gladly taken the girls on the hike alone the next day.

I knew how disappointed our daughters and nieces were going to be when they found out the the party was canceled. Then a few hours later, I felt so blessed,  because my brother Ernie and sis-in-law Vanessa offered to take our girls home so that they could still have a fun night.

When I picked the girls up they were tired, but were happily  sharing stories about the fun they had. The best part is that in four days they will get to have that fun all over again on Thanksgiving. A holiday that is designed for families to come together to focus on their blessings. However, if we are wise, we are grateful for these things everyday, all year long!

It was raining just before I left to pick the girls up and on my way I came across a rainbow. Rainbows are my absolute favorite miracle! I never get tired of sharing the fact that years ago, I went through the end of one with my grandma. Because of that experience, I always look at the rainbow as a very spiritual reminder of how blessed I am.

It is not hard to find blessings. In moments of sickness when nothing seems to go as planned, we can find them. During the months that we are scrambling to pay the bills, we can find them. When we are having relationship difficulties with spouses or other family members, we can find them. 

Plans do "have a way of falling down in midflight" and life doesn't always work out exactly the way we hope, but it does work out. Whenever I am in need of a reminder to show me just how blessed I am, I don't have to look very hard to find one. In fact, most days I just open my eyes and one is laying next to me in bed.   

Today I am linking up with Julie for Marriage Mondays.

Kisses between Phone Calls

Seven years ago, when I had my daughter, Jocelyn, I wanted to be at home with her. I did not want to put her in daycare or leave her with my mom. I was sure she would have been fine, but I did not want to miss any moments. Those moments that were important to me. I have wanted to be a Mommy for as long as I could remember and it was essential that I be there each time she woke up, each time she needed to be changed, and each time she wanted to be held. I understand that some mothers love working outside of the home and enjoy their careers. I applaud them for doing what they love, however, my heart's desire was to be at home raising and starting a family.

I soon found out that while it is great to set goals for our life and make plans, it is also imperative that we remain flexible. Life has a way of showing us that we are not in control. I was home with Jocelyn for the first 3 months of her life, because I was healing from a cesarean. My (then) husband was going to school full-time and working part-time so we needed the supplemental income. I quit my job as a Preschool Teacher and went to work for my family's business. This allowed me the privilege of earning a living, while spending my days with my child.  I was able to have her with me each day at the office and I did not miss a single moment!

When I look back at those 5 years I spent with her before she started Kindergarten, I remember how busy, chaotic and unpredictable my days were. I also remember how they were blessed. I could sneak hugs and kisses in between phone calls. I answered the door with a baby on my hip, made phone calls with a baby in my lap and typed up documents with a baby on my breast. I was there for her first words and her first steps. I got to rock her to sleep and I took breaks to sing her lullabies and read her stories.

As she grew, the swing, playpen and baby toys were eventually replaced by a desk, a Dora sofa and shelves that held books, toys and art supplies. I printed out worksheets to prepare her for Kindergarten. We had calendar time, we practiced the names and sounds of the alphabet and hung up miscellaneous art projects all around the room. Somedays, we ate lunch at McDonalds while she played on the equipment.

There were stressful moments. I breastfed until she was about 11 months old, so there were many times that I would have to pull the car over on my way to work, while running errands or on my way home to feed a hungry, screaming baby. There were days when I was the only one in the office and I had to soothe a crying baby fast enough to answer the phone or help an applicant out with his new hire paperwork. I couldn't put her on a schedule, because our days were filled with last minute errands. There were times when she was sick, fussy or just wanted to be held, but I struggled to give her the attention she needed, because I was on a deadline at work.

I made dinner and packed diaper bags by night, earned a living and cared for my baby by day and washed clothes and cleaned house on the weekends. It was the not the June Cleaver life I had planned, but it was close! I knew that I was lucky.

I am amazed at how fast those 5 years that we spent together at the office went by. When I watch my little girl get dressed in the morning, help with chores around the house or hear the conversations she has with her siblings, I cannot help but to smile. That little curly headed office baby has grown into a beautiful, bright, independent 2^nd grade girl who has her own ideas, dreams and plans.

If she is like her Mommy, as she grows she will look back at the last five, 10 or even 15 years and she will know how fortunate she was. Though the details of her life may not always work out exactly the way she planned, she will continue to dream and to set goals for her future,

 because, while her life may be full of challenges and uncertainty, it is also filled with blessings and possibility, and life, always has a way of working out.  

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I am linking this post to 

 

The last picture is of Jocelyn and I at the office. Her arms are wrapped around me so tightly and her expression says it all. I am in love with my baby, and lucky for me, she loves me back!

P.S. The video below is an old favorite from the office as well. :)