Saturday, March 2, 2013

Chapel, Hairbows, and Favorite Stores

I had been looking forward to yesterday all week. First of all, it was Friday. And to top it off, it was payday. When you're a stay-at-home mom, Fridays don't really hold the same appeal as they do when you're working outside the home. Mostly because all 7 days of the week look pretty much the same. But yesterday was supposed to be different. I had big plans.

Friday morning was Parent Chapel Day at Brienne's school. Peter had graciously volunteered to stay home with the two younger kids that morning so I could go to chapel. Then, since he was going to attend a men's dinner at church that evening, Brienne and I had planned to go check out a cute little hairbow and children's clothing store after school, followed by a shopping spree to Target. Now hear this: Target is one of my favorite stores. I love it! But I don't get over there very often because it's on the complete opposite side of town, 25 minutes away. That doesn't seem so far, but when you have two small children and one of them is still nursing, a 25 minute jaunt across town isn't always in the cards.

I started sensing a chink in my plans Thursday night when Jonah started running fever and complaining of ear pain and Vivienne was so snotty and congested that she could hardly breathe. I went to Parent Chapel Day but ended up leaving the reception a bit early so that I could get home, load the babies in the car, and take them to the doctor. It was just as I figured: Jonah had an ear infection. But not just one ear, mind you; both ears were infected. That kid is a trooper! He should've been in a lot more pain than he was letting on. Vivienne just had snot.

Both kids were fading fast once we left the doctor's office, so I put Jonah in the bed, nursed Vivienne, and put her down for a nap too. That's when I realized I hadn't fed Jonah any lunch. Oh well, I figured I had stuffed him with enough goldfish and juice at the doctor's office that he probably wasn't hungry anyway. As I was eating lunch (I'm not much for skipping meals myself) Vivienne woke up, and I could hear Jonah playing and jumping in his bed. Apparently he wasn't as sleepy as I thought, so I grabbed both of them, threw them back in the car, and headed out early for our Target excursion.

For some reason unbeknownst to me, traffic was HORRENDOUS for a Friday afternoon at 1:45. What should have been a 25 minute drive turned into a 50 minute stop-and-go torture track. The good news is - Jonah got that nap in. The bad news is - Jonah got that nap in. I had to wake him up when we got to Target and he was a bear. My dreams of a blissful shopping experience quickly disappeared. I did find a precious little dress for Vivienne, though, but that's about it.

                                                                  Isn't this adorable?

After that disappointment, we picked up Brienne and headed to the bow shop. Oh.My.Goodness. That place was filled with all sorts of hair accessories, some of which I'd never seen before. And the boutique clothing. Whoa! I knew we had to make a quick escape before Peter and my pocketbook both had a conniption. We did buy a couple sweet flower clips and this handy dandy little twisty contraption.


We had planned to pick up Subway for dinner since Friday is my one day off from cooking, but after picking up medication at the pharmacy, I was honestly too tired to get all three kids back out of the car just for some cheap sandwiches. So we picked up fast food. It tasted yummy but my hips and thighs will be none too happy with me... (Why doesn't Subway have a drive-thru anyway?) The day actually ended quite peacefully, however, with both little ones going to bed easily so Brienne and I could have our weekly movie night.

You know, I had planned all week for what I thought would be a great Friday but little things kept interfering. Sick babies, toddlers who didn't want to nap, traffic jams, etc... These little things messed up my plans. It wasn't a huge deal, but I did feel a small amount of disappointment. But it got me thinking about God's plans for our lives. He has these AMAZING adventures that He wants to take us on - MUCH better than a Target run or Subway sandwiches for dinner. How does it make Him feel when we get "sick" in our sin or we get caught in traffic jams and detours? Is He disappointed that His plans weren't fulfilled? My prayer is that I will heed the still small voice of the Lord so that I am better able to follow His plan for my life. I want to know the plans He has for me; plans to prosper me and not to harm me. Plans to give me hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Let's all be more mindful of His calling this week.


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