Life is a battlefield

Being a Mom is such a roller coaster of good and bad, sometimes it's hard to remember when to put your hands up and let go and when to hang on for dear life. From battling with an almost five year old who acts like I am offending her deeply and personally every time she has to wear a pair of jeans to a little boy who has his first crush only to find out his girl likes another boy. The heartache that is felt vicariously is enough to make me wonder why I ever wanted to fall in love in the first place...but then I walk home from the bus stop past the trash my husband took out in the rain this morning before he left work at 6am and I remember it's worth it. (Not so I can have a garbage man:) He does things day in and day out not expecting a seventy six trombone band (I don't think) and cheerleaders doing scissor kicks to come out from behind the trees to spell out his name, he does it just because he loves me.

So today, when I'm picking up laundry and see the secret note that says "I love Alison" or am picking out another pair of jeans for school tomorrow that I know will cause world war three, I will look at the latest addition to our family, stumbling around grinning, showing off her four teeth and I will know that in the big scheme of things, that little bit of unconditional love that my parents and husband have always shown me will have to be enough. Now it's my job and someday, if I'm lucky, they'll be happily married and be picking out their own dang jeans and be able to see those same attributes of love in me.

My nine and a half month old daughter fell out of a high chair this weekend. She has a really impressive shiner and was pretty upset for about twenty solid minutes on out way to the hospital, but she's fine.

It would be stupid of me to let something like that pass by without me acknowledging the immediate answer to prayers that were given to myself along with four other people. It came close enough to her eyeball that everything is swollen shut around it, but her eye is fine. The function is seemingly fine. Her sister cried almost as hard as she did that her "little sister was so hurt" which is evidence again of how much love our Savior and Heavenly Father has for us. If she can love someone who has been in her life for under ten months with that kind of emotion, then their love for us has to be painfully intense.

Hopefully Hadley will read this one day and understand the love and divine awareness that she was given even at an early age.

(Or she could just wonder why we let her fall out of the chair in the first place. Ha! Oh well!)

I am fascinated by the way things work out! I went to my Mom and Dad's house with the intention to swim with the kids in spite of the fact that neither of my parents were going to be home . As soon as we were all swim-suited up to swim, it started to rain with an insane amount of thunder and lightning, although there had not been a single cloud in the sky all day long. We waited a few minutes for it to slow down disappointed about the anti-climatic turn of events, then got in the car with the intent to drive back home and run a few errands. I went a certain way in spite of the fact that I really needed to go the other way, then almost made it to my turn off for the last stretch home and saw a little boy on a bike flagging down cars. I stopped, turned around and rolled down the window to see if he was okay. Through very polite, choked sobs he explained that he had gotten turned around and couldn't find his way back to his Grandpa's house. He had been riding for two-three hours in the hot sun with the occasional bout of rain falling on him, trying to flag down whatever cars he saw and talk to construction workers to find someone to help him. The workers ignored him and the people kept driving by, smiling and waving at him as he moved positioning up and down the road, mistaking his flailing arms for friendliness. He was understandably upset and was at the point where he'd had just about enough. I don't know if he prayed for help or what kind of family he is growing up in (although they seemed great). I know that his need was heard whether verbalized to our father in Heaven or not and that help was sent so that he could return home safely.

We called his Mom, got in touch with his Grandpa and got him home safely. He kept saying with very sincere gratitude, "Thank you so much for stopping."

I am in awe at the seemingly insignificant things that the Lord set in motion so much earlier in my day that sent me in that particular direction b/c he knew that one of his beloved children would be lost and would need the help. It is evidence to me of our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christs love for each and every one of us. Great or small...

He was one little boy on a bike in the middle of nowhere on a back country road. He was led...and I was led. Unspoken prayers I have in my heart were answered as well...

...I had an impression I should clear out the back of my car before I left my house and didn't do it. We were still able to fit the bike in the car, but it was a much tighter fit and caused a broken leg or two on my antique high chair which is a comparatively small price to teach me to the importance of listening to my promptings.

Kinda cool...