Daily

My friends J&A have a photo blog called "Not As Daily." Tonight I was reflecting on things that feel very daily and things that feel not so daily. I like the not so daily things much better. Here's my thoughts on the differences:

Things that feel very daily:
-washing my face and flossing my teeth
-saying no and finding a fun distraction when W asks to watch Elmo again(actually that's more like 23 times daily)
-trying to think of healthy things to serve for meals that all of us would like to eat
-hunting for W's fuzzy (his blanket that he can't do without and often leaves in remote corners of the house)
-figuring out what W and I (and sometimes hubby) should wear

Things that feel not so daily:
-being underbudget on my Wal-Mart bill
-hearing a client say, "You know, something we talked about last week really made me think differently about..."
-catching up with old friends when it feels like no time has passed at all since we've seen each other last
-watching the reflections of the round, gold communion trays dance on the vaulted ceilings of our church during a warm and glowing Christmas eve service
-watching W imitate us by pretending to drink juice from our empty plastic communion cups knowing that in some way he is already participating in worshiping Jesus
-having trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve even after all these years

Merry Christmas and blessings in your New Year!

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W-isms

Just thought I'd share a couple W stories that have made us chuckle the past couple days. Stacy brought home the cartoon version of Narnia and although W didn't seem all that interested he must have been particularly impressed with the scene where Aslan goes around breathing life into the characters turned into stone by the witch. We saw him yesterday going around to a bunch of inanimate objects in our house putting his mouth close to them and making a growling/breathing noise on them. How disappointing it must have been to him that the refrigerator did not in fact come to life!
We've also been working on prepping him for the baby coming next month. We'll talk about the baby, pretend with a play baby and read stories about being a big brother. Then today at breakfast hubby asked him, "W, do you want a baby brother or a baby sister?" He paused, said, "hmmm..." Then he pointed to our dog and said, "I want doggy!" Uh oh. He could be in for quite a surprise.

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Little White Hook

We live in a small house. It is tight, it is often cramped and there are some days that I think I will tear my hair out having to look at our full to the brim closets. But it is also very cozy, very warm and I love it. We renovated the house when we moved in so the flooring, paint, cabinets, hardware, etc. is all stuff I got to pick out. It has become home in a way that makes me feel safe, comfortable and I know I will grieve when and if we do move into a bigger house someday.
For example, the bathroom. There is only one and it is not much bigger than a postage stamp. I can reach all four walls while sitting on the toilet. Hubby installed something today that seems insignificant and most people would never notice: a tiny white plastic towel hook on the back of our already white bathroom door. It blends in so well you'd think it's been there for years. But as I brushed my teeth tonight before bed, it caught my eye and suddenly that bathroom felt smaller than ever before.
You see, the reason we installed that hook is because we only had three spots to hang bath towels before. Two towel rods that he and I hang our towels on, and another hook to hang W's towel on. We've been saying for months now that with this new baby coming we need to install another hook for baby's towel and today for whatever reason he actually remembered to pick one up at Wal-Mart and put it up.
It's not like this is the first preparation we've made for the baby. We've been cleaning and prepping and washing and unpacking baby things for some time now. But hanging that permanent little hook on our door today made all this seem so...permanent. I can't help but take a deep breath when I think about the reality of all this. I can't help but question, "How will I handle having to divide my time between two children and a husband all with very specific needs?, How will W adapt and adjust to not being the main and only attraction anymore?, How will I adapt again to sleeping in three hour increments?, How will I get a shower every day?" If I let myself think too long about it suddenly that little white hook becomes quite intimidating.
But tonight that little white hook brought a smile to my face and a giddy-ness to my heart that can only be described as the anticipation a child has the night before Christmas morning. I know realistically that the adjustment won't always be as fun as getting to open that huge shiny present under the tree just for you. I know some days I won't get to shower. But I feel certain that the first time I hang this baby's towel on that little white hook I will be reminded of God's faithfulness, His grace and His blessing in allowing us the pleasure of needing one extra hook.

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