Love uses a kleenex.

Tonight around the dinner table, the Poppa pulled our Daily Family Bible Verse/Question card from the holder & read...

I Corinthians 13:5
Love does not demand its own way.
Love is not irritable.

Then he flipped the card over to ask the discussion question:

What does irritable mean?

To which the boy immediately replied "I know, I know, it means: Do not pick your nose!"

Me & my shadow.

As much as I love having a little boy, there is nothing that compares to having a little girl. She is truly heart of my heart. I adore her, she makes me laugh every day and stretches my heart in ways that I could never have imagined. I dream big dreams of her.

She follows me everywhere. And I mean everywhere.
If I'm in the kitchen, she's at the counter "helping" do dishes. If I'm in the laundry, she's jabbering away while folding (scrunching) clothes up. If I'm watching Judge Judy (a guilty pleasure) she's sitting there beside me laughing it up. When I put on makeup, she's got a set of brushes and some powder she likes to swirl on.

She's such a paradox. She's really, really loving. Very motherly. 90% of the time she's dragging a baby doll along with her. Her favorite person to take care of? Bubby. She makes sure he has milk to drink, snacks to eat, toys to play with. (She also is the first to whack him upside the head if the mood strikes, but then she soothes him, saying, "Sorry Bubby. Sorry Bubby. You ok?" over and over.)

I am so aware of my influence in her life. By the very way I am living my life I am teaching her BIG, BIG lessons. She will love her husband the way I love the Poppa. She will love herself the way I love myself. Silently, without saying a word, I am the one she will compare all things female to.

The power of this relationship scares me at times. I feel inadequate. Unprepared. There is so much of my life I need to repair, to fix, to correct. I cannot lead her in the way she should go. Many nights I fall into bed knowing that I have failed. I have not imparted wisdom. Tears fall from my eyes and I do the only thing I know to do in those moments.

I pray.
I pray very, very hard.

And if somehow, someway I can pass that one nugget of truth along to her........that in her moments of weakness & failure, there is a God who loves us beyond all human understanding........then I will have considered my parenting skills to be complete.

T.G.I.F.

Whew. I'm glad to mark this week off the calendar.
Some highlights in no particular order include:
....a large leak found under the shower in our bathroom, MAJOR $$$ & repair time needed...
....a notice informing me I had paid our house payment late (first time ever)...
....stood in the "express" 'lane for about 25 minutes...
....bombarded by interpersonal conflict with persons I really love & care about.....
....the dog pooped in the bathroom (three times).....
....went out with the 2 year old and did not have a pull up or wipes (will NOT elaborate)...
....was given the wrong bag of food at the drive through line...
....my kids seem to have a serious case of the grumblebees.....
....am finishing up a round of antibiotics because of an infection in my body....
....visited the Walmarts 3 times in 2 days & still forgot detergent....
....dropped a cup of hot coffee all over my shirt....
....killed a HUGE nasty spider in our basement....
....got stuck in a major traffic jam on the interstate on my way to work....

Often, it's the little things that rob our joy. This week it's been easy to see how much more grace I need in my life. It's doubtful that my FRUIT would have been very tastey in the above mentioned moments.

"Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards,

our vineyards that are in bloom."

Song of Solomon 2:15