Well, we're back from our multi-city trip to California. We stayed in Anaheim, Pasadena, Coronado and Bonita. We swam in many pools and in the ocean (not me though--I stick to pool water without scary things like jelly fish, stingrays and other harmful creatures that can remove limbs). We ate in many restaurants. I love restaurants. Truly. I can think of nothing more relaxing at dinner time than going in, reading a menu, eating, paying and walking away from the mess. Nothing says vacation to me more than eating out.
If you will remember before we left, I mentioned that God was showing me that His grace is sufficient for whatever comes our way. It was good to have that reminder because there were several times that things didn't quite go as I'd hoped. That is because God is sovereign and I am not. Although I really wish I was sometimes. If we're being honest I think most of us really wish we were at certain times--like the times when we are mad because we want something and aren't getting it. Wouldn't it be cool if God gave us each a sovereign card that we could use like once a week or something just to make something go our way? So for instance, I could use my sovereign card and my children would keep their rooms clean for a day. Or I could use my sovereign card and get to go out to eat on a night when I am just whipped and don't feel like cooking (is there a night when I actually feel like cooking?). You know, really unimportant things like that. But I digress...
So, day one of our trip I got to put my money where my mouth is, see where the rubber meets the road and count my chickens because they hatched. You see, I woke up not feeling so great on Friday. And we were going to Knotts Berry Farm. But, my ickiness has been known to pass on, so I went on with my day as if everything was fine. I even went on a ride. Not such a good idea. You see, it was a roller coaster ride that flips you upside down and generally messes with your equilibrium. I was seriously dizzy and somewhat nauseous after that. So I skipped the next mind numbing roller coaster with poor Tommy who was too small to ride it. But, the next one looked fun, so I waited and got on with everyone and ugh, couldn't wait for the 45 seconds of the ride to be over. Nauseous is a kind word for how I felt. Thankfully I didn't have to embarrass myself by vomiting all over the park. It stayed at ultra nauseous for a while, but did eventually calm back down to somewhat nauseous and thoroughly dizzy and achey. Thankfully we had rented my pathetic self an electric cart to drive around for the day so that was my "ride" for the remainder of the day. (Although I did get to go on the log ride, because that is a fun nostalgic ride that doesn't spin you upside down or shoot you out of the gate at 389 miles per hour.) And sad as it is to say, there were even times when I went a little too fast in my granny cart and added to my dizziness and nausea. Now that is a pathetic little picture, is it not?
But! God's grace was most certainly sufficient for the day. I was sad that I didn't get to enjoy the park with the kids, but once I realized that this wasn't going to go away and this was my circumstance for the day, I prayed that the Lord would help me be content in that which He had allowed. I was able to spend the rest of the day having fun watching the kids have a blast. From my granny ride.
OH, and lest I forget, God's grace is sufficient when your 13 year old's glasses go flying off of her head while she is on a ride, never to be seen again. And let me remind you that this was the first official day of our trip (because the day spent driving doesn't really count). Day 1 of 10 for a child who has a serious vision impairment (i.e. can't really see the big E on the vision chart!). I felt like we should have a leash on her to keep her from pulling a Mr. Magoo and ending up falling into a big hole somewhere. We did lose her while we were on Hollywood Blvd a few days later, which was fun. We turned and stopped in front of the Kodak Theater and thankfully I am constantly doing a head count and noticed that Ms. Magoo was not with us. She got about another half a block away from us. Thankfully, Sam went to look for her and found her about the same time that she was realizing that the fuzzy shapes around her were not her family. Hollywood Blvd is not where you want to lose your attractive 13 year old daughter. God graciously protected her and gave us patience! I told her to memorize the colors of all of our clothes so that she could discern which fuzzy shapes were her family! If that didn't work I was going to get one of those little teddy bear leashes they have for toddlers. She didn't get lost again.
So, other than a few other minor mishaps, the trip went well. And now we are home, I have secured some cute new glasses for Ms. Magoo, and I look forward to seeing God's grace in action as we prepare for the new school year! And believe me, I'll be needing a lot of grace this year! But that is for another post another day. Stay tuned...
Tommy needed some water in the back yard the other day and came in and said,
"Mom, can I unhose the hose?"
Thankfully I speak Tommy-ese (although not fluently to be sure). So I told him he could indeed unhook the hose from the sprinkler.
No one else says it quite like him.
So, we're leaving on vacation today. 10 days of California fun and sun. It will be nice to be out of the heat. But of course, you can't prepare to go on vacation without a few hiccups. Hopefully we are done with ours, but you never know...
Yesterday morning Noah was really complaining that his ear was hurting. We had gone swimming on Sunday and he tends to get water trapped in his ear so I figured it was an outer ear infection, since I'm an expert on these things. I called the doctor and was able to get in within a half hour--serious evidence of God's grace and mercy. Sure enough he has an outer ear infection....AND an inner ear infection! Two for one bonus! And we all know there is nothing I like better than getting my money's worth out of my copay. So, we got him his two prescriptions and are on our way to healing. Thankfully this all occurred before he had to try to endure the rides at Knotts Berry Farm with a mondo ear infection. That would have been fun. Not to mention the fun we would have had at an L.A. urgent care or ER. Nothing says vacation fun quite like that.
So, the rest of yesterday was spent running errands in preparation for leaving today. I was all over Gilbert zooming around in my van and picking up scads of snack foods for my little linebackers. I got home and about an hour and a half later, Sam called from work and asked me to go get his dry cleaning. So, being the dutiful wife that I am I jumped into my trusty van to head off to do my husband's bidding. Only the car wouldn't start. At all. Nothing. Nada. No power-ito to the engine-ito. Hey man, I tried to do his bidding in a prompt and timely manner. Instead I got to call him with the happy news of a dead van. All I can say is how thankful I am for the Lord's gracious kindness in having the van die in my garage and not in the Walmart parking lot in the dead of summer. Or in Indio. (We've already done that once and got to witness the cops swooping down on a criminal at a nearby convenience store while we waited for Sam to fix our car. Seriously. Very fun. Don't need to relive it thankyouverymuch.) Or even in the morning when we were planning on heading off to KBF for a day of fun. Not to say that nothing will happen to make us stop in Indio (please Lord, no) or before any of our planned events, but it was nice to have it happen at a time and place we could deal with it a bit more easily. Apparently the Lord knew I was already near my limit. :-)
Oh, and Sam said that the battery didn't just die, but cracked and sprayed stuff all over. Nice. At least it didn't go out with a literal bang, if you know what I mean.
So, I think yesterday was chock full o' enough fun to last us through the next ten days, don't you? Thankfully it was also a reminder of God's grace in all circumstances, icky and otherwise, so no matter what comes we're prepared 'cause we know that He is in control. And hey, it would make the scrapbook--and the story--that much more interesting, so bring it on!
I had a revelation this evening. You could even call it an epiphany. Sam and I had gone to Barnes and Noble and were in various sections reading different parts of books as we went. At one point I found myself in front of some "classics." Lately I've been thinking that I really should read more "classics" and become more "well read." (It sounded good to me and if these books have hung around this long I figured they have to be good stories right? I was wondering, why I haven't read them by now because I am sure they are gripping!?) I think the whole thing started after I watched the movie "The Great Debaters" about a debate team from Wiley College back in 1935. Those folks were truly educated. They read great books and could quote them and were just all around smart. I think I was thinking it would broaden my understanding of life and give me new insights into the world as we know it. Or something like that anyway. So, at Barnes and Noble, I picked up a book and started on the first chapter (note: I cannot remember what book it was just a few hours later, so you know that can't be good). Not more than two sentences in I realized that this books was a bit wordy and "old English-y" and I most certainly didn't understand a word. So I put it back. I noticed another "classic" collection of Emily Dickinson's poems and thought--ooooh, poetry! Perfect. I read the first 3 stanzas (good staying power, don't you think?) and realized that I had no idea what she was talking about. So, that's when I had the epiphany. I am just not deep enough for "classics." I would be happy seeing a movie based on The Odyssey and I'd really like to have Emily's poems translated into modern English. And I am never going to have a conversation with anyone that graduated from Wiley College in 1935 where I would need to be able to recite a Langston Hughes poem. And while I am certain that Chaucer's Tales are fascinating, they are just not in a language that I understand. And really, I don't want to if I'm being honest. As I recall in school when we had to read Chaucer our teacher had to fill in a lot of blanks regarding what words really meant. Me? I like to use words that mean exactly what they mean. I'm not going to use the word blackbird to mean a soldier or whatever kind of substitutions those crazy classic authors did. If I'm talking about a blackbird it is because for some strange reason I have recently seen one and felt the need to talk about it.
So, if you want to talk about the winner of American Idol, or a lovely fictional story (in modern English ifyouplease), or even what you had for dinner tonight, I'm your girl. But if you want to discuss Shakespeare and what the deeper meaning of Hamlet's thoughts were, you need to look elsewhere. Unless of course I've seen the movie.
