he told me once, earlier this summer, "i'm sorry that you are home dealing with all of that while i'm out here doing something that i absolutely love."
i told him that i'm so grateful that he loves what he is doing. and i get to be with these two amazing kiddos. the house stuff is crummy, but this house that i'm cleaning out doesn't run my life. it takes time and effort for me to keep up with everything, but it is so encouraging to me that ben has a job that he enjoys, that he is doing well, that he has opportunities to move up and forward. his job gives us a direction to go, something to work toward. i am so proud of him. so proud to be his wife.
and i am so proud of my kiddos. and so grateful for what God is doing in their hearts and minds. in the past few days they have completely astounded me, and their attitudes and actions have caused my throat to tighten and my eyes to prick . . . their kindness and optimism bring this mama of theirs pure joy and fills my heart with gratitude for their tenderness and for the fruit of the Spirit that is growing in their lives.
on wednesday we went to look at the apartment we are going to live in. nothing fancy. nothing fancy at all. but they looked it over and right away found the little closet under the stairs just off the living room.
"could we have this for our fort, mom?" isaac asked me.
"i don't know," i answered. "we might need it for storage."
i proceeded to talk some things over with our new landlord while the kids looked the rest of the apartment over. before we left, maddie and isaac brought me to the room they will share and showed me where the bunkbeds will be, where the lego table and rug will be, where the doll corner will be, and how amazingly big the closet is. then, they asked again about the closet under the stairs.
"we could hang my birthday lights on this pipe, mom. and my bean-bag could go here, and isaac's bench could go over here, and we could have books in here and hang all our drawings on the walls with tape," maddie told me.
how could i say no? especially after reading this (from at the back of the north wind by george mcdonald) and jotting it in my journal a few days before:
and instead of being miserable at the change,
he began to find out all the advantages of the place;
for every place has some advantages,
and they are always better worth knowing than the disadvantages.
maddie and isaac are living this. and my heart is full to bursting.
then, saturday morning. they set their alarm earlier than i had told them to. when i came out of the bathroom at 4:10, they were upstairs, dressed, ready to go do the paper route and told me that they had grabbed their clothes off the drying rack and out of the dryer and finished their packing.
they were such cheerful helpers on the paper route.
and when we returned home, i jumped in the shower. by the time i was out and dressed, they had done the animal chores and loaded all their things in the car. maddie had also filled all our waterbottles and isaac had made sure all the lights were shut off.
after a fun breakfast out, we drove three hours to meet my sister and her family. as i visited with her and her husband, isaac played with his cousins on the playground and maddie transfered all her and isaac's things over to my sister's van.
i was in awe. they are so considerate. they are so grown up. they are so full of grace.
God is so good. He pours out such rich gifts. ben and i have amazing kids. my husband has an amazing job. and i have been given the sheer joy of sharing my life with these three amazing people.