Waiting

We are waiting.  I'm not sure what we're waiting for exactly, but we're waiting.  And that's ok.  It can often seem that we are living life from one event to the next.  A wedding, a baby, a move, a graduation, a new job, an accomplishment.  As soon as one event ends, we are looking forward to the next.  

I shared a few pictures of our itty bitty rental, but I haven't shared much about why we are here.  We always assumed that we would buy a home before moving to Oklahoma.  Last Spring, God made it very clear through both physical and spiritual circumstances that moving immediately into a home of our own was not to be.  First world concern though it may be, there was definitely a grieving process, a coming to terms with unmet expectations.  

As is always the case, God soon reveals a bit more of his plan, and we realized that this little rental house was meant to give us time and to reveal that the things we thought we wanted and needed might not be right for us after all.  With that realization, we expected God to quickly reveal his alternative.  And yet months and months of silence have followed.  No clear leading from the Lord.  No houses with potential on the market.  No firm sense of where we are headed.

For awhile, we worried that something was wrong, that we had missed His leading somehow.  That through our own desires or disobedience we had not heard Him clearly.  But the truth was that we were seeking Him and following Him in the only way we know how and that we had not missed a thing.  Around Christmas, the Lord pressed on both of our hearts that we are just waiting, and that is ok.  

Sometimes life involves waiting.  Waiting for big things.  Waiting for small things.  Waiting for babies or houses or relationships.  Waiting for who knows what.  Heck, at this point I don't really know what we are waiting for.  Are we waiting for that big pretty house in the perfect location for the perfect price?  For the little house in the neighborhood that we never imagined living in, but that we know is exactly where God wants us?  I have no idea.  

On one hand, I feel like our family is still lost in transition.  Try as I may to establish a sense of home and consistency in this little house, the transitory nature of our situation is constantly nagging.  The lack of community and any sort of permanence makes it difficult to feel truly at home here.  

On the other hand, I feel a tremendous sense of peace and contentment.  I know without a doubt that God has perfect plans for our family that he will accomplish in his own way and in his own time.  Any scheming or manipulating on my part robs God of glory and robs me of the absolute best God can provide.  At some point, he will reveal the next step.  We can place ourselves in the best possible position to receive that leading (being in communication with a realtor, receiving updates on new properties, getting our financial ducks in a row, etc.), but beyond that we wait.  

And here has been the biggest take-away during this season.  We don't just wait like we wait in the office of a doctor who is running late: tapping our feet, strumming our fingers, flitting about the Internet on our smartphones trying to be somewhere else.  We wait by living.  We live by thriving in the everyday realities of the life we are called to today.  It is too easy to say, "When we get settled in our real house, I will meet the neighbors/entertain/keep the best home I possibly can for my family."  If I am not faithful to do those things with what I have been given today, it is not likely that I will suddenly cultivate those habits in a different environment.  Living that way sends the message that what God has given me for today is not good enough or does not matter enough to be worth my effort.  That is a sinful attitude.  One that I fall into very often.  But I am learning and growing and changing and that's what matters.  

God has been so good to direct our paths to this point.  Psalm 106 tells of God's remarkable provision for the Israelites after they were brought out of Egypt.  Verse 13 says, "But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold."  We are clinging to the great things the Lord has done for us and the clear ways he has directed us in the past, and we peacefully wait to see his plan for our family unfold.

Rhett is 10 Months Old!

February 5, 2013

Rhett, you are such a precious little peanut!  This month's picture pretty much sums you up: sweet, happy, smiley, JOY.  You are definitely getting a bit more spunk to your personality and are starting to articulate your desires and dislikes more strongly, but overall you remain my content, happy boy.  After picking you up from the nursery at church recently, a seasoned nursery worker stopped me in the hall and said, "Now that is the best baby.  The best. Baby. Ever!"  So apparently all my gushing is not just because I'm your mother ;)

At ten months old you weigh 20.5 pounds, wear size 12 month clothing, and a size four diaper.  You have four teeth!  You still nurse about four or five times a day and are now rocking solid food.  You prefer baby food but you're branching out into finger food territory these days and can hammer a graham cracker like a champ.  Your sleeping has improved quite a bit; you sleep from 7 p.m. to about 5:30 a.m. and then go back down until about 7 a.m. after a quick feed.  You may or may not take a morning nap, depending on our daily activities, but you always nap with Riggs in the afternoons for about an hour and a half.

At ten months old you can crawl at lightening speed, pull up and cruise on furniture, and wave hello and bye bye.  You are now very interested in toys and can play independently for a good chunk of time.  You are really starting to interact with Riggins more during play time which is fun for me to watch but mostly frustrating for your brother!  He doesn't really appreciate you crawling over his train tracks, but you both do very well playing with cars on his big road map so we do that a lot!

The big occasion of your tenth month was that you started Mother's Day Out twice a week while I teach a class.  I was really worried about this change but it has been so great!  Your teachers love you to pieces and you are always excited to see them.  But then you're even more excited to see me at the end of the day...sweet boy.

You love Weber, splashing in the tub and playing peekaboo with Riggins, trying to get into the dog food, crawling around outside, looking at yourself in the mirrored closet doors, and snuggling with the whole family on our bed.  When we put you on our big bed, you get so excited that you immediately face plant and then crawl across the bed with your face smashed into the covers; hilarious!

When I think of you at ten months old, I will picture your cute little bootie crawling down the hallway, and your scrunchy-nosed grin that shows of your bottom two teeth.  I'll remember your sweet babbling voice and the way we have little conversations before bedtime each night.  I'll remember your piercing blue eyes framed by dark lashes, staring up at me as you nurse.  I'll remember your chubby baby hand waving at your daddy as soon as you see him walking up the driveway at the end of the day and pinching Cheerios to shove into your little guppy mouth.

Rhett, you bring so much joy and laughter to our family and we would not be complete without you.  You are loved, cherished, and wanted, my darling!

Love,
Momma  

It Has Its Perks

Remember how I broke our coffee pot a few months ago?  We puttered through the fall with our French press and an extra drip machine borrowed from my parents, but this Christmas a new love entered our lives and I don't know that I'll ever look back.  

After lots of research and review-reading, we decided to try out the Presto Percolator.  The reviews online were outstanding and pointed to everything we want in a coffee machine: tasty, strong, hot coffee.  Mama Dot always used a percolator and her coffee was always delicious (or perhaps that was just the biscuits and mayhaw jelly alongside that made it so good?); Jonathan has fond memories connected to the bubbling sound of coffee perking.  And at only around $40, the price is hard to beat!  (Although my parents ended up giving it to us as a Christmas gift.  Thanks, mom and dad!)  

People.  This little pot.  Oh, how I love it.  There is just something so soothing about the ritual of filling the basket, hearing the water bubbling through the grounds, and pouring a cup from the stainless steel carafe.  I find myself using my great-grandmother's china cup and saucer just because the combination of the retro pot and the vintage cup brings a bit of everyday beauty to my life.  The assembly and prep are a bit different than a drip machine, but no more complicated once you've made your first pot.  You can make between two and twelve cups.  I typically do four, which makes two large mugs of coffee for me to enjoy throughout the morning at home.    

And the coffee!  It is truly the best home-brewed cup I've ever had.  Better than my French press (I know, I know, the coffee aficionados out there are writhing in anguish that I would dismiss the beloved French press).  The percolator produces a full-bodied, rich, HOT cup.  Looking back, I could take a swig of coffee from my old drip machine as soon as I poured a cup; I was always nuking it to keep it warm.  I love that the percolator gets it hot enough to linger over for a bit, and if I am taking it on the go it stays hot in a travel mug for hours!  (Someday I'll write about my beloved travel mug too.)  

So come on over and I'll put on a pot!  I might even let you use my special cup and saucer.  If you're in the market for a new coffee maker, the Presto Percolator is where it's at!