Writing

714. 5 Very ripe mangos for $1.49 on a week when the girls most definitely needed a vitamin C boost
715. A trip to the park with the girls and watching them crawl all over everything
716. Going out with the MoM club and getting to catch up with Christina
718. Borrowed photo equipment from Rachel
719. The blessing of photographing little Lydia

720. Learning about RAW images
721. The challenge of learning the free photo editing software PhotoScape
722. Getting out of my film comfort zone
723. Holding an infant
724. Laughter at infant antics
725. Daddy staying home with the girls to make it all possible
726. Laughing at Bronwyn intentionally hitting her head on a mirror or glass
727. Aeralind attempting to climb out of the tub when her bath was over
728. Laughter from the living room ask I clean up the table
729. Bronwyn calling for Dadi! when finished with her morning nursing
730. Aeralind leaning her head against our legs when she’s tired and sucking her little thumb
731. Feeding the girls chocolate cake for breakfast to take great icing pictures and test for food reactions.

732. No Food Reactions to the cake! I don’t even think they had a sugar high.
733. Loving the chocolate cake (almost as much as mom and dad do…)
734. Laughter… oh the joy of it.  I hope it never stops.

I can’t express what a difficult week this last one was.  My body ached with tiredness upon waking this morning and I was just so grateful that Derek took the girls downstairs and left me to sleep just a little longer. 

The girls are starting to make the transition to one nap.  Both of their naptimes are getting shorter and more disorganized. I’m lucky if they sleep 1.5 hours a day.  I love my babies, but that leaves me very little time to do the necessary.  However, they’ve had runny noses and I just can’t bear to mix up their scheduling when they don’t feel well so I’m trying to get by.

Thursday night my dear friend Jenn stopped by for a brief visit and we were struck with Round 1 of the mystery ‘burping flu’.  Bronwyn felt feverish, even though the thermometer said she was fine, and she just screamed and screamed.  We rocked her.  We bounced her.  She burped some.  She fell asleep in my arms a few times out of shear exhaustion only to wake and scream again.  This happened from 8:30-10, at 11, at 3, and then she woke for the day starving hungry at 6:40.

The next night I crawl into bed exhausted at 8:00 with an Aeralind who is exhibiting all the same ‘burping flu’ symptoms.  We fought with her until about 9:15 and then she fell asleep.  She woke again at 11.  My arms were heavy with sleep.  My head was thick with fog.  And that sweet baby screamed from 11-12:30 when the last of the mess left her.  I’ve never been so physically and emotionally tired in my life.

I prayed the whole time “Please God, help her.  Please let her relax.  Please give us the grace to deal with this.  Please help us know what to do.  Please…” I felt as if He didn’t care.  As if He didn’t listen.  As if He left us with more than we could manage… though I suppose He did, but without more than we could handle we both tend toward pride.

But all I could think is that my baby was hurting and there was nothing I could do and I could not rest in the face of that suffering and I needed rest so much and how are we to cope with this?

And then it struck me.

He’s been in that place a thousand times.  With His Son.  And with us, waiting on the porch hoping to see us come home soon so He can run to us.

I’m coming home.  I think I’m more than ready for than welcoming embrace.
693. A Father who Runs
694. Pain that only lasts a little while
695. Only two sleep interupted nights
696. A husband who lets me sleep
697. A husband who corrects me
698. A husband who knows when to take a screaming child from me
699. Humming bird spotted in my yard
700. Aeralind climbing over the park barrier (almost as tall as her) to grab a pair of sweet gum balls.
701. Bronwyn lazing sleepily in a swing after her rough night
702. Little girls pushing a Tractor across my rooms
703. Little girls climbing up and over and under their table
704. Visiting Luke and Levi
705. Hope’s calm voice in inviting me over even with runny noses, even with no morning nap.
706. Catching up with Jenn after what seems like years and years
707. Relating with another wife intimately and naturally.
708. Being friend and not fellow mommy for just a little while.
709. Finishing some party decoration
710. Going to Kids Planet
711. Aeralind and Bronwyn smiling and being kissed and hugged one by a Hispanic woman who called them beautiful and precious over and over.  They were the only words I understood and they were in Spanish.
712. Little girls climbing over a bridge and through a tunnel.
713. Babyhood

673. Going 26 years without being stung by a yellow jacket
674. Benadryl
675. Cortisone Cream
676. Aeralind being such a trooper with her stings
677. Bronwyn escaping unscathed
678. Derek bravely striding back toward to yellow jackets to retrieve the dropped diaper bag
679. Sweet lady holding Bronwyn while we collect ourselves/sooth Aeralind
680. Nursery working coming over laughing about how the girls were flirting with little Titus who was sitting on a car.  Apparently they were squeezing his muscles and sticking their hands in his mouth.  I wonder if he enjoyed double the attention :-p
681. Girls still napping
682. Fun fabric banner made for the girls birthday
683. Matching table runner top finished
684. Mixing the perfect color paint with paints I had on hand
685. Leftovers
686. Snuggling with my girls
687. Bending over to walk a grinning oh-so-proud Bronwyn up and down the church corridors
688. Girls still asleep… might be transitioning to one nap soon
689. Dreary monday weather after a long and exciting weekend
690. Little girl laughter as we play baby ninjas in the pool
691. Little girl laughter as daddy blows raspberries on their necks
692. Rest