Of Hijacking

Please forgive my internet silence.  Ours has been rendered lifeless since, literally, seconds before we hurried out to the storm shelter on Friday night to evade the impending tornado (which, to the best of my knowledge, stayed on the northwest side of town, issuing little-to-no damage to anyone or anything).  Thus, until the repairmen visits tomorrow afternoon we are hijacking our neighbor's internet signal (insomuch as using it with complete permission, with the password they, themselves, passed along - thus, our hijacking is entirely legit).

Then again, after sharing the air of our six-foot underground cube with the two of them and their three pets (all in one crate - I was thoroughly impressed that everyone survived the encounter) as we waited out the hail and thunder that may or may not have heralded the impending doom of our two side-by-side homes, sharing a wireless signal is practically nothing, right?


1,000 Gifts:
247. True peace in the storm.
248. Fair warning.
249. A clean bill of health for our 13lb 10oz, 24 inches of baby boy.
350. Lollipops and stickers at the doctor's office.
351. Asking the doctor, "Am I being good?"
352. Balance in the chaos.
353. Three kids napping at the same time, in their own beds.
354. Sleeping through the night.
355. A Saturday morning on the phone with my brother.
356. Friendly neighbors.
357. Bags of produce crowding my counters:

358. Keeping it clean.
359. Blooming irises.

360. Sunday showers.
361. Waking to the boom of thunder and roar of rain.
362. Showers of blessings.
363. Having more than we know what to do with.
364. Conviction to make no provision for the flesh.
365. Technically being able to afford even what we "cannot afford."
366. Two months with this guy:

367. Doting on Joey.

My Life: My Evening 
It's always a little nerve-wracking when the weatherman starts pointing at your town on the map (even our little thumb-sucker looked nervous watching the news).  Thus, we spent our evening tuned to the coverage, before and after spending some time in the storm shelter with the neighbors, the little ones either watching School House Rock or sleeping while the adults kept up what was going on outside.

My Family
Our little family of five.

My Lunch
Maybe not the healthiest fare, but my baby shower fodder was plenty satisfying nonetheless.

My Guilty Pleasure
Spending my afternoon reading the second book of The Hunger Games trilogy and watching the latest episode of ANTM while snuggling with my little boy.  I promise this one episode per week is the only television I actually watch during the days at home.

Of Giving Up Fear

I always feared the idea that having three children would leave Philip and I outnumbered.  It's no longer, "You grab that one, I'll get this one."  Instead, it's most often, "You take the older ones, I'll get the little guy."

What I have realized this week, though, as severe weather has threatened parts of our state, and we have been warned of a higher-than-normal rate of these storms coming this season, is that on top of our being outnumbered, I, when I am alone, no longer have enough hands for each child.  So when it comes down to it, if we are forced out to the storm shelter in the face of a looming tornado, in the middle of the day with no husband to help, I will have the sole responsibility of getting three scared little ones to safety while only being able to hold onto two, at most.  

Yes, the fear can be a little overwhelming at times (especially considering how dominant the terror of these storms was for me even before children entered the picture).  These are the times when I must remember I have been called to a life without fear in the midst of my circumstances - at least not a fear of the unknown.  Because, though I don't know the future, I belong to the One who does.  Which means, even if the outcome isn't as I desired it, I can always trust in His goodness.  Thus, I have no need to fear the future.

Therefore, this season, rather than biting my nails at every overcast sky or becoming frozen at every discussion of tornadoes on the news, I will trust.  

1,000 Gifts (inspired by the lists here and here): 

231. Opening the storm shelter to get it ready for the season, while praying it won't be necessary.

232. Opening the shower door for a morning shower - before the kids are even out of their rooms.

234. Opening my eyes at 7:34am, realizing my youngest son has still not awoken after laying down to bed at 8:30 the night before.

235. Sour gummy vitamins (made for adults!) - yes, they're mostly sugar, but they still make me happy.

236. Emmett, turning to his "diddy" for help, and her willingness to assist.  Too sweet.

237. Celebrating National Cheese Fondue Day in our own kitchen.

I failed to take my "My Life" photo for today, but no worries, I'll catch up tomorrow!  In the meantime, you can adore my little post-bath cutie.

Of Celebrating Spring

I had decided I wasn't a big fan of Easter baskets - not wanting to teach our children to associate this most precious day - the reason we have hope in salvation - as one of colored eggs and chocolate candies (which, let's be honest, would definitely take precedence to a toddler mind).  But since they had been gifted a plethora of small goodies from grandparents and great-grandparents alike (and since we happened to have three such baskets from years past), we filled the baskets anyway.  Though, we opted to present them to the children today so the actual day of Easter could be reserved for celebration of the risen Savior.

And I'll admit, it was definitely fun showering them with baskets of goodies (purchased by others) and spending part of the day outside as they enjoyed the spring weather and a few of their new treasures.  Not a bad day to celebrate the joy of life.

Three baskets ready for giving.

 Entertaining herself with her brother's cheeks before Mommy and Daddy showed her what she was waiting for.

 What is it?

 Micaiah: "Oooh!"; Emmett: "Dandy!" (aka Candy); Joey: "Where's the milk?"

Exploring the contents.  Emmett was kind of stuck on the candy idea and it was hard to get him to focus on anything else.  But Daddy tried!

Micaiah loves new books!

Joey's still wondering where the milk is, but someday he'll appreciate these new stuffed friends.

 Emmett, donning his new hat, waiting for breakfast.

 Micaiah loved sipping milk through her new straw.

Breakfast, compliments of Chef Daddy.

Playing with bubbles.

Micaiah loved dancing with her new sheep.  She's kind of adorable ;)

1,000 Gifts (inspired by the lists here and here): 

213. Seeing an old favorite, back in theaters, with my beloved.

214. A daughter old enough to play games and memorize Bible verses.

215. Resurrection cookies sealed in the oven.

216. "Mommy!" and a hug from a little guy who missed his parents.

217. Breakfast and a clean kitchen compliments of my helpful husband.

218. "Mommy, can I get down on my own?" Always patiently asking before she clambers out of her seat like a big girl.

My Life: My Town

It's no small feat to claim three exits on an Oklahoma Highway, but what else would you expect from the town which can introduce itself as the founding place of Sonic (America's Drive-In) - which would be why we boast five in our relatively small radius - and even a mall (again, no small claim for an Oklahoma).  Of course, we can always look to places like the Honey guy (my personal supplier of home-spun honey by his very own bees) selling on the side of the road to remember our small town roots.