Child of the King

We went to Disney World over Mother's Day weekend. We left after work on Friday and arrived late Friday night. Saturday morning, we headed straight for the Magic Kingdom! I don't know if you can tell or not, but Noly is leaning towards Minnie. She has this new thing against boys, and Mickey is, in fact, a boy (and thus not as desirable)! She is so hilarious!

We knew that we had to go to the Boutique to find a dress for Noly. That was the highlight of last year's Disney trip for her, and she picked out a beautiful pink nightgown and wore it for days! This time, we found an actual dress. We went into the special Princess dressing room, and Noly walked out a Princess. Noly walked out of the Boutique and showed her Daddy how beautiful she looked! Unlike Noly, Jule hated Disney, so we quickly headed back to the hotel room for some food and naps.

After some naps and some wonderful Cracker Barrel meals, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom. This time, I was able to put Noly's hair up so she looked as much like Belle as possible. Her little face glowed, and she said that she couldn't wait to meet Belle to tell her that there were two Belles now! Noly and Kevin waited for over a half hour, and she finally met Cinderella and Belle. Sleeping Beauty was MIA, so we decided that she must be asleep ; )

Watching Noly made me think about who we are. She had such confidence in herself and such joy in who she was. The thought never crossed her mind that she wasn't beautiful enough or good enough or talented enough. She was a Princess. And truly, that is how we should think of ourselves. We belong to THE King! Unfortunately, life has a way of beating us down and affecting our child-like view of ourselves. If we could have the inner confidence and joy that comes from knowing who we are IN CHRIST, nothing could stop us from becoming who we are meant to be and doing what we are meant to do. How I love the picture that Noly has permanently etched in my mind...that of a Princess with immeasurable value and flawless beauty in the eyes of her Father!

Joyful and Thankful

I went to Biblegateway today, and this was their verse:

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Noly had her Family Fun Day at preschool today. They had ponies, jump castles, a merry-go-round, a train, snow cones, tattoos, sidewalk chalk, tricycles...you name it! She had so much fun and was really brave! Kevin and I were both able to be there, and it was wonderful to watch her face light up. I discovered that one of the little boys in her class has a crush on her. It was hilarious, and I think she is oblivious...who wouldn't be at 4 1/2? He kept running up to her and hugging her, then he would look at her and smile and say, "Hi, Noly." It was adorable, and I am so glad that it will be MANY years before she starts dating. I'm so not ready for that!

Joyful, Patient & Faithful

The past few days have been really hard on me. Kevin had to fly to Wisconsin to attend some training for work, which left me alone with the kids. Sunday, I had a terrible migraine, and it was very difficult to care for the kids by myself. Then yesterday, I got a call from Noly's school saying she would not stop crying. I went to get her and brought her to work with me until we went to see the ENT at 3. Last night, Jule slept from 8:30 pm until 10:30 pm and woke up screaming. Despite a diaper change, some pain reliever, and some crackers, he did not calm down until around midnight. My guess is that he was teething again.

Everything has felt so overwhelming because I had to do it alone. I wanted to be a good mommy, but I also strive to be a good employee. I'm trying desperately to not miss work, but I keep missing a lot. I thought hard about it yesterday and realized that I can succeed at the most important part...being a mommy, and then just do what I can as an employee. I'm so thankful for an understanding employer! I'm at work whenever I possibly can be, but my sick little ones have to come first!

Yesterday's verse of the day on Biblegateway.com was Romans 12:12..."Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." I really tried to focus on the "patient in affliction" part yesterday and held onto prayer to get me through it. I thought about how affliction really does make me more faithful in prayer. When I think about the ocean, I think about the faithfulness of the waves, and it reminds me of God's faithfulness. He never leaves me, even in the affliction. And I'm never truly alone because He is always surrounding me, just like the water surrounds me in the ocean. My prayer is that I can be joyful in the hope that I have in God, patient in any hardship that comes my way in this world, and faithful in praying to the God of my salvation.