Streams of Conciousness

Every time I sit down to collect my thoughts and maybe even start a blogpost, I freeze and the thoughts don't come together.  I have so much on my mind that I do not even know where to begin.
I am feeling pretty helpless, too, that there is this natural disaster and human tragedy happening across the world.  So I sit, I pray, we share with our kiddos how we can pray for the people in Japan.  We talk about what it means to be in need.  We also talk about what clean water is and how people all over the world do not have clean water to drink.  And tonight, when I think that a certain 4-year-old girl in our home doesn't listen to a word we say...before bed, she prayed for clean water for the people of Haiti.  My heart broke all over again.  Thank You God that you know what our hearts should pray and that you would lead us to help in any way that we can.
This post is my streams-of-conciousness post.  Bear with me.  My head has been reeling in the details of our home selling, God tweaking our path.  We are trusting that His plans are higher than ours. 
The 10K that Hubs & I are running in is in 20 days.  Mercy.  We did run 4.2 miles this past Sunday.  I was darn proud that we did but to top it all off, Special K biked the WHOLE trail.  There was not even one complaint.  And, he stopped at every crosswalk, even if he was ahead of us and he would wait for us to get there.  C'mon, it wasn't like we were sweating, panting and praying we'd be able to crawl up the one of two hills we ran up!  LOL.
Between doctor visits for the kiddos, sneaking in runs, saying Goodbye to dear friends that are moving away, holding our littles in the middle-of-the-night because they cannot sleep and wondering where we will be living in less than 4 months, here is what softens the blows.  You know, in teeny-tiny, ever-loving spoonfuls:

Mmmm...

 

 

 

Don't you want to know what it is?  

You bet your buns, Ray.  Haagen Dazs - Java Chip

In our house, we are looking forward to Spring.  Bring on the sunshine.  Please.  I have felt like one big, smushy snot rag all winter and we are ready to dry out in the gorgeous brightness and warmth of the sunlight! 
In the meantime, here is what occupies the younger two on days inside:

Isn't this box spectacular?

 

"Don't I look fantastic in this hat?"  "Hmmm, I wonder when we're having lunch!"

"Oh, and another thing..."  "I guess I'll have to tide myself over with this milk...sigh."

 

A Chipped Plate

Broiled Haddock with a Ginger Soy Glaze and Garlic Creamed Spinach

This was dinner last night.  It was so delish!  It was a joint effort by Hubs & me.  He even made mini potato croquettes...yum!  But those were a tad overcooked and looked, well, not so savory even though they tasted good.  Dinner doesn't look like this every night, that's for darn sure.  After a week of trying to make Ground Turkey, seven different ways, this was a sweet diversion.
You can tell I tried to make this dish look pretty, though, Anthony Bordain would probably have palmed the creamed spinach and flung it on my kitchen wall.
It would be so nice to have life handed to you on a clean, white plate, eh?  You see everything before you, it looks good, tastes good...and then you go and do something stupid like an Insanity workout with Shaun T, an hour after you've consumed this lovely dish.    

Lactose Intolerrrrraaaaaaannncccceeeeeeee!           

This is what life is like, these days.  I am trying to live life to the fullest and jam-pack my days with things I think I need to get done.  There is no one to impress.  I don't get a different colored belt for things I accomplish like my Special K does in Tae Kwon Do.  I don't even get to sleep for 12 hours a night like our littlest, although I wish I did!  Last night, after talking to Hubs for a little while, I stayed up in bed, laptop on lap, clicking away to see if our new home would pop up.  Needless to say, at 1:30 in the morning, it didn't matter if it did, with my bleary-eyed self.  
In four months, for better or for worse, we will be living in a different city.  The boxes will have been packed up and hopefully, a small child will not have been duct-taped to all the stuffed animals.  We will be driving around, trying to figure out where on earth the grocery store is and how to get to the schools the kids will go to in the fall.  We will be getting to know neighbors, reconnecting with old friends and trying to find our new church family while we are grieving the loss of the one we left behind.  And I know, along the way, I will wonder if we made the right decision.  I will ask myself, how did we leave the place that God brought us to, over seven years ago?  Why did we leave the place where I labored and delivered all three of our precious kiddos?  How do we leave the home that God so clearly marked out for us...where we set down 12 stones around our tree to remember that God brought us here?
This is what I will be reminded of:  that the LORD moves us.  He is for us and not against us.  He has written our days.  He will provide.  I want to trust Him.
And the white plate with everything placed on it so perfectly?  I don't think I mind so much the chipped, plaid plate that I painted, a long time ago, with chicken nuggets and potater-tots scattered all over it.  

How is He asking you to trust Him today?

"Whom have I in have but you?  

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and heart my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." 

Psalm 73:25-26