Friday...but not like I imagained

So, Friday is finally here. A day I generally really look forward to. Only today didn't turn out like I thought that it would. First of all, our oldest son, Max woke up at 6:30 a.m. this morning complaining that his stomach hurt. This is really weird because we usually have to bodily drag and threaten this child out of bed on school days. Then, he actually presented with a fever....a very low fever, but a fever nonetheless. This was weird because Max NEVER gets sick or has a fever. NEVER!!!! So we debated, but in the end we ended up keeping him home. Now, I am not the type who makes any effort to make staying at home with me a fun or wonderful kind of day when they could be at school as I do not wish to have a crew of "fakers" who are forever trying to finagle their way out of going to school. So the rules for being sick are basically no t.v., no playstation, no outside play of any sorts and you have to take a nap if you stay home sick. Max apparently wasn't too, too sick today because these rules drove him crazy. He was actually contemplating having me take him on to school by about 10 a.m., but I checked his temperature and it was up again so all bets were off. He was not a happy camper. No problem...neither was I. Because he wasn't REALLY sick, he was up and about and he and Clara stayed at each other's throats all day long! Every time I turned around one or the other was heaping out the abuse by the shovel full. So it made for a really long and aggravating day.

The next thing to go really rotten wrong was our furniture delivery. For the second time now, the furniture store has told us our chair was in and ready to be delivered, only to find out that it is not in and not ready to be delivered. We bought this chair way back in January and have been very patient to this point...but I tell you...I am SOOOO aggravated with the whole thing now.

And so, in all my frustration, I flip over to my friend's very inspirational blog and she tells all about how easily pleased her children were upon receipt of a few empty pads of paper and how nice it would be if adults were so easily pleased. So then I had to step back and take a look at all my blessings and wonder how in the world I can be aggravated at not having a chair....when I have so much else in my life. We are currently having our very ugly yard landscaped. It is a HUGE project and is coming along really nicely. And I think how blessed we are to be able to do a project like this....better yet, to be able to afford to have someone else do it for us. We have a really beautiful home here and three healthy children (well, nearly healthy). We drive two nice cars and all of us have too much in our closets and our pantry is adequately stocked to keep us all more than nourished and satisfied. Tonight, after our kids go to bed, I know that Chris and I will probably grab a bottle of wine and head out to our spa and soak in it's warmth while we try to count the millions of stars that God placed right over our house here in Arizona. We will have a bit of quiet time to ourselves to reflect on the week and all the frustrations, but more importantly, on all the blessings. We will have a whole uninterrupted conversation about grown up topics and feel the week's stress leave our backs and shoulders. And as I ponder all of this....I realize that Lori is SO right. I know that God wishes that we would be happy with as little as a blank pad of paper. And now that I have reflected on all of this....I realize that despite the frustrations...I am truly happy right now. God has blessed and cared for and loved us so incredibly in the past few months. We stepped out into this move in blind faith. All the signs just seemed to point us in this direction. Kind of like hearing God whisper to you...we heard Him whisper that this was where we belong. Why we are here....I don't know. It seems there must be a greater purpose. Maybe we were supposed to be here to free up a home for Richard and the babies after Jennifer died. That is another story that is SO worth blogging about and getting down into print. God has really shown Himself to Chris and I in these last 3 months. We have felt closer to Him than we ever have and know without a doubt that He is drawing us close. He is in every detail of our lives. In realizing that...instead of signing off frustrated....I am signing off thankful. More than anything I think that is where my heart is and needs to be....just truly, truly thankful for my many blessings. Thank you, Lori for the gentle nudge!