Year 4, March 30th-31st, 2019: Sleep, Glorious Sleep!

The exhaustion has set in! Actually, we still had to push through our day on Saturday until about 4pm.  Jared and I had this prayer "event" to do with our Rooted small group.  It was a great prayer time but I had to sit on the floor and stretch and keep moving positions so I wouldn't fall asleep.  We had some table fellowship as well.  It was a 4 hr long private and public prayer time, as well as going through some Scriptures, and was put together well.  I had some things affirmed and some new connections I made.  Then we scooted out of there, picked up the kids from grandparents (Abishai had kicked and screamed about going and then he didn't want to leave), and took Benaiah to work.  A quick trip to Aldi's and then home to put groceries away.  Then Jared and I slept from 4-6pm because we were that exhausted.  I knew that I wouldn't enjoy my Sunday if I tried to work on photos from WinterJam or a myriad of other things.  And Sunday we also took a short nap.  We aren't youngins' anymore.  Late nights/early mornings are hard! So sleep first, work hard later.  But now I feel a bit behind as I type this because I got stuck making cd's of pictures from WinterJam and I've forgotten a few funny moments and first reactions, etc. Oh well, they happened, it was a grand time, and we'll go again next year!  Check out the previous blog post for details.

We had a late supper on Saturday and regular bedtime.  Sunday, everything was back to normal.  The middle kids went with Grandma to church, Jared took Benaiah earlier for tech team, the three of us went at 11.  We actually had a normal Sunday dinner, with Bryce as the extra friend.  Then Benaiah back to church at 3:20, and the rest of us went at 4.  Only Jared and Abishai got to stay home this evening.  I was in nursery and actually was trying to rock a baby to sleep who I hadn't connected who the mother was until after she picked him up.  I've been talking to this mom via Facebook about homeschooling in the last month or so, because a muutal homeschooling friend gave her my name.  Well, online, I had connected that this mom was the daughter of one of the women in our Rooted group.  So, the mom picked up the baby, and then I proceeded to move on with my night.  I stopped to say hi to the Grandma when I saw her, and then made all the connections that I knew her daughter and just held her grandson for the last hour.  Her daughter and I then conversed while she nursed the baby for the next 30 minutes, making us "late" to the homeschool meeting, which she decided to attend with me.  Meanwhile, another new friend who is in our Rooted group, was kind of waiting on me to show up because I had just invited her to our homeschool meeting yesterday.  Thankfully my friend Corinne was there to help her until the other mom and I caught up.  Corinne and I had a fun time talking to these two moms with 4 young kids a piece, all under the age of 7!  Phew! One is a newer Christian, too (the one in the Rooted group), and the other is very anxious about this homeschooling thing.  So it felt great to talk to them and encourage them and give them resources.  That's what Corinne and I love to do and do well.  So we were only 5 people tonight, and we didn't really share what we had planned on sharing, but we were helpful all the same.  I really want our group to grow, or at least be known as a resource, so I'm going to push a little harder in finding out how to officially have us on the Creek website and such.  Maybe meet with the discipleship team or whatever.  It's obviously a group that fulfills a need.  So that was encouraging.

I was also encouraged with how Friday night went with Benaiah and Ava and how then Benaiah talked to me in depth about his various plans in the near future, including Ava.  He talks to me like a daughter should/would/could.  It's awesome and better than imagined.  I'm so grateful that with God's help, Jared and I have leaned into our relationship with Benaiah through the tough years and have finally come out on the other side.  We even chatted with the owner of the CFA again today (we see him often because his kids are in the same age ranges as ours in Kidustrial Park) about Benaiah's leadership skills.  Benaiah sometimes messes up with people in the kitchen, but when he has sat down with managers one on one, he's able to bring up in conversation where he went wrong and what he could have done better.  The boss is impressed by that.  So, people, I don't think the teenage years are toughest.  Right now, I think the middle school years are the toughest.  Hang on to the other end of the rope and don't give up!  Press INTO that relationship and reassure them that you are never going away, even when they tell you, too.  There is hope and maturity on the other side.  I'm lecturing to myself here because Keturah is at that tough stage and man, it's challenging.  One day at a time

So, it's been a great weekend, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle the week yet.  I'm still tired and feeling behind.  And every weekend in April is going to be like that. Eek! Gary's in his "Final Four" sermon series called, "All Eyes on Jesus," and he made several typical points today, so nothing too profound.  However, there were quite a few people who came to see him and some were sad and crying, too.  There were several rows of chairs outside of the auditorium at the 11am service.  The home stretch has begun.  I think Leah said she wanted to cry when people asked her how she was feeling about it.  She just doesn't want to talk about it because she doesn't want to look overly emotional.  I'm a little too busy at the moment with many things that I haven't felt the need to cry in public yet, but I'm sure I'll get there.  But otherwise, it was a great weekend, especially with all the one on one time I had going places with Jared, which hasn't happened in awhile.  So I move into Monday full of happiness because of my circumstances, yes, but that's a great thing because three years ago this month (April) it was the exact opposite.  3 years ago, life was very different.  What a journey, and I'm grateful that I see some light on the road again.  Ah....