A Redeeming Trip to the Children's Museum

So, this past Friday I thought we would attempt to redeem Fun Friday, and even venture back to the Tucson Children's Museum. If you recall, our last trip to the Children's Museum was less than fun. So I thought we'd give it another go. This trip was so much fun, and definitely redeemed Fun Friday.

We started off by doing a little operation.

That would be my baby girl extracting a bone. Just makes a mama proud!

And while big sister was completing her surgery, little Juju found a baby doll...

cause that's what she does.

That look is classic for her...

excuse me...you are in the princess' space. 

I'm going to have to ask you to leave.

so I can change my baby. Thank you.

Toria thought the motorcycle was so incredibly cool.

And then it was craft time, where Toria proudly practiced writing her letters. 

Music time!!

So, they thought the dinosaur was super cool...right up until it moved, then it was cool no longer.

If you notice the pigtails, they're in motion. As they ran back to where I was sitting, yelling, "He's gonna eat me!"  Yeah, they might have nightmares over that one. 

And then, we came upon this! This wonderful contraption, this marvelous creation. It had little silver balls that were being shot all over the thing through various tunnels and routes, and then lifted the balls back up again on a hoyer lift sort of thing, just to shoot them out again (didn't that sound technical!). This slowed my three year old down. Froze her in her tracks, mezmerized. She was like a bug looking at the light..."I can't help it..." 

Do you see that look? My baby is so inquisitive. I have seen that look many times over, as the wheels are turning and she's trying to figure out how it works, how she can take it apart, and how it can be rebuilt. 

Seriously, sucked her in.

I've gotta get one of these for the house.

We ended the trip with some simple puzzles and sit-down time.

Juju is learning and learning, trying with everything in her to keep up with her sister. She was worn out by this point.

But somehow this little mind just keeps on going. If I could have an ounce of her energy, I'd be in great shape.

We had such a great time! 

No stolen drums. 

No wet pants. 

No lost children. 

No broken shoes. 

Fun Friday is back. hehe.

Time to catch up...

Goodness. It's been a long time since I have been able to sit down and allow my thoughts to flow. I've been trying to figure out my new normal without realizing that I was already in the midst of it. Somehow, in the middle of all the chaos of work and school and family, we are all still alive and doing well. To those who have left well-wishes and have prayed for me/us, I cannot thank you enough. Please know that I have not forgotten you. I'm just trying to keep my head above water.

This leg of my journey has certainly been interesting, to say the least. I would be lying if I tried to play it off as if I have trusted God through the whole process, as if I haven't been angry and doubting Him in general. That would just make me a liar. But I know that He knows the truth of my heart and the journey it has taken. And I know of His great patience and mercy through it all. 

What I have noticed is that it really didn't take long for angry emotions to become an angry heart, for a couple of crass comments to become a wicked tongue, for a few days away from Scripture to become, well... too long away. And still, He is patient and merciful.

I still have many questions, such as, "what about those times that God doesn't come through?" But most of my questions probably will not be answered until I get Home. But work is going okay as I have gotten back into the swing of nursing. I did miss it more than I thought I did and more than I ever imagined I would. I did not miss the stress of it, though, nor did I miss the hours away from my family. As my belly grows, my feet seem to swell up a little more than what is natural, but I won't be pregnant for too much longer, and the swelling eventually goes down. My baby girl is growing well and will cook in my tummy for another 15 weeks or so. School is going okay too, as I cruise through the courses I need to finish up my BS in nursing. 

This is probably a bit scattered, but it seems like too much has happened to try to make sense of it all. Someday, I would like to be an actual blogger. I would like to write on a regular basis and explore God through the gifts that He has given me. Even now I have several blog entries that I started weeks ago tat not got finished due to time constraints...one was even about New Year's resolutions and getting more organized to have more time. That obviously didn't work. Someday I would like to have a clean house for more than an hour or so, a floor that isn't sticky with food spots all over it. I would like to be a better wife who cooks dinner for her family on a more regular basis and actually gets to the grocery store more than once a month. But right now, we have cereal for dinner for often than we should, the floor has sticky spots all over it, and cleaning has become an exercise in futility as my girls are entertaining themselves and I am trying to get my schoolwork done. And that's this season of life. 

I don't have anymore answers than I did a few months ago, and I don't know if God will "come through" for us anymore in the future, but I know that He remains to be God, and somehow in the midst of all of this, my focus has become figuring out how to praise Him still, figuring out how to find a calm, quiet place even for a few moments each day to remind my heart who the King is. 

And so, my days are busy still, my girls are growing like mad, and my husband is still traveling to Africa for weeks at a time (actually leaving again in about a week). Through it all, though, I will seek contentment in the love of Christ, and I will unwaveringly pledge my allegiance to the Lamb of God alone. I promise I will try to do better with posting...maybe more than once every three months. That's my goal. I know...I'm aiming big here.

Grace and peace to y'all. Thanks for sticking with me.