While You Were Out... Pt. 4

Shari is on a kayak trip with YD Adventures, two volunteers, and five students from Lolo Community Church. While she's gone, I'll be posting our daily happenings so she can read all that happened while she was gone. I know I won't remember it all, and some will even be worth remembering. She's returning Friday, July 27 (tomorrow), so this will be my last post of this nature.

There are a few small downsides to Benjamin getting right to sleep each night. One is that he wakes up so early - 6:40 this morning. It makes it hard to focus on prayer, yet it makes it possible for me to model prayer to him. Check out the Backyard Missionary's blog post (and here... and here for an MP3 talk) on that topic. I've also started reading a book about caring for the pastor's soul during my prayer time. It's been good, with the first chapter's author being Gordon MacDonald, a man I highly respect. The second chapter was by a man who said all the right things, but I'm having a hard time getting past the fact that he's a UMC pastor. That's not fair to him, as it's all good stuff he's saying, but it's a wall I'm having to get past in my head, none-the-less.

Anyway, after prayer, and a little bit of cuddling with each of the boys, I went right to making breakfast (pancakes), then started working in my office. Benjamin did really well with getting himself dressed and using the potty before breakfast. I don't remember what bribe I used, but it worked great. I think I told him I'd read him a story. For work I got letters written, blogs and e-mail caught up on, and other such stuff done. The older boys played great, for the most part, playing light sabers and such. Benjamin peed his pants twice. The first time was downstairs on the slate. The second time he did it outside, and I discovered it probably 15-20 minutes later. He was running around naked, and didn't understand why I was upset when he told me he peed his pants because he wanted to, i.e. he didn't want to take the time to go to the bathroom. Remind me to tell you about Mark when you get home, Shari.

After a late lunch of PB&J, chips, and Koolaid, we headed off to the library to see Happy Feet. I'm afraid I was a bit short with the boys, and placed the blame for our lateness on them, which was really unfair, because I wasn't ready to go any earlier than they were. I being it when I'm less than Christ-like to them. We only missed about the first 20 minutes, and it was really no big deal... which is usually the case for stuff like that. The movie itself was full of cuteness and funny lines and actions, but the plot itself was weak and full of environmentalist garbage. Still, it was time to be with the boys. Afterwards, we came home, and we cleaned up the downstairs, then had dinner. I had decided to try the crock pot chicken taco idea (I did call mom for help). It went very well, and was easy to fix (we stopped by Safeway on the way home for a few items... like tortillas). It either needed more taco seasoning, or, as mom thinks, it needed to be soaking in it longer. I think she may be right, but I didn't want to spice the boys out, so I just put more salsa on the taco. We'll do something like that again, though I'm not sure what.

Since everything was all cleaned up by 6:30, and the boys got quickly into their pajamas, I decided to read Benjamin a story, then send him to bed so that we could stay up and play. We played sorry (Matthew came from behind and won), then I read the first chapter of "The Silver Chair" to them. Once again, they're still up at 10:45, but at least they've been fairly quiet.

After putting them to bed, I got busy on today's projects. I weed-eated (ate?) the yard (I need to Roundup the grass along the fence again), then I weeded the garden. I picked our first large tomatoes. We got three, but I think I picked one a little prematurely. It looked more red (redder?) under the plant where I found it. It will ripen in the window. I'm excited, even if you aren't, Shari. They're beautiful, and nothing beats home-grown tomatoes for taste. I folded some more laundry that I'd washed earlier today, then called it good.

It's been another good day, but I'm missing you tremendously. I miss your company in the evenings, and I miss your partnership during the day. Still, I'm excited to hear that the trip went well, and I'm looking forward to hearing what God did. We continue to pray for you, and we're all looking forward to your arrival tomorrow night. I'm betting you're a bit more tanned then when you left. You look good in a tan, even if it isn't healthy. May God grant you sweet sleep tonight, and safety and alertness tomorrow as you drive, as well as more opportunities to minister and make disciples of these young ladies. Tomorrow I'll share this all in person.