Slip Slidin' Away

Since my last post, we've had some really nice family time. We've had to be intentional about it (i.e. had to back out of previous commitments), but it was so worth it. Saralynn has been an absolute joy to be around the past few days. Don't misunderstand me- I love my child with all my heart, but she, like those of us who are "all grown up" has her good days and her not so good days, and when she's not seen much of her Daddy as has been the case more often than not lately, it can make for a string of difficult days. I stayed home on Monday night instead of going to a Ladies' Night function that had been planned, and Garrett stayed home from a meeting on Tuesday, and we enjoyed some nice outside time, complete with chalk, bubbles, and her car and bicycle. She and Garrett even chased lightning bugs Tuesday! We took a family night last night and went to the playground. Our Saralynn would live her entire life outside if she could, and one of her favorite places in the whole world is a playground with a slide. So, we hopped in the car, made a detour at McDonald's for some chicken nuggets and then headed to Burger King so she could play on the playground. Yes, you read that correctly. She prefers McDonald's chicken nuggets to Burger King's, but Burger King has the better, outside playground. She doesn't wear the pants as much as you think she would given our path to a family night, but I just don't see the point in buying food she isn't going to eat, so we get what she will eat.

She played on the playground for over an hour and a half and was one sweaty, thirsty little girl that was pooped and ready for a bath when she got home! Her Daddy even joined in on the sliding fun after seeing her smiling face and hearing her shrieks of joy. Mommy tried it one time but got a little too close to getting stuck for her liking, so she took her proper place behind the camera phone and documented their fun together. Once we got home, she played in the tub for almost 45 minutes. Daddy slipped out to play tennis after he got her bath going, and Mommy finished up. You'll see she has no bath toys. Poor thing. Pictures below.

It's amazing to me how refreshing something as simple as a Whopper and a slide can be, but it was absolutely just what the Good Doctor ordered for us. We had an absolute blast all week long! Daddy is at work tonight, but I think our tanks are all full from earlier in the week, so we'll make it through. :)

For those of you that took the time and thought of me enough to respond to my last post, either on the blog or by email, thank you. Your words are encouraging to me. I even had one sweet friend remind me that the families I see sitting together at church are often doing just that- sitting next to one another. They may not be tuned in to one another, which is something we can be, or not be, no matter our physical location. As long as we're doing what we're called to do, we're tuned in. What Garrett and I have in serving together, though it may not be physically side-by-side-together, is special in its own way, which I realize, but it's nice to be reminded. We have a common bond that spans beyond sitting together- we're doing what the King called us to do, and while we may not be sitting together, we're serving together. I still look forward to the day when we can sit together as a family, but until that day, we'll keep right on pluggin' along.

Oh, and we're still waiting on a phone call for the Creative Worship Coaching sessions. The leader was finishing up last-minute stuff concerning it and said to expect phone calls sometime tonight. From the sounds of it, he's planning to take most if not all applications at some point, it's just a matter of when. Of course, it would be nice for Garrett to make the "first cut" because he could be finished by the time the baby gets here, but again, we're trusting the One with the Master Plan. Thanks for joining alongside us in prayer.

Intentionally Grateful,

Mary Beth