Bowled Over

There are sometimes I am just bowled over by how much God loves & takes care of me. It's days like today - where nothing special, wonderful, or huge has happened, but I still feel it - that *really, really* get me. In fact, in some respects, this day could be counted as cruddy: due to some misinformation from our energy company, we officially have no gas and probably won't get it back until the end of next week. I could be a crying mess, but I'm not. I am praising God that: #1, it's not winter. #2, we have an electric stove & oven for the first time in 8 years - a negative when we first saw the house, but a big plus this week. :-P #3, we don't need gas immediately for anything other than the dryer (and I just did ALL the laundry, so we'll totally be fine until next week. I never do laundry more than weekly, anyway!) and hot showers, (but the pool is still open, so we can go swimming after dinner & take hot showers there in the clubhouse before bed! It's not healthy for me to wash my hair everyday, anyway.) Thank you, God, for perspective.

I could be angry over the hoops they're making us jump through to get it turned back on, but I'm over it. We had to drive all the way down to JB's work today, so he could fax copies of our personal info together to the gas company, so they can "investigate" & deem our request for service valid. (I know = insanity.) But you know what? JB has a business dinner tonight, and if we wouldn't have had to do that, the kids wouldn't have gotten to see Daddy today. :-) The "DADDY!" screams in the parking lot were beyond worth it! Thank you, God, for family.

We used to go to CiCi's Pizza at least once a week after picking Will up from school, but there isn't one anywhere close by us here anymore. So after we'd already driven to JB's work, I figured, why not top it off with an adventure to find the far away CiCi's? We won't ever have time to go that far once school starts, and they have a back-to-school promotion for August that all kids under 10 eat free with an adult purchase, so we all gorged ourselves for $6. You know my value-loving-self ate that up!!! (Literally! ;-)) Thank you, God, for deals!

On the way home - a way I'd never been before - we saw a new Walmart and a new Five Guys that's opening soon! Thank you, God, for new discoveries! Also, we were in the car for quite a long time today, and I welled up twice at my kids being *SO EXCITED* when TobyMac songs came on, (b/c they remembered the concert in May and know the words.) "Get Back Up" (our fave!) and "City on Our Knees" - my heart just about burst! Thank you, God, for reaching my kids and filling them up this way!

When we got back, Will wanted to do a "scooter show" (riding back & forth) in front of the house. It's usually hot & boring, but for whatever reason, I was game w/o grumbling. I had music playing on my phone that I hadn't heard in a while that really made me smile, we had Bonnie out with us on the leash, and we made new neighbor friends, including 3 kids (twins & another boy) who are almost 6 & also starting 1st grade like Will. :-) Thank you, God, for musical memories, warm sunshine, & new connections!

I got two phone calls today, and y'all know I *NEVER* answer my phone, but these two calls were worth it. #1 - The Splitz lady finally called me back. They aren't sure if they'll need another dance teacher until they see enrollment for next session (end of October) b/c the first session is always very low; (lots of people don't decide what extracurriculars to do with their kids until after school starts; school starts here Sept 7th, but the 1st session at Splitz starts next week,) but she still wants to meet with me tomorrow, put me on their sub list, and see if they'll need me later. I could be a bit bummed that they don't desperately need me, but I'm not. Honestly, it's the best possible outcome, b/c Sept & Oct are going to be nuts with cheer, football, & soccer, (did I mention I'm going to be a cheerleading coach, too?), the start of MOPS, and we're going on vacay for a week the end of Sept, so this avoids all that craziness, but still makes me available afterwards. Thank you, God, for knowing exactly how much we can handle and working our desires into Your perfect plan!

The other phone call was from a BFF who just needed to chat with another adult. :-) I'm so glad I picked up the phone! Talking to her always makes me smile...even though my kids act like they have become possessed by aliens as soon as I start ANY phone convo. I've hated the phone for years, but they ramp the it's-not-worth-it-to-answer-they'll-text-if-it's-an-emergency feeling up to another level!!! Today they started copying me for the first time: Annelise had her toy Cinderella cell up to her ear and laughed every single time I laughed at what my BFF said; then Will started copying everything I said. It was cute for all of 20 seconds. :-P I tried to hide in my closet; that lasted 3 minutes before Will "just came up for a hug." Uh, huh. So thank you, God, for prompting me to commiserate with a friend instead of avoiding the inconvenience, b/c it was so worth it. :-)

When I checked my email, I had two notices. #1 - from UPS that my birthday monogram necklace is FINALLY made & being shipped!!! (I was getting really antsy that we hadn't heard anything!) #2 - from the youth football association that I have to get a background check to be a cheerleading coach. This sounds silly, but I'm so thankful I could just enter my info for them to run the check online. I had to list everywhere we've lived in the last 5 years in detail. That's FOUR addresses, y'all, in three states (back to Georgia) and I so would not have remembered all those numbers off the top of my head, filling out a form at the coach's meeting. Thank you, God, for answering questions for me and making minutiae easier.

So yeah, nothing spectacular happened today, but I felt like God used it all for my good and made His presence known. Confirmation I'm on the right path, and that feels great. I admit, I totally don't allow myself to rest in His care like this everyday - last week I would've let my hormones ruin every aspect of the day, no matter how many times He would have been ready to ease my mind. But the days I let go, get over myself, & just wait on Him? They always feel extra blessed, even when nothing super awesome is going on. :-)