While Daddy is Away...

If you haven't read my last post, Aaron is in India. It's about 10:30pm here on Saturday night, so that means it's about 11am Sunday in Coimbatore where he is. He and Pastor arrived at the orphanage where I believe they are being housed at about 1am their time. Their flight was delayed, and it must have taken a while to meet up with their host/contact there. I saw on the prayer chain that Pastor had texted his wife that they had finally made it to the orphanage and were headed to bed. Pastor's luggage is still in limbo.

They are most likely attending church right now. I think the itinerary said there would be a 6:30am, 8:30am and 10:30am service.

I've had a lot of people ask me "What are you going to do while he's gone?" So, I figured I'd write some of it down here. The fact that he's gone 9 days sounds like a long time, but since the original itinerary was for about 15 days, I've entered into this week with a very positive attitude. 15 days would have been really hard on both of us. The way the itinerary is now, I only really have one full week to have to worry about childcare while I'm teaching. There are only three days that I've had to figure out something for them to do while I teach...and I had so many people offer to help that it was pretty easy to find sitters, playdates, etc. for them for the few hours that I've needed it.

We've tried to do some fun things while Daddy is gone. I had promised the kids a while back that the first night Daddy was gone, we would have a Slumber Party! I told them that we could all sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed that night. We cuddled up with popcorn and watched Despicable Me. We played games. Right before we fell asleep, Alec asked me a few questions about Jesus dying on the cross. "Mommy, was there blood?" "Yes, Alec, there was a lot of blood when Jesus died on the cross." "Why did he have to die on the cross?" "Well, he did it so we could be forgiven of our sins, so that we could be healed, so that we could go to heaven and be with Him one day." "Mom, I'm gonna go punch the bad guys that made him die on the cross!" I just love the concern and the gusto of my little boy.

Friday, I worked on the house and laundry. I had rehearsal with trainees at the Conservatory in the afternoon. The kids had a play date with a fellow teacher's kiddos while I ran rehearsal. Afterward, I asked the kids what they wanted to do for dinner. They said the wanted to go to Old McDonald's. So, off we went. They were especially stoked that we actually went into the building to eat...and that they got to play in the kids' area. It wasn't super busy for a Friday night...but oh my gracious I swear there is always a screamer or two at McDonald's and Chick-fil-A. There were two girls who kept piercing the air with their screams, and it was kind of getting to all of us. (Alec and Emma are very loud children, but they freak out when kids scream in those enclosed areas.) Luckily, the screamers left not too long after we got there.

On our way home, Emma asked if we could watch the Grinch (the old, 30 minute long animated one is still on our DVR from Christmas.) When I said "sure," she declared, "Mom! You are the bestest!" Can you tell I have taken the path of least resistance so far this weekend? Already, they've slept in my bed, eaten junk at McDonald's and stayed up to watch a Christmas movie in February. Hey, sometimes it's just nice to say yes. :-) I did, however, make them go back to their own beds last night. For one, I don't want that to become a habit, and for two, I didn't sleep too well between those two little kicking, flailing bedhogs.

Today, we bummed around the house all day. We woke up to a teeny little dusting of snow. It stayed really cold out today, so we didn't venture out. I finished up the laundry, we made banana bread and did some new puzzles Aunt Chrissy sent us for Valentine's Day. I made a meal that I need to take to a mom who just had twins tomorrow. We had another movie and popcorn night. This time we watched Up. We said extra prayers for Daddy tonight and for the people and children that he's visiting with. I've explained to the kids that Daddy is visiting orphans, and what that means. I asked them what we should pray for the boys and girls there, and Alec said "that Jesus gives them a Mommy and Daddy...and toys, and a bed, and a tv, and a dog..." and then Emma continued "and a trampoline and a playground" and then Alec finished "and a garden." (I think the garden thing is funny because I do garden, but I am not very good at it. Many a plant has met its demise due to my black thumbs. But I'm glad the kids appreciate flowers, trees, etc!)

If there is one thing that I can drill into the character of my children, I hope that it is gratitude. It is just so important to recognize the blessings in our lives and to be thankful. And we are so fortunate to have what we have. I hate that in our culture we are stricken with such a sense of entitlement. The urge to accumulate bigger, better and more runs rampant. And I'm not against having a nice home or car or a big tv or whatever...but I am against letting the acquisition of such items become the primary focus of our strivings.

So, although I know that at 4 1/2 they can't really wrap their heads around what it means to go without, I'm glad that they've had opportunities to see us being involved in ministries that help those who do. Helping me with Angel Tree has been great for them the past two years. Observing Dad going to India is great for them.

Well, now I'm spent. We have church in the morning, and I'm hoping that we'll get another update from Aaron and Pastor soon.