Thoughts of My Home

Today, the kids and I got the house cleaned up and started decorating for Christmas. We put up the tree and strung the lights. We set out other small decorations. And for the first time in recent history, I was able to set up my Christmas village. My cousin Dustin had given me several new 'residences' a few years ago. Today was the first time they were taken out of the box. I have a small buffet type piece of furniture in my living room now. And Ty, Grace, and Brody helped me set them all up. They put out the buildings and then played with all the small things. They love the benches, street signs, people and skating rink. I got some really cute video.

I was able to purge my laundry room. Things there are now organized and any old, unuseful stuff is g-o-n-e. Woo-hoo! It looks really great to me. Now, I want to do the same thing to my pantry. But one thing at a time.

Right now, the kids are each playing quietly. Ty and Grace are playing with the mini-horse stable that Maggie got for Christmas last year. Brody's playing with his train set. Maggie is with Poppy.

Chris is at work. I'm so ready for him to come home I feel like crying. He's been gone for 2 1/2 days. His presence completely changes the dynamics in our home. I feel more peaceful for one thing. The kids love talking to him and asking him questions. When he's gone, he's never far from our thoughts and conversation.

I've never heard anyone talk about the mystery of 'one flesh' that Scripture talks about. But I think about it a lot. It's a beautiful thing the way Chris and I complete each other. It's a constant give and take. I remember when we first got married, I never wanted to be away from him. A friend told me to 'just wait until you've been married a few years'. That bothered me. Should a husband and wife ever want to be apart? Before, it was sort of an insecure thing. Now, it's just that we work so well together. It's a bone deep completion. Is that corny? It's true. We just like being together. He cracks me up. He's funny and smart and pretty. And he thinks that I'm funny and smart and beautiful. I miss him when he's gone. And we've been married almost 11 1/2 years. Seems like 2 or 3, except for the fact that we have 4 kids. We've been through so much together, I'm glad God gave me Chris. God always gives us what we need. And He knew before I did that I needed someone strong-willed and tenderhearted.

He'll be home in hopefully about 4 hours. Lord, protect my husband. Bring him safely home to me.

I am thankful. Not just because everything is going really well right now, (because they're not) but because God has blessed me. His blessings may not always be in the form I would choose, but that doesn't mean they're not blessings. And right now, in this moment, I am thankful.