A Ping Pong Life

Last weekend was the best weekend I've had in an eternity {minus my weekends with Captain Awesome*} It was the best weekend because I literally did nothing.

Now before you judge me for my horrific and very apparent laziness, I think I've had this weekend coming for a long time. Life has been hectic, crazy since getting home from Cali and taking 48 hours to enjoy my family {sisters in particular} all while doing a lot of nothingness, was just what the doc prescribed.

Sleeping in til 10:00, dance parties in the bedroom with the little girls, no cleaning {sorry mom} shopping at Goodwill for lots of junk-nothings, and cozy afternoon naps. It was AMMaaaaaaaaaaaazing!!

One of my mostest favoritest things we did on Saturday happened while we were at Goodwill. We were standing the book section, perusing for any volume that merited spending $.88. Tiff and I were laughing over some of the stupid books there, when suddenly this hair-brain idea for a game was born.

Tiff and I would hand select and buy, one book for the other person, and we would each {H A V E} to read that book in one month's time. Tiffany had one book in her 'consideration pile' on "Finding the Connection Between Humans & Dogs" and I had one for her "Dealing with Fibromyalgia". The zanier the better.

There is something incredibly healing and comforting about that moment. Laughing hysterically over random books on a rainy, Saturday afternoon with MoH**. After much serious {laughing} contemplation, I bought a book for Tiff on one man's gleanings from teaching golf his whole life {G A G} and Tiff bought this titled book:

Work Would Be Great If It Weren't For The People - Making Office Politics Work for You

"Ronna Lichtenberg, former Senior Vice President for External Affairs at Prudential Securities, shows us that not only is it okay to be good at negotiating office politics, it's essential. In fact, if you're not playing politics, chances are you're forgeiting that work game. You're risking not getting that nicer office, that better account, and the recognition you deserve..."

Seriously. Like I have a lot of office politics to deal with. I work by myself, in my cyber office, with my coworkers who work in their cyber offices across the US. So yeah... this next month is gonna be some fuuuun reading!! {Needless to say, we have both have yet to crack the covers}

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The state of tranquility last weekend was short lived. {sigh} Back to reality early Monday morning.

The last several weeks {especially} have felt like all I do is swim around a bathtub full of ping pong balls... trying desperately to keep them all under. It's a rather exhausting job. There's my cyber office job at Bring Me Hope, nannying two days a week in Iowa City, occasionally driving school bus when they lack warm bodies to run yellow vehicles, and just this week, a second nanny job on days I have nothing to do.

Curiously enough, this 'new' family is not really new. Remember these kiddos?? After being gone for two years, I'm back at to the happy chaos of the mad-good-photographers. With a new addition to the family since then and another on the way, it's good to be back at my 'old-new' job.

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Being busy is a good thing, in light of my constant state of missing Captain Awesome. God is teaching me so much that 'just dating' doesn't fix my problems... though dating it is amazing. I am reminded {daily} what it means to wait on Him. Practically. There is something very helpless about not being able to make time go faster.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requestsbe made known to God.

T H E N:

The peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4: 6,7

Sunday we watched a video sermon from Mars Hill talking about worship through suffering. One of the points mentioned was that through suffering, God can show us the idols in our heart. He described worship as "pouring oneself out unceasingly for something or someone" and like Martin Luther said, despite what or who we say is our God, our truly "functional God is that person or thing on which our heart entirely rests or trusts". I felt like God asked me to search my heart for any idols that might be taking preeminence over Him. As I looked at myself honestly, I saw that my idols weren't {bad} things, but when taken out of proper balance, become wrong.

"Take away the dross from the silver and there will come forth a vessel for the refiner. Prov 25:4

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Nothing says love like big chocolate chip eyes {unless they are puddles of blue}

Baby is learning so much everyday. It's like her vocabulary doubles daily. Yesterday she said park and swing and can say all kinds of crazy animal sounds. {fish, snake, lion, bunny}

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Last night when I got home from work, Mom served us an awesome taco salad dinner and then hauled us up to the attic for an overhaul. Personally, I think attics are meant for mess, junk, and treasures. I mean, how else can you get that nostalgic feeling like when you watch Little Women?

The little girls have built houses, stores and forts in our big, four-eves attic. But last night was clean up time. We hauled down all kinds of broken furniture, empty boxes and abandoned stuffs. I found the big desks that MoH and I did school on, an old 2007 Bring Me Hope group photo {where curiously enough, Adam and I W E R E standing next to each other!!} and my boxes and boxes of things that are for my {non-existent} hope chest.

I guess these projects are good. In Grace's opinion, this means we are moving for the 14th time. "Come on Nicole, Mom wants to move so she is getting this all organized so when the time comes we don't have to do this."

Poor Aubrey has been at this house for 8 years on Tuesday. When the other 6 of us were her age, we'd moved at least three times. What can we say, adventures don't happen to this younger generation like they used to in our day! :) Maybe we should shake things up...

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My favorite quote today for Captain Awesome:

"Missing someone gets easier everyday because even though you are one day further from the last time you saw them, you are one day closer to the next time you will.

{which technically isn't 110% true. it's still hard. just like that dumb saying, "parting is such sweet sorrow" whoever said that obviously knew nothing about true love. grrr. it is wicked sorrow.}

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* Otherwise known as the Amazing Man... or to the rest of the world, Adam Dane Neesby

** My besty Tiffy