Dude, Where's My Car?

I woke up a little late this morning, so I rushed to get Christian up and dressed, and grabbed something for him to eat in the car.  I stood at the door waiting for him to get his shoes on and decided to get Eliana in her seat and come back to shut the door after Christian was on his way to the car.

The car.  Where was the car?  I had parked it out front when I got home last night, but it was no longer there.  I figured Mike had taken it out to run a late errand and then parked in the driveway in back.  I hurried around the house, hauling Eliana in her jammies, only to discover that the car was not in the back with the truck.  Nope.  Just the truck back there.

Um, where was the car?  My heart began racing; I burst back into the house, encouraging Christian to get his shoes on a little faster, and asked Mike if he had done something with the car.  He had no idea what I was talking about and I said,"I think someone took our car."

That got everybody's attention.

I was very close to flipping out at this point, but it still remained that we had to get Christian to school, and pick up a friend who works at the church on the way.  I couldn't take Eliana now, since her carseat was in the van, and when I got in the truck the gas tank light was on. 

This was a big-time Monday on a Tuesday. 

Mike encouraged me to stay calm, and assured me that everything would be all right.  How does he do that?!

As we pulled out of our driveway Christian had processed all of the information and burst into tears.  He cried,"Some robbers took our car and we're never gonna see it again!"  While I wanted to do the exact same thing, I checked myself before I wrecked myself and took a deep breath and told him we didn't know what was going to happen.

Once I got home and Mike and I decided that we definitely had not taken the car into the shop for its inspection and forgotten about that talked about the situation, he called the police to report our stolen vehicle.  I think within the hour an officer showed up at our house to get the info necessary to file the report!  He was so kind and helpful. 

After the police officer left we spent a couple of minutes rethinking the logistics of our day, since we were now sharing a vehicle and the day included the following:  getting Mike to work, attending a play that Christian's class was putting on, getting Eliana to school, getting the van inspected (oh, wait, that one we could cross off the list!), going to the eyeglass store to get Michaela's new glasses tweaked, eating ice cream, making my way through a significant amount of laundry, picking the kids up from school, getting Mike home from work, and acquiring a rental car.  I count it a major blessing that many of the things we had to do all occured in the same building (Mike's job and the kids' school stuff).  We only had two minutes to decide what our plan of action would be, because Christian's play was starting in a half hour and Eliana was still in jammies and Michaela wasn't even up yet. 

We managed to get to the play just as it was starting (Christian did a GREAT job, as did all of his classmates) and then I went to a friend's house (the one who's leaving for Africa soon) until Eliana had to go to school.  Since they are leaving in a little over a week it was a very nice opportunity to get a visit in (silver lining!) before we are separated by half a continent and an ocean.

In the midst of working on the stuff that he has to get done this week (which is A TON) Mike took care of calling the insurance company, talking to a representative, and figuring out the rental car.  This only took up a few extra (hundred thousand trillion) minutes of his time, of which he has much to spare.

Once Eliana was in class Michaela and I took the truck and ran our errands (this included the tweaking of the glasses and the ice cream eating) (getting your car stolen justifies ice cream therapy), dropped off some leftovers (from lunch, not from ice cream) at home and then headed back to the school to pick up the other two. 

I was going to leave and just return later to pick up Mike, but then we found out that the rental car place had a van for us sooner rather than later so I took him over to pick that up; I drove off in the van, and he took the truck and returned to work. 

Our evening ended with a violent thunderstorm and tornado watch.  I crowded with the kids in our back hallway where there are no windows and a lot of walls.  The kids valiantly saved two baby dolls, all of the American Girl dolls, the Ninjago Lego guys (and their spinner), as well as their (the kids', not the Lego guys') iPods.  We also had one book, three flashlights, my cell phone, and, of course, the laptop.  The kids were quite worried (and if I'm honest I have to say,"ME TOO!") but things ended up just fine.  We still have a roof over our heads.  

And that is more than some can say tonight, after similar and worse storms have devastated the South, again.  Having one's car stolen is an ordeal...but no one's life was in danger.  I have a giant pile of laundry on my bed, along with three children squished in...but I have a bed on which those things can lie.  All throughout the day I repeatedly had the thought,"This is not the worst that could happen to me."  We are all here and healthy, our home is intact, we have clean clothes, food, and water.  At the end of this crazy day I am grateful.  I am grateful for so many things.  And right now that is trumping the bad feelings that I have had because of the car.

Pray for those who have lost so much.  So much more than we have lost...I will be thinking of them tonight.

Lost and Found

Well, we finally got all of our stuff out of the other house.  I spent several hours a few weeks ago digging what was left in closets out and gathering the remaining odds and ends scattered throughout the house and sticking it in boxes, and Mike made a final colossal effort these last few days to get it all out of the house and to clear out the garage over there as well.  We left a few items because we don't have the space and the new tenants can use them. 

I have to say it was hard to get those last boxes packed, to walk through the empty house and remember the first time I walked through, only back then I was thinking of where our things would go.  Now I'm walking through our new house, still wondering where things can go. 

Although there were some sad moments there were also a couple of good ones.  One that I want to share with you is that as I cleaned up around there I found things that had long been missing.  A bucket for our Hi-Ho! Cherry-O game, at least one of Christian's belts that are forever missing, some bowls that unfortunately got stuck in the garage and I had lamented their disappearance.  But the best thing of all?

I found my marbles!  They were under the fridge along with some legos.  I guess I was looking in all the wrong places before!

I'm Just a Girl Who Loves Baseball

Seriously, I am not trying to turn "five walkers" into a baseball blog.  But I love the game!  And we keep going to see the Rangers!  And when we're not actually at the ballpark I'm watching the games on TV!

I believe I am a fan.

I am pretty sure that is short for fanatic.  So, yep, that would be me.

This time we went to see Tobymac in a pregame concert; this event was sponsored by the I Am Second movement (campaign?).

We arrived a bit late on the scene and were very far away from the stage, but it was still an experience for the kids.  I wish they could have seen what was going on a little bit better.  Michaela thought it was cool to hear one song that we hear on the radio. Mike and I thought it was funny to hear songs that we listened to in college.  Almost twenty years ago.  Um, I felt old.  And goofy.

After the concert we headed to the ballpark.  Our seats were decidedly not behind the dugout this time.

They call this the nosebleed section, but I call it the wind-blows-everyone's-peanut-shell-debris-on-you section.  Ick. 

Unfortunately we discovered that as far as baseball games go our attendance is not a majority-rules decision.  It was, actually, more like the game itself...three strikes and you're out!  Three outs and you're done!  With two fussers it didn't take long for our team (that would be the Walkers, not the Rangers) to be retired.  We left the game earlier than we anticipated and watched the end of it at home. 

There is something to be said about seeing the game from the comforts of your house where the ice cream cost about 1/16 the price, and minus the peanut shell chaff in your hair.

Baseball!  Did I mention that I love this game? 

Time to Play Ball! And Not Just for the Rangers!

The other day we were gifted with tickets to another Rangers game.  It turned out that Mike was not able to go, so I took the kids myself.  The tickets couldn't get wasted, right?

We headed to the ballpark really early, after grabbing some Chick-Fil-A and some water bottles. 

We were there so early that we headed over to a space behind Center Field called The Game Stop (I may have made that name up...I'm not sure) where the kids got to hang out and do kid-sized baseball stuff.

Tattoos are an integral part of the game.  There are a lot of tatts in baseball. 

Christian ended up with no less than three.  All removable.  We'll worry about the other kind later.

They each had a turn up at bat.  What Christian lacks in making contact with the ball he makes up for with style.

Michaela is a more understated batter.  This is fitting, I think.

She hit almost every pitch! 

Speaking of pitching, Christian tried that out next.  There is a mitt that you aim for at the end of this lane, and a speed counter (tracker?  Whatever.)  His pitches were clocked at 29 mhp.  He came off the "mound" smiling and said,"That's pretty fast for an eight-year-old!"

This kids' area is on the opposite side of the field from our seats, which were behind the dugout again.  So, after they played for a bit we went to our seats for the beginning of the game.  We saw the first pitch!  I don't think that has ever happened before.  (Anyone surprised?)

The Rangers played really well; the pitching was good and the batters were not only getting hits but runs. 

I promised the kids we could head back over to the game area, so we did.  Eliana got in on the action this time.

She was a little shy at first but it didn't take long for her to want to run from activity to activity just as though she were ten too.

I'm pretty sure that Christian did each thing at least six times.  I did something we wouldn't normally do, and paid for an all-you-can-play bracelet for the two big kids.  I am confident that I got my money's worth.  They had a blast.  (A kind gentleman who worked there gave me some vouchers for Eliana, so she didn't feel left out!  That was a great bonus!)

I asked the kids if we could go sit back down for a bit, and just before we headed back over we saw that the bases were loaded.  Between a hit here and a walk there, we got a couple of runs; at some point there was a home-run and they shot off some fireworks.  No grand slam at this game, but it sure is fun to see so many players moving around the bases!

The Rangers are in the white uniforms. 

As we rounded the corner to get back to our seats we noticed that everyone else was heading our way.  As in, away from their seats.  I thought that was odd, and then I noticed through the opening into the stadium that it was pouring!  I had left a small cooler type bag down at our seats so we had to fight our way through the crowd to go get it.  It was raining hard at that point, and the kids thought it was hysterical to be there in the rain.  The field crew (?) were covering the field with a giant tarp and those in charge had delayed the game (they started it back up about an hour later).  Since it was already so late, 9:00pm, I figured we ought to head home.  Just as we were starting back up the steps we heard the loudest thunder crack I have ever heard.  I actually jumped on the step, and am hoping that there wasn't a camera on me at that moment as I'm sure I had a crazy look on my face.  We turned and hustled up the steps as quick as one of those batters trying to make it to first on a bunt.

We got to the car, soaked but happy.  It was a blast, and we are so grateful for these opportunities to do such fun things together.  And as always, we are looking forward to the next game!  (I think I am looking forward to it the most!)

Motherhood

I became a mom a little over 10 years ago.  From the moment we found out we were pregnant to the moment we arrived at the hospital so that I could deliver our first child I was so happy.  I had a lot of ideas about what motherhood would be like.  What I have since discovered from the moment our first daughter arrived into the world until this very morning is that becoming a mommy is a process that never stops and is never what you thought it would be.  It has been full of the wonder of watching as new life enters a room in the most preposterous of ways, and full of the heartache of knowing there are lives that we will never get to know.  I have experienced the highest of highs:  watching my children love others, witnessing great kindness and sensitivity, being helped without them asking for something in return.  I have experienced the lowest of lows:  watching them fight, bearing the brunt of bad attitudes, feeling so out of control as a mom that I despaired of ever doing (or having done) anything right.  I have been happy to sacrifice, I have felt bitter about giving of myself.  I have hated nursing, I have loved nursing.  I have enjoyed serving meals, I have despised cooking for little people who have decided they don't like things that they have been eating for years (in fact, I am in this phase right now).  I have felt energized beyond what is rational, and I have felt more tired than what I thought was humanly possible. 

At the end of every day, though, there is something that always stands out no matter what came before.  Even if I have misbehaved or they have misbehaved (or both), a miracle happens at the end of each day that never fails to amaze and humble me.  Actually, I should say two miracles.  The first is that my kids squeeze me around my neck and tell me they love me.  The second is that I, too, am filled with love for them even if the day held untold difficulties and conflict.  While I might be tempted to say that "tired", or "giving", or "laundress", or "dishwasher", or "chauffeur" is the word that comes to mind when I think of motherhood, the word that keeps standing out in my mind is "love".

The joy of motherhood for me lies in the mystery of my love for my children.  It is immeasurable, incomparable, sometimes unexplainable or even elusive.  It always shows up in the end, though.

I Heart Faces is focusing on Motherhood this week.  There are sure to be many, many beautiful interpretations.  Take a peek...