Blooming with love

So, last week we celebrated Steven's 37th birthday.

(cough, cough- he is SO much older than me)

Aunt Sissy and Uncle Jason came over and celebrated with us. Free. Food. Need I say more?

That morning I had to bring out the multi-tasking cape and play superwoman. You see, my steaks and chicken didn't thaw completely overnight in the fridge and I suspected that they wouldn't thaw completely during the day either. So, I loaded up my steaks and chicken and took them to work with me so that I could put them in the fridge once thawed.

OCD. It is a scary thing.

No. I will be honest. It doesn't stop there.

While baking a birthday cake at 5:30 a.m., I went ahead and rubbed down some baking potatoes with bacon grease and wrapped them in foil....ready to go to work with me as well....where I put them in the oven at work, and transported them in a cooler so that on the ride home they could continue to bake to their hearts -make that "my hearts" - content.

The OCD? It's a curse. It really is.

Anyway..........

That evening we enjoyed steak and chicken, twice baked potatoes, biscuts, green beans and chocolate cake and ice cream.

Steven dubbed it the "BEST BIRTHDAY EVER" for no other reason than that he was in a great mood as evident in the photo below.



Not that Steven isn't generally in a good mood. Because he is. However, this mood was a little "out there". It isn't everyday that he plays dress up with a do-rag and my Bon Jovi t-shirt.


***Also, please note that we bring out the good china for special occasions. The fact that the bowl resembles a plastic one from Tupperware is a mere coincidence, I tell ya.

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The next evening Steven suggested that we go out to eat. Considering that I had exhausted all of my cooking mojo the night before, I was in.

B was excited.....as always.

L, after falling asleep during the ride there, was a little less enthusiastic.

However, once the waitress came along with markers for them to add their names, along with countless other names, to the floor, her enthusiasm picked up a notch.

Steven then suggested that I write "Steven -n- Kim" on the floor of the restaurant.

Seriously.

Who IS this guy? I mean, Steven is romantic, much more so than myself, but graffiti endearments?

So...I did what any mature married woman would do.

I got on my hands and knees and pulled out a sharpie.

(Did you doubt it for a minute?)

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The heat and humidity outside was nothing less than oppressive this past weekend. Although we have a swimming pool, the kids never pass up on a trip to the river. In L's words, "it is NEVER too hot to go!"


Who would dream of taking an air-conditioned vehicle to the river? That would be just plain ole' absurd.



So Steven got out the ranger and the expected debate over who got to drive ensued.

L won. Her hair was proving to be somewhat of a problem as it whipped back and forth in the wind and so she asked her daddy to so kindly help.

He did.

ALL. THE. WAY. THERE.

Have I mentioned that he is the BEST daddy in the whole. wide. world?

We turned off the road and made our way towards the water.

It took the kids all of 2.4 seconds to launch themselves in the water. I, however, was on immediate snake patrol.

That is what watching Lonesome Dove will do to you. If you have seen it, you know what I am talking about.

While patrolling, I couldn't help but notice these wildflowers growing. In the rocks. In the blazing sun. And yet they were thriving.

Isn't it amazing?

It seems as if so much more would be needed to sustain it, yet it flourished. God had given this flower everything it needed.

The kids? They seemed to be flourishing as well.

Patience. Love. Guidance. Love. Faith. Love. Hope. Love. Attention.

(And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13)

These things help to keep kids afloat........ and their heads above "water". There are times when my patience seems to have run dry and I get caught up in the daily grind. (OCD, anyone?)


But there is LOVE.



Always, always love.

The kids, well....they kept busy.

Swimming.

Floating.

Conspiring.

Sharing stories.

Sharing secrets......AND dam building strategies.

And Steven?

He was at peace.

Very much at peace.

The guy who can't sit still for a minute...... who is driven to be "productive"..... took a nap.

(Steven? Nap? This is all but unheard of around here....)

So, I left him to rest, joined the kids and put Daisy on snake patrol.
And while Steven continued to nap.......

.....the kids shared their dam building strategies and we constructed a dam. A very sturdy and strong dam, if I do say so myself.

B gave it is seal of approval.

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Daddy eventually woke and the kids worked their way back to the ranger. Before I knew what was going to happen, I was lovingly bestowed this gift:

Yeah. The flowers I had admired before? The ones that had prompted me to contemplate how had God provided for them.....and for us?

Yep. These were the same ones.

For me. (Sigh)

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Since fair is fair, B got to drive home and this time it was me hanging onto my gift, trying to keep it from whipping in the wind.

And so, upon arriving at home, I planted the flowers in a pot that B had painted for me and I quietly "encouraged" the flowers.....and prayed for my kids.....to "bloom where they were planted".