Blake got home last night from Haiti! He went to help run six days of medical clinics in six different locations. I don't know all of the statistics, but I know they saw a LOT of people! He spent a few months prior to his trip preparing by trying to learn as much creole as he could. It paid off, at least a little, because he spent six days triaging the people who came to the clinic. He quickly learned "infection", "cough", and "fever". He achieved about a 50% success rate at getting the right information on the forms, which is pretty impressive to me! I think he had a good time and I am positive that he is glad to be home with us!
Speaking of us, we are very happy to have Dad home. You forget how helpful husbands are until they aren't around. I will wait at least a week or two to start nagging Blake again. ;)
Last year when Blake went to Haiti, Jordan was four and a half months old. It was kind of a nightmare week. While he was gone, our car broken down. And Jordan really had a rough time sleeping for the first year of his life. By the time Blake got home, Jordan and I were both ready for the calm factor that Blake brings into our family! Apparently, the two of us are pretty high-strung!
This year was so much easier. It helps that he is sleeping better, but we are still happy to have the calm guy back with us again. I had a couple of rough patches. The first was my back. I hurt it on Monday, but by the end of the week I felt back to normal. The second was when my sweet little toddler starting throwing some MAJOR milk-related fits. There's a big ole self-inflicted bruise on his head from yesterday's fit. Nothing like loading up the car to go to church with a screaming coming from the house. Happy, happy, happy!
I've been reading a book called "Desperate", which was written for moms. It is such a refreshing book to read. I've read books that kind of give you ideas and lists of things that are important to do with your child. And, if you go on Pinterest, you are bombarded by things you should do to help your kids learn this or learn that. It's all good, but sometimes it's overwhelming. This book has been so nice because it talks about things like Mommy-guilt, sin, feeling weary...all things that tend to happen. I usually cry when I read it because it brings me such relief to know that I am not the only one who forgets to brush my kid's seven teeth every night. Or forget to pray before we eat. Or sometimes want to just get out of the house for a while. It's not just me! No one has it together.
The section that really spoke to me was about weariness. "Come near all you who are heavy-laden and I will give you rest". That is a promise in Scripture. God knows I'm tired. He knows that I don't get a lot of sleep or "me time". It's not a surprise to him that babies are crazy and time-consuming. He promises to give us REST despite the crazy and the lack of sleep. I'm so thankful for His Word and how it speaks. I think me sweetest times of prayer are in the middle of the night when I'm rocking Jordan back to sleep after a bad dream or some tooth pain. I turn on his "Praise Baby" cd and reflect on the blessing that Jordan is. I am learning to make the most of my cuddle time because he will be a big kid who doesn't want to snuggle with his mama. In the blink of an eye, I'll wish I was up at night with baby again. So, maybe the rest isn't always physical. It's resting and enjoying the season of life that God has given us.
