Noah, Awana, and Gabrielle--Day 239

I look outside and I see a short term benefit of not having a job. The roads look pretty bad. I've never liked driving in the winter. If you've been driving between Lapeer and Oxford in the early morning in the winter in the last 10 years or so and came across a long line of cars going 25-30 mph, I was probably at the front of the pack. Don't get me wrong. I'd rather be still driving to work, but I can still look at the positive side of this.

The layoff also came at a good time in that we have either almost met or already exceeded the amount of miles we are allowed on both of our leased vehicles. Now, they're rarely used and not costing us more money. Don't get me wrong. I'd rather be losing money with the miles on the car rather than losing money not working, but I'm trying to be positive here.

I've also been available to volunteer during school hours and see Gabrielle and Colton. That's been fun.

Of course the best part of not currently having a job is all the time I spend with Noah. Stick around him for 5 minutes or so, he'll get to know you, and you'll see how much of a joy he is to be around. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather be working, but...

I can't finish that sentence. It'd be a total lie. I'd much prefer to be home with him. So, for now, I'm very lucky and blessed in that regard.

I'm hoping good things come out of the time I spent at the staffing service Monday, but I'm enjoying this while I can.

As I was taking Noah up to change what would turn out to be an horrendously dirty diaper this morning, I paused to ask him who the people were in the frames I had put up yesterday.

"Who's that, Noah?"

"Colton!!!"

"Who's that?"

"Noah!!!?"

"Who's over there?"

"Gabrielle!!!"

"Who's that, Daddy?"

"That's Garrett, Colton's friend."

"Who's that?"

"Who is it, Noah?"

"It's Em-i-ly!!!"

I proceed to go upstairs. A couple feet from the pictures we still have our nativity scene out.

"Who's that, Daddy?"

"Who is it, Noah?"

"Je-sus!"

I had to laugh. It was unexpected. I didn't know Kim or the kids had told him. I told him he was right, and spent the next 15 minutes changing his diaper and applying some lotion. Good times.

Awana was later. We had fun as usual on the way there, while we were there, and on the way back. Garrett couldn't come this week, so Colton took our neighbor, Tim. While we were there, the kids got to put red stickers (measles) on a leader of their choosing. Brandi counted 25 on my face and ears. The kids were so gentle putting them on. Not one child put a sticker on my face hard enough where I thought it would stick. That gentleness evaporated when I asked if they wanted to take them off. I had bent down to their height, closed my eyes, and soon had a bunch little fingers scraping at my eyes, ears, cheeks, nose and mouth. I supposed I shouldn't have asked if they wanted to "tear" them off. I'm hoping I'm needed with Gabrielle next year. The kids are really great.

On the way home, I stopped at a gas station and we all got something to drink. When we got home it was time for showers and bed. After prayers, Gabrielle tells us that there's only five months left in the school year and she can't tell time as well as she'd like to yet. After Kim had given her a kiss and gone downstairs, I asked her about the time again. She said that when she asks when lunch is, her teacher tells her. She doesn't know when that is, so she asked her teacher how long that is. She said her teacher tells her to "figure it out." If my life was a TV show, this is where the crowd would say "Awwwwwwwwww." I could tell that made her sad. We spent the 20 minutes or so going over it. She struggled with it as expected, but she had at least learned a little bit. She seemed happier. Seeing her smile and say "Good night, Daddy." was probably the highlight of my day.

Question asked by a song currently playing off the playlist:

"How great is our God?"

Answer:

I don't believe we'll ever be able to truly answer that question, but it's great to think about.