The day Rachel taught me to read my Bible...

I hate to say this but I have kind of been dreading today for awhile. Why? Because today our daycare provider is on vacation and since I'm still on maternity leave we couldn't justify the expense of taking Rachel somewhere else for the day. And so we had a mommy and kids day today.

And, to my surprise, it has actually been quite enjoyable (does that make me sound like a monster?)...right up to the moment that Rachel's excessive chatter during nap time woke up her little brother.

Honestly though, with all that we have been going through with Ryan I have to admit that sometimes it is hard to find joy in our daily activities. So when I noticed that I would be home with a crabby newborn and a defiant two-year-old all day by myself I could feel myself sinking into a puddle of despair.

Will I ever learn that God is always listening and watching and waiting to help me?

Yesterday we started Ryan on a low iron formula and early signs are pointing towards a positive change for the little guy. He has been sleeping better, eating less frequent but larger meals, and crying less when trying to create a stinky diaper. That alone would have made today a better day so it was made almost perfect when I combined that with the fact that Rachel kept her same pull-up on all morning (and is super excited about the toy she will get once she opts to go number two in the potty) and legitimately beat me in a game of Memory.

Actually, you know what? There was a cherry on top of it all. Rachel found our Bibles and insisted on "reading" through one while I read the other. And while doing so I came across a verse in Proverbs 31 (the "how to be a good wife and mother" chapter), and it made me smile... because it was just what I needed to hear today (and tomorrow and probably the next day and most likely the day after that and...).

Proverbs 31:25
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

And all of the tired mothers of newborns said, "Amen!"