A Short Series of Unfortunate and Fortunate Events

...a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance... Ecclesiates 3:4

And go ahead and be sentimental, remembering that from the recesses of your heart, the seat of your emotions, will come the very tenderness that will mean life to your child. from Meditations for the Expectant Mother, by Helen Brenneman


My time of quiet was a huge blessing, and I can't wait to share here some of what God taught me and how it went, but today was such a funny, fun, crazy day - and the opposite of quiet, that I had to post. I love this life that God has given us, chaos and all...

First, I give you a short series of unfortunate (and in the end all fortunate, really) events:

That would be MK's shoe. Floating down the creek. Not to be recovered.

Let me explain. The big girls' school put on a little mother/daughter tea party, which started at 1pm today. This meant hurrying a bit after church in order to get there, but it was a special and rare occasion, so hurrying was okay this time. 

We each brought our own teacups, though I was not brave enough to bring the real china. Maybe next time. So, we had our hot drinks (the girls all opted for hot chocolate), some little treats, and a bit of poetry reading. The school director asked if any of the girls wanted to read for the group (of 60 or so people), and MK super-surprised me by asking for a turn. LC wanted to stand beside her up front. Sweet.

Just so cute in the bright, sunny tea room...

So, the tea room is settled back among some lovely old oaks, and backs up to a creek. All the little girls were ready to explore the outdoors once their drinks and treats were finished. So funny and whimsical to see them all in their summery, fru-fru dresses, hurling rocks into the creek. And then it happened: in an attempt to kick a rock, MK flung her shoe into the creek (this summer's church shoes, that pair was). It was all the excitement for a couple dozen girls, who ran alongside the creek, as the shoe floated like a happy little boat, never to be recovered...oh, and we were headed straight to a high school graduation after the tea...

And here is where I don't have pictures to show what happened next. MK began to get increasingly frustrated with her one-shoe situation, and concerned that she might have to be seen somewhere else in one shoe. I decided we'd zip by WalMart and grab some flip flops. We left the tea a bit early to try to allow for the stop.

I had the girls grab our "teacups," and we headed to the car. As we walked out the door of the tea room, MK spilled cold hot chocolate all down the front of her dress, legs, and the one shoe she still had. Unbeknownst to us, LC had left a few swallows of chocolate in her cup and that was the cup MK was carrying...

Enter the tears. Run back into tea room to get paper towels...wipe down the crying, chocolatey, one shoed 7 year old, pray for a plan, for wisdom on what to do next...Load up in the hot car and zoom over to Target, put MK in a cart so she doesn't have to walk (or be noticed) in just one shoe, and a brown-stained dress.

Grab an inexpensive little summer sundress and some shoes, pay, run to the bathroom to change into the new duds. MK was very nervous about this...she was concerned about privacy in the bathroom (I ensured she had it, of course) and about Target thinking we took clothes without paying.

By the time we were halfway to the car, she was growing a tiny bit excited about the new dress and shoes acquired through her series of unfortunate events...just had to get her through the trauma of the purchase and clothing switcheroo.

Next, we zoom over to the graduation ceremony, which thankfully was close by. I did not get lost, which is another mercy (and a whole other story from last week...confusing directions, getting lost, showing up way late somewhere...). BB met us there with CA, who never would fall asleep for her afternoon nap while the big girls and I went to the tea. The big girls and I walked in as they lined the grads up to walk the aisle. Whew.

And here is what CA (again - mercy from God) did for most of the ceremony (LC did, too, actually):



So, that's that. I'm tired! And I'm happy and thankful for this family, and for our events, both the fortunate and unfortunate kinds, for all of it is wrapped up in God's sovereign goodness. There were many mercies mingled in with the chaos and unpredictability of the day...the fact that Target was right on our way to the graduation, finding a suitable dress that fit great without bothering to try on ahead of time, and a pair of shoes that fit more snugly than the one she lost at the creek....making it to the graduation on time, only to be reminded there of what a treasure family is and how soon it really will be that we stand up there, hugging our first, second, third graduates...

That is all for today. I do hope your weekend was special and good!