Better than okay... you've got your hands full.

I have been so full of energy today, from waking up early to learn my niece was in labor and about to have her first child. This lively mood continued for me after finding out I'm a great-aunt (!!) for the first time, to a beautiful baby boy.

The boys begged me to go for a walk with them. Zachary on his scooter, Luke in the stroller, Ben in the Bjorn (my favorite invention). 

Barely down the first block, Zachary let out a big sigh. I asked what was wrong, and he said "Nothing's wrong. I'm better than okay. Just taking a deep breath." That boy blessed me with those optimistic words. 
I earnestly pray that my children maintain that kind of attitude through life. That even when storms come, as they surely will, that they do not struggle or hide behind fear or discouragement. 

We continued our walk to get some ice cream... how messy can kids be with ice cream cones? (Which momma didn't bring any wipes with her? Trying to keep things simple doesn't always pan out!) But, oh so happy they were. 
Luke's traditional VANILLA ice cream dribbling down his chin, and very soon the complete ice cream cone dropped on the floor. Yep, that happened! Resilient me, picked up the cone, wiped of the portion that touched the ground and gave it back to my kiddo. 
Zachary, of course, having a race between all of us as to who would finish their ice cream first. Blue goo from his birthday cake ice cream smeared across the ice cream counter in the way only my firstborn can smear!

There were moments for me during our walk where I basked in blissful feelings of recognizing the sweet, friendly beauty of living in our town. 
Just soaking in the contentment of resting in the fact that God has placed us here for this season, for His purposes. Seeing myself as in the middle of a journey where I have no idea the outcome or the next steps (that happens with this season of life, of being consumed with meeting the needs of small bodies, do you agree?). 
I love the analogy of the tapestry, looking from the underside like a jumble of knots and twisted strands... but on the frontside, there is well-designed beauty and exquisite meaning.

Anyway, those moments of slow-paced-gratitude gradually turned into survival mode, once again, for this girl-who-somehow-is-old-enough-to-have-3-kids. 
My eldest, Z, loudly announced he was DONE. Done with walking, done with using his lil' sticker-covered Spiderman scooter. Sweet-but-stubborn Luke was not about to move from his throne of the stroller, and Ben was sleeping with his head leaning severely to one side of the Bjorn. With all the boys expressing demanding (and noisy) needs, I decided that... fine. FINE. The stroller simply had to be strong enough to carry both older boys. If you saw frizzy-haired, sweaty me slowly down the street with my left arm pushing the heavier-than-normal stroller over drastic sidewalk bumps, and my right arm holding up my baby's head from falling downward... you may have felt pity. Or relief that you were driving by in your air-conditioned car! A man we walked by smiled and said, "looks like you've got your hands full."

So that's how I decided to title this blog today. I'm doing BETTER THAN OKAY. Yet, these 2 hands of mine are always full...

Blessings.