Nana Holds-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks so much for joining me today for a little break. I earnestly hope you enjoyed your CHRISTmas and that you made memories to cherish for years to come. Grab your coffee and come on in.

Something I didn’t mention up until now is the internal struggle I was having about giving up my weekends with my hubby. I mean, I was doing it, but there was definitely a struggle. My social world suddenly shrunk and it was like we were somewhat isolated and while I enjoy isolation I also like to nurture my/our friendships. Marriages are life-sized mirrors and friendships are like mini mirrors that reflect both the good and the not-so-good in us. Anyway, after several weeks of receiving a few invitations to do things and having to decline – I was actually able to laugh a bit about it when I heard myself say “We have to get a babysitter” – we received yet another one from a girlfriend and friend of CPM and she invited us to attend a car show with her and her husband and then back to their house for dinner.

Well, my hubby loves car shows but my first reaction was to decline, yet again. I reminded her and me that we had Bryden now and I was about to enter into my own pity party when her words pulled me out: “Well, bring him. We’ll find something for him to do.”

So that’s what we did and I’ll always treasure her insistence that we get together and her persistence in seeing it through.

We had an amazing time and Bryden was definitely the center of attention and no one seemed to mind! He was absolutely adorable, engaging and endearing.

My two girlfriends and I were outside in Teresa’s little haven she created all within an EZ Up. It was/is so tastefully done with a comfy couch, a couple of chairs, a coffee table, some potted plants and flowers everywhere, soft lighting, and for the background sound effects, she had a garden-sized water fall sculpture. It’s a great place to sit and read, or talk as was our case.

So there we were, in the midst of a passionate conversation about something and here comes

this little man in a toddler’s body with his hand outstretched and wearing an incredible sense of pride as he handed over what had to be the largest rose I’d seen in a long, long, long time! And talk about leaving me speechless! Why in the world and how in the world could he do something so sweet for me? It was something too hard to fathom, though I reveled in the beauty of it for some time that evening, in between the giggles and fits of laughter inspired by Bryden.

Both couples seemed to truly be enjoying him and didn’t act annoyed in the least that we didn’t get a babysitter for him and brought him along. It was an awesome time that evening and for the first time in weeks, I remember thinking, maybe there’s life after all with a two-and-a-half-year-old!

Have an amazing day…

Evinda

Nana Holds-From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Happy day after Christmas! I don’t know about you, but this day after Christmas, all I want to do is cuddle up on the couch and watch movies all day! After we have our little coffee break, of course! Thanks for stopping by! Grab your coffee and come on in.

So just a few weeks after Bryden’s daddy’s “promotion,” he called us to share with us that he was getting baptized and that we could come if we wanted to. They were conducting the baptisms at a beach almost two hours away. (For the life of me, I can’t remember the name of the beach!%^&*()_) )

I smiled from the inside out as reality permeated from my mind to my soul. The transformation was continuing and this public confession was going to be like none I had ever seen before. A baptism in the ocean!

Bryce Baptized!

Bryden was visiting his grandparents on his mother’s side so we didn’t have him with us that weekend, which is probably a good thing because I don’t know that he would have been able to handle his daddy going way out there with the crashing waves and then being pushed down under! Oh, but we did, with joy and thankful hearts. The four and a half hour drive for that one hour was definitely worth it. It’s what parents do; it’s what the Bride of Christ does, comes alongside and cheers, supports and encourages steps that bring one closer to Christ Himself.

The next couple of weeks held some more poignant moments that worked like softener on my heart which unbeknownst to me was a bit hard when it comes to loving and being loved uninhibitedly. Bryden was enjoying going to church and being with others close to his age. An added bonus was Donald and Suzanne began going to our church so he got to be with his little playmates on Sunday mornings, too. These things all added up to give him a sense of “normal.” The seeds of the things of God began to plant in his little heart as well and we continued to water them with nighttime prayers which he began to repeat almost word for word after only a few weeks. Sweet little sponge!

Flowers from Bryden

Sundays after church we would go out to breakfast down the street. Boy does that little guy love pancakes, especially with lots of syrup! But one Sunday, on our way back to the truck, Bryden suddenly became preoccupied with something. I turned to see Papa stopped, watching him as he bent over and yanked with all of his might a little clump of flowers. I almost told him not to pick the pretty flowers, and then I remembered the one time he and his dad had come in from playing. Bryden had a flower and he, ever so sweetly, walked toward me with his hand outstretched holding his flower with pride and said, “Here Nana,” while his dad looked on with a rare smile.

History has a way of repeating itself, and that’s not always a bad thing, because Bryden, when he had conquered the desire of his heart, walked over to me ever so sweetly, innocently and joyfully and with his hand outstretched and a smile on his adorable little face  hesaid, “Here, Nana!” I bent down to hug him and exclaim how beautiful the flowers were, that Nana had never seen anything more beautiful! Again, I felt something in my heart move, almost like fingers molding clay . . .

Join me tomorrow for more!

Joyfully,

Evinda