18 February 2009

Joy in the midst of chaos

The dreariness of winter is here. We were blessed with two 60 degree days which were spent outside for hours on end, but the dreary, gray, cold, snowless days are upon us here in NOVA. And inside my house, chaos reigns:


Yes, that's my oven in the middle of the floor. And the missing cabinets in the corner were taken out by some high school boys during small group. We let them use a saw in our house!!


The metallic wallpaper is gone...after two days of scraping. And now, we're patching drywall after adding outlets, priming, and I will soon paint it a soothing OCEAN RIDGE blue.




One of my handymen...doing his work in his overalls, "just like daddy." Andrew loves working with tools...and loves looking at tools at the hardware store. This is a good thing since we seem to visit the hardware store every other day or so. His latest acquisition: his very own tape measure.



Our dining room table...this poor card table will never recover from the construction. But, it has been the hub of all activity in the house. It's where we eat, craft, go over bills, talk and enjoy one another's company.


In the midst of all the deconstruction, construction and craziness, I've found joy in such simple things:


Four top teeth soon...soon....to descend through the gums. I'm saddened that her smile will change, but thankful that some of the misery of teething will be over.

I often find my children in this position...books strewn all over the floor while both of them are engrossed in "reading" a favorite. The other day, I stumbled upon Andrew reading "Blue Hat, Green Hat" to his sister. Yep, there were tears!

The man I love...tackling new projects every day. Learning new skills; studying to solve problems; amazing me with his knowledge and what he can do; patiently sharing a project with his son; my heart skips a beat still.

There is joy in the chaos of life...and I am very grateful.

2 comments:

Childress Family said...

Wow! A veritable construction zone! I'm glad to see Andrew had the bag of marshmallows handy. I am always more productive with marshmallows within reach.

June said...

Congratulations on making progress at your home. You are so positive. Can you send some of that optimism my way?

One of the perks of having two kids is seeing those sweet moments like you've described. I'm enjoying some quiet time today as both kids have kept each other entertained throughout the day. Right now they are playing kitchen in the living room carrying on a conversation about doctors. I wish I could bottle up that sweetness and save it forever.