March 24, 2009

On My Mind
Expectations. Expecting one thing, but getting another—might be better, might be worse. Kissing the expectant dice, rolling them, and desperately wishing for the desired outcome. I’ve tasted both—the gut-wrenching disappointment, and the outlandish joy. Two extremes, often out of our control, sometimes within (choices).

It seems I’m on a journey of learning to manage my expectations, and I sincerely doubt that I’m alone. Here’s a real mind-screw for you: If your expectation is such, and the reality is different (i.e. better or worse), how do you handle it? Have you ever wondered if your expectations are dictating or playing into your reality?

For example, if I expect that Avery is going to behave badly, and then she does, does my expecting it is going to happen actually cause it to? What would happen if I expected more of her; expected that she would do as she is told? Would there be a greater likelihood of her doing so?

Avery had a great day at school, and I’m wondering what we did differently today to bring about that outcome. Were my expectations different? Did the full-court press PR campaign on the way actually yield results? My default is to expect the worst, so I love being surprised when my expectations are exceeded.

Status for today: To be more optimistic, despite knowing that disappointment and unmet expectations are inevitably right around the corner; to trust that God will use disappointment and/or hardship to grow me, and refine me.

Family Update
I can’t finish a blog post without reporting on my girls. Romey is almost sixteen-months old, and is our spirited little drama queen. She’s running laps around the house, climbing everything possible, demanding to be “in the mix,” and wanting to do everything that Avery is doing. We’ve been calling her Mikey—remember those commercials from years ago about Mikey, the kid who would eat anything? You know, “Give it to Mikey!—he’ll eat it!” That’s Ro—she’s ALWAYS eating, and consumes a massive amount of food. More and more she is looking very little girl-like to me, and I adore her infectious little smile and laugh.

Avery still LOVES school, and loves to be on the go. We’re always marveling at her energy, so thought we’d put her to the test. The test was the Forest Preserve's bike path, approximately 1.1 miles long. When she finished she was exhausted. I highly recommend it.

We continue to love Avery’s spirit, and still often find ourselves in an all out power struggle, going toe-to-toe with our little Avery. I won’t soon forget our recent battle. Avery snottily said, “I don’t hear you Mommy!” It was the final remark in a litany of disrespectful remarks, and I had had enough. I dropped what I was doing, administered her punishment, and said, “Can you hear me now?” I love Verizon Wireless.

Enjoy these pictures from a recent Saturday afternoon tea party!

Dan embarrassed to be at the Nelson girls' tea party.

Romey feeding Dan.

Sugar and........

........spice!

Bottoms up!

Gosh, she's a little lady......

And it was a crackin' good time! Ave hates to get her clothes dirty and wet. And, when the aforementioned happens, she has to remove that particular clothing item immediately. Although we encouraged her to go put a new pair of pants on, she elected to sit back down on her chair.