snippets of family life - Peters' style...

As I sit here trying to think of something profound to type, I am struck by how incredibly tired I am. Fatigue is not, in any way, conducive to creating profound writings. So, instead of trying to impart thoughts on what God is teaching our family, I'll simply give you my tale of "Lunchtime Gone Awry."

Just a couple days ago, it was Tuesday I recall, that the sun was beginning to disappear behind some ominus looking storm clouds. It was, therefore, no secret. We all knew what rain meant - everybody would have to stay inside this afternoon. But no worry, we were going to enjoy lunch, chat about the ensuing storm, and then the little girls would take a much needed nap.

I secretly hoped to have a nap too, but I knew that was like wishing in one hand and spitting in the other. We all know which one fills up first. So, with the afternoon looking damp, we continued on with lunch. I fixed plates while Anna filled cups with water. Rachel was dutifully setting spoons at each spot, and Elly was following me around the kitchen begging for a piece of cheese. Ezekiel was in the sling, riding around the kitchen with me. Sadly, he himself was getting hungry and started to fuss. But there was hope. With Elly in her chair with her little hands folded waiting to pray and the big girls climbing into their seats, we were just about ready. At this point, Ezekiel was crying full tilt, ready to be fed and not ready to wait. I made a quick step back to the island to pick up the last two plates when catastrophe struck.

It is truly amazing at the number of things that can go wrong is less than 10 seconds. As I turned around with the plates there was the tell-tale clunk of a plastic cup and the whoosh of free-flowing liquid. Elly, having run out of patience to pray, had stood up in her booster seat, drank all her water and then went for Anna's water. As she was dragging the cup to her, it stuck somehow, tipped over, and flooded the table. Soon, the flooding became a waterfall as it flowed on the floor. What did I do? I stood there, with a now screaming baby hidden in my sling (actually, he was thrashing around so much I'm sure it looked like I was hiding an octopus under my shirt), two plates of food in my hands, and a pool of water forming under the table. Thankfully, Anna was quick to react and ran to get a bath towel. We worked to clean up the water while I lectured Elly about being patient and not standing on her chair. It's hard to get on the floor and wipe up a mess when you have a baby in a sling who is now sucking on your finger just to stay calm. But the water was cleaned up and plates were miraculously served. We were all at the table - sitting- and tummy's (all of them) were being filled. Just as I thought order had been restored, Ezekiel completely messed his diaper. No, messed isn't the word. He completely obliterated his diaper - and I received the fallout on my leg. Needless to say, Ezekiel had a mid-meal bath and wardrobe change, as did I.

Once we were all sitting at the table again, peace had finally been restored - at least for the time being. Who knows what the next moment might bring.