Sunday Afternoon With Hope

My Sunday afternoon was spent in the company of Hope.
Actually, Hope came home from church with my mother, brother, and I.
She smiled as we rode home together.
When she got in our house she asked to watch a movie.
All right, so Hope is the name of an incredible 5(?) year old. But her name fits, as she was the first girl born with 4 older brothers. Now she has a younger brother and a very new baby sister (name Grace).
She asked if she could 'go to Mary Jo's house'? That worked for us and her family, so she came home with us. I spent all afternoon with her, except for a few intervals where I had to do laundry. We watched The Grinch, which she said was a kind of scary movie sometimes, and most of Shrek. She and I petted my rats for a long time and talked about them. She said that instead of Venice and Firenze I should have named them Brownie and Whitey. She sort of reminds me of me when I was younger.
Then Hope, my mom, and I went into my mom's work. Mom is a special education teacher, so Hope and I played in the Motor Room (pretty much a playroom that the kids in her class use to further develop their motor skills). I don't know how long we were there, but it was a lot of fun. I just love making her laugh, and it seems so easy to do. I do love that about little kids.
Then we came home and she played with markers,(she drew Summer, which is her favorite season), and she played with the stamps I made in Art class. She liked those a lot.
Then her dad came and picked her up. That was my lovely afternoon/evening with Hope.

My afternoon with hope is also kind of literal. Sunday School was very good. Our new 'curriculum' hadn't gotten there yet, so instead we read some verses and said what we thought they meant. I liked it a lot more than our normal corny curriculum. I think that the others liked it more too, it kind of brought us closer together. I felt great once we started reading Scripture. I had been super tired before that. A side effect of the pills I'm taking now is supposed to be extra energy, but it seems to have the opposite effect: I've been getting fatigued thoroughly and suddenly since I started taking them Friday. However, I think that may just be my body trying to adjust to it. I guess I'll find out in a few more days.

Added to my hope is a letter I received today but have not yet read. I know it will lift me up, and probably make me cry. There is an awesome lady at my church whom I do not know very well but still love dearly. I'm not sure what all my mom told her about me, but last Sunday she asked if I'd let her write me a letter and gave me a hug. This Sunday she gave me a hug along with a letter. With Hope coming home with us and then having to finish last minute homework I sort of forgot about it until now. I think I'm going to read it before I go to bed tonight.

One last thought for you: Aren't babies incredible and precious?
My Sunday school teachers are Hope's parents. As I mentioned, Hope has a brand new baby sister. Grace came with her parents to Sunday school today, as she did last week. Last week she was not next to me. This week, she was. I could not stop staring at her as she slept. I kept looking at her tiny little hand and those itty-bitty fingernails, comparing them to mine. Hers are so small and nearly wrinkle-free and make mine seem ancient in comparison. Her eyes are incredible too, piercingly blue and very bright. She was not sleeping peacefully, she kept moving her hands and wrinkling the new skin on her face. It is comical to see a sleeping baby wrinkling her forehead. I fell in love with her. And I don't know how or why. I just kept thinking how God has blessed us with babies, and wondering how anyone could wish, much less do, a baby harm. I love having days like this.
Today was a great, peaceful, day.
Thank the Lord, I needed this more than I knew.
God bless you all and watch over you this week.
With much love
~Tara