Flat tires and all my plans

Yesterday, I had big plans.

Buy presents and groceries. Get decorations from storage. Decorate house. Get tree. Decorate tree. Decorate outside. It was a full day's worth of plans.

I managed to get all the children dressed, fed, and ready for our big day by 11 am! I buckled them all in the car. I cranked the engine and pulled away. FWAP, FWAP, FWAP, FWAP.

Great, I thought, a flat tire. So I backed into my spot again. PWAF, PWAF, PWAF, PWAF.

I went to get Chris. He graciously dropped his project and immediately changed the tire. Since the weather was nice, and we were at home, I let the kids run around the playground while I actually learned how to change the tire. There are lots of nuances in our vehicle that one can't just figure out. I guess manufacturers do that to make the writer of the owner's manual feel important.

I lay on the pavement next to Chris. He was loosening the lug nuts when I heard Saja yell, "Mom, David's playing on the playground naked!" I jumped up in a flash and whammed into the drivers' side mirror. I actually felt my neck jam. Lying on the pavement, I confirmed that by "naked" she actually meant in a diaper, and then I just whimpered for a while. It somehow makes things feel better.

Before David turned streaker, I recorded him jacking up the car with his daddy. I'll try to get it posted, because it is just too cute!

Instead of my big plans, for some reason, God wanted me to spend my day in the waiting room at Gateway Tire with four kids (at naptime). It really didn't go as badly as I expected, except for one moment when David threw a Lego block at a much older kid and nailed him in the face. The kids' mom kind of told David off. I, of course, punished him with a time-out, mostly for the mom's benefit. She yelled at him, "We don't throw things!" I thought, "The kid's two years old! He knows we throw baseballs, basketballs, tennis balls, and footballs. He knows we throw water balloons. So you can't just say, 'We don't throw things.' " But at the same time, I had just told him to stop throwing the blocks. So he spent most of the rest of our time there in time out by my side. He liked it there.

I did manage to go by Walmart for groceries and a gift card. My parents brought the decorations to me. We didn't get a tree yesterday, but when we went to Priddy Farms today, we saw they had marked all their trees down. I don't know why God changed my plans yesterday, but I'm glad He did.

I'm glad that in frustrating moments, I can relax. Remember that God orchestrates my life. There is a reason Jesus commanded that all who are weary come rest in Him. It is wonderful rest.

By the way, if we had had the flat tire the day before, it would have interrupted our 4-hour trek home from a mini-vacation. If we had had the flat tire the day after, we would have disappointed a needy family awaiting Christmas presents. Of all the days and ways to have a flat, I'll take yesterday.

I just wish David would have kept his clothes on.