A mother's sacrifice (one of them)

Once a week Aiana has band practice and small groups at church. Our church is about a 15 minute drive, and practice start about 5pm. So that means we hit traffic, which makes our drive about 25-30 minutes. That time of evening is also tired time and close to dinner time for the little ones. Caylin always falls asleep on the drive which means she's up late that night. After we drop Aiana off we make a Trader Joe's trip since it's close to church. Our last trip out I could tell was going to be rough. I contemplated our grocery trip, but knew it was my best bet for a quick dinner. The minute I got the girls into the cart crying began. I shuffled the girls around until they were comfortable. The crying began again as soon as I took 10 steps into the store and I noticed my first "look" of the trip. (I really wish I could capture all the looks I get from people, I think it would make a great bathroom reader!). I continued to quickly grab the few items I needed then picked Anika up and held her as I pushed the cart with one hand and headed to check out. While in line Anika was squirming and reaching in the cart and throwing things out one by one. And one by one I was picking them up. As I was picking up the items while holding onto Anika, she was reaching down into her "pocket" which drives me absolutely NUTS! (Her pocket is my shirt, she reaches down I guess to check on her milk source?). Again I notice more looks, fun! We finally made it to the car and headed home as the girls ate a bag of veggie sticks for dinner (do veggie sticks count as a vegetable? Yes, I'm talking about the bag of potato chip like sticks). When we get home the girls get a bath, Anika goes to bed, Caylin and dad play, and I head out to pick Aiana up. Then I hang out with Aiana for a bit.

Why do I continue this madness ever week? Because Aiana experiences fellowship with others who have a desire and curiosity for Jesus. Her confidence and happiness is strengthened every time which makes these crazy trips ALL worth it.