Why do I doubt?

Our car has been giving us problems for the last week or so. When we'd stop at a light or stop sign, and then go again, our car wouldn't want to go immediately. It would rev the engine, and then finally catch the gears and go. We decided to take it into the shop before taking it on about 8 hours of driving over the weekend (split between various trips). I called the mechanic that we used before (the a/c went out because some trailer drove over something and threw a metal thing into my engine and damaged the a/c. I saw it coming but could do nothing to avoid it.) They said that he could squeeze me in if I was there right at 2 so they could diagnose it. But if something needed to be ordered, it wouldn't be fixed for a couple of days. I said, "Ok, I'll try my best to be there." In my mind, I'm thinking, "That's 2pm, in the middle of the worst of the heat. (It was in the mid-90s yesterday.) It's less than a mile so I could walk home, but poor Little Miss! She'd be miserable!" But worse than that, I was thinking about being without a car for a couple of days. My in-laws are coming, Hubby has 2 away games (Thurs and Fri), we're going to my dad's concert after the Thurs game (it's at the same church! How cool is that?!), and my niece's birthday party is Saturday and I'm making the cake. That's a lot to do without a car. I looked at renting one, but it was $90 for Thurs-Sat, on top of whatever the car is going to cost. I was very stressed out, thinking, "How are we ever going to pay for this?" I have a pity party and ask God why we are going through this yet again! Then Hubby emailed me. Someone is going to let us borrow their car, and can I call them since he's in class. So I call, and she offers to pick me up at the mechanic and take me home to get their car. Yeah! So she picks me up and on the way there, she says she'll just let us borrow the one she's driving now since she won't need it over the weekend. She just has to clean it out at her house. So we cleaned it out and we were about to go, and she said, "Oh, do you have room in your freezer? Do you want some meat?" "Sure!! I'll make room!" So she gives me steaks, pork chops, and sausage! 

I drove home, thinking, "God, why did I doubt you? I get so stressed out about the money, but you always come through and always provide for our needs. We have a car to borrow and some nice meat! Thank you!"

It gets better. I get home and decided to call the mechanic to let him know that there was a puddle of stuff where the car had been parked. (He asked if it was leaking, and I said I didn't know, that I hadn't looked.) The woman who answered the phone (who knows where Spangdahlem and Bitburg are, as she was a military brat who lived in Germany!! We talked for about 10 minutes about Germany when I dropped off the car) told me that they had already figured out that it was leaking, and it was fixed! What?!?! A hose was leaking, so they replaced it and replenished the transmission fluid, and we were good to go. Yeah! And the cost was not too bad, especially considering that they squeezed me in for a rush job. So Hubby went to pick up the car when his coworker brought him home.

So back to my original question, why do I doubt? Why do I think that God isn't going to take care of us? How many times does He have to teach me until I finally will rely on Him when things seem impossible? You'd think I'd have learned that lesson very well by now. But I want to know how He's going to do it, and how quickly it'll be over. Someday, I'll learn to just wait on Him. It's funny, when I was a missionary, I think it was easier to just wait on Him. I've been off the field for a month, and already it's harder. How strange. 

One thing I'm having a hard time getting used to is expiration dates. For example, when I'd get string cheese in Germany,  it would expire within a week... maybe two, if I was lucky. I always ended up throwing it away (because I'm really weird about expiration dates!!) Here, my string cheese doesn't expire until November or December! Four months? Really? Then why was I getting such old cheese at the commissary? It's other stuff, too. Bacon, lunch meat, other cheese. While it doesn't have an expiration date, my fresh produce is lasting so much longer too! I'm so glad I don't have to go to the store as often! I can actually stock up on stuff now.

This weekend was a good weekend. Hubby had a football scrimmage, so Little Miss and I went to watch. Six-man football is definitely different than 11-man! But it was fun to watch. We're looking forward to next week's first game. So is he. They have a junior high game Thursday night and a high school game Friday night. And so begins our crazy life during football season!  

Little Miss has started saying more words. At the scrimmage Saturday, there was a dog, and she actually started saying "puppy"! I was so proud. Then at my mom's that night, she saw a picture of a tiger and said, "kitty." There are times when Hubby and I are sure she's saying stuff to us, but we can't quite understand what she's saying. She loves to talk, though! 

Hubby's jr high boys are very excited about playing. One kid blurted out in class one day, "Coach, I'm so excited for our game next week! I can't wait to bust through the line, sack the quarterback, and give him a concussion!" Hubby answered, "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but it's never good to want to give someone a concussion!" Jr high boys are so funny!

I have a lot of work to do this week. My in-laws are coming, so we have to finish getting the house ready. I bought some shelves at IKEA (I love that store!), so I have to finish putting them together and put them where they go. Then I have to work on unpacking more boxes and deciding where everything should go. I hope we don't have to move again for a long time!! It's so hard to decide what to put where. I'll be glad when we're done! (But I don't see that happening for several more weeks, at least.)

Cute baby moment

Last night, I was laying down on the floor, on my stomach, and Little Miss was playing. She walked up to me, patted me on the back, and said, "Mommy". When I looked up at her, she kissed me on the cheek!! It was so sweet! My heart melted when she did that. It just amazes me how much she changes every day. I love to watch her play. 

Life in Texas

We're in Texas now. It's been 5 years since I've spent a summer in Texas, so it has taken some getting used to! It's so hot here! But life is good here. We're slowly adapting to American life, after living in Europe for so long. I'm glad we're in a small town and not a large city. The adjustment has been easier. Everytime I go to Houston, I still feel a little bit of reverse-culture shock. 

Little Miss seems to love it here. Of course, at 15 months old, she probably doesn't remember much of Germany, or realize it's that different! She is running around everywhere, getting into everything, and talking non-stop. It's so fun to watch her grow and change.

Hubby LOVES his new job! I don't remember the last time he came home several days in a row and said, "I love my job!" He enjoyed youth ministry, but teaching is his calling and gifting! He is where he is supposed to be now.

I'm slowly adjusting to being a stay-at-home mom who actually stays at home. In Germany, I was a SAHM on the go! I was home maybe 1 day a week. I was involved in so much that I was never home. Now, I don't have anywhere to go, or any way to get there, unless I get up at 6:30am to take Hubby to work, like I did today. I can't wait until we get a 2nd vehicle! I'm afraid that if we do this routine too many mornings in a row, Little Miss will adjust to waking up super early and that will be normal for her. Not fun for me!

This blog is going to be a new thing for me. I hope to keep it updated fairly regularly, as it can be a creative outlet for me. It may be about our day-to-day life, Little Miss's antics, Hubby's teaching and coaching stories, cake decorating, or more. Only time will tell! Also, I won't be using our real names, since it's a public blog.