Our move to Missouri has left my skin dry. I know this is the concern of every brawny man… but my muscles need moisture (so they can grow, Meg would say!). After getting out of the shower, I realized my lotion was out and used some of Phoebe’s baby Aveeno. It was amazingly thick and I felt like it coated my skin. I read the back and it talked about oatmeal – which I know oatmeal cookies are the healthiest form of dessert – so this must be good. But after watching Castle, my mom’s favorite show that Meg and I now love (Mom’s one request when Dad took her out for Valentine’s Day was that they got home by nine for Castle – her crush…!) – anyhow, after Castle my skin still felt coated. I mentioned this to Meg and went on about how it must be great lotion. She responded by letting me know there wasn’t any lotion but only baby wash. It seems I coated myself in baby wash. So added to my brush and floss routine, I slowly rinsed off my suds…

Earlier in the day, Ivy got home with a bag full of Valentines and candy. Occasionally, she is a wonderful sister, and she shared her candy with Phoebe (when I told her she was a great sister she responded with, “I Know”, ah the humble Taylor Family). Phoebe walked around with those little message hearts. Eating them and enjoying herself. She eventually plopped into our tiny ball pit. (basically a small inflatable pool filled with balls). Sitting and enjoying her candy, she began to place candy into the ball pit – saving it for a rainy day moment. We quickly ran over to pull out the small hearts, when we realized that was not the only buried treasure. Sitting beside her was the bottom of an ice cream cone. The ice cream melted and reformed into chocolate gross. Which left us washing balls and cleaning out the pit…

Even earlier I got a call from our Realtor. We bid on a foreclosure on Saturday and the bank was to respond on Monday. So I decided to get Meg a house for Valentines Day… only when our Realtor called, she was not excited. It seems our bid was not the only one over the weekend. So the bank, regaining the upper hand, sent a message to everyone and asked for their best bid. They wanted a quick response, so our fate rested on the next half an hour. I called Meg, but she was not sure. I looked back at our budget,  pondered, and made an offer… Then I went into waiting mode. While they wanted a quick reply, we did not hear from the bank until just before 5. I spent the afternoon wondering if we should have bid more when the call came…

We were the high bid. I suppose I should have rejoiced, but all I could do was wonder if we had overbid. For that matter, was there even other offers or was Liberty Bank just playing us against ourselves…

Oatmeal. In cookies it is great, but as breakfast… I know some love it, but in my opinion, well, you need something with which to wash it down (or off, in the case of oatmeal lotion). And this is often how life can feel. People can speak of making lemonade out of lemons (or cookies out of oatmeal), but reality is always more complicated. Trouble always comes from places we do not expect and even our victories can feel tainted.

But Oatmeal is healthy. And so is the struggle of life. It may not seem sane, but when my head hit the pillow I just laughed. Laughed because I was still wet from my lotion wash. I laughed because Phoebe is storing dessert in the ball pit. And I laughed because only I could be depressed over buying an amazing house. A house which, even with the extra, was still a great deal – nicer than any other house we had seen. A house that allows us to live closer to the church. A house that my wife loves…

As we do every night we read a chapter of scripture together. I read the passage in Mark when Jesus heals the blind man at Bethsaida (8:22-25). It is a strange miracle, because Jesus has to try twice to heal his blindness. After the first time, the man sees people walking around who look like trees. “Once more Jesus put his hand on the man’s eyes…” and then he saw clearly.

In the same way, we often need to take a second look at life. Then we will realize it was not as we assumed, because Jesus had His healing hands on us the whole time…

The house is in Kearney. It came on the market on Friday and we bid on Saturday (as did someone else). We are very excited, but as always, please be in prayer. I want a smooth process, from the inspection to the loan. Thank you!