Today has continued to be a great day! Jon had some kind of knock from the Holy Spirit because after five years of yearning, he finally got us a family membership to this fantastic Sport and Health club that is across the street. (We were shocked to discover that because of the bad economy the price of a gym membership is now 1/3 the price from just 2 years ago.)
This place is nuts! The gym has an indoor pool, basketball court, racket ball courts, tons of free aerobic classes and three levels of exercise equipment.
The coolest part is that this gym offers us free babysitting for up to 2 1/2 hours every SINGLE day for all four of my children.
Which means, not only do I have an easy way to lose my remaining 32 pounds of baby weight- 2011 will also bring me Friday night date nights in a Jacuzzi with my HUSBAND!
Who lives like this?
Not two poor Carmelites!
I'm constantly amazed by the generosity of God. Thursday, when I took care of 4 kids alone while suffering from the stomach flu, I was ready to hand in my notice as a stay-at-home mother. Yet today was a fantastic day.
I'm also amazed at "how" God asks you to live. It's really clear that Jon and I are not supposed to own a car or a house right now. At the same time, I've got a new glittery diamond on my finger and a new gym membership key card in my purse.
Jon and I were talking today about "living large" Jesus style.
You give everything up in your life. You follow Him. Then you get a measure back, overflowing.
It's so beautiful. God WANTS my marriages to be strong. He wants me to have time alone with my spouse to reconnect everyday. He wants my body to be in shape so I can haul Baby Tess around without hurting my back and maybe even grow a new Benjamin sometime in the future. God wants my active city kids who live without a backyard in an apartment the size of a postage stamp to have daily physical activity each day.
It's amazing. God loves my family even more than me!
(One more funny note: We cased a massive commotion with all the single people staring at our giant family of 6 at the gym. I don't usually visit environments with large numbers of commit-phobic boys anymore, so it was funny to count how many men were scraping their jaws off the floor in shock and awe. Everyone was freaked out by the size of our family, except for Dustin our member services person. Dustin even asked when we were having one more baby to help even out the brother/sister ratio. In the middle of a business transaction my husband said "Is that a rosary tattooed on your arm?" Dustin said "It is!" My husband gave me a big smile. Our Blessed Mother was on the case yet again.)
