Raining, Pouring, Whatever

Holy pouring rain.

Instead of focusing on the raindrops first, I'll focus on the rainbow. Or hint of sunshine. Or whatever the optimistic analogy should be.

I have a gorgeous new baby.
The normal stuff (Gospel, house, job, family, eternal marriage, education, health, etc.).
Somebody else in my ward has called and asked to bring us a meal tonight. That's 8 straight days of meals! WOW!

There. Now onto the rain:

*We might not be able to go anywhere this summer together because we are now, due to the new baby, a two car family and we don't fit into one car.
*Brandon can't miss too much work this summer and, of course, everything has been scheduled to occur within the same two week's time (work trip, Canada trip, youth conference, Lake Lopez). Not to mention the car problem, anyway.
*The Social Security people misspelled #6's first name on his card.
*I can't get a hold of the birth certificate people to find out if they did, too, before paying for a copy that may or may not also have his name misspelled. Dumb part? His name is easy to spell.
*I have no working cell phone service due to horrible, horrendous, ego-driven cell phone service providers who can't understand the importance of customer service/retention.
*The toilet has decided to overflow twice this week. And not just a little bit, either.
*The girls' shower has a stream of "only super hot" water flowing out of it on the side.
*Everyone is sick. All of us. At different times. Passing it around and over and through.
*We have no money. Okay, that's an exaggeration. But not really. This is the risk one takes with start-up companies --Brandon LOVES his job, absolutely loves what he is doing, but! It means a long grace period of poverty. (Thus no new car.)
*Health Insurance for me won't kick in until April 1st, which means we have to pay for ANOTHER month of Cobra so I can get my asthma medication this week. I'm wondering if it's worth it. Which one is more expensive? The Cobra? Or the meds? Honestly, it's a toss-up. We'll have to go with the insurance. Just in case.
*Due to all kinds of busy-ness, the boys' room downstairs is still not complete. Which means the three boys are still cramped in a small room. Which means there is a lot of fighting. Not to mention the furniture in the playroom is taking up all the space...
*The normal stuff: needing a new roof, new windows, new flower beds, new flooring, etc.
*So many poopy diapers. So. Many. Diapers.
*Oh, yeah! The cat has dragged in two mice already. Must be spring.

I can handle all of the above. I can. I will. But right now, it would just be nice if we could have just a few of them instead of ALL of them, you know? Having it all happen at once makes me wonder if it's going to get worse (bottoming out before change comes?) or if it's going to get better. I'm assuming worse. Because then at least I won't be surprised, eh?

Man, I gotta find me some uplifting quotage.

Here's a good one!

How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can’t—at least not in the moment. I don’t think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don’t think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.
If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness.
~Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Come What May, And Love It