Everything is Awesome

Today was one of those days where we tried to squeeze a whole lot in - it was almost like a vacation day with all the activity going on.  We woke up a little later this morning, having stayed up a little later last night watching the Olympics.  But then we hit the ground running:  Madison and Daddy's first stop was Lowe's, where we did yet another building project.

This one is top secret for the time being - we made a Valentine's Day card holder, which was surprisingly easy.  Usually, the Lowe's building projects are a little more complex than this, but we'll take it all the same.  Madison got her new patch, and of course we walked out of there with a nice little Valentine's Day gift for Mommy later on this week.

Daddy and Madison came home after that trip, and pretty much got ready to leave again after that - this time to the movies.  We went to go see "The Lego Movie," which was surprisingly good.  It has the best reviews of any animated movie since "Toy Story 3," so Daddy was pretty curious about how a movie with Lego characters can be that good.  But it was good, thanks to a few surprises that will remain secret here - no spoilers on this, at this point anyway.

And a lot of people must have heard about how good the movie was, because this was the most crowded I've ever seen that theater.  It was most certainly sold out, and this was a showing at noon.  Of course, we all left there singing, "Everything is Awesome."  And this movie was awesome - Madison was laughing pretty loud throughout, to the delight of folks around us.

We came home afterwards, and had a short time to spare, so Daddy made the best of these moments by getting Madison going on some piano practice.  We did quite a bit, but it was some of the easier stuff.  Tomorrow's assignments look to be a little challenging, so we'll take it one note at a time.

Soon, it was time for Madison's first date.  Okay, so this was the "Daddy-Daughter Date Night" thing that Chick-Fil-A does.  For the past two years, I've been late in trying to register, and it has been filled up.  So Daddy signed up for this thing first - no joke.  I was the first one, checking the website daily to see when registration opened up.

The event was really nice.  The picture above was taken at the door, and given to us before we left for the night.  There were place mats with "conversation starters" on them, where we asked each other the big questions like, "What's your favorite cartoon character?"  Or, "Would you rather be able to fly, or read minds?"

One question had an amazing answer though.  Daddy asked Madison what she wants to do when she gets older.  She told me she wanted to work at the church, "and tell others about Jesus."

It was kind of a big deal.  Whether or not the idea of doing this for a living sticks, at least she has that passion and understanding.  Just wow.

A waiter was set up, as were hostesses that took us to our table to begin with.  Musicians played guitars, and Madison was even given a carnation.  She was more impressed with the cow.  She got another stuffed cow, this one to join the cow she got from Santa Cow back in December.  This new cow has a "Daddy-Daughter Date Night" theme about it.  Also, we got another booklet with ideas for things to do together, and also some free candy and coupons.  But the idea of the evening was to have a nice time at a restaurant, eating and talking together.  That we did, and it was very good.  There was no way we could finish all the ice cream, so that was a nice bonus for Mommy when we got home.

All in all, it was certainly worth it.  Madison had a great time, dressing up very nice, even with some lip gloss on and one of her favorite dresses and shoes.  She felt like a princess tonight, as she was complimented left and right, and as people opened doors for her.  It was a great night for her.

We got home, and of course there was a little time left to go.  We watched a bit of the Olympics together - the ski jump this time.  And then when the Olympics took a break, we went to Disney Infinity, where they have a few Olympic-themed toyboxes that we tried out.  And after that, it was back to the Olympics, where we saw some snowboarding and even some skating.

It was a pretty full day - we got Madison in bed around 8:30.  We'll be getting up early for church tomorrow, another full day.  We read the Bible and said our prayers as always, thanking God for such a wonderful time together.  Then Mommy and Daddy snuck back in front of the television to watch some more of the Winter Games.  Yes, we're addicted already.

Here's the next entry in our Winter Games devotional:

“Knock, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 NIrV

     This morning, Johnny Quinn had to knock on that door really hard!  He’s on the U.S. Bobsled Team in Sochi, for the Olympics, and was ready for a great day.  He’s what you call a “push athlete,” training for years to do one thing:  push with all his might to get that bobsled going down the hill as fast as possible.

     Who expected that this morning he’d need to use that training for another reason:  to get out of his bathroom!  That’s right, he went in to take a shower, locking the door.  When he was done, he tried to leave – but the door was jammed.  With no cell phone and nobody nearby, it was clear he was trapped!

     So what did he do?  This morning, he posted a picture of what used to be a door and explained:  “With no phone to call for help, I used my bobsled push training to break out.”

     Johnny could still be stuck in that bathroom if he hadn’t been training so hard.  Of course, there’s a lesson we can take from that.  You were made with one purpose in mind – God created you for such a time as this.  And when challenges arrive, He’s designed you in such a way that you can overcome them.  When situations and trouble try to keep you from your destiny, it’s time to push back.  Train hard, and when something tries to keep you from the goals God has planned for you – break down those doors!