Winning

Yesterday was game day. Luke's team came out on top and he was leading scorer and game MVP with 18 points. He hit five 3-pointers and made it look like it was easy! I am a VERY proud wife.

I was finally able to watch a game. I usually have Cole with me and games with him on my lap aren't quite the same. I spend more time trying to stop him from pulling the lady's hair in the row below us, than actually watching the game. And now that hes walking?? Forget about it! This child has found his legs and he can not be contained.

We decided pretty early on that finding a babysitter was a must, and find a babysitter we did. Her name was Yael. She was sweet and great....and two days after watching Cole for the first time, she decided to move to Germany. (coincidence? maybe...) Either way, we found ourselves on a baby-sitter hunt once again. Luckily, our friend Anastacia found someone interested in the job; a preschool teacher from the international school that she volunteers at. Her name is Rachel and she babysat Cole for the first time last night. For about a hundred shekels, I got to watch the game by myself.

Although things seemed promising, as soon as I left the house, on came the separation anxiety. Surprisingly, the person suffering was me, not Cole. Leaving your child in another country, with a complete stranger is just plain frightening. There's just no other way to put it. I have a lot invested here! I grew this little yearling from seed. He's my everything, and how well can you REALLY get to know someone in a 10 minute interview?

I was sitting there watching the game, trying to enjoy myself, but my mind was elsewhere...

What if this "Rachel" is really a serial killer who preys on blonde baby boys?
What if she forgets to feed him and his tummy is rumbling he's so hungry?
What if he misses me and he's sad and cries all night long?
What if she thinks Cole is really cute and kidnaps him and raises him as her own?
What if he has a really stinky diaper and she never wants to watch him again?
What if she doesn't give him his sippy cup and all night long he's thirsty, I mean parched?!
What if she forgets that he likes the satin part of his blanky to touch his face while he falls asleep?
What if she let's him watch an 'R' rated movie and his first word is f$@&!

It took everything in me not to leave at halftime. I finally convinced myself to stay. After all, there is two men in my life, and my husband needs me too. I'm glad I stuck around because Luke had a great second half. I waited for him after the game. He came out of the locker room with a certain swagger he has after a game he feels good about. We walked home together, just the two of us, like we used to do in Italy. We talked about how blessed we are for experiences we've had and how great it is that Luke is still getting paid to play the game that he loves.

We got home and found Cole perfectly happy, sound asleep in his crib with the satin part of his blanky touching his face.

Turns out Rachel is not a serial killer, Cole was well fed, and they didn't even watch TV. She's actually a really sweet girl. She said Cole is, "the cutest baby ever," which makes me like her even more.

I see many, many date nights in our future.

All of our prayers for our time here in Jerusalem have been answered. God is so good! Everything is falling into place, which only makes me feel more confident that we made the right decision to come here.