My Daybook

Outside my window ~ a little cooler and breezy after the rain last night. Birds. Sunshine. Perfect.

Around the house ~ it's a mess, but I can hear the washer working and I plan to pick up the randomly distributed toys, jackets, shoes, and piles of stuff later today before I go get the kids.

I am thankful for ~ all my kids' wonderful teachers who make me feel at ease while my treasures are away from me

Pondering these words ~  Hosea 2:15 "I will [ . . .] transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope." Love that.

I am remembering~ Ms. Dee, one of my other mothers who was gone too soon.

Looking forward to ~ the boys' 2nd birthday party next weekend :)

I am noticing ~ that I will do just about anything to avoid grading essays -- cleaning, blogging . . .

I am thinking ~ I wish Chris was free more often to play music gigs and jam with his friends. We have this habit of tying him down. Here he is playing in Alexandria last weekend:

From the kitchen ~ not too much excitement. Shepherd's Pie is the go-to supper around here. I was excited that the boys ate their chicken quesadillas on wheat tortillas really well the other night. If only I could hide veggies in there.

I am going ~ to look for my next flea market chair today, hopefully. More living room seating? Here's my last find (after a quick fabric change):

I am hoping ~ that I can figure out how to get in all the exercise and therapy the boys need each week. time in the stander, belly work, trunk strengthening. I would be proud and very fulfilled to work it all in each day.

One of my favorite things ~ This is random, but I just discovered instant hashbrowns. They are in a little carton and you rehydrate them: bam -- hashbrowns with no mess and no thaw time! It's the little things sometimes.

I am reading ~ A Separate Peace (teaching it, so re-reading it) and the study for my Sunday School class, The Call to Follow Christ

I just saw this online (I added this one) ~ bath seats I want to try for the boys -- might allow us to extend bath time and let them play together. I hope the seats can handle the weight of my wittle chunkies:

A picture thought to share ~

Ellie before glasses:

Ellie with glasses:

Doesn't she look so incredibly grown up? I can't get over it!

A tiny life. A tremendous purpose.

Every life is valuable. There is a larger purpose to our lives beyond the here and now. Our physical existence is secondary to our eternal significance.

I believe these statements; I think I always have. But I am learning how incredibly true they are right now.

My friend lost her sweet baby girl this week. Anne had special medical needs, and she experienced a lot of suffering in her short life. Too much. But her life was no less valuable than any of ours -- she had a special purpose during her short stay here in our world. She fulfilled it.

Who else can bind our hearts together, can make us see the world in a completely different light, can cause us to appreciate those small graces all around us, can teach us real compassion, can make us overlook the insignificant annoyances, can inspire us to fight, can teach us that every breath is a miracle, can remind us of the very, very few things in life that matter at all . . .

only Anne.

Only sweet little Anne and kids like her, who were dealt what we see as an unfair hand. But she touched more lives and fulfilled a greater eternal purpose than most of us will ever dream of. Our hearts might be broken, but hers isn't any more.

Her little life, from its very beginning, mattered. I just believe that.