Around Here

The more I hear about the people of Haiti, the more my heart breaks. It is enough to make me feel paralyzed at times, as though I am silly for thinking about the things in my daily life compared to what they are enduring. But God has reminded me that my life is not silly--it is a gift from Him. And right now, He has given me the ministry of my children, my home, my marriage, and my job. Doing those things to the best of my ability is glorifying to Him. So I continue with the laundry, with cooking dinner, with making my lesson plans for school, all the while thanking God for His blessings and praying for those with less.

Here are a few of the ways God has been blessing us lately, in no particular order...
*There have been some amazing sunrises around here recently. I've seen them because Jonathan has decided to wake up much earlier these days. So instead of getting a sufficient amount of sleep in my cozy bed, I get to see God's gift to early risers.

*We have been out to dinner as a family twice in the last two weeks. This may seem minor, but it's a big step for us--getting to the point where we can ALL enjoy family outings! Two weeks ago we attempted pizza at Woodstock's, and this weekend it was dinner at Appleby's. No crying, no meltdowns, no tantrums. Now that is worth a mention on the blog!

*Here's a little snapshot of my life, taken last week. I was making dinner in the kitchen, and looked up to see this beautiful scene: my kids playing happily together in the backyard. Really, does it get any better? I couldn't resist grabbing the camera and capturing my point of view. However, it ended up being a really bad picture, so I even labeled it for you. :)Things to note:
a. The snowflake garland that Lauren and I made together. (Once you take the Christmas decorations down, the house just looks so bare. We had to make a few fun things to fill in.)
b. These three picture frames on the wall have become one of my favorite ways to decorate. I change out the pictures with each season or holiday. Sometimes we frame Lauren's current art projects, other times it's old pictures of us enjoying past holidays, or just some of my favorite quotes or memorabilia. Rotating art makes me happy. :)

*Jonathan is looking so much more like a little boy these days. Look at this cool little dude.
*Lauren is so good with her brother. I hear the occasional, "NO, JON!" when he destroys whatever she is playing with. But for the most part, they play together so well, and I am really grateful. Can this last forever?
*My evenings are filled with piano music now. It's a pretty sweet deal.
*Lauren attempted to write "mom" for the first time this morning, as a surprise for me. What do you think?
*And finally, here's a great comparison shot. Both of these pictures were taken at the Santa Barbara Zoo, almost exactly 3 years apart. In the first one, Lauren is 13 months old. In the second one, Lauren is 4 years old and Jonathan is 15 months old. I can't wait to see the picture in 2013!