Hand-me-Downs

I'd never have dressed my daughter in a pair of manly, blue boots.  But she was my first child and received many frivolous benefits as such; including fury pink boots.

Little Oliver is my third and I've become very practical over the last 5 years, so buying new boots for his growing feet seemed foolish when we had a perfectly good pair in the garage.  And yesterday he was thrilled to stomp around the snow in them, confident and proud.

Saturday Morning

I did not set my 4:30 alarm last night, purposely, so that I could enjoy a bit more REM.  But this meant that my morning devotion aka 'Quiet Time'  was a group activity.  

Fun for all. 

My prayer time was interspersed with beautiful interruptions to show off artistic and academic masterpieces.  This is Zachary's page which began as an exercise in writing letters and turned into a ''map of Big Bear" complete with "a window", "a porch", and "a nest with a egg inside it".

A great reminder of why I crawl out of bed in the cold dark hours before dawn: QUIET.

***

Matthew 10:13-16  (Message)

"The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: "Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them"

Dinner with Friends

On Wednesday evenings Marty meets with a group of men at our church.  This means I am flying solo with the kids at home and subsequently I've developed a super relaxed attitude towards their evening meal....I'm talking bowl-of-cereal relaxed.  When his weekly commitment began I had grand visions of opening our home to friends, cooking them a warm meal, and sharing a heaping dose of laughter while the kids skip and giggle through the house.  But time has done what it does best and the days have flown by without a single nighttime skip or giggle.   That is until last week when the Ikenouyes entered our humble abode and joined us for plates of spaghetti and hours of fun.

Today's Recipe

Joy

prep time:  0 minutes
servings:  endless

Mix equal parts sunshine and fresh air

stir in bundles of giggling children

add overflowing portion of thanksgiving