300 days of beauty, day 51 [faithful]

I did survive the hut trip. I came back sleep deprived and filthy and not quite ready to start a new week. Right now I categorize it as a unique and valuable experience. There was much laughter and much quiet time to read and reflect, beautiful vistas, and again, more exhaustion than I could handle. It didn't help that my husband left for a business trip at 3 a.m.-ish Monday morning. But, I have beautiful pictures to share...still on my camera.

My sweet grandma is in the hospital and I will be headed to see her tomorrow. I'm looking forward to some time with her. I love her a lot. 

Life doesn't stop, and the last several weeks have been a blur. Tonight, I'm working on a writing project, icing my knee from running, and watching North and South, which I love.

Tonight, I'm thankful that God is faithful. I feel that I'm not functioning well and I have much on my mind, but He is faithful in the daily everything that I face.

And I'm thankful that our spring blizzard didn't take down (literally and figuratively) my beloved cherry blossom trees. It's the little things.

300 days of beauty, day 23

"For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 

 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be."

Psalm 139:13-16

 

This girl.

I look at her and marvel at God's sovereignty.

I smile at my girl, born in a land-locked, semi-tropical Central American village, who loves the snow with her whole heart.

I love that she would go barefoot every day if she could, she adores rice (which is the only food we could get her to eat when we brought her home), she dances with grace and innate talent, she devours audio books, and she could spend every day baking in the kitchen.

Back to the snow--I love watching her in snow. For me it represents a path and setting so different than what she seemed destined for at birth. Her life experience repertoire would most likely not have included snow. I realize this is one superficial fact, the truth is much more profound. 

I don't know why He chose her to be plucked out of her country of birth, but I know He did. Just as I know He chose our family for her and her for our family. 

I watch her play in the snow, icicles in her raven-black hair, crusty snow on her caramel-colored skin, and glittery snowflakes clinging to her eyelashes as she swipes droplets out of her gorgeous eyes, described aptly on her birth certificate as "coffee [cafe]". And her joy, so much joy. Beautiful.

I marvel and I'm so very thankful.

300 days of beauty, day 22

Snow day number two. Read. Paint. Shovel. Sled. Repeat. Plus a few hot cocoa fixes.

This painting sharply contrasts the scenery behind it...

We "celebrated" Groundhog Day and watched Punxutawney Phil make his prediction. 

[Spoiler alert: Early Spring!] 

We remain skeptical as we still have ice and snow from December that we can't get rid of. But in the spirit of learning, we watched the Wild Kratts episode on groundhogs, followed by Peep and his episode on the groundhog, plus painted spring pictures, and we constructed a super-cute craft D put together for his sisters (with measurements and everything!).

The kids were thrilled that their dad came home early to build a snow fort with them. We went sledding with friends until we couldn't feel our fingers, and Belle lost a tooth when her daddy threw her in a snow bank. She was very excited.

Also, the kids were able to serve neighbors by shoveling. D has struck up a very sweet friendship with our neighbor, Joe. It started with shoveling and has turned into so much more. Today, Joe asked D if he could come run errands with him. D returned beaming and so enjoyed his time with Joe. They went to the bank, stopped at Starbucks and Joe bought D a hot chocolate, picked up a prescription, and then some groceries. Joe even bought Dawson a very nice shovel so that he would have the proper equipment when he shovels the neighborhood.

Because we homeschool, D is always available and it has made a path for this relationship to blossom. This is not to say that serving neighbors is dependent upon homeschooling, not at all. For us, we happen to have quite a few retired and elderly neighbors and because we are home during the day, we have been able to build these relationships and serve them in the daytime hours. It's good for my kids and I believe a blessing for our neighbors also. We are so blessed to have the neighbors we do!

P.S. This morning as my husband was shoveling with our kids, using our sub-par shovels, he decided to pray for a shovel...for God to provide a new, high quality shovel to better serve the neighborhood. This may sound strange--we could go to the store to buy one. But for us, the shovels we had were functional. Encouraged in faith by reading God's Smuggler about Brother Andrew, my husband, in faith prayed for this simple and seemingly insignificant provision. When he arrived home, standing by our front door was a brand new shovel. He had no idea that D had spent the afternoon with Joe and none of us knew that Joe would buy a shovel for D. We knew nothing of his prayer either.

God is active. He cares about the little things. I needed this reminder so very much. And I pray this provision etched Truth onto the hearts of my kids too. 

300 days of beauty, day 21

Is there anything better than a snow day? Cancel everything, read books, bake, paint, drink hot cocoa, watch snowflakes fall and frolicking children build snow forts, and in the evening you're all ready for bed because you never changed from your pajamas. Bliss.