february friday

Could there be a better day??! I think not.

Today is February 22. Birthday of George Washington, Ryott Daniel, Dex Wray Wilde, and Oliver Lightly. How I love all three dear heroes-to-be; how thrilling to have them in my life and watch them grow and be friends with their mums. Certainly they make up for any son God could have given me! More wonderful still, today we have gotten the biggest snowfall of over SIX inches of fluff!!! (Okay actually that still sounds sort of pathetic after my experience with blizzards, but there are Some Things that I will not be sad about!) And it is Friday that I get to be home with Norah, Brett gets both overtime and off early, and life is at our disposal.

Psalms 147:16
He gives snow like wool
Job 37:6
For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth’
Proverbs 31:21
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
    for all her household are clothed in scarlet.


(Here is something I started to write Jan 13th)

This bright year, 2013, excites me in my bones. Though I am wont to burst into tears while singing, reading, or driving. God has taught me a new thing: That my desire is right, but the fulfillment may not ever look the way I expect it to. You would think I would know this already; I'm just that resistant to His way and insist on having my own!

“I can do all things, and no purpose of mine can be thwarted” (Job 42:2)

five revolutions

The weekend of our fifth anniversary.

Photos by our dear friend Katy Snow.

but fairies

We were sitting in church, and the sermon was on forgiveness, so I don't know how it came up.
"What is a Devil?!" she said in an intense whisper.
I fumbled to answer. A fallen angel. Real, but invisible. Bad. Disobedient. Selfish.
"But WHAT is a devil??"

A liar.

"But fairies are good," she said, entirely too loudly.

twelfth

As I was taught in playwriting, a good story starts on a special day. Today is 12/12/12. First Real Snow came on Brett's 28th Sunday birthday. Norah sang "Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star" in the Sunday School Program. My sister is visiting & we are painting house, baking, cleaning, and trudging though powdery white stuff just for fun. Not least of all, HOBBIT premieres at midnight in a little over a day.

...and Christmas comes in 13!

a good ache

Two weeks, three days in California; one week, two days to go. Five days until Thanksgiving... and Brett joins us!! 10 days to the anniversary of the day we defined our relationship. Three weeks one day until Brett's birthday. 27 days until The Hobbit Part One. 38 days til Christmas. 48 days until our Fifth Anniversary.

The main reason for coming to California was for Norah to spend time with her grandparents, aunts, and uncles. As a bonus, I got to come along and attend a friend's wedding, and as another bonus Brett gets to come for Thanksgiving! Our biggest sacrifice besides money has been to miss this dreary Minnesota month... and by 'dreary' I of course mean sweater weather, fall conferences, and the First Snow. But I continuously remind myself that it is worth it. People are more important than places.

Isn't it my lot to focus on the Good & Perfect, after all? This is a recuperation for my poor dust mite allergies (and perhaps the realization that my entire house needs a dust-mite-invasion-retaliation... yet how does one eradicate invisible microorganisms from a 130 year old house?). A chance to appreciate my husband anew. Opportunities for distance to make the heart grow.

Grow fonder.

Norah is adorable. She fumbles at learning new kinds of breakfast cereal. "Mama, what is this kind of cereal called that your mommy gave me? Not germs, we don't eat germs!" and then the next morning, "I want Prince Charmings for breakfast!" She came out of bed shirtless, because she wanted to "sleep how Papa sleeps." She is enthralled with all of my childhood books and toys, and we both delight in skype dates with her papa. She won my heart getting out of the car at Winston's baseball game and exclaiming "This is the best baseball game I ever seen!" before we had even reached the stands. She only occasionally asks to go home "to our red house." I try hard not to ache for it at all, but it's such a good ache. *smile*

Californiavember Photos

hunger games

We ran out of catfood yesterday, so this morning I put some dog chow in the cat's dish and poured a little milk over it, as Norah watched. After the animals were taken care of I asked Norah what kind of cereal she wanted: “Mommy, I want some of what Quorra's having.”

Norah pinched her finger in the storm door, so I wrapped a piece of ice in a towel and had her hold it against her hand. When her finger was better she wanted to eat the ice cube and I said okay. A couple minutes later, “I ate the whole ice cube and I'm STILL HUNGRY.”

breakfast with my little champion

you-hue

And now for blue.

rude bird

tiger lily

denim day