ten smile tuesday

so much to share...so many smiles we've been delighting in...so blessed...and yet, i don't even know where to begin. i suppose my past few posts--chock full of pictures--pretty well sum it up. so here goes...some smiles from the past week in our little world.

1. safety...this morning i headed out for Bible study...and though there was a bit of snowy slush on the road it didn't look too bad, so off we went...ready for a semblance of our normal routine. the drive was smooth sailing until a little over halfway to church, when a truck about 6 cars ahead of us on the interstate suddenly slid sideways and was plowed into by a huge electric/utility type truck. fortunately we were able to stop without too much sliding (as were the rest of the cars around us)...but i will definitely say my heart was racing! i prayed that those involved in accident were okay, debated whether i should go on or turn around...chose going to church since that was closer than turning toward home...and crept on to church...praising the Lord to arrive safely (especially after seeing even more cars sliding through intersections, spinning, and otherwise fish-tailing...made me thankful for the van, which handles far better in icky weather than my little car did!). needless to say, we are extremely thankful to be safely home again, and snug inside our little house...with no need to venture out again!

2. the chance to get outside and enjoy some bike and wagon time on a not-quite-so-chilly afternoon (i suppose this is relative...it was still chilly...just not frigid anymore!)...thirty minutes outside was a delightful change of pace for all of us!


3. enjoying new years eve with friends...food, games, conversation, sleeping children...wonderful!

4. having daddy home for another four day weekend!

5. my eager household assistants...here they are helping me with the laundry (errr...playing in the basket while mommy folds...which is actually quite helpful!). actually i am thrilled that elizabeth definitely is growing in her ability to concretely help.


6. kater gator's budding independence. last night mike mentioned that her ability to communicate (albeit...still mostly non-verbal or "jibberish" that we are able to make sense of in bits and pieces) is growing by leaps and bounds. and i agree. in just the past week she has added a few words and LOVES nodding her head for yes...and asked me to "hep, peas"...(help please) after i said, "do you need help. ask mommy, say help, please." i love how obsessed she is with trying to master silverware and feed herself...she tries diligently with the spoon for quite awhile and then dives in with both hands. and yes, i will admit, this is a bittersweet smile for mommy...i want her to grow, to become more independent, and yet, at the same time i so want her to stay little and snuggly....the tension. but with the independence comes the incredible joy of her choosing to run over for a hug...or to linger in my lap for snuggles or a story.


7. a fabulous morning to run errands by myself and lunch with the girls. my delightful husband made it possible by staying at home with the girls on his friday off. getting four errands knocked out in just over an hour AND spending quality time with girlfriends...priceless!

8. our family trip to the children's museum

9. an impromptu get together with friends friday evening. we were finally able to connect with friends we've been wanting to have over for the past few months...the kiddos had tons of fun playing....the guys enjoyed some quality bonding time over a world war II game on the wii....and us gals had a chance to simply connect and chat. one of my favorite things about this particular family is that no matter how much time passes between visits, we can simply pick up...they are real and genuine, exalting in what God is doing in their lives and family...which is such an encouragement to my heart and life (which falls so short of perfection and desperately needs Jesus).

10. a warm, cozy sunday afternoon nap. (and actually i just might have taken one on thursday (and maybe even saturday) as well...shh...don't tell!). but really, isn't that what winter is for!?