get away

Although this winter was milder than any other I can recall, I'm still delirious with happiness over the arrival of spring.

I don't know if it is the thrill of digging out my spring wardrobe and finding all of my faves, including things I'd forgotten I had...

or if it is being bitten hard by the cleaning bug and getting everything shiny and clean in preparation for summer...

or the way that the breeze flows through the house when I open up all the windows.

But, regardless, I'm giddy.

And going to my parents' house for the weekend was the cherry on top.

And as if all that goodness wasn't enough, my brother and his wife joined us for the whole day Saturday and brought their new pup, Louie.

Also known as Louis Vuitton, Sweet Baby Lou, LuLuBelle or any number of other "Lou"-inspired names that come to mind.

After loving up this little guy, I don't know how much longer we'll be able to hold Peach off on a dog.

The void that Mya left just refuses to be filled.

Auntie H brought treats and projects.

We love her for a million reasons...how could you not?

oh, sweet baby lou...I could snuggle the day away with you.

after the wee little ones were tucked away, the boys watched movies and the girls got crafty.

my weekend project was getting ready for Tulip's birthday - the invitation above is a sneak peek!

three walks to the park on Saturday finally satisfied Miss Peach's pleas for time outside

she insisted on bringing a stethescope

And Tulip refused to give up this phone.

As you can see, I've learned to pick my battles.

being together

on a beautiful day

at the park

squeals of laughter

fresh air

the promise of warm weather...

tell me, how does it get any better than this?

my little lizard just loves to stick out her tongue

double slides...

or sister slides, if you're Peach

this one...she melts me

yes, I finally ended up with the stethescope

it was quite the accesory for my weekend sweats and loafers, wouldn't you agree? :)

and the look on this face pretty much sums up our weekend

awesome in every way.

hello, spring!

joy dare

1000 gifts...

its the name of the book I'm reading by Ann Voskamp

and the dare she's set forth for her readers.

To find 1000 gifts in 2012.

At least three every day.

The author gives daily ideas of joy to actively seek.

Some of my favorites have been:

• January 12 - a gift above you, a gift below you, a gift beside you
• January 27 - 3 gifts that might never have been
•  February 15 - a gift found in losing something, finding something, making something
• February 19 - 3 gifts that were "plan Bs"
• March 2nd - 3 gifts at 3:00
• March 4th - 3 gifts difficult to give thanks for

And some that I'm looking forward to:

• March 14th - 3 gifts that came with laughter
• March 20th - 3 gifts found in silence

I read the day's dare over breakfast and then J and I spend our whole days looking...searching for the joy.

matching sister jammies just happens to be at the very top of my list of intoxicating happiness

then, at supper, in between feeding littles and wiping down everything within a 15 foot radius, we share the joys discovered

and I write them down in a little journal that sits on our kitchen table...because finding the joy is one thing

but sharing it

remembering it

counting it

these are the things that multiply the joy a thousand fold.

"peek-a-boo" wiggled its way into our hearts and onto the pages of our gratitude journal several times this week

other joyful discoveries included....

cupcakes in hair

loose strands...their very own gold

Santa socks in March...the way she dug all the way to the back of the drawer to find them and the look on her face when she emerged with the prize, proudly waving them as if these Christmas socks were the winning lottery ticket she'd been waiting her whole life for.

the way that polka dots and stripes look on baby girl

no hands...

and the tottering that occurs right before she sinks down onto the carpet.

saving walking for another day

one more day a baby

chubby fingers

laundry baskets

cozy moments

story time

being home

learning to look for joy has convicted me of how easily i have overlooked the good and often focused on the negative in life.

thanks has a way of breathing new life into the shadowy places of our hearts

and if being joyful brings sunshine into our lives, december 31st is going to be a brilliant day.

on the last day of 2012, we will have each counted 1000 gifts.

Together, 2000 ways to be thankful.

2000 things that are good about where we are and who we are with.

until then, there are hundreds of gifts to be felt, heard, seen, counted.

what joy is hiding around me today?

three gifts almost gone

I've been inspired lately by an author from Canada, whose blog I find myself reading almost daily.

I'm waiting to get her book from the library.

But, in the meantime, she's issued a dare to those of us following her blog.

A joy dare.

To be thankful for the little things that get overlooked in life.

And since my first visit to her site, I've been hooked, taking each day's dare and looking for the lovely around me.

Today's dare was:  find three gifts that are almost gone

Goodness.  Who thinks about that?  Well, today, I did.

And when I looked for these treasures...the fleetng loveliness of my life that is about to whisper "good-bye", this is what I found:

snow...

we didn't get much this year...not nearly as much as I'd hoped for.

but, the few times that we were able to enjoy it have become treasured memories.

as I inhale the sweetness of spring, I think about things like garage sales and jogging

and I'm so grateful for the renewal that is upon us...

the tulips...

the green grass...

swings, slides...

parks, pools...

long days....

but I'm also thinking about the gift of winter - how sweet it was to be snuggled under one roof with the ones I love most.  

Having nothing more important to do than play.

winter was all kinds of wonderful...and it is almost gone...

Lord, thank you for snow.

crawling...

sister is weeks - maybe days - away from taking her first steps

each time she lets go of the furniture that is supporting her and stands on sturdy legs, I tell myself,

"This could be it.  Her first steps.  And you will cry..."

because the baby days are fleeting...and because the pride of your child accomplishing something so significant is overwhelming

chubby knees being dragged along the carpet

fat fingers gripping the ground

peeking over her shoulder, just begging for me to chase her

crawling was all kinds of lovely...and it is almost gone.

Lord, thank you for crawling.

student loans...

for all the complaining I've done about these over the past 6 years, I can hardly believe that I'm giving thanks for them now.

consolidating, finding out they were sold to 6 different companies, re-consolidating, making payments, having the paymenet date switched, applying for interest rate reductions, going "paperless", online statements, passwords, logins, 

keeping track of it all...ugh.

it has been NO FUN.

we've been working hard to get them paid off.  throwing every extra penny at those dreaded loans.

and, Lord willing, by the arrival of summer, we will have reached our goal:  a life loan-less-ness.

i haven't loved making the payments

but, they were a gift

the payments?  well, maybe not the payments.

but the education?  yes...that was a gift.  and still is.

not everyone is so fortunate

to live in a time and place where learning is valued and the reaching of goals is possible.

so, i will give thanks for the opportunity to learn

to be educated

to grow

and for the fact that the United States government loaned me the money to make that possible.

student loans were a gift in disguise...and they are almost gone.

Lord, thank you for student loans.

I have never before stopped to thank God for the gifts in my life that are almost gone.

but after this exercise in gratitude, I think I might try it more often.

in like a lamb

After meteorologists teased us that March might come roaring in like a lion, it has decided, instead, to come to us gentle, skipping like a lamb.

Which inspires me to share pictures of my little lambs.

  

i love these moments...catching a smile

or capturing those little things that make them so very....them

moments...that is all we have

little moments every day when lambs come out to play

what a treasure...this gift of shepherding their hearts.

it can be crazy.

and at times even maddening.

but always a gift.

counting the laughter of my lambs a true blessing this March.