Beauty

Potluck

A few things I want to remember and celebrate from the past few weeks…

Four months…

First, sweet Mary Claire had her four month “birthday”!  The time goes by so quickly and each day just gets sweeter and sweeter.  She truly lives up to her middle name of “Joy”.  We love how relaxed she is, always looking around with her big eyes and taking it all in.  She is my living reminder from God to slow down, enjoy every moment, and just savor this special time.

A home school lesson: “God forgot”…

In our “home school” with Joshua we have been focusing on money in two parts.  First, we’ve been learning the value of each coin and bill, along with some simple addition.  Secondly, and most importantly, we’ve been talking to Joshua about using money to help others.  This came up because sweet cousin Abi was raising money for Charity : Water in celebration of her third birthday.  We were asking Joshua if he would like to give any of his piggy bank money to help kids in Africa have clean water.  In order to decide if he wanted to give to this cause, we showed him the video clip online.  In it, some of the children are naked and Joshua, in a very cute 3-year old boy kind of way, found this particularly interesting. 

Joshua: “Mommy, those kids don’t have any clothes!” 

Me: “I know, buddy.”

Joshua: “God forgot to give them some!” 

Me: “No, Joshua, we did.  We forgot.”

Joshua:  “What?” Very cute and confused face.

Me: “God wants us to help people, especially since we have so much…if people are naked or hungry or thirsty it’s because we forgot to help.”

Joshua:  Long pause.  “Can I have some chocolate milk?”

The teachable moment was over, but Joshua did decide to give $13.  Thanks for the inspiration, Abi!

 

9 wonderful years…

Brian and I celebrated our nine year wedding anniversary by taking a quick trip to Sonoma Valley, CA.  It was heavenly, a true time of retreating and reflecting, and we thank God that we truly are each other’s best friend.

“There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion, or company than a good marriage.” –Martin Luther