Many blessings

The last week has been one of many blessings. As you know from my previous post, friends lost their daughter to cancer last week. In her short life, she impacted many people. (I urge you to read their Caringbridge site, especially the post that has the excerpt from the funeral program. You can find a link to their site on the right side of this blog.) God's kingdom on earth was blessed by her short life, and now she is filling his heavenly kingdom with joy and receiving his blessings in the arms of Jesus.
Last night, Mike and I were able to attend a dessert and concert with some friends. Fernando Ortega sang and played the piano. It was a pretty intimate setting, and although he had a bad cold, his songs and music were wonderful. He asked us all to stand and sing a couple of hymns with him. The first was Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I love this song. This was one of the first recognizable songs I learned to play on the piano. My dad sang it at our wedding. And the words to this hymn have been running through my head the last week. I think that at pretty much any point in our lives, we can find a picture of us in these three verses. Sometimes, there is the joy of never ending mercy that makes us want to sing our loudest praise. Sometimes, we are wandering away. But always, He is there to lead us back to His arms, and eventually, like Cassi, to His courts above.

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount - I'm fixed upon it - Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Her I raise to Thee an alter - Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope by Thy good pleasure Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand'ring from the fold of God;
He to rescue me from danger Interposed His precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness like a fetter Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander - Lord, I feel it - Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart - O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.

Sad day

We are very sad today. Our good friends, Scott and Karen, lost their little daughter Cassi to cancer last night. Cassi has been fighting Wilm's cancer since she was born four years ago. She has been extremely brave, and now she is pain-free and with Jesus. Please pray for Scott and Karen as they make funeral preparations and go forward from here.

Signs of Spring

1 day in the seventies
2 Robins in my front yard
3 Yellow crocuses
4 kids playing outside without jackets
5 more minutes of daylight
4 more days to 1st day of spring
3 kids in short sleeves
2 windows rolled down in the car

1 verse from Beethoven's 9th Ode To Joy (2nd verse)

All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow'ry meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee.

Full-contact Pilates

Well, today is another rainy, cool day and we have been getting kind of bored. So the boys and I decided to do the Pilate's video my mom gave me. (I think she got it free in a cereal box.) It started out great - the three of us lying on the floor, deep breathing and finding our neutral spine position. Then we started to do some of the moving exercises. Ian was really having fun trying to do everything, but John quickly got bored. He decided it would be much better to dive bomb us. So there we are, lying down on the floor and doing roll-ups, when he comes flying in, launches himself in the air and lands on my stomach. Ooof. Luckily, I was able to brace myself just before contact. He thought this was great fun and continued to climb on me, roll over me, jump on me and ride on my back, depending on the position of the move. This can make fluid exercises a little less fluid, and add lots of resistance. He was having fun, but I was starting to get beaten up.
So next Pilate's session, I think John will be taking a nap. Of course, then I won't have an excuse for not being able to stretch my legs behind my head and touch the floor with my toes. :)

It's a happy day!

It's a happy day,
And I thank God for the weather.
It's a happy day,
And I'm living it for my Lord.
It's a happy day,
And things are gonna get better.
Livin' each day by the promises in God's Word. NO MORE FLOODS!


Today I found myself singing these words - you never know when a high school youth group song will pop into your head.

Do you ever have one of those days where you just find yourself smiling hugely, and just feel like everything is good? Well, it has been almost a whole weekend of that. There really isn't any concrete reason why it was so good. I was actually thinking it could be a hard weekend.

It was mid-winter break for the Grand Rapids Christian schools. That meant a half-day Thurs. and then no school Friday or Monday. That can make for a verrry long weekend. But we kept pleasantly busy. Doctor appts Friday. My kids love the doctor - they have been asking for the last few months when they would have their next appts. We have a wonderful doctor, and the kids love her. Ian even got four shots, very bravely, and thought it was cool when Dr. Bultje said he got to have four stickers. Then we went to Smokey Bones for supper - the BEST baked beans in the whole world.

Saturday was just a day running errands, Clara going to a birthday party, and going to a friend's for dinner and games. Mike also fixed the leak in the kitchen sink! Now I can fill up the small side of the sink with water. He also worked on some minor repairs to the small bedroom - we are working toward moving John out of the crib and Clara into her own room.

Sunday was church, family time, train tracks, math flash cards, and our neighbor Heather coming over after the kids went to bed.

Today has been a fun day. Slept in a bit (meaning mom and dad stayed in bed while the kids got up and played). Started laundry and then went to Naked Plates. This is a store where you "paint" pottery with a glaze, and then they fire it and you pick it up later. The kids had a lot of fun picking out their project and then mixing all the glazes. We can't wait to see how they turn out. Thank you Aunt Mary for the gift certificate. Then we went to Krispy Kreme. All the kids had valentines for a free donut. We sat in the sunny window seats and enjoyed our donuts. We came home and had lunch (nothing like dessert first) and then built a big fire in the dining room. Train tracks, Lincoln logs, blankets, puzzle pieces and cars can make a fire all the way to the ceiling. But just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we could be in it and not catch on fire! Then nap time, dinner time and now almost bed time.

A great weekend. Nothing earth shattering - just a good time. We have had three straight days of bright, sunny weather. Never mind that it is cold (-2 last night, a high of 19 today). It is beautiful. The moon has been beautiful, and even the stars have been shining brighter - no snow on the ground to make things even lighter in the city.

So, I think what I am feeling is contentment. I feel touched by God's grace and love. There are still problems around us. We have friends who have a four year old daughter with untreatable cancer. We have other friends who have been laid off, can't find a job or who are struggling to make ends meet. We are living in a world that every day seems to bring worse news about the economy, environment, and human rights.

But this weekend I am smiling and living by the promises in God's word. I pray that God will continue to give me a spirit of contentment.

Donuts

My kids love donuts. We don't have them very often, but when we do, the more chocolate and sprinkles, the better. Last week I bought the kids valentine donuts from Meijer on Friday. Then Mike bought donuts Saturday night for breakfast Sunday morning. That was a real treat. I don't think we have ever had donuts for breakfast on Sunday.

Every once in a while, if we are running errands in the morning we will get a treat if we have time. I would do this with Clara before she started school, with Ian while Clara was in preschool, and now with John while Ian is in preschool. The kid getting the treat thinks he is pretty special. The kid at school thinks they are getting the shaft, if they find out. And John likes to tell, no matter how many times you tell him it is a "top secret" treat.

It is also a great time to sit and listen to your child talk. They tend to talk about all sorts of things when chocolate and sprinkles are in front of them. And it fills my heart to listen to them. I will usually have a cup of coffee, sometimes a treat, and just listen. There is something very special about holding a warm cup of coffee in your hand, and taking a time out from running errands, cleaning, thinking about what else is coming during the day, and what you need to do next, and spend that time with your child. Giving them all of your attention, if only for a short time.

This morning when I was getting John dressed, I told him we didn't have to go to any stores this morning. We could just stay home. His response. "I want to go to a store - a donut store. I berry (very) want a donut."

Hmm. We had coffee together at home. And he ate the one donut left from Sunday morning.

Yesterday we celebrated Clara and Ian's birthdays with my family. Yes, we are just a little bit late, but how many more parties can a person really fit in between Christmas and the New Year. Ian was asking if this was his half-birthday, but we are not that late. Clara turned 7 back in January and Ian was 5 in December. Ian has been asking for an airplane cake. He wanted it to look like the lego cargo plane he got for Christmas. Clara wanted an ice cream cake - preferably with chocolate and peanut butter. So, here are pictures of their cakes.

We had a great time with family and cousins. And now were are done with parties until October!