… then you will be humbled.

I got cocky.  I thought that through all the trials that have happened the past few months, we were handling it quite well.  On our own.  With no help.  In fact, I thought that we were so good, we were better than a lot of other people.

And I was humbled.  Oh was I humbled.  By my own reaction to a situation with one of the kids, by my reaction with Ja together.  By the child’s reaction.

We have not invited the Lord to be at the center of our home for a good long while now, and that is very obvious in the prideful way we’ve all been behaving.

Yesterday?  We were humbled.  I was humbled.  And frankly?  I’m glad for it.

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“Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built upon Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

Colossians 2:7

336.  Forgiveness
337. Second chances… and third… and fourth….
338. Giving thanks
339. 7 year olds
340. toothless boys
341. The sound of hooligans calling to each other… designing games to play
342. The heavy heat of late summer
343. bird watching
344. Grandpa’s who are excited about bird watching
345. Grandma’s who re-learn to knit
346. Coffee with friends
347. Hard working husbands
348. Love, and always this
349. Being able to change things
350. Colouring toddlers, getting along nicely
351. Painted and organized bedrooms
352. The anticipation of new things with the new season

296.  mud
297. water
298. sunshine
299. heat
300. Kids that need no more than the above and each other for a good time
301. Sheets on the line flapping in the breeze.
302. Afternoon naps, resting the sickness away
303. 11 years married, 18 years together
304. Not wanting to change a moment of that time.
305. Sushi
306. A teen with a connection to my hooligans
307. Warm dirt, squishing between my toes
308. Garden planted
309. Neat rows lined up, waiting to spring forth
310. Too big “ankle breakers”

And sometimes…  just… sometimes.  There are too many gifts to count.  The gifts outnumber the hardships… the hardships ARE a gift.  It’s these times, these weeks, that is what makes the really REALLY hard times easier to take.  Maybe it’s just the counting of the blessings?  The blessings that seem to flow like streams of water from His divine hands?  Maybe, when we’re aware of the blessings, even amidst the sorrow, THAT’S what makes it all easier…

246.  Mothers.  Having one.  Being one.
247. Fathers. Especially when they love that I love what they love.
248. Parents in general, ones that want to give and give and give.
249. That they know it wouldn’t matter to us if they gave or not.
250. Cold rain.
251. Snow in May.
252. Warm wood heat when there’s snow in May.
253. Hooligans, listening to Adventures in Odyssey while crafting like crazy.
254. New long awaited for toys.
255. An entire day spent in pjs, being fussed over.
256. Not having to clean up the kitchen.
257. The giggles of hooligans… trying to be quiet… while a mama gets to sleep in.
258. Jumping in sunshine after a wet and rainy weekend.
259. Joy
260. Learning to stay home… and really really liking it
261. Schedules
262. Friends to bounce schedule ideas off of.
263. Deviating from the schedule to read just ONE MORE STORY
264. Learning that biblical events are real history
265. That guy who comes home with a grin on his face… ready to take over…

So whether you eat or drink, or

whatever you do, do it all for the

glory of God.

1 Corinthians 11:31

206.  Spring, oh spring
207. The fuzzy green halo that surrounds everything
208. Warmth in the morning
209. Growing plants, bursting forth with the promise of NEW LIFE.
210. Sweaty little boys who have spent the entire day digging in the dirt.
211. Girls discovering a bird’s nest with eggs in it… sitting quietly nearby to see what kind of bird would land there.
212. Climbing trees so high that you worry for a minute you might not get down
213. Happy faces when Mama makes them something new
214. A surprise for a good good friend
215. the help of other friends to make that surprise happen.
216. The life partner praying for a good day in the drowsiness of the morning.
217. The crisp clean smell of a windows newly washed.
218. The quiet after a busy few days.
219. The noise of happy running hooligans.
220. The quiet after those hooligans go to bed… to sleep, to dream.
221. Taking a day to cook and chat with friends.
222. Freezers full of ready to pop in the oven meals.
223. Wee babes, cozy on their mama’s back
224. The anticipation of a trip away.
225. Sisters who were willing to watch hooligans.

Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time.  ~Martin Luther

191. Waking up to the sweet giggles of an Easter Surprise
192. An unexpected lunch and lovely time of fellowship with good good friends
193. Remembering. Why. THIS, this is why we are.
194. The Lord’s Supper at a lovely church.
195. Wiggling hooligans, experiencing, learning from watching, listening, absorbing.
196. Little boys, desperate for mama’s knitting… asking over and over, “do you think it’ll be done in time?”
197. Finishing in time.
198. The grin on the boy’s face when he sees it… finished… just for him.
199. Little girls, happy in bright coloured dresses
200. Sweet Mondays after a holiday… spent at home. Together.
201. The laughter, oh the laughter!
202. The greenness, coming through, the hint of the promise of spring.
203. Old old friends. When you can finish each others sentences.
204. Neighbours, visiting, sharing.
205. The promise that we too will rise.