Random Gratitude

At this moment, I find myself thanking God for . . .

. . . Wednesday morning Bible study. The book we're going through is good, but not nearly as much of a blessing as our weekly discussions - which usually involve hard questions, lots of laughter, and delving into the Scripture for answers!

. . . warm sunny days.

. . . feeling like myself again, after about 2 months of fatigue/nausea and over 2 weeks of crazy allergies. It's the most wonderful thing to be able to smell my shampoo in the morning, to taste food, to not feel like my entire face is red and swollen, and to face the day with confidence and optimism. I'm also looking forward to being able to sit through an entire church service without any embarrassing coughing / nose-blowing episodes, and not having to lip-sync, due to losing my voice, the next time I'm on worship team!

. . . three bright, energetic munchkins who make sure our days are never short on laughter. The snapshots below give a glimpse into some of the craziness.

We've taken to calling Zekers "Mr. Random" because of just such moments as these. Today he insisted on wearing one of Rachel's winter hats to to the table. A couple of mornings ago, he climbed into bed with us and began head-butting Danny's chest for no apparent reason. You already know about his longing to wear tights. And every night he has the same "dream": Spiderman kills a scary monster in his closet by shooting it in the stomach with his web, and Spider Girl is chasing a baby pig. After lunch today, I was explaining to him why God doesn't always give us what we want. With a furrowed brow he answered, "Mommy, God needs to obey me!" I could go on . . . but enough for now!


We've begun calling Kari Bou "Little Babble Cakes" because she's always "talking" but it's anybody's guess what she's saying! She repeats everything we say very clearly, though, and has been saying more discernable words on her own. This is one of her famous poses - often repeated because it makes Rach and Zekers laugh, and she lives for laughter. (I do wonder, sometimes, if she's had one too many head injuries!) She also loves to kiss my stomach while I'm reading to her, and say "Kiss Baby." Which is probably why my stomach is usually glistening from snot and/or slobber.











Then there's Rachel. It may be hard to tell from this picture, but as I was taking it, she was debating me. I can't even remember about what. She has an answer for everything, and I'm afraid that by the time she's ten, she'll easily outsmart me! It cracks me up that in almost every picture, her mouth is open - usually because she's just got to get in one more comment, or because she's arguing. Both Danny and I have had some great conversations with her recently, though - much deeper than I ever thought we'd get with a 4-yr-old. She's also at that age where every "injury" gets brought up in children's church as a prayer request (even one that's several weeks old and no longer visible to the naked eye)!

. . . .I'm also thankful for the occasional day when the kiddos all take long naps!