Babies, Brownies and Blessings

There's a saying in the medical field that goes something like "if you didn't chart it, it didn't happen". Basically it's saying if you don't write it down no one will know you did it and they'll assume you didn't. I find myself subscribing to a similar statement that goes something like this: if you don't complain about it, you didn't do it. Ever get caught in that trap? Start believing the lie that all you do will be overlooked if you don't draw attention to you troubles, real or perceived,  and make a fuss? Feel the need to chime in when someone else starts talking about the things they have to do, the obligations in life, schedules to keep? Listening to other people talk about their busy lives pulls me into this unproductive mode of complaining. It seems that complaining, for me, has turned into the "Great Equalizer". You want to tell me about how hard your life is, I'll see your trouble and raise you! W...

BabyGirl keeps us on our toes. I'm about to rename her "Little Miss Thang". She is something. Her favorite show is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, a PBS spin-off of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Each episode features a little jingle that gets stuck in your head worse than Feliz Navidad. Big Boy #1 thinks the show should be banned, he gets so mad when one of those songs get stuck in his head!   Today's song had some little actions to it and as I was wandering around the house I heard Little Miss Thang singing...     When something seems bad turn it around and find something good.   Not bad advice and hard to ignore coming from my blinged out, double-fisting 2 year old! 

We finally have the beginnings of a roof! The building and eventual completion of our home has been a consuming project in the last many months. What we had hoped to be a 3-4 month ordeal has now turned into no less than 6. The delays have been numerous from an overworked drafter, to a harvesting lumber quoter, to backordered floor trusses to finally a flu-ridden carpentry crew. Uffda! As we are nearing the start of our 4th month here with my extremely patient and loving in-laws, I'm amazed at how time has flown and somehow inched by at the same time. If you had told us at the start that we would be without a home for 6 months we would never have gone down this road. NEVER. Being homeless is a crazy feeling even when you have a wonderful place to temporarily call home. I wasn't prepared for these feelings. I sort of pride myself on my flexibility. ...,pride does come before the fall... As it turns out, I really do like a place to call my own. Someplace to leav...

At times in life the way ahead seems clear. No turns in sight, only a hill or valley who's resolution is apparent and predictable. The prayers of my heart have produced resounding consistency in answers and I am at ease with where I am headed. But then...     Here I stand, knowing that there is a grand design in this journey but uncertain why this road is necessary. What is He saying? Why this landscape? Why the extra miles? The extra hours? The frustration, the tears, the confusion?   Didn't I hear correctly? Weren't You saying this is the way?   And then a glimpse of the lesson. An appreciation for what is now amidst the yearning for what will be . The realization that this will change me forever... Make me more grateful, more aware, more reliant on Him. Because it's not about the destination, it's about the expedition. He is in this place, this fork in the road. He is walking with me,...