morning:
I always get asked about this calendar, which I got years ago. You can find a similar one here - we love ours!
noon:
night:
"For this new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee."
I woke up to this surprise on the porch!
Fifteen years ago I didn't know much:
I didn't know we'd be spending this day celebrating on a beach in the Philippines.
I didn't know I'd give birth to a little boy in a few years time.
I didn't know we'd have a son from Liberia.
I didn't know we'd have a daughter from India.
I didn't know you were an abolitionist.
I didn't know I was a writer.
I just knew that life with you felt better than life without you.
I was right.
Happy anniversary to a husband I adore and am so incredibly proud of--
I love you, Steve.
"I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on
earth. I hold myself supremely blessed -- blessed beyond what language can
express;
because I am my husband's life as fully as he is mine."
~ Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
morning:
noon:
night:
"Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened."
~ Dr. Seuss
We smiled our way into another adventure over the weekend--a new (to us) home.
My goal for this week? To take it easy and enjoy the temporary chaos.
No need to rush, fret, or overextend myself. It will all work out, in time.
Sounds like a good life philosophy even if you haven't moved house, don't you think?
Steve and I went to a backyard cookout with friends in Houston on Memorial Day. We flew down sans kids--our babes happily soaking in grandmother time as we happily reconnected for a few days.
We enjoyed celebrating the holiday with three other incredible families and their children: adorable sleeping babies, cute chubby-cheeked toddlers, and active, run-everywhere kindergartners. After we left that evening Steve and I once again had a realization:
We have entered a completely different season of parenting. We happened to be without kids that night, but even if they had been with us we wouldn't have wiped noses or changed diapers. Because our children are now eight, eight, and TEN.
That's right--Trishna reached doubledigits on May 22nd.
We have come a long way since she joined our family from India almost six years ago. I am so proud of this girl--who currently loves writing, stories, and light bulbs (yes, really).
Unless God places another child in our family, all our children will be adults in ten short years--our active parenting days over. It's a surreal feeling.
Intentional parenting starts out with a whole lot of work. Everything feels new, fresh, frightening, insecure. It takes a truckload of faith to listen to God's voice combined with your own, especially when those voices contradict the popular opinions of so-called "experts."
But I'm discovering that mindful parenting changes as the kids get older. Where my main role at one time involved sheltering, cocooning, and nurturing--this new one involves listening, opening doors, adventuring, and trusting.
And though this new phase--like any change--contains its own unique challenges, we also have the benefit of seeing some fruit from all the years of investment we've put in so far. We see a vision for our family beginning to take root, to grow, to create the family life we once imagined.
Watching our efforts in action gives courage for the journey ahead.
Happy birthday, Trishna. You are loved.
