Happy Confusion

This afternoon we gathered with some good friends to celebrate a birthday. Two beautifully pregnant women were part of said gathering. Later in the evening, I noticed Gabriel patting his little round stomach and looking with satisfaction into the mirror.

I didn't really make much of it until prayer time, when we were thanking God for things that made us happy. Gabriel's contribution: "I'm happy that I'm going to have Petey's baby!"

Certainly he's got quite a bit left to figure out, given that his statement probably means he thinks his 8 mos old brother Peter is "his baby" and another baby appearing in our family who would be younger than Peter would "belong to" Peter, but we're on the right track if babies in the womb make him happy, right? :)

The Weight of Memory

The contrast was striking. Surrounded by packing paper and cardboard boxes, I sat on the floor of our bedroom closet filling boxes upon boxes with photo albums, baby books, yearbooks, scrapbooks, journals, and other memorabilia type items -- all from my side of the closet. I then turned to my husband's side of the closet and packed exactly one quarter of a moving box with one photo album, one shoebox of photos, and a small box of memorabilia. I felt a slight pang of guilt when I saw the difference between "my side" and "his side." My husband often encourages our family to get rid of the unneeded stuff hanging around our house and here I was with a huge pile of things that had no clear use, other than to help me remember.


Read the rest here...

On living simply (part 2 of 3)

In the last post I wrote about my family's challenge to “live simply.” We strive towards simplicity for two main reasons: first, to be good stewards of what God has given us and second, to make more space in our lives and quiet in our souls for loving and serving God and those around us. Lately, I've been pondering this phrase from Isaiah 55: “Why spend your money for what is not bread—your wages for what fails to satisfy?” Although this passage deals directly with money, it draws my thoughts towards another precious commodity—time.

Read the rest at Phases of Womanhood!