Morning

"Bee"

The favorite book,
about Bombus the Bee.
Object lesson:
listening to what others say instead of listening to God
leads you astray
from His plan for your life.

Not only is this an important lesson,
but Miss Ava said "bee" while looking at the book the other day.
That's right, kiddo.
It's a bee.
And you're adorable.

Toast, with Jam

A Red Swing

(This has nothing to do with a red swing. It's just a super cute picture!)

Okay, this is about the red swing!

First Ava helped daddy splice the rope:

Then we watched daddy hang it from the tree.

Next, daddy sprayed the outside of the swing so the mosquitoes wouldn't suck all the sweetness out of the little girl.

Then we put her in it.

The initial "I don't know what to do about this!" reaction quickly faded and she had a blast!

Thank you, Sophie (and your mommy and daddy, too), for the swing! Ava loves it just as much as you did last summer.

This was my latest attempt at organizing our stuff.
I would love to put in a buffet with storage underneath...
but until we have a bazillion dollars to do everything I want,
this works well.

I can't remember where I found this idea.
I would love to credit the blogger that inspired so many others to paint their Frappuccino bottles.
I don't remember, though,
so just know this isn't my original...

My daughter loves looking outside.
(Almost as much as actually being outside.)

My guess is she likes to pretend she's controlling the traffic.
Such a female...pretending she can run the world.
*rolls eyes*
(She must take after me...)

Concrete Dust

My basement has been full of concrete dust lately, thanks to my hard working hubby finding the water leakage in the basement and finding a solution. I have been so blessed by his diligence and perseverance in this!

However, today I decided enough was enough and that I was going to clean up that dust, at least the worst of it.

It's interesting what I think about when I'm doing something like cleaning up concrete dust...

What if I lost it all?
What if God let something tragic and devastating happen in my life...
What if seemingly impossible things were asked of me?

Would I care about concrete dust in my basement?
If everything was stripped away, and I looked back at my life, what would I regret?

Not the messes I neglected.
Not the unfolded laundry,
not the undecorated walls in my living room.

I wouldn't regret the temporal things.
I would regret time not spent loving others.
I would regret time not spent enjoying my daughter,
and time not spent enjoying my husband.

When something is ripped from your life, and you know there is hope but have no control of your circumstances, what do want back?
A chance to laugh.
A chance to love,
and a chance to live.

So many times I ask God, "why did that happen?"
Not only in my life, but in the lives of those dear to me.
There are so many unanswered questions in the minds of my friends, my family, myself.

But God knows.
He knows.
When Jesus was on the cross, He felt every sin of the world.
Sins past, present, and future.
Sin brings pain, failure, hurt, and agony.
Jesus felt every single one of those things...

I can not fathom what Jesus felt.
But I can know that He knows, that He is holding me, and that He will bring healing.
I can know especially when I have no answers.
I can know because He who promised is faithful.

("Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23)

More than anything, I want my life to count for Christ.
There is no greater purpose in life.
When I gave my life to Jesus, I didn't receive an easy life, but I did receive a fulfilling one.

The Bathroom

This is what the upstairs bathroom looked like when we moved in:
After two days of painting, this is what it looks like now:

The shelf has since been completely rearranged, but you get the idea.

We want to paint the trim white.
We need to touch up the ceiling (neither one of us is so good with not getting paint up there...)
As time and money allow, the shower surround needs replacing, as does the sink and cabinetry.
The fixtures are ugly and need updating.
For now, I'm simply happy to have a prettier bathroom!