::2014::

2014.

The year of no routine.

The year of interruptions.

The year of watching my bank account (mostly diminish, haha).

The year of learning to trust even more...for situations, timing, and direction.

My work schedules have been crazy (thus no routine). I've dealt with sickness, allergies, and injuries (thus the interruptions). A multiple-thousands-of-dollars trip paid for in full, doctors appointments, saying yes to some activities and no to others (thus watching the bank account). I'm praying about ministry opportunities this summer and into the fall, about school set-backs, about the yet unanswered long-term requests, about waiting patiently and actively (thus still learning to trust).

God encouraged me this week with Psalm 118. I encourage you to follow the link and read the whole thing, but here are a few snippets:

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
    for His steadfast love endures forever!
I shall not die, but I shall live,
    and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has disciplined me severely,
    but He has not given me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Always there are many reasons to rejoice. As usual, a picture is worth a thousand words...

::The girls were excited to ride in my car with me a few times::

 

 

 

::Who wouldn't want to show Barney the elephants on the zoo cam?::

 

 

 

::As usual, mid-west weather is unpredictable; we've only just broken out the summer clothes, but my first week of school in March held a few wonderful days!::

 

 

 

::The First Day of Spring (third holiday in line after Easter and Christmas :) deserves to be celebrated! (Fellow employees and family all got to enjoy.)::

 

 

 

 

::Starting the love of reading early with Baby Girl (now 8 months old--time is flying by!)::

 

 

 

::Self-portraits are hard when there's three to consider, and two of them don't sit still::

 

 

 

::The teasing days of early Spring allow for activities outside!::

 

 

 

::Best Day of the Year: Easter!! So incredibly grateful for the empty tomb::

 

 

 

::Girls night out. Blessed by the friendships God has given!::

 

 

 

::The Injury: Broken Toe. Who knew one little pinky toe could cause so much trouble. Word of advice: never, ever, ever break your toe (or anything else, for that matter)::

 

 

 

::Forced sit-down day. Three weeks into the broken toe and not much improvement felt, and two days off in a row (unheard of), required movies and a to-do list involving sit-down activities. Evidently I had plenty to do. :) ::

 

 

 

::So, so blessed to be able to take care of these kiddos. {I try to avoid posting pictures of them since they're not mine, but cave every now-and-then and employ heavy watermarks. :) ::

 

Baby Girl and Big Brother, now 8mo and 2 1/2

 

The Twinsies, now 3yrs