Speechless

Driving west on Arapahoe Road today....the mountains covered with snow, the bright green of early spring on some trees with a few of my favorite pinks highlighting the view....

"I am speechless, I'm astonished and amazed, I'm astounded by Your wondrous grace."

This was the song on the radio as I drove. Awe, amazement at God's beautiful creation and the grace He gives by just letting us see it. His handprint is everywhere you look...but there it just sings!

I've been doing a Bible Study called "Breaking Free" by Beth Moore. Here is one of the verses I'm memorizing....
Isaiah 43:10
Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

When I see the beauty God has created, I have a hard time understanding how people don't want to understand who God is...and believe Him.

pink trees

One thing I love about spring are the pink trees. I love the blossoms smiling at me...promising fruit. Its that promise I love. The fruit will be great, and the beauty of the work in progress is sometimes only visible for a little while. I know the rain will be good for the tree, but I don't want to miss that sign of pink. Flowers are wonderful...and pink trees look like God's bouquet.

A placemat is not a weapon!

This is what I heard coming from my dining area while I was putting the final prep on dinner last night. Boys are sure different from girls. In fact, I've picked up Bringing up Boys by Dobson again. I read it before Alex was born. Now that I'm seeing so many of these boy traits, I figure its time to read again.

Alex loves balls. And where Trina enjoyed them, he is actually differentiating between them now. Football is a big one...and I'm happy to say the Broncos logo was the first he was really able to recognize. But he has also taken the attachments from the vacuum and used them as a bat. I'm not a baseball fan...yet. But I may end up having to figure that out. Wouldn't that be a wonder if we ended up with the jock.

"Yeah, my mom and dad always come to the game...but its mostly to see the band." Yeah, so that wouldn't be true...cause it would be both to see him play AND to see the band. ;)

The Time Sucker

I think the internet...and particularly the world wide web... should be renamed the time sucker. When I think of how much time I have spent on it, I am ashamed. Sure, some is good stuff, but some is random nonsense.

Last night, for example, after my love turned in early, I did a load of dishes and one of laundry. Then I sat down at my computer to write a friend an email. After checking my list of blogs, I ended up reading about Shaun of the Dead (why CindyB, why?), the writings of Dennis Prager (ever since ConnorW abandoned the blogosphere, I've been lacking in political discourse), and looking up the female stars of Red vs. Blue. I also managed to check snopes.com for thoughts on a commercial blimp that I got an email about (and it didn't have any info).

I could have watched a movie...or at least part of one. I could have read a book...hey, even my Bible. I could have eaten a great big bowl of Extreme Moose Tracks ice cream and done even more dishes or laundry.

So now, I'm blogging when I could be showering, picking up toys, making a batch of homemade tapioca pudding (which is so superior to the canned stuff that I just can't even explain it) or more of the aforementioned laundry and dishes. (we may start having pajama and paper plate day once a week to help me catch up on these)

Should we start making our web sites tts.randomsite.com?

"Look

at those beautiful mountains" Came the sweet 4 year old voice behind me as we drove West on the drive to Gramma's this morning. "How do you think God made them?" I answered a little about plates smashing together... Then I asked her how she thought God made them. "I think he dug a hole and planted the seeds and that's how he made them" :) I love her mind!

How to

How to love those who you are given to love....and love them well. How to love those who don't like you...and talk about you behind your back. How to love those less mature and not lower yourself to their maturity level. How to not worry about what people think but only care about obeying God. How to be a duck and let things roll off your back instead of getting all wet.

Lord, how to?

Easterrific

We spent some time again putting together our Easter music. We ended up with 11 tracks of really nice appropriate music for my favorite holiday. In the weeks leading up to Easter, we listened to the Very Veggie Easter CD a lot, and I fell in love with it even more. A mix of hymns, silliness, and fun. Good messages...including the sad story of the Easter cow.

The only thing missing was peeps....I forgot to get them out! We had a nice time with friends for dinner after a wonderful service at church. It was hard to see the snow though...not that I don't expect it to be chilly for Easter. I bought the white sweater for Katrina as usual. But it was hard to see the church not full to bursting! I guess the snow scared away the C/E attenders, but it was lovely anyway. And one of my favorite parts was the stage set with the empty tomb!

Thanks Jesus for dying for us...and living again for us too!

Easily distracted

So, its amazing to me, as I watch my almost 4 year old, how easily she gets away from the task at hand. I asked her to park all the toy cars and trucks in a parking lot...and she barely gets one in place before she is off doing her own thing.

Then I wonder if that is how God looks at me sometimes. How long it takes me to do what he asks...its humbling really.

Also, something that is distracting is the jack hammer outside in our yard. Funny how they always seem to pick naptime for the start of such loud noise. Its hard for my kids to relax with all the pounding going on...

Sometimes the things around me get so distracting I forget to relax with God and just rest. I know I need the rest, but the pounding going on nearby just keeps me on edge.

The best part about today is that God is teaching me through the annoyances around me instead of me just getting bent out of shape about them. Thanks God!

Finally

I cancelled the paper today.

Spring Break is over.