dance like nobody's watchin'..

...and write like nobody's readin'. That's my favorite, to just sit here and write, and not take time to consider whether this would offend this person, or oh wait, does my mother-in-law read this?! (she does:)). My goal in life is to live before God, and as a normal regular person who is filled to the brim with sin, of course I am going to see myself in what I do, in what I write..and that's a good thing! Writing helps me sort things out sometimes, and helps me see what's really important.

I have struggled with what to share/what not to share on this blog. There are personal struggles my kids go through that aren't my stories to tell. So sometimes you might read this and think that I have a good happy life, and that is totally true, because I truly believe that God sends all things for my best, and no matter what happens, there IS a purpose. But what you DON'T see is the situations in my life that I can't share because, like I mentioned, they aren't my stories to tell. My daughter Mali is going through tough times right now, but she is a treasure of a girl, an excellent mama to little Lydia, and I have experienced that God has answered my prayers concerning Mali before, and I KNOW He has His hand on her, but pray for her!

Lydia...:)

Anyway, I was talking to a mama recently, who has several children, now grown, who had a difficult time being patient when her older kids were little. She insisted she wasn't cut out to be a mother, and she got so sick and tired of being irritated and impatient and downright angry with her kids, she cried out to God for victory, and she worked and worked at being patient when she was tempted...she said that her younger children never saw her angry. She persevered in her prayers, and she got that victory. She said, "If I can do this, anyone can."

Anyway. My life isn't perfect, but I am 100% totally certain that God causes all things to work together for my best.

So I went on my walk again this fine spring morning...being outside these days is simply delightful.


Kathryn is excited, she got accepted to college, and is at this point, hoping to be a physical therapist. Kathryn homeschooled from tenth grad on, she worked very hard and took it seriously. I am thrilled because I know she'll be successful, and that the world is opening up more to homeschoolers.


Kathryn being Auntie, with little cousins - Lydia, and Anya on her back.

We are going to the library today. I walked, then worked on the pool for a bit. The "new" pump motor works fine so far, and the pool is looking good! It is a bit early, but it'll be nice to have a clean pool when the weather gets warm, which sounds like a "duh" statement, doesn't it?

Yesterday I went to Canada, with Emily and Kathryn and Sonja and Camille. We stopped in Watertown for lunch, at Chipotle, yummers. I like that you can get a good meal that's healthy and doesn't totally break the bank, without feeling regretful afterwards. And they're not paying me to say that. We ate outside in the warmth and sunshine, then stopped at Starbucks for iced coffee, and back on the road...to my niece's wedding. My sister's seventh daughter, all grown up and married. My sister with no sons now has seven son-in-laws!

It was after nine o'clock when we headed back home, a pleasant drive talking to Emily. But after a nice hot shower, I got to bed close to 1:30. So when 6:50 rolled around, I was tempted to roll over and go back to sleep, but I had to get up and see my high school girls as they went out the door. Sonja stayed in Ottowa overnight with some of her friends, they are going to the Tulip Festival today. A good reason to skip school if I ever heard one, ha.

So I am very tired today, but hopefully it won't kill me.