Two years ago...

...Kaiya Elaine and Reyna LaVonne, you were born. You were small and beautiful and everything I hoped you would be. You were healthy and feisty and wrapped us all, yes even your big brothers, around your twenty, tiny fingers. You left the hospital after just four days and were welcomed in to the joyful, noisy existence known as your home.

Since then you have crawled, walked, talked, laughed, danced, played and grown into such beautiful little girls! You like to change your clothes and take off your diapers and dress your babies and eat lot and lots of pears. You are independent and funny and determined to get what you want.

We all love you so much and are thankful for your lives. Happy birthday, sweet girls.

The Best Things in Life

It has been said many, many ways.

"The best things in life are free."

"Sometimes the best things come in small packages."

"The best things in life are worth waiting for."

"The best things in life are worth working hard for."

I have come to a new realization. I think that the best things in life are those things that we have always known. Those things that are true and deep within us. We may not remember when we first discovered them or how it happened or where we were. They are those things that don't change over time and are not altered by new experiences or circumstances. It's almost like a sixth sense. In deeply knowing, even our dreams are transformed.

The best things in life are those things that we have always known in the deepest part of us to be true.

Not sure.....but ready.

I guess that's how I feel about 2010. I have no idea what it will bring and am actually full of anticipation for all of it, what ever "it" is. I have to trust that it's already been worked out. I am eager for change and hopeful that it will come. My life is full of blessings and challenges and I expect much of that will remain the same. Who can complain about that? I am thankful for family and friends and the ability to learn everyday. I am grateful for unexpected gifts and surprises that remind me how much I really don't know! I am ready for anything...come what may.

37 years ago today....

...this man was born.
7lbs 4oz - 19 inches long
big blue eyes
in a military hospital in Denver

now, he's all grown up
he weighs more
he's taller
he no longer lives in Denver
but he still has big blue eyes
and he gets more good-looking every year
i am proud to call him my husband
and the father of my children

happy birthday, sweetie
hope it's a great one

So Very Blessed

There's no way to list everything, but here are some of the many blessings I am thanking God for today:

My dedicated husband
My amazing, silly, energetic children
Friends and extended family in many places
Kind and generous in-laws
Growing up in Nebraska

My church
My education
Waking up in my home every morning
Never going hungry
Having enough to share with others
All 5 of my senses and a body that carries me through each day
Making mistakes and seeing beauty in the learning
Seeing beauty every day - really, Ohio is beautiful!!
Grace, Redemption & Forgiveness