Today is Gramma’s first day in Heaven. Today’s weather feels like our first real day of spring. And to Gramma, it must feel like the first real day of glory, of eternity, of pure perfection.

Today is Sunday, our Lord’s Day. How special for Gramma to get to worship in Heaven this Lord’s Day! To see Jesus face to face. To be able to completely and perfectly express her love for her Savior. I’m pretty sure Gramma’s crown is one of the most sparkly and decorated up there.

Today is that beautiful reunion day for Gramma. The dream I had of Heaven, of being able to hug those loved ones we’ve missed for so long. She is welcomed by her mother and father. She gets hugs from her sisters we knew and from the one whom hardly a soul knew until glory. Sam excitedly waited for her arrival, no doubt. She gets to hold her child that arrived before her. Gramma can take Jesus’ hand today, and walk beside Him, like the little girl that she still felt like, walking proudly and securely with her Daddy.

Today Gramma is seeing those sights we can scarcely even imagine. The crystal sea. The golden roads. The perfected saints. The strong and powerful angels. And, as He walks with her, He reveals to her that incredible mansion, the one that is the home she has always longed for. It’s the one with all the pretties, all the love, all the promises fulfilled. It has no decorations to remind her of hardships or suffering.

Today is beyond comprehension. But I like to imagine, even while knowing my imaginings don’t come close. Gramma, thank you for your tremendous life here. You have been an amazing example. Of love. Of patience. Of kindness. Of longsuffering. Of joy. Of contentedness. Of peace. Of thrift. Of industry. Of strength. The list will never be adequate. Thank you, Gramma. Wishing you a matchless and marvelous first day of your glorious eternity! You will be sorely missed, yet the missing just makes me that much more ready for your side of glory. I love you.

Love,

Becky

34 years ago I squeezed out into this bright world.

1 year ago I ventured into the world of facebook.

Every year DOES go faster. And every year, time in general seems to go faster. Just a matter of mathematical proportions I was once told. Perhaps. I didn’t wish for it to happen. I don’t think I did anyway. I remember how a summer day with a surprise in the evening seemed to last for.ev.er. when I was six years old. Now, when the sun sets on another day, I often pause to think, “Did I really do ANYthing worth doing today?” Did I read a book to the children? Did I lather each of them with kisses and hugs? Yes, dishes and laundry are for their good, but I am aiming to focus better.

My dash thus far has been improving. Improving in the sense of impacting. I strive for better. I strive for contentedness. I strive not to confuse contentment with apathy. I love this life God has blessed me with. I love that He put the dreams in me, and that, being True, He helps those dreams come true.

For all thpse who speak Toddlerese… This morning while brushing my hair, I heard Angela say something like, “Mama, I zipped bassleen on Happy Bewr.” I didn’t quite understand this initial message, so I told her I’d be out soon. Then while brushing my teeth she came to the bathroom door again. This time she lamented, “Eben bassleen on mah nehhhhk.” You have vaseline on your neck? “Yea. Eben on yohr bemohhhte.” Nice. All I can say is, being a morning person, I am waaaay better prepared to handle these crises of motherhood early in the morning!

Some shots of our fun day at the farm show…

Playing catch-up with the blog. Here’s some of our end-of-December activities…

Elle Mae’s birthday dinner complete with grilled shrimp kabobs (her pick) and chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

Elle Mae received “her favorite kitchen” for her birthday. Angela was such a doll as she awaited Elle’s approval and invitation to touch her new toy.

Her royal cuteness is catching on to baby food.

Shelby celebrated the New Year in (homemade) style.

Can’t believe I’ve never heard this before. Read it in an old newspaper article.

DANDLE: : to move (as a baby) up and down in one’s arms or on one’s knee in affectionate play

Either I haven’t been very motivated to blog lately, or I’ve been keeping busy with other things. Actually, both, I guess. After an impromptu photo shoot the other day, I THINK I am happy enough to not schedule a sitting (hooray!) for Elle Mae’s 4-year photos and Josselyn’s 6-month photos. Here’s a few of my favorites. The third one of Josse was just magical. She was gazing out the window during sunset, and I have no idea what caught her eye. She was so wistful. I’m glad I caught it. Also, the third photo of Elle is just *too* Elle. That’s her being silly face for sure.

“Once you compromise your values, they become devalued in your mind, and it seems a little easier to do it the next time.”  This quote comes from The laws of Lifetime Growth. It made me pause because of what we/I do to ourselves.  I may find it easy to compromise a value here and there, and that action in and of itself may not really be a problem.  But the devaluation of values in my mind is what I have to guard against.  Once I’ve messed up a value, it takes a lot to rebuild it.

Happy birthday, my dearest Elle Mae. I am so excited to see where God leads you. And at the same time, I wish you could stay this tiny forever. I don’t remember ever being this excited about giving a present to one of my children. You are such a sweetheart. You’ve been admiring your “favorite kitchen” at Target for two years. Daddy spent two hours putting it together last night. You’ve dreamt about it, and I am so excited to make the dream come true! Mama’s a little silly, but I love that beautiful smile of yours. Happy birthday, babe.

Although my snatches of time to read are rather hurried, I just finished A Thomas Jefferson Education (which I loved) and am a few chapters into How Lincoln Learned To Read (which I am loving). Highly recommended.