spring cleaning...

I have spent the last two weeks feeling cooped up in a cluttered house. This time of the year can feel very defeating. So I have taken some initiative and begun to reorganize. Deep clean.

My list began with a spurt of ambition in the hall closet. It is so fabulous to purge half of the junk in there and be able to - wait for it - step into the closet.

Then I tackled the bathroom, including reorganizing under the sink and dusting above the medicine chest.

Today was the girls' bedrooms. I even went so far as to dig into the recesses of the toy chest and make sure all toys had their pieces.

My next notion is to paint. (fully inspired by Honour and her fabulously renovated rooms!)

All this is done while we wait for the snow to melt and for the temperatures to rise to a high enough degree to take a walk longer than a block before our fingers freeze...

blessings...

So, I have decided that my contentment is a choice.

Do I desire to feel blessed or wallow in self-pity?

There will always be things I don't have.

I choose to stare at the beauties and blessings

I have been given.

Content.

day twenty...

Today, my dad would have turned 54. I still celebrate his birthday in my heart every year.

My dad loved to laugh.

He was always trying to crack a joke to lighten the mood or make someone smile. He was the life of the party.

My dad loved to cook.

He would try new things in the kitchen. He loved to make big breakfasts. I still miss his homemade salsa.

My dad loved to try new things.

He was never satisfied with a single hobby. His interests were varied and he wasn't afraid to test a new adventure.

My dad loved his family.

He loved his granddaughter. And would have loved each one that he has been blessed with since. He was surrounded by family that he loved and that loved him.

And I love my dad. I miss him every day...

day nineteen...

Love is a momma painting her daughter's nails. Not because I want to, but because she wants me to.

There are always requests from the children

and stipulations from the mother.

I want 5 colors - one color for each nail. ~ No, all your nails have to be one color.

Can I do just these two? ~ Nope, just one.

Ok, I pick green. ~ Umm, how about picking a red or pink.

I think this one. ~ Good choice.

Well, can you at least do polka dots? ~ No, I'm not doing designs today.

Just one heart on my nail. ~ Sure. We'll do a heart on each hand.

*Two hours of playing and one bath time later - four nails are already half painted, but the green heart remains in tact*

day eighteen...

Family night.

All together.

Re-heats for dinner.

Free ice cream tokens at DQ.

A movie.

A family is love.

a reminder...

I listened to the radio during my morning commute, and tears ran down my face. A song that brought me comfort during a trying time was blaring through the speakers.

I was reminded...

God is faithful.

Then the announcer came on to give an analogy. "...One blood donor can save up to three lives with a single pint of blood...but a single drop of the blood of Christ can save a world..."

I was reminded...

God is love.

day seventeen...

* and now my blog and it's days of love are

just as jumbled up as my brain*

My Calla-girl made me a bracelet today.

I love that girl and her love of all things craft.

She was so proud when she watched me

wrap it around my wrist...