Catching up on life.....

Yep, I'm alive and well. The past few weeks have been extremely busy for me and Mr. Wonderful. My lack of blogging has been because of adding personal notes on 300 prayer letters. I personally can't spend 42 cents on a letter without adding a personal note to each person who has taken the time to pray for us.

I was also involved in getting the end-of-the-year contribution statements and letters out for the mission.  I have been communicating but not blogging.... Life has gone on in the blogging world without me. So, in many ways, this is a catch-up post.

Happy Birthday to Our First Born. Our daughter Becky had a birthday last Sunday. The picture on the right is of her putting her foot in her mouth at age 2 (probably a good trait for someone who majored in Rhetoric!) The divine Miss Em looks so much like her momma at this age. The independent little girl grew up to be an independent fiery woman with strong convictions, a desire for knowledge, and a wonderful ability to communicate. We love and miss her so much.

I just finished reading a delightful book called The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center. I was attracted to the title and instantly engaged by the story. The story deals with expectations that never live up to the realities of life. You laugh, you cry, you relate to heartaches, sleepless nights, and the demands of being a new mother, and all the while you find yourself cheering for Jenny. The characters are vividly described, and I found myself even liking the bad boyfriend who deserts Jenny the day before she goes into labor. The book was well written and proves that there can be a bright side to disaster.

I just finished reading The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. I can't say that I enjoyed the book as the circumstances that bring about the encounter with God is a tragic event. I learned that God does not cause bad things to happen but is capable of bringing good out of any bad thing that we give over to Him. The hard part is giving it over to Him knowing that His desire is to be in a personal relationship with each of us.

Congratulations to my favorite children's librarian Suzy. She landed a part-time job every other Saturday at a nearby library. She gets to dress up, have adult conversations, and be brilliant! Oz gets lots of Daddy time and Daddy appreciates Suzy a lot more. Sounds like a win-win situation.

Mr. Wonderful got digital hearing aids. I knew several years ago that he was having trouble hearing when he took a hearing test on the phone. It said there would be five tones. When he hung up, he said, "What a bummer, there were only three!" We found out that he has a hearing loss which is considered "Significant". (I just thought he was ignoring me!) I have noticed that his voice is softer when he speaks now and not nearly as gruff. We don't have to have the TV volume up (I could hear it no matter what room I was in), and he eats much quieter. I am thrilled that he can interact much better and know he will enjoy life much more.

I had to laugh at this newest picture of the divine Miss Em. She looks like a sassy teenager rather than" Miss Terrible Two." Click on the picture to biggify it. Her expression and hair duo crack me up. Becky told me that Dad dressed her that morning and picked out the "My Dad Rocks" shirt. We sure miss our girl!

These is the latest pictures that always make me smile. Boy Wonder taught me how to change my desktop screen image, so I change it every week now. This is my current screen saver. Can you believe how quickly my boy is growing?

Well, I think I've caught you up on what's happening in the daisy patch. All of the white fluffy beautiful snow is now just a memory after our first nearly spring day with temperatures up to 67 degrees.

Hope it's spring in your heart wherever you are. I'll be stopping by for a cuppa tea and chat with each of you soon.