She dances. Her so small and yet somehow she knows how to sway to rhythm. I could say that I taught her but I never showed her that move. She tilts and twirls and smiles and whirls. She dances because her joy wells and though she's little, she's unafraid. I could live like that. Light steps. A twirl here. A spin now and then. A wide happy grin. This knowing—that though I’m small and not in charge, I’ve got a Heavenly Father who holds all things together. This whole wide world. And me. And He is kind and He is good.  And this world He is redeeming--it’s why He sent His Son. So we could dance. Our whole life swaying, twirling, spinning, to the rhythm of His grace.

 Today my heart is full and spilling out. So, I'll spill it on this page and tell you what I'm thankful for.I'm thankful for all this snow falling. And the way it bends limbs low and makes me feel like I'm hemmed in somewhere deep in quiet woods. And I'm glad I have eyes that see. Eyes that work when I look up and out. So much of my enjoyment in this life comes from seeing.I'm thankful for little people that take naps. So, I can think or read or sit and stare at all the quiet. So I can pray and talk to God and ask Him things like, "How should I live this one life You gave me?" Or, "Could You open my heart even wider and fill it up with love?" Because with all these days, I just mostly want to love.And I'm thankful for these two candles that flicker warmth and light on my coffee table.[...]

One day Hope was busy at the computer. A very old computer. An old computer that didn't actually work, but she didn't know that so she was typing away. Suddenly, she felt a wave of inspiration, so she began to write...Once upon a time, there was this girl and all she had was a cat. That's it. No house, no food, no dolls, no paper cups, no spare keys, no extra sets of clothes. Just a cat. And that was that. His name was Rascal. And her name was Rascalina. And they were quite happy.But, then one day a handsome king came to town and he was looking for a cat. He had three dogs, a black stallion, two miniature donkeys named Beefus and Bosephus and a pig, but he didn't have a cat. And he wanted one. He wanted one quite badly. So, he rode very magestic...majestick...no, no, no... Uh, hey [...]

 Today, the light's been streaming through my windows. And light has this way of making ordinary things look purdy. Like jelly, for instance. Have you ever held your jelly bread up to the light?You really should.  And since I'm a weird-o, I stood there and admired all the light in my jelly for a while. And then I just had to show it to you.   Because who doesn't want to see jelly in light? Or light in their jelly?It's very sparkly. And I'm pretty sure it tastes better, too.

 Bubby's been growin' up. He's almost three entire years old. High time to drive his own tractor, don't you think? But we told Bubby that before he could drive a tractor all by himself, he had to first give up his passies. Because big farmer men don't need passies. We told him that we'd get him some balloons and we would tie his passies to the balloons and he could send them off, up-up-and-away, high up to the sky. Bubby really likes his passies, but he also really likes tractors. So he went for it. So we got him some balloons. And it just happened to be the coldest, snowiest day of winter yet, but we didn't mind because we're getting bigger and we don't need those passies anymore.  Daddy shoveled a nice path on the driveway and we headed out to the passie-lift-off site[...]

Would you like to get your New Year off to a good start, my friends? Follow these simple instructions. Firstly, ignore the fact that your children are in dire need of going to bed. Just never mind that they are past the delirious point and have now entered in to the certifiably-crazed-we're-literally-going-looney phase and just focus on yourself and your deep need for something covered in chocolate.Then get you out some chocolate. Some chocolate that you can melt in the microwave-y  machine. And then get you out some honey grahams. Or some Oreos. Or some Ritz or just anything you've got in that there pantry that you can cover in chocolate. Then grab some candy canes from off the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree that has now shed all it's needles because you neglected to water i[...]

Thank you, friends, for living this adventure with us!We love you.

Have you ever noticed how life can be really hard? And somewhat painful? I mean, even a good life can be hard. Even a life where you know you're loved and you've got everything you could ever want...still, it's hard. But then there are these moments when you're just plugging along, caught up in the everyday humdrum of things and you look up and find yourself surprised. Surprised by this joy that crept up on you when you weren't expecting it and you weren't even looking for it.  And for the next little while, there really are no words.  No words... Just this hushed awe. This captivating wonder. This insane happiness. Insane because if the world is really all that dark and bleak, then why in the world am I feeling this.  So, where does this joy co[...]

Little boots right close to mine, because that means a little Hope-girl is here walking around. A  pile of things left by the door because that means there are these warm little hands and feet that go in them. A random collection of stuffed animals, because that means we've got toys a-plenty and wee people who chuck them across the room and make a game of landing them on the bed.A mess on my bathroom floor because that means this bathtub has seen it's share of bubbles and these walls have echoed laughs and these tiles have been wet with small feet and lots of splashing.And I love to find this boy absorbed in car parades because that means he's actually entertaining himself.And this girl playing with  trucks, because that means perhaps her brother will get along with her just a li[...]