Grains of Sand

You'll always learn something new if you keep an open mind.  That is something my father-in-law inadvertently taught me. When I was newly married, my father-in-law gave me a carpet sweeper. If I'm being completely honest, I wasn't impressed by that carpet sweeper.  It wasn't shiny, although it was new.  I couldn't wear it or hang it on the wall for art.  It didn't have any frills and wasn't even powered by electricity!  It was a plain carpet sweeper. It didn't appeal to my newly married self who wanted the fancy vacuum cleaners and state of the art blenders.  I thanked him for the carpet sweeper and promptly lost it in the back of a closet.  Then one day as I was cleaning out the closet I came across the carpet sweeper still in it's box.  I was a bit older, with at least one child to call me mom.  The carpet sweeper seemed a bit shinier to me.  Hmmm.  I could see the functionality in this item now.  I could actuall...

I find that uploading photos from the camera always brings a smile to my lips.  Since my husband and I share the camera, I usually find a few surprise photos.  Below are some of my favorite pictures from December.   Toffee posing for a Christmas photo. "And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." (Luke 2:20, ESV) "Baby you can drive my car Yes I'm gonna be a star Baby you can drive my car And maybe I love you Beep beep'm beep beep yeah" ~The Beatles   Smile! Ha ha!  I couldn't resist. For Christmas Mason asked for "a fire truck that makes noise, and a rocketship". Both of which Patrick and I were a bit skeptical of finding. We found both(!) and threw in an astronaut costume for good measure. Brothers enjoying some tablet time. Brotherly love caught on camera! Snowy dog. My jade plant blossomed!  First ti...

FOR TODAY January 14, 2014  Outside my window...  snow softly falling and covering all I see.  I am thinking... of my husbands somewhat unexpected business trip and how much we miss him.   I am thankful... for a lovely visit we had with friends this weekend. In the kitchen... delicious juicy oranges, homemade organic grape jam, beautiful fresh eggs and spicy meat sticks all given to us by family and friends. I am wearing... white tank top with a navy blue fleece pullover and burnt orange sweatpants. I am creating...  a list of things I'll change in our homeschooling thanks to reading this post . I am going... to bake cookies with the kids. I am wondering...  how many books I should purchase.  I need to purchase at least two specific books and I always like to throw in one or two for personal enjoyment.  I am reading... nothing at the moment.  Considering  The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel. ...