Charlotte's first swim meet...

She was so proud to get to have the signature dolphin on her back. All good swimmers have their team logo on them don't you know?



She was a tad bit nervous about the deep end she had to start from - it was 8 feet deep. One of her coaches got in with her initially and then stayed back once she got going. They are doing a great job.





She was met at the end by her big sister Sophia. They waited for her at the other end and Sophia pulled her out. I love seeing my girls love on each other and cheer for each other.

In Christ's Abundant Love,
Peg

Getting ready for the new year...

You all know we home school right? Well this past weekend my beloved and I went to a home school convention to get some of the curriculum we will use in the next official school year for the girls.

We have, for the past several years, gone up and spent the night so we can have two full days at the conference. Friends go with us and it's a great time of fellowship but also focused time to remember why we do what we do.

This year we focused on our eldest daughter. She's going to be in high school this year. I know it's hard to believe but she is. She is a beautiful and intelligent girl. Keeping up with her is going to keep me on my toes. I think I'm up for it. Today that is.

I loved being there in this huge convention center with all these people who do the same things we do. I love being with people whose focus is being with their families. And like being together as a family.

So we're ready - we go year round and we're finishing up a few things right now. But we'll start the "new" year in August. My girls were excited to see the new stuff. They love books of any kind. I love that they love them.

How cool is that? Kids who love to learn. God is so good.


In Christ's Love,
Peg

Birthdays/Anniversaries and Joy/Sorrow

May is a time of great joy in our house. My Emma turned 11 the other day. And we had a great time celebrating the joy that she brings and gives to us. She is a sweet, giving child with a servant's heart. She is a beautiful girl inside and out. We are thankful for her.

At the same time we always deal with a great deal of sorrow in May. Our sweet babby boy Zebulon Adam was born in May. He was stillborn at 22 weeks. We miss him still. Even though we never got to hold him this side of Heaven we miss him. Makes no sense to someone who has not walked the path we have.

I realized today that yet another May has passed by and we are still missing Zeb. I picture him with Jesus holding his hand as he walks the streets of gold. Talking to my daddy - my daddy loved his grandbabies. He loved being a granddad. He took great joy in the job of being a granddad. I picture Zeb with a head full of curls and a smile just like my beloved's. I miss him. I have marked yet another year since we lost him.

Some days it doesn't bother me because I know he's in a WAY better place than we are. Others it hits me right in the gut. Takes my breath away. Like when Charlotte said to me a few weeks ago "If Zeb were here he'd be friends with the Kriner boys." It had never occurred to me until that moment that yes Zeb, Micah and Caleb would be the same age and best of friends. It makes me enjoy the twins more when we are with them.

Today I also realized that I go through May in a fog. I can't focus. I'm forgetful. I just do the next thing. Put the next foot in front of the other. I don't think the Lord means me to live like that every year. And I know my Zeb would not want us to be that way. So I made a promise to myself today that I would be focused on the joy, the moment and the time we have here until we get to see him in heaven. So, as a friend of mine said today, I'm trading my sorrows in!

God is good all the time and I am thankful for the joy that May brings. I choose to focus on the joy.

In Christ's Abundant love,
Peg

Things that bring me joy...

I've had a bad week so last night I decided I would try to focus on the positive and let the Lord deal with the junk for me. So here are some things that bring me joy:

1 - Roses in the spring. The scent of them in my house.
2 - My beloved coming home to me every night.
3 - My beloved waking up next to me.
4 - My kids telling me they love me.
5 - Charlotte when she comes out with some totally adult comment. It blows me away that she is five and knows what random means. And uncomfortable - that she uses them in perfect context. She is FIVE!
6 - My girls joy in learning new things. That is such a blessing. I see so many kids who are bored learning and my girls thrive on it.
7 - Knitting with new yarn.
8 - Knitting with old yarn.
9 - Who am I kidding? Just plain knitting makes me so happy. The colors, the texture, the smell of the wool and oh yes the finished project. God is so good in allowing me to still learn new things.
10 - A good book.
11 - When my Lord speaks so clearly to me.
12 - That my Lord bothers to speak to me at all brings me such joy. Amazement - daily.
13 - My girl friends - old and new.
14 - Seeing my girls become accomplished at life.
15 - Knowing my babbies are with the Lord and I'll get to meet them (and him) face to face one day.
16 - A cold glass of perfectly sweetened iced tea.
17 - A hot pepperoni roll.
18 - A good piece of chocolate.
19 - A diet coke - cold.
20 - Phone calls with my girlfriends. I praise the Lord daily for all of them. I would never make it without you all.
21 - A warm shower
22 - Air conditioning that works.
23 - Time to knit with a friend.
24 - Time with my Lord.
25 - A kiss from my beloved.

So that's my list for tonight. What's your list look like these days? I keep reminding myself that the Lord is in charge and he has plans for me. Plans only for my good. Plans to prosper me. And I'm open to and thankful for His care and plans.

In Christ's Loving Arms,
Peg

One whole year has passed...

Since my daddy went to be with the Lord. It doesn't seem possible that it's been a whole year already. Seems like I ought to be able to call the house and hear his voice just any old time. I find myself calling my mother's cell more than the house simply to avoid that knowledge.

Knowing that he is with the Lord gives me great peace. I pray for the rest of my family daily because I just don't know where they stand with the Lord. I so want each of them to be there in heaven with me and Daddy one day.

One thing Daddy going to be with the Lord has taught me is life is simply too short to take the safe road. I have found myself more bold in sharing my faith, more open in telling people they matter to me and more importantly to Jesus. I am thankful for that last gift my Daddy has given me.

I sure miss you Daddy! Can't wait to see you when I get to heaven. Love on my babbies for me please?

In Christ's Carrying Love,
Peg

He did it for me!

I am amazed and humbled by the fact that the Lord stayed on that cross for me. Me - who is so unworthy and undeserving.

He wore a crown of thorns for me. My beloved made a crown of thorns yesterday for our Pastor to use during our Tenebrae service last night. As he sat in the middle of my living room floor bending my rose bushes into a crown and pricking his fingers with each bend I was just taken aback by the fact that our Lord and Savior wore such a crown on his head. And that it was forced down into his skin.

It hit me that as Michael was using the thorns from my rose bushes that in spite of the ugliness of the thorns there is beauty in the making. Those rose bushes bear the most beautiful roses. I've often gotten comments on how pretty they are. And yet if you knew how little care I give those bushes you'd be amazed that they bear any flowers at all.

I am ashamed to say that the care I give those roses can be likened to the care I give my relationship with my Lord. And yet, in spite of the lack of care on my part, HE cares enough for me to continue to bear fruit/beauty in my life. Even when I haven't cracked my bible in days His word rises in my mind and appears in my life. Even when I haven't prayed and thanked him for the last thing he did for me He is ever doing more. I am so not worthy of his mercy and grace. And certainly not His sacrifice on the cross.

But yet HE did it anyway. He would have done it even if I was the ONLY person saved. That amazes me. And brings me to my knees in prayer and WORSHIP. Because He is WORTHY of all our praise and worship. So as I am focused this weekend on the Cross and the blood that was shed there for me I renew my focus on the Lord and ask him to give me grace and forgiveness once more. For all I've done, for all I've yet to do I thank Him for that grace and forgiveness because I know he gives it freely.

In Christ's Abundant and Ever available love,
Peg

Simple things we take for granted...

This spring has been a gray and dreary one so far. So when the sun comes out and is streaming through my front windows I have taken to sitting there and absorbing all that I can before it moves over the house. I have so enjoyed those simple mornings, reading to the girls, doing school with them while sitting in that warm sunshine.

It hit me the other day that I have taken for granted that the spring means sunshine every day and warmth. I have been so thrown off kilter by the rain for days in a row that my house, school and life in general have suffered. And so I've made an effort to enjoy the day even when the rain is there and it is dark and gray knowing that the Lord will bring new growth from that rain and sun for me to soak in.

I've seen the results of those rainy days in the trees blooming and the flowers beginning to bud. And so I am thankful for the way the Lord designed this world we live in so that we can have rain for growth and moisture. And the sun of a new morning to bask in while focusing on the blessings of the day. I'll be enjoying those flowers and trees as they spring into new growth. And I'm praising the Lord for his perfect design and plan.

In Christ's Love,
Peg