Sometimes You Just Want to Squish Them

One evening when I was busy with the baby, I heard a great deal of whispering and conspiring going on, but my mother antennae were not registering anything too suspicious, so I waited to see what would develop. I was glad I did. No florist on the planet could make a more pleasing arrangement for me, complete with a real bird's nest in the center.

They brought it to me in the usual fashion, hands behind the back, asking, "Which hand do you want?" And I played my usual game of trying hard to choose the wrong hand first. It takes so little to make a child's day, and a mother's as well. This collection certainly made mine. I pour out for my children day after day, until sometimes it feels like there is not so much left to give. Amazing how energizing a little love gift like this can be!

Olivia is two...

...for a little while already. But we can't be too prompt in our posts, or the blog wouldn't be consistent.

This is the favorite birthday gift from a beloved Grandma and Grandpa Schlabach. Olivia spends most of her days playing babies, wrapping them up tenderly, feeding them and making sure they are happy. She found her words just over the time she turned two, so at last we can communicate better. It is lots of fun for us all to figure out what she is saying in her winsome little voice from the "morning" at breakfast to the "night night" at bedtime. This is our little sunshine girl, our Gracie, who has taught us so much about God's goodness and gracious care.