Happy 2009

So I didn't make it up to the computer yesterday with enough time to post; sorry about that. Yesterday was actually a fun-filled (if busy) day for me. 2 sweet friends of mine took me (and Jaylie) out for brunch in the morning. It was so nice. Jaylie loves to do things with 'Ladies'. She definitely notices when there are no boys around. After that we went to the church building to set up my table for tomorrow's ministry fair. We grabbed Ethan after school was out for him and then headed home for a late lunch and nap. I went to get Ike at 2 and then we had a relatively calm afternoon. We were gearing up for the main event...Isaac's first basketball game!! It was at 7:45, which is late around here, but we had a great time cheering him on. This is his first ever basketball game and it moves a lot faster than baseball. It is kind of confusing the first time but I thought he definitely held his own out there. They don't keep score at this age, which is a good thing. But we had a great time and laughed a lot. By the time it was over and we were home, it was pushing 9:30. He showered and fell immediately to sleep. I think it's going to be a great season.

Backing up a bit, this past Monday, my Grandmother, Mother, Jaylie and I went to Natchez. Natchez is a neat place to go, as we discovered, and it is just about 2 hours from here, right on the Mississippi river. We got there around 10 and bought tickets to tour 3 antebellum houses. It was really neat. I just can not imagine living in a house that had a hallway 72 feet long and 23 feet wide! I mean seriously! The only damper on the day was the weather. It rained a lot of the time which means that it was difficult to explore some of the outbuildings on the properties. I do intend to go back again, hopefully on a sunny day.

Speaking of weather. It has rained entirely too much for my taste around here. In December, we had about 9 inches of rain. So far this month I think we're about to 5 already. We have a great back yard but it does have a low spot in it. I have no idea how long it will take to dry out completely. A long while, that's for sure. We had 3 days of sun this week during which I shooed the kids out to play. The mud didn't bother me too much, I was just glad they were out from the allure of screens! I am looking forward to Spring, though. With this much rain, I bet it will be beautiful!

One more quick anecdote. The other day Jaylie woke up from her nap and decided to cuddle on the couch with me. It was on one of the sunny days so we were just lying there looking out the window at the rays coming in. Most of you know that when it is sunny and rays are coming in, the sunlight illuminates the gazillions of dust particles that are floating about. I can remember watching these float when I was little. Anyway, the other thing that is illuminated when sun streams in through windows, is smears and fingerprints. While I was mentally noting that I needed to clean off the panes in the back door--just one more thing on an endless list of housekeeping things that always need doing--Jaylie says,"Look at the sparkles. Aren't they so, so pretty?" To which I replied,"Yes, Darlin'. They really are." It made me think that I wish I could only see dust as sparkly. That I only appreciated the sun for the beauty it brings, instead of overlooking that beauty to see one more chore that will need to be done--by me. I wish that I could see the sparkles instead of the smears. No wonder Jesus loved to use children as examples of how we need to be to be used in His Kingdom.

Here's to a sparkly New Year.

Blessings
D