Glimpses

This past weekend was really beautiful. I took the girls over to the Seattle area for a brief visit with my family- the original reason for our trip ended up being rescheduled but my brother Austen just got engaged to his lovely girl and I also hated to disappoint my littles for no real reason, so we went overnight! It was really nice to spend time with all three of my brothers, my new sister-in-law to be, who I have loved ever since first meeting her several years ago, and my other brother's sweet girlfriend too.  Not to mention that it is always a joy to see my parents. I was really glad we went. As a sample of how sweet Kelly is, they asked my girls to be flower girls in their wedding and each girl got a darling flower crown made just for them! They are really excited.

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Lyddie has been making new friends at church and that is really fun to watch. Little Harmony is the same age as Lyddie and I noticed Harmony seek out Lyddie this last week and that made me smile. While I wrote some last week about the care I have taken to keep from pushing structured education too early for our preferences, I realize that instead we work heavily in the area of faith and character development as completely foundational to formal education once we begin. Obedience, cheerful service, kindness to others,  truthfulness, tenderness, inclusivity, loving Jesus with thankful hearts... these all factor into our daily rhythms all the time.  Areas that are difficult for people much older than Lyddie and Millie to grasp- like seeing value and beauty in a person no matter how they appear or act- arise in natural and applicable conversations and they respond so matter of fact, connecting things we have learned about Jesus to the situation at hand. The glimpses of fruit I see in their lives excites me and gives me such hope for the beautiful ways God will continue to work in their hearts and minds as they continue to grasp their need for Him. It can be hard to remember the moments of beauty amidst the squabbling but they are there so often for my eyes to see if I would just look.