I'm dreaming of a...

...shadowless groundhog.

I'm dreaming of walking out to get my mail barefoot, without 14 layers of clothing.
I'm dreaming of wearing flip flops and skirts without pantyhose.
I'm dreaming of early mornings with the windows wide open, sunlight streaming in, and the music of birds filling my ears.
I'm dreaming of long family walks after dinner and sitting on the front porch until the mosquitos start biting.
I'm dreaming of evenings spent at the ballfield, eating hotdogs and cheering for my daughter and her team.
I'm dreaming of family campouts, playing all day with the kids, making smores, and sitting up half the night with my hubby by the campfire.
I'm dreaming of days spent chatting with my best girlfriends by a pool while our kids swim.
I'm dreaming of laying on my back with my girls looking at the stars that are finally out at 10PM.
I'm dreaming of cookouts with friends and family...juicy grilled burgers (by my hubby, the Grillmaster himself), coleslaw, corn on the cob, fresh bright red tomatoes, strawberry pie...and little smiling faces dripping with watermelon juice.
I'm dreaming of hikes through the woods at our favorite local State Park...the beautiful trees and ground covering, the piney smell, the sound of birds and toads and crickets.
I'm dreaming of fishing and canoeing and kayaking.
I'm dreaming of 4th of July picnics and parades and fireworks.
I'm even dreaming of weeding and mulching and the sound of the lawn tractor and the smell of fresh cut grass.
I'm dreaming of powerful, awe-inspiring thunderstorms...when you just can't help but stop whatever you're doing to sit and watch and marvel at the awesome power of our Creator.
I'm dreaming of family bike rides through the neighborhood.
I'm dreaming of meeting new friends as we watch our kids play at the park.
I'm dreaming of snow cones (topped with marshmallow, of course) from our favorite produce stand on the way home from church each Sunday.
I'm dreaming of laundry that is finished so quickly because in place of bulky jeans and hoodies are shorts and t-shirts.

No. I'm not complaining about winter. I'm just daydreaming about when it is over. That is the one thing that I LOVE about winter - It makes us appreciate the other beautiful seasons of the year.

Too busy receiving to give

I am so very blessed each and every morning by the inspiring blogs I read. So blessed, in fact, that I have nothing left to give back to you. As I sit down to my computer in the quiet hours of the morning while the children are still thankfully sleeping, I am touched by the inspiring thoughts and life-changing events that are happening in the lives of my blog buddies.

This morning, for instance, I started off by praying for Nicole whose name was lifted up for prayer by Darren LeBlanc. I then moved on to Octamom's blog where I laughed out loud over her toddler Ty Pennington "wanna-be". After that, I wept tears of joy while reading about the very special baby Courtney got to hold yesterday and the miracle that just recently happened in his life. I then cried more tears of joy while reading the birth story of yet another sweet baby at Angie's blog Bring The Rain. I followed the link in her blog to her very first post and wept tears of pain and grief as I read once again the heart wrenching story that begins her blog. I dropped in on Ashley to see if her baby had arrived yet. She's still patiently waiting while caring for sick children. I then read a very convicting post by Gretchen about teaching our children about the love of our Savior by loving them with the same mercy and compassion He shows us.

After I finished dropping in on my favorite bloggers, I looked at the time and jumped up with a start. I once again had spent about 40 minutes "blogging" and had not typed a single thing (except for maybe a few comments). It was way past time to start getting myself presentable and waking up my sweet sleeping children. Oh well! Maybe another day...only if all of my blog buddies suddenly turn boring and un-inspiring.

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

**I had a great post forming in my mind yesterday after studying a passage in Jeremiah. I never did get time to put it into words for you. Maybe that will also happen another day. I did manage to sneak in a few moments to share this little tidbit with you as everyone was busy doing their own thing...a rare occurance in the middle of the day here at Homeskoolmommy's house.**

It's a...

We still have to decide on a name, but she looks healthy and is developing right on target for my due date. Maia is getting over her disappointment rather quickly, and Hannah is ecstatic! As soon as the U/S tech told us the sex, Hannah looked at Maia and said, "See! I told you it's a girl!"