I'm lying in bed on fresly laundered sheets, dried in the fall breeze that graced the back yard this afternoon. Michael is right beside me, his steady breathing reminding me of when I rocked him to sleep as an infant and he would sigh deeply every few minutes. The girls are snugged in bed, 2 sharing a top bunk, the third in her own bed. It's been a great day. Parts of it felt like fall. We've played and laughed, watched a favorite movie, talked and texted. Lots of texting. We swam and read, ate lunch outside trying to hold on to the last shreds of summer. I got a much needed hair cut and spent some much needed time with a dear friend. The weekend is quickly vanishing. Only one more day to relax and chill without the pressure of "what's next". Right now, some sleep is the next thing on the agenda. So, I leave you with a Saturday night benediction that I heard sung on Lawrence Welk on many, many, happy Saturdays of my childhood, curlers in my long wet hair footed jammies covering my toes.

"Good Night, Sleep tight, and pleasant dreams to you.

Here's a wish and a prayer that every dream comes true

And now 'til we meet again

Adios, au revoir, auf wiedersehen

Good Night!

What I know tonight...

• 
  
• chivalry is NOT dead - my sweet little boy is such a gentleman, holding doors for me, killing mosquitos for his sisters
• Riley Thompson is the most popular boy at my daughter's middle school.  I don't know why. I think its his cool hair.
•  i love my children more today than yesterday
• nothing matches the joy of a really good book
• knitting relaxes me 
• rules should apply to everyone
• Kendall Jackson makes great Chardonnay
• I love to hear my children play the piano
• Hermit Park is one of my favorite places on earth
• 3 day weekends ROCK!!!
• I miss my parents living near me
• husband/daddy traveling for a long stint is hard on us
• God is so faithful
• good friends are precious and irreplaceable 
• my new Blackberry is fun
• nothing is impossible with God - MY God
• 
  

returning to Happy

I have a back log of thoughts because I took a blogging break last week.  Some months, life kicks you in the gut.  or the pants.  or both, as has been my recent experience.  And then you have to figure out how to stand back up again and keep walking.  Injured yet alive.  Bruised yet breathing.  That is what this month has been.  I have decided to pack up August a day early.  Goodbye, ugly August.  You were not kind to me.  I'm going to put it into it's little box and set if high up on a shelf.  High enough so that the difficult things that plagued the month wlll fade into distant memory. Over the last month, I forgot how to be happy. Amnesia of the heart.  Does that ever happen to you?? I temporarily forgot that my life is directed by God and that I don't have to have all of the answers.  I misplaced my faith and began trusting in what was within sight.  My vision became cloudy, my intentions and focus obsolete.  I began fixating on all that was wrong and all that I didn't have. I allowed unkindness and feeling forgotten to define my moods and my demeanor, causing impatience and grouchiness to reign.   The places of disappointment in my heart were taking up more than their alloted space, crowding out the good things and making them almost invisible.  Oh, this is not the way to live!  Because the TRUTH is, that there is so much good .  Our weeked proved it.  We spent time in the  mountains enjoying God's beautiful creation.  We played at the pool, laughed and read and talked and participated in all of the goodness that is our life.  The time together was nourishing and refreshing.  There were smiles as we joined our hearts to form the circle of family.  Our family.  And THAT is the biggest reason to return to happy.