Every last Drop

Somewhere in 2 Timothy chapter 4, maybe verse 7? (Phillips) "As for me I feel that the last drops of my life are being poured out for God. The glorious fight that God gave me I have fought, the course that I was set I have finished, and I have kept the faith."

What a beautiful picture of a man fully dedicated to God to the end of his days and the beginning of Paradise. To the end of himself and the beginning of Him. To the end of aimlessness, wasted days and years and to the beinning of making every day dedicated to Him for His eternal purposes.

This verse reminds me to take on the routine tasks of daily living with the same heart and passion for God that Paul expresses here...till every ounce of me is poured out in dedication to Him. It starts each day with the end of me and the beinning of Him. Making myself open to God putting His stamp of eternal value on that day. I often can't see the long-term worth of another load of laundry done (there probably isn't any!) but if my heart is dedicated, my mind is focused and my spirit is committed to Him - then I've done my part (by His grace alone) and will be out of the way for Him to do His...to the end.

Months of Milestones!

Lately I've just been trying to keep up with all the celebrations! I don't know who's idea it was to have all spring bdays - but it sure makes for a hectic time of year for us!

At the end of March Thing 2 turned four. He requested a knight party and can't wait to start preschool in the fall...sigh...

In the begining of April Thing 3 turned one despite my pleadings that he stay a baby a little longer. He is getting really close to walking on his own and can clean out my kitchen cabinets almost as fast as he can crawl when he knows you are after him.

T1 turned 6 just this last week. He requested a Batman party and the silly kids all just wanted to jump on the trampoline in lieu of eating cake and ice cream.

T1 also just graduated from Pre-K last night. Goodbye preschool, lunches at home with mom every day, and life as we know it...hello all-day Kindergarten. Sigh...again...
The highlights of the ceremony included T1 being annoyed with the kid standing behind him because his cap kept getting knocked off...luckily it didn't come to blows. He also decided to leap off the middle bench to receive his diploma...of course. Why walk calmly when you can jump from "up high". I'm sure he will be doing the same thing 13 years from now at his HS graduation.

Is it really possible to get a family shot with everyone looking? As we walked up to the building for the ceremony, T1 and T2 were in a footrace to the door as usual and I turned to hubby and said, "Why do I have a feeling they will still be doing that 20 years from now?" To which he replied, "Try 30 years!"

Five Dollar Fountain of Youth

For just five bucks I feel fourteen again. Since it doesn't seem like it is ever going to get above the 40s again here (those two weeks of summer in the 70s last month were great while they lasted) I broke down and bought some leggings yesterday. All my spring and summer skirts were sadly hanging in my closet pressed (ahem, okay, fluffed in the dryer with a damp rag) and ready to be worn. But with the chilly weather I just couldn't bring myself to wear them. Sooooo, enter the 80s and my new leggings and the freedom to wear a skirt while building a fort with my four-year-old, crawling after my one-year-old and playing geo-trax with my six-year-old. Thankfully no urgings have arisen to bust out the scrunchies I'm sure are waiting to be unearthed in my caboodle. Though I am thinking that a couple of pairs of thick socks in coordinating colors with my shirt and skirt would really keep my feet nice and warm on this chilly "spring" day!