The Wall Bloggers

I found myself complaining this morning... About our dog... our sweet, old dog we discovered has epilepsy and has been on medication to manage his seizures.  We are so grateful that the medication has controlled his seizures almost perfectly.  The drawback has been that the medication makes him ravenous and causes him to drink excessively.  Consequently, he wakes us in the middle of the night to let him outside and then wakes us up an hour before we usually get up to feed him.  If we don't respond, he starts whimpering before escalating to barking.  He also steals food from my children's hands when they are at the table.  I've been feeling frustrated over the lack of sleep and have struggled with a way to be grateful.  So I started praying, asking for help to be thankful, even in this.  And thanks be to God, He knows how to change my attitude, even if the situation does not change.  Even writing this now, it is obvious that if this is my bigg...

Here's an attempt at loading my list before it's two week's old.  :) - Adrianna making valentines for her classmates ... And it being so much easier for her than it was last year - And Abel making valentines of his own - Finding the kids brushing Ruthie  ... And Ruthie bearing with it without any hint of impatience - Uncle Mark coming for a weekend visit ... And the kids enjoying getting extra time with him - Adrianna doing her homework assignment about an activity she likes to do in weather - Doing our first art lesson together from the  Drawing With Children  book my mother-in-law found used ... And looking around our house for the different elements in art - and Adrianna and me getting so excited about finding the elements everywhere we looked - "Oh yeah, oh yeah!" - The view on the way home - The kids"helping" me make applesauce quick bread, while Scott was at a concert with his family for the evening - Abel with Uncle Mark at church - Sc...

Back again, with my long list.  We've been adjusting to watching our sweet baby friend two mornings and two afternoons a week.  It is just the right amount of time to have a baby come hang out with us; it just requires me to be more creative finding the right moment to upload pictures.  God has been sweet in the adjustment, and Adrianna and Abel have been my helpers with baby Matthew. And now for two weeks' worth of photos...  And by the way, I understand if you don't want to take the time to look at my enormous amount of photos every posting.  I post them mostly for me -- to help me remember these  fleeting moments with my ever-changing children and to keep focused on these moments as God's gifts of grace.  It's too easy for me to get caught in the routine, the chores, the to-do list.  Taking the brief second to capture the gifts on film has helped me reclaim gratitude each day. - Another sky painted by the Artist's hand  - Abel helping me...