I started this blog 3 whole years ago. I thought at the time that weekly posts might be manageable and so I managed to squeak out one and haven't had a thought worth mentioning since. My 3 crazies have turned into 4 but the fourth one is disguised as an adorably cute, sweet, curly haired daddy's girl but just as crazy as her 3 older brothers.

I have realized in these last 3 years that life is always changing. I can never plan how our lives might go. Since my last blog, we nearly lost one of the crazies, added another one, added a teenager, and become more entrepreneurial minded. allowing my husband to have to be at the office only 4 days a week and as lovely as that is I think it would be most helpful for him to be home all 7. If life were exactly the way I'd like it, my husband would be home all the time, we would travel all over, we would play all day, we would eat whatever we wanted, and we would all be happy. However, the truth of it is, work is a good thing, travel is exciting but I like having a home base, play is fun but learning is essential, eating whatever we want leads to obesity and laziness, and sometimes, we have to just plain choose to be happy. But its all so worth it, isn't it? This life that the Lord is shaping for us is exactly what we need. It is exactly what is best for us and it is exactly as it should be. I find it hard sometimes to accept things the way they are. I am constantly telling my children (especially the 5 yr old) to be happy with the way things are. We can choose to be upset about how things didn't go our way OR, we can be happy and enjoy ourselves with the things we do have. And even though those words are coming out of MY mouth and directed at the 5 year old, I hear them in my head being spoken by our heavenly Father and directed at ME. As I'm writing this, I'm looking outside to see the snow falling AGAIN, and about 3 feet of snow on the deck and I'm going to be honest with you, I have not yet figured out how to be happy about that when I know that back home there are summer temperatures and flowers blooming. I'd love to be able to walk outside right now having only to slide on my flip flops and grab my purse (and of course, all the children). But I am here, in Sudbury Ontario, Canada and I know that, whatever the reasons, THIS is where the Lord has us. THIS is the place He has chosen for us to raise our family. And so, THIS IS THE BEST PLACE TO BE.

My kids are all happy and healthy. So that my husband can be home more, we actually get to do some of our work together. I get to stay home with my kids and even though some days I would rather walk out that door in the morning and not come home till evening, I say that I GET to stay home because it really is a privilege that I would be in tears over if it weren't true. We have an amazing church family and great friends. And so, despite the snow and the 2 sick people I'm caring for and cleaning up after today, I can say, "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24