“Our days are happier when we give people a piece of our heart instead of a piece of our mind.”  anonymous

Sarah is outside.  She saw the frost on the grass and asked for boots.  I keep looking out the door to check on her, in fact I just sat down after leaning outside and calling her name.  “I’m right here,” she answered in her little girl voice.  “Okay!  What are you doing?”  “I’m tasting frozen stuff,” she replied while taking long licks from a bark-less stick.  “Tastes like sugar!  Wanna taste?”

We are thankful that we don’t have to go anywhere today.  On Monday, we took Caleb to his Doctor’s check up.  On Tuesday, I took David to an orthodontist appointment.  He will be getting braces soon.  Yesterday, we went to Community Bible Study for the day.  Tomorrow we are serving Rich’s team a lunch here at home and going to the hair salon.  But today?  Today is gloriously free.  I like being busy, but I like having mornings in my pj’s, too, tip tapping on the old keyboard, saying hello to anyone who may stop by here today……..

Veteren’s Day was Tuesday and the children were home from school.  In the afternoon, I took my camera outside.

I recently read a wonderful book titled, The Greatest Thing in the World, by Henry Drummond.  It was a book from our bookshelf, but it’s also a free book on the kindle.  I underlined quite a lot of quotes that I wanted to share with pretty pictures.  (pretty pictures that capture moments, not an entire day, we were not without a few ugly moments, too, but all in all the day was a wonderful one…..I love having all the children home).

“Have you ever noticed how much of Christ’s life was spent
in doing kind things–in merely doing kind things?  Run over it with
that in view and you will find that He spent a great proportion of His time simply in making
people happy, in doing good turns to people.”

****

“Where Love is, God is.  He that dwelleth in Love dwelleth
in God.  God is love.  Therefore love.  Without distinction,
without calculation, without procrastination, love.”

“The most obvious lesson in Christ’s teaching is that
there is not happiness in having and getting anything,
but only in giving.”

“It is better not to live
than not to love.”
(Luke 17:2)

Do not grudge the hand that is moulding the still too shapeless image
within you.  It is growing more beautiful though you see it not, and
every touch of temptation may add to its perfection.
Therefore keep in the midst of life.
Do not isolate yourself.
Be among men, and among things, and among troubles,
and difficulties, and obstacles.”

“Talent develops itself in solitude, character in the stream of life.”

“We love Him; we love all men.  We cannot help it.  Because
He loved us, we love; we love everybody.
Contemplate the love of Christ, and you will love.
Stand before that mirror, reflect Christ’s character,
and you will be changed into the same image from tenderness to tenderness.”

“Now abideth faith, hope, love, but the greatest of these is love.”

“You will give yourselves to many things, give yourselves first to love.”

“You will find as you look back upon your life
that the moments that stand out,
the moments when you have really lived,
are the moments when you have done things
in a spirit of love.”

“The test of religion, the final test of religion,
is not religiousness, but Love….not what I have done,
not what I have believed, not what I have achieved,
but how I have discharged the common charities of life.”
(yes!)

***

It’s taken me hours to write this.  Sarah came inside and we read some library books together.  Now she is in the bath.  I’m sitting cross legged on the closed toilet watching her play.  Grace’s rabbit is in the bathroom with us enjoying some time out of her cage.  She keeps trying to arrange a towel into a nest with her front paws and teeth.

The sun is shining and soon Sarah’s frost will be melted away.