These are the small graces, little moments when the miracles come...
Small graces leading me to the larger one...
The past week or so has been one for the record books! Our days have been filled with so many special people & happy, fun memories. There have, however, also been moments of heartache as we have mourned with friends and family struggling with relationships and health issues. It's feels weird at times to think that such simple joys can happen even in the midst of hurting hearts. But it does! And it is such a sweet grace!
One of this past weeks highlights was meeting some old friends ( Jim & Esther Fikkert) at the Milwaukee Zoo. They live in Washington so it had been almost three years since we last saw them. Our families have grown and jobs have changed but they were as easy to talk to as ever.
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| our two families |
Our family is developing a serious addiction to zoos - every time we go we see/experience something amazing. The mysteries of God's creation are endless!
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| petting sting rays |
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| the kids loved watching this jaguar search out his dinner |
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| big buddy is all boy (rough and fast) except for when it comes to reptiles and babies - then he's a high pitch talking pile of mush. |
The day after the zoo was a our church's monthly fellowship lunch. Our whole family looks forward to these events as they are a great time to relax and have fun together as well as strengthen friendships.
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| the kids had a blast "teaching" one of their favorite friends how to climb a tree |
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| "look mommy, i'm a sloth" |
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| this girl has no fear... |
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| the higher and faster the swing, the better |
Then Monday evening, just our family headed to different park for a little picnic in celebration of Jeremy passing his sixth architect licensing exam - only one more to go!
So very proud of my man! He's been working tremendously hard to finish all his test in a year (quite a feat since the average pass rate for some of the tests is only 50%) and yet has still found lots of time and energy to pour into our family.
There were also a few fun things that happened in our home, or our kitchen, to be precise.
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| big buddy has started helping with the dishes and actually asked if he could wash the pans too. |
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| chocolate covered ginger makes banana bread even better |
I'll share some more pictures of her visit in the next couple days, but one of the biggest treats of this last week has been visiting with my littlest sister, Angel. It's been a tradition for her to come and stay a week in the summer and it's always such a joy to see the ways she's grown and matured. She's a delight!
Another person I'm sure will be a delight is our new nephew Flint - born just yesterday! I don't have any pictures of him to share yet but we are all anxious to meet him so I'm sure they'll be bunches soon.
What are some of the things that brought delight to your week?
"sometimes they slip by without notice
sometimes they are very hard to see
other times it's very clear when they are happening to me"
other times it's very clear when they are happening to me"
Wait a second...that's the same zoo that we go to! You were sooo close to my city. Excuse me while I have a fangirl moment. :)
ReplyDeleteAww, what a fun weekend! Our weekend was crazy busy with unexpected issues with our car battery and our a/c unit in both our house and the rental. Ich! But taking note of the little things that bring joy is the only way to get through a weekend like that. =)
ReplyDeleteHi. Thanks for linking up to the Hip Homeschool Hop today. I noticed that you linked to a category on your blog, rather than a specific post. We've changed the hop, so that we feature activities and specific posts on your blog. I'd love for you to re-link up, linking a specific post URL (or 3!) to the hop. This way, we may feature your post in a future "round-up" of ideas. Thanks so much!
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