A few favorite fotos...

Despite the rainy days of April, this spring has been full of joy.

My sweet niece, Mayla, is visiting for three weeks from California.  She is 3 1/2 months old and such a darling girl.  We are in love!

The sun came out for a short while on Easter Sunday, giving us the chance to pose for a family photo with the girls.

Kay, Isabel, me, mom, Jill and Reiko (my sister-in-laws)

This has been the best year ever for my tulips.  I finally cut a bouquet to enjoy inside the house today.

Joe and Isabel moved our strawberries up to the garden near the deck, to avoid a total washout like we suffered last year.  And I finally bought a lilac bush after nine years of wanting one...

I don't know about you, but when I was eleven years old, I didn't know the first thing about fashion.  Somehow, Isabel has turned into this gorgeous fashionista that I sit in awe of.  Just look at this girl:

Seriously, she was just 3 1/2 months old yesterday!  These kids have got to slow down on this growing up business!

What are your favorite moments from April?  Did you catch them on film (or SD card, as the case may be)?

Perspective

Lately, I have been bogged down by never-ending to-do lists, a tough quarter at school, working too many night shifts, not getting enough sleep...all of which has given me a bad case of Eeyore-style gloom.

I've had a horrible headache on and off for the past two days (stress and barometric changes, go away!).

I woke up at 2:30am to a clap of lightning that shook the whole house and reverberated through my tender skull, ensuring that sleep would be elusive for the rest of the night.

I had to drive Isabel to band practice at 7:30am, in the storm, with my head throbbing to the beat of the windshield wipers.

Can you hear the gloominess?

However, on the way home from her school, I took the scenic route through the historic part of town.  Not much traffic, lots of old houses with gorgeous spring gardens, the rain slowing to a drizzle that brought out the green lawns and the bright colors of the tulips, daffodils and weeping cherry trees lining the street.  I thought about blessed we are to live in such a great town, with good schools and awesome people and hundreds of opportunities for our family.

At that moment, God opened my eyes to a new perspective.

The rain will nourish my flowers, making for a beautiful garden.

Having ten minutes alone with Isabel in the morning is a gift, even if we're just singing along to Sugarland's "Stuck like Glue" (we love that catchy song!).

When ten kids who aren't even mine are shouting and jumping and running through our yard, I know that I am blessed that my own kids make friends so easily.

When I complain about the amount of homework this professor is assigning, I know that I am blessed to be going to college on my employer's dime.

When I am exhausted from working nights, I know that this sacrifice enables me to spend more time with my kids.  They will not be little for much longer, and I will have time to catch up on all that sleep I am missing.

When I worry about Joe quitting his stable job, I know that I am blessed to have a husband who has a dream and is willing to work hard to chase it.

When I miss my dad, and wish that he were still here to watch Elijah's ballgames and fuss over their excellent report cards, I know that having my mom close by is a blessing.

I am shaking off the gloom of the past month and embracing this new perspective.  How about you?

The power of praise.

A


4.0


"Excellent work.


Pleasure to have in class.


Doing a great job reading...you should be very proud."


The kids brought home their report cards today.


Through my exhaustion, I beamed with pride as I read their teachers' comments.


They work hard in school, and always strive to do their best.  Their teachers love them and appreciate their consistent good effort in class.


Elijah, Isabel and Gabe:  your dad and I are proud of your achievements, your hard work, and your grades!

We're also very glad that we never instituted the "dollar for each A" incentive; otherwise, we'd be broke by now.

We love you!

What's for dinner?

Finding healthy dinners that everyone likes is next to impossible in this house (please tell me you have the same problem...).

Homemade chicken rice soup is always a hit, but now that warmer weather is (almost) here, I need some new ideas.

A new favorite lately is brown rice, steamed broccoli and broiled salmon.  Isabel is the only one who isn't crazy about the fish, so she substitutes cottage cheese for her protein.

I have about ten pounds that I am dying to lose, so I need some new recipes to help me accomplish that goal.

That's where you all come in.  Do you have any favorite recipes, that your whole family eats, and that can be modified to be low-calorie?  Tall order, I know, but a girl can try, right?  Help!