Random Thoughts

"He who cannot endure winter does not deserve summer."

I feel like we have endured one long, hard Michigan winter - and I'm ready for summer, or, even better, spring. I was thinking of my favorite time of year, when the flowering trees bloom and spread their scent far and wide. Really - I just can't wait for that.

I am in love with long walks outside at night. I took one this evening. The sky was clear and I saw so many stars, so much beauty, lots of TV sets...and had a welcome revelation about my calling (thanks to a well-timed conversation).

I realized how grateful I am that my feet are working right now. I have some chronic problems in that area, and my doctor has confirmed that, basically, they will always be getting increasingly worse. The pain is alleviated by custom orthotics that I wear in my shoes, and that allows me to take the aforementioned walks. In fact, one of the best parts of our last trip to Disney World was the lack of pain in my feet. They were tired, sure, but not in searing pain as they usually are, and it made all the difference during our vacation.

I also felt thankful today for Dan. Not just in the abstract, "he's a great husband" way (although he absolutely is), but because he is a huge factor in our family's self-reliance. Since we've moved into this house we have NEVER needed to call an outside company to do anything. He (with Joel's help on most projects) put on a new roof, painted the house's exterior, pulled out the overgrown bushes in the backyard, dug out a huge tree stump, installed a gas fireplace, put in tile in several places, removed a light-up toothbrush from our upstairs toilet, and is nearly finished with our bathroom. He also replaced a few windows and built a deck, and painted most of the rooms in the house. Besides that, I have this gut feeling that he COULD do whatever needed to be done. And it's not just his practical skills that I love; he is a loving, thoughtful, funny person who loves me, all the time, even though he has to live with me. I am one lucky woman, more blessed than I deserve.

Tonight we had a fantastic Laurel activity. Who knew that I would ever grow to love these girls so much? They are amazing (a generally overused word that fits perfectly here). They're fun, smart, beautiful, spiritual, not-perfect-but-on-the-right-path kind of girls. I love them!

My children might just be the funniest and most beautiful creatures on Earth; I'm not sure about this, but they could back up that claim. Hunter follows Dan into the bathroom we're renovating and says, "Help you??" They run and play outside, color together, laugh over what seems like nothing to me, and melt my cynical old heart every single day. Not sure what I did to deserve them; it's as if Heavenly Father picked out two of his favorite spirits ("noble and great ones" I think) and sent them to us. I'm certain that one of my greatest purposes in my life will be to become the sort of parent they ought to have.

One of my favorite books is "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. Probably 79% of all adult women would agree with me - and goodness knows I don't want to run with the pack - but for me, this book is absolutely timeless. I listen to the audiobook over and over, watch the PBS movie once a month, read the book itself whenever I'm out of library books, and it never fails to please.

Is there any better invention in the past 10 years than the iPod? I am IN LOVE with mine. I had to take the photos off because I have so many podcasts on there. There is so much information available with this technology. I have a deep and abiding desire to travel (when my kids are older), and while I'm waiting for circumstances to be right for that, I can listen to travel podcasts. It's a dream. Iceland - yes. Morocco - no (except for the nifty Morocco pavilion at Epcot).

And what pastime beats singing in the car, by yourself, with the music cranked up? You go Beth - make up that harmony! No one can hear you! Car dance, woman!

Do you ever watch those Time-Life infomercials for multi-CD sets? I was watching "Romancing the 70s" the other night and almost picked up my phone. Actually, it never seems to matter what kind of music is included, because I always want it.

I hope this is interesting to someone...although I decided to ditch trying to be "fancy" with my blog, at least for today, and just put something in it that will be meaningful to me sometime down the road. You can all feel like you just read my journal, with permission! :)