Spring is-- Tra-Lalalala-LAAA-- Here!

I know because I found a bunch of it in our yard today. Check it out. B-)






(Guess whose feet these are? :D)


And now, a song that I wrote (inspired by something very similar :-D). Can you guess what that was? ;)

Dew drops on grass blades and pretty new dresses,
Red rubber bootlings and snow flakes on tresses--
Brown paper packages tied up with strings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

Large chunky cutting boards and tiny white flowers
Lilacs and tea sets and ivy'd stone towers--
Chubby small babies just starting to sing;
These are a few of my favorite things.

Twirly small girlies and small laughing faces
Dancing and singing and family embraces--
Laundry that flaps in the wind where it swings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the cold bites, when the jalapeno stings
When I'm feeling sa-a-ad--
I simply re-member my fav-o-rite things,
And then I don't FE-E-E-E-E-EEEL-- SOOOO-oooo ba-aa-ad!!!

... :)

(And yes, I have been stung by a jalapeno. Take my word for it-- that is not fun.)





This... is a pretty good day. :)

_______________________________

Random note: My camera smells like smoked sausage. :-/

"Brown paper packages, tied up with strings..."

"...These are a few of my favorite things!"

I love that song. Not only because it's just great, but because it is actually filled with many of my favorite things. :) (I wrote my own version of that song, filled with some of my other favorite things... but I'll save that for another day, if you guys want me to post it.)

But, back to the title of this post... *glow* ...Today, in the mail, I got one of those things. My dear friend sent it to me; it was a brown(ish) paper package. Not tied up with strings, but I can forgive that part. ;)

It contained this beautiful little tea cup night-light and a sweet, sweet note. Which made me smile my face off, and I'm just... ooh. I'm blessed today. There are bits of happiness ALL over, and I'm feeling so, so... so. God is good! :D

Learning to See the Little Things

"Little Bits of Happiness"...I looked at the title of this blog just now and thought, "I wish I had some little bits to post tonight. I wish I could spread some joy all over this blog like butter on bread, but... What could I post?

Well, to be honest, looking back on this past week... I didn't know. This week has been a very trying one for me. At first, my mind went "*sob* You have nothing. This has been a miserable week." But then I realized, no. It hasn't. It's had its rough times, yes. But I know that God is and has been in those times. And He is working in them.

When I really look back on this week, I can see that it has been filled with loads upon loads of things to be grateful for. There have been sad things, yes. Many of them. But there have also been "Little bits of happiness" peppered throughout that I could take joy in. Little things that made me smile; little blessings for which I could praise, even when I was feeling down. Little ways that God said to me, "I love you, and I'm still here" every single day.

I guess, this week has been one to remind me of something. Even in the hardest of times, God is there. And even when I can't see it, He still shows me that He loves me.

How can I remember this?

...There are little bits of happiness all around me.

:)

Rainy Days and Red Rubber Boots

I love rainy days. I also love red rubber boots.

I think I've mentioned my desire to own a pair of shiny red boots before on this blog. At the time, I don't think I had any immediate plans to attain any, but... !! Guess what??

I have some. And they. Are. The bomb. B-)

Today was a rainy day (before it started snowing), and it was actually quite warm as well (before it got all cold).

And... really, writing all of that was not the main purpose of the story for today at all. In fact, I was just going to get onto my blog to post a lovely little poem that I read at my Oma's house the other day. But then I started to think about rain, and red boots and pictures... and out came the lovely little title for this post (which I am leaving there because I like it).

...In typical fashion, the tired Naomi is good at getting distracted and coming out with random things like that. So, before it gets any worse, I'll just post the pictures that I took while we were in Leamington today (while I sat in the van with Keturah waiting for people) when it was raining outside. I don't have pictures of the boots; they are too awesome.

(Actually, that's not the reason for the lack of red footwear being pictured on this blog. I just didn't take any. Weird, I know.)

Aaaaannnd... this is what happens when you give Naomi a hood for her jacket and nothing to do except take pictures and sit down. Don't make fun. ;)




Keturah :)


(Anna, looking for the van.)


And now back into focus...

The poem that I read at Oma's house was taken from a book called, "Us Little People: Mennonite Children" by Carl Hiebert. The book is so very sweet... I think I would like to own a copy of it one day. I copied the poem out to write on here for y'all to enjoy, but I hope you don't take that as a reason to not look through that book if you ever have the opportunity. I would highly recommend a good look through that book; the pictures are beautiful and the things spoken worthy of a great many smiles.

Here's the poem:


A Math Worksheet

This school year is like a math sheet
The Master has handed to you
The four basic functions are needed
In the work you are given to do.

Some problems require addition
Of diligence, virtue and faith
And some of them call for subtraction
Of laziness, carelessness, hate.

For choosing the right in decisions,
Division you'll need to employ.
Make good use of multiplication
With cheerfulness, kindness, and joy.

Check over your work and be accurate:
Small errors affect the whole sheet.
And guard against streaks of indifference
Or blotches of ugly conceit.

What note do you think will the Master
Inscribe when the school year is done?
On your sheet mark "Unsatisfactory"
Or will he write, "Very well done?"


And now to pretend this is Facebook and say,

Naomi Thomson likes this. :)

Savior, Please - Josh Wilson

No pictures today, just a video. :) Enjoy!




(By the way... I didn't make this video, I just looked up the song, and-- *BOOP!* There it was. Ripe for the clicking. :) I love this song! Especially right now.)

Sometimes, When I'm Feeling Overwhelmed...

...I just whip out the pictures of this sweet sweet face and listen to This Song. :) Why that song? Simple. If I'm sitting on my bed, it makes me go "Boing, boing, boing." If I'm sitting on the couch, it makes me go, "Thwump, thwump, thwump." If I'm standing in the livingroom, it makes me go "Dance, dance, jump"-- and if I'm cooking it makes me go "Cook, cook, JOY!" And joy makes most everything better. Agreed?

Why NOT that song? That's the better question. ;)




(You know, it's a good thing he's not older... 'Cause one look in my direction like this, and I just go weak at the knees.) ;)





P.S. Isn't he FABULOUS??

Valentine's Day

Ah, Valentine's Day. The yearly reminder to keep loving our loved ones in ways that make them know it. :)

You know, way back in the day, I can't particularly remember doing anything on Valentine's Day. We used to get little Valentine cards in the mail from my grandparents, and we always loved that... that was always something to look forward to. But other than that, there just seemed to be a lot of random red, pink and white candies that made their way into our lives... And also, of course, we used to make gazillions of Valentine cards for our parents and siblings. Tons and tons.

But, other than that, it was just a regular day.

This Valentine's Day, somehow, while all of these old traditions have carried on into the younger set of children (more or less), we somehow ended up celebrating with a little more "Umph." Baking, dressing up, wearing pink, taking pictures, drinking hot beverages out of red cups with hearts on them, and having tea parties were all included amongst the festivities.

It all began with a morning outburst of "Happy Valentine's Day!" from all of the little kids and a shower of cards that they had made flying in all directions, each one making its way to the person whose name was written in red on the inside.

Now, I would give this story a middle and an end to make that beginning more... um, beginningy, but I just don't have the time for that right now. So, instead, I'll just caption the pictures below and you can just imagine (by those captions and pictures) how wonderful the day must have been for yourself. Also, if you check out My Other Blog you can see some of the other things I did during that day.

Mom and I decided to try on some Valentine-esq. shoes for the day. So here are our feet. I didn't bother to take of my socks, 'cause that would have been cold.




I then added to the shoes a few more garments which were suited to the occasion.


And a flower to my head. :)



Anna wore pink. And white. And a smile. :)



Tabsy wore pink too, and the three of us took some photos together.



Then I borrowed Leah's coffee mug and had some hot coffee. Isn't it purty?


Oh, ----AND! Mom gave me a chocolate!




The End.

What did you do for Valentine's Day this year? :)