a backwards glance

Thursday, May 23

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name;

make known among the nations what He has done.

Sing to Him, sing praise to Him;

tell of all His wonderful acts.

Glory in His holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and His strength;

seek His face always.

Remember the wonders He has done,

His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced,

you His servants, the descendants of Abraham,

His chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

He is the Lord our God;

His judgments are in all the earth.

Psalm 105:1-7

Today, I am celebrating wonderful memories that we have had in our home these past 6+ years.  As I sit here in the living room where I have for so many years now, though usually on the couch instead of the floor, a smile cannot help but come.
God was so good to have brought us here when the boys were about to turn 3 and 4.  Alex celebrated his 4th birthday the day we moved in.  Tim enjoyed a Nemo birthday just a couple months later.
One of the days we were here at the house getting it ready to move into, a large box had been emptied of its contents and the boys took it to the backyard and made a little fort out of it.  We all played out there for a couple of hours...and the box eventually ended up flat from all the rolling around in and on it.
The first time the boys were ever able to jump in a leaf pile was in this yard.  Now, that, was some fun that day!  The next few years, they could hardly wait for the leaves to fall and get crunchy so they could rake them up and jump in them.  One day Alex raked himself up a pile, made a little hole in the middle, and then sat down and read his first chapter book for awhile.
Little memories like these I will cherish always.
Though there have been some difficult times during our years here, the goodness of God and the kindness of our family and friends have made the good definitely outweigh the not so good.
The boys and I had shared some of our favorite memories the other day.  Alex remembers the time when he had learned how to count by 25 all the way to 100.  He told me, "I had asked you the quickest way to count to 100.  You said to be funny, '1...100.'  I then counted for you, 25, 50, 75, 100 and you were so proud of me!  It made me feel so good."  Tim remembers when two friends of ours came over and played in the leaves with him and Alex.  Tim ended up "bending" his foot...his way of saying he hurt his foot, but he enjoyed his friends being over.  If I begin sharing all of my memories, I will be here until next year this time.  The keys are turned over on Saturday, so let me just say that all the memories I have are sweet and bittersweet in their own right.  It has been a good home for us, even if I have come to totally dislike ants...and that's putting it very lightly.
Looking back, I am grateful.  Looking ahead, I am excited.  Sitting here now, I am blessed.
God is so good!