Have you ever wondered if you put too much pressure on yourself? Is your everyday 'to do' list not getting done by the end of the day and then you go to bed feeling like you didn't accomplish much that day? What a lie! Do you realize that just raising your children, teaching them and being a helper to your husband is an amazing accomplishment each and every day?! I do believe that when our children are grown and the days are a little less busy, we will have time to accomplish those 'to do' lists, but right now we need to be satisfied with the fact that we are raising happy, healthy families. We are not failures at the end of the day becuase we couldn't accomplish more, we are treasures in God's heart because we are caring for His children and that's what's most important.

   He tends His flock like a shepard: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 40:11

    Sometimes it's hard to understand why, and then, who am I to question God and what He's doing? He knows the plans He has for us. Plans to give us hope and a future. He is in control and we must surrender our lives to Him and allow His perfect plan to be revealed in our lives. I have found it difficult to understand the death of Missy Gray whom I read about in the TOS magazine this Spring, and then again to hear about the passing of another Home Educating blogger this past November. Just last night in our tiny town, a family from Colorado was passing through, a Pastor, his wife and their seven children, when they went off the road and down a steep embankment. Tragically, the woman was killed in the accident and everyone else survived. Four days before Christmas and this family must deal with such a horrific and unexpected loss. I have found this to be a time to search myself...do I love enough? do I say it enough? Was I affectionate today? Did I live my day like it was my last? I guess it brings me to this realization...why are we here? To worship the God of Israel...My Jesus. We are here for a purpose and if we surrender our lives completely to Christ then our purpose will be revealed and lived out.

    I guess we all have that desire to live forever, but I do believe that God placed that in all of us because we can...

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son and whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Today Lee and I had our 'December Date'. We travelled into town and began our special date in a small restaurant where they serve Italian Subs. We then walked through the town and wandered in and out of all the local shops. This is quite a treat for us because we normally only shop in stores that have carts for our two littlest family members! We stopped at a local coffee shop and ordered two tall steamers to go...and then we continued to browse through the town, sipping warm drinks as snowflakes swirled through our hair! I love spending time alone with each child, it's such a gift. I thank Jesus for blessing me with these amazing children. 

    It snowed about six inches last night, on top of our already 4 inch base, and our neighbour, who is as close to us as a Grandpa, made the greatest toboggan hill between our houses! The kids had so much fun on it this morning and even My Baby Boy went down on Lee's lap! This was his first "I think this is fun" toboggan ride! He loved it so much that he even went down all by himself! What a joyous sound to hear him laughing all the way down. He didn't even complain about walking back up! These are the moments that I treasure as a Mother.