"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us, we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be" - C.S. Lewis

There are days when I think I'd be ok if we didn't have kids (probably a defense mechanism) and there are days when I can't imagine living without kids: Not raising a child in what is right, having cuddle time, or playing with them and watching them grow. It certainly helps, both Matt and I, I believe, that my sister does spend so much time at our house (she's 15).

With our 10 year difference I have always been a "second mother" with her: My grandma called me "The Little Mother". She's there almost every weekday afternoon/evening for at least a couple of hours. When she's not there, the house just seems so empty. Matt commented on it the other day (she wasn't over) about how quiet the house seemed. I can't imagine not having any kids ever, especially once my sister grows up.

Matt's doing all right. When you ask him though you get "I'm OK". WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT MEAN?! He was "OK" before surgery. That boy needs to pick up a dictionary and get some new words! I do see an improvement in him. He's a bit stiff from trying not to move too much, but it's amazing to see him becoming his old self! Matt was always a goof-ball and acting silly...he's started to do that again! I tell him that I feel like I'm getting my husband back. Of course he's in denial about it and I think his "OK" response is just his fear of him not being healed or getting his hopes up about a complete recovery. Completely understandable.

My mom asked me to make a quilt for their church auction in september: I guess I better get started on that soon, otherwise it won't ever get done. I did finish the last of my UFOs *drum roll please*.....ta-da: I made two of these, but only finished one in time to give it as a Christmas gift ('07). My mom has been "whining" about how I haven't made her anything...I plan on giving it to my parents for their anniversary in November.

It's such an easy pattern to do! I plan on trying to do one a bit different: Have all the trees in one direction green and the opposite direction a dark blue swirled with silver and white (think Christmas trees against a snowy night sky). I would use a white border on the bottom (snow) and more of the blue on top (sky). It sounds good in theory, but we'll see.

The weather here has certainly been interesting...I don't think there has been such an icy winter that I can remember. Snow...yes, but this amount of icing and wintry mix...nope. I ended up cancelling my massage appointment after work. I just went home and cooked dinner: My mom sent down meatloaf, and I made homemade biscuits and roasted potatoes. After dinner I made orange marmalade which came out REALLY well. I wasn't expecting it to come out as good as it did. It had just the right amount of sweet and bitter. I told Matt that I definitely want to do a garden this summer and I want to learn more about canning/jaring.