28 May 2015

everything in me says "thank you!"




  • a friend being in just the right place at just the right time (and sharing her smoothie with me)
  • "the white family of 6"
  • emma's hugs
  • Ebenezer stones (the actual stones...and that the talk went well)


  • hot chocolate + instant coffee + quiet moments
  • opening the cafe on sunday mornings...always a gift.
  • the gift of a prostitute's smile
  • the best $1 i've spent in a long time -  the "cleaner business" showed up to vacuum at just the right time! (thanks bella and nathaniel!!)


  • mada 1 - psalm 136 
  • "thank you! everything in me says 'thank you'!" psalm 138:1
  • zodi's trash business
  • andrea's willingness to keep cash kids at the last minute
  • piment banane with friends (even if the reason we're gathered is to say good-bye to a friend...)



21 May 2015

feno fankasitrahana aho


  • family time at the victoria beach hotel (best bouncy slide house we've been on in a loooong time)(until nick and i were politely informed that it was for the children)
  • impromptu cuppa with esther
  • mason jar monday complete with popcorn


  • a friend's picture of walking in wildflowers
  • nick's leadership of our family (specifically of our "family chat")
  • emma's incredible one rollerblade abilities


  • praying for our friends around the world
  • anytime someone says "can i talk with you?" 
  • quaker instant oatmeal

  • oh so much fun with KJ and Kirstie at Wednesday Evening's festivities
  • jalepeno poppers
  • "lantern sitting" (and the lanterns match perfectly) (not to mention how thankful i am for the owner of the lanterns)


  • people whose faces exude kindness
  • shea's willingness to make cookie dough
  • chairs that are on the floor because they are part of a rocket ship (not because they fell over during a sail)


  • the ease with which emma's first tooth came out
  • questions.
  • a super special phone call from a super special friend with super special news about her super special daughter

14 May 2015

je suis reconnaissant

  • BEAUTIFUL music/singing coming from the cafe (Malagasy choir from Tana)
  • "i will change your name" song (the 'fuge version)
  • getting to watch eli's end of the year karate performance
  • well timed winks
  • celebrating 13 years of marriage
  • another set of fun dates (this week, not next)


  • amusement...watching joyce meyer teach in malagasy (she was teaching in english...with voice over in malagasy...but it REALLY looked like she was speaking malagasy)
  • andrea's help getting the video for molly loaded
  • "He's astonishing.  Be astonished by Him." - barry brown


  • plethora - absolute plethora - of mother's day cards
  • special mother's day dinner in the deck 6 conference room...3 sweet girls and their efforts to bless their moms
  • "Jesus sat among them, listened and asked questions." - realization from Luke 2
  • celebrating shea! she's so worth celebrating. 
  • whipped cream and cinnamon on top of a coffee
  • lovely "good-bye gathering" for the mums
  • a sweet, sweet teacher buying cookies for her whole class


  • "relax in my presence, trusting in my strength." - jesus calling
  • a real letter - and a long one at that! - from nicole markert
  • surprise breakfast from tierah saturday morning


07 May 2015

gifts!


  • fun dates -- may the fourth be with you
  • AMAZING ANNIVERSARY GIFT (this deserves a post all by itself)
    • incredibly thoughtful & generous friends
    • childcare lined up
    • reservations made
    • stack of notes
    • all expenses paid
    • room service (multiple times)
    • super cheap room service charge (about 1.50 usd)
    • soft & comfy robe
    • sleep...lots of sleep
    • bath tub
    • 2 creme brulees
    • just nick
    • such generosity


  • "i'll pour out My Spirit on those who serve Me." - from Acts 2
  • praying sunday night after church
  • "He is making me whole & beautiful - putting me as i should be." - phil 3:21
  • kind and encouraging words
  • surprise phone call from molly on monday
  • bottle of encouragement




06 May 2015

i pitched a big fit.

just need to admit in a semi-public forum that i just pitched a big fit.

foot stomping.  name calling. fist banging on the table. ugly words coming out of my mouth. fit.

it probably would've been fun to have caught it on camera.  i'm sure my face looked a bit like some of these (but with more foot stomping and fist banging):



so much frustration and emotion, all over a mistake....a mistake that ended up being fixable.

the fit i pitched could've been worse.  but it was ugly enough. man oh man, why did i do that?!

i was working on some little invitations for a little gathering to honor the moms that are leaving the AFM...and, after buying the cardstock, making, printing, cutting and labeling the invitations, realized that i left off the name of one of the moms that is leaving.  i thought there were 6 leaving.  there are 7 leaving.

i then proceeded to moan and groan and do all of the aforementioned things...not to mention trying to explain to my 5 year old why i was acting the way i was (she was sweetly trying to console me..."you didn't do such a bad job, mama...it's going to be ok....").  may it be a teflon moment that doesn't stick (no one can argue that calling yourself stupid in front of your child is a bad idea).

i was angry to think that i wasted 30 minutes and would have to spend 30 more minutes redoing what i was ALMOST done with.

i was tempted to rip up all the invitations and throw them on the floor (but that would just create an even bigger - tangible - mess that would have to be cleaned up!).
instead i took a closer look at the invitation and realized i could fairly easily squeeze the extra name into a space that just happened to be big enough...and, once again, using sharpies proved to be useful as you can't even tell that the added name wasn't a part of the original print.  it's a little smushed...but i'd be willing to bet that no one is going to notice.  (i'm so grateful that i didn't act like a 3 year old and rip up the invitations!)

silly me.  so upset over nothing.

i can't tell you how often i've said to my kids "make a mistake, make it great" --  coaching and encouraging them not to rip up their artwork or shred their homework in frustration when they make a mistake but to look for a way to correct the mistake...

...add a cute little flower to cover up a spelling error
....put an extra sticker to cover up the smudge
...figure out a way to creatively change your mistake into a part of the finished product


practice what you preach, dianna.  don't cry over spilt milk (or yell or let out a disgusted sigh or stomp around and make it all even worse).  don't jump to the conclusion that everything is ruined and all is lost.  figure out if it's fixable...or figure out if it needs to be redone.

does pitching a fit ever really help?

so what if i had had to remake the invitations?!  i could've bought 6 more pieces of cardstock...and the .60 worth of color printing isn't going to break the bank, that's for sure.  i can spare 30 minutes of my life to remake, print, cut and label 20 invitations.  thankfully i didn't have to...but, even if I had, it wouldn't have been that big of a deal.

silly me. so upset over nothing.

04 May 2015

glimpse into my journal


we're here
                        here for You
                                                     You are here
                                                                              here for us

so simple.  so miraculous.

i'm amazed that the Lord meets us with...and allows us to meet with Him.  He is so very faithful...

give Him an inch - He gives us a mile.

if we just take that one little step in His direction - He's right there...never as far away as we may think...

amazing.