A Smile :-)

The Bowens are stressed. I'm not gonna lie - having a baby, renovating a house, and having a husband switch jobs all at once is too much. K thrives under pressure; however, he admits he's reached his breaking point. Did I mention we have too much on our plate? Yet there's nothing we can do about it now as we find ourselves in the thick of it all except to persevere and endure.

And cling to the edge of the cliff with our finger nails.

I'm exaggerating - a little. In retrospect we couldn't really have changed the timing on any of it, and once we get settled things will be worth it. We are both so ready to have a clean and organized new home. We started packing this weekend. By started packing I mean loaded up a whopping 2 boxes of books. At least that's 2 less that we'll have to pack in a week when our house is done...

In the past I kept a journal. In Microsoft Word. Typing out my thoughts is way simpler and quicker than writing with pen and paper. I've said this before, but documenting my life in general provides a written reminder of the ways in which I've grown and changed over a year's time. I used to look back and think, "What did I do this year? What did I learn? How did I change and grow as a person?" Not having a good answer to those questions often made me feel like I wasted a whole year. Being able to read my thoughts and see the obstacles God brought me to / through and how He changed my heart provides much comfort and encourages me to continue trying to live life to the fullest for another year.

SO - all of this said, I went back through the archives in my blog, mostly to see how far we've come. Instead of finding deep, heartfelt lessons that I'd typically write in my journal, I found several great posts that made me laugh. Smile. Not think about all the things on our to-do list at the moment. Just what I needed. In no particular order, these are my top 3 favorites:

"Arbuckle Wilderness...Wow! What a Difference!"

Calling All Verminators

Who says dogs don't smile?

And of course, this little girl always brings a smile to my face!