As of lately....

We are:

• looking at houses.


• trying to decide if we can afford the houses we like.


• pretty sure we can't yet afford the houses we like.


• saving.


• watching a lot of NetFlix.


• loving having friends over for dinner and games.


• still using the car as our "talking place".


• consistent at Thursday night Bible study.


• seeing the occasional in-theater movie.


• eating out on Friday night, sometimes followed by an in-theater movie.


• working and trying to pretend that we like it.


• reminding ourselves that we should be grateful that we have jobs.


• ambivalent on the baby-issue.


• loving our church.


• getting a kick out of our fourth-grade Sunday school crew.


• trying to figure out what's next in our life.


• loving each other. No matter what's going on; always, always loving each other.

The Best Gift of All

Christmas is long behind me and now it's just January.

Not that there's anything wrong with January, but there's nothing all that right about it either. It's cold. It's gloomy. I'm back at work.

Not that I hate my job but I'd always rather be not working. Because, well, I'd always rather be playing.

The other problem with January is that all the cheerful Christmas decorations are put away and my house looks a little bereft. Clean and tidy, but bereft.

I finally completed a Christmas layout and, in passing, I tried out the new collage photo feature from Walmart and I'm a fan. I don't think it would work when ordering a bunch of random photos from different occasions but if you're ordering prints from one event, the collage is pretty cool!

I was looking at my completed layout, when I realized what the best Christmas gift of all had been: Mom didn't wear a wig, cap, or scarf for the entire evening.

Her hair's not growing back as quickly as she'd like and I know this is a source of frustration for her but I think she looks beautiful. And so very, very valuable, in the literal sense of the word, meaning "of value." We came so close to losing her. She had a fairly aggressive form of breast cancer and it was scary. But she's here, she's with us, she's in remission, she's healthy, and I will always be grateful.

And I'm so glad that she felt confident enough to be in photos without a head-covering. The hair that is slowly growing back on her precious head is prettier than any wig, cap, or scarf could ever be.