Lily turns Two

But if you ask her, she'll tell you "NO, three!" I'm really not sure what happened there...we have been practicing for weeks, with her saying every time to the question how old are you "Ummm, two!" but then, all of a sudden, when she blew out those candles, she decided to be "NO, three!" I think there's some sabotage involving a certain mischievous 8 year old, but I can't prove anything.

Lily had so much fun at her party...and what a party it was! We had so many friends that came & blessed us & of course the princess theme was perfect for our Lilybug. My favorite part was watching her literally squeal with delight with EVERY present she opened...and handing the tissue to JJ, a daddy that had the misfortune of standing close to her! Our little neat freak couldn't stand to just throw the tissue on the floor-no!! It had to be picked up!

And, how well her friends know her...she got babies & Barbies & dress up...and cleaning supplies. Yes, cleaning supplies, like a vacuum, mop, broom, dust pan-the works. And she was as thrilled to use them as can be! Hooked a baby on her hip, her new purse on her arm & grabbed a mop...it was cleaning time!

To entertain the little buddies, we played "Kiss the frog", which some of the kids took literally (they are only two years old), searched the King's treasure chest for jewels (ring pops), & hunting the backyard for dragon eggs, along with a pinata that everyone enjoyed taking a swing at.

I made the cookies-all 40 of them. They are princess crowns & were quite large. Didn't realize that when I was buying the cookie cutter!

Lily loved blowing out her candles...she would blow them out & then yell "AGAIN! AGAIN!", so we'd do it again...it's the little things right? All for a princess...

When God says Yes

I got to visit my friend yesterday that suffered a brain aneurysm a couple of weeks ago...she is doing amazing and working so hard on her recovery, with such a positive attitude. She is a beautiful woman and her story is nothing short of a miracle (she's looking at a FULL recovery!). My heart was so filled with gladness seeing her and I just kept thinking I'm so glad God said "yes" to our prayers. We go to Him with our needs (and sometimes wants) and know that He hears us but also sees the big picture, that which we aren't privy to here on Earth, and so we end our prayers with "Thy will be done" and like a child that is told "because I said so" has to trust that the parent knows best even when there isn't a clear reason, we have to be willing to accept God's will...His "because I said so", sometimes when it seems like the wrong answer. But oh, how wonderful when God says yes...and answers our prayers in the way we've asked...

Book Recommendation

What do you think of this?

"The love of God is no human projection, but the wrath of God is. In fact, what we call the wrath of God is really the love of God as experienced by a fool. The wrath of God is the form the love of God takes when we fight it, just as darkness is the form light takes when we turn from it and run into our own shadow. We cast the shadow of wrath; God shines steadily with love, as the sun with light. God does not change. We do."

taken from Making Sense of Suffering, Peter Kreeft

If you want a whole new perspective on suffering & why it exists, I would recommend this book. It's sometimes hard for me to read because of the style of writing he uses, but it is one to really make you think. I guarantee you will never view suffering the same way.