how are you today? blessed.

i've been going through a number of things i want to share in my head but i am certain that they will not come to me now that i have finally gotten to a computer and started typing.

after dropping the boys off this morning (we only took two trolleys! which means on our way home we will only have to take two trolleys rather than last night's debacle where i took the boys on 1 trolley, and 3 buses), i was able to catch up on some reading of Peterson' s book, "a long obedience in the same direction," and i came across this passage:

"There is a general assumption prevalent in the world that it is extremely difficult to be a Christian (my thought exactly because the devil is so full of temptations and following Christ - obeying his commands - is not always the easiest thing). While it is true that many don't completely disqualify themselves as "Christians," they do modify their claims: ordinary Christians they call themselves.... (bla, very good stuff, but again i feel like i'm beating the clock - the boys and i wake up a 6:20 - 6:30, i gotta make sure they get up, get them dressed, medicated, teeth brushed, & breafasted) ...

so here's the clincher, "the easiest thing in the world is to be a Christian. What is hard is to be a sinner. Being a Christian is what we were created for. The life of faith has the support of an entire creation and the resources of a magnificient redemption. The structure of this world was created by God so we can live in it easily and happily as his children. The history we walk in has been repeatedly entered by God, most notably Jesus Christ, first to show us and then to help us live full of faith and exuberant with purpose. In the course of Christian discipleship we discover that without Christ we were doing it the hard way and that with Christ we are doing it the easy way. It is not Christians who have it hard, but non-Christians."

hallelujah! the word! that's a pretty huge revelation for me and so thanks, God.

well - - my sister delivered her first child today -- the pinnacle of blessings as far as i'm concerned. baby kailyn was 9lbs 4 ounces. deep breath! i cannot believe something that heavy came out of my little sister but i am so happy for you (sis) and my brother in law. oh the entire family is just incredibly happy.

okay the boys, for dinner last night i made yummy chicken with a creamy sauce. The best way to cook chicken, put it on the fryer (2 minutes each side) and then bake it at 440 degrees for 13-15 minutes. yum! the boys have really enjoyed my cooking which makes me happy. then there's the late night snack which i have tried to limit to fruit or yogurt. timothy snuck in a couple cinnamon toast crunch and cheeze it party snacks yesterday. Charles is really enjoying camp; he gets to go on his trip today to the philadelphia zoo. Timothy went yesterday and had to walk 1 mile there and 1 mile back. He says he has gotten the hang of walking.

and i guess lastly, i haven't learned yu gi oh yet, but i will soon. we finished the yu gi oh book on the second day of our trip together so i went and got them another one, but it's a comic (not my thing).

They've both been reading and writing (sort of) in their "captain's log" = 0.99 cent composition books.
i'm going to look up tickets today, we might be coming home next weekend.

love. peace. blessings. baby! can't wait to see kailyn (and a couple other people too ;-)