February 4

I was driving behind a truck with a trailer on my way to Target this morning. Said vehicle was poking along well below the posted speed limit, so after uttering a few frustrated words under my breath, I began plotting to pass it when traffic cleared. 

Then I noticed the text scrawled across the back of the trailer and I drew in a sharp breath, because the letters strung together read 'Logan'. And suddenly, I felt perfectly content right where I was, slow pace and all. In a weird way, it was like being 'with' him once again.

With Logan's anniversary just a week away, he's been on my mind even more than usual. And seeing his name there in an unexpected place felt like an unexpected gift.

February 3

When Adam asked what I wanted to do for date night, I thought about it for a few hours and eventually decided on something unusual: In N Out.

I don't know why, but I developed a hankering for those well-done fries and that saucy cheeseburger. And honestly, I didn't really feel like going out, so eating in seemed like a great plan.

And although Adam's been working on his laptop since he finished his food, it's still been a blessing to sit here near him watching "Lakefront Bargain Hunt" and crocheting. Because any time spent with my hunny is a blessing.

February 2

I bought three cakes of a beautiful purple variegated yarn on clearance a month or so ago. I'm not generally one who does much with multicolored yarns but as soon as I saw these, I thought "pullover sweater." So they came home with me and sat on my dresser until I finished the mint green baby blanket a few days ago, which gave me the go-ahead to start something new.

(This strange puke-like shade is a terrible representation of the actual color. It's much prettier than this. Promise.)

Anyway, I finished with the front and back panels over the weekend. Today, I seamed the shoulders, completed one sleeve, and began the second. 

This kind of project is very fulfilling for me. It's rewarding to feel like I'm creating something useful, and as I've said before, I am thankful to God for the gift of being able to crochet. The act of exercising creativity is like unlocking a new level of life enjoyment for me.

February 1

After the church service this morning, Adam, Isaac, and Brady suddenly noticed they were all wearing plaid with shades of brown and gray.

I sensed an unexpected moment of male bonding taking place, so naturally I whipped out my phone and had them pose for a photo. My guys. (Well, three of them. Logan is there too, in his way, but it's always weird for me to reference the men in our family without giving him a nod, too.)

They're all Wight men so they share lots of common traits, but they're also as different as the patterns of their respective shirts suggest. Fortunately for me, all of those differing traits and tendencies (usually) work together to create a beautiful harmony

. They're all wonderful people, and I am very (very) blessed and humbled to be able to call myself their wife and mother. 

January 31

It was nice (albeit hazy) out today, so Adam and I embraced the opportunity to take an afternoon walk.

As always, it was a blessing to be out and about getting some exercise with my main squeeze. He agreed with me that with Isaac's three-for-three college acceptances and Abby passing her CSETs (which was yesterday's big news) and all three getting straight A's last semester, it's been a good season for our kiddos.

So today, I'm thankful for time with my hunny that gave us the chance to reflect on and discuss some of our many blessings. It is, after all, very easy to forget to be grateful to God when things are going well. And I never want to fall into that trap, because without His grace, I would have nothing at all.

January 30

When the boys got home from school today, Isaac popped into my room --where I was busily working on a baby blanket-- and announced that he was happy. I asked why, and he shared that one of his good friends had approached him this morning and asked Isaac what he would think if he (the friend) converted to Christianity.

Isaac does a good job of living out his faith, especially given that he's still just 17. He goes to Young Life events and invites his friends --regardless of whether or not they identify as Christian-- to come along. And a number of them do. If they need a ride, he picks them up and takes them home. He volunteers with on AWANA night at church and with the kids on Sundays. He knows that knowing Jesus --and having a relationship with Him-- is important, and he acts on his faith.

The revelation about his friend's comment --and Isaac's genuinely joyful reaction to it-- did my heart so much good. He asked me to pray for his pal so I did and will continue to do so, but for now, I am thankful for my kiddo's sweet heart and for his willingness to share. I may be a 48-year old woman, but I could still learn a lot from him in this particular area.

January 29

I'm really enjoying my crochet projects these days. 

I'm currently alternating between two of them --a baby blanket (shown here) and a shawl-- and since they're two different patterns and two different yarns, they're holding my interest well. I may even finish both, and in relatively quick fashion, too.

I am thankful for how crocheting helps me to relax and focus, both on the work itself and on God. It sounds a little hokey as I write it, but "pray" and "crochet" go together like peanut butter and jelly. And it's definitely good for me to pray more.