|| Gracious ||

One of my favorite verses is,

A gracious woman retaineth honour....Proverbs 11:16

A while ago, I looked up the definition of gracious in Webster's 1828 Dictionary.

Here it is:

Godly, pleasing, acceptable,

Marked by kindness and courtesy,

Marked by tact and delicacy,

Merciful, commpassionate,

Characterized by charm and good taste,

Generosity of spirit,

And the tasteful leisure of wealth and good breeding.

Wow.  That is quite the lady.  The picture that draws in my mind is most certainly someone I want to be.  If there is one word I want to be known for in this life, it is GRACIOUS. I know I'm not nearly where I ought to be.  I lack graciousness often. 

A life under pressure causes the contents to spill over.  And my goodness, how the contents of my heart spill over the top.  Not only have I had to adjust to a new marriage in the past two years.  But also, a new culture, living with family on top of me, "in my space", :)... a new church, all of the raging emotions that spill out after childbirth, new, new, new, different things that absolutely smother me at times.  Yes, I've been in this "new" life for two years now.  And sometimes, I question will I ever get to the point where the new-ness of it all doesn't bother me.  I know the answer is, YES.

But here is where God's Living Word comes in.  Graciousness doesn't make exceptions for new situations.  God knows where I need to change.  He has put me here for a purpose.

Yesterday, I read in Proverbs 31, "Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come."  (verse 25) A GRACIOUS woman retaineth HONOUR. Strength and HONOUR are her clothing.  Honour is her clothing because she is gracious.

Maybe this word Gracious will resonate with you a bit more.  I hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed me.

|| a hike ||

Leon has told me of a hike that he's done several times. It is a huge flight of stairs up a hill with a cell tower at the top. I've wanted to do this hike for some time now and was finally invited to tag along with another family. 

It was a great workout (reminded me of Mt. Tom!!). 

The photos I got at first looked like this.....

...pretty but restricted by power lines and the like. Plus, we disturbed the habitation of about one thousand lady bugs. I know I live in Africa but I still am not acclimated to a hoard of flying ladybugs in my personal space.

So I went back down the stairs a few meters to sit in P & Q. That would be: peace and quiet. 

Then I snapped a few photos that looked like this:

Who said it isn't beautiful here?!?!?

It is gorgeous. When I look at the view, I am amazed at how undeveloped so much of the land is. 

I enjoyed the hike so much that I want to start taking my nieces there on a weekly hike. To drive to the place and back plus the hike is about an hour round trip. 

It was so nice to find a new place to explore and appreciate the beauty of this country.

|| hi, blog ||

This picture is called: Look At Those Tired Eyes

Also: Zippers Are My Favorite

You know that Awww moment when you're a Mom. That "Awww....my baby is sleeping so peacefully, I just want to cuddle her" MOMENT. Yes, I have those. 

Well, last night that moment was cured. Right before we went to bed, Liesl stirred. And sat up in her cot. Then pulled herself up to peer at us over the top. She knew she had us. We're such pushovers. 

So I picked her up for a little night-night cuddle. It was so precious. 

Then, about an hour later, after.....

...fan on

...fan off

...mosquito net on

....mosquito net off

....sleeping on the couch

...mama sleeping on the floor (just sleep, child, please sleep)

....we were FINALLY back in our beds. Exhausted. I have learned my lesson. 

Now before you think every night is like this, I can assure you, it is not.

This is our fancy bedtime Pinterest-worthy, best-post-I've-ever-read-gotta-pin-it-now routine. Are you ready??

IT IS:

Bath. (We play with the duckies.)

Bottle. (We guzzle.)

Bed. (We say our night-night verse which is Psalms 4:8, pray, rub belly and kisses, and light off.)

Honestly, though, motherhood is so fun. And oh well, if we mess up the routine every once in a while for a late night cuddle. I can't believe our baby is 8 months already. Soon, she won't want to cuddle. She won't peer over her cot, her big eyes imploring us to pick her up. Her dreams will be too interesting. She won't want to disturb them. She'll be a big girl. 

We are so blessed to have this child in our lives. I cannot tell you how often Leon and I look at each other in amazement that This Child Is Ours!!

God is so good to us. :)