Through the eyes of a child...

ahh - the beginning of the balancing act and juggling family activities. This morning was my once-a-month Saturday morning "girls only" outing - meeting Meri and Bernie at Panera at 7 a.m. However, this morning Kyle had a basketball game at 9 a.m. I wouldn't get to relax, chat and have my fourth cup of coffee (Hazlenut with a touch of honey and nutmeg - yum!) as I would have to be home one hour after leaving to tag team Jesse - and care for Abigail.
Well, it did not surprise me that Abby was up early - 5:19 a.m. to be exact. I told her it was still night time and she went back to bed. She was still up early enough to accompany me on "my time" with the girlfriends.
Sure, I missed my quiet drive into Madison and being engulfed in the meditative reflection that comes with listening to the local Christian radio station, and praise and worship music. I noticed the speedometer was even going a little faster than my usual, relaxed putzy drive. The car was full of chatter and questions from the back seat. The early morning winter hours look pretty different to a 4 yr old who has not been out so early. The first question was before we even left the house - "why are we leaving when it is dark out?" When we came over a hill just on the outskirts of Madison Abby exclaimed, "look - it's so beautiful!" I saw newly developed rural land spotted with massive apartment buildins. A new boulevard in place of a simple, two lane country road. But if you look past that - she was right as the break of dawn began to peek over the horizon, and the street lights of the city shone in the sky. Seeing the world through the eyes of a child is all right... and I realized I really did not mind sharing my girlfriend time with my daughter. She was an inquisitive, comical driving companion - and we enjoyed a wonderful time at Panera with my my friends.

Today I worked on taking inventory of our former business and the process of tying up loose ends. When we get the shed cleared of all this stuff there will be so much room. We can clear the basement of stored hand me downs and actually walk in the section piled high with boxes.

I didn't do anything scrap related, other than pull some stamps and ink pads out for Abby to stamp with. I visited friends on message boards for a bit, and then this evening decided I should work on one more design team layout due on the 20th for the Scrapbook Playground. The sketch and journaling idea have been done for a while - but I took the time to play with my sketch and fine tune the journaling. I hope I will have time to scrap this tomororw - and then back to my Hall of Fame Entry. My technique layout is complete - I love it! If it weren't for the fact that I have 6 new layout ideas all sketched and set to be scrapped, I could be nearly done. But I want to finishe some of these ideas to compare with what I have, and choose the best. Of the assignments - the only remaining is the mini album and I am excited about what I have come up with for that one.

Tomorrow is another day - looking forward to pastor's message tomorrow as we continue to Rise Up and be part of a church that "stays on task".