Moges turned ONE today!

It has been a beautiful day! We are just soaking in God's riches as we celebrate Mo's first birthday. We got to have lots of Abbotts, one Brady (my brother, Eric) and our friends, the Taylors, help us celebrate. I will let the pictures speak for the party. You may note a bit of blood on Mo's nose ~ he took his first little tumble down a couple stairs yesterday. : (
The pic above shows Mo and I as our guests arrived. Nothing like a bottle to get him in the best possible mood to do some partying!



The party ended with rocking time with daddy and another bottle to wrap the day up. Night, night MoMo. We can't wait to see all that the next year holds for you. You delight us every day and we are eagerly awaiting those first words even while we are all still in awe of how well you are toddling about. We love you, our precious gift of grace.

Wordless Wednesday

Life-giving Reading

I had the joy recently of going to a "Mom's Heart" conference by a grace-filled woman named Sally Clarkson. She has written several books on motherhood that have greatly inspired me. She has 4 children mostly grown now and does several conferences every year.
One of the highlights of my time there was having Sarah Clarkson (her oldest child - 25) sit next to me during the luncheon. Quite an unexpected blessing considering there were around 500 women there! I had bought Sarah's new book, Read For The Heart, a few weeks before the conference and loved having an opportunity to chat with this young woman who radiated grace, peace, hope and a zest for life. I highly recommend her book and it has inspired us to embrace the beauty and benefits of reading more fully in our home.
We are doing Just David as a family read aloud book every evening and I have been reading Strawberry Girl to the girls at bedtime. I love exposing my kids to book that look at lives different from theirs and help them see that this life is a HUGE adventure and that their God and Creator has great adventures in store for them!
I am reading Greg Mortenson's Stones into Schools on my own. I highly recommend his first book, Three Cups of Tea, and am sure this one will be equally inspiring at what one person can do with some conviction and determination.