home again

I love coming home! Even when we have just run to the grocery store there is always such a lovely feeling of relief when we arrive back at home. Today I felt this even more after being away since Friday evening.

One of my favorite moments when I returned was Audrey's greeting. She threw her arms around my neck, started patting my shoulder over and over and with a delighted grin says "Hi Momma, Hi. How are you? How are you Momma?" All the while, patting my shoulder over and over. This went on for about 5 minutes. She was so happy to have me back. The boys were sweet too. Ethan wanted to sit by me and cuddle. If I moved my arm he would grab it and wrap it around him again. Owen wanted to show me his new launch plane.

There is too much of the glorious to write down about my weekend but I was blessed with such a confirmation of the necessity of my time away when I returned and read this...

"How do we cultivate beauty? How do we become ever more beautiful? By tending to our hearts with great care, as a master gardener tends to her work...Our hearts need to feed on beauty to sustain them. We need times of solitude and silence. We need times of refreshment and laughter and rest. We need to listen to the voice of God in our hearts as He tells us what we need." Captivating

Tending our hearts...indeed.