Melicharek Moments: It's been a looong time!

I see that my last post was Jan.24th, and now it's Mar.2nd.....I guess that's not THAT long, but it feels like it as it seems like a lot has happened in the past month plus a little bit. I don't even really know what to write about - I could write about how I've been pretty obsessed with getting organized around here lately, and that it occurred to me sometime in the middle of the month how thankful I am that while I feel like our home is not nearly as organized as I'd like it to be and sometimes feels a little chaotic to me (though I think it's not as bad as it feels to me), I'm thankful that my mind, heart and soul are so uncluttered. When I think back on my life, I realize that I used to have so much clutter and distress inside of me and now it's gone....The Lord has wiped that all away and given me such peace and contentment....it was a blessed realization for me to see what He's done in my heart....that's not to say that I don't have my moments of being upset or a little frazzled, but I'm talking about what's deep down in my soul, at the core....it's not un-rest, restlessness, worry, fear or whatever else tends to plague people's souls....it's peace and contentment and joy! So praise God for that....only He can do that kind of work in a person's heart!

I could write about a whole bunch of other things as well.....but I think that instead I'm just going to write a list of all the things that have happened in the past month or so, and post a couple of pictures....hoping to write more in the future....

1. Though we have all stayed out of the hospital this past month, we've had at least one sick person in our home for the entire time since the last post...last week it was all 5 of us at once....but we seem to be on the mend....and I may quarantine my entire family to prevent any further illness for the time being (just kidding)....

2. Malachi turned 5!!!That's a big deal for me. He had a great party, that ended up being a gymnastics party at the YMCA - a last minute change due to the rains that hit us that weekend, despite 6 weeks of summer like weather prior....and the fact that our house can definitely not accommodate 25 children and their parents!

3. Grandma Ellie came for a visit, to celebrate Malachi's party....the kids and I were planning on returning to Colorado with her, but at the very last hour, I found out that both the girls had pretty severe ear infections and could not fly....trip postponed, but thankfully Southwest Airlines lets you change your flight with no penalty...so we are headed there at the end of this month, Lord willing...

4. I turned 34! And had a great birthday weekend complete with a Pacific Hope Church traditional breakfast kidnapping by friends who took me out for breakfast (and woke me up by singing Happy Birthday outside my bedroom door).....thankfully they spared me the tiarra and princess crown that used to accompany these events....

5. I got new dishes, which may not sound like a big deal but we were running out of dishes every day in our house and I'm not one to like to spend money on things....but I found a great set of 8 place-settings for a great price that are a style that I've been wanting for a long time...anyway, they've made serving food a lot more fun for me this month.....silly but hey, big in my life :-)

6. Essie got potty trained! We are now diaper free during the days for the first time in 5 years! In 3 months or less we will be re-introduced to diapering during the days once again, but hey, we'll have only 1 child in diapers....When Essie was born we had 3 kids in diapers...big change!

7. We currently have 3 Czech Pastors staying with us for a couple of days. They are here to attend the Shepherd's Conference at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, but they arrived here by train today to spend a couple of days with us....

8. I've bought and sold much furniture this past month....Craigslist is my friend!

9. The kids have memorized Psalm 23 and even Essie can fill in some blanks.....we also learned the hymn 'Immortal, Invisible' as a family.....

10. Malachi is quickly progressing in his school-work and can almost read, is starting to sound out words when he writes, and is learning to do some addition equations....this is a big deal for me too!

11. Hannah has just become sweeter and sweeter, no major advancements, but just a lot of fun to have around (as long as she's not in a devious sort of mood :-)

12. Today is officially the first day of the third tri-mester for baby Simeon.....I'm really looking forward to his arrival! Can't wait to meet this little guy!

I think that about covers it for the big-stuff to me.....we have lots more coming up this month so I won't be back on to blog until later one.....until then I hope your time is blessed and that you find and know the Lord who can grant you true peace in your inner parts.....Jesus!

now for some pictures....

Oh yes, for Malachi's birthday we got him a digital camera....he took this one of Essie! Not bad for a five year old.....I like seeing what he sees through the lens of a camera, gives me a good idea of what's important to him :-)