The Little Things in Life...

Things have been crazy lately. Ari has been sleeping through the night (yay!), but has been having more difficult days. She has been saying "teeth" a lot, so maybe her molars are bothering her? It has also been hard because it has rained every day for last 2 weeks...No exaggeration, we have had 5 inches of rain in the past 7 days...some places have gotten that in a day. 
Ari loves to play outside and we had gotten to the point where we would go to the park almost every day, but the rain has changed that. The other day she woke up and went out into our breezeway and saw that it was raining, again. She said "no, rain, no, rain..." in the most pitiful voice I have ever heard. 
So, Ari has been walking around the house bemoaning her situation...and wanting mommy to fix it. How do you explain to a 19 month old that even though you can make light in the darkness, make it rain inside, and create sustenance out of thin air, you cannot make it stop raining...
So, we have turned to inside activities, indoor pools (which she loves and asks to go every hour or so), story time at the library, shopping, and coloring :) These have been good activities but they aren't a subsitite for a good hard run outside. 

Last night, I needed to get house work done and having a whinny toddler did not help the situation. Ben was home and I asked him to take her for a walk. (The clouds had parted for who knows how long...) They came back just as I was finishing the dishes and this is what I saw looking out my window:

It hit me.
That was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. 
This is what I have prayed for: this little family.
I was filled with joy. It didn't matter that it was hard being a mother...It didn't matter that my house didn't look the way I wanted it to, or that I didn't look the way I wanted to...I was a mom. I have a husband who loves me and my daughter. What more could I ask for. 
I finished up the dishes and joined my family outside enjoying the delisious cool air and feeling the hearty grass between my toes. It was a beautiful night becuase of the rain...It helped to humble me and remind me to thank the Lord for what I had around me.