Thankful!

"In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I am thankful today for Nik's mother Lili. She is the heart of the Grezda family and I am humbled and amazed at how she lives her life. How easily I take loved ones for granted and I think I had been doing so because I was brought to my knees yesterday as we were told of her having had a massive heart attack. Thankfully she was taken to hospital in time and was saved. She is now in hospital for a few days and we continue to pray for a full recovery.

Over the last couple days I have been thinking about thankfulness and C.S. Lewis' intriguing perspective on happiness "It is a christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can." In this day and age the mind does not put duty and happiness anywhere near one-another. How can happiness be considered a task of ours? I think it is considered active work because there are so many things that come along each day that challenge our joyfulness and we have to choose to thank God for it and be happy in them. It is not that we should put our heads in the sand and not look at the things that hurt, annoy or otherwise disturb our happiness. We are asked to thank God for all things.

Lili is someone who continues to have multiple challenges in her health, family life and finances yet she is not one to complain. She could sit and list her ailments and continue to discuss them at length as some are wont to do. She could call and complain to me about family and she could complain and ask for money. She does none of this. On the contrary, she continues to build her family and home graciously, using whatever she has to edify each member. I can only believe that she actively decides to thank the Lord for everything and takes challenges and turns them into tools to glorify Him in her life and in the lives of others.

Thank you God for Lili!

Loooong Absence

Well, blog-reading friends and family. I'm sorry for the long absence. I was reminded by my excellent blogging friend yesterday that I haven't posted since Daniel was 8 months old - so that was about 7 months ago. Daniel has gone from being a chunky curly-haired baby into a somewhat slimmer, shorter-haired toddler. I'll post a couple pictures, but if you want to see more, keep watch on facebook.

So, what has the Tiranamama been up to while she hasn't been blogging? I've completely fallen in love with sewing all over again. My sewing machine (which was my first birthday gift in Albania) has been dusted off and put to work finally. I have completed 4 mei tais, two bibs and a set of napkins and I'm only getting started. I've asked Nik for a sewing budget to keep me from going too far. Also, I've been making jam. I made like 4 batches of plum jam. My friend Rudina came to stay and brought some of her mom's jam and I (actually my tongue) fell so much in love with it, that I had to keep trying to make some of my own just like it. Well, I didn't succeed in making it just like hers but I got close and we've been eating it all fall. I had Daniel's grandparents come for a visit from Japan for about 6 weeks. We had a really wonderful time reconnecting and I know that Daniel enjoyed being a spoiled grandkid for weeks on end. At the end of that time we went for a week to a camp outside of Peje in Kosovo where we'd been two years ago. Daniel got sick on the way there and was VERY sick the whole time so it really wasn't much fun, but for me it was still so great to be out of a city and at the top of a mountain. It was almost worth it... sorry Daniel. Toddlerhood has done Daniel a great service. He can now be independant and mobile and he is all the happier for it!! He loves reading, pulling out my pots and pans, working the washing machine, stealing any remote control or cell phone in reach, sucking on the washing, giving Kanchi cuddles and going to the park, amongst a million others. Well, this is a long post. Let me see if I can find some pictures.