a staycation at the in-laws

Our family stayed for the past two weeks with my in-laws and it felt like a short vacation or a staycation because a lot of people helped out with taking care of Essy. I'm extremely grateful for auntie Lydia, most especially. She took care of my mother-in-law when she was little and she also took care of C and his siblings. Now, she also takes care of Essy and could make her take a nap in just a few minutes! If we could take home auntie Lydia, we would.

Auntie Lydia and Essy

Having people to help me out meant I had more time for myself, which I loved. I had time to finish my assignments without rushing and I also had time to do a little bit of arts and crafts. I found some nice paper scraps so I decided to do some papercutting. The method is also similar to doing rubber stamps only you have to make sure that your design won't separate from the paper. 

And I must say that the Lord indeed times things perfectly. While we were here, we received some bad news that has made a huge impact for our small family of three. Good thing, we were with my in-laws so we could seek immediate counsel. I want to say that I'm completely blameless for what happened but of course I'm also at fault because I wasn't vigilant and insistent enough to avoid this situation. It all boils down to having discipline in things that really matter. Time and time again, the Lord reminds us of this and I guess something big like this has to happen so that it would finally stick. 

Aside from the presence of loving and wise people, I'm also comforted by the following passages from Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.... He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Now that we're on our way back home and even if it's just me taking care of Essy while helping out with solving our problem, I'm assured that I'm never alone because first, I have a beautiful family which is my source of inspiration and second, the Lord is with me and is the light that will guide me through this darkness.