Be-jeweled

Life is running hard and fast ahead of me lately. Try as I may, I can't catch up. I needed a little inspiration to pick up my pen this afternoon... A glance at these pictures of my sweet niece, Jewel, romping up and down an Oregon beach, gave me a hearty helping of joy - and re-awakened my senses to the heavenly graces that surround me - graces that come to me, not in spite of the messiness of everyday life, but through it.

Bathtime

This is my niece, Jewel. Appearances can be deceiving, but not in this case - for she is just as much the treasure as her name, and her crystalline green eyes, suggest. This morning we filled the bath so high with bubbles we felt positively rebellious. The sudsy peeks were fit to rival any Alpine retreat and the morning light came streaming in through the clear glass window - bright, warm, eastern light - bathing everything in gold. When I stepped back for a moment and looked at the children, blowing bubbles into the air, shouting to one another from the top of their great foam mountains, "Hell-oo, down there!" I couldn't help but feel as though I were living inside one of Mary Cassatt's paintings.

Introducing baby Jewel Nancy...