*the cheerful life

Someone sent me an email recently and commented that [per the blog] our life here seems so peaceful and cheery. It is for the most part. However, I think this is kind of an exercise in finding the good in our days. Not that it's hard to find, but if you know me, you might know that I can tend to be a little ... negative. I remember one time finding out that someone thought I was a complainer. I was insensed -- what?! me? I relayed the information to Heather and Leslie [or was it Julie and Sarah?] and they gave each other a little twinkly-eyed look that told me that yes, it was true. Good thing I can laugh at myself, eh? So anyway, I just want you to know that although I share with you all the fun, cute happy times here at the Cater household, we [yes, mostly me] have our fair share of downtime. I struggle especially with patience with Vera [when she wakes up again after a 15 minute nap - this is getting better, by the way], with feeling unproductive [mostly not contributing any $$ to our destitute brokeness], with few good friends here [Jenny, I am so so thankful for you], with of course the usual feeling pasty and out of shape - with lots of things.

I've been reading the Psalms lately and am encouraged to be joyful, cheerful, glad, grateful ... even when we all feel like this:

(this, by the way, is lately how Vera expresses her despair)