The days have been very busy, both at work at and home. It's a good kind of busy: I've been really productive at work knowing that with our houseful, I won't have time to catch up at home this week; and at home we've been occupied showing our guests around this town of ours, and rediscovering parts of Houston we love. Sometimes having company is a really good way to appreciate your life.

In the evenings, after the children are all in bed, I take the opportunity to do a bit of my usual internet surfing, usually as a way to wind down -- and in the past 48 hours or so, I've come across a couple of links that have really touched me. I wanted to record them here, not only to share with you, but also to place them somewhere so that when our guests leave and life returns to its routine, I can find them and remember how inspired I felt when I first came across them. In other words, if there was a way to pin these to my inspiration board, I'd be doing that now.

The first link is from my friend Kristin who, after a hiatus from blogging, has returned to recording her life and thoughts on the internet. Kristin's writing reminds me, in a strange way, of honey: sort of golden, with just the right amount of sweet. Her recent post describing the way she starts her day moved me -- so simple, and so like a lot of us probably start our days; yet somehow the way she tells it makes me want to stop and consider all the small 'moments within the moments' that make our lives really special.

The second link isn't from a blogger at all, but rather a YouTube clip of a group of young men on the subway in Paris, and how they manage to touch the lives of a group of strangers around them. As you watch and listen, pay particular attention to the faces of the other passengers, and how the energy on the train seems to transform into something pretty special. Why am I never on the subway when these things happen?