~MIA Blessing List~

So, I can't be everywhere and do everything... Yeah, I'm still learning that. I've cut back on my computer time to be more in tune with the world going on behind me... I don't like that I have missed journaling some fun things... but I do like that I am more available for making memories.

Sigh... balance!

We have been enjoying some fun indoor activities since it has been dark, cold and damp around here... catching up on some cleaning... potty training... and eating!

So, here is my catch up post mixed with my blessing post for the last week... or two! :-)

#516-540

516. pile of clean dishes... before supper!

517. war on paper - what laughter and fun coming from the other room!

518. home made soup

519. the taste of fresh bread

520. the ooohs and aaahs from the family!

521. fresh cut veggies waiting to be thrown into the pot

522. the smell of warm dough rising

523. pulling out the big box of playmobile and sitting on the floor for an hour with my girl.... my legs were so asleep but she wouldn't let me sit on the couch and watch... I had to play

524. finally (after 8 years) cleaning and sealing the wood floor in the dinning room!

(the picture is hard to see but half of the floor was done and shiny!)

525. duplex legos with the little people... they were so impressed with my building skills!

526. indoor hop scotch... my one child normally has just one sock on...

527. finding my girl brushing her teeth (normally when I have to go look for her, she is in trouble)

528. Celebrating two birthdays

529. fresh from the oven cinnamon rolls

530. sound sleep... after a week of being restless

531. the look one brother gives another when they are up to something

532. taking many, many trips to the potty chair... she is getting a hang of it!

533. hot tea right before bed.

534. new thick flannel sheets to jump into

535. knowing everyone is tucked into bed

536. hearing boys laugh while they do their big brothers chores

(Gregg and three boys left early Saturday for a flea market...

I asked Eric and Nathan to help me with their chores and they gladly

did them all by themselves! I just cracked up watching them!)

537. Big boys coming home with treasures

538. The beep of the mail lady delivering packages!

539. getting my laptop back from the repair center

540. a quick email from a cancer surviving friend telling me she is well

540. headaches that help me call it a night

nighty night!

~Blessings~

#499-515

campfires with friends on beautiful fall evenings

mountain pies

homemade french fries

"new" bikes for my growing boys

my little sweetie making it to the potty on her own a number of times

undisturbed sleep... I rarely have to get up at night with a child

library books

starting Christmas lists!

fleas... yes, that was hard to type down. We have been trying to get rid of them for about 2 months. My living room has never been so clean... and I am totally tired of picking fleas off dogs every afternoon.

soft, colorful yarn growing inch by inch

a pile of heavy blankets to climb into at the end of a long day

the crunching sound you hear through open windows while children play

our baby chicks now laying eggs

time spent at the best little craft show

the smell of fall candles (Candied Caramel Pecan is this years favorite)

two birthday celebrations to plan for

finally making it through the Old Testament in my chronological reading plan

~Blessings~

#481-498

playing flashlight tag with my kids

taking care of scraped up knees with the little lady watching and learning

new recipes to try

flowers brought in by my little loves

a good well check for my 2 year old

fingernails that can take apart any "stuck" lego pieces

piles of clean, folded laundry put away

boys picking out yarn for their own winter hats

finally finishing a crochet blanket

and starting a project for myself:-)

a good hair cut and teeth cleaning all in one week (appointments are so hard to set up for a busy home schooling mom!)

a good carpet cleaner

boys... oh my boys...

pulling winter clothes out of the attic

online sales and free shipping codes for the rest of the clothes we needed

pumpkin this and pumpkin that!

the promise of warm sunshine returning after a few really cool days

good sermons that challenge

~Blessings~

#470-480

a nice big dinner... summer food is nice, but boy do I enjoy fall comfort food!

peach cobbler (again and again)

a big pile of yarn waiting to be used

payday

chatting with older ladies that have been there and done that

a pile of bills to be paid... and plenty of cash to pay them

a lunch out with the family before we part

knowing the other side of the world is only an email away

friends and family who share in your fun

a little girl (who missed her "da") flipping out when she sees dad walk in the door

good sleep knowing all is well and everyone is home

~Counting again~

I just get so side tracked before bed that I don't take the time to write out the blessings of the day. I wish it were getting easier to have a thankful spirit, but I really have a hard time remembering to be thankful... not just to write it on a list but to be thankful in general.

#457 -469

a basement that is wet... but doesn't flood

a vacuum to clean up the standing water

bridges that are still in place

sunshine that finally peaks through the clouds

mounds of fresh fruit and veggies after grocery shopping

grocery shopping alone

another safe day at the track

camera batteries that hold out to the end of the day

carmel iced coffee that keeps me going all day

My love who stops to get me one

extra eyes watching Kiersten while I'm preoccupied at the track

washing tiny legs after a long day of play... brown bubbles from all the dirt and green bubbles from fresh cut grass stains

crocheting... so relaxing

~Coming up for Air~

Another week or so and I'll be able to sit back and enjoy life a little more. My self imposed schedule is a little tight right now and I'm needing some down time! I have been working on some craft projects... some for Kiersten's birthday next week. I have also been starting school... that means reworking my schedule. Things are going undone around here and it is driving me nuts... but I'll get back to it soon!

Anyway, I haven't been writing down my daily blessings every night. I really need to get back into that!

Here are some that I can recall from this past month...

#442 - 456

Kiersten got her cast off!

Bible School

Hearing young and old chatter away on the way home from Bible School

Finishing most of my July goals in July

Loosing my baby weight... for the 6th time (18 lbs in 5 months)... a month early!

Sibling strife turned into teamwork (on occasion)

A fun filled last week of "summer vacation"

A good solid week of school work done with minimal complaining

A good report from the dentist for all four boys

Birthday season is upon us... oh, I have missed cake!

Cool August days (very unusual for us)

Green grass in Aug (another unusual thing)

Free Shipping codes

Crocheting little hats

Felt food pile growing

~Blessings from the Sick Bed~

I have put myself on the couch for the rest of the day. I was exhausted from being out in the sun on Saturday and just thought I needed a good nights sleep... I was freezing in church and thought I just needed a sweater... I didn't even fix my family lunch but went straight to bed thinking I only needed a nap...

It turns out I woke up this morning with a major sore throat, swollen glands and a fever. UGH!

I had volunteered to clean the church this morning for a funeral service tomorrow. Thankfully, the boys do a lot of it. By the time I got the bathrooms done they were done with the rest.

So, as I rest with blanket, fan and ice water... the list continues...

#423 - 441

A good time going door to door raising money for cancer. Our quarter midget group works with the American Cancer Society and raises money once a year.

Finishing a baby doll crochet blanket

Starting to sew a baby doll
A verse in devotions that gives strength

More door to door. This time we are inviting children out to VBS!

Finishing the Objectives for the 2011/2012 school year

A family that goes along with my idea of fun... dressing like cows for a free meal! (Jared really wasn't upset... he just didn't know she was going to take the picture right then and didn't want to stand there smiling forever:0)A computer that is finally fixed!

Big brother who jumps out of his car to get his younger brother started

Youngest brother who entertains himself at the track

Shade

A husband who tells me to go to bed before I even start lunch

And he even makes sandwiches for supper

Hearing from the teens that went to camp

Working with some of the teens... I'm in charge of the VBS puppets and have 5 teens helping me!

A friend that notarizes my affidavit without charge every year.

Being invited over for ice cream after church

Aches and pains that will most likely go away within a day or two

Boys that chip in when they need to


Now, I'm off to sneak a nap before Kiersten wakes up!

~The Praise Goes On and On~

#402 - #422

Cool morning walk -we have had a string of hot and humid mornings... I didn't realize how much I enjoy the cool morning!

Giggles from the swing set - Gregg put up one of those back to back swing seats... the little three love it! I like it too... I don't have to push them!

This bird singing to me as I made supper with the windows wide open

Splurging on the best ever brownies

Craft time at naptime

Teaching the 4's and 5's about Elijah and the raven - What a fun group of little people. I made a little paper Raven puppet to help me tell the story. They were amazed!

Mulberries - We have serveral mulbery trees at church. The pastor's wife took Kiersten and Nathan to pick them after church Wednesday. Kiersten couldn't stop eating them. We took them home to eat with breakfast and some of the boys gave theirs to Kiersten because she loved them so much.

Good books going from the to be read pile to the enjoyed pile

Crocheting on the back patio -Starting Kiersten's Christmas presents!

Painting little tiny toe nails - I was painting mine and she came over, sat down, and held her feed up for me. I couldn't resist!

Unclogged kitchen sinks - Yep, I'm going to remember this yucky job for awhile!

Gift cards found - yay!

Sidewalk chalk - Never knew it would make the grumpy happy again.

Family night out

Meeting a nice couple with 7 grown children. Encouraged.

Seeing a deer on my walk

A good race day... that means good weather and no one was hurt. I think my boys did great too:0)

Brothers making sister happy - Kiersten wanted to help push the car. Jordan was kind enough to stop and let her catch up.

Ice water

Clean, flushable bathrooms - I always appreciate my bathroom when I get back from the races I greatly dislike suffering through the little blue out house!

Watering flowers - for some reason this is so relaxing for me.

~Still Counting~

#381 - #401

• Seeing the first lightning bugs of the year

• Sore muscles from clearing all the weeds in the garden on the side of the house (they were more than waist high)... I pull them every year and never get it replanted or mulched... this year is gonna be different! I shoveled out all the weeds to make sure and get the roots. I did plant flowers... waiting on the mulch!
• New plants ready to be tucked into freshly laid mulch
• Homemade Mac n cheese
• Finding more bricks laying around to edge the new garden
• A big glass of Mint Chocolate Iced Coffee
• Sitting outside in the shade enjoying chickens, flowers, and children
• Boys trying all kinds of swing aerobics
• Eating at the picnic table
• Safety in the storm
• Tree branches falling... with nothing damaged
• Chicks loosing their roof and getting soaked to the skin. Thankfully the storm was during the day and we could get them warm and dry before bed.
• Protein and iron rich snacks to help a weary body - I am so bad at eating protein and iron. With all my walking and outdoor activities, I guess I depleted my body a little too much.
  
• New walking sneakers
• Front hill redone! There were sooo many rocks! No wonder I could never plant anything. Drain pipe in and hill sloped so we can mow it! Now for the grass seed!
• Air conditioning... two August like days spent watering plants and hiding inside
• Being home all day Saturday... race was cancelled again
• Boys having good attitudes about not racing
• Lots of laughing, swinging, and climbing
• Hand shadows on the wall
• Watching races on the wall instead of a little computer screen
  

~Spring Blessings~

Our last few weeks were filled with all kinds of activities.

Blessings #358 - #380

• Little chicks arriving in the mail

• Schools Days are finished!

• Boys going to work with dad to do some "testing"
  

• Holiday weekend filled to the brim

• Family bike rides

• Family picnics

• Family sized messes to clean up
  

• The big guys went to a race on Tuesday night

• I took the three younger ones to the library - their first time in a long time!
  

• We put the chickens in a more permanent home

• Jared caught a dragon fly - they are really cool looking!

• We had some absolutely beautiful days

• Garden work... weeding and replanting veggies

• The boys pressure washed our back patio

• We spent time just hanging out...

• We spent an hour cleaning out the basement. One huge pile for the trash and one pile for goodwill. We still have plenty of work to do down there...sigh... why do we let it get so bad!

• We assembled John & Romans with our church

• Our neighbors had an overabundance of strawberries... I made 3 pies, one batch of pie filling, two batches of freezer jam and we ate a lot in our yogurt.

• A safe/fun day at the track. It rained between the heats and races. All my boys did well... they finished 2nd or 3rd!
  

• We talked to someone about leveling out our front hill. It is too steep to be mowed so it is quite the eyesore... we would love to make it easy to maintain.

• Finally, after three months, getting into the habit of waking up early for my morning walk. I am starting to stir before the alarm! I still don't like getting up... but I'm always glad I do.

• Saying goodbye to 10 lbs in three months! Half way there!

• Digital Scrap booking - I can finally keep up!

~Ouch~

If you don't think you would like to see a stick stuck in a foot... you better not scroll down too far!

I was having a very organized and profitable Monday...until...

Jared came outside to find me weeding in the front garden. I had just a little section left for the day before getting the little ones down for a nap and finishing school with the older boys. I pulled some more weeds and looked back up toward Jared and saw pain in his face.

"Mom, there is a stick stuck in my foot!" Yikes! He is too big to carry so I helped him hop over to the golf cart and I started shouting orders. "Everybody, shoes on." "Jordan, put the dogs away." "Be ready to leave in 5 minutes." I drove Jared around back and helped him into the Sprinter. I got inside with the littles and realized it was past nap time. Ugh! I asked Jordan to see if our neighbor can come over and sit while the littles sleep. Jordan volunteers to stay home. Wow, I guess that will work. The Dr is only a short drive away. If I end up at the ER I'll call a friend to stop by.

Long story short, Jared is fine. The stick was in his foot a little more than a half inch! He did great! The doctor couldn't believe Eric, Aaron and I were able to watch so intently. She had to cut a good bit of skin away from the wound to allow it to drain properly. It is really going to hurt tomorrow! I was so thankful to find my two nappers were still asleep when I got home!

I have a lot to be thankful for today! But lets start with where I left off last week...

337. Relaxing on Mother's day with a good meal and a nice walk

338. A computer that is almost up and running... the hard drive was fine!!!

339. One last trip to the "bread store." I buy my bread once a month for $.60 a loaf at a farm down the road. This was their last month... their supplier is done supplying. God will stretch the grocery budget in another way I guess:0)

340. The toy closet staying closed for days and days (that means everyone is outside!)

341. A free gun for Aaron. Aaron was saving for a new BB gun. He found one online but didn't have the money for shipping. Gregg searched Craigslist and found a used one for him. The man selling the gun was pleased it was a boy buying it. When they met for the purchase, he decided to just give it to Aaron.

342. Taking Jared to the bike shop to pick out his new saddle. Didn't turn out as easy as expected but I enjoyed the one on one time. He ended up only needing a new post (cheaper than a saddle!) so I got him a mirror too!

343. Picking out flowers for my mom

344. Two little babies to play with in the nursery

345. Safe travels, good deals, and great friends at the Home School Convention

346. Great thoughts to think on from the speakers

347. Eric finished his novice training

348. Everyone finished their heat before the rain fell

349. The features were cancelled allowing us to get home early!

350. Shoo-fly whoopie pies... a gift from a friend

351. A responsible young man to leave at home with nappers in an emergency

352. Medication that numbs

353. A maturing boy that can joke through the pain

354. Antibiotics to kill the bad germs

355. Chicken patty sandwiches for supper when I didn't have time to cook

356. Kiersten got up extra early this morning... God knew she needed a long nap in the afternoon while I was unavailable.

357. Our amazing bodies... created to heal themselves!


OUCH!

~The Book and List Together~

I finished this book a few weeks ago and thought it only fitting that I blog about it when I update my list!
My biggest thought reading this was... Make sure your list is growing in more ways than numbers.

I have found it extremely helpful to be daily finding ways to praise God for all He is doing... we must see that He is still working in our lives and still loving us in one thousand ways. I think we can easily live in the past... one great thing God did and we are stuck there... we must see Him continue to work.

So, counting the "small" things is good... but it is a growing process to count the unlovely things. Ann steps you through her process of realizing each step that she took to be able to see more clearly how thanks develops a deeper love for the One who loves us. Every one's journey will be different, but I believe Ann will give you a boost in the right direction if you take some time to read this book.

I plan on reading through it again this summer so I can take the time to write down the major points on a trusty little index card. It was a powerful book with a great message that, to be truthful, was hard to grasp. Ann is such a beautiful writer but I really have to think to follow along. Her form of writing mixed with a hard topic made it a little challenging. It is a book I would recommend... just take your time going through it!

Now to my list...

316. God giving a verse that cut to the heart and healed

317. My 2nd man child, now eleven

318. Everybody enjoying our favorite cake

319. The will power to eat only one small piece

320. Birthday gifts wrapped and unwrapped

321. Five quarter midgets tuned up, put back together with weights added, loaded up for the first time this season

322. The smell of cut grass

323. Little green feet from running in freshly cut grass

324. Raking cut grass with my three little helpers (it rained so much that we couldn't mow... and now the grass was really high!)

325. A whole date day to celebrate

326. Beautiful weather

327. Flowers designed for work and beauty

328. A good first day at the track

329. A bad crash with no damage

330. A beginner trying to find his way

331. Buying flowers with Nathan for the shed window boxes

332. Shopping with Kiersten & Nathan (everyone else was at the track)

333. Twizzler bites to keep a busy toddler happy

334. A new outfit

335. Everyone back together

336. A weepy week over, with lessons learned

~One of Those Days~

I'm just going to warn you now... this is pitiful. It is true... but pitiful. This wouldn't be an honest journal if I didn't include some of the unlovliness in my own self. I want to be able to look back and see God carry me through my wallowing pity party.

I was going to share a play by play of my day, but after I typed it out I thought it really wasn't necessary so I deleted it. The long and short of it was...

I began thinking only of myself.
The end.

I tried to regroup several times during the day but I really needed time to fight with myself and I couldn't do it. I managed to take a walk after supper. I argued with myself. I argued with God. God always wins. He sent the rain during my walk. He washed the tears away before I reached home.

I left saying why me... I came home saying why not me. Why am I not the one picking up pieces of shattered dreams, destroyed homes, or missing people. My attitude needed changing.

309. My house is still standing - unlike so many in the south

310. My children are healthy - children fill hospital beds

311. My children are all tucked in their own beds - some have no home, no one to love them... others are taken away from thier homes by force or an untimely death

312. I live in freedom - some fear death every. single. day.

313. I have a husband who loves me - many women are abused

314. I have never lacked for shelter, food or clothing - these basic needs go unmet all around the world

315. I only have debt on my house - some live in financial bondage

It is a short list this week as I try to regroup. Please tell me I'm not the only one pitiful enough to be so selfish. I am so blessed by so many gifts every day and I sit and pout about some undone school work and a fussy toddler...seriously. That. Shouldn't. Happen.

~The Big Catch Up Post~

Time flies!

Two weeks ago we had a little vacation... last week was Missions Conference... I'm trying to catch up a bit! Had I kept a good record of my "1000 gifts" list I'm sure I would have added 100 from the last two weeks. Time and energy ran out before I got everything recorded... so here are the basics...

269. A beautiful day to pack and clean for our mini vacation

270. Leaving the house at 3:50 am with a nice warm breeze and excited little people

271. The first "are we there yet" at 5:30 am

272. Tunnels

273. Rain ex

274. An early arrival after a safe trip

275. A hotel pool ready for us

276. Nap time

277. Meeting up with family for pizza and ice cream

278. Falling asleep between two littles

279. An after breakfast swim

280. Experiencing some dog training

281. Glow in the Dark Mini Golf

282. Sloppy Joes baked over a fire

283. Cherry cake baked over coals

284. Little peanut falling asleep after a long day

285. Hotel waffles for breakfast

286. Touring a whistle factory

287. Exploring one of the best children's museums

288. Watching everyone fill up on spaghetti

289. The guys all enjoying a late night swim while the girls crashed

290. A morning swim with beach balls to play with

291. One last little family visit before the drive home

292. Grandma

293. Stopping at friends on the long journey home

294. Being able to pick up where you left off

295. Arriving home after midnight... but it was Friday so we had all day Sat to recover!

296. Meals in the freezer to ease my way back into being home

297. Gregg's work computer crashed. I am thankful it didn't happen right before our trip. He lost a lot of information but a lot was saved.

298. Missions Conference begins

298. Being taught by four men passionate about their Lord

299. The energy to make it through the week

300. Sunshine

301. Rain... help me to be thankful for the rain

302. My evaluator testing all three school boys

303. A friend available to watch two boys while three boys were tested. I was able to get some much needed groceries and some Easter dress material in peace.

304. A morning of assembling John & Romans to be handed out all over the world

305. New friends and old friends to laugh with

306. A quiet afternoon to sew

307. Freshly washed sheets dried in the sun that smell like spring

307. Falling asleep in a quiet house with the sound of rain

I'm hoping to post some vacation pictures tomorrow!

~My Growing List~

251. An idea to help remove the complaining spirit around here. We have actually had fun catching each other in the act of grumbling! Way better then me just getting mad at their bad attitude. I printed out an index card with the verses and grumbly face that we can all grab when needed!

252. cleaning out two boys closets, dressers and under their beds

253. stone delivered for a shed to come

254. Tylenol for teething sweeties

255. two boys cleaning out their own dressers

256. one last dresser cleaned out

257. shed delivered

258. falling on black ice during an early morning walk... just a sore hand

259. crossing of my Saturday to do list... even with the many distractions

260. long johns from the bakery

261. burgers on the grill

262. speakers in the Sprinter! We only had speakers in the front of the sprinter and it made it really hard for the boys to hear... and I was blasted by the sound. Gregg spent most of Saturday installing them... they sound great and the boys think they look cool too!

263. hearing my husband thank God several times for small things that helped him along

264. boys on bikes ramping a stone pile

265. riding my 2nd son's bike and finding the seat most uncomfortable! Poor guy! I wouldn't have known his seat was so hard if I didn't ride it.

266. finishing the t-shirts for Japan

267. watching Kiersten butter a pan for baked french toast... then watch her take a bite out of every piece of bread as she put it neatly in the pan.

268. a handcrafted wooden cradle given to Kiersten by an older couple at Church. He makes them for all his granddaughters and great granddaughters and had an extra

~This Week's List~

226. Monday's wintry mix wasn't wintry at all... just light rain

227. The afternoon warmed up nicely

228. My love came home sick from work... very odd thing to happen! I am thankful he could come home and rest. He slept all afternoon. Feeling much better now too!

229. An after supper fantabulous walk! No hat, no gloves... I even unzipped my jacket!

230. Walking different back roads

231. A gray barn cat peeking at me through the field grass

232. Big black cows coming up to the fence to say hi

233. Sunsets later in the day

234. Sending out oodles of belated thank you cards

235. Finding a GREAT deal on printing my scrapbook pages.

236. 12 months of Scrapbook pages uploaded for printing. Can you believe 102 pages... it took 28 hours to upload! Next time I won't wait so long!

237. Watching an 18 month old meticulously put pepperonis on a pizza. She did not let any of them touch! She also helped make cookies. I'm thinking I need to make her an apron:-)
238. Finding an easier/cheaper way to make the prayer card holder

239. Thinking we had a heavy frost and finding it was snow... and not minding the snow actually enjoying seeing it fall

240. Putting the books aside to do some fun schooling. I had the boys measuring and using grid paper to design a new room.

241. Catching somebody sneaking strawberries

242. Getting a bin of 18 month clothes out of the attic... mostly given to us

243.Encouragement

244. Seeing a Blue Jay and Cardinal in one morning
245. Sitting by my sunny new window crafting on a Saturday afternoon
246. Hearing from others that my boys worked hard at our church's spring cleaning event

247. Planning a little family get away

248. Homemade Orange Julius

249. A rototiller listed on craigslist(dot)org and sold the same afternoon

250. Buying scrapbooks for the pages that are finally ordered... on sale this week... with my birthday money!