a few kid pics...hope to post more soon :)

...from ann voskamp @ a holy experience blog...

...how to {help} raise grateful kids...

...I like to skip around...

I like looking over my list of 1000 gifts...makes me smile. :) Here are a few things that leave me feeling grateful:

25. The many colors and shapes of orchids



46. Our miniature schnauzer, Emma, and her playful spirit...the way she comes running over with one of her toys as soon as I turn on my hair dryer--ready for fetch!



49. Cheese (I'll probably list these individually at some point...I {heart} cheese...I do not discriminate. ;)

71. My kids blowing bubbles



76. Watching my kids play with my mom's little tea set--and remembering playing the same way with my own brother



77. Fresh basil



79. Oilcloth--colorful, cheerful and functional



81. Soft green grass under my feet



82. A giant, bright moon--the "super moon" (3.19.11)



97. Sharing the day visiting and playing with friends






84. My daughter stopping to pick a dandelion as she gets off the bus, headed to meet me on the sidewalk near home...love that the kids are so intrigued and pleased by these little weeds :)

...#95...

...all of the art treasures I found while going through my stack-o-stuff on the kitchen counter...
...yes there was a lot. and yes, it really had been there THAT long--see below ;)

...#85...

...my daughter's excitement in showing me something she made at school...

...many gifts...

41. a short little heartfelt text message from a friend


42. the warmth of my bed

45. my sweet husband watching a show I like with me

53. planting new flowers in my pots


56. beautiful la jolla, ca--where my children were born

59. driving from the 5 down del mar heights toward the ocean--I'll never forget that sight

60. my cozy Ugg slippers


61. reusing my lulu bags ;)


62. sunbeams streaming through clouds


64. a big field filled with horses of all colors, grazing

65. the comfy guest bed at my parents' house


66. bright pink azaleas


67. my precious nephew, Ben, who makes me smile and laugh with his incredible cuteness

69. red tractors


72. bright red geraniums


73. getting my hair cut

74. a little vase holding flowers my children picked for me



...more to come...

...life change...

so i picked up a book last week, on the recommendation of a friend who mentioned it on facebook. the book is one thousand gifts, by ann voskamp. i am only a few chapters in, but i am loving it. loving it.

i would sum it up, but another blogger has already done such a great job of that right here.

life change--as i titled this entry--will happen, if you let it...when we begin to recognize the amazing gifts our God has given us in the little bitty details of our seemingly mundane days...recognizing these gifts. accept them. give thanks for them. you may be surprised at all those little bitty details you don't give a second thought most days--and how they CAN bring such joy to your life--even amidst your circumstances. :)

check out this beautiful video if you'd like a taste...and i'd love to hear some of your 1000 gifts. :)

1. looking through old photos of my kids
2. still mornings in the country
3. birds chirping
4. watching movies with friends (lots of them) :)
5. little yellow buds ready to bloom on the vine
6. my husband putting new tires on my car for me
7. my sweet boy waving and smiling at me as he walks into school
8. time spent with Godly women in ministry...encouragement, laughter, joy, prayer
9. getting to check on my children sleeping peacefully
10. yellow highlighters

...Saturday...

Soccer & shadow tracing :)

...moving day...

...for our good friends and neighbors...glad the kids got to play a bit before they left. will miss them so much...can't imagine anyone else living in the house behind us. :(

...the fever...

...think we've got it!

...stuck...

...inside...tomorrow makes 3 days of icy roads and no school...we did brave the roads for a sanity outing down the road... :)

…a month for injuries…

…first it was william, with his face plant into the handlebars of his scooter…

…then it was ellory, with her fall trying to get off a trampoline…

gotta roll with it when you have kiddos, right?  accidents happen!  both of them are completely fine…thank the Lord!

william--the day it happened…and a couple of days following…

   

ice cream--after xrays, before cast

ellory--waiting for the doctor--who was great, by the way!

ready to sport her new cast at school—sharpie in her backpack.  ;)

it was a buckle fracture—not real serious—will likely have the cast for 3 weeks or so…