Monday, October 31, 2011

Multitude Monday, Take 224

"I look at the world and I see beauty. I see love and loss, birth and death, joy and sorrow. I see a world where color exists, and in enormous generosity we were given eyes to see it. This is a world where bread makes a smell as it's baked, and we just happen to have noses to smell it. Color, smell, sound, taste--these are things that could have gone unnoticed; we could have been senseless in this reality, careening around like so many spattering particles. Were our noses invented first, or the smells? Our eyes, or the sights? ...We have been created as recipients. I look at the stars, at the grass, at my fat-faced children, at my fingernails, and I am oppressed by gratitude."
--N.D. Wilson, Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl

Thanking God for...

2237. wonderful trips and travels (the reason I didn't blog about my gratitude the last two Mondays)
2238. 365 days of Jude!
2239. remembrances of God's mercy and generosity on the day of Jude's birth
2240. a first haircut (bye-bye, baby mullet :)
2241. a party with family

2242. frosting in Jude's belly button
2243. wine and conversation with my brother- and sister-in-law after the kids were all in bed
2244. two days with my mom and my aunt
2245. Steve keeping the boys at his parents' to free me to go
2246. boxes of stuff from my grandmother's house--some needed, some useful, some purely sentimental

2247. World War II love letters
2248. old, old photographs
2249. family resemblances
2250. stories told and retold
2251. reminders that stuff fades, moth and rust destroy, much of what I save and value will be unimpressive and discarded by others

2252. a Treasure that no moth or rust can destroy, that will never lose its value
2253. nursing home workers
2254. family recipes scribbled on bits of scrap paper, stashed in creaky metal boxes
2255. a walk to Dietsch's with Mom
2256. my grandma's delight in her great-grandsons

2257. Steve's mad car-trunk-packing skills
2258. audiobooks
2259. Jude doing so well apart from me for two days
2260. Jude's eagerness to nurse as soon as he saw me
2261. one-liners from Elijah that leave my mom in stitches

2262. Elijah learning to be both cautious and brave
2263. having to ask forgiveness
2264. Chick-Fil-A sauce
2265. brilliant fall colors
2266. opportunities to bless others as we have been blessed

2267. electricity
2268. communion by flashlight, lunch in the hallways--adventure, memories at church yesterday!
2269. our pastors and their care for us
2270. chili verde and the celebration of a new church launched and led by our friends
2271. Steve's motivation and help in cleaning up the kitchen to start a new week with an empty sink


Monday, October 10, 2011

Multitude Monday, Take 223

Thanking God this week for...

2213. snazzy camera strap covers with lens cap pockets
2214. a freshly swept patio
2215. slippers for cold toes
2216. a video from my last chorale concert my senior year of college
2217. Elijah doing push-ups "like Daddy"

2218. Red Caboose Park--complete with a REAL caboose to climb on!
2219. friends to share it with
2220. table surrounded with chattering kids
2221. Steve taking me out for dinner just because
2222. people liking books I recommended to them

2223. a friend's husband FINALLY got transferred to work back home
2224. a cousin is pregnant!
2225. kids climbing, crawling, sliding, jumping, running, riding, laughing at the pumpkin patch
2226. the way gratitude actually seems to help defuse whining for Elijah
2227. oatmeal pancakes with cinnamon apples

2228. snuggle time on the couch
2229. time playing the piano and singing
2230. Elijah playing the piano
2231. Jude's hair all fuzzy and sticking up after sleeping in the Boba carrier
2232. seventeen new jars of strawberry-rhubarb jam

2233. being my Rock of Refuge
2234. the fact that if I will fear Him, I need not fear anyone else
2235. being FOR me
2236. His promises to give me all that I need and to complete what He has begun in me


Thursday, October 06, 2011

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 10.6.11

For lack of other posts, The Simple Woman's Daybook... (Or is it better to just keep my mouth shut? Does anyone find these posts interesting or are they not really worthwhile?)

Outside my window...
Unseasonably warm. Trees are starting to turn and I thought sweater-and-flip-flops weather (my fave) was here to stay, but it was back up in the 80s today. Not complaining. Wishing the mosquitoes would die off once and for all, though.

I am thinking...
that I miss blogging. That I should have jumped in with the "31 Days" themes this month, to give myself some discipline both in keeping up this blog and in working on a writing project I want to dig into.

I am thankful for...
a new(ish) family at our church that has become dear friends of ours. The boys and I spent the morning at their house--always a blessing, for many reasons.

From the kitchen...
overflowing fruit. We recently bought grapes and apples in bulk, but I was dismayed to realize that Concord grapes aren't really good for eating out of hand--so I may try to make a grape pie, but otherwise will end up freezing most of them (some whole, for use in smoothies, and some pureed, for use in yogurt/oatmeal for the boys). I've also got several pounds of tomatoes waiting to go in the summer's last tomato pie and various other "last time" tomato recipes.

I am wearing...
jeans and a dark pink shirt in the shade that has become a new favorite color for me to wear. And flip-flops. I delay socks as long as possible in the fall :)

I am creating...
I finally made some stamped cards last Friday night for the first time in ages. I still have hopes for the prayer/parenting writing project I mentioned in July...but I haven't gotten very far.

I am going...
to refrain from naming a lofty goal here since I'm pretty sure I almost never follow through with what I say I'm going to do in these posts :/

I am reading...
Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions (so that I can hold my own when Steve goes all Columbo on me)...God of Promise: Introducing Covenant Theology (if I can get through it--the content is important and I want to understand it but it is SO unreadable)...and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (just because I never have, believe it or not). I recently finished and really enjoyed Playful Parenting. I also still haven't finished (but am loving) Give Them Grace. I'm thinking about reading through the Anne of Green Gables series again, which I haven't done for several years.

Bible-wise, I'm mostly in 2 Chronicles, Proverbs, and Mark (using King's Cross as a sort of commentary).

I am hoping...
to catch up on my out-of-control inbox sometime soon.

I am hearing...
Jude talking on the monitor. I don't think he ever actually fell asleep. Alas.

Around the house...
clutter everywhere. I am hopelessly behind on housework and *really* need to get the office (which I have affectionately begun referring to as "The Room of Doom") under control. Yikes.

One of my favorite things...
pumpkin spice latte. Haven't gotten one yet this fall but I can't wait. And, the moment when my sweet husband walks in the door at the end of a long day.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Steve is taking me (and the boys) out for dinner tonight, just because! Then on Saturday we're headed to a local farm/pumpkin patch/corn maze/etc. Should be a fun family outing.

A picture thought I am sharing...
to say that Jude enjoyed the chicken enchiladas and Mexican black beans I made on Saturday would be an understatement :)

Monday, October 03, 2011

Multitude Monday, Take 222

"...make me a perfume of praiseful gratitude to thee..." (The Valley of Vision)

Thanking God this week for...

2185. Joe Thorn's "Walking Through the Valley of Vision" prayer guide
2186. the humbling process of asking Elijah's forgiveness and praying with him
2187. the sound of a lawn mower
2188. Unbroken at the library's used book sale table for $1!
2189. finally joining PaperBack Swap--and getting a request immediately

2190. kneading bread dough by hand
2191. an extra vacation day we didn't realize we had
2192. the way Steve has insights and perspecives that don't occur to me
2193. Steve's appreciation for my cooking and baking
2194. pretty fabrics

2195. an abundance of clothes for my boys
2196. Elijah's awesome speech therapist and her ongoing commitment to help us
2197. His sovereignty and kindness in bringing her into our lives
2198. her candor and enthusiasm
2199. her generosity

2200. a sunny afternoon at Centennial Park
2201. hitting the children's book jackpot at McKay's, on behalf of a friend who's expecting
2202. focused time and conversation with Steve
2203. seeing the gospel in the Old Testament
2204. clean, sweet-smelling boys

2205. a first birthday party for Jude's friend Polly Jane
2206. the opportunity to buy local, eco-friendly fruit in bulk for cheap
2207. hobby night with old friends
2208. new friends here for dinner
2209. Jude waving for the first time

2210. Sunday afternoon and evening in sweatpants
2211. big pot of chili
2212. His making and keeping spectacular promises