Multitude Monday, Take 332

I am behind on gratitude posts! Two fun events this past month have kept me super-busy but also given me a huge number of blessings to thank God for. My brother got married on September 13, and then this past weekend, I got to speak at a women's retreat with my dear mentor and friend, Diane! Countless answered prayers and beautiful gifts, including but by no means limited to...

6431. a beautiful new sister-in-law

 

6432. the way my brother looked at her

6433. my boys being so well-behaved all weekend, all things considered

6434. Steve taking care of them most of Saturday while I was getting ready
6435. friends and family who came from far away to help celebrate

6436. my friend's mom who brought us donuts from the county fair back home :)
6437. Elijah: "When I get married, maybe my wife bride will wear a white dress!"
6438. my mom's sweet and hilarious dance with my brother
6439. Elijah's desperate desire to dance with *his* mother...his devastation when he found out we wouldn't get a special dance all by ourselves...and the fact that we finally, after much coaxing and pleading, convinced him to dance anyway
6440. doing "The Twist" with Jude

6441. East Coast Swing dancing with Steve
6442. my dad photobombing the best man and one of the bridesmaids taking a selfie--SO FUNNY
6443. church, lunch and a train ride with one of my dearest friends and her family
6444. our boys giggling together over pizza
6445. honesty, apologies, forgiveness, reconnection

6446. glowing reports from the boys' teachers at parent-teacher conferences
6447. dinner and time to catch up with a dear friend, long overdue
6448. our boys loving each other and playing so well together
6449. the way her zeal for the Lord always encourages and challenges me
6450. warm chocolate chip cookies

6451. sweater-jeans-and-flip-flops weather
6452. apple season
6453. awesome used book sale
6454. Jude encouraging me while I work out: "You can do it, Mom!"
6455. a birthday outing to a bounce-house place one of Jude's little friends

6456. pumpkin spice lattes
6457. "broken + beautiful" playlist
6458. a friend's willingness to speak hard words, and her sensitive heart about how it came across
6459. the opportunity to speak to women about Jesus
6560. eyes to see His beauty in their faces and stories

6561. sweet times of prayer and worship
6562. friends praying for me
6563. women's voices lifted in praise
6564. one woman's recitation of Romans 8...made me weep
6565. eleven years of getting to walk through life with Diane...beyond what I ever imagined

6566. ministry alongside her, more than we ever could have dreamed
6567. Steve and the boys getting to enjoy time with her husband and kids while we were gone