Thankful List - Day 5

Today I am thankful for......

1. The sweet friends of my children.
2. A lot of one on one time with Lucy.
3. Hearing Lucy say, "I love you, Mommy."
4. "I am who God says I am." -Beth Moore
5. An early birthday present arriving just in time for the snow to hit. :)
6. Safety in traveling during the first snow of the year.
7. Friends. Dear Friends who are on this journey of life with me.

Thankful List - Day 4

Gonna be honest, today has been a bit rough and I am trying my hardest to be thankful even on rough days. So here goes:

Today I am thankful for........

1. HyVee, a helpful smile in every aisle. :) My gallon of milk was dripping all over my cart, unbeknownst to me, when a nice employee came up to me and told me I was dripping milk. "Let me get you a new one." :) Such nice people.
2. 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Brownies. They have to be better for me than real brownies. I mean how much fat and calories can be in a can of pumpkin and brownie mix? And they taste so good.
3. Almonds and a Diet Coke to get me through the afternoon.
4. The bank teller that always gives my girls stickers. It is better than suckers, which they do not need any more of.
5. Having my husband home in the evenings.....at least for a little while.
6. I have my health. I am thankful.
7. HyVee Fuel Saver cards. What a deal!
8. Helping my 5 year old learn how to read. She wants to know how to read so badly.
9. Fun stories about Mr. Petersen (the boys music/band teacher) around the dinner table.

That's all I have.

*Since writing this post I have one more HUGE thankfulness to add. HUGE!
10. I am thankful for Anita Schlabach for helping me out in an emergency childcare situation for tomorrow. Huge thank you!

Thankful list - Day 3

November 3, 2013 -

Today I am thankful for.....

1. Our third grade Sunday School class that hubby is teaching. I'm his lovely assistant. :) Questions from 3rd graders that are really thinking and listening are priceless: "Does God only help people that love Him or does He help everyone?"
2. Learning from aforementioned Sunday School class just as much as the kids are. Learning several of the over 200 names of God mentioned in the bible.
3. Jehovah-Rophe - Healer. Not only physical healer, but also spiritual healer. He binds up our wounds. Thank you Lord!
4. Orphan Sunday.....Although I am not thankful that we need to have an Orphan Sunday, I am thankful that there are organizations, churches, and people that are raising awareness of the orphan crisis around the world: Show Hope, Abbba Fund, Christian Alliance for Orphans, Just Love Coffee, and countless churches around the world, just to name a few.
5. Coffee
6. Relaxing Sunday afternoons.
7. Little girl leggings and the little girls' healthy legs that go in them. Cute!
8. One of my sisters finally getting on Instagram. :)
9. This song:

 

Thankful list - Day 2

November 2, 2013-

Today I am thankful for......

1. A beautiful sunny November day.
2. Neighbor kids coming over to play. Out here in the country, I didn't think we would have any neighbor kids to have over. Ha! I am so thankful for the families that live close to us.
3. A working vehicle that gets me to and from all the kid's activities.
4. the smell of fresh baked banana bread
5. Pumpkin spice lattes. (oh, sorry, did I already mention those?)
6. Saturday evenings at home with my man.
7. Big brothers that enjoy playing with their little sisters.
8. Butterfield library. Where everyone knows your name and your kids' names. ;)
9. Books.....specifically: Nice Girls Don't Change the World, Gospel, The Hole in Our Gospel, Kisses From Katie, Anything, 7, Crazy Love, and Radical, just to name a few.
10. Laughing and laughing at supper tonight with the kids.
11. My 5-year-old being so sweet and generous and sharing her Reese's Peanut Butter Cup because she knows how much I like them and as she said, "It's o.k. I already had one. There are two of everything in here."
12. Looking through old pictures with my 8-year-old. There were a lot of stories that came with each picture. How does he remember what he was thinking in each picture? Pictures like these:

Thankful list - Day 1

November 1, 2013 -

I am thankful for.......

1. This great group of women who make work not so much work but more like time with extended family as we help our patients. They make work something to look forward to each week.
(We are missing a few additions to our surgery family in this picture. I am also thankful for Lynn, Marlene, Paige, and Sam.) We laugh together. We cry together. we vent together. We are a little family.

 

 

 

2. Ms. Sandy who loves and cares for my girls while I am at my aforementioned wonderful job. After recently hearing of a disaster that happened at an in home daycare, I am extremely thankful that I can go to work without any worries that my girls are well taken care of and loved on. We love Ms. Sandy!

 

3. A sweet 3 year old saying more and more words. Especially today, "Mommy, wa dis." (translation: "Mommy, watch this.") And she runs around and around the room. Also she likes pointing to Izzy and says, "That my sister." She is comfortable.

 

4. This hard working man of mine:

 

He has put in many long days and nights farming and is now gearing up for busy fruit season and yet, he still takes time for us, his family. He is a treasure. I do not tell him how much I appreciate him enough.

 

5. My father in law who took on task of child care for my older boys today since there was no school and I was at aforementioned job and so was hubby. :) I am blessed with great in-laws.

 

6. Learning new things from an old book/study: Believing God by Beth Moore. Amazed at how God weaves together different aspects of life to show me/teach me new things about Him, my relationship with Him, and my relationship with others. The recurring theme that is currently before me is: Believe Me.

"God is who He says He is. God can do what He says He can do. I am who God says I am. I can do all things thru Christ. God's Word is a alive and active in Me. I'm believing God." -Beth Moore

7. Songs like this that reminds me that I am not to stay complacent in my faith no matter how challenging it gets. This song speaks to me right now:

8. The month of November and plans on the calendar that I am so looking forward to. :)
9. My successful attempt at making a week's worth of homemade Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes (in my opinion). Recipe (click here).
10. O.k. umm, pumpkin spice anything. I am thankful for pumpkin spice anything. I am a pumpkin spice freak! :)









Giving Thanks

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name."

Psalm 100:4

Thanksgiving. It is quickly approaching. This year I wanted to be intentional with sharing and thinking about things I am thankful for. It seems some days it is hard, at least for me, to think of life with a grateful heart. I have a tendency to compare my life to others around me and think of all that has NOT been given to me. How selfish is that? And so wrong! So, while in the shower one day (This is my place of solitude and deep thinking. Don't judge!) I thought I could get rid of those negative, self destroying thoughts. I have been taught that once you get rid of something negative you need to replace it with something positive.....Enter the positive replacement: my 2013 Thanksgiving List. For the month of November (At the very least one month. It may go longer.) I am going to use this blog as a place to write out all, well most of what I can think of on that day, my very own thankful list. (Yes, I know, Ann Voskamp beat me to this practice. I haven't even read her book yet. It is on the "to read" list.) I also have a friend that was keeping her own list each week and I loved reading it. I even think there is a challenge on Facebook about this very thing for the month of November. Yes, I know, it is not original, but at least this causes me to be intentional with noticing and listing all there is in this life to be thankful for.

 

Read if you want. Make your own list and leave it in my comments box. I want to know what others are thankful for. It is good to give thanks. It is good to reflect on the day and be thankful for the life you have been given instead of the life you have NOT been given. Let's give thanks for there is a lot we have been blessed with.

 



Summer 2013 Summary

Time to get this blog updated. I have been delinquent. I have been busy. No different than everyone else's life, right? Here is our 2013 Summer Summary in pictures:

First year for the boys playing T-ball

 Ian read the Hobbit this summer. Aiden read Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Both read a lot for the summer reading program at the library. Who doesn't like to get free stuff for turning in Minute Memos. :)

 

 Boys first trip to Valley Fair with their 4H group. They loved it! Favorite ride is the biggest, The Wild Thing. :)

 

 Product from our annual strawberry picking at Schumacker's Farm

 

 A few shots of the fun had at the Wiebe family reunion in Kansas

 

The boys have raised broiler chickens for their summer "job"

 

One of many trips to the Fairmont Aquatic Center. We love that place!

A few pics of the garden produce this year. My tomatoes have disappointed me, but thankfully, my Mother-in-Law has shared her abundance and we have had a lot of fresh salsa and a few quarts of canned tomato juice for the winter

 

The boys first county fair projects for 4H. 

 New Machine Shed built on our yard.

Despicable Me 2 at the movie theater

We spent lots of time with friends over the summer.

Professor Marvel's Magic Show 

 

 

 

Family Pictures taken by the great Susan with SR Photography.

 

Ian and my nephew Gabe were guest announcers at the Fort Wayne minor league baseball game! They made it on the big screen! :)

Lucy and Lilly playing so nicely together

Our traditional stop at Dunkin' Donuts for the long drive back home

We had a great time visiting family in Indiana. It is never long enough!

Stopped in Moline, Illinois on the way home from Indiana.

Fun factoid!

This boy earned enough money from raising chickens that he bought his own Kindle Fire HD.

 


Lucy's last visit with her speech therapists at home. She is off to school now for speech

 

I bought myself some bright shoes to train for a half marathon




Soli Deo Gloria!



Started training for a half marathon. It has been HOT!