Thankful November 29, 2011

During the month of November, our family “grew” a Thankfulness Tree. It was a lot of fun, and it gave us time each day to think of things we were thankful for together. Since I’ll be throwing away all the leaves from the tree, I decided I’ll record the things we were thankful for here for posterity. Markus had to be encouraged not to put “books” on his leaf every day, and Anja had a hard time coming up with ideas besides food. And some of the kids’ ones crack me up.  Daddy has less because he wasn’t always with us at dinner time when we put up our leaves.

Husband:
Family
My job
Food
Variety
Salt
Joking
BBQ
Health
Warm house
Lentils
Beer

Me:
Creativity
Grandpa Mike’s help on our house
“Cooking” with my kids
Facebook
Inspiration
Bedtimes
Hot, healthy food
Snuggles with my kids
Central heat
Mornings at home
Fresh water
Anja and Markus
Daddy’s hard work cleaning the garage
pretty chirping birds

Anja:
Yummy Owl S’mores
Sweet oranges for yummy snack
Cat picture I colored
Trees (she wrote that herself)
Bananas and fruit
Our old house
Alydia, Sherman, and my other toys
If someone will fix my kitty
Colorful leaves
Jesus
Heaven
Pretty birds and yummy fruit bananas
Coloring crayons
God
Beautiful rainbows
Markus
Daddy and Mama

Markus:
Biggie (his lovey)
Green leaves
Books
Hugs
Breakfast
Trucks
Graham crackers
Toy school bus
Bananas
Mama and Daddy
Fingers (twice!)
M & Ms
Myself
Boomer (his fire truck)

A Visit to Grandma June 18, 2011

It seems to me we’ve been at my mom’s for the last few years over Memorial Day weekend, and this year was no exception. Husband was working on the house, so I took the kids alone this year (no. fun. driving.). We spent as much time as we could outside or in the basement. Anja comments on a regular basis about how Grandma’s house is her favorite place on earth because of All the Toys in the Basement and All the Good Food and All the Fun in the Yard. It makes me happy, because I really loved visiting my grandparents growing up, too, and I want my kids to have great memories at their grandparents’ homes the way I do from mine.

There was:
- playing in the basement

- riding trikes on the patio (Markus’s personal favorite)

(possibly my favorite picture of the trip)

- exploring nature

- tasting nature

- more trike riding

- walking with Grandma, in the yard and around the neighborhood

- mischief, and apparently, getting caught in some sort of crime?

- cuddling with Uncle

- sidewalk chalking with Auntie

- sleeping in Grandma’s bed

- rocking “guys”

- kicking a ball

- getting body-checked by a sister

- so much good food that Mama gained 2 pounds (but we won’t post a photo of that)

Thanks, Mom/Grandma! We had a great time!

Sunday Sunshine 03.13.11 March 13, 2011

One Way to Keep Your Art Alive – Chatting at the Sky (Love this.  And so often, as mothers, our children are the primary recipients of our art.  Keep gifting it!)

10 Points of Joyful Parenting – One Thousand Gifts (Ann Voskamp gifts readers of her book with this site and these downloads.  I think I’ll hang this one somewhere I’ll see it often!)

We Don’t Have to Do This Alone – (in)courage

Grateful for Snow March 9, 2011

The snow will melt eventually.  I know this from 31 years of experience.  It can be hard to see the beauty in it after five months of white, gray, white, gray.

But a few nights ago I was able to get out for a quick walk in it, just falling, making it all white again.  It was so refreshing.  I made tracks (sometimes in circles just for fun), followed rabbit prints, kicked icicles and snow “glass,” watched visible breath.

Husband and I used to go out for almost-nightly walks in the snow when we lived in Fargo.  This was pre-children, of course.  I look forward to the day when we can all go out as a family, making four sets of tracks instead of one.

(My kids, cooped up.)

Sunday Sunshine 03.06.11 March 6, 2011

I’ve been adding to my gratitude journal almost daily.  It really is a great exercise.  I have also been using my camera as a visual gratitude journal, recording daily graces, sometimes easy to spot and other times insignificant-seeming.

Thankful for the little hands that leave a heart necklace clanking on my bedroom doorknob for days.

Sunday Sunshine 02.27.11 February 27, 2011

Loosen the Grip of More Stuff – Small Notebook

Where the Happiness Is – A Holy Experience

“Red is Red, Blue is Blue,” said Hush – Lifenut (please, Lord, may I have this pleasure?)

The Hardest Thing About Blogging for Me – Under the Sycamore (ain’t that the truth!)

Ending the Year with Gratitude December 31, 2010

2010 has been one of the toughest years on record for me.  Maybe THE toughest.  I say bring on 2011!

That said, I have been keeping a gratitude journal (inspired by this post) since mid-October.  It is sometimes easy and sometimes a true exercise to write out the things for which I am thankful.  Today, it was easy.  And since we should use our words to encourage and uplift, I dub it appropriate for me to write some of my lists here.  Please leave some of your own thoughts in the comments; it would encourage and uplift me!

Today, I am thankful for:

• steam rising from my mug of green tea, visible by the light of the window
• rain on the glass–a mild day for late December
• the piles of beautiful snow we’ve received this season
• watching my boy “push push push” his way down the hall on his little car, his feet barely able to reach the floor
• anticipated delight in the ginger cookie that will accompany aforementioned tea
• silence

Friends, I am also so thankful for this community.  There are lonely days, too-busy days (Who am I kidding?  Too-busy seasons!), and pull-my-hair-out days, but the gentle reminders, the “you’re doing greats,” and just knowing you are struggling and working through these times, too…it blesses my heart.  Happy New Year!