118. For screen time 

117. For family at thanksgiving 

112. for the "people slide" says Eldon
113. For free books (thanks netgalley.com) and (a little) time to read them!
114. for last night's date night
115. for the anticipation of seeing family this weekend!
116. for getting to rock a baby today!

107. for wide-eyed wonder, and the way children delight in mystery and adventure

108. for Dinovember- the month when dinosaurs come to life and make messes when we're sleeping.

109. For wine, and late nights

110. For coffee, and slow mornings

111. for the relief of hugging a child after a bad dream-- mine, this time-- and knowing, skin to skin,

that it was only a dream.

(We really did not lose Eldon in Disneyworld.)

103. For mornings that take my breath away.

104. for creativity budding. We made towers, then daddy came home and showed him how to make a simply booby trap. He was happy for hours!

105. For monkeys, and bananas aplenty.

106. For normal, quiet days- quiet not in the sense of actual noise (that never happens here), 

but in the sense of trial, wars, threats, dangers.  Just... life, normal, almost to the point of boring. 

But it is a gift, this normal day.

88. That I'm not the only one in this house that knows how to make dinner! :)

89. For TV nights, when needed

90. Watching A Christmas Story with kids- and I think this kids mom actually makes them think I'm pretty cool! (I have never made the big boys wear bunny suits, after all!)

91. For time to read this week!  All great books- See my new review for A Million Little Ways on the other blog here.

92. For budding creativity- the girls cannot stop craftling lately!

93. For budding party-planning! Aggie got it in her head to make an obstacle course for the boys this weekend. It was quite elaboarte! She even made ribbons for the competition. But because she wanted "everyone to feel good" she made her ribbons say "Awesome," "Great," and "Good."

94. For the way the whole family gathered for the games, and the Ribbon Ceremony

95. For a few more hours of lovely weather, and for the time to enjoy it at brown county!

96. For a random, surprise meeting with some of our favorite people out there on the trails!

from the kids...

97. For Aunt Mary Anne  and all the teachers

98. For our veterans

99. Halloween candy 

100.  that Lorraine's tongue doesn't hurt any more

101.  That we get to have candy and a nice mom

102. For a nice bed to sleep in.

86. A slow and blessed weekend with books, family, friends, and too many gifts from God to count.
87.  God my gentle Father, who hears my thanks in the moment, continues to give when I forget, and loves me enough to tell me to get some sleep instead of trying to recount His gifts on this blog tonight.

78. The wonderful Wednesday sunrise

79.  the way Eldon said, "Mommy, the sunrise, you HAVE to see it right now!" and he grabbed my hand and dragged me out into the front yard. I am so blessed to have a "noticer" in my life who makes me notice things with him.

80.  The way my Aggie wants to jump in the middle of every beautiful picture, as if she belongs there. (She does.)

81.  These two, and the way they love each other.

82.  Surviving a trip to Walmart with these three: 

(I needed coffee THAT badly! and cat litter.)

I love how we made a scene everywhere we go!

83.  Another wonderful afternoon spent around God's Word with friends: Love the great conversation with our Wednesday group!

84.  The challenging theology of a children's book I have been asked to review.  I love stuff that makes me think.

85.  Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations in full swing!

73. For a day filled with ridiculousness.

Like these guys:

74. And skipping cartoons to watch ridiculous videos, celebrating the harvest!

and this one...

(and all the PetersonFarmBrothers stuff!  The kids kept yelling, "another tractor song!")

75.  Major accomplishment for Seth- he passed his pretest!



I love how he celebrated :)

76.  Dusting off CS Lewis with the big kids, and conquering two wonderful chapters! (It's slow going when you factor in their excited comments and questions every few sentences!)

77.  The "yes sirs" and "yes ma'ams" I am hearing from my sons. Daddy is on to something.

64. For cheese-N-snuggles in the warm sun

65. For Josh, making progress, getting things in order for his PHD program!

66. For study time, and studious big kids

67. For my big water bottle that I got from the hospital in Michigan when I had my 2nd, 3rd, or 4th baby. It's still keeping me happily hydrated!

68. For the way Aggie gets when she's inspired to CRAFT...

craft-a-palooza in my basement!

69. For the angel she made me, hanging above my sink.

70. That Lorraine is feeling better.

71. For little voices saying "yes ma'am" and "yes sir" in this house.

72. Finally, I am thankful that destructo-man is sleeping.  I hope his dreams are filled with adventures of him destroying stuff, so much so that by tomorrow morning, destroying everything in sight will no longer appeal to him.

Today I am thankful ....

61. that I didn't fall on my face when the dog joined me on the treadmill

62. for cute little boys in hats WITH TASSLES :)

63. for a chance to spend time with just my biggest and smallest babies (Lorraine is home sick today.)

51. For the beautiful red leaves on our climbing tree
52. For weather, still warm enough in late afternoon, to go barefoot



53.  For meds that control my cough, even if they do lower my IQ a bit
54. For a friend who bail me out when I forget my purse (I blame the meds)
55. For a great workout today; and a body that can HANDLE a great workout
56. For grown-up movie night, even if we did accidentally choose a zombie movie
57. For the abundance of ideas on Pinterest for Christmas
58. For the luxury of shopping from my living room (Amazon!!!)
59. For crafty friends willing to do crafty things for me
60. For loud kids loudly giving me loud ideas for their wish-lists

44. for the fun of snowman pancakes

45. for the satisfaction I feel knowing they're made of whole wheat

46. For extra time before church today

(thank you, time change)

for cartoons and doing this:

47. For Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and all that is within me,

    bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

    who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good

    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

(Psalm 103 read the whole psalm here)

48.
For those words of praise to God,
and the Word spoken and sung in this place,

echoing down through the centuries

reverberating in my soul today,

praise the Lord!

49. For the friend who said, "Rest is not something you must earn. God gives it as a gift."

50. For Sunday grace, and Sunday rest.

41. For the love of little boys, expressed in dandelions

42. For motherhood beauty

43. For a full dinner table

40. For warm sun snuggles after naps, while everyone else sleeps

37. for excess:

38. For girls spoiled all afternoon by their adopted "big sisters"

39. for the way they walked in the door and said, "can we please take a nap?"

36.  For the wonderful feeling of running another 5k (in my basement); for sweating so much it runs off  my elbow!
37. For no (major) injuries to the boys (or me!) while they played a hearty game of bumper cars around the treadmill while I ran!!!

35. For morning snuggles, and the way he knows just what he wants. "Blankie here, your hand there, don't let my toes peek out!"

halloween thanks

Thanking God for...

18. for the fun of dressing up (4 times this week, wow!)

19. for a shy lion who sporadically roared at strangers

20. For Mary Anne (dressed up as the Best Auntie on The Planet)

21. for Marcus's accomplishment- a first tooth lost, with no tears.

22. for energy to be a "cow-mama" with my cowboy

23. for my train on the train tracks: 

24. for holding hands with daddy

(me, or one of the little ones- either way I love it)

25.  For "crybaby" gum balls- they get her every time!

26. for their love of soft things.

(When Eldon saw this stuffed guy, he yelled, "I HAVE to hug him!!!")

27. for hearty breakfast food

28. for others who are trying out low-carb life with me

29. for being surrounded by those who love me

30. for precious time alone with just my oldest son

31. for the stillness of the evening when they're all in bed

32. for energy to clean my kitchen

33. for wisdom to leave the dining room messy so I can do this instead

34. for decaf pomegranate green tea