The Wall Bloggers

God's gifts from art lessons

2012-02-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here's an attempt at loading my list before it's two week's old. :)

- Adrianna making valentines for her classmates

... And it being so much easier for her than it was last year

- And Abel making valentines of his own

- Finding the kids brushing Ruthie

... And Ruthie bearing with it without any hint of impatience

- Uncle Mark coming for a weekend visit
... And the kids enjoying getting extra time with him

- Adrianna doing her homework assignment about an activity she likes to do in weather

- Doing our first art lesson together from the Drawing With Children book my mother-in-law found used
... And looking around our house for the different elements in art - and Adrianna and me getting so excited about finding the elements everywhere we looked

- "Oh yeah, oh yeah!"

- The view on the way home

- The kids"helping" me make applesauce quick bread, while Scott was at a concert with his family for the evening

- Abel with Uncle Mark at church

- Scallops dinner with Scott's family

- Reading with Uncle Mark

- Adrianna crying about going to bed, because she wanted more time with Uncle Mark

- "Can the horse ride the fire truck, Mom?"

- Discovering that I'm allergic to a lot of the same foods Adrianna is (gluten, corn, rice + yeast and garlic), and being able to relate to her

God's gifts from painted toast

2012-02-03T22:56:00.000-07:00

Back again, with my long list. We've been adjusting to watching our sweet baby friend two mornings and two afternoons a week. It is just the right amount of time to have a baby come hang out with us; it just requires me to be more creative finding the right moment to upload pictures. God has been sweet in the adjustment, and Adrianna and Abel have been my helpers with baby Matthew.

And now for two weeks' worth of photos... And by the way, I understand if you don't want to take the time to look at my enormous amount of photos every posting. I post them mostly for me -- to help me remember these fleeting moments with my ever-changing children and to keep focused on these moments as God's gifts of grace. It's too easy for me to get caught in the routine, the chores, the to-do list. Taking the brief second to capture the gifts on film has helped me reclaim gratitude each day.

- Another sky painted by the Artist's hand

- Abel helping me vacuum

- Waiting with Abel while Scott ordered our food at the brand new restaurant, with the line curling around the building
... And Abel and me pointing out all of the trucks, trailers, other wheeled beauties that passed

- Scott keeping Abel with him in the thrift store so that I could have free reign to shop as I pleased

- Laughing at spending my Friday night making gluten-free tortillas

- Cleaning out my freezer
... And creating a new list on the wipe off board of everything in it

- Finding more footed pajamas for Adrianna at the thrift store

- Finding a cloud that looked like a comb

- Scott and Steve putting up Scott's Christmas present: a weather station

- Adrianna discovering our tracing board

- Making mini French toast

- Adrianna goofing: "C is for biscuit... it's good enough for me!"

- Another shot of the peaceful, sleeping one

- Adrianna making a craft in her newly-cleaned desk

- Adrianna making a holiday flag for our flag post

- Cracking Abel up by teaching him the old song: "Big John"

- Abel doing scissor practice and finding that he made triangles

- Dropping the recipe I finished half of into the dish washer by accident

- Beading with my boy

- Finding another book by Laura Ingalls that we didn't know about at the thrift store

- Coming to pick up my boy, and finding him like this

- Making the most of that touchy hour before dinner time with a very fun store time

- Receiving fun treats from Aunt Ally

- Finding Adrianna making a "love note" to Abel instead of getting ready for bed

- Abel finally learning colors
... And telling me, "Mommy, I spy a black chair.... and peanut butter!" (I agreed; peanut butter was a perfect color descriptor.)

- Abel playing in the back yard on his tractor while all the rest of us finished things inside

- Adrianna learning to use a sewing machine
... And making a pillow case for Abel and a table cloth for her little table

- Adrianna setting up her new table cloth with a tea party, and inviting a friend to join her

- Getting past my fear of cooking a whole chicken

- Scott helping Adrianna with a craft idea from Club House, Jr.

- Starting a new hobby: making slippers :)

- Taking Abel on a walk (okay, I walked, he tractored)

- Making the strangest hemp seed butter cookies
... And of course, Abel loving them (all of the rest of us think they are a wee bit strange)

- Ten lovely minutes of animal togetherness

- Coming to pick up my boy again... and finding him like this

- Abel singing the theme song for Little House on the Prairie into his milk

- The moon halo
... And finding Scott in the dark on the back patio trying to capture it

- Abel making me a bath tub drink: "Want some more?"

- Abel's response to tickling, wrestling: "More, please!"

- Our car not needing extra repairs
... And Abel thanking God that our car didn't need to be repaired any more

- Abel asking me: "Mommy, can you go up in the sky -- up there?" (About going in the attic)

- The dripping of snow melting from our awning

- Piggy back rides to kids' beds

- The ever-hectic, ever-fleeting drives to school and home again

God's gifts in two years

2012-01-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrate two years since meeting our baby boy. (See Our long-awaited referral for more.) Two years since we first saw Abel's picture on our computer screen and Scott and I cried happy tears, knowing that we were staring into the face of our second child. Two years since we spent a spring in agony, waiting for permission to pick up our child.

Oh, what blessings since that day two years ago. God brought us to the boy He chose for us. He prepared him for our family and our family for him. Two years ago today, Scott and I "met" and fell in love with a picture of a boy -- our boy -- the one God chose.

Happy referral-versary, Abel. We love you.

God's gifts from celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. day

2012-01-18T22:17:00.001-07:00

"I have a dream that one day ... little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream"

My 1,000 gifts from the last week...

- The work done by Martin Luther King, Jr. and so many others, so pave a way for my children to grow up in a country where their skin color matters so much less than it once did

- Making a colored egg carton craft that Adrianna saw on PBS one day months ago

- Adrianna's first school friend play date

- Playing "beans" with Abel, Adrianna, and Adrianna's friend from school

- Working with Adrianna to find a fun way to play with the sit 'n spin with colored pencils

- Abel's letter train

- Abel playing with the ABC board all the way to and from our weekly errand run

- Adrianna and Abel helping me make allergy-free biscuits

... And Abel deciding the flour should be used like lotion

- Trying our new chocolate sauce recipe with our homemade raspberry sorbet

- Yet another way to use the dump truck

- Saying goodbye to Grandma's goats, as they moved on to a new home

- Adrianna choosing music time at the library as her reward
... And spending an hour and a half there with the kids and Scott
... And marveling at the simple joy of a free gift in our community

- Homemade chicken nugget night... one of our family favorites

- Adrianna reading one of her mini books from school to Abel

- Those crazy dogs competing for cuddles with Grandpa

- Reading books from our library's winter reading bingo card
... And going to my teaching stash in the garage to find ones to fit the criteria

- Abel coming to me, wearing Adrianna's Aggie hat: "Mom, my Aggie hat!"

- And Grandpa finding another way to wear it, and cracking the kids up

- Adrianna making a portrait of her Webkinz puppy before church that really looked like the puppy

- Adrianna putting together an impromptu party for MLK day
... And Scott blowing up the balloons for it, including one that had three holes in it

- "Momma, I'm Laura!"

- Abel putting away not only the kids' table, but also two chairs at the same time

- Spending the day playing at home

- Adrianna drawing her version of space

- Making an Octopus O to go with Abel's "lessons"

- Abel helping me clean up the beater

- A delicious allergy-free bread/bun recipe

- Scott and Adrianna going scanning through all the fun activities in the new Family Fun magazine

- Adrianna and Jenny making one of the Valentine ideas from the magazine

- Attending prayer time for our schools and children

... And Abel joining right in to pray after I finished

- Abel actually playing with the farm and train set while I was working in the kitchen
... And playing "farm" with him, while he piled all the animals and fence pieces into one pen

- Adrianna's hamburger hair creation
... And that delightful brilliant sunset

- Family game night again... and Grandma and Grandpa joining us

- Rushing to get ready for school, and wondering where the kids went, and finding out that Adrianna was helping Abel get his shoes on

- Struggling to get the kids out of bed in the morning after Abel slept poorly, and Adrianna commenting about Abel: "He's grumpier than I am!"

- Conversation with Abel: "Wanna be a dump truck, Mom?"

Me: "No. Do you want to be a dump truck, Abel?"

Abel:"No. I wanna be Daddy."

God's gifts... all is from God

2012-01-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

I am surrounded with friends and family in difficult situations presently. How can I tell them, show them gratitude? It sounds so trite: "Be thankful in all things." When my own contentment is still so tenuous, fragile, how can I say, "Make the choice to be thankful"?

But it is Life. This, this acknowledgement that all is from God, all is filtered through His grace. Life does not all feel like grace, like kindness. How can we trust God to give us the good and not trust Him when He gives us the bad -- especially because we do not even know whether a thing is good or bad? Job found a way to do it: "He gives and He takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." And his deep, life-wrenching gratitude came after sitting in wretched loneliness, discomfort, and fear. Is there a way to come to that place before... before we lose it all?

Starting from December 27, there are many of God's gifts to catch up on...

- Abel: "Mom, I wanna play you-ca-carry." Me: "The what?" Abel: "The you-ca-carry!" Me: "The what??" Abel: "The gi-tar!" Me: "Oh! The ukulele!"

- Bells at Grandma's house

- Adrianna so calmly loosing her first tooth after we put Abel to bed, and Scott and me just getting to read with her while she twisted away on her tooth

- Driving with my sweet family up to see my relatives again

- Adrianna reading Abel's new Thomas the Train easy reader to Grandpa Bob

- The eager anticipation of opening presents

- And the train

- Reading the new books with Grandpa

- Playing Rummikub again

- Enjoying family cuddles before getting ready for the day

- Visiting with my junior high friend Samantha and her family

- Playing trains

- Adrianna helping to cut out postage stamps for our church's stamp ministry

- Abel taking some bonding time with Uncle Matt

- Watching my nephews open the shirts I made for them

... And Samuel's reaction when he discovered his was Yoda

- Getting to see my extended family again

... And my kids seeing some of their great-grandparents and my aunt and cousins

- Grandpa Bob word searching with Adrianna while waiting for food

- Adrianna and her cousin Madelene sharing their allergy-free food, and both gobbling down the snap peas and salad greens and veggies ravenously

- Adrianna playing with Grandma Elizabeth while I finished Adrianna's four-year-old photo album in time to make it for the buy one - get one free deal

- Opening presents again

- Finding out my car needs some expensive repairs
... And receiving some clear answers to prayer about what to do
... And the kids playing so nicely while we waited at the car shop

- Taking the kids bowling for the first time

- Enjoying an allergy-free dinner, made by Grandma Debbie

- Surprising Scott with a birthday cake

- Fun reading moments

- Spending time praying for family

- Enjoying our Whole Foods lunch/treats on the drive home

- Fun with Abel's new tractor

...and new tricycle from a thrift store

- No car troubles on the way home, even though we chose to wait on the repairs

- Coming home to a leaking dishwasher

- Scott taking extra time off to be home for his birthday

- Using my new blender to make smoothies

- Abel playing the itty-bitty guitar

- Adrianna learning how to use the magic loom

- The kids spontaneously dancing and singing on the table

- Preparing Scott's birthday breakfast

- Abel coloring every white part of his Cars picture

- Celebrating Scott's birthday with chocolate fondue (even when the fondue cord was missing)

- Sharing the old "Cheaper by the Dozen" with Adrianna after she listened to the book on CD

- Adrianna playing with my childhood Legos
... And her having more fun getting imaginative with them, rather than building with them

- Taking Adrianna ice skating for the first time this season

- Playing "Monster Chase" with the kids, and just getting downright goofy

- Abel and Scott's throwing/jumping game

- Abel checking out the baby's chair

- Abel trying on western attire

- Abel getting creative on the way home from errand-running in the big city

- Borrowing an allergy-free cookbook from a neighbor, and finding oodles of recipes Adrianna can have
... And trying the chocolate chocolate chip muffins and chocolate cake with tasty success

...And the oat waffles, too

- Adrianna and Abel making posters celebrating our state

- Adrianna going to a party with our neighbor Jenny to celebrate

- Finding out the Adrianna and Abel matched, even though we didn't plan it

- Using the new cookbook for oat pizza crust... Mmm.

- Abel stamping

... And the joy in knowing that he likes doing crafts now

- A new chocolate pudding recipe in my new blender (sense a chocolate theme?)

- Abel and Adrianna suddenly finding Birthday Monsters discussion-worthy always
... And the precious way Abel says: "Birthday Mansters"
...And the way he giggles at broccoli stew in Hey! Wake Up!

- An empty fridge... and the blessing that it isn't always that way

- God's protection over Abel, nearly being backed over while we were on our trip

- A good first week watching the baby

... And Adrianna and Abel helping with him

- Grandma Julie teaching Adrianna to play solitaire

- Abel's love of showers

- Safe travels in the snow

- Abel's leap-run

- Adrianna and Jenny playing beauty parlor

- Enjoying the beauty of mountain silhouettes on the drives

A reader tell me recently that I have a lot of pictures on my blog. That might be an understatement. For a person like me, with a mind that races in ninety different directions every minute, how else am I going to remember all these daily blessings God has granted me? :)

God's gifts from Scott's birthday

2012-01-03T23:10:00.000-07:00

Obviously, I have many pictures to upload from the last week -- our travels to visit my family, and so on. For now, I want to say that I am thankful for my husband. We celebrated his birthday this week. He's one of those who gets to share his birthday with the after-Christmas clean-up routine. But he doesn't complain. And he's worth celebrating. God's given me a sweet soul as my life partner. My kids and I are sure blessed to have him.

I am struggling with feeling insufficient. As a wife, mother, friend. His grace is sufficient for me. I am so grateful that His strength is made perfect in my weakness.

God showed us such kindness in bringing us home in the car that needed to be repaired.

More soon. Goodnight, friends.

God's gifts from celebrating the birth of Christ

2011-12-26T23:08:00.001-07:00

What a joy to celebrate Christmas with family, friends, and our church body.

From our week of anticipating and celebrating Christmas...

- More snow and Adrianna's second snow day

- Adrianna and Abel working together to make a peg board picture

- Rusty cuddling with the kids' toys

- The evidence of Adrianna and Abel playing so nicely together while I showered

- Adrianna having a grand time cutting apart the grocery bags

- Abel's tow truck rides

- More fun playing in the snow

- Greeting the kids with gluten-free pumpkin doughnut when they came in from the cold

- Adrianna making her own "I Spy" page

- Getting to watch Adrianna present her "Christmas in Ethiopia" poster to her class

- Adrianna wrapping Christmas presents for the first time

- Adrianna decorating Ruthie

- Making snow flakes with Adrianna

- Abel and Scott playing soccer ball catch

- Acting out the Christmas story with our nativity set

- Abel playing with the little boy I will be watching a few hours a day and showing him how to use his play mat

- Abel making his food into a train

- Finishing the Christmas story the next night, and Abel understanding what to do better the second time

- Adrianna helping in so many ways and being so excited about playing with the baby

- Having a craft morning with the kids while the baby slept

- The kids using the nativity set with our "church"

- Making masking tape Christmas pictures (as seen on Play at home mom)

- Scott's "sleeping Abel" picture

- Running errands with my mother-in-law

- "More tickles, Dad?"

- Sharing the Jesse Tree Journey (www.aholyexperience.com) with Grandma

- "Count down to Jesus' birthday?"

- The entertainment of an empty laundry basket

- Playing with the word tiles with Adrianna, and realizing that she can read most of them now

- Making coconut milk ice cream with the kids

- Adrianna playing "fishing," and her preparing the fish for us to eat

- Heading for a concert with my in-laws, and finding out it was canceled as we arrived there

... And driving around to see Christmas lights, instead

- Waking to hearing the Adrianna and Abel singing Christmas carols together through the monitor

- Adrianna dressing up for Christmas Eve

- Experiencing a local Christmas Eve tradition
... And being so cold

- Remembering again a Christmas Eve
... And thinking on the sacrificial gift of one earthly father and one Heavenly Father

- Sharing Christmas with the kids
... And thinking how much Abel has changed since last Christmas

- "Mommy, where's my phone??"

- Scott surprising me with some much-needed sun glasses

- Having Scott's parents over for our traditional Christmas breakfast

- Attending church on the day we celebrate Jesus's earth coming

- Opening presents with Scott's parents

- Adrianna giving scratches while listening to her stories

- The day after Christmas breakfast: pumpkin pie and craft project

- Scott, Adrianna, and Abel staying all day in pajamas

- Adrianna and Abel making a "take it to the dump" game with Abel's new tractor from his great-grandparents

- Adrianna and Scott doing Wii bowling

- Adrianna coming up with her own plan for how to use craft foam

- Finding Adrianna's picture on the bathroom wall

God's gifts from the Advent season

2011-12-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

Yikes! I've gotten behind! I am glad I have all these pictures and scribbled notes to help remind me of these moments of grace.

So here are the gifts God has blessed me with from the last two weeks...

- Having a tea/reading party with Adrianna

... Of course, with imaginary cookies

- Abel learning how to set up his own train tracks

- Finding Abel jamming out on the itty-bitty Barbie guitar

- Abel counting game pieces while Adrianna and Jenny played during game night

- Getting Ruthie spayed
... And her finally learning how to cuddle during her recovery

- Babysitting the neighbor boy, and Abel having a grand time playing with him

- Abel dancing while playing the piano

- Abel always being a trouper during our weekly errands

- Adrianna in the matching coat/hat set we gave her for Christmas last year

- Abel having a blast with the little boy toys at a friend's house while Scott and I put together missionary care packages

- Adrianna working on her very first school poster
... And her choosing to make it about Christmas in Ethiopia

- Adrianna writing her own thank you note to Will

- "Mommy, I want more cucumbers"
... Words I never imagined I'd hear from him!

- The joy of three dogs in one house

- Making mesir wat (Ethiopian red lentil stew)
... And our house smelling like the delicious aromas of Ethiopia for a night

- Sharing coffee cake (made from garbanzo beans -- and tasty!) and homemade coconut ice cream

- "Mommy, I ready for my craft!"
... And him running to get there before I did

- Gluten-free flours arriving from Amazon

- Hot chocolate that they can both have

- The creative girl building
... And her determination to make the tallest tower, even after it toppled time and again

- Laughing at our always-hungry Dizzy cat

- Painting flower nail designs for Adrianna

- Smiling at all those ingredients just to make gluten-free pumpkin bread

... And it being so worth it
... And her chocolate coconut milk mustache to go with the pumpkin bread

- Watching Adrianna give her first sign language performance at school: "Silent Night"
... And Abel making it through all the band performances beforehand

- Abel's harmonica skills

- Finding Abel's cars lined up

- Another failed gluten-rice-corn-free play dough attempt

- Abel's Mr. Thomson fun

- Adrianna sharing her poster with the Thomsons

- The grandparents coming to visit
... And their fun reading Adrianna's school newspaper

... And playing a game with Grandma

- Abel showing off for the grandparents at Starbucks

... Even doing his chicken dance

- Grandpa Richard reading to Abel

- Sharing a special chocolate-only shop with my mom and Richard

- And sharing the Children's Museum, too

- Making a set of cards there to give as presents

- Capturing reflection pictures

- Adrianna's funny pen

- Abel's yogurt mustache

- Chatting and tea with my neighbor
- Our neighbor watching Abel for me
- Abel and Scott ear flicking
- Abel making a joke of "Donkey... quack, quack."
- Abel: "Hey, Momma, what you makin'?"
- Swapping Jesus stories with another neighbor
- Wrapping Abel up after a shower
- Wrapping presents with Scott
- Rusty's improvement from seizures

God's gifts from decorating

2011-12-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

Psalm 77:11-12

I will remember the works of the LORD;

Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.

If you haven't picked up from this blog yet, this has been the year of gratitude. God has been teaching me about living each moment -- grateful for His gifts, present with my family and those around me. He's been teaching me about not waiting for some day, some thing to happen to make me fulfilled, willing to be present. And as He seems to do with each lesson that needs to be learned, He keeps giving me more insight, more verses, more words of wisdom from others, more repetition about gratitude.

As you saw a few weeks ago, He kept bringing back to this verse... Declare that Your name is near. And this week, it has been the above verse from Psalm 77. If we want to stay close to Him, not drift, not wander, not waver, He calls us to remember His works... The ones He has done for His people throughout history, the ones He has done for our family, the ones He has done for me. "I will remember the works of the Lord.... I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds." That is a large part of why I write this blog: To remember His works, to remember for myself and for my children; and to talk of His deeds.

And from A Holy Experience, today's words of wisdom:

“But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this.

I did not live in the moment enough.

This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.

I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed.

I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”

~Anna Quindlen

And now to list my week of God's blessings...

- A pot full of oatmeal, enough for the whole family

- Abel helping me with laundry

- Abel jumping on Adrianna's bed: "This is so fun!"

- Adrianna making paper chains every minute she had a chance

... And hanging them in her play room

- Adrianna commenting: "My carrot's like a tire swing"

- Calling Adrianna out of her Wednesday afternoon room time, so she could help me make our Jesse tree ornaments

- Ruining a whole load of laundry with something blue (paint?)

- Finding a "Christmas Cowgirl" outfit for Adrianna at a thrift store

- Abel's: "This is reallly goood"
...And his willingness to wear his winter hat

- Hearing birds singing in the parking lot, even as the storm blew in

- Adrianna using her weekly "prize" to have Jenny come glitter glue with her

- In the car, singing "R-U-S-T-Y" with Adrianna, instead of "B-I-N-G-O"

- Making every mistake imaginable getting the new curtains to the correct length

- Finding Adrianna's chicken keeping her toothbrush company

- Taking my sweet old dog to the vet for seizures, thinking it may be his last day, and finding out that his blood work is all normal, and he may just have epilepsy

...And his medication for it only being $10 a month

- The first snow of the season

... And watching Ruthie discover it for the first time

- Having a cozy, warm morning with hot chocolate and goodies

- The coat rack brimming with winter coats

- Adrianna making me a puzzle

- Adrianna using the grocery bags for more paper links

- Clearing out extra stuff from the play kitchen

- Able using the memory game tiles to build while Adrianna and I played

- Clearing out Adrianna's closet so that she could have a play area in it

- And clearing out the play room (see Play room for its origination) so that we can have out only a few toys each week and do more rotation

- And Scott playing with the kids while I did so

- Getting snowed on during our light parade, and getting oh-so-cold

- Decorating the house for Christmas, and for once, not stressing about it

- Taking Adrianna on her longest bike ride
... And protecting Ruthie from an attacking dog, and her not sustaining lasting injuries
...And playing the thankful game with Adrianna so that we could both make it home without grumbling

- Date night with my sweetie

- Adrianna lacing book marks

- Abel enjoying the alphabet magnets, after they had been put away for a while

- Adrianna's first snow day

- Ruthie trying on Copper's Christmas collar

- Adrianna's "Rusty in space" drawing

- Adrianna playing with the Russian dolls

- Scott and Adrianna finishing Adrianna's bird house

- Finding something cool Scott did with the camera

- Using a delayed school start to play trains

... And paint

... And Abel actually wanting to with us

- Using the Jesse Tree Advent Devotional with the kids

... And Abel pointing to it and saying, "Adam and Eve eat the fruit"

(To get your free copy, go to Jesse tree advent devotional from A Holy Experience)

God's gifts from Grandma's surprise

2011-11-27T22:58:00.007-07:00

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be;
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

We sang this classic hymn in church this morning, and I was reminded how fitting it is in light of striving to be full of gratitude. God is our fount of every blessing, and I'm a debtor only to His grace, so prone to wander. Counting His blessings reminds me again of my need for Him, His grace to me.

And so, starting from last weekend, His moments of grace...

- Taking the kids to a craft fair, and having a wonderful time playing at the wooden toys booth

- Abel trying out sit ups on the kitchen floor (of course, while everyone was trying to get around him)

- Taking Adrianna to a birthday party and helping with "make overs"

- Scott and Adrianna helping me make gluten-free pasta

- Finding Abel reading

- Finding Adrianna making a bat sign

- Walking at dusk... what brilliant colors!

- Scott putting up our new Ikea wall sconces

- Adrianna's pretend invitation she made at school

- Making a thankful tree with Abel

...And him being thankful for bacon and eggs

...And him thanking God for "Abel's thankful tree -- over there!"

- Abel chowing down on romaine lettuce

- Scott helping Adrianna make her thankful tree

- Abel showing Scott his tree

- Making a hand print pasta turkey with Abel

- Abel walking Rusty... they just seemed to understand each other

- Abel making his first card for Grandma's birthday

- Adrianna making her own card by herself

- Having Grandma over for a "breakfast for dinner" celebration

...And Adrianna sharing all of her home-made presents with her

- Surprising Julie with Scott's brother's family coming for a visit (a secret kept for weeks!)

...And reliving all the ways we kept it a secret

- Finding the bears Abel tucked into bed

- Adrianna and Scott having fun with the Google turkey game

- Adrianna and Natalie crafting together

- Adrianna sharing the scarf she spent weeks knitting with Natalie

- A sweet moment with Grandpa and Steven

- A goofy moment with Kevin and me

- The girls always dressing up

- Finding the boys reading together

- Another tractor hay ride

...And laughing at that funny dog on the hay

- Kevin helping Adrianna with Skip Bo

- And Grandpa teaching her Set Cubes

- Natalie and Adrianna helping me make an apple crisp, because somehow Natalie decided that she really wanted to make one

- Making our second annual family Thanksgiving lists on Thanksgiving morning
...And the gift of finding how much more a habit gratitude is for me this year

- Taking a few minutes where all of us just stopped and enjoyed watching the family picture display

- Enjoying a quick game of MadLibs

- Finding a sweet moment with Mark and Natalie

- And another with Abel and Grandpa Steve

- Adrianna getting a bonus ATV ride with Grandpa while the others took their naps

- Grandma reading Peter Rabbit to the girls while the Thanksgiving dinner came together

- And Kevin reading to the boys

- Getting the kids to all sit to Thanksgiving meal
... And finding it humorous when Abel wanted to be done before the adults even got their food

- Enjoying the bounty of many hands and many hours in the kitchen

- Abel finding the Cetaphil jar, and greasing his own head

- Another moment with Grandpa

- And one with Mark helping Adrianna wash her hands

- Adrianna making "pens" for her petting zoo stamp animals

- Adrianna using room time to check her behavior, and making a swing set with Tinker Toys

- Abel discovering his love for Clifford

- The girls and Abel making a caterpillar (?) and chanting, "Don't copy us!" before squealing and running off

- Taking a day to head to the big city, but using it to do fun shopping and not just errands
... And meeting up with my in-laws there
...And treating Adrianna to goat cheese samples (and purchases, thanks to Grandma Julie!) all around Farmer's Market
- Going to the flea market, and having a great time on the wooden rockers

- Making gluten-free crackers to use with all the new goat cheese, so that we could have a cracker and cheese dinner

- Finding a secret note on my grocery list

- The blessing of God's provision: a refrigerator full of food

- The continued battle with Adrianna's allergic reactions leading to emotional outbursts and irrational behavior (hard thanks)

- Doing number practice with Adrianna

- Steve coming to assist Scott in hanging our curtains (Ruthie broke our blinds)

... And Steve asking, "What's she doing?" when I took his picture, and Scott instantly replaying, "Her thankful list!"

- Making a grocery cart with Tinker Toys

- Abel's Tinker Toy band

- Adrianna adding paint to her bird house for the third time

- Abel playing nicely with Adrianna's Barbie computer while I made dinner

- Finding a dessert Adrianna could have at a store, and Adrianna commenting, "These strawberries squeezes are awesome."

- Abel's comment to me: "Momma, finda Lightning 'Queen. Right back, K?"

And previous blessings not yet recorded...
- Abel saying, "Jesus died on the cross for Abel," every time he sees a cross
- Abel telling me, "Momma, I play Pokey, Pokey, Pokey," when he heard we were going to music time
- Adrianna using her camera to take pictures of a baby visiting our house
- Looking out my in-laws' window just in time to see a train of Grandpa, the two goats, and Abel heading for the goat pen

God's gifts from Grandpa's surprise

2011-11-18T22:41:00.002-07:00

Catching up on a week and a half of God's kindness to us...

- Making coconut milk ice cream... So easy and so yummy

- Abel's continued appreciation for listening to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

- A rare moment to catch Wheel of Fortune before bed, and both kids actually sitting still to cuddle

- Adrianna making Grandpa's birthday card: "To Grandpa, Happy Birthday! The End! Adrianna" and "What is a robin's favorite treat to eat?"
...And her hiding the answer under the sticky note

- Adrianna's reaction to glutenous play dough (hard thanks)
... And again the reminder at how much better she has felt without allergens
- Attempting to create a new play dough recipe that she can use
... And Adrianna having a good attitude about it, even if it was sticky and didn't work with cookie cutters!

- Being there when lots of friends showed up for Grandpa Steve's surprise birthday dinner

... And having a fun time with friends

... And laughing how Steve had a tip off to the surprise when Julie cleaned the top of the refrigerator

- Abel finally coming out of his shell at music time (after going weekly for a year and a half!)
... And him spontaneously dancing during the instrument play time, and the librarian commenting, "Oh, he just made my heart melt"

- Taking a road trip for the weekend

... And laughing at the cows crossing the road

- Talking with Adrianna about how it's important to marry someone that's your best friend and someone who loves Jesus... and her thinking about that for a minute, and then declaring, "I've been thinking I might marry Will."

- My "babies" playing back-to-back

- Laughing at finding a donkey after Abel had called every four-legged creature we passed a donkey

- Revisiting the Ethiopian market for the first time in almost a year and a half, and the Ethiopian owner remembering us

... And the continuing support from the Ethiopians there

- Joining my dad and Debbie at an Ethiopian restaurant (our first time!)
... And hearing the heart-breaking story one of the workers tell me that she knew Abel was two because she had to leave her son in Ethiopia when he was two

- My dad and step-mom watching the kids for two nights so that Scott and I could have a mini-vacation

- Going shopping with just Scott

- Going bowling with just Scott

- Attending the church where Scott and I were married

- Enjoying coffee and chats with my mom and step-dad

- More "lessons" with Abel
... And him asking, "Do lessons with Mommy??" and "Mommy, do Old Mac Donald??"

- Grandpa Steve taking our play group on a tractor hay ride

... And again, the beauty of the place we live

- Grandpa showing the chickens to the play group kids

- Abel pouring over family pictures

- Adrianna's picture of the moon we saw on our trip, peaking over the mountains, half covered in clouds... a breath-taking moment in time

- Abel finding sister's dress up

- Adrianna getting a game day reward with Jenny for doing a good job in school

- Abel capturing a few minutes in the backyard

- Guess Who? for game night... a game from my childhood

- Talking with Adrianna about how to know where God has given you talents when you are doing the things that make your heart happy (for me, teaching; for Scott, business; for us, Africa, adoption), and Adrianna saying, "Ethiopia makes my heart happy."

- Another allergic reaction (her antibiotic?) (hard thanks)

... And praying for Adrianna to be able to focus at school after this melt down
... And God answering. Her teacher's report: "She had a good day!"

- Abel playing with my in-laws while I ran errands

- My big girl being old enough to brush her own hair

- A symmetrical number on my odometer :)

- Abel talking on the "goat phone" at gymnastics

- Hearing missionaries share of God's working in a far away place

Declare that Your name is near

2011-11-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

I'm having trouble keeping up with all of the daily gifts from the hand of God. So many wonderful moments. I hope to catch up with my list within the next couple of days. But first, I want to share this verse that keeps drawing me in, calling to me.

This is why I am finding daily, moment-by-moment gratitude so crucial to life...

We give thanks to You, O God,

We give thanks!

For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.

Psalm 75: 1

His wondrous works declare that His name is near. He is near. How can we know that He is near unless and until we declare His wondrous works by giving thanks?

God's gifts from dedication

2011-11-07T22:56:00.001-07:00

Still trying to catch up on God's gifts from the last week and a half...

- My sister and her family visiting for the weekend

- And just going with the flow... showing them some of our favorite spots (garage sales, thrift stores, coffee shops, health food stores)

- Making and sharing allergy-free caramel apple dip (with just cashews and dates and maple syrup!)... Mmm.

- Cousins playing

- Grandpa Steve's tractor hayride for the family

- Everyone but Abel wearing his sock monkey hat

- Small town holiday fun

- Adrianna helping Grandpa greet at church

- Dedicating Abel to God at our church
... and our pastor (also an adoptive parent) taking a minute to share about the gift of adoption
... and remembering again that he is God's and not ours

- Adrianna in her "Ethiopia dress"

- The girls brushing Ruthie

- The Jeep finding another fan

- After-nap cuddles

- Adrianna following the Tinker Toy directions to make a Ferris wheel

- Grandpa turning Adrianna's Ferris wheel into a science lesson

- Sharing homemade pretzels

- Adrianna telling Scott how to make Jingle Bells into a "Brush your teeth" song, and hearing them sing it together while brushing her teeth

- Evening praise and worship dancing with the kids

- Abel declaring, "Mommy, I a fireman!" at the park

- Laura Ingalls and a cowboy coming for a visit to our house

- My mother-in-law coming to help me with allergy-free baking

- Finding a pasta recipe that Adrianna could have

... And her delight in having pasta again for the first time in several months

- Racing with Adrianna to catch the bus
- A Mommy-daughter date

- Game night with mancala, and Adrianna knowing how to play it from school

- Anticipating the fun of having Adrianna off from school for Thursday and Friday

- And enjoying the days off to sleep in later and have leisurely breakfasts

- Spending Thursday as a craft day

- Teaching Adrianna how to sew, and her picking it up so quickly

... And Adrianna wanting to share her sewing projects with her friends

- Abel practicing being a cowboy

- Keeping Abel out of trouble by letting him "help" me bake

- Adrianna setting up "centers" for us to do in the play room

- The constant sew-er

- Making more items to sell on etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CremeDeLaEm)

- Adrianna completing three pouches for loved ones

- The kids practicing "touch downs" and "Gig'ems" over dinner

- Taking the initiative to do "lessons" with Abel after dropping Adrianna at school each morning (with the encouragement from my college friend Jenny: http://ourmontessorihome.wordpress.com/)

- Dogs tapping at the glass to come in

- Always-smudged glass

- Curling up to catch up on daily reading

- Fireplace weather

- Excitement to finish her sewing supplies pouch

- Beginning making shirts for nieces and nephews for Christmas presents

- Continued struggles with years of acne (hard thanks)

- Abel singing "My God is So Big" as we shop

- A cashier asking Abel what he was thankful for, and him replying instantly: "Dizzy cat, Daddy, Mommy..."

God's gifts from pumpkin deliciousness

2011-10-31T22:37:00.000-06:00

My blessings are stacking up on me -- what a wonderful dilemma.

Starting from almost two weeks ago...

- Purging Adrianna's closet

- "Abel, where are you?" "Kitty, Mommy!"

- Having fun with the kids while Scott traveled for work

- Scott emailing home pictures of Adrianna's Mr. Silly Square at various places in his conference, and sharing them with the kids

- Scott's return home from his trip, and his surprising the kids with presents

- Riding the bus with Abel and Scott to music time and Farmer's Market, before Scott headed out on his next trip

- Adrianna's tiny precious feet

- Adrianna working on the coloring page for the grocery store

- Having dinner at a friend's house while Scott was away
... And the kids having a wonderful time playing there

...And watching the pizza being thrown

- Adrianna and Abel helping to make a birthday card

- A fun fundraiser at Adrianna's school

- Adrianna making a Lite Brite picture

- A local hay ride through the horse stables

- Sharing snacks with Grandpa after the ride

- The sweet old dog, still conquering the stuffed animal toys

- Abel having fun while waiting for the doctor to come for his appointment

- "Mommy, L.E. (Little Elephant) ride tractor?"

- Adrianna's Tinker Toy drum

- Allergy-free pumpkin pie

- Abel's peek-a-boo giggles

- The monkey hat

- Adrianna's plum smile

- Purging my house of excess stuff... from the spice cupboard to my shoe collection

- Starting morning lessons with Abel... and him enjoying beading with me

- Making bean candle holders

- Tea time on a cloudy afternoon

- Finding my recipe used as a drawing pad by a certain little someone

- Abel delighting in the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom CD

- Candlelight dinner

- Water droplets suspended in the air for the split second

God's gifts from fleeting autumn splendor

2011-10-18T22:57:00.001-06:00

Counting my blessings, one by one... A week of gifts from God

- My vacuum that can suck up all that gunk in just one cleaning

- Scott using his one weekday morning at home to cuddle with the kids for a brief moment before we rushed to get ready for school

- Abel creating imaginary play with this truck-jeep-tractor

- Ruthie waiting patiently while Abel tractored her

- Abel's pride in his "Triangle" book from Bible study

- Gathering up apples at a grocery store sale (less than a dollar a pound!)

- Adrianna's constant creativity with food

- Saturday morning couch cuddles, watching "How It's Made"

- The kids joining Scott in "Touchdown!" for his team

- Abel entertaining himself with buckling and unbuckling

- Adrianna's pure joy in finding a cereal that she could have

... and the hard thanks when it turned out to cause her an allergic reaction

- Continued thanks for discovering Adrianna's food allergies and her feeling so much better when she does not have her allergy-causing foods

- Adrianna wanting to "work on" her bank statement

- Adrianna helping me make pumpkin pie bread... Mmm.

- Finally getting my Etsy store up (http://www.etsy.com/shop/EmlyJ98)
... and Adrianna modeling the Pretty Bands

- Counting Adrianna's bank money so that she can buy her Lite Brite refill pegs

- Adrianna making a tic-tac-toe board with green beans

- Laughing at the funny things I took out of my purse

- Taking pictures in the fall leaves with friends

- Adrianna instantly coming to Abel's aid to when his shoes were stuck

- Riding home from school again

- Abel's instant response: "You okay, Anna??" when he heard she fell

- Finding Abel waiting for me

- Adrianna working towards five stickers in a row from her school report

God's gifts from answered prayer

2011-10-12T22:15:00.000-06:00

The highlight of my week -- my month -- has been God answering a prayer that I've asked for six years. While I cannot go into the details here, it was a need for our house, and He answered in His perfect, all-sufficient way. His kindness takes my breath away.

And for all the little moments He gives me each day...

- Surprising Abel with a trip on the bus to Starbuck's

... And his enjoyment of his first-ever kid's hot chocolate

- Working with Abel using stencils

- Adrianna having fun finishing one of her math workbooks from school

- Adrianna completing a pumpkin decoration by herself in her room time

- Making a birthday card for Will

- Abel doing his mischievous eyes

... and Adrianna trying to copy

- Grandpa dropping something off, and unknowingly arriving just in time for game night... and Abel enjoying being Grandpa's partner... and Abel so proudly placing the dominoes on the board with, "I did it, Momma!"

- The enchanting sunrise

- God's revealing a beautiful connection between Nehemiah 9 and Acts 4
- Finally finding apples at Farmer's Market... and the delicious aroma they left in my car

- My little apple drying helpers

- Fun with apple peels

- Abel surprising us with "zerberts" instead of kisses

- Finding a scrumptious gluten-free apple crisp recipe to share with our Bible study

- A cloudy week, full of inspiring skies

- Abel finding ways to make shopping fun

- Adrianna deciding that craft time was the perfect way to spend the time before gymnastics on a Friday afternoon... and Abel finally enjoying play dough

- Adrianna enjoying the freedom to cut up an old book that was falling apart

- Abel waiting for Grandma and Grandpa

- Puzzle time with Grandma

- The "Tractor Book" with Grandpa

- And The Bobbsey Twins with Grandma

- Abel admiring his hair cut in the mirror, with "More Abel?"

- Unexpected play time at the park

- Abel's attempt at tying his boots

- A surprise package in the mail from great-grandparents, of much-needed warm pajamas

- Abel taking an instant liking to his penguin from his great-grandparents

- Adrianna's before-school sign language lessons

- Abel's apple-eating

- Adrianna's anticipation of game night: "Grandpa, did you know we're going to have a game night tonight??" ... and her concentration during the game

- Adrianna presenting Grandpa with a card she made

God's gifts from a stomach bug

2011-10-03T21:25:00.000-06:00

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Psalm 37:23

"Lovely, complicated wrappings sheath the gift of one-day-more; breathless, I untie the package -- never lived this day before!" Gloria Gaither

From Thursday to today... God's blessings:

- Riding the bus to pick up Adrianna from school (to Abel's delight) and riding/scootering home (to both of their delights)

- Adrianna commenting: "Mom, I love the fall season," as we made our way home

- Relishing the moments of fall, the joys of motherhood, the wonder of now... as we collected leaves, as we went home

- Adrianna and Abel playing in the garage with Jack and Jenny

- Adrianna making progress in focusing better at school (choosing to sit by herself, so as not to be distracted, and completing extra on her assignment, rather than struggling with it)

- Having my tooth's root filled... and the dentist being patient and willing to add more Novocaine

- Eating lunch at Adrianna's school's family picnic (and Scott being off to enjoy it with us)

- Just Adrianna and me at the Homecoming Parade

- Scott giving me a night off, so I could get my hair cut, do grocery shopping, and find some clothes for myself

- Scott repairing Adrianna's Paperoni toy, and her joy in playing with it again

- Adrianna spending the morning making goodies for Jenny's birthday

- Finding a coat for Abel at our local resale event... and Abel thinking it was a great way to make us laugh

- Adrianna using the craft apron from the Amish auction

- Reading Abel's book again (The Big Red Tractor and the Little Village), and Abel completing the sentences

- Taking Adrianna and Abel to Jenny's birthday party

- Adrianna's enjoyment of Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey

- Helping Adrianna and Jenny make Shinky Dinks

- Adrianna fighting a stomach bug (hard thanks)...
and being reminded of all the kids in the world who deal with those issues daily from unclean water and malnutrition

- Scott praying with Adrianna, and her not having any more vomiting afterwards

- Adrianna waking up feeling well again and ready to eat

- Having a sweet day at home with Adrianna and Abel with lots of extra playing (since we could not go anywhere with our germs)

- Adrianna's thankful item for the day

- Adrianna journaling about what she likes about school

- Adrianna making up a game of hiding Abel's cars around the house, and his squeals of delight in finding them

- Adrianna's excitement to do an "Author's Chair" at home, just like she does at school

God's gifts in chicken ginks

2011-09-28T22:03:00.000-06:00

God's blessings from the last few days...

- Finding the pair of boots we wanted for Abel... and the store owner seriously

discounting them for us, because there were only a few left, and they hadn't been selling

- Abel determined that chicken links are actually "chicken ginks"

- Abel with the funniest yogurt smile

- And Abel loving peanut butter so thoroughly that he wanted to lick the lid clean

- Watching our neighbor's son for a few hours, and the two boys having a great time together

- Finding Abel cuddling with Adrianna's bunny

- Abel's newest "hat"

- Abel choosing to watch "Little House on the Prairie" for his breakfast show

- Conversation with Adrianna... Me: "Adrianna, I think it's time to send those leggings onto their happy hunting grounds." Adrianna: "Oh, you mean it's time to donate them?"

- Grandpa Steve taking the time to "tractor" with the kids before leaving for a few days

- Adrianna keeping me company while she beaded and I made dinner

- Adrianna: "Mom, I gave this flower to you because I love you."

- Adrianna turning her sight words into flashcards as her own idea

God's gifts from a breather week

2011-09-25T22:13:00.003-06:00

Here I am again, ready to list the joys from the days God has given me as wife and mother:

- The delight of uploading photos to the computer and remembering the moments they captured

- An easier week after a week of challenges

- Abel wearing the shirt Scott bought for him

- Abel with bear: "Ready to go, Mom!"

- Abel sharing with bear

- Hearing through the monitor, Abel to truck, as we were about to leave the house: "Night, night, uck (truck). See you later. You otay (okay)? Otay. See you later!"

- Returning to the allergy specialist with Adrianna and finding more (glad for answers as to why she was feeling poorly again)... and deciding to pray and ask God for no further allergies

- Passing the yellow wildflower field

- Abel putting on his pants by himself

- Biking to Adrianna's school, so that she could ride her scooter home, as she has been longing to do

- Adrianna's rocketship

- Family game night

- Introducing Adrianna to Master Mind

- Abel showing off his shades

- Abel licking every drop of syrup

- Running errands with Abel again... and enjoying feeding him at Target

- Abel giving hugs and kisses to the giant animals

- Grace for each moment

- Adrianna explaining how she wanted to make melted crayons again

- Attending a women's conference at church... and enjoying good fellowship and sound teaching

- Scott taking the kids to another church's party while I was away at the conference

- Having dinner provided after I finished the conference

- Abel singing our "Brush Your Teeth" song while brushing

- Painting nails

- Adrianna's Laura-style Lincoln Log church

God's gifts... Wanting more gratitude

2011-09-19T21:52:00.000-06:00

More.

Praying. Asking God for more. To be more fully present. To live each moment now, not thinking-- en-drenched -- in the next.

More doing what matters. Less doing, just doing. Stuff that doesn't matter in ten minutes, ten hours, or ten days. And more doing what matters to the glory of the One who made me, not doing just to get it done.

Reading these...A Holy Experience: When Longing to Choose Joy, Please Don't Miss It... A dying woman's words about the present gives perspective. Again. I need it again, each day, each moment.

Still working on my list that never ends. Recuperating from a week of husband's late nights getting home, kids pushing, potty training failing, me running out of patience. And yet grace. By His grace, my thankful list overflows. Had to keep turning to gratitude; how else will the moments matter, be meaningful?

Even as I cleaned bodily filth off the walls, carpet, sheets, quilt, pillows, bed frame... How can I -- even then -- how can I be thankful? By God's grace, I did... I found God's gift; humor in the moment of disgust. Thank you, God. I want more. More Jesus in each moment. More grace from the source that never dries up, never exhausts of the fullness of love.

And now to list the gifts of moments from the last week...

- Abel and his Papa, always riding together

- Completing a craft started in the spring

- Abel heading to his room to find his own fun for a few minutes while I started lunch

- Adrianna excited because Scott bought pellets, excited that cold weather is coming

- Adrianna winning one of the prizes in the grocery store coloring contest

- Abel's first split lip... and it's swift healing

- Being prayed for... Bible study leader petitioning God on my behalf, that I might experience that sustaining of God's grace, not running empty while caring for my son alone

- Adrianna and Scott taking off on a daddy-daughter weekend to Houston to see family

- The answering of God: patience, not shortness; grace, not frustration... the sustaining to care for this little life, even while alone with him for three days

- Library time for the first time with just Abel

- Mesmerizing skies, with dewy fog clouds drifting away before my eyes

- Abel finding fun in the closet while I dressed for a night out with a couple of ladies

- Abel calling his doggy: "Ruuuuthhhieee"

- Abel pretending to call his sissy while she was away, "Aders! O, Aders!" and then telling me that it was just like Grandpa Bob did (and he did)

- Garage saleing with Abel

- Enjoying grocery shopping with Abel alone... store after store, yet fun, smiles...
and even a mother and daughter approaching us to tell us they had been in three stores that we had, and they were so delighted to see Abel's antics, his overflowing joy

- Finding a new thrift store to discover with Abel

- God sending neighbor kids to play with Abel after the full day of shopping... allowing me to recharge... allowing Abel to enjoy kid-play time

- Abel wanting to do lacing with me

- Fresh, local peaches with yogurt

- Abel showing: "This one," to which garage sale truck he earned after a small potty training success

- Finding another delicious gluten-free bread recipe

- The return of the two... and hearing excited reminiscences

- Abel's impressive climbing skills

- Adrianna's long-awaited shoes arriving in the mail

- The best after-school snack: molasses cookie dough

- Appreciating Adrianna's use of words to explain her feelings ("I am frustrated.")