The List of 40 Blessings for 40 years of grace so far

S0 today I am 40!! My husband blessed me this morning. Not only did he get my three beautiful gold chains fixed he bought me a very lovely ring for my birthday. Perhaps I'll post a picture later. Unfortuately my son was very grumpy this morning so it wasn't exactly a harmonious and joyful morning. My 4 year old son was distraught that he had no gift for me so I let him go shopping...for me...out of my basket of little gifts that I keep on hand for last-minute gift giving. He was happy, his heart is a good one. So, I must begin my list of 40 things for today...

(I will label these 1-40 but they're part of my 1000 gifts list)

1. I am thankful for life today. God didn't have to let me live, but he did.
2. He knit me together in my mother's womb, I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
3. This morning, my devotions were based on Psalm 139 - how cool is that.
4. He loves me.
5. He gave me parents who trusted him with my life and were willing to take the risk and let me live. (The doctors told them to abort.)
6. It is a gift that he allowed me to be normal, well, relatively normal. :)
7. He blessed me with many skills and abilities for which I am deeply thankful.
8. I can write songs.
9. I can write poems and stories.
10. He gave me an incredible visual imagination.
11. I can sew and do all manner of crafty things.
12. I can sing and play the piano.
13. I can organize events.
14. There's a lot more that I can do but I'm not going to give any more numbers to those things.
15. So besides my incredible parents I have an amazing sister, who has a wonderful family.
16. I have two great brothers, also with amazing families, unfortunately one of those dear brothers has already departed this good earth in favor of hanging out with Jesus, I look forward to seeing him again.
17. My amazing husband, Kelly. I am so thankful that God allowed me to marry my best friend.

And right here in the midst of my list he surprised me. We went for supper at his parents home and after we had our family celebration people started showing up and we had a little party in the back yard, how sweet, and surprising was that?

18. The people who raised my husband are very wonderful and a gift to me.
19. They also have two lovely daughters who I am priveleged to call my sisters-in-law,
20. Who are married to two wonderful men and they have some lovely children.
21. Then God blessed us with a wonderful spiritual family that just keeps growing and growing.
22. After a few years of wedded bliss we began to have some blessings of our own, starting with Josiah - a wonderful young man-to-be, what a great helper he is.
23. Christopher, our chosen blessing.
24. Abby, our sweet and compassionate daughter.
25. Samuel, a thoughtful son.
26. Sasah our sparkly little man who makes us laugh.
27. And Elizabeth our sweet little flower.
28. I have been blessed with a wonderful extended family of my own as well as my husband's.
29. I am blessed to live the life we're living right now, farming, pastoring, parenting...full, full life.
30. And of course we are blessed with many friends too numerous to mention all my name for the fear of missing someone out.
31. This may seem trivial but I'm extremely thankful for my new sewing machine that Kelly bought me several months ago, it is such a treat to sew with.
32. I am blessed to have daisies blooming in my garden.
33. I am blessed to have had a wonderful evening for this party, the weather was just perfect!
34. I am thankful that I will soon be heading for my bed...I'm tired.
35. I am blessed to have lived 37 years with the Lord already, that's a long time to have been walking this way, God is faithful.
36. I am blessed that He will continue to finish the work that he began in me, he dreamed me up and he has a plan that I can't possibly imagine and I get to watch.
37. He walks with me, and HE talks with me, and he tells me I am his own.
38. He says I'm beautiful and a princess!!
39. I am blessed to have had my son invite me to play a game with him (he never does that), so even though he soundly beat me...I am thankful for something that was truly a gift from him.
40. I am blessed by the people who stop by and read this, even though you don't all comment, I am thankful for you.

So that's it for today...it's been a good, good day. Tomorrow I'll probably herd the kids to the beach and hang out with some friends at their cabin since it's supposed to be scorching hot. I might get some pictures posted but I'm not making any promises. Blessings to one and all.

The eve of turning 40.

Tomorrow I turn 40 years old. I will have officially completed four decades of living on this good earth. I am not ashamed of being 40, I think I've earned my years, some days I feel much, much older. Other days I feel like I can't possibly have lived so long already, I've only just gotten started.

However, tonite, on the eve of this momentous occassion I feel very blah. I'm tired after making the long drive home from my mom's. It was nice to visit, gather my little chickens around me once again and nice to head home. I'm tired, feel yucky after eating and drinking things I don't usually eat and drink in an effort to stay awake and should probably just go to bed.

Having your birthday at harvest time is a downer. Nobody is around because they're all busy in the field, there will not likely be a party except with the family at my in-laws house tomorrow evening. My husband is a wonderful man but planning events is not his forte - that's why he married me. Maybe I should have just planned a party for myself, however, that would have seemed a little vain don't you think? None of my kids got me anything or even made cards. I already know what my gift is from my husband, cause I told what he should do (I wanted all the beautiful gold chains that he's ever given me that my sweet babies have pulled off my neck repaired) and he did it.

I think perhaps I'm having a little pity party for one here, I'll behave myself in the morning and I will write my 40 thankful things, I promise. For now, my sweet husband is home from the field, it is 11:00 PM and I am going to go to bed so I'm not tired and cranky on my birthday.

week-ending blessings (164-174)

So much to be thankful for as we head into this weekend. Life is fragile and we must never take for granted the moments that we are allowed in this brief life.

164. My brother-in-law's life was preserved in what could have potentially been a very bad collision at an intersection, overturning his van and allowing him to slide with his face inches from the pavement with an open window. You can read more about that here.

165. My father-in-law hit a large buck and only sustained some minor damage to his truck.

166. We missed hitting a rather large moose as it bolted onto the highway as we drove home from my parents house.

167. I am thankful for the blessing of encouragement as I read other blogs and enjoy what the Lord deposits in other's lives. Holy Experience. God has gifted this woman with incredible insight and a gift for putting that into words. She is a gift to all of us . Two of her posts, one about feathring our nests as mothers and one about the gentle guidance of our children really spoke to me this week. Thank you Ann.

168. I am thankful for telephone lines that connect me to friends who call unexpectedly. Such a blessing to spend time comuning with a kindred spirit that I haven't spoken to in a long time...too long. Thanks Krista for taking the time to call.

169. I am thankful for dreams. My husband and I spent this cool dreary morning dreaming about an addition to our home, whether it happens or not is not the point, it is the ability to envision and dream that is a gift today, especially with one whom I love and share the vision.

170. I am thankful for my father-in-law's abilaity to take an idea and make it better. He has an uncanny ability to see the potential problems and come up with a solution in an instant. I love that about him.

171. I am thankful that in a few hours I will be reunited with the children who have been at Grandma's this week. I can't wait to hug them and see their beautiful faces.

172. I am thankful for the two that I had with me this week and the time I could spend with them.

173. I am thankful for the brain break it was to have only two kids this week. Two kids is so much easier than six.

174. And I am thankful for my parents who allowed me to leave four kids at their house this week.

In honor of my 40th birthday, which is coming up on Sunday, I am going to attempt a list of 40 for that day!!

thankfulness (163)

This morning I am thankful for the peace that is permeating my home (153). I only have my oldest and youngest sons home with me and the rest of the crew are at my parents home having what I am sure is a wonderful time (154). My brain has been able to have a rest from the constant demands of children (155) and I've been able to do some tasks that needed finishing that I just couldn't seem to get too (156).

Today we'll put Josiah's room back together it looks so lovely (157). I am glad for my son's artistic eye, especially when he lets it guide his choices in colors for his room (158). He took them out of the quilt I made him for his birthday so now he has a two tone room in 'goblin green' and 'burnt bark' - green and brown.

Last night my own creative juices woke up right after my bladder did at about 2 AM. I couldn't get back to sleep so I got up and started working on the things I had in my head - lovely cushions for my bed. I was thrilled to find fabric in my cupboard that was absolutely perfect for what I envisioned (159). I was a little nervous this morning that my middle of the night creative energies might have produced something I wouldn't like in the morning but that was not the case, I still like it this morning and will post some pics once they're all finished.

Yes I am thankful, thankful for cool evening breezes after a hot day (160).
Thankful that they could actually start combining last night (161). Not so thankful that it broke down already, something with the header.
Thankful for the sweet caress of satin on my shoulders - I pulled out my pretty bathrobe and decided to wear it this morning as I sipped hot chocolate and enjoyed breakfast with my 4 year old. (162)
Looking forward to a date with my boys this evening. (163) We're going to go to the drive-in to see Wall.E.
I so needed this respite from my regular world, thank you Lord and mom and dad for giving me this little break.

Happy Birthday!!

This young man is 10 today. That means he has been part of our family for 9.5 years. So much has changed, so much progress has been made. He was one happy clam this morning when he got his MP3 player. He was even happier when his non-techno-mommy managed to load it with songs and stories since his techno-geek brother wasn't home. I even got a, "You're the best mom in the world!" today. We're happy to have you in our home and in our hearts!

Psalm 103 - 148-152

148. Psalm 103. Right now this is the theme of my song. I am so thankful that he knows how weak I am.
149. He know that I am dust - just ordinary dust that turns to mud when it gets wet, that blows all over when winds come against it, dust that sticks to things and makes a fine mess of everything...that's me right now....dust.
150. He is not harsh with us as our sins deserve.
151. He is slow to anger, abounding in love.
152. He doesn't punish all our sins.

137-147

137. I am so very thankful for the team that we work with in youth, they are an amazing group of individuals and I feel very priveleged to work with them.
138. This thing called the internet is a wonderful thing that allows me to "talk" to dear friends all over the world.
139. I am thankful for the relationships that we have built with the young people we work with over this last year, such a difference from the awkwardness of last year. I love those kids.
140. Summer camps.
141. Swimming lessons.
142. Chai tea.
143. A flock of seagulls rising as one off the surface of the lake, circling, swirling in a glorious dance that settles gently back on the water...such beauty.
144. My lovely mug from the Chinese garden in Montreal.
145. The chore chart that I developed for our kids that actually works.
146. Progress that is happening on our rotten deck to replace it in time for the new barbeque that should be here next week.
147. I am thankful that God helped us be patient and save a little at a time so that when the barbeque we wanted came on sale, we could purchase it with no regrets or qualms. Yeah!!

vbs is over

We had a great week with the huge crew. No major disasters, some fun at the lake, lots of fun at VBS. We were all a little tired at the end of the week and perhaps a little cranky, but no regrets and we'd definately do it again.

On the weekend we drove everyone home, the girls went to camp, J flew to Winnipeg to hang out with his aunt, uncle and cousins (hopefully he'll be helpful, too). It was a little bit hard for this mamma to watch her little boy (okay I know he isn't very little anymore) head off on a big plane all by himself. When I talked to him this morning I asked him if he was scared at all and he said, "Not even close!" Sigh, he's growing up.