1000 Gifts: 111-117

111. Celebrating our 4 year-old's birthday yesterday

112. Said 4 year-old asking if she could stay home today to "cuddle me"

113. More snow coming this afternoon

114. The smell of play-dough

115. Maple brown sugar creamer

116. Helping out an acquaintance in need yesterday

117. Watching a tea party with fancy shoes, fancy purses, and pearls with Daddy on Skype
And, her prayer:
"How we do what you say, what you say, what you say...
God is watching over you, you, you...
Because I love you, Jesus"

1000 Gifts: 101-110

101. Putting the youngest two to bed at 6:30pm last night and having them fall asleep immediately

102. Our youngest waking up by herself this morning and not crying at all

103. Taking time to clean while she is at preschool today

104. Counting on one hand how many garbage days are left before my husband gets home

105. Anticipating a busy and fun weekend ahead

106. Finding out by myself where the coolant leak in our van is

107. The kids eating their meal last night and asking me for seconds

108. Looking forward to going to the gym sans kids when he gets home

109. Christmas vacation up north

110. An awesome devotional this week about submission

1000 Gifts: 92-100

92. A wonderful Thanksgiving weekend 

93. A beautiful blanket of snow
94. Attending "Nutcracker Delights" and the kids wanting it to be a tradition every year
95. The smell of Christmas when I crack open totes filled with decorations
96. Our Jesse Tree tradition
97. Numerous nativity scenes around the house
98. New Christmas music: Jeremy Erickson and WOW Christmas
99. Nurturing friendships
100. The reason for the season

1000 Gifts: 87-91

87. Our church's messaging system.  Without a call yesterday, we probably would have shown up an hour early this morning.

88. The kids waking up an hour early, on their own.

89. Getting ready without rushing, drinking two cups of coffee, blogging, and doing devotions before church.

90. My husband smiling and laughing on Skype last night.  One of the biggest things I miss about him being gone (besides sleeping alone) is laughing and joking around with him, so this was so nice.

91. A beautiful sunrise

1000 Gifts: 79-86

79. A warm house

80. Warm clothes

81. A warm vehicle

82. Hot food

83. Hot coffee

84. The luxury of taking a long, hot bubble bath two nights in a row.

85. God providing my husband his job, so we can have these things.

86. My hard-working husband who wants to give us the world.

1000 Gifts: 73-78

73. Beautiful fall flowers delivered by surprise this weekend. He knows me, he loves me.

74. Elizabeth George's book: A Woman Who Reflect the Heart of Jesus.  This is a study I am doing on Wednesday nights with a group of ladies at church.

75. My parents are coming to visit this weekend.  I also get to see two of my aunts and uncle and go for a little road trip east.

76. The changing colors of fall leaves

77. A great worship experience, sermon, and communion yesterday

78. Seeing Jesus work through the lives of our three kids

1000 Gifts: 64-72

64. A brand new niece with chunky cheeks and lots of beautiful dark hair!

65. A phone call letting us know there is another niece, or nephew on the way in our family!

66. Feeling super-strong after rearranging our bedroom by myself.

67. Slowly getting into a new routine

68. All three kids loving school

69. Beth Moore's "The Patriarchs" study each Tuesday morning.  The best part about this gift is that the study is scheduled when our youngest is at preschool.  I have enough time to drop her off, drive to church, and pick her up again.  Love this.

70. Saving $29.70 in coupons at the commissary this morning.

71. Skype

72. A chilly, rainy morning



1000 Gifts: 59-63

59. Waking up and falling back asleep to thunder, lightening, and lots of rain.  I love storms!

60. My husband thought he improved last night, but was sick after midnight.  He went to "sick call" this morning and was given quarters for 48 hours and a bag full of medicine.  He hasn't slowed down all summer, so I'm viewing this illness as a gift, because his body and mind needs the rest.

61. Our youngest singing her own words to the hymns in the car this morning.

62. Extra hugs and kisses each morning from our Kindergartener at drop-off. 

63. Getting a call from my parents yesterday afternoon.  They were biking at a state park I used to work at.  Dad called Mom his "blond girlfriend" and they were giggling.  It was so sweet to picture them enjoying their day without any wedding stresses.

1000 Gifts: 51-58

51.  Being back in church after spending the last three Sundays in MN. 

52. Roasted chicken and Farmer's Market mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, and onions.

53. Taking care of my husband who is very sick this weekend.  He is rarely sick, so it is nice to be able to care for him.

54. An incredibly supportive church family.  My husband is leaving soon and since people started finding out, we've received so many nice emails, calls, and kind words.

55. A successful first week of school for our daughter and son.  We got back late last Sunday, but they woke up Monday morning with lots of energy and plowed through the first week like champs.

56. Anticipating Family Camp

57. Gaining a new brother-in-law

58.  Icy cold A/C in our van thanks to my Dad and brother-in-law

1000 Gifts: 46-50

46. Watching 100+ kids singing and dancing for Jesus at VBS this week.

47. Wrapping things up here, before the kids and I head to MN for my sister's wedding.  We'll be able to spend 16 busy and fun-filled days with family and friends, many whom we haven't seen in years.

48. Hugging and loving on our dear friends from Idaho this weekend.  We met them at the zoo after church on Sunday, spent the day together, and they stayed at our home that night.  It was so wonderful and so familiar.

49. My husband coming home and telling me that he received his first "thank you" and a hand shake from his Chief.  It's amazing that he's worked so hard in his 13+ years and has never been told thank you for what he does by a higher-up.

50. Watching our cherry tomato plants grow.  We have over a hundred that are green!



1000 Gifts: 41-45

41. A venti, iced Americano with 2 packets of raw and a spash of skim milk when the heat index is

115 degrees.

42. Anticipating the birth of our second niece, or first nephew in September.

43. An unexpected, sweet, and encouraging phone call from a lady in our church today.

44. Getting to see a family that was so dear to us when we were stationed in Idaho.  They are passing through on Sunday and we'll be meeting them at the zoo and sharing a picnic with them.

45. The kids spending three hours playing in the pool, sprinkler, and sandbox this evening.  They are such a tight little trio and it is so nice to have them together again.

1000 Gifts: 36-40

36. Sneaking away for a couple of hours, so I could stop for a sandwich and do some book browsing before Bible study last Wednesday.

37. Picking up our oldest after she spent a week with her grandparents.  It is SO nice having all my sweeties back under one roof for the rest of the summer,.

 And, surviving our trip to KC yesterday.  I have no problems driving in bigger cities, but it proved to be more of a challenge yesterday.  Our A/C isn't as cold as it should be, we had to take some detours due to the flooding, our youngest got car sick and lost her stomach a few times on the way, and we still haven't replaced our GPS that died 9 months ago.  Did I mention my husband had to work, so he couldn't go with us?  I eventually found my way there and back.  12 hours later, we were home.  The house was clean!

38. Awesome worship and sermon today.  We came home with a lot to talk and think about.

39.  God is taking us on a new path this fall/winter, one that we haven't been down for a long time.  It will be exciting to see how we all grow and what he has in store for us.

40. Watching the Twins play today and remembering how much fun we had with my family a few weeks ago at Target Field.

I am not a cowboy hat wearing girl, but they were giving them away when we were at the game.  The little sweetie is our niece.

1000 Gifts: 31-35

31. An early afternoon family hike on Independence Day

32. Fresh cut watermelon

33. Family stopping through for a visit this weekend
34. Our oldest daughter's world getting even bigger this week
35. Early morning sun peaking through the blinds

1000 Gifts: 26-30

26. Waking up to thunder and rain at 6:30am

27. Quiet time before everyone wakes up for church

28.. Copious amounts of big, juicy blueberries and rhubarb from my very giving sister

29. A late afternoon date yesterday with our oldest daughter before she leaves for camp

30. The sound of freedom as the planes from base fly over our house



1000 Gifts: 21-25

21. My husband was home this morning and kept the kids mostly quiet, so I could stay in bed.  I was in and out of sleep until I got up at 11:15am!  I haven't stayed in bed this long since before we had kids.  I've been mentally and physically drained for a long time, so this gift was incredibly appreciated.

22. An email conversation this morning that ended up releasing a huge burden from our shoulders.  God is so good!

23. The kids' squeals as they play in the sprinklers for the 234th time today.

24. A new summer salad recipe from a sweet friend.

25. Still smiling from the look on my cousin's face when we surprised her at her Starbucks on our way to the cities.  It was a sweet reunion.

1000 Gifts: 16-20

16. Air popcorn

17. The long, holiday weekend, even though my husband is on call and has to work on Saturday morning.

18. Nebraskans celebrating Independence Day every night for the past 6 nights.  Legal fireworks are a new thing for us!

19. Aloe vera to soothe the effects of an extended stay at the pool on Tuesday

20. Feeling my grandma's presence while working in her house while we were home last week.  I miss her so much.

1000 Gifts: 11-15

11. Beth Moore study on Revelation Wednesday nights.  Good stuff.

12. Blueberry Cheesecake Scentsy

13. Homemade wheat buns

14. Our sweet niece

15. Our kids' imaginative play

1000 Gifts: 6-10

6. Technology.  I wasn't feeling well on Sunday, so I was able to watch our church service Live on the church website.

7. Our neighborhood pool is only two blocks away.  We're heading there this afternoon.

8. Picking fresh cherry tomatoes and basil from our plants.  Caprese salad anyone?

9. Our newest family member sitting on my shoulder and licking my cheek as I type.  More on him later.

10. My husband napping next to me in his greasy uniform and the fact that he comes home on lunch because he misses us during the day.

One Thousand Gifts List: 1-5

I finally finished devouring this book.

I took it very slowly and I'm glad I did.

If you haven't read it yet, pick up a copy for yourself.

You won't be sorry.

Now that I am finished, I am starting my own list.

1. A nearly cloudless sky
2. My husband getting the opportunity to serve and use his gifts, and making new friends along the way
3. Laughter from my kids while they are playing
4. Chicken wild rice soup simmering on the stove
5. My sisters, brother, sisters-in-law, and brothers-in-law and the memories we make together