One Thousand Gifts, 726-750

726. Real mashed potatoes.
727. Thanksgiving with family.
728. The smell of our Christmas tree (even if it doesn't have any decorations yet...).
729. The first cards of the season arriving in the mail.
730. Sweet pictures of my parents and all their grandbabies.
731. Listening to the stories Annie makes up about our Dickens Village.
732. Jacob asking, "Mama?" over and over again.
733. Because I get to be his Mama. :D
734. I'm even thankful for Sophie's exhibitions of her "two-ness."
735. Extra night time cuddles with Nora. But I'll be even more thankful when she is sleeping through the night again.
736. My to-do list/schedule hybrid that is keeping me mostly on track this school year.
737. Pretty wreaths to hang on the front door.
738. A nativity in each room.
739. Lots of fun holiday activities ahead.
740. Quiet family time planned, too.
741. Looking ahead to visits with family.
742. Finished with my Christmas shopping!
743. Almost finished with the gift-wrapping.
744. Waving bye-bye with Nora.
745. Playing "so big" with Nora.
746. Listening to Annie sing "Hark the Herald Angels Sing."
747. That our kids know the landmarks between our home and our happy place.
748. Nick puppy is having a birthday this week!
749. How much Jacob loves our dogs.
750. Sophie's sense of rhythm!

Siblings

I love that my kids are all so close together, though there are days when I question why we had them all so close together. They are a little pack, though, and they really do love each other. Even when they fight. Which some days is a lot. (Surprise, my kids aren't perfect!) Last week we were driving home from Bible Study Fellowship, and I was asking Annie and Jacob about their class. We usually talk about what games they played, what their lesson was about, what they had for snack, etc. This time when I asked how their class went, I got this response:

A and J: Mama, there is a little boy in our class who is all alone!!!
Me: What do you mean, all alone?
A and J: He doesn't have any body!
Me: What?
A and J: It is only him and his mommy and daddy! He is all alone!
Me: (light is dawning) Ohhhhh. He doesn't have any brothers or sisters?
A and J: No, he is all alone (spoken as if they were in the depths of despair).
Me: So you would be sad if you didn't have a brother or sisters?
A and J: Yes. Really sad.

In a week that had been filled with lots of sibling squabbles, this little interplay warmed my heart. They were meant to be siblings and they were all meant to be so close together. They were just devastated for their little friend who was all alone.

Though some days I feel like a need a banner that says, "four kids in four years and I'm surviving!"

Wedding!

The Gent's brother got married on Halloween weekend! Here are some phone snaps--not great quality but lots of fun.

Granny and all her great-grands


dancing with Papa Rick




cupcakes, the love language of my children




oh yes, these two had Daddy on the dance floor for the chicken dance




he found a flower for his sister


hanging out with Bebe at Nora's first wedding!


Twelve years since our first date.

One Thousand Gifts, 701-725

701. The fun Jacob has had playing soccer this fall.
702. Also that the end of soccer season is approaching.
703. Coffee in my favorite mug, made by the Gent each morning.
704. A morning to spend mostly at home.
705. Shopping with Honey.
706. Sunday afternoon nap while football plays in the background.
707. Looking forward to a weekend in my happy place.
708. Studying God's Word...even when I can't comprehend all I'm learning.
709. Hearing the joy my munchkins find in their siblings.
710. Playing and snuggling with a sweet little boy in the church nursery.
711. Opportunities to serve others (may I have a more grateful heart to do so).
712. Learning more about the Holy Spirit.
713. Reflecting on the true Light of the world.
714. Listening to Jacob's chatter.
715. That he is our boy forever and ever and always!
715. Watching Nora try to figure out crawling.
716. Teaching Annie to pray.
717. Singing with Sophie.
718. Smart phones.
719. A stack of library books for Mama.
720. Teaching my munchkins.
721. Planning Christmas parties.
722. Music.
723. Lunch dates with the Gent.
724. Help from Honey!
725. Jacob's framed adoption portrait hanging in the family gallery wall.

Trick or Treat!

We were out of town on Halloween (more on that next week). Instead of our usual neighborhood party and trick or treating, we went to a church trunk or treat. The traffic and crowd were awful but the kids got too much candy and enjoyed seeing other kids' costumes so it was successful on their end. :) Annie was Cinderella, Jacob was a superhero, Sophie was Aurora, and Nora was a ballerina. The only thing I bought was Jacob's mask--everything else came out of the dress up box at home.

all lined up and ready to go


superhero and Cinderella


little sisters


princesses


her first Halloween!

6 Ways to Speed Clean: Ann Voskamp link

Loved Ann Voskamp's post today; you can read it here!

One Thousand Gifts, 676-700

676. Making lists.
677. Hot tea on a rainy day.
678. Library story time.
679. New library books for the kids.
680. New library books for me.
681. Dinner made before 8am (yay crock pot).
682. A good workout makes a good start to the week.
683. Heartwarming stories about my alma mater.
684. More time with the Gent.
685. Celebrating the 12th anniversary of our first date!
686. Visiting an assisted living to hand out candy with the munchkins.
687. Jacob's outgoing and friendly personality as he brought lots of joy to the residents!
688. Milky Way candy bars.
689. Sophie's rapidly expanding conversational skills.
690. Nora learning to get from tummy to sitting.
691. A family wedding!
692. Annie, my deep thinker.
693. Safe travels.
694. DVD player in the van.
695. Zeke's thyroid medicine giving him an extra pep in his step.
696. That Annie and Jacob are continuing to love school.
697. Planting new azaleas in a formerly-empty flower bed.
698. Helping Annie and Jacob spell and sound out words.
699. Hearing Sophie spell her name and find the letter "s" all over the place.
700. Baby books.