One Thousand Gifts, 776-800

776. Rainy Mondays.
777. Catching up with friends who've moved away.
778. Friends who are doctors.
779. Homemade cheesecake.
780. The joy Annie and Jacob are finding in our Jesse Tree devotions.
781. Nora finally giving up her 5am nursing.
782. Putting together bikes for the big kids for Christmas.
783. Sounding out words with Annie.
784. Watching Annie and Jacob sing with the children's choir.
785. Seeing the zoo lights with cousins.
786. Watching Sophie give Santa Claus a high five...from the safety of her stroller.
787. Nora's crying at Santa picture.
788. Making memories and keeping up traditions.
789. Getting my Christmas cards mailed.
790. Sausage and white bean soup with homemade bread.
791. Planning Christmas menus.
792. Spending evenings reading.
793. Less television watching.
794. Trips to the library.
795. Trips to the science center.
796. Playdates with friends old and new.
797. An ice-cold Coca-Cola on a 72 degree December day.
798. Date nights with the Gent!
799. Preliminary thoughts on celebrating Nora's first birthday.
800. Reading Christmas stories with the munchkins.

Sophie's First Haircut

Sophie got her hair cut for the first time last week. She wasn't too sure at first but she came around and did great. She's a big girl now.

:) and :(

not entirely sure about this


before


maybe this isn't so bad


after


she's a big girl now!

Nick Turns Nine

Our second fur baby has finally outgrown his puppy years and is beginning to look quite distinguished with his sweet white face. Chicken jerky still brings out the puppy, though! Happy birthday, Nick-meister!

One Thousand Gifts, 751-775

751. Plenty of dinners in the freezer.
752. Christmas cards arriving in the mail.
753. Annie and Jacob's enthusiasm over all things Christmas.
754. Wonder in their eyes as they stare at the tree.
755. Hearing them tell our visitors the story of as many ornaments as they can remember.
756. A family Christmas celebration with Nana and her clan this weekend.
757. That this week's to-do list is more manageable.
758. Watching Annie dance at parent day.
759. Seeing how much she has grown since our last dance class foray.
760. Hearing my kids' teachers compliment them.
761. All this hard work of parenting is paying off--or at least God gives me glimpses of it!
762. A slower season at work for the Gent.
763. Family day to see the model train display and eat lunch at Moe's.
764. The long list of family and friends to address Christmas cards to.
765. Homemade bread.
766. Clean dishes. Even if they do still need to be put away.
767. The internet, my laptop, and my smartphone.
768. Spending time with other foster parents.
769. Catching up with old friends and seeing their babies growing up!
770. A sweet hubby who gets up early to make from-scratch biscuits and bring them to me in bed on Saturday.
771. Holding a sleeping baby.
772. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.
773. Joy to the World.
774. Handel's Messiah.
775. Advent services at church.

Nora: Ten Months

So she's pretty much the cutest baby ever and we love our Nora Mae to pieces. This month Nora has mastered crawling, pulling herself to standing, waving bye-bye, clapping, playing "so big," and many more exciting baby accomplishments. Her siblings love to cheer her on. Nora continues to talk to us all the time, and loves to eat and squeal. She is learning to sit in my lap and read a board book instead of just chewing on it. She is wearing 9-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers. Her sleeping got all off track last month because we were out of town for three long weekends, but we are getting back into sleeping a straight stretch from 10pm-6am. Mama has plans to drop that 6am feeding this month and the 10pm one by her first birthday. Each baby gets more and more time before I make them give up those night-time and early morning feedings, because they are so sweet and sleepy and cuddly then! Can't believe how quickly my baby girl is growing up!

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!"