One Thousand Gifts, 876-900

876. A foster newborn to snuggle for a couple of days
877. Grace to parent five small children on little sleep
878. Being back in community group at church
879. A lazy weekend
880. Naptime for Mama
881. Favorite books to read with the munchkins
882. Helping the kids make their own books...
883. ...and write down their hilarious stories
884. Hot soup
885. Hot coffee
886. Hot tea
887. Hot chocolate (it has been cold here!)
888. Quiet evenings with the Gent
889. Catching up on NCIS
890. Letters from our Compassion children
891. Getting the laundry finished in one day
892. Thawing meals from the freezer and counting that as "making dinner"
893. Having a warm house and warm clothes
894. Insurance for the unexpected
895. My BSF discussion group
896. Truths God reveals as I study His Word
897. Classical music
898. The new Student Hymnal I bought for our family
899. Getting the downstairs nooks and crannies cleaned out
900. Celebrating birthdays with family members

Christmas Eve

Reading with Nana during the day


Annie posing before church, in her new dress from Granny


Sophie wanted to pose, too


Christmas Eve!


Off to church we go


Take two


Is it bedtime yet?


The kids got their stockings from Honey and Poppa a few hours early. Annie decided four days before Christmas that Santa was supposed to bring her an Elsa doll. Thank goodness for Honey being Santa's helper because Mama was not braving the stores and Amazon was sold out!


The big kids love helping Nora


Selecting just the right cookie for Santa


Santa will love these, I am sure


Reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas


A little tired, but look--it's a picture of just the two of us!


Waiting for Santa Claus ;)


He came!


And he liked the cookies


Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night

Early Christmas

Pictures from our early Christmas visit with the Gent's family!

One Thousand Gifts, 851-875

851. Lots of time for the kids and I to spend with the Gent these past few days.
852. Holidays we spent at home without a massive to-do list.
853. New year, fresh start.
854. Clearing out the clutter.
855. Silver bowls with fresh citrus fruit.
856. Brisker weather.
857. Cold sunshine.
858. Favorite recipes.
859. Sipping something hot.
860. Watching my munchkins play.
861. The imaginative games they come up with!
862. Reading new stories together.
863. Looking through Christmas pictures.
864. New memories made.
865. Old memories re-lived.
866. Reading Through Gates of Splendor
867. Jane Austen
868. My Bible
869. A final glance at this year's Christmas cards.
870. A letter from Feven, one of our Compassion children.
871. That our sponsorship provides access to so much for her: education, healthcare, food, and most importantly, the good news of Jesus.
872. Families who love us.
873. Families we love!
874. A friend's newly adopted daughter!
875. A good night's sleep in my own bed.

Cooke Decorating 2015

Finally sorted through Christmas photos--you're going to see lots of them here the next couple of weeks. Let's begin with the annual cookie decorating at Honey's house!

Annie is getting to be a pro at this.


Can we please get to the icing now?


Sarah and Lauren were tons of help!


Jacob and Sophie having just a little bit of fun.


A bit of assistance from Mama.


Nora's first cookie decorating experience.


Mama put a stop to this--said she wasn't old enough for cookies yet. Next year, punkin.

Nora: Eleven Months

This month Nora celebrated her first Christmas and cut two teeth (the first on Christmas Eve) on the bottom. Her first two top teeth look like they will be in soon. She is starting to really be interested in her books, though she likes to turn the pages backward. She also enjoys Playmobil 123, stuffed animals, pulling out her hairbows, and taking off her socks. She is pulling up more and more and continuing to try out new sounds and words and loves to eat (turkey and green beans over the holidays were definitely a favorite). I have ordered the invitations for her first birthday party and am finishing up her first year's scrapbook and bemoaning the fact that she is almost one at least 23 times a day. I love that she is growing healthily and learning so many new things...I'm just not ready for my baby's age to start being noted by year instead of month. Mama's prerogative.

One Thousand Gifts, 826-850

826. Family gathered for Christmas
827. For tornado warnings to keep us safe...even if they interrupt Christmas dinner
828. Watching Annie and Jacob ride their new big kid bikes
829. Friends coming over to play on a rainy day
830. Daddy being home more over the holidays
831. Shopping with Honey
832. Pretty new clothes in my old size for Mama :)
833. Gearing up for a fresh, new year
834. Good neighbors
835. White chocolate peppermint bark
836. Real cranberry sauce
837. Old Trixie Belden books
838. Old Cherry Ames books
839. My laptop
840. New books to read in the new year!
841. Pictures of my sleeping babies
842. Watching rain drip into puddles
843. Bare oak tree branches against the sky
844. That I don't live in the long winter we're reading about in the Little House books
845. Loyal puppies who follow me around the house
846. Pansies
847. Bowls of fresh fruit
848. Christmas goodies stacked high on the counters
849. Bottles of red wine to share with the Gent
850. Bowl season