Gifts 36-45

More of the things I'm thankful for. Boy do these lists change my perspective everyday!

36. Thank You, Lord, that the tree branch that fell on Katie and I today wasn't bigger -- and that the biggest part landed between us so that we were only nicked by the little parts.

37. Thank You, Lord, that you protected our friends Zak and Anna and their two kids in a major car accident on Sunday that left their minivan totalled:
38. Thank You, Lord, for AllRecipes.com, which I'm finding to be much more user-friendly than cookbooks that have recipes where I'm always missing one of the ingredients.

39. Thank You, Lord, for a dishwasher. We go through SO many dishes a day now!

40. Thank You, Lord, for a washer and dryer. My friend Meredith in Mexico scrubs her clothes by hand and hangs them out to dry. I can't imagine living like that.

41. Thank You, Lord, for the horrified look on John's face when Katie burst out "Go Redskins!" after dinner. I'm still laughing. That's NOT the team he has taught her to cheer for. :-) I wonder where she learned that? *innocent look*

42. Thank You, Lord, for our two children. It was four years ago this month that our first baby died in utero, and we don't take for granted the two gifts you've given us since.

43. Thank You, Lord, for how you used that miscarriage to dramatically strengthen our marriage.

44. Thank You, Lord, for friends we're celebrating tomorrow: Our friend Mike's birthday, and our friends Jen and Wayne's fourth anniversary.

45. Thank You, Lord, for how you turned a mother's horror to humor last night. John and I were downstairs having a TV date at 10 pm when we heard a thought-she-was-sleeping Katie start screaming bloody murder -- "MOMMY!! HELP!! MOMMY!!!!" I tore upstairs to find her in the dark with her nightlight in her hand. She had gotten out of bed, taken her nightlight out of the outlet, and freaked out when it was then pitch-black. When I got down to talk with her about not touching the light, she said, "Go downstairs?" Clarifying what she was asking, I said, "You want to go downstairs?" and she took this as an invitation and began running for the door. She was so disappointed that I wasn't going to let her join my date with her daddy. But I give her points for trying.

Gifts 21-35

On my quest to find 1000 things to be thankful for...

21. Thank You, Lord, that my credit card company reversed 2 out of 3 charges when I stupidly tried to pay off my card using a bank account I had closed.

22. Thank You, Lord, for the upcoming holiday weekend.

23. Thank You, Lord, that my town is celebrating Restaurant Week this week -- I'm always happy for another excuse not to cook and just to enjoy my family!

24. Thank You, Lord, that as an elderly friend grieves the loss of her husband yesterday, she does not grieve without hope (1 Thess. 4:13-14).

25. Thank You, Lord, for reminding me yesterday of some of the things You love about me. It's too easy to only think I'm disappointing You.

26. Thank You, Lord, for friends and family who are willing to babysit my kids for free.

27. Thank You, Lord, for the many times I do or say thoughtless things and the person who should be offended isn't.

28. Thank You, Lord, for refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough. (I am becoming better at cooking it before eating it, I promise, John!)

29. Thank You, Lord, for beautiful fall weather.

30. Thank You, Lord, for the used double stroller our neighbors gave us this week that is SO much better than the one I bought last year at a consignment sale and rarely pull out of the garage.

31. Speaking of which, thank You, Lord, for kids' consignment sales so that I almost never have to pay full-price for kids' toys and clothes again!

32. And thank You, Lord, that the beat-up sneakers I paid $1.00 for at the last sale so that Katie could have a pair of cheap "outside shoes" turned out to light up when she walks so that she wants to wear them inside, outside, and everywhere now.

33. Thank You, Lord, that a local restaurant gives 15% of its proceeds one night every month to our local crisis pregnancy center. (Thus no need to cook tonight either!)

34. Thank You, Lord, for a church where the Gospel is preached every Sunday without fail.

35. Thank You, Lord, for a daughter who cracks me up everyday. Like yesterday when we were going through a set of ABC flashcards (Thanks, Uncle Daniel!) and we got to U (Umpire). She had no idea what an umpire was, so she asked, "Whooz dat? Is dat Jesus?"

1000 Gifts

My friend Jenn has been blogging about 1000 things she's thankful for, and I think that's a great idea and challenge for myself! I will keep blogging about my kids' adventures, but I also want to use this space to just be thankful for all the Lord has blessed us with. No promises that I'll get to all 1000, but let me at least begin.

1. Thank You, Lord, that I found my engagement and wedding rings yesterday after 2 weeks of searching for them.

2. Thank You, Lord, that our next-door neighbors had a baby boy this week -- someone for Joshua to play with in future years.

3. Thank You, Lord, that our good friends Jeff and Jenn had a baby ten days ago, and we had a blessed time of fellowship with them last night when we brought them a meal.

4. Thank You, Lord, that our marriage has survived -- even as I grieve for those around us who haven't been so lucky.

5. Thank You, Lord, that my kids are both so sweet and fun.

6. Thank You, Lord, that my kids are good sleepers overall, so that I can be too.

7. Thank You, Lord, for the "date nights" I've been having with John almost every night in front of the TV (no babysitters needed!) as we move through an entire TV series on DVD.

8. Thank You, Lord, that I'm still nursing, because it's keeping those date night chocolate chip cookies from putting as much weight on me as they could have.

9. Thank You, Lord, for my growing friendship with my brother Daniel.

10. Thank You, Lord, for my new sister-in-law Lindsey, who continues to bless and encourage me and is such a gift for my brother Stephen.

11. Thank You, Lord, that John only works 20 minutes away now.

12. Thank You, Lord, that John was picked for a 10-week work rotation (same location), a great honor that comes with added stress/responsibility, but it's only for 10 weeks so it won't be too bad.

13. Thank You, Lord, for my in-laws' beach house which allows our little family a chance to get away on mini-vacations several times a year.

14. Thank You, Lord, for Community Bible Study and how studying Revelation is drawing me closer to You.

15. Thank You, Lord, for our two sets of parents who live close by and provide such emotional/spiritual/practical encouragement to us.

16. Thank You, Lord, for all the people who pray for us.

17. Thank You, Lord, for Blogger software which makes it so easy to chronicle my family's adventures.

18. Thank You, Lord, for a big legal win for my brother Mike last week.

19. Thank You, Lord, for my part-time job that I can do from home and for a client who gives me as much work -- and only as much work -- as I can handle.

20. Thank You, Lord, for kids' naptimes that typically give me a break in the middle of the day when I need it most.