One Thousand Gifts (797 - 803)

Another six months have passed. I had good intentions but life happened hard and fast. Not gonna lie, I haven’t been able to find many things to be thankful for these past months. Life has beat me up pretty bad. There are times when I walk through depression, anger and self pity. Things begin to look pretty dark and hopeless.  Then there are times when I take my eyes off myself and look up.  That’s when God speaks.....

He (God) heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars

and calls them each by name

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;

his understanding has no limit.

The Lord sustains the humble

but casts the wicked to the ground.

Psalm 147:3-6

He may not change my circumstances but He gives me strength to walk through them and He uses the negative to refine me and make me into the person He created me to be. What an amazing God I serve!

The first three photos are from six months-ish ago. The rest are more recent.

797. My little grandson Wolfie! Love him so much! I am so blessed to be able to be with him every day. He's going to be moving across town soon so I won't be seeing much of him.  But I know he will love his new home!

798.  God's creation.  I am continually awed by the way He paints His world.

799.  My boys got to go to their first Homecoming dance.  They are so handsome!

800.  We have been blessed to share our home and lives with this amazing girl. I love her more each day. The selfish part of me never wants her to leave.

801.  My beautiful niece.  Her life here on earth was much too short but I am so grateful to have had her in my life.  She was (is) so very loved.

802.  My mom. She's had such a rough year.  But, the result of her recent PET scan are in.  Drum roll please!  NED! No Evidence of Disease.  Take that, cancer! Now, other meds can be resumed and life can be enjoyable again for her.  

803.  More of  God's creation....

Blood Moon

Hawk circling over the softball field.  I missed my girl's at bat cause I was so focused on this guy.

No clue what kind of bird this is.  It's a beautiful change from sparrows and pigeons though.

Ladybug loves soccer

One Thousand Gifts (787 - 796)

Fast forward 2 years from my last post.  So much life has happened. Its hard to remember all the great gifts that God has given me.  Which, of course, is why I need to continue posting here.  It also will get me to pick up my camera.  Its been sitting, unused in its case for months on end. I miss capturing those wonderful, silly, meaningful moments.


787.  My mom moved back here!  We found her a house 2 blocks away.  Its been so wonderful having her near.  Although life is so crazy that I still can't get over there as much as I would like. (She's gonna kill me for posting this picture!  It's ok mom, no one reads this anyway  😊)

My beautiful mom and Aunt

788.  God's amazing creation!

789.  Family reunion!  My sister, niece & her kids and nephew and came to town and we were able to put together an impromptu reunion.  We were missing a bunch of people but were totally blessed to share the afternoon with the ones who made it.

790.  Watching the sunrise from the top of Lone Mountain with my son.

791.  Our new dog.  Not really sure if I'm really thankful for her.  We got her a little over a year ago and she is kind of a jerk.  Some days I like her.  Other days I am willing to give her to anyone who will take her. 

792.  Our new (to us) house.  We were so blessed to be able to upgrade to a bigger house.  With the kids getting bigger, we were not even all able to sit the same room in the evening.  I thought I had a picture but I seem to be missing a whole years worth of photos. 

793.  Cooler weather.  Oh my goodness, I can't deal with the heat anymore.  When the temperature gets below 70, I feel like I come alive.

794.  My Boo got baptized!  I told her she was not allowed to sin anymore since she got baptized (haha). She didn't buy it. But I'm proud of her for deciding that a life with Christ was the best way to live.

795.  My beautiful daughter, who is also one of my closest friends

796.  This boy.  He has put me through the wringer, but the Lord used it to grow me into a better mom and person, and he is now a young man with a more godly character.

365:167 - and One Thousand Gifts (781 - 786)

So, I just remembered that I have a blog.  LOL! I pop on here mostly because I need some refreshing and reminding about things I'm thankful for.  The post below was in my "to be published" area.  So, here it is, only 2 1/2 years later!

Princess turns 11

She's so beautiful!

My bff from the time I was about 5.  Still a great friend and godly woman

Bear turns 10

This was a fun day!

Got to share it with my eldest, Mrs. M and Wolfie

Almost all my loves

Valley of Fire.

Wolfie is fearless and decided to climb a very steep rock.

781.   A wonderful, cool and rainy spring.  That NEVER happens here!

782.   My Princess is 11 now. I've been blessed to be her mom for 6 years.

783.  Bear is now 10.  She has such a big heart for the underdog.

784.  Spending the day at Valley of Fire with my first born.  I so rarely get to spend time with my big girls.

785.  Late night talks with my teens / pre-teens

786.  Catching up with my childhood bff.  So many fun memories!

365:162 - 166 and One Thousand Gifts (771 - 780)

Still counting my gifts......

771.  Being able to spend some time with my Dad before he died.

772.  Friends who keep me accountable, for my walk with God and my fitness

773.  Mr. Baseball is showing himself to be a strong, young man of God.

774.  Ladybug is such a compassionate friend. She is walking a hard road with her bff.

775.   Watching Wolfie's vocabulary explode.  What an amazing thing to see a child develop!

776.  Got to see my aunt who I haven't seen in about 25 years. (That's her top right in the photo)

777.  Got to see my other Aunt who I haven't seen in almost as long.  I also got to see a few long lost cousins. Yay for family reunions!

                                                                                                                                                                                                   
778.  Waking up to the sound of Canadian geese flying over the house.  Then I fall back asleep and dream of my dad.

779.  Listening to my kids giggling uncontrollably as they play Minecraft together.

780.  Boo, who is NOT a morning person, always needs her 10 minutes of cuddle time before she can begin her day.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

The Unschooling Experiment Part 3 (365:163 - 167)

I didn't realize how long its been since I posted anything.  Lots of things have happened in the last 6 months that took my attention away from bloggy things.

I am obviously waaaay far behind on my picture-a-day challenge.  I will finish it! It may take another year though.

I found the post below that I started writing a few days or so after my last post.

From September...............

Well, I bailed on the unschooling thing.  I couldn't take it.  The kids were doing NOTHING academic! However, I did relax a bit more.  I'm more willing to chase bunny trails now, rather than being tied to the curriculum.  The kids, however, did something that was pretty awesome!

My son, Tigger, loves to do crafts; particularly rubber band crafts. He has a bucket full of dragons, figures (dolls), animals, necklaces, bracelets and more that he has created.  The kids decided to partner in business together.  We live in a cul-de-sac across the street from an elementary school.  Right before school let out, they set up a little table at the corner, displaying all the rubber band creations.

They sold $12 worth of merchandise the first day.  They went out about 3 days in a row before the inevitable happened.  Someone got greedy.  Then the fighting started.  The partnership was dissolved. It was a sad ending.

Fast forward to today (March 2016).  That spirit of entrepreneurship has not left them.  

**Ladybug now babysits

**Knight and Tigger cat sit. 

**Mr. Baseball is working in partnership with a youth pastor from Arizona to spread the gospel of Jesus on Instagram. (Hope_In_Numbers_Las_Vegas) They are also setting up an online store to benefit the youth pastor's ministry. He also earns money by working around the house - mowing the lawn, trimming trees and many of the other things on my husband's "honey-do" list. 

**Some of the younger ones want to start critter sitting - Caring for caged critters. (We're still considering that)

Unschooling Part 2 (365:161 - 162)

Tuesday morning, I told the kids that, with the exception of math and reading, they could learn about whatever they wanted.  They thought I had lost my mind!  Then they asked if Dad knew what I was doing. After I assured them that Dad and I were on the same page, and that there was no catch, they had one last question for me.  They asked "What do you want me to learn about?" They were absolutely incapable of coming up with anything.  I finally gave them a list of about 10-15 ideas to help spark their curiosity.  I also told them that I wanted to redo the backyard to plant more fruit and veggies to eat.  I also mentioned the possibility of getting chickens.

The kids got really excited and went to work researching.

Bear is our resident chicken expert.  She knows exactly what breeds we should get, what their temperaments are, and how many eggs they will lay per year.  She also knows that red zinnias are the best flower to plant to attract both bees and hummingbirds.

Knight researched and made a worm farm.  He will also be in charge of our compost bin when we do that.

Tigger decided to learn to crochet.  He made an adorable stocking.

Princess and Boo are still trying to figure out what interests them.

Mr. Baseball chose not to participate.  He said he wanted to learn something and that my way wasn't teaching anybody anything.

By Friday morning, I had 5 very bored kids.  They wanted to know what project they could do next. It was tough not to give them a to do list.  They wanted to play video games. (No) They wanted to watch TV (No).  They ended up fighting a lot.

I, on the other hand, am quietly having a massive anxiety attack.  Am I going to ruin them academically?  Will all my kids grow up ignorant? Will they end up poor and begging in the street because they can't get a job? Argh!

365:154 - 160 and One Thousand Gifts (762 - 770)

My daddy and I

The horse next door to my parent's house

The chickens next door.  The white one comes to visit my parents every day.  Of course, my mom feeds her.

The other horse next door

My parents, sisters and me.

The horses on the other side of my parents

Spider web on some plants

762.  Visiting my parents

763.  Hugging my dad and mom.  I have missed them sooo much!

764.  So thankful that my dad has come through yet another health scare

765.  Praying for a full recovery

766.  Being able to help in some small way with Dad's care. I wish I could be there for him every day.

767. Hanging out with my sisters

768.  Laughing so hard that I cried!

769.  Solving the world's problems with my sisters over a cup of tea.

770.  Morning run in beautiful weather and great scenery.