Multitudes on Monday

3383. studying the history of the world and starting where it all began, God.

3384. building pyramids out of straws and clay

3385. Buddy-Ro's flexibility with math

3386. Buddy-Ro getting a 100% on his very first math test!

3387. Birdie's excitement to get back to Math-U-See as soon as we finish up the last few lessons of Teaching Textbooks

3388. finally having our back porch furniture on our covered porch and sitting out every evening enjoying these amazing fall temperatures

3389. our large master bathroom - I kept telling our builder that it was just too big and that we needed to find a way to move the space around. However, there are multiple times a day where all FIVE of us are in there (brushing teeth, kiddos showering, talking while Mama tries to get ready...) so now I am thankful for the extra space!

3390. how hard Scott works to make our yard nice

3391. sautéed onions and peppers to go with supper

3392. the kiddos trying to prank call Nana, Mimi, and Ms. Meredith in their silly British voices

3393. mocha frappuccinos at home

3394. evening strolls with the kiddos in our new neighborhood

3395. how Peanut will wave excitedly at everyone who passes by, but will hide his face if they try to come talk to "that cute little baby boy."

3396. home that feels like home and the open invitation for our friends and family to come and visit

3397. the upcoming Girls of Grace Gatherings that will begin at our home this Saturday

3398. a naked baby who just walked out on the porch after getting out of the shower :)

Psalm 138:1, "Thank you! Everything in me says Thank You!" 

School Pics

We started our school year much later this year than last year. Last year we started on July 15, and this year we started on Sept 8. Whew! We tried starting back while we were still at Nana and Papa's house, but there were just too many distractions and people constantly around that it just didn't work. But that's one of the joys of homeschooling - flexibility. Now that we are settled in our new home, school is going very well and we are enjoying our new school room and time together.

Pics from our first day:

These three.







 

The boy who fixed his own hair for pictures. The baby who is a m.e.s.s. And the big girl who is a little mama and {mostly} sweeter than ice cream. Yes. It's these three that make our homeschooling journey a great family adventure.

Multitudes on Monday

3373. watching home videos of the bigger kiddos when they were 2 and 3 and loving the laughter that goes on!!

3374. days at home learning together, going at a fast or slow pace depending on the day

3375. antibiotics for the Peanut who has strep throat

3376. sweet cuddles from the baby who hasn't felt well

3377. being Buddy-Ro's loudest cheerleader at his baseball games (I don't care if he wins or loses, but I want him to always hear his Mama's voice cheering him on and knowing that I think he's AWESOME!)

3378. Birdie-girl helping to pass out snacks and drinks to the ball players after the game

3379. puzzles all over the floor upstairs from the kiddos playing and working together

3380. Scott staining the back porch so we can put our furniture out there and enjoy these amazing fall temperatures

3381. visiting with friends that we haven't seen in a few months before they begin their road trip of a lifetime traveling in their RV across country

3382. building pyramids out of straws and clay

Psalm 136:1-3, "Thank God! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits.Thank the God of all gods, His love never quits. Thank the Lord of all lords. His love never quits."

Multitudes on Monday :: l.a.t.e.

We have been having issues with our new internet connection since Comcast came and installed our service two weeks ago. I have not been impressed with their customer service, and it has really been driving me crazy. The computer where I have ALL of my pictures isn't connecting, and it has made me want to pull my hair out. I have soooooooo many pictures right now from starting school, baseball, and the new house just waiting in limbo...

But for right now, while our internet connection is working (just not for my computer with ALL of my pictures...sorry, did I already say that?!?) Oh, yes...reasons to be thankful :)

3361. exploring our huge backyard and shrieking at many creatures (including crickets that kept hopping on my feet). I'm not a fan of creatures.

3362. no boxes upstairs

3363. a new house that already feels like home

3364. feeling crazy blessed and content every single second I am in our new home, and thanking God all of the time for His timing and His gifts

3365. how at home our kiddos feel already

3366. being closer to friends, co-op, the grocery (While Scott and I would love to live in the middle of nowhere someday, I am truly so happy with the location of our new home!)

3367. how the kiddos love to play in the yard, eat snacks and dessert on the front porch, and ride their bikes and scooters all over the place

3368. watching movies together that have been packed away for almost 8 months (our current favorites are Andy Griffith episodes, Spirit, The Berenstain Bears, and Mary Poppins)

3369. Birdie's obsession with 19 Kids and Counting...and how I am thrilled to have the Duggar girls as true role models for my daughter. We can hardly wait for the episode to see Jill and Derick get married!!

3370. Buddy-Ro starting baseball this past week

3371. how Buddy-Ro loves baseball simply because it's something he and Scott get to do together

3372. Yesterday during a game, Peanut fell between the bleachers (between the very bottom row and the next row up), and he hit his head pretty hard. He screamed so loud that Buddy-Ro could hear him on the ball field. So, as soon as Buddy-Ro's team came into the dugout, he ran over to check on his little brother. My heart could hardly contain all of the kisses and hugs and words of love for that boy...I did refrain, though, so as not to complete embarrass the ball player in front of his entire team. But MAN was I thankful for his sensitive and caring heart!

Psalm 69:30, "Let me shout God’s name with a praising song, Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks."

Multitudes on Monday

3345. finally, FINALLY having most everything unpacked (or at least stored in the basement) in our new home!!

3346. first nights sleeping in the new house

3347. all three kiddos sleeping through two nights of thunderstorms in the new house...a first anywhere we have ever slept.

3348. paint colors that turned out even better than I imagined

3349. decorating ideas that I have been brewing in my head for months that actually worked once we got here

3350. pictures hanging on the walls to make our new house feel like home

3351. a pool party to meet new neighbors

3352. the kiddos swimming and playing in the new pool and having a great time

3353. cooking our first meals in our new home

3354. setting up our school room and starting school TODAY!!

3355. a successful and fun start to our school year

3356. toys, puzzles, sensory bins, and toddler-proof items for Peanut to busy himself with while Buddy-Ro and Birdie work with me on school

3357. how Scott understands that clutter and disorder really get to me, so he works hard to help organize all of our stuff (that just keeps pouring in from Nana's house...)

3358. quiet days at home where we don't have to run around and go anywhere, we are just free to be together and take our time doing our own things

3359. picnics on the back porch

3360. snacks on the front porch

3361. a great neighbor directly across from us who is chatty, friendly, and who provided us with butter, forks, and knives when we couldn't get our hands on any during our first few days here. :)

Psalm 75:1, "We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds."

Multitudes on Monday

3335. hearing Peanut tell us that he washes his hair with "poo poo" (and dying laughing each time, so he says it over and over and over!!!)

3336. Peanut asking to go to Pub-ix or Ingles to get Tic Tacs

3337. hearing Peanut say his High and Low at the dinner table

3338. how excited Birdie is about the new soft carpet that was put in her bedroom last Friday

3339. Buddy-Ro looking forward to sharing a room with Peanut

3340. our house being just 4 days shy of REALLY OURS for (Lord willing) ever!

3341. kind, patient, polite customer service representatives at Comcast and Disney who go out of their ways to correct problems

3342. dining reservations at our favorite Disney restaurants and some at new ones

3343. every time we get in the van, Peanut asks, "Going to Disney World, Mama?!"

3344. continued work

Psalm 54:6, "With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good."

Multitudes on Monday...on Wednesday, and why it almost wasn't.

It came time for me to list out my thanks on Monday, and I just couldn't do it. I was too busy,  too scattered, too distracted. And the thought occurred to me that maybe I was just done. Maybe I've listed all that I am thankful for, and that the time had come to an end. I thought to myself, "I don't want my Thanks to feel like a burden, so if I can't write them I just won't worry with them."

And that was the lie. That to feel thankful can ever be "done." That to take the time to list out my Thanks is a burden.

It's absolutely the opposite. My mantra for the last three years for myself, and that I have often shared with others, is that "It's hard to be discontent when you count your blessings." And I know without a doubt that this is true. I can't stop counting and listing out my blessings. I simply can't. For if I do, discontentment will creep in. It already started this week, and it's just Wednesday.

One of my children has been difficult this week during our school time. Difficult, dawdling, poor attitude, defiant. And I have looked at this child and been so discontent.. If ______ was only a better student... If ______ would just do the work... If only _______'s attitude was better, more cooperative, easier... I found my heart beginning to harden toward my own child; my own flesh and blood; my precious gift from the Lord. And I realized that I was not thanking God for the strengths and blessings that flow from ________. But when I did take the time to be thankful for _______'s compassion, gentleness, energy, out-going personality, my discontentment began to fade away and I was reminded what a blessing ______ is to our family and to me.

It's the exact same way with every other area of life. My van is constantly in need of being vacuumed. But when I simply stop and am thankful for a safe vehicle to haul our family around in, my perspective changes. I have more laundry lately than I can keep up with. But, goodness, at the wonderful people in my family who bring about that laundry. There isn't enough time in the day to do everything that I need or want, but I am sure thankful that God granted me yet another day with my family.

Perspective. That is what giving thanks is all about. It truly is hard to be discontent when you count your blessings because you finally, actually, right-in-front-of-your-face realize how much there is to say Thanks for.

--

3323. going with Nana, Papa, and the kiddos to hike to a water fall over the weekend while Daddy had to work

3324. strong legs and feet that got us to the top of our hike

3325. the beauty of God's creation that surrounds us daily -- whether in a wildflower growing or a massive water fall that takes the breath away

3326. witnessing a proposal at the foot of the water fall and clapping in congratulations along with everyone else

3327. the kiddos traveling safely to and from Mimi's house for a couple of days

3328. Grace. Grace. Grace.

3329. 9 days until we begin moving into our new home

3330. passing needed inspections for the home

3331. very kind and outgoing new neighbors directly across from our new home

3332. a seasoned homeschool family next door to our new home

3333. working late into the wee morning hours with Scott to finish our beautiful kitchen that he designed and built for our home

3334. the memories, and the thanks, to be made in our new home

Psalm 30:11-12, "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!"