Gifts of Joy - Week 4

38. A full week with my mom.

39. Watching my mom and Jack work on preschool homework.

40. Little celebrations like back to school cupcakes.

41. Morning snuggles with Nanny.

42. Our children loving each other. "I missed you Jack," Grace.

43. Shoes on the wrong feet making me smile.

44. Everyday, being attacked by precious little hands.

45. Double rainbows from an evening shower.

46. After dinner ice cream treats. 

47. Plentiful clean water to bathe my children.

48. Mother - daughter love.

49. Surprise dinner from a sweet neighbor. 

Gifts of Joy - Week 3

For last week's gift look here. For an explanation of this project look here.

27. Days at the zoo with good friends.

28. Rough housing with the best dad ever. 

29. Food in the pantry and in my babies' bellies.

30. Back to school haircuts at my favorite salon.

31. Hiding-go-seek in the kitchen.

32. Children playing peacefully in the backyard. 

33. The gift of music in a home.

34. Simple pleasures like a neighborhood bike ride.

35. New shoes my girl picked out for herself while I shopped for Jack's school clothes.

36. Hot air balloons on a mountain horizon.

37. My mom at my house playing with my children.

Gifts of Joy - Week 2

Counting my gifts week 2. For week one's list and the reason for counting, check here.

11. Breakfast of champions. Coconut Almond Quinoa with pecan and blueberries. A great way to start my day.

12. Homemaking tasks like ironing my husband's shirts for work. 

13. Watching my children learn new things. Even if that new thing is how to kill a fly all by himself. 

14. My new Sevenly shirt. This one helped raise money to stop Sex Trafficking.

15. This sweet glass chicken family that sits by the window in front of my kitchen sink. They are from Christian's grandmother's house and they make me smile. 

16. Grace and Christian sharing a moment before he left for work. He is the best dad ever.

17. Living with superheroes. I feel so safe. 

18. A tired boy sleeping on the floor in his Captain America costume.

19. Rosemary from the herb garden used in one of my favorite side dishes. 

20. Tomatoes on the vine. I love summer!

21. Going to the movie theater with this precious boy for the first time.

22. Waking up on Sunday morning to children eating homemade waffles. 

23. Children running inside to grab me so that I don't miss seeing this bird sitting on our fence.

 

24. Snuggle time with sweet girl while we relax and watch a show. 

25. Our front porch swing.

26. My favorite flower, daisies, growing in our yard.

A Life List

For some crazy reason I hate the term "bucket list". I guess this is because I hate the term "kicking the bucket". I am not judging you if you have a bucket list or often say kicking the bucket. I just guess for me it seems insensitive.

Also, I feel a bucket list seems like we are all running a race, trying to cram in as much as possible before the clock runs out. I don't like living this way. I like a slower pace. I like days without plans. I like the little moments in life.

But, I am also ambitious. I love to have goals. They help me keep my eye on where I want to be even if I am only slowly scooting down the path.

So instead of a bucket list I am going to call my list a Life List. The things I haven't yet accomplished that I would like to get to someday.

A Life List:

• Make out with my husband at the top of the Eiffel Tower
• Take a road trip to the Grand Canyon
• Become an author with published books
• Take a mission trip to Africa
• Run a marathon
• Learn to snow and water ski
• See Alaska
• Stand on the Great Wall of China
• Live on the east coast
• Stay married to my husband until one of us dies
• Swim in the Mediterranean Sea
• Hand sew a quilt
• Drive a race car 
• Have a group of girlfriends that take an annual trip
• Travel with my grown children
• Learn to make homemade jam
• Write a children's book
• Learn to french braid
• Walk the Appalachian Trail
• Hike a fourteener
• Drive across the country in an RV
• Take my mom to Disney World
• Give a motivational speech on a stage in front of an audience
• Learn to play golf
• Meet a president (past or present)
• Volunteer regularly with my children
• Give away half of everything I make to charity
• Have an article published in a magazine
• Read the entire Bible

Do you have a Life List? What's on it?

Gifts of Joy - Week 1

Last spring I read Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts. I wrote about its personal impact on my life here. To summarize, her book explains the benefits of living a life of gratitude. The primary benefit being overwhelming joy. Her theory isn't about just counting our nice homes and cars and stuff. She counts the simple moments in our days that when we take a moment to stop and appreciate them, lead to a joyful heart.

In my attempt to count my blessings and think about the abundance of joy I experience daily, I plan to share a post each week about my joyful moments. 

1. Silly moments with this sweet girl

2. New art supplies strewn on the hallway floor

3. Homemade chocolate zucchini bread with zucchini grown in our garden  

4. Playing trucks in the dirt with this cool dude

5. The simple pleasure watching a garbage truck brings to my children (plus lunch on the porch on a summer day)

6. A weekend mountain getaway without television

7. Watching Spiderman work on his superhero training

8. This man who loves our children and teaches them you never get too old to play

9. A tough little sister who doesn't want to be left out of the boys' fun

10. Walking through life with these three