993 Gifts

Days, months, years of counting gifts. Posting? Doesn't always happen. But it's time to recommence with a public daily, weekly, monthly thanksgiving to the Giver.

I look back to see when my last count was shared. April. April? Could it be? Eight months of keeping my gratitude to myself? When He has given so much?

So I begin with some catch up gifts, pulling out completed journal, reliving past gifts. This recap is more for me than for anyone else, and I have no airy notion that anyone is going to read all this!

619. A stopped tongue.
633. My Girl smiling.
639. Pulling together to do hard things.
655. Story time, just me and my Brown Eyed Boy.

Going through the days long gone, I rediscover this episode.

Having spent a morning schooling and an afternoon exploring a museum, a light house, and more, we knew the children were going to have a difficult long drive home. I challenged them to think of 20 gifts from the day before we reached El Refugio, and they came through with 23! Here are the gifts we found together, followed by my own from other parts of that same day:

664. A day out.
665. Sand.
666. Going fast over the wavy bridge.
667. Squeals of delight.
668. Time with friends.
669. Little Ellie.
670. Climbing on rocks.

671. Shells that look like ART.
672. Hot dogs.
673. A car.
674. Sunny day.

675. Skeletons.
676. Time together.
677. Spontaneity.
678. Thankful children.
679. Bathrooms close by.

680. Lighthouse.

681. Big waves.

682. Sunset.










683. Sand ridge.
684.Warm sweaters.
685. Fun.

and my additions:

686. Five on the couch with bowls of ice cream.
687. Boys in pajamas.










688. Clay nests drawn in notebooks.
689. A walk outside.
690. School in different guise.

691. Impromptu walk on the beach.

692. Glow-in-the-dark teeth.











693. Burning muscles.
694. Twenty (20!!!) gifts easily named, redirecting weary bodies and hearts.
695. Kiss on my elbow.

And now back to selected gifts...

705. Little tooth lost.
747. Every day with My Girl; that's more than 5000 gifts right there! (on the eve. of her 15th birthday)
756. Little hands scrubbing floors. "I need my cloth refreshed."
764. Love that oozes out through hands and fingers.
776. Chocolate letter M's, five of them!
793. Truth.
806. Curious George ears on swim-capped boys.
808. You, Jesus, are my Deliverer.
820. You make Yourself known to me.
826. Laughter in the house.
829. From writhing, wimpering, and moaning in pain to completely pain free in minutes for my Brown Eyed Boy.
841. Tears that are permitted.
867. You don't leave me to my own forgetfulness.
928. Tears don't last forever.
971. A wee boy who doesn't just climb into my bed but right on top of me!
992. Different ideas about ministry.
993. Unity even when we disagree.

And that brings us to yesterday.
Tomorrow a new day. A new challenge. A resurgence of  hope and joy and thankfulness!