So...I'm going to post September's gifts. And I think that technically, if I was going to do 1000 gifts in a year that I should be hitting 1000 right now.
But...I'm not.
You may have also noticed that my gifts posts aren't so pretty anymore...there being no pictures and all. It's not that pictures don't exist...it's just that I've gotten lazy about blogging in general so that means that I've gotten lazy about putting pictures up along with the gifts I've listed.
In fact, being lazy is probably why this list isn't going to hit 1000 in one year either.
And it's not that I've been lazy about being thankful to God for all these wonderful - and maybe not so wonderful - things in my life, because I have been! In fact, I've been super thankful. I've just been taking so much time to actually live in the moment! I think that has been one of the best things about this project - it has helped teach me how to be more present in my everyday life. And that is one thing that I'm very, very thankful for!
So here it is...my sort of short list of gifts for September:
685. The Fischels family reunion in Iowa!
686. Catching up with extended family
687. Gavin pushing his baby cousin Piper around on at riding toy
688. Logan meeting and making fast friends with his cousin Lucas
689. Justin - just one of the guys
670. Baptism Sunday at the river
671. Four extra little hands to help with dusting
672. Gavin fast asleep in the chair after dinner
673. The house decorated for fall!
674. Curled up - just me and Logan - reading books together
675. Sharing laughter over memories with Justin
676. Bed time stories
677. My friend Sarah's new little boy - here finally and healthy! Months of prayers answered!
678. Hearing Gavin say "ove oo, mom" (Love you, mom) just because
679. Speech therapy
680. Special reading programs and tutoring
681. Forgiveness
682. Logan's first dentist appointment
683. Pizza & movie days at work
684. Laughing hysterically at a book!
685. Birthday cake shared by strangers at McDonalds
686. A trip through the car wash...at Gavin's insistence!
687. School field trip to St. Louis - SUCCESS!
688. St. Louis Cardinals baseball game - my second!
689. Nachos and hot dogs at the ball park
690. Beautiful weather for a trip to the pumpkin patch
691. Gavin's face lit up with excitement over seeing a big tractor!
692. A tractor pulled hayride down to the corn maze
693. A family walk through the corn maze
694. Logan leading the way through the maze - and doing an awesome job
695. Bible trivia to lead us through the maze
696. Walking hand in hand with Gavin - he was a trooper!
697. Justin carrying Gavin up high on his shoulders when Gavin's little legs wore out
698. A "train" ride for the boys when we completed the maze
699. Picking out our own pumpkins in the pumpkin patch
700. My first "photo session" with my boys - I finally had the courage to take their yearly pictures myself instead of hiring someone else!
Monday, September 30, 2013
catching up the gifts part II
August
636. A Mom and Logan day out at Miner Mikes
637. Logan's first tooth lost!
638. A visit from the tooth fairy for Logan and his excitement over her gift of four shiny quarters!
639. A Mom and Gavin day out at the zoo
640. A game of chess with Justin...thank goodness he gives helpful hints!
641. Another game of "chess" with Gavin :-D
642. Watching my boys "play" chess...or at least their version of the game!
643. Justin's wedding ring on again...well, on his pinkie now since his ring shrunk ;-D
644. a fresh, new hair-do...trim & highlights
645. Decorating the kids' room at church with Shelly...
646. ...And a Mexican lunch out after!
647. Lunch & scrap with Cindy for her belated birthday celebration
648. A Duck Dynasty evening marathon with Justin
649. Petting a tiny kitten, watching her fall asleep in my lap belly up
650. Working of debt by house sitting!
651. Using an oven again at Mimi's (ours is still broken for a few more days!)
652. Back to work with good people!
653. Open house at Esther, eased worries & nerves for Logan...and Mom!
654. Comforting my feverish Gavin
655. A husband & father who works for a good company that gives lots of sick leave!
656. Justin staying home from work, caring for our sick Gavin so that I could be at work for the first day of school
657. Logan's first day of 1st grade!
658. Walking Logan to his classroom for the first time
659. Update pictures of Gavin sent fro Justin, home with our feverish kiddo
660. Meeting Logan off the bus after his first day of 1st grade
661. Gorgeous weather, open windows, sweet smelling breezes! All in August!!!
662. Coming home to dinner made, the house clean - my husband rocks!
663. A Dairy Queen trip to celebrate the end of the first day of school & Gavin's quick recovery from illness
664. A family walk on a beautiful evening
665. Gavin soundly asleep in the stroller
666. New books delivered to my classroom
667. Gavin's third birthday!
668. A TMNT birthday cake!
669. A game of t-ball in the backyard
670. Duck Dynasty on TV, cuddled up on the couch with Justin
671. A surprise gift - a new book from Justin!
672. A successful communion meditation delivered - my first!
673. The end of the first full week of school - and a good week it was!
674. An awesome new "date night" babysitter for the boys
675. First date night in a long, long time!
676. Sushi and hibachi grill with a glass of wine
677. Picking out books at B&N with Justin
678. Movie night with "We're the Millers"
679. School field trip to Bennett Spring!
680. Sun shinning through tree tops
681. Blue-green spring
682. Picking peppers straight from the garden
683. Motorcycle rides with Papa Jeff
684. Batting practice with Logan
Monday, September 23, 2013
catching up the gifts part 1
July
591. Portable DVD player for hours of entertainment on a long car ride!
592. Quick staff in the ER
593. Two staples to close the gash and nothing else!
594. Running & delighted squeals while being discharged from the ER - Signs of a perfectly ok Gavin
595. Gavin and Grandma on a sight seeing walk
596. Sunshine, nice breeze, perfect temperatures - a great day for a parade
597. A beautiful country to live in...
598. ...and all the men and women who work hard and sacrifice to protect that for all ofus!
599. Little hands collecting candy from the parade
600. Pulled pork sandwiches with Dad & Dannielle followed by a staeout for our firework-viewing seats!
601. Watching Logan play, bounce, and race with his cousins at the park
602. Adam & Katie taking Logan with them for an ice cream cone
603. Seeing all four kids gathered around my sister-in-low having a good time
604. Playing on the iPad, niece and nephew in lap to give me a hand
605. An amazing firework show!
606. Breakfast and catch-up with Miranda
607. Gavin & Logan taking turns driving the lawn mower with my dad and brother
608. Gavin falling asleep in my arms
609. Family gathered together around the fire
610. Logan roasting a hot dog up over the fire for me!
611. Hot & gooey s'mores - again made by Logan for me!
612. Four cousins "driving" the tractor together
613. Stopping in to visit Marcia - seeing each other for the first time in six years!
614. Coming home from a trip to a clean house, dinner cooked, and my handsome husband
615. Sleeping in my own bed again - always a treat after a trip!
616. Making art using pastels with Logan at Arty Smarty
617. Starting a new story Bible with my boys
618. July 10th - Justin's "I love you"
619. Watching Logan pick out his first reading prize at the library - he knew exactly what he wanted!
620. Story time at the library with a special guest reader
621. Facing my fear of snakes with a twenty pound anaconda...against my will!
622. Four of us all snuggled up on the couch together
623. Football camp for Logan...
624. ...and "driving" lessons for Gavin!
625. Logan's excitement over his "Best. Catch. EVER!"
626. Fearless boys at the swimming pool
627. Watching a thunderstorm on the front porch with my three men
628. Shopping spree!
629. Mad science at the library
630. A rainy day spent at home
631. Playing with and scratching nine tiny kittens
632. Chocolate Therapy ice cream after the kids are tucked into bed - thanks Ben & Jerry's!
633. A handmade "thank you" card from a little girl in Sunday school - she was so happy to get to be my helper!
634. A "movie theater" experience at the library
635. Gavin's first bike (tricycle) ride at the park
Friday, August 23, 2013
i gave up my blog
Temporarily.
I didn't mean to give up blogging all together...it just kind of happened. I haven't posted a thing since the 1st of July. Not even gifts.
So what have I been up to?
It's been a busy couple of months. Its been a fun couple of months. While I'm sad to see the summer has pretty much slipped away, I'm looking forward to fall and all that is ahead of me and my family.
(Including more blogging...I hope!)
It's good to be back!
I didn't mean to give up blogging all together...it just kind of happened. I haven't posted a thing since the 1st of July. Not even gifts.
So what have I been up to?
- counting gifts...need to write a post because I'm almost to 1000 I think!
- 4th of July in Iowa to visit with family and friends!
- movies, swimming, games, books, library, and many, many more activities with my boys!
- spending time with Justin
- Watching all the seasons of Grey's Anatomy
- Finishing a book study
- Watching season 1 & 2 of Glee
- Reading books and more books!
- Watching Seasons 1 & 2 of Duck Dynasty with Justin
- House sitting for my in-laws
- Bible Study
- Watching the rain fall for nearly two straight weeks!
- Helping with Sunday school
- Lunch dates with friends
- Getting Logan ready for 1st grade!
- Celebrating Gavin's 3rd birthday
- Going back to work for a new school year
- Writing lesson plans and grading papers
It's been a busy couple of months. Its been a fun couple of months. While I'm sad to see the summer has pretty much slipped away, I'm looking forward to fall and all that is ahead of me and my family.
(Including more blogging...I hope!)
It's good to be back!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Muddy Matters
Last Friday I took the boys to the public library for International Mud Day. Who knew there was such a thing right? Needless to say the awesome library employees outdid themselves with this program - there was a pool of mud, tubs of dirt, bowls of mud...mud everywhere! And I let Logan and Gavin dig in without any reservations! (Hey, I came prepared: clean clothes, underwear, diapers, and a bag for the dirty ones!) The boys had so much fun...in fact, they shut the place down by being the last ones to leave! Here's the high lights:
THE BIG POOL FULL OF MUD:
THE TUB OF DIRT FOR DIGGING OUT TREASURE:
MUD PAINTING:
A SMALLER POOL OF MUD...perfect for mud pies according to Logan:
CLEAN MUD...which ironically both boys declared "gross":
There was also a table for building clay sculptures, but niether Logan or Gavin made it past the pools and bowls of mud before all the clay was used up... Mud wins over clay I guess - the messier the better!
They also had a hose and a bucket of water for cleaning up. Gavin, being a big fan of water and hoses, considered this just another fun activity!
I took this last picture of Logan thinking we were done and that he couldn't get any muddier...
...I was WAY wrong on both counts! Niether boy was done playing...and Logan DID get dirtier. I wish I had a picture, but I'd already put the camera away and was working on cleaning up Gavin when Logan decided to dump a bucket of mud down the front of his shirt. On purpose of course! Vanessa, the librarian, and I had to tag team Logan's clean up. She hosed out his clothes while I scrubbed him down with water from the bucket!
I never knew there was an International Mud Day, but I'm glad I do now! I'd love to celebrate it again the next time it rolls around...but I'm not sure if our fearless librarians will ever be daring enough to tackle that project again! And I wouldn't blame them! So, I'm sending out a big thank you to everyone who pulled this fun experience off - what a perfect opportunity to let boys be boys!
God's Backyard Bible Camp
Last week our church teamed up with another church in town to put on a Vacation Bible School called God's Backyard Bible Camp. (Okay, actually, the other church really did most of the work, and we just dropped our kids off, but still, it counts! I stayed and helped run crafts, so it totally counts!)
The program ran for four days - Monday through Thursday - from 5:15 to 7:30. We kicked each night off with dinner, of course! On the first night they did cute little picnic lunches wrapped up in bandanas, and then there was camping classics like beans and weenies, mac 'n cheese, and spaghetti!
After dinner, the kids gathered together around the "camp fire" for music, videos, and the large group lesson. It was quite a task to keep almost 40 kids from ages four to twelve focused, but somehow they managed to do a pretty darn good job!
After the large group lesson, the kids were divided into two groups: the "preschool" group and the older kids. Logan fell into the preschool group, and his "camp counselor" was Amy (who is actually another mother from our day care!). Everyday they went from large group, to crafts, to Bible study, to the playground, and then back inside for a fun dessert.
Three of the four nights I volunteered to help with crafts (the other night I worked in the nursery), so I got to help Logan and his friends create different projects like "camp fire handprints", owls, lanterns, and "stained glass" crosses.
I'm not sure how Bible study time went because I never got a chance to sneak in there and see what was going on, but I do know that Logan loved the room that they hung out in...especially getting to be the one weilding the flashlight! On our last day I did make Logan go sit in his room and let me take his picture!
Logan's favorite part every day was doing the outside activities. His favorite activity was glow in the dark bowling and ring toss - he couldn't stop talking about that one! On the last day, I sneeked out of crafts with the older kids and popped my head outside to see what was going on. They had already finished their activity, but they were still having a blast playing with the bubble machine!
Last on the agenda every night was "sugaring them up"! (Officially known as "snack time".) This included s'mores one night, chocolate pudding the second, dirt cake with gummy worms the third, and lastly...ice cream sundaes!
And one last thing that I should note about VBS this year...they had a nursery program! This was awesome for parents like me who had children too little for Bible school yet, but still really wanted to help out. My friend Shelly from church took care of the little ones with the help of her two awesome kids! Gavin got to make some new friends, hang out with an old pal from day care, and check out some new toys. Oh, and he got to have dinner and dessert, too...I'm pretty sure "food time" was his favorite time!
Gods' Backyard Bible Camp was a blast, but as fun as it was...I'm glad it is over and only comes around once a year! Phew - it was a busy and exhausting experience! That being said, I loved getting to do VBS with Logan and Gavin this year! It was such a fun learning experience for all of us! I'm sure next year will be even better!
starting july by remembering june
534. Popsicles on the back patio
535. Sunshine at Six Flags in St. Louis
536. Squeezing into kid rides with my boys
537. Logan grinning, excited to ride a few all by himself
538. Ice cream served up in freshly baked waffle cones
539. Car ride home, boys sleeping soundly in the backseat exhausted from a fun day
540. Scrapbooking date with a good friend
541. Fasting Attempting a fast in support of Justin
542. Low fog draped across early morning ground
543. Filling a water gun over and over and over for Gavin to shoot
544. Chasing the boys through the backyard...squirt gun in hand!
545. A Papa, Dad, and Logan fishing trip on Father's Day
546. Justin...a great father to our boys
547. A happy union between Sonic and homework
548. A trick dog show at the library with Logan
549. Boys meet power wheel...and SHARE!
550. Justin taking a day off from work to spend with me
551. Pecan waffles smothered in butter and sweet syrup...YUM!
552. A seven mile hike in two hours and fifty-nine minutes!
553. Watching father and sons play in the backyard sunshine
554. Four generations on a Sunday afternoon fishing trip
557. Monday matinee Pixar movie (Monster's University) with my boys
558. Logan's quick recovery from a stomach virus
559. Hugs all around on my birthday!
560. Turning 30!
564. Swimming at the "big pool" with Logan and Gavin
565. A surprise birthday party for me at Whimsy!
566. Chocolate caramel cheesecake and birthday wishes blown out on a candle
567. Unexpected gifts!
568. My Logan lost and then found! (Bet he will stay in the car when told to from now on!)
569. An Iron Man birthday cake made special from the Heaven Scent Bakery
570. A big bunch of birthday balloons for the birthday boy
571. Logan...six years old!
572. Excitement and hugs for new books and a load of fishing tackle!
573. A family party to celebrate a special boy
574. Brats and hot dogs grilled up and eaten around the patio table
575. Bashing a pinata full of treats...and beating the sudden storm that blew in and out quickly
576. Six candles on the cake, lit and blown out by Logan
577. Desnse choclate cake frosted sweet!
578. Legos and more legos for the excited birthday boy
579. A famiy game of catch the football in the backyard
580. A new purse for me - a belated birthday gift!
581. Curled up together for The Avengers
582. Finishing our storybook Bible!
583. Discovering Logan's first loose tooth!
584. Sparklers to finish up the perfect birthday party
585. Eight tiny kittens piled together
586. Gentle touches against soft fur
587. Tiny paws outstretched
588. Tiny mouths forming tiny yawns
589. Gavin "driving" the riding lawn mower
590. "De ja vu" watching Gavin "mow" with the seeder...just like Logan once upon a time!
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