It’s cold outside. The snow is relentless. A few days ago, I slipped on the ice and fell right on my…

Knee. Next time perhaps I should avoid the ice. Oh wait. It’s everywhere. Unavoidable.

It’s easy to complain and whine about winter right about now, isn’t it? I’m a little bit tired of being cold and cooped up. We could all use a little sunshine right about now.

But, last week after my Azure Standard order came in, I realized how BLESSED we are. Even though we’re in the middle of winter, with no fruits or vegetables growing around us…we can still get our hands on fresh produce! Yay for other countries (and other parts of this country) with warmer climates and fruit bearing trees! Yay for trucks that can bring them to Coldville, Nebraska. Yay for Azure Standard that makes the opportunity for fresh, delicious organic produce possible!!

I ordered bunches of organic apples and pears, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, avocados and onions. At the store I got oranges, clementines, a pineapple and bananas. A friend brought over more oranges, apples, carrots and grapes.

The beautiful, fresh, healthy produce reminded me once again of God’s goodness and provision. Suddenly I didn’t feel so sick of winter anymore. I felt blessed and taken care of.

I had to create not one, but two bowls of the pretty fruit.
It just looks like a little bit of spring-time on my countertop now!

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So, what are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us all know what God is doing in your life!

My husband and I are a little rebellious when it comes to Valentine’s Day. Shouldn’t we show our love every day of the year? Do we really need to spend a lot of money on February 14 to say, “I love you”? 

Last year for Valentine’s Day, I got new potholders and Matt got new work gloves. It was our special way of saying, “I heart you. Will you be mine? Oh wait, you already are mine. Here let me give you a little something you really need.”

This year, I really didn’t expect anything at all. There was nothing either of us needed, Matt was working all weekend…I thought we’d have our special Peach Cobbler breakfast and that would be the end of it.

Imagine my surprise Sunday morning when I stumbled out of bed to grab the church clothes I’d laid out the night before…and there on top of my shirt was this:

How fun is that? Matt found it a few weeks ago on clearance (at a shop downtown where he does snow removal service) and thought it was perfect. I’m not sure how well you know me, but those words? They describe me pretty accurately. Wild and wacky? Yeah…that’s me the majority of the time. Wonderful? Well…thankfully at least my husband thinks so. (I can also be rather dull and dorky…but thankfully those particular ornaments were sold out.)

I got a big kick out of my surprise gift…and it cracks me up every time I look at it. I love it that Matt was sweet enough to get me such a fun gift and surprise me with it! And I’m really grateful that even though I’m totally wacky, he chose me anyway. 
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What are you grateful for this Gratituesday?  Write about it on your blog, then come link up here so we can all come read about what you’re thankful for! If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment here letting us know what God is doing in your life!

Last weekend I watched my friend’s two kids while she and her husband spent some time helping her mother as she recovers from a recent surgery.

Keeping her kids was no trouble for me because they are SUCH good kids. They just played together with my kids and kept each other happy for hours. In fact, they were here while I was in the middle of my cooking and baking marathon…and it was EASY. Yeah, they can come over ANY TIME.

Imagine my surprise when my friend showed up at the end of the day with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me! Seriously…her kids made my day so much easier…I should have given her some flowers!

My beautiful pink flowers in the middle of a snowy, cloudy winter have been such a cheerful addition to my kitchen. It’s amazing what something simple like a bouquet of flowers can do to lift a person’s spirits. Hooray for flowers in the winter!
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What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re thankful for!

When you’re an un-informed parent, you have to just trust the doctor you’re talking to. 

I don’t like that feeling…just listening and blindly nodding as someone tells me what I have to do. They’re the expert right? They must know what they’re talking about.

That’s how I felt a couple of months ago when we took our eight year old to the orthodontist. She did ALL KINDS of x-rays and examinations and mold taking and picture taking. Then she told us that Elias would need braces…starting now. After the braces would come retainers and some other stuff I don’t remember because I was the smiling, nodding parent just trying to take in all this information that was all so new to me.

We didn’t think we had much of a choice. It sounded like we were going to need to fork out the big bucks.

Then…because of some weird (and obviously God sent) circumstances…we ended up taking Elias to a different orthodontist.

This one took a nice (free) thorough look at Elias’ teeth, turned to me and said, “With a little work, I think we can take care of this without braces.”

Really?!

Yep. She showed Elias how he needed to use his fingers several times a day to try and push his front teeth together to help give room for this side teeth to grow in. Then, she showed him how he could use his tongue and push on his lower front teeth to create more space for the missing bottom tooth. And that’s it. 

Really?!

I could have kissed her. But I didn’t. But I really wanted to. I would have just settled for a hug, but she had other patients she needed to go see.

Elias has been pushing on his teeth ever since we got home. Oblivious about the cost, he’d rather not have metal in his mouth that might have the tendancy to cause pain. Quite aware of the cost, Matt and I are so thankful that we were able to seek a second opinion and to learn that indeed…we do have options. 

Wahoo…we just saved a few thousand dollars!! And…we saved our little boy quite a bit of trauma. Thank you God!
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What are you grateful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up here so we can come read about what God is doing in your life. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re thankful for!

It’s winter. It’s cold. It’s very, very cold. There’s snow all over the ground and the wind is trying to blow me from my driveway into the neighbor’s yard. But there’s snow in the neighbor’s yard too, and I’m not too keen on being blown into it.

Therefore, the boys and I have been cooped up in the house for weeks. While I very much love being at home and I get so much more done when I’m at home for long periods of time…there comes a time when I need to get out…and the boys just need to RUN long and hard for a long, long time.

During the winter, running usually just takes place inside the house…up and down stairs…and there are usually nerf guns involved. I’m okay with that…but after a few weeks…the walls start to creep in on a person. Not to mention that being hit with a nerf bullet while I’m trying to type can make me lose my train of thought.

This is why I am so thankful that my college town has a field house. The college owns it, but during certain parts of the day, it is open to the community. A few other ladies and I have been meeting there a couple times a week lately to take walks around the track. And the kids? They run. And they run and they run.

I wanted to get a shot of how big the place is so I backed way up…but do you see that little spot of yellow on the big green turf? That’s Justus running and running and running. Then look up a little and do you see a railing and two tiny little gray spots up there? That’s two of my friends walking. I’ll join them in a minute, but right now I’m taking a picture. 

Here’s Asa kicking a soccer ball in the baseball batting area. No, I didn’t put him in the cage to punish him. He wants to kick the ball as hard as he can and within the netting he can do that without having to chase it very far. And also, after he kicks the ball as hard as he can, it doesn’t have a chance of hitting someone (like me) in the face because the net keeps it in. Very cool.

These breaks from being cooped up at home have been so refreshing. The ladies and I have wonderful visits as we walk, not to mention we’re getting good exercise. The kids run and run and run, have fun their friends and get really, really tired. The stir crazy feeling we have at home goes away for a while. It’s wonderful! (Psst, local readers! If you want to join us sometime email me for details!)

I’m SO thankful that we have a field house available to us. We may just get through the winter in one piece!
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What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here! If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re thankful for!

Let me tell you a little bit about my Nana.

My Nana is 83 years old, but she acts like she’s 63. (I totally hope I have her genes!)  She can still get down on the floor and play with her great-grandkids, she goes out to lunch with her friends, she goes shopping…she’s so much fun!

Here is my family with Nana
the summer of 2008 during a family reunion.

Lately, something really cool has been happening between my Nana and me.

Email. 

She lives in Arkansas, so we only see each other at family reunions every other year or so. Lately, we’ve been emailing back and forth. They are such treasured emails. I’ve been loving it! She writes of memories of me when I was born and she came to help my mom…she tells me sweet things I said to her when I was a little girl…she encourages me as I parent my boys.

It has been the neatest thing. I plan to save these emails from her in a folder because they are so wonderful to read.

One of Nana’s favorite words is “precious”. Nana has told me hundreds of times how precious I am and how precious Matt is and how precious my boys are.

And now we have these precious emails. 

I’m so thankful for my precious Nana. 
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What are you grateful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

Over the weekend, Matt and I finally had a chance to sit down together to go over our 2010 budget. 

I know I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to looking at the budget with my husband…but in a weird kind of way, it feels like a date of sorts (the kind of date where I’m in my stained bathrobe sporting a pitiful ponytail and there are four loud kids running around with stinky feet).

It’s just nice to sit down with my husband and plan and dream and discuss our daily lives and our future goals. 

I came away from our “budgeting date” extremely thankful for two specific things:

1. My husband and I are on the same page when it comes to spending, giving and saving money. I know that  marriages can be strained because one spouse likes to spend more money than the other…or one spouse likes to hold back money and not share with those in need. I’m thankful that Matt and I barely have to use words…and then when one of us does, the other just nods…because we think alike when it comes to money.
2. The bottom line of our budget showed us that after all is said and done, this year we should be able to give a little more and save a little more. It was an incredible relief and blessing to see how God has provided what we need to be able to do these things. 

Always, always God takes care of his children. 
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What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Big or small…there’s ALWAYS something to be thankful for! Write about what you’re grateful for on your blog, then come link up with us here. Or, if you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re thankful for!

Let’s all share what God is doing in our lives!

For most people, school starts back up this week. Before Christmas, I hadn’t really made a plan about when we’d begin and end our Christmas break. I usually just kind of wing it, based on where the kids are in their math books and what kind of break I need.

We schooled right up until Christmas Eve…then decided to call it break-time.  Grandpa was here, Shannen was here, other company was here (off and on), the holidays were here, the snow kept falling, the kids got sick. Now that things are slowing down (everything except for the falling snow it seems)…I feel like slowing down and taking a break that actually feels like a break!

Therefore, I had a meeting with our school superintendent (aka, Daddy) and we decided to take one more week off from formal schooling. We’re ahead for the year anyway. Besides…half of what the boys have been doing these past couple of weeks have involved learning.

They’ve been cooking, we’ve played tons of games that involve counting and adding and decision making, they’ve researched and taken apart electronics (with Daddy) to try to fix them. They’ve even been writing and creating “movies” with the video part of my digital camera. Interspersed with all of these activities, we’ve been snuggling under blankets reading together, playing thinking games….

The official math books and history books can wait until next week. We’re taking a longer “break”…and wow are we enjoying it!

Thank you God for this wonderful time to relax with my family!
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**As a side note…check out Teresa’s Less of Me Month going on at Nanahood.com. We should all take part, don’t you think?!
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What are you grateful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog and come link up with us here! If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

Welcome to the very last Gratituesday of 2009! I’m so excited for all of us to have a chance to reflect on our year and on all the ways God took care of our needs during the year.

It’s good to look back at the entire year isn’t it? When I think about what I’m thankful for each week during Gratituesday, it’s always great to choose a specific blessing from God in the past few days. But, looking back over the entire year? It’s quite breath taking. And incredibly humbling.

I believe what I’m most grateful for is how God has grown our family into new ministries this year. I mentioned here about how God is using our home for ministry like he never has before. I love how He continues to put guests at our table, and continues to provide plenty food in our pantry (freezer, fridge, etc.) to share. It’s been amazing to experience.  I love that our children are naturally learning hospitality. I love that the six of us together are able to bless others while being WONDERFULLY blessed right back!

I love looking back at the ways our marriage and our boys have grown this year. While we have “real moments” all the time…our marriage continues to grow stronger and our boys are turning into awesome young men. 

And, as I mentioned last week, I’m so thankful for the job God has provided for Matt and that he loves what he’s doing. I wish I had the space to share all the ways God led us in his perfect timing to this job during the past two years. 
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What ways have you felt God’s incredible presence during 2009? What ways has God blessed your family and how has He provided?

Please share!!  Write your own Ultimate Gratituesday post on your blog and come link up here. If you don’t have a blog, please be sure to leave a comment to let us know how God has blessed you during the year!

Let’s celebrate God’s goodness together!

Just a reminder…

This upcoming Gratituesday will be the last Gratituesday of 2009.

Whether your year was especially a tough one…or full of unexpected joys…God is good. Take some time to reflect on the ways God took care of your family and blessed you this year.

Write about it on your blog, or come prepared to leave a grateful comment!

Meet up with us here on Tuesday, December 29 for Ultimate Gratituesday, 2009!