Note: I recently read the book One Thousand Gifts, and now I’m making my own list of one thousand gifts. As they accumulate, I post them on Mondays and keep the running list on this tab, titled All is Grace.

90. starry diamonds glittering in the newest blanket of snow

91. snow dolloped like whipped cream on the trees

92. a warm little hand to hold in mine

93. busy fingers dusted with flour

94. pie dough

95. a tiny pink rolling-pin and oilcloth aprons

96. my mama’s homemade chocolate pudding recipe

97. freckles sprinkled across her nose like cinnamon on toast

98. crusts in blue pottery pans, cooling and waiting to be filled

99. their joy in made-from-scratch chocolate pies

100. the mixer’s promising hum as it whirls

101. dollops of whipped cream, freckled with chocolate

102. the first delicious slice of her little pie

103. carnations

104. shadows tangled up in the trees

105. her first batch of brownies

106. lacy piles of powdered sugar, generously sprinkled with zeal

107. the “snow kitchen” they built in our front yard

108. a Friday evening shared with very dear friends

109. his strong hands strumming that acoustic guitar

110. how she fixes my “hilarious hair”

111. the cold little glove-less hand that gets warm sharing my coat pocket 

112. snowball fights in the winter sunshine

113. the little voice that sing-shouts “Do you know what’s in the Bible?” and “I don’t know Hebrew, but if you do, I’d like to meet you.”

114. the dishwasher loader who frets, “Gravity must be really strong today…”

115. bedtime kisses and hugs