Month: September 2011

Counting to 1,000 (960-979)

Diana B.Leave a comment

“Giver of every breath I breathe
Author of all eternity
Giver of every perfect thing
To You be the glory”

{lyrics from “All Because of Jesus” by Steve Fee}

Over the weekend, I was among a crowd of 370 women singing “All Because of Jesus” during chapel at a women’s retreat. What a memorable way to praise the Giver of every perfect thing! That retreat was indeed the perfect gift given at the perfect time. To God be the glory! I so needed that time of refreshment with ladies from church!

I am still adding gifts — from the Giver of every perfect thing — to my One Thousand Gifts list, which continues this week with items 960 through 979:

960. little boys in sweatshirts and vests, all eager to play outside

961. the itsy-bitsy Keen boots and the ticklish little feet that wear them

962. a tall, tall tree to climb and hug

963. more lessons in wisdom from Proverbs and from this sermon in James 1

964. six great ladies rooming with me in “Cinnamon Bear” — a cabin full of bunk beds and smiles

965. a dear friend who encourages and inspires me

966. brightly colored leaves on the birch trees

967. the refreshment gained through retreating with 20 wonderful women from church

968. forgiveness (Psalm 103:11-12)

969. lessons in faith, hope and love

970. brightly colored fingernails painted by Ivy

971. wind rushing through the tops of the birch trees

972. the smell of horses and leather as I take the reins, riding tall on a trusty but slow little horse named Sultan

973. mingling on horseback with seven deer as they slowly cross and re-cross our path through the woods

974. singing joyful praises to God in the chapel with 370 women

975. the clash of the symbols — praising Him

976. quiet moments resting in the top bunk

977. lessons in true friendship and stories that evoke riotous laughter

978. being welcomed home Sunday afternoon with tight hugs and blazing new maple trees just planted in the backyard

979. the kind crew that will carry our care-package for Dawit to another hemisphere

You’re invited! Check out other bloggers’ posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below. Or click here  to check out all previous posts in my “Counting to 1,000” series.

Counting to 1,000 (935-959)

Diana B.1 Comment

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

-Revelation 7:12 

My One Thousand Gifts list continues this week with items 935 through 959:

935. how the autumn sun casts shadows of dancing leaves on the kitchen wall

936. sailing wing-on-wing across the lake on a gusty Sunday afternoon

937. sharing life with new friends

938. the quiet pitter-patter of ballet shoes slipping across the wood floor

939. how passionately she participates in her first ballet lessons

940. the helpful pharmacist

941. piles of piano books

942. the tap dancers’ uncontainable energy

943. holding sweet little Dorothy during the entire lesson

944. family devotions on Elohim (with Sally Michael’s fabulous new book: God’s Names)

945. how the horse eagerly eats an apple from my hand

946. rides on Chevy the Horse on a crisp, autumn morning

947. little girls in boots, all smiley on the platform of stairs

948. how they all line up to feed Nana the younger horse

949. Chevy’s clever tricks and kisses

950. new space for art class and the amazing teacher who likes it despite the dead frog that somehow landed on her head

951. the orange sherbet moon melting into the cloudy night sky

952. six sweet girls who listen and read and play together

953. how the young artist takes her lines for a walk and then colors a rainbow of chalk

954. lessons in longitude and latitude and all things geography

955. small group Bible studies overflowing with participants

956. how colorfully she wears her passion for the backyard swings

957. how she blushes when I catch her belting out tunes into her jump rope “microphone”

958. homemade chicken and dumplings, Gramma-style

959. the little ears and hands that somehow find the notes on the violin

You’re invited! Check out other bloggers’ posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below. Or click here  to check out all previous posts in my “Counting to 1,000” series.

Counting to 1,000 (905-934)

Diana B.Leave a comment

“Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp.” -Psalm 147:7 

My One Thousand Gifts list continues this week with items 905 through 933:

905. how she clamours with excitement anticipating the first day of Kindergarten

906. lessons in wisdom from Proverbs

907. big smiles and nifty new lunchboxes

908. snack time

909. snuggling up on the couch with books that take us around the world

910. their prayers for the homeless

911. 11 girls and 4 boys in our new Sunday School class

912. how quietly they sit and how closely they pay attention

913. the faithful teachers who serve

914. Psalm 96 and Psalm 47 — Let the nations be glad!

915. how she signs to me from the other room and blows kisses

916. two students so eager to learn

917. mountains of laundry overflowing the basket

918. the freedom to homeschool

919. City Square Park for recess

920. the neighbor friend who wants to play, too

921. her passion for swinging

922. new jump ropes — just like I had in P.E.

923. freezer meals

924. smoking BBQ in the backyard with new friends

925. a gusty afternoon of sailing and conversing with new friends

926. her generous offer for free babysitting

927. Spanish lessons

928. their kind thank-yous

929. live jousting, crazy log wars, elephant rides, glittery fairies, daring flame jugglers and kind harpist who lets them strum the instrument

930. exploring a fascinating festival with very dear friends

931. happy, dirty feet because we walked far with friends beside us

932. a gift of fresh cucumbers from the garden of a new friend

933. friendships characterized like Proverbs 27:17

934. lessons in contentment and friendship

You’re invited! Check out other bloggers’ posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below. Or click here  to check out all previous posts in my “Counting to 1,000” series.

Let the Listening, Adding and Learning Begin

Diana B.1 Comment

This morning we kicked off another year of learning at Starlight School. Aren’t my students cute? We all appreciate the new lunch boxes; in fact, I think I need my very own new lunch box, too.

These from Goodbyn come with dozens and dozens of dishwasher-safe stickers so you can customize and decorate them yourself. What’s more, they stack quite nicely in the refrigerator. One noticeable drawback is their lack of insulation. But here in the frozen tundra, keeping lunch cool usually is not too much of a problem. If you live in a warmer climate, keep this in mind before ordering one yourself.

I was so jazzed about using these that — for the first time ever — I packed the girls’ lunches the night before. How revolutionary!

This completely helps me fight grumpiness around mid-day; my own grumpiness, that is. Some days when we are still deep in the books and the clock ticks ever closer to noon, I really wish I could just send them to the cafeteria for a while! I can’t; but having lunches all ready to go seems like the next best thing for easing my mid-day stress. Of course, this is just Day 1, so maybe I will follow up in a few weeks and let you know if this is still such a grand idea for homeschool moms.

The school room itself finally came together last week. Tah-dah!

Notice the geography theme? And the owls? I am so excited about the owls. We have an owl theme going this year to help us remember some of our key verses. This week’s verse is from Proverbs 1:5 — “Let the wise listen and add to their learning…”

The school room is truly a blessing, and I am very thankful to have the space to keep school books and projects organized. But since the room is in our basement and lacks windows, most days we can only bear to stay down there a few hours before we must come upstairs for air and sunshine and food (for the latter, see lunchbox discussion above).

We had plenty of sunshine and fresh air today. The weather is downright perfect this week! Right after lunch we headed to our favorite park for recess and a few “not” back-to-school photos. The playground equipment at this particular park is scheduled for a major upgrade in a few weeks, and I am feeling a tad bit nostalgic about saying goodbye to the swings, merry-go-round and slides that both my kids have thoroughly adored since before they could walk. Sniff.

Plus, doesn’t the weathered equipment make a nice background for school pictures?

Another favorite feature of the park, besides its massive trees, is the gazebo.

Lots of brides have their pictures taken here, and for a good reason. It offers nice lighting in the afternoon and an array of leading lines to add interest to your photos.

So that’s a quick wrap of our first day of school. Now I gotta run and pack tomorrow’s lunches.

Counting to 1,000 (869-904)

Diana B.1 Comment

“I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.”

-Psalm 7:17

Giving thanks as my One Thousand Gifts list grows ever so close to the goal. Here are items 869 through 904:

869. giggles and silliness with “chin men” faces

870. a building to borrow for homeschool classes

871. a tiny butterfly hiding in the bright orange mums

872. teamwork within the church

873. two full days devoted to school preparations

874. the thoughtful, fun daddy who takes them on a day trip to St. Paul

875. his strong hands strumming the red guitar he built himself

876. road-tripping to Northfield with a dear friend

877. relaxing hours spent chatting and catching up with girlfriends at Goodbye Blue Monday

878. a steaming mug of Mexican hot chocolate

879. the princess picture she created for her little sister

880. ice cubes to numb a fat lip

881. frisbee fun in the backyard

882. reflections in the bird bath

883. bumblebees hiding in the hostas

884. the growing little maple tree she inadvertently planted

885. an end-of-summer teddy bear tea party

886. dear friends for my daughters

887. bear brownies

888. raindrops sparkling like jewels on the windshield

889. a bookshelf full of new books

890. bulletin boards

891. new school supplies

892. a freshly re-organized school room

893. fun geography ideas shared on Pinterest

894. the smell of hot dogs and burgers sizzling on the grill while the cicadas sing the song of summer’s end

895. hands ready to minister to a newly single parent

896. a full roster for my “Girls of Character” study

897. how gently she holds the egg that didn’t hatch

898. Jamie Grace pounding out “Hold Me” on her guitar

899. their kind, encouraging words

900. the broken dryer and piles of dirty laundry

901. the smart husband who knows how to take the dryer apart, fix it and put it back together again

902. the beautiful hummingbird that perches long at the feeder

903. the 108-minutes-and-31-seconds phone conversation with my big brother

904. my nephew’s 4 years and the sound of his sweet little voice on the other end of the phone

You’re invited! Check out other bloggers’ posts in the One Thousand Gifts community by clicking the graphic below. Or click here  to check out all previous posts in my “Counting to 1,000” series.