games

 Uncle playing Angry Birds

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Thursday Challenge

Next week: SHINY (Mirror, Reflections, Chrome, Plastic, Glass,...)

june treats (1016 to 1023 of unending gifts)

"Flowers ... have a mysterious and subtle influence upon the feelings, not unlike some strains of music. They relax the tenseness of the mind. They dissolve its rigor."-Henry Ward Beecher

My list of unending gifts continues...

1016. On the 19th we celebrated our 31st anniversary. We've come a long way baby! The photo is of us on our wedding day (top), and us earlier this spring (bottom), against a background of the anniversary roses I got from my sweetheart.

1017. 

1018. I am so enjoying my hanging baskets. I think our cool weather is agreeing with them. Here's a little comparison: what they looked like when I first put them up on May 8th and now.

1019. My yellow lily bloomed! It's my Mother's Day gift from son last year. I love it when gifts keep giving.

1020. I found out the name of the trees that grow along the path behind our house. They're Hornbeam trees.

1021. It's strawberry season. We bought a flat from Driediger Farms. They are some of the juiciest berries I've ever had—such a treat. For a potluck tonight I'm making Strawberry Trifle (I'm trying out this recipe).

1022. Scenes from the mighty Fraser flood of 2012. Yesterday we went to check out one of our favorite trails—the Fort to Fort from the Heritage House to Derby Reach. Here's E. on the path. Any more rise in water level and that path will be gone. The last little bit of the path into Derby Reach is under water.

But that's nothing compared to the campsite. Here we are at the picnic area.

And this is the campsite. Each pole designates a camp spot.

1023. And this is my 2000th blog post. That is another reason for thankfulness!

Now to tackle the last week of June! What are you up to this week? And where is the time racing to? 

This post is linked to the "Multitudes on Mondays" meme at  A Holy Experience.

made it! (971-1002 of 1000 gifts)

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." - Robert Collier

If you've been reading my blog regularly or from time to time, you will realize I've been doing some strange count-my-blessings thing here. It originated with Ann Voskamp who, after accepting the challenge of finding and naming 1000 gifts/blessings/things for which to be thankful, found herself focusing on a life of gratefulness. She wrote a book about it and in the community that has grown up around her blog and that book, invites participants to share blessings. That's what my posts have been a part of.

At the beginning of this year she threw out a new challenge. To enable  people to reach 1000 blessings in one year she issued "The Joy Dare" which challenges folks to name three gifts a day.

She puts out a monthly prompt for these blessings. To help me reach my 1000 more quickly (and to discipline myself to look for something every day) I've been following May's prompts. And with that bit of help, TA-DA! I reach 1000 gifts this week, a journey I began on July 2010 with "a dose of thankfulness."

I will repeat the prompts from her May Joy Dare list, along with the blessings I found through it:

May 7th: Three gifts about my home:
971. The upstairs laundry.
972. A sunny kitchen.
973. Two decks and a patio—with lots of through-breezes, sun and fresh air.

May 8th: Three gifts inside a closet:
974. Our summer quilt, now out of the closet and on the bed.
975. My gardening shoes, now also often out of the closet and on my feet.
976. Summer T's and other light clothes for warming days.

May 9th. Three gifts in the dark:
977. The fridge  and the food it holds. It's always light when I ope the door and look inside, but most of the time the door is closed and it's dark.
978. Piano notes—hammered out in the dark.
979. God's secret plans. When I'm in the dark my faith is stretched.

May 10th A gift outside, one inside, one upside down:
980. Outside—my hanging baskets from Costco.

981. Inside—my quiet office. How much has been wrought here.
982. Upside-down—my feelings as I anticipate the journey ahead for my book: happy to be done but a little dismayed by the publicity/marketing job ahead.

May 11th three gifts from parents:
983. My mom's push to do things early, do things now.
984. My mom's love of plants.
985. The memory of Daddy talking to the farm animals.

May 12 - Three gifts held in hand:
986. A bowl of roses and baby's breath (a wifey Mother's Day present from hubby).

987. Ibuprofen.
988. Washrags, for cleaning up the patio furniture on a summery day.

May 13 - Three gifts in my mother:
989. Her creativity and how she encouraged us to be imaginative and resourceful.
990. Her kindness—she was very aware of hurting people's feelings and didn't often do it.
991. Her enthusiasm for her current project, showing us the attractiveness of a zest for life.

993. On Mother's Day, I'm so grateful for my family, who honoured me in many ways. Thank you, my lovely peeps!

May 14th - A gift picked, put away, and put back.
994. I picked up my white flower-painted enamel teapot, a daily pick-up I use all summer to water my patio baskets.
995. I put away folded and fragrant laundry.
996. At the end of the day I put back all my pens and pencils. They now rest in their respective mugs on my desk, waiting for tomorrow.

May 15th - Three gifts about me:
997. I'm usually on time.
998. I try to finish things
999. I'm healthy, more or less—mostly more.

May 16th - Three gifts about God's Word:
1000. It is the source of wisdom - James 3:13-16 gives a good definition.
1001. It gives direction - Proverbs 3:5-6.
1002. It gives us fodder for hopes and dreams - Zechariah 8:20-23.

I will stop at this point. But thankfulness doesn't end at 1000 (or 1002). I know that this project has sharpened my awareness  of how much good fills my life. So, though I won't continue to list any more of last week's gifts here, I don't know if I'll be able to completely kick the habit of broadcasting such lists on my blog.  I hope you'll indulge me if  I share more of  my gratefulnesses here from time to time.

And now for the last time:

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If  you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand  
Gifts,  please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post  
their gifts  on blogs, while others list them in private journals.  
Instructions on  how to join are here.

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christmas holiday (#816-828 of 1000 gifts)

"A holiday gives one a chance to look backward and forward to reset oneself by an inner compass." - May Sarton

Our Christmas weekend was fabulous with a crowded house and lots of activity. Monday after everyone left, it was eerily quiet except for the chug, chug of the washing machine and soon the whine of the vacuum cleaner. Inside my head it was quiet too, with the muffling fog of fatigue.

That fog has slowly lifted as I've caught up on my sleep. I'm ever so grateful for this quiet little hallway between Christmas and the beginning of 2012—a time to lounge about, tie up loose ends, read, watch TV, visit friends, dream a little.

Here are my gifts from the last week or so...

816. Safe Christmas travels.

817. Baby smiles

818. Little boys being little boys.

819. Big boys playing with little boys.

820. A full table.

821. A birthday cake for Jesus.

822. A bookful of exploring to look forward to (the book: An Introduction to Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem—just what I asked for!)


823. A no-stairs laundry area.


824. Cozy new PJs.


825. Leftovers.

826. Thoughts turning to new beginnings.


827. The knowledge that losing all those Christmas treats around my middle is as simple (and hard) as not eating.

828. Just back from our daily morning walk, I'm loving the unseasonable warmth (10.5 C = 50.9 F).

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

more daily gathering (#717-726 of 1000 gifts)

"The important things in life cannot be gotten in advance. They must be gathered every day." 

- George Regas

It's been a busy week of urgent things and important things that all got done somehow. This gathering of gratitude gifts has made every week feel like Thanksgiving. This year the celebration of the actual day was not a shock to my mindset one little bit. Maybe that's the way life should be all the time.

Here are some of the many gifts of the week that was.

717. The ivy necklace that bejewels the tree beside our house. 

718. Frozen blueberries with yogurt.

719. A singing hubby.


720. Beds made and the house tidied for guests.


721. Another lavender harvest. Stripping the twigs and sifting is the second step in the process (the first was cutting, tying and hanging the plants in the barn to dry back in August). Our women's group will then be assembling or manufacturing and then selling lavender products (sachet, soap, body scrub, foot scrub) to raise money for plastic surgery for Ugandan women and girls who have suffered facial mutilation during days of civil war in Northern Uganda.

(Do you see that lifeless bee in the midst of the blossoms? She reminds me of a line from an old song: "Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease..." [from "Am I A Soldier of the Cross"]).

722. Renewing acquaintance with my wooden toy collection. I got them out to show the grandkids.

723. Enjoying our newest little one...

724. ...and the three of them.

725. Flowers from my sis, who also brought fresh blackberries and corn on the cob. Thank you Bea!

726. So thankful for our bountiful Thanksgiving table!

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

rooted in life (#697-709 of 1000 gifts)

"Warm, eager, living life—to be rooted in life—to learn, to desire to know, to feel, to think, to act. That is what I want." - Katherine Mansfield

I've just come back from experiencing such a slice of life. A week ago today (Monday, the 19th) daughter gave birth to number three, a beautiful baby girl. She had planned to have a home birth but it didn't work out (probably just as well). Mom and babe were discharged from the hospital within hours, though. I was there to watch the little boys meet their sister and enjoy baby Myelle's first five days of life. What a blessing!

697. The miracle of new life—our new baby at eight hours old.

698. Little boys falling in love with their baby sister.

699. The imagination of kids. That is not a kiddy bath towel on Liam's head, but a Batman cape. He is looking down to watch how Batmanish it looks as its shadow waves out behind him as he swings. And on the other swing, little Davey is flying.

700. I took one walk beside the Thompson River while I was in Kamloops and enjoyed fall's loveliness in shape....

701. ...texture and line...

702. ... and color.

703. The rest of the time, I was run off my feet with the busy-ness of family—making meals, washing dishes, folding laundry, finding snacks, soothing a newborn... I loved every minute of it!

704. One day I took the boys out to the Little Farmers Petting Zoo (within walking distance of where they live). We hadn't brought any money to buy food for the goats but little Davey, who knows the drill, popped open the hatch of the food dispenser and found a few pellets someone else had left behind. The goats came right up to the fence and ate out of the kids' hands. Later we found some crabapples on the ground, gathered a few of those and had some more goat time.

705. We loved the exotic hens. "Take a picture, Granma!" (You don't have to ask me twice!)

706. Later in the week, son came up to meet his little niece. Take a look at this uncle love.

707. So enjoyed being with my daughter, the lovely mom, and her husband—who is a wonderful dad, shopper, baby changer, dishwasher, etc. Just wish I could have stayed longer, but duty beckons at home.

708. It was treat to have son ride back with me—as the driver no less! (I'm not a fan of long-distance driving.)


709. Hubby made it back from his Ottawa trip on Saturday too, safe, sound and full of his own adventures. We had a great debrief Saturday night.

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If you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts, please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on how to join are here.

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