Last Giving Thanks post.

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say Rejoice!

So, the reason I haven't posted in so long isn't entirely my fault, as my Thanksgivings will show. 

#22 A surgeon who doesn't take call anymore offered to take Thanksgiving for Brett! So, we were able to spend Thanksgiving with his family and some friends. We had a great time of fun and food. The boys got to shoot rockets with Brett and his dad. 

#23 Day after Thanksgiving....COUSINS!!!

#24 The wonder of childhood.....

the thrill of fall....

...and the chubby cheeks of my cutest (and only) nephew.

#25 Family, and how even after time passes we can pick up where we left off.

#26 Woodland Walks 

#27 November birthdays! Besides Kieran, Brett's sister, my mom, and my awesome niece Ali (who is learning the cello!) all have November birthdays. I love them all. 

#28 Coming Home.... to Brett and a new rice cooker! Now how's that for one awesome man? My rice cooker has been on the fritz. While I was gone, he looked for a new one and bought it for me. This family could not survive without a rice cooker!

#29 The privilege of our kids being part of telling the story of the birth of Jesus, God with us: the One who came to rescue us from sin and eternal death, who came to give us freedom, and eternal life!

#30 A song that is special to me and Liam. It's so wonderful to praise God with my children. This is Liam's favorite song. He loves to sing it. Whenever I hear this song it reminds me of my wonderful Side By Side Bible study group back in Rochester. 

Psalm 9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High!

Hebrews 13:15 Therefore by Him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

Giving Thanks #20-21

Ps. 86:12 I will praise You, O LORD my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore.

Brett and I woke to this yesterday.....

Kieran reading Curious George to Ellie and Liam.

And this today.

The Lamppost. Makes me think of Narnia.

#20 Thank you, Lord, for books and imagination, and children who care for each other.

#21 Thank you, Lord, for beauty and creation that leaves us filled with wonder!

Ps. 69:34 Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them.

Giving Thanks #13 19

So, I've been really bad about getting on here. I'm realizing blogging everyday is hard. I should have set a more reasonable goal, like twice a week.

Since I'm behind I think I will just give you the last week all in one!

Psalm 71:8 Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day.

#13 God's goodness in providing for us. We trust Him to guide our steps.


#14 The simple things in life bring enjoyment. I'm thankful for discovery and learning about God's wonderful creation.

#15 Brett passed his Oral Board Exam!!

#16 The kids and I were able to take Brett and his office staff lunch to celebrate. I'm thankful he has kind staff that seem to work as a team and get along well.

#17 For our parents! We have the best parents in the whole world!

#18 Thankful for the opportunity to share our work in SouthEast Asia with Liam's AWANA class. We had a lot of fun answering questions and trying to keep Liam from being the know-it-all. But, he was pretty excited.

#19 Our family. We have so much fun together!

The jeep the boys built. Liam is driving and Kieran is giving directions with the map they made.

Giving Thanks #12

Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

I am thankful for these two brothers!

Best Friends...

Biggest Fans!

Giving Thanks #11

Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!


I'm thankful for my husband, Brett.
He's been like a rock, stable and strong.
He works hard to care for us and a multitude of people.
Our kids adore him, and so do I.

Giving Thanks #10

Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

I'm going to be a little frank today. I blew it big time. 

My attitude was absolutely terrible today. And unfortunately I let it loose on the ones I love most. 

I am thankful for God's convicting Spirit, His kindness that leads me to repentance. 

And, I am thankful for forgiveness.

Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens,

And your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

How precious is your lovingkindness, O God!

Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 36: 5 & 7

Giving Thanks #9

Psalm 57:7 " My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise."

I wish I had a picture for today. I should have taken one, but I didn't.

Our recess today was wii time with Daddy! 

Brett took the day off to study for his upcoming exam in Philadelphia. He needed a bit of a study break, and the kids were more than happy to oblige. 

Time with Daddy is so important. I'm thankful homeschooling allows us to have more of that time.

Giving Thanks #8

Psalm 75:1a "We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!"

A well-loved baby doll.....

And two sisters that don't mind sharing her. 

Giving Thanks #7

Psalm 68:19 "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!"

I'm thankful for a nice warm cup of cider on a cold late autumn day!

Giving Thanks #6

John 16:21b But as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

Seven years ago this little guy finally made his appearance! 

So small and sweet. 

Now such a big guy, but still has the best belly laugh.

Happy Birthday to Kieran!!

Giving Thanks #5

Proverbs 15:15b "But he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast."

Liam is the craziest. He loves to make people laugh and smile.

He came in this morning and said, "I skipped in my dream last night. There was a button that said skip and my brain pushed it. In my mind I said,' Don't do that brain.'"

He's also the one who makes up the goofy words around our house. 

Like goo-goo-guy. 

Don't ask me what that is, I don't know.

On the way to swimming lessons he said," What are these things I'm taking out of my nose?" I would tell you what he said after that, but, it's kind of gross.

Sometimes all you can do is laugh. I'm thankful for our Lime who keeps us laughing.

Giving Thanks #4

Colossians 1:3 "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you."

I'm thankful for the community of believers we have met here in Southern Illinois, in Minnesota, and  throughout the U.S. and across the world. It is so wonderful to worship God together.

Giving Thanks #3

Psalm 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.

Freckles!

As a kid I thought freckles were so cool. My sister has a lot of them. I'm sure she would have willingly parted with some of her freckles.

Within the last year or so, Liam has started getting freckles. Just a few over his nose and cheeks. But they are so cute. And he is so funny about them. He told me a few times, "Mom, if I eat more sugar then I get more freckles. You should give me more sugar so I can have more freckles." Haha, right.

Giving Thanks #2

Psalm 98:8 Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord!

Fall, Friends, and Field trips! 

We've been very thankful to meet people here. We still miss our friends in MN a lot. But, it is nice to have some friends here as well. Today we had Kieran and Liam's friend spend the day with us since the local school had the day off. They had so much fun running around in the field behind our house, solving mysteries and exploring. We took a short field trip to the nearby nature preserve and walked down to the Visitor's Pond.  

Thankfulness

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.  (Psalm 103:1-5)

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5)

Thanksgiving is such a great holiday. It's one that focuses on the giving of thanks, on praising God and recognizing others. When we give thanks, we find that we have been given so much, that we aren't alone, and that we aren't what life is all about. This Thanksgiving month, I'm going to try my best to have a Giving Thanks post every day. So, here is my first:

Psalm 1-3:8-12 says: "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

Praise God for His mercy! I am undeserving, but God is gracious and merciful.

Eliana Grace (The Lord has answered: Grace.)

One fun day at school

Fall is coming, the leaves are changing. It's a perfect time to go check out the trees at the nearby State Park. Since Wednesday was such a nice day, I decided not to waste it. So, we took our schoolwork and lunch to the park. It started out a little rough, as yellow jackets decided to join us for lunch and one of them got Liam on the ear. We picked up and did some hiking, exploring and finding some cool stuff at the stream.

After hiking, we moved to the playground area, did our schoolwork, played around, and laid back on a blanket to read. It was fun! But, I think we tired Eliana out. She barely made it through swimming lessons afterwards.

Can't get much cuter than this.

So hard to pick just one photo. These girls were just too cute today. I definitely need to work on my braiding skills, though. I'm fairly rusty.