on time!!

can you believe it??  i am posting my list of gifts on the day it is “due” so to speak.  i have to type quick, though… who knows when the next meltdown will occur.

186.  elephant and piggie books

187.  do a dot markers

188. vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and peanuts

189. my crock pot

190.  new meal plans… complete with shopping lists

191. DST… it actually worked in my favor this year as i got off work an hour early :)

192. a husband who is working his tail off to get new clients so i can cut back at work sooner rather than later

193.  my KISA’s new job teaching accounting for a local university. 

194. completing 4 weeks of our new curriculum (yep, i changed mid year!)

195. the return of “booger brain”

196. bonobo drawing a picture for his sister

197. bonobo’s sheer delight in exclaiming “Satan has been defeated!  He can’t touch me!!” with a fist pump for emphasis

198.  finding bonobo’s Message bible under his pillow… he sleeps with it every night

199.  tic tac’s very intricate drawings.  he loves to make them as full of details as possible

200. tic tac’s love of all things bug

201. audiobooks with accompanying bound books.  tic tac is devouring these and increasing his reading skills immensely

202. stinkerbell’s love of dress up and all things girlie

203.  stinkerbell hanging out in the bathroom with me while i shower so she and i can have (in her words) girl time

204.  a little girl’s desires to be like mommy… a lot of her statements lately start with “when i’m a mommy like you” or “when i’m taller than you”

205. the moose’s love of walking instead of crawling

206. the diaper rash that is FINALLY gone!!

207. normal poop (ok, weird, i know, but if you read this post you will understand why i write this!)

208. a gracious, loving compassionate God.  He loves me despite me.

209. miraculous shirts that stop bullets from entering a young man’s abdomen and killing him (i’ll fill you in on that one later)

210.  newly budding trees

211. plans for a greenhouse in my backyard!!!

212. the thought of fresh veggies, straight from the ground and my own hard work!

213.  the teaching opportunities that will arise from having our own greenhouse garden: patience, diligence, commitment to name a few

how about you?  are you counting up your gifts?  it is never too late to start! head on over to Ann’s and check it out :)

another use for books…

the boys had a little extra time on their hands while daddy was working in his office and i was sleeping after a long shift. 

stinkerbell became a casualty when her forehead got hit by the flying stepstool.

don’t ask.

the plus side?

all the books were nicely arranged in the shelves afterwards.

could have been bad…

as i went to work on monday afternoon, the snow was falling.  it was coming down pretty good, too.  i saw a few cars slipping, and was pretty cautious driving. 

by 6 pm, the snow was sticking and the roads were starting to freeze.

i left at 3 am (my normal shift).  there were 3 or so inches of snow on the car, and a thick layer of ice on all the windows.  i had forgotten to bring my gloves, so i had to scrape without them. 

needless to say, my fingers were pretty numb by the time i was done.

i got in and drove home, going about 40 mph on the interstate.

as i pulled into the drive, i went to undo my seatbelt.

my heart flew up into my throat as i realized

i had never fastened it.

in all my years of driving, i have never, and i do mean never, driven without my seat belt fastened.

never.

i immediately said a prayer of thanks as i realized just how bad my drive home could have been. 

just one patch of ice, just one other driver hitting a bad patch, i could have been gone. 

just like that.

i am so grateful for the crew of angels that drove home with me.