New Year's Eve

Pin It So, it's New Year's Eve ... and I've got nuthin'.  I keep feeling like I should post some resolutions ... or let's call them what they really are:  promises I don't intend to keep.  Just keeping it real.  Of course, as always, I want to be healthier, save more, spend more time in the Word, be kinder, be less lazy ... you know the drill.  All things that will go really well for a day or two, some may even last for a month.  I'm so thankful that the Lord's mercies are new every morning, and I don't have to do a total life makeover in a day, and once I mess up, I'm "off the hook" for 357 days until next New Year's rolls around.

There were some definite successes and failures for 2010.  To be honest, I'm pretty happy about closing the door on 2010, and well, I'll just leave it at that.

We've started some habits this year that I definitely want to continue:
- I'm really enjoying the way our school schedule is working out this year.  Planning for a month in pencil and then week by week in pen works for me and seems to be working for the kids as well.
- We are really making an effort to be more frugal (and healthy!) with our eating.  I am making a concerted effort to use leftovers - seriously - just ask the kids how many times we've had turkey this week!
- We are doing so much better in the "keeping the house neat" category.  I have slacked off a little over the last few months and need to pick that up again, but for the most part, we really are doing better there.  I'd love to go to bed every night with the house picked up.  I've told the family that I start out much better waking up to a clean house, and when mama starts off happy, it goes better for everyone.  ;)
- I've just finished a pretty in-depth Bible study and really enjoyed getting into that habit again.  I'm looking forward to starting a new one soon. 

I think rather than focus this year on all of the things I want to change, I'd rather be thankful for the positive changes that were made in 2010.  There will be more to come, and some definite changes that need to be made, but rather than a list of do's and don't's for 2011, I think I'd rather start from where I am and see where the Lord leads me. 

:)

Wordless Wednesday - the Christmas post

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Finally getting the Christmas pictures from my house ready to share.  :)

One of my Christmas presents:

We made cookies the night before:

We got up early and opened presents:

 

We played Jenga:

And we had a fabulous meal (whose leftovers we are still eating.  LOL)  I didn't take any pictures of that though. 

It was a very nice Christmas!  The kids enjoyed their presents and a good time was had by all. 

Not Me ... Tuesday?

Pin It Just so we're clear, it is not me who is making the girls do some schoolwork the week between Christmas and New Year's.  If some stories to that effect should surface, just know that they're all lies.  ALL LIES, okay.  Because I'd never make my kids take their vacation and do schoolwork.  Nope, not me.

And if I did happen to do that?  It wouldn't be because it was driving me crazy to finish the semester on an odd class number.  Nor would it be because I couldn't handle the sound of the TV blaring an inane (and probably inappropriate) show.  School vacations are supposed to be filled with laziness and TV and a general uselessness, right?  Glad that hasn't happened at our house this week.

We are not currently frying some cereal.  I know you're glad to know that.  I did not cram the microwave full of stuff I didn't want sitting on the counter ... like cereal and crackers and the like.  One of these cereal boxes did not get a little .. um .. suicidal and jumped right from the microwave into hot oil when the oldest opened the microwave.  Cereal did not go everywhere, as didn't hot oil, which didn't burn the oldest's arm.  (btw - if this HAD happened, I wouldn't be marveling that she's not screaming like ... ahem ... someone else recently did with a burn.)  (And if it was pointed out by said oldest that she wasn't screaming, I wouldn't pull out the tiny dots on the arm versus ENTIRE PALM to justify.)  Glad all that didn't happen.  And glad I don't have the *lovely* smell of fried cereal in my house.  Glad I'm not just looking at it thinking there is no way I can do a thing about it until it's not so hot.  And especially glad I don't have a humongous mess to clean up.

and btw ... don't think for a second that it didn't occur to me that if I could some how find a way to put it on a stick, I could very well have the next fair food craze.  Fried cereal on a stick.  Yum.  Unfortunately fried Captain Crunch smells pretty bad.  Or I assume it does.  I really wouldn't know.

And for the record, as we're easing back into Dave Ramsey "we need to have an emergency fund" mode, I didn't make a two week menu using all of the leftovers, and then leave the house to go out to lunch before going to the grocery store.  I'd never be all hypocritical like that.  Nope, not me.

So ... with all that said ... there seems to be a mess in my kitchen that is requiring some attention.  Sigh.

1000 Gifts - 61-70

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The challenge is to list One Thousand Gifts, or one thousand things for which we are thankful.  In a crazy busy world, or when your natural bent is to lean towards complaining rather than being thankful, it's an enormous blessing to just take a few minutes and think about the true gifts we have been given. 

61.  The blessing of cousins ... although one is missing.

62.  And silly girl cousins.

63.  Who know how to make us laugh.

64.  For my sister and her kids. (and my nephew, for whom the words "it's 40 degrees outside!" - which is freezing when you live in TX! - apparently mean nothing.)

65.  For my mom and sister.

66.  And for my dad and the picture I would put right here if I didn't think my mom would kill me.

67.  That my favorite gift to give this year was very happily received.

68.  For the blessing and assurance that marriage really can be strengthened by adversity, as modeled by my parents.

69.  For three little nephews whose lives have drastically changed over the last twelve months and are doing well.

70.  And for my own husband and children, and for our wonderful Christmas together.  There are no pics of us yet because I've been lazy and have barely even looked through them, much less edited and gotten them ready to share.  We had a fabulous Christmas here on Christmas Eve though, and then went to my parents' house on Christmas day and had a fabulous time there too.

I am linking up with www.aholyexperience.com today.  Won't you consider joining in and starting your own list? 

God is With Us ... Emmanuel

Pin It Happy Christmas Eve, friends.  Rejoice.  God is in us, God is for us, God is with us.  Emmanuel!



God is With Us
Casting Crowns

The skies don't seem to be as dark as usual
The stars seem brighter then they've been before
Deep within I feel my soul a stirring
As though my hope has been restored
The shepherds say they've heard the voice of angels
Confirming rumors spread across the land
That a child protected well from Herod's anger
Is our Father's Son, and the son of man

Love is raining down on the world tonight
There's a presence here I can tell
God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel
He's the Savior we have been praying for
In our humble hearts He will dwell
God is in us, God is for us, God is with us, Emmanuel

I feel compelled to tell all who will listen
That peace on earth is not so out of reach
If we can find grace, mercy and forgiveness
He has come to save, He is all of these

You're the Savior we have been praying for
In our humble hearts You will dwell
You are in us, You are for us, You are with us, Emmanuel

I Heard the Bells

Pin It Sharing a couple of my favorite Christmas songs over the next few days ...

It is not Christmas until this song comes out.  It's rare for me to listen to it without tearing up, it speaks HOPE to me in a major way.




I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on earth good will to men

And the bells are ringing
Like a choir they're singing
In my heart I hear them
Peace on earth, good will to men


And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men

But the bells are ringing
Like a choir singing
Does anybody hear them?
Peace on earth, good will to men

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men

Then ringing singing on its way

The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men

And the bells they're ringing
Like a choir they're singing
And with our hearts we'll hear them
Peace on earth, good will to men

Do you hear the bells they're ringing?
The life the angels singing
Open up your heart and hear them
Peace on earth, good will to men

Peace on earth, Peace on earth
Peace on earth, Good will to men

Wordless Wednesday

Pin It Christmas activities, volume 2!  Preschool program, Narnia play, and AWANA hayride.

The cutest shepherd in the world:

 These three are together a lot.  I suspect their preschool teacher has her hands full with them!

The AWANA annual hayride.  (See, it's the same three again.  They are missing one though, and he is really needed to complete the set!)

 Second from the left is mine; what a fabulous group of girlies!

I don't think there is an explanation for this.  Got to admire her sense of individuality though!  :-P (And yes, her personality is every bit as sparkly as you might suspect it would be.)

In the Narnia play our co-op did, we had flower girls who changed the scene from winter to spring.

 Great.  Let's give my two girls weapons and have them go at each other.  In church.  The middle one was a member of the white witch's army ... and I lovingly referred to her as a minion.  :-P

And I think that finishes our December activities, other than our family Christmas stuff, which I will probably pull into a Wordless Wednesday post next week.  Because I'm so good with the wordless part of that and all.

The Christmas Card

Pin It Okay, y'all. It probably will not surprise those of you who know me well to learn that I become an absolute psychopath when it comes to the family Christmas card. I get a vision in my mind of what it should look like and really want the final product to match that vision.

This was not my vision.

Nor was this.

Almost right.

Not quite right.

Getting closer.

This was a possibility.

WRONG.

 And then I gave up.  I did actually use the "all tied up" picture and the caption said "Wishing you lots of peace, joy, and family bonding this Christmas season!"  BUT, when I picked the pictures up, it was AWFUL.  I ended up getting the entire order refunded because apparently the printer was having issues.  In the meantime, I found a great deal online and just whipped up a card using individual pictures of the kids.

I didn't actually love these pictures either, but in a pinch they would do just fine.

Irony?  Sunday after church, I realized they were all wearing matching clothes so I snapped a pic in the sanctuary.

That was pretty darn close to my vision.  Taken the day after the Christmas cards went out. 



Merry Christmas everyone!!  :)

(And note to self:  next year, start the quest for the perfect Christmas picture in AUGUST!)

1000 Gifts - 51-60

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51.  For Christmas break, and being able to really take a break because everything that needs to be done is done.

52.  For my Nook, upon which I have loaded several books and am really enjoying sitting in a warm house, cuddled up with a warm blanket, reading good books.

53.  For Candy Cane Kisses.  By far and away the best dessert treat of this season!  (And for my daughter who dug through the shelves at Target and found the last package.)  (And I should probably be thankful that there was only one package because I hide these things and eat them all myself.)

54.  For Christmas trees, which having been out for a couple of weeks, have had every ornament moved to the eye level of a five year old, crammed onto just a few branches.  The time for a perfect looking tree will come, but for now, I'll enjoy the five year old decorative style.

55.  For sweet snuggly boys who slip into my room at night for just one more kiss and hug.

56.  Peppermint mocha at Starbucks.  I think I shall treat myself today!

57.  For the Christmas Eve service at church, which is beautiful and special.  We have attended every year and just love it.

58.  For my church family.  We are so tremendously blessed to be a part of our church.

59.  For my co-op junior high class.  I've had this same group of kids - some added or subtracted through the years - since my daughter was in first grade, and she's now in 7th.  I love these kids and have so enjoyed watching them grow up.  It was amazing to watch them perform Narnia last Friday night and just remember them being the little six and seven year olds that they were when I met them.

60.  For having a week to just be still and reflect on Christmas.  The Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us.  And we being able to behold His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Would we recognize Him?

Pin It I was just pondering these verses from John 1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The first group - John 1:1-4 - were verses that the girls memorized in AWANAS.  The second group - John 1:10-14 - were in a song from a musical that I learned years and years ago, so I'm well familiar with the verses.  I was wondering as I was sitting on a comfortable, padded, church pew the other day, with the temperature in the room just right (no easy feat here in TX, where it's 80 degrees one day and 50 the next!) dressed in my nice Christmas clothes, would WE recognize Him?  If He walked into the room, would He look like we thought he should?

I used to not "get" how people did not recognize Jesus.  I'd read stories in the Bible and just wonder how it was that they couldn't see who He was.  Hadn't they read the Scripture?  I really didn't understand.  Now as I'm older and hopefully a little more wiser, I DO understand.  I think we set a preconceived notion in our heads of what He looks like, or SHOULD look like; picture Him as what our need of Him would look like.  Then what happens if He were to walk in and doesn't look like that at all?  Would I be ambivalent, as I would be with any stranger?  Or would I flat out reject Him because He didn't fit in the box I made?

Do I know Him well enough that I would recognize Him?  Am I able to look past ME long enough to really know Him and see who He really is?

These are the thoughts in my head the past couple of days, amidst the busyness of this Christmas season. 

Wordless Wednesday

Pin It The first half of our Christmas adventures and December programs!

The girls' Christmas dance program:

(Should be obvious which one is mine in the little kids; in the bigger kids, mine is on the left.  Most of the pics of her were blurry.  I was able to take pics during her sister's dress rehearsal so the lights were all on which made for much better pics.)

Last night, the Christmas parade.

My poor oldest was sitting right directly behind me, so again, no good pics of her.  Sigh.  I'll have to dedicate a photo post to her very soon!

Part 2 of the Christmas photos coming soon!  (You know, after we actually do the rest of our activities!)

I have a feeling ...

Pin It ... that it's going to be one of THOSE weeks.

You know the ones.  The ones where there is too much to do and too little time to squeeze it all in?  The ones where you need to make a list to make sure important details are not forgotten?  And then you need to make a list to remind you where you put the original list?  Yeah, that kind of week.

And the funny thing?

I put all the stuff we have to do on the calendar.  THAT calendar.  The schedule calendar.  Play practices, recital, parade, preschool Christmas program, play performance, end of year parties, etc.  Yes, that is all this week.

Oh, and I planned school this week too.

Pardon me for a moment while I ROLL ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING at the absurdity of that.  Granted - we don't have anything going on during the day Tuesday and Wednesday, and will likely do some school on those days, but the rest of the days?  No way.  And truth be told, I will probably be too exhausted on Tuesday to do much of anything other than recover from all the running around we're doing today.

In case you're wondering, this is how you know when your schedule is running you rather than you running your schedule:

If you are a list maker and the words "revise schedule" appear in your to-do list, perhaps your schedule is running you.

Oh well, live and learn, right? 

You'll be happy to know that on my to-do list, next to "revise schedule" is the word TUESDAY, because I simply have not had time to do it yet, and don't expect to really have time to work on it today.  

My "word" of 2010 was content.  (Expect a big blog post on that sometime in the next week or so ... um, maybe next week ... LOL)  Perhaps my word of 2011 should be FLEXIBLE. 

Everyone will be happy to know that I made a dessert last night and no ER visits were required.  ;) 

I hope you all have a fabulous day.  I hope everyone can squeeze out a few moments during the crazy busyness to reflect on the reason for the season, and just rest and ponder the silent night ... God with us ... revealed to us ... His Name is called Immanuel.

Giveaway winner!

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Woohoo, TerriG!  Check your inbox for an email from me!  I hope you enjoy this book!  :)

Giveaway! Gazelles, Baby Steps, and 37 Other Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt

Pin It Long title, great book!  If you've read here for any length of time, you know that I absolutely LOVE the Stuff Christians Like blog.  It's written by Jon Acuff, who now works for Dave Ramsey.  I read Jon's original book, Stuff Christians Like on the way to Disney World this spring and giggled all the way through it because it's SO true.  Sometimes in good ways, sometimes not so much.  I know I've linked posts of his many times because I can't think of a one that I read that I didn't like.  (btw - that book is still on my nightstand.  I don't think I can part with it yet.  I should probably just buy it for my Nook, but haven't done it yet.) 

So, this new book was coming out, and if you pre-ordered it, you could get both a digital copy and a paperback copy for one low price.  Awesome!  Digital for me, and paperback for you!  So ... I am giving away a new copy of Gazelles, Baby Steps, and 37 Other Things Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Debt by Jon Acuff.  I have read it and thoroughly enjoyed it, and I know you will too!

Just leave me a comment and you're entered!  If you're local, I'll deliver and if you're not, I'll ship to you.  Make sure I have your email address so I can let you know if you are the winner!

I'll leave this up today and tomorrow and will draw the winner on Friday.  :)

The Really Expensive Elcair

Pin It Alternate title:  Burner = 1, Hand = 0

So, in my effort to be like my Aunt Nancy, when my nephew needed a dessert for a party he was having, I agreed to make him one.

(As an aside ... college students ... living in dorms ... is it really reasonable to have a party for them where they are expected to bring food?  Seriously?  I am giggling imagining the number of oreos and bags of chips that will be brought to that party.  But I digress.)

Nephew wanted an eclair cake.  I'll put the recipe at the end, it really is fabulous and looks even more fabulous, but it's pretty easy so it's a great dessert to take to a function.

Monday is a super busy day, so I needed to make this dessert Sunday night.  No problem.  The crust has to boil on the stove then go into the mixer, then cook, so I got to work on the boiling part.  After that, it sits and cools off for a few minutes.  I was rocking right along, had the dough in the mixer cooling and decided to move the block of cream cheese that I had sitting on the stove to another part of the stove so it would soften evenly rather than cold on the top and runny on the bottom.

And then.

Left hand on cream cheese ... right hand ... ON THE BURNER.  We have a ceramic flat top stove so occasionally it becomes additional cabinet space.  It has a little red light that comes on that says basically "HEY, this surface is way too hot for delicate things ... LIKE HANDS ... so if you see that red light?  Don't put your hand up there."  I completely missed the red light.

Okay, so I could avoid screaming as long as there was cold water running gently over my hand.  Stop the water, start the screaming.  Seriously.  Two of my children are probably traumatized from this.  The third child wasn't home so I will leave that off of her counseling list.  (What?  Y'all don't have lists of things to make it easier for your child when they're in counseling in the future?  That's just me?)  Eventually I found that I could move to cold water in a bowl and would just start howling when the water started becoming warmer.  Then the little one brought me his "throat ice" which is the ice gel thing we used after his tonsillectomy.

After sending out a facebook plea for silvadene - which it turns out I am actually allergic to! - and not getting a response and still wanting to scream an hour later, I told Jim I had to go to the ER.  The oldest had finished the crust for the dessert and it was out of the oven, and I was babysitting kids when I was her age so we went to the ER.  Because what's really fun on a Sunday night is spending time in the ER.  Apparently a couple of my dear friends actually think so though, because they came and sat with me.  :)  The Lord did not skimp at all when He gave me friends.  :) :) :)

btw - if you go to the ER and a gel pack is the only thing that is keeping you from screaming, and you're going to be waiting for over an hour, that gel pack is not going to retain it's coldness for long enough, and the receptionist will tell you that she can't get you an icepack until you're triaged.  Fabulous.  Just hope that you have enough change to buy a drink because it will be cool enough to wrap your hand around it so you don't have to scream in the lobby.  I understand that the other sick people really frown on that.

Finally they got me in and OHMYHEAVENS blessed pain relief.  They told me that silvadene is a sulfa based drug and I wouldn't be getting any, plus it wasn't used so much now anyway.  I remember from a previous burn how fabulous that stuff was so I was really sad about not leaving with some, but after the pain shot, it didn't seem to matter so much.  I kept talking to my friends and wondering if I was making any sense at all, and I hope I didn't give them really good blackmail material.  ;)

Nearly two days later and I have use of my fingers again!  I can type! 

The crazy thing?  My hand did not - and does not - look that awful.  In proportion to how badly it was hurting, I was expecting a ground beef experience.  Nope.  Two days later, there is one big blister, seven or eight smaller blisters, and a bunch of red skin.  Red skin that hurt when I tried to take a warm shower this morning.  Because really, what's more fun than a cool shower when it's 50 degrees out?  My daughter looked at it earlier and wanted me to point out the burned places to her.

We can conclude here that:
1.  I have a pretty low pain tolerance.
2.  My daughter is half blind.
and
3.  Whether or not this warranted an ER visit, neither me nor anyone else in my house was going to sleep unless I got some pain relief.  Period.  Whether the neighbors would be similarly affected was a consideration as well.

That, and I should get some fabulous aunt points because I still made the dessert.  And apparently it was really good.  Cost of dessert:  ingredients $12-ish.  ER visit $75, although there was a discount, and the lady was trying to tell me about it post pain shot.  Thankfully my friends understood her, I think.  I really don't think the lady made much sense though, even if I hadn't had a mind altering substance in my body.  Total cost?  Would have been cheaper to go to Rao's and get a beautiful fabulous bakery dessert.  Oh well.

Here's the recipe:

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
one container chocolate frosting
2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
3 1/2 cups milk
8 oz package of cream cheese
container of cool whip
chocolate syrup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Boil water and butter.  When it's boiling, add flour and stir until a dough forms while still leaving it over the heat.  When the dough is in a big ball, move it to a mixing bowl and cool for five minutes.  (It would be really good to NOT put your hand on the burner at this time.)

Add one egg to the dough and beat mixture.  Add the second egg and beat.  Repeat with the third and fourth eggs.   

Spread dough in greased 9x13 dish and bake for 35 minutes.  The dough will "climb" up the edges and corners and will look very light and pretty.

Let the crust sit until completely cooled, then spread the chocolate frosting on the bottom.

Beat cream cheese, add milk and pudding mixes and beat all together until it's well blended.  (I have yet to ever get this completely smooth, I just go with it as it is.)  Pour that on top, then top with cool whip.  Drizzle some chocolate syrup over the top and refrigerate until it's ready to be served.

Weekly Wrap Up!

Pin It I'm linking up with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers today with our weekly wrap up!

I cannot believe that we have just finished week 14.  Wow.  Moving right along!

This was a pretty good week.  Usually the week after a break isn't all that smooth, so I was delighted to have a good week.

The girls did a mosiac picture with our Heart of Dakota curriculum this week.  The picture (because I doubt seriously that you can tell what it is!) is a horse and chariot.  I'm trying to have them be as independent as possible with project like this, with sometimes receiving some questionable results.  They were pretty proud of these though, and it was a pretty fun project!

Here are their paintings for the week.  This week's poem was The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.  They did pretty well except for a little minor instruction fail.  Can you tell?  What is really funny is that one child accidentally stuck her brush in the wrong color and decided to just go with it, and the other followed along.  Silly girls!

We are reading God King and are really enjoying it!  We will finish this next week.

Separately, they did well this week.  The oldest will finish Bob Jones English 7 just before Christmas.  I am still a little on the fence as to what we'll do in the spring.  I had settled on Bob Jones Literature 7, but we are getting SO much reading in other areas.  She does just fine with grammar, so I'm not wanting to do more grammar, but I have been considering IEW to help with writing.  It has crossed my mind to just let her relax, but practically that will never work because it just would not do for her to have a shorter school day than her sister!

The middle one also had a good week.  Math was less of a challenge this week than it has been, and can I just get a WOOT WOOT about that?  The funny thing?  She is actually quite ahead on math!  We cut the lessons back to three a week and do flash card review the other two days.  This seems to be working well, and keeps us from not being too rushed on Mondays and Thursdays when life is so busy.  She is breezing well through her reading class.  She really enjoys reading, and the short story approach is perfect for her.  She is also doing well with English and spelling.

I probably shouldn't compare kids, but I can't help myself.  I find it very interesting that the oldest has an easy time with English and grammar but has some spelling struggles.  The middle one has to think a fair amount with grammar, but spells very well.  It really is interesting to me to watch them and learn the areas they excel and struggle in!

The little one enjoyed his week of preschool.  I believe the proper term is "out of his shell".  Ahem.  And sometimes not necessarily in a good way.  ;)  I had to laugh at him yesterday telling me the story of two of the kids in his class "breaking up."  As one of my friends pointed out, apparently preschool is serious business these days!  He is learning so much and having such a fabulous time.  I am really amazed at how much he is learning and how well he is doing.  I'll be honest, I've been very nervous about having him home for kindergarten next year, but realizing how much fun he is having learning, and how anxious he is to learn more is so encouraging to me!

1000 Gifts - 41-50

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41.  For advent, and how we are already getting in the habit of doing our nightly devotion.  Also for easily obtained advent devotionals and ornaments.

42.  For all of the December activity and the joy and excitement that comes with the Christmas season.

43.  For A Charlie Brown Christmas, which is my favorite Christmas movie of all time.

44.  For the Casting Crowns Christmas CD, which has entered my top three list of Christmas CD's that I can't wait to pull out every year. 

45.  For Handel's Messiah, particularly the "Young Messiah" version of it.  I don't think I have ever listened to it without tears and imagining that heaven will sound something like that. 

46.  For a very pleasant week of school in which work was done without complaining and arguing.

48.  For the piano, even though a lot of times the "music" that comes from it strongly resembles pounding, it is giving my children a further appreciation for music.

49.  The fact that the Christmas shopping is mostly done.  One more "tough" person to buy for, then a couple of easy ones and that's it.

50.  The realization of Emmanuel - GOD WITH US - is becoming real to me this year in a different way than before.

Are you listing your 1000 gifts?  For what are you thankful?  What gifts has our Father blessed you with?