Tonight,

I am thankful for good friends to fellowship with, who have the same ideas and intentions about community in Christ. We all want to be "up in each other's business", caring and sharing burdens and living life together.

I am thankful for "breakfast for dinner" and the Waffle of Insane Greatness. I never liked waffles until we found this recipe--the end product lives up to its name!

I am thankful for a husband who can redeem this old house with the work of his hands. Right now, its the garage/mudroom/"pigeon coop" area. By the time cold weather hits us, the rooms will be fully functional (and in the case of the latter, no longer a coop type room, but something useful and not gross. Okay, it was never a coop, but it looked like it!)

I am thankful for Pinterest. What a great idea!

I am thankful for my little W, and his enthusiasm for books, water, and showing me whatever catches his eye: airplanes! trucks! dogs! balls!

Thank You, God, for your good gifts and the eyes to see them.

gifts

1. Candy Cane Lane tea, hot in my hands
2. Reminder to pray for Haitian laboring moms, and the gift of W's safe, happy delivery
3. That I am able to easily give small words of encouragement through texts
4. Nutella
5. Stretching
6. W learning to wave hello/bye-bye, his cute little fingers opening and closing toward himself
7. W's need for me and comfort through me
8. Family arriving this whole week
9. A wedding, a new sister
10. A flexible, generous boss

Creating

Just a short note because I want to remember this. Husband creates through photography and web design and bathroom tiles. I create through lunches & dinners, paint workshops, letters & cards, and shower curtains.

We all are created to be creators--image-bearers of the Creator, reflecting back His glory as we follow His lead and Make.

I want to remember this and I want to encourage my W and my friends and myself to not hold back, to let loose the gates of imagination and joy and Create.

Food Notes

1. I made chocolate peanut butter ice cream pie for husband's birthday. So Good!

Just mix together 1 carton softened chocolate ice cream, 1/2 carton whipped cream, and two big scoops of peanut butter. While you are waiting for the ice cream to soften, crush half a package of oreos (easy in the food processor) and mix together with a 1/4 cup of melted butter. Press this into a pie plate (or the bottom of a round cake pan). Okay, now mix the ice cream. Then pour into the pie plate and smooth with a spatula. You can drip or shave chocolate on top. Or sprinkle crushed peanuts. People think you are a fabulous cook and ask for seconds, and everyone is happy!

2. Old Orchard's Pineapple Orange juice reminds me so much of Sundays. Growing up, I went to a fancy downtown church that served punch after services. We'd all head to the banquet hall to snack of handfuls of those soft wedding mints, and fountains of pineapple-orange-ginger ale punch. Or maybe the wedding mints were just at the wedding receptions in the same room. Anyway, you drank the punch from a little glass cup with a little glass handle that would only fit a finger or two. I haven't thought about this in Years, and yet tonight here I am, the pineapple-orange taste taking me back.

Its been a good night.

married people, be blessed

This video is a truth and a blessing. Watch HERE.

And the setting somehow reminds me of my Gram's driveway, all ivy and old stone. I get nostalgic and hopeful all at the same time watching this...every time.

Thanks, Ann, for the original link!

EDIT: Non-married people, be blessed too, as you hear a true beautiful description of this commitment.

Gratitude

1. The W's dimple.

2. getting to make a milkshake for my S.
3. still no snow, and its almost Dec 1! Thank You!
4. learning to cook creatively with no stove...boiling pasta in the fondue pot :)
5. a new sister-in-love
6. anticipation of makeup lessons at Sephora
7. Advent planning
8. walking distance to the shops and kombucha and an awesome breakfast place that I have yet to try
9. my S saying I'm cute when I'm actually totally mismatched
10. a warm place for my W (God, care for the little ones and their mamas who are cold tonight! Please God!)
11. Our "library shelves" that make me feel truly rich

Shelter for the Soul

Everybody wants the same thing,
rich or poor...
not only a warm, dry room,
but a
shelter for the soul.

~Samuel Mockbee

Old School Spinning Top

I had one of these when I was little! Maybe its still in my parents' attic, with my handmade Cabbage Patch doll, Leslie, and Teddy, my teddy bear (creative name, don't you think?). I've been searching for good baby & kid gifts now that the W is here, and there is also my niece/nephew to delight. I just love the classic stuff!

We are moved in!

And that is good enough for me.

Oh and we have renters! Got the call the day we moved into the new house. Amazing.

God is good.

the little things

I have had such a sense of peace this weekend. Great times with my husband, baby-carrying peace with my boy, and the sense of both satisfaction & anticipation that comes with almost finishing our house. Plus, the little things:

new yellow shoes--tags still on!--for $5 at Goodwill

my boy loving bath time...he is so happy in the water!

apple cider with cream on top, and my favorite gifted spoon, with a good reminder

Thank you, God, for your good gifts and the eyes to see them....