Multitude Monday ~ 1000 Gifts

#2 a daddy for our children who preaches, prays and plays... even when I sometimes think he plays too much.

#3 flute notes floating up from the basement; it's always been my favorite instrument so when he decided to learn to play that one, it was an unexpected blessing.

#4 my young woman, still really a girl, totally captivated by a squirrel's dash or a bird's song or a skink's blue or a bug's busyness!

#5 fingers flitting over piano keys as she practices for her recital and guild auditions.

#6 watching her laugh without restraint on the sidewalk after school with girlfriends and classmates and then she hands me her spelling test with its hard-earned 77%.

#7 her silly grin, minus one tooth - her first one lost, as she rides up on the handlebars of her daddy's bike.

#8 Red Lightening McQueen crocs skipping down the trail as he proudly tells us that he remembers how Daddy kept the chickens from flying away and escaping: "He ate 'em!" (and he used the personal pronouns properly!)

#9 chattering teeth in a huge grin 'cause she's "fweezin'" while sipping her banana smoothie... with whip cream on the top.

#10 little legs that go running to the bathroom in the hopes of success and a few m&ms.

#11 cool, sunshiney days.

#12 fluffy white clouds floating throught the blue sky on those sunshiney days.

#13 "What Really Makes us Free," by Elie Wiesel, eloquently recited - with only a little nervousness.

#14 road trips with family and friends.

#15 snuggles under a heavy wool blanket with my big girl and my sleeping little girl, watching some adventure rescue show late at night and talking about Galations.

#17 times when I allow God to be my alarm clock... and I don't smash the snooze button.

#18 Philadeplphia cheese-steak sandwich, without the mayo, of course.

#19 winning band performances, even when part of the percussion breaks.

#20 teachable kids who the Holy Spirit often uses to convict me (of my own stubborn unteachableness) with their acceptance of disappointment and situations that didn't go the way they'd thought or hoped.

Join the Gratitude Community at Holy Experience, "Keeping the Eyes Open in Surprise," today's post.