Thanksliving.

I am celebrating Thanksgiving this year differently than I ever have.

This day seems much like every other {with the exception of the feast being prepared}...because this year has been my year of Eucharisteo and counting the graces from a loving Heavenly Father.

Since my reading of One Thousand Gifts, I have finally learned how to open my eyes and see everything, everything with a wild-eyed wonder I've never known.  I've listed out in my little notebook the good gifts and the hard grace and have nearly reached 1000.  It has been an exercise that has changed my nature and given me a lens of holiness in which to view the world around me.  I have so desperately wanted to make my life's journey a holy experience, but not every day has been sunshine and I have so often failed to record the good and especially the hidden good that seems so much like hardship.  But imperfections aside, I would like to think that I have become a more grateful person.  And the Lord is ever near when we strive with our mights to come close to Him.  He is always there in every thing.  Will we see Him?  Will we choose to remove our shoes, recognizing that the ground beneath us is holy?  It's up to us.  And the path we choose will make all the difference...for us...and for our families and loved ones.

{"Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes." ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning}

Pause and gather your loved ones around to sit and view this tender video.  I cry every time I watch it.  Because it is so symbolic.  And it is what I have tried this year to do...

And because I love this one so much, here is a small summary of what One Thousand Gifts teaches...such a perfect reminder of how to live out Thanksgiving every day of our lives.

And lest you think I have abandoned the practice of picture-taking my boys, here is a small glimpse of how we are spending this glorious holiday...playing games, reading through our Thankful Box, coloring...

Later today we will feast and then take a leisurely drive to nowhere in particular...to see God's grace in the beauty around us and just be together.

The Simple Woman's Daybook {Entry 2}

{Linked to The Simple Woman's Daybook} 

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...is cold gray, ushering in the coming winter.

I am thinking...about my little star and still wondering when she will come.

I am thankful...I spent some special time with my boys yesterday and today.  Soon our lives will be in quite the upheaval and I would regret not spending this precious time with them.

From the learning rooms...we visited the library for the first time in a few months.  Reading, puzzle-making, educational computer games, and puppets felt so fulfilling to do.  The wonder in their eyes told me so.

In the kitchen...leftover desserts like strawberry layer cake, apple pie, and four tubs of ice cream with one serving left.

I am wearing...a cream shirt with dark green embroidery...one of the few maternity blouses in which I still feel like a princess.

I am creating...ideas and plans for our new home.  Things like how we will make our home more holy {scriptures in the rooms, pictures of Christ and the temples in every room, habits of gratitude, etc.}

I am going...to the doctor at 4:15.  I hope that she comes as a result of this visit. :)

I am wondering...how my emotions can surge from one end of the spectrum to the other in only a matter of seconds.  One minute I will feel all butterflies inside thinking of how magical it will be to hold my little girl and the next minute my stomach is plummeting rock bottom like a dip in a roller coaster contemplating how long it may be before she comes.

I am reading...well, re-reading my handwritten notes on creating a quiet place where I can breathe and meditate and ponder and relax.

I am hoping...to implement the strategies I have recorded to aid in this whimsical whirlwind of childbirth, Thanksgiving, moving, and Christmas.

I am looking forward to...the pain that will come with labor.  Every hard contraction I anticipate knowing that I will finally be on my way to receiving an angel.

I am hearing...a beautiful song in my head that reminds me of my little star.

Around the house...I walk and pace, trying to urge contractions.

I am pondering...on Proverbs 3:5-7 today and for this whole week..."Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

One of my favorite things...counting the graces, the gifts, the mercies from heaven as I await a miracle.

A few plans for the rest of the week:  Wait patiently for our little one.  Spend time with my sons.  Spend time with my husband.  Trust in the Lord.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

Grow.

"On Fridays around these parts we stop, drop, and write.
For fun, for love of the sound of words, for play, for delight, for joy and celebration at the art of communication.
For only five short, bold, beautiful minutes. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.
Won’t you join us?
Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking."
~The Gypsy Mama



Grow.

It's a hope.  It's a longing.  It's a yearning desire for me right now.  I want a few things in my life to grow: 
*my contractions--could you maybe come five minutes apart and just a titch stronger?
*my little baby--oh sweet, glittering star, grow so you'll be ready to enter this world.
*my heart--will you open even wider than you already are to encompass this new little one in the blanket of love?
*my time--will you crescendo to allow all of the extra new baby to-do's fit in our schedule?
*my boys--might you wake up tomorrow with new wisdom shining from your eyes--wisdom to understand that Mommy has to share her time and her heart with another now.
*my faith--may you keep growing and growing and growing, never stopping, always increasing in strength with each new faith-challenging-building experience.

A Plea for Ideas and Advice.

When all I can think about these days is Maylie and her upcoming birth, I'm frantically lovingly trying to prepare everything.  I know it won't be perfect, but I'm trying get as close as I can. ;)

Now I need your help.  What did you do or wish you had done to make labor special and precious?  How did you savor the time in the hospital?  What traditions have you (or will you) start with your own children's births?  Please leave me a little comment (or a long one).  I need all the ideas I can get.

Thank you so much,

Love,

Jamie

Walk with Him Wednesday

Today on Quest for Happiness, I'm exploring the topic of true submission to the Lord's will and how this can alter the very dynamics of our lives.

Click here to join me if you will, and add your thoughts.

{This post has a link to a link-up from A Holy Experience if you'd care to link up your own post.}

I'm wishing you a golden day of harvesting...family, or faith, or traditions.

Whatever it may be, let it be golden.

Love,

Jamie

The Simple Woman's Daybook {Entry 1}

{Linked to The Simple Woman's Daybook}

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...I cannot see, for I am living in a basement.  But I hear the cars go driving past...sounds much like the ocean waves.

I am thinking...about my little girl.  She is coming so soon and my heart yearns for her.

I am thankful...for quiet mornings and a routine that works.  It is a blessed thing to begin a day right by spending time with the Lord, writing praise, recording a journal entry, organizing and planning my day, and blogging.

From the learning rooms...we are focusing on the letter K, the number 11, and all things Fall.  We are also striving to develop kindness and peacemaking skills.  Last night we learned of obedience and all repeated in loud voices, "I will be obedient!"

In the kitchen...awaits apple cinnamon cheerios and minty-marshmallow hot chocolate.

I am wearing...old jeans and a striped green, blue, yellow, and white shirt that has lived with me through three pregnancies.  Topped with a soft white sweater.

I am creating...a sweet baby.  She is growing and I am growing too.  Not just physically, but in other ways too.  My heartstrings are lengthening.  My patience is increasing.  My love for her and my sweet boys is flourishing.  My life is widening to welcome her in.

I am going...shopping today.  To buy cans of food storage.  Christmas gifts for extended family.  Thank you cards for a lovely baby shower.  Gifts for the hostesses.  Christmas decor.  Washcloths and towels for our new home.

I am wondering...if I will have time to complete everything I want to do before my little grace comes.  She's coming soon and there's still oh so much to do on my to-do list.

I am reading...the Book of Mormon.  Issued a challenge in August to begin and complete the reading by the end of the year, I have been soaring through the pages, and the messages have been surging inside of me...changing me.  Making me more.  And full of grace.

I am hoping...that the labor and delivery goes smoothly and though I wonder, I know it will.  Because of a sweet blessing from a loving husband promising that it would be so.

I am looking forward to...holding my little girl for the first time.  Looking into her eyes and seeing heaven shining through.  Feeling her newborn fingers and kissing her cherubic cheek on that blessed day when she comes.

I am hearing...Tate's little voice talking to himself.  How I wish I could bottle up his tone and inflection and pronunciation.  His voice is angelic.

Around the house...remnants of things to move to our Farmhouse Cottage along with a scattering of pink baby things folded and ready for Sweet Pea.

I am pondering...on the grace of God.  His mercy, His kindness and long-suffering.  His deliverance of me from so many things.  How He is leading my life through green grass and springs of cool water.  How He is so good.  And so merciful.  My very best friend.  My Father.

One of my favorite things...is waking up in the morning these days.  I lie still in the lightening darkness and ponder on the excitement and plans of the day.  I run through my head the happiness awaiting me and picture the faces of my two sweet boys, while imagining the face of my sweet little girl.

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Packing the hospital and diaper bags

Typing more recipes and weekly shopping lists

Organizing everything into an album

Blogging

Imagining my baby

Journaling

Planning a romantic date night for my sweetheart

Scrawling the mercies the Lord is bestowing daily

Preschool

Reading to little ones

Walking and dancing and shopping

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

{This is how I feel.  In a heavenly mist, on a path of red and orange strewn leaves.  Almost to a bench where I can rest and take in my surroundings.  Waiting in this lovely Autumn for my little girl to be in my arms.}

Multitudes on Monday.

Read about eyes and light and glory here today. {Quest for Happiness}.

You can also see my countdown to Maylie here. {Starlit Daydreams}

And may you have a day filled with warmth, light, and love.

All is grace,

Jamie

{image via pinterest}

Countdown to our Shooting Star

Very soon a little angel, a shooting star from heaven, will enter our lives...and our hearts.  Our precious baby girl is due on December 5, 2011, and I can't even wait.  I have entered into the impatient stage of wondering when she will come and if I'm prepared and mourning every day that passes without her.

Praying to know what to do, I had the glimmer of an idea...a baby countdown.  I listed the days out in my composition book and then began filling in activities centered on my sweet pea.  Perhaps by completing this list I will be able to more patiently wait her arrival and prepare more thoroughly so I enjoy the day of her birth as much as utterly possible.  And here is the run-down on the countdown:

11/13  Make a list of hymns and scriptures to read during labor.
11/14  Prepare the hospital bag and diaper bag
11/15  Print Wish Lists.
11/16  Make a list of photos to capture on her birth day and hospital to-do's.
11/17  Write a letter to my Shooting Star with all of my excitement spilling from the words.
11/18  Write out her personality profile.
11/19  Write about the meaning of her name.
11/20  Write out a plan for your relationship with her as a baby and throughout her life.
11/21  Write about your first few days and weeks together (projecting them in the future).
11/22  Review and write about her first "schedule."  Make a plan.
11/23  Go to a mountain to ponder where you are, where you have been, and where you're going.
11/24  List reasons you've loved being pregnant with your sweet pea.
11/25  Read through all posts to and about her.
11/26  Pray for her on the hour--every hours.
11/27  Pamper yourself.  Paint your nails...etc.
11/28  Write out your "motherhood commitment."
11/29  Ponder about your Shooting Star for 30 minutes and imagine her with love and joy.

I would go on...but I'm hoping she either arrives a little early or I can convince our good doctor to induce me (for size reasons).  I  am still wondering when she will grace our home.  I wish I knew the exact day and time of her arrival.  It would give me a day to push towards and look forward to.  But for now, this countdown will have to do and I know I will so enjoy every minute of every activity...

And maybe just one more goal to add to the countdown.  A daily one...

*Think of her and imagine the day of her delivery at least five minutes every day...

Five Minute Friday.

It's on Starlit Daydreams today.  

There is also a link to a link-up for anyone interested.

I'd love to hear about your unexpected...Click here.

Unexpected.

It's Five Minute Friday.

Linked up to The Gypsy Mama, we write for 5 small minutes on whatever thoughts come spilling through our fingertips.

It's unedited, unplanned, and unscripted.

Today's topic is Unexpected.

I begin.

When my inner moments grow calm and I settle those rushed feelings of everyday hecticness that accompany life with little ones, I write and write and ponder and write some more.  About life.  About grace.  About all the expected and unexpected.

Life is so different than what I thought it would be.  Planning as a young woman all that I would be and how the title "super mom" would just naturally fall upon my shoulders with little effort.  Children are sometimes unexpected.  So are personalities.  And money (or lack thereof).  So are jobs and careers.  And the loss of the tightly controlled world I once had.  It's all unexpected.
Maybe that's why it's so adventurous.
And I know I wouldn't have it any other way.

I wouldn't change in the least one aspect of the sweet little ones I've been given.  I am their steward and the task is so much harder and more real and more rewarding than I ever imagined it would be.

I wouldn't change even one thing about my husband.  He is my all and though I dreamed of the Knight and Shining Armor who would grace my doorstep one day, I never could have imagined him to be so perfect....even with all of my lofty ideals.  It's all so unexpected...

...and utterly oh so lovely.

Thoughtful Thursday....Skittle Rainbow

Color me a Rainbow.  My thoughts are whimsical, light, sweetly colorful, and fantastical today.

I'm thinking about:
*color
*candy
*frosty Frosted Mini Wheats
*Little hair bows and flowers

Today I want to:
*making our leaf preschool lesson fun today
*let laughter spill out of nowhere and for no reason
*enjoy the moments

What are your thoughts on this Thoughtful Thursday??

Pile of Leaves

Oh, what enchantment lies just under the surface of a golden pile of crackling leaves.

With the Model A.

I have fond memories of riding in the rumble seat of this old, beautiful car with my Grandpa Lystrup.

And we decided it was time for pictures...

You have to love Easton's face in this one.

And we couldn't forget Grandpa's green Harley of course...

The End.

This Halloween...

...We looked forward to a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Johnson.

And 5 o'clock could not come fast enough for the cowboy and his horse.

You see, 5 o'clock meant it was time for trunk-or-treating.