501-511

501. thankful that Tammy is faithful to this blog and continues with the posts of thankfulness. teaches me to not forget:)

502. For meetings with young seedlings, young in the faith, but eager for SONshine and Water and growth. Thankful to see progress and life burst among dry dirt. Praise Jesus.

503. for unconditional love. truly unconditional. if i was loved otherwise, I'd be long since without it, I am so undeserving, in every sense of the word. I am so thankful to be loved fully.

504. my oldest daughter has the biggest, brightest, most sharpest eyes i have seen. so thankful there is brilliance and mischief in them. Her intelligent and unquenchable thirst for life grows and I watch from the side amazed and frightened all at the same time. 

505.  A brand new spacious sky blue purse. an anniversary gift from my husband. it could not have come at a better time, with my last one growing weak and frayed and on its last..straps.

506. Goodwill.

507. A crisp moscow mule made with the freshest ginger, lime, and mint. A treat, indeed.

508. summer is here. SUMMER IS HERE, HALLELUJAH, CAN I GET AN AMEN.

509. A gracious, slow to anger, humility filled, godly, upright husband who has never given up on me.

510. my sweet baby, Olive. What a little love she is. so sweet, peaceful, and full of smiles and coos for her mama. She is one of my greatest gifts from the Father.

511. My heavenly Father. Oh, Papa. How I love you with the love only capable because of You in me. You are my Rock and my Redeemer. My comfort. My peace. I love you. Thank you for Your incredible, never stopping, undeserving love.

500

testimony. the power of a person's life story to promote vulnerability, change, hope in the hearts and minds of others.
a chance to share my story, what God has done to fuel the hope of His glory + my joy, with the team that's bound for Jamaica in 5 weeks.

*#500!! Woohoo!

493-499

493. sleeping straight through hours of thunder and lightening and wind and rain
494. that little peek of sky that i can see from my bedroom window
495. mini green leaves just starting out
496. screened porch at the farm, extends the living space into the nature space
497. 4 miles with mom
498. roasted broccoli
499. natalie's shrieks of joy over the faithful spin of that ceiling fan

492

mom and dad. 40 years, today. thankful for their faithfulness to each other, to our humble Savior, to 6 kids + 5 grandkids, that they've kept their promise in a world that tells them that they don't have to. happy anniversary mom and dad. so much love for you.

484-491

484. double stuffed oreos and a gallon of milk

485. the tiny voices of my children singing their little hearts out. all the time.

486. the many helpful generous ones that choose to invest in our children and bless us with babysitting and playing with our littles.

487. boiled shredded chicken.

488. quail eggs. they taste creamy and amazing. 

489.  thankful where beauty truly comes from. 

490. that Jesus has given me joy in abundance!! 

491. I realize a lot of the gifts i am thankful for are food related, but i am just so thankful for the ability to taste and enjoy and the variety He provides!!

463-483

463 absence of snow 464 a much-larger-than-expected tax return 465 anticipation of paying off those wheels before the leaves begin to fall 466 job security 467 darkness of the winter months, platform for comparison to now's cloudless blue 468 finally having replaced that hubcap 469 this week that anticipates easter, the best day of the year 470 sunny forecast for resurrection day 471 church family, unchanged, even now with permanent walls 472 clean-scrubbed, white paint-coated floorboards 473 laundry away 474 green tea: alkalinity + detoxification 475 another request for accompaniment 476 thursday nights + luke/acts. eyes fixed on our jesus 477 fuzzy babies, ebony + calico, wide-eyed, full of energy 478 unnecessity of coats 479 new sunglasses, covering half my face 480 weakness, tears, shame, fear, spilt over breakfast 481 clean kitchens, pans, oven-roasting vegetables 482 hunger, physical meets spiritual 483 humble + confident: those who speak out on behalf of same-sex attraction

462

462 papa, as we called him. he would have been 102 if he made it to today. instead we said good bye in october 2001 good bye to a man of conviction and character who lived through the second world war in the northern part of the netherlands on a beautiful farm papa, oma, 4 kids [5 more to come] until the war took it all first, the german soldiers moved into the downstairs, while papa cared for oma, then pregnant with al, and created as much security and consistency as possible for all the littles. the man who steadfastly walked his wife and daughters through the loss of the oldest son, brother, age 8, when he was crushed under the tires of a neighbor's tractor and adri, adopted in for the years of the war from a family that lived in the city once they could no longer provide for her livelihood. papa, who lead his little family to a new land with only a few dollars to start again having left the family farm that had been handed down from grandfather to father to son [the farm that would have belonged to my father next] now, a treasure, the audio recording of papa and oma telling us all about these events how they journeyed through the loss with hope through the fear with confidence and with the pain, by way of joy because our God is faithful. his words, not mine. his words, now mine also. for teaching 9 children and 25 grandchildren, and 40+ great grandchildren perseverance in adversity faithfulness in life's ups and downs. forever grateful.