Thank-fulled

I love to join up with Paisley Jade's 'Things I'm Loving' as often as I can because I realise there is so much to be thankful for in our life and it just makes me happier stopping to think! Just after the New Year I read this post by Ann Voskamp and was inspired to make a list of at least 1000 things I'm thankful for this year. I just figured to have a big goal will make me look a little deeper to find how many things there really are to be thankful for. So every couple of days or so I write in my journal...and hope my eyes might be opened more in the process.
I often start things with good intentions, and then as time goes by they slip. I'm pretty hopeless at maintaining most things over a long time. But as I read through Ann's post I felt some determination to give it a good go. These words stood out...

Taking up the dare all over again — the dare to slow down and wake up and receive all God gives for what it is — a gift. Take the the Joy Dare. Isn’t that what Aristotle said– “We are what we repeatedly do.”

A habit of not complaining, but the habit of giving thanks; the habit of not worrying, but a habit worshipping. The habit of repeatedly giving God praise that our lives might become a prayer. Small is always the leverage of large. It’s one moment after the other, the small moments that turn a life. It’s the small actions that can change a life.

It’s habits that can imprison you and it’s habits that can free you and when thanks to God becomes a habit, so joy in God becomes your life.

Here are some things I'm loving and thankful for this week that are being added to the list...

A Grand-maman who loves her granddaughters and comes around to play...

 

A daddy who loves to read bedtime stories ('Papa!' is one of the most frequent words around here these days!)...

Little girls who just love to sit and read stories to themselves...

Looking outside the window and seeing views like this one...

Little people who are all too eager to help play with put away the Christmas decorations...

And put up with mummy's camera, which makes frequent appearances...

I'm thankful for generous and lovely friends who send fun, brightly-coloured pyjamas across the world...

And for a mum of twins just a little older than our girls who sells us their hand-me-down clothes that look vitually new (I'm really jealous of her washing skills!) for a tiny fraction of what they're worth new...

I love that we got snow again yesterday, after what seemed like ages, and the wonder of the girls' as they watched the flakes drift down...

This morning while at the optometrists we happened upon a 10-minute 50% off sale on the sunglasses, so we found some for the girls, which will be great for the snow and the coming summer...Hello Kitty nonetheless!

I love the fact that I have to use Eti's old mobile phone at the moment, and have to guess the letters when sending texts...but no keys is much better than what mine is missing... :)

Because mine looks like this after an accident, and it just doesn't do the job anymore...

 And finally...I've been sitting here while the girls sleep and going through my email inbox. It's kinda like an overgrown garden, so I decided to tackle the almost 12,000. I've been sorting through all the emails from before and after the girls were born to keep them and make into books for them for one day when they can read the story about their early beginnings. It's overwhelmed me with such gratitude to remember how many people loved and supported us right from when they were tiny inside when we had several scares...wow...I'm thankful for such kind friends that really stuck with us through that time...

 Hope you're all having a great weekend!!