Cultivating Childhood

Thanksgiving is over, the turkey has been eaten, the tree and lights are up, and the house is mostly decorated.  We had a wonderfully big Thanksgiving with my husband's family.  We are so thankful to live close to them and celebrate with them! Making a Gingerbread House with cousins for one of their birthday parties. More birthday party fun - pinata! Button with his great-grandma at 92! Thanksgiving meal Four of the Hagelberg boys And now, Advent is already upon us!  Today is the first Sunday of Advent, and we are doing our Advent wreath again this year.  Last year, we used our church's handout for our family's time, but this year, I was surprised by how many wonderful and free devotional resources you can find online that can help you with preparing for Christmas.  Here are a few that I found (all are free!): Seattle Union Gospel Mission's Christmas 2011 Devotional They also have a number of other ideas to help the needy on their Acti...

My parents have been here this weekend which is always a HUGE blessing.  The boys love their grandparents, and it is so fun to see them all interact.  I'm sure there will be more posts soon with all that we've been doing this weekend - especially my new playroom/school room. {happy dance} 147. Leftovers 148. Button bringing me flowers 149. A working  dryer again 150. Cuddling with both my boys on the couch 151. Raindrops dripping off the roof 152. Talking to my husband even when he is all the way across the country 153. Being a jungle gym for my children 154. Clouds being swept across the sky by the wind 155. Harmony 156. Naked baby belly 157. Blowing kisses on said belly 158. Childcare at the YMCA 159. My kids love playing there 160. A toddler happily running into my arms when I come to pick him up 161. My 3 year old trying to sound important by telling all his Y "friends" in a matter-of-fact voice that he needs to go now. 162. Elevator buttons lighting up 163. My p...

This week I get to share two weeks worth of gifts since I didn't get around to posting last Monday!  I'm also excited because my mother-in-law bought me the book for Mother's Day. (Thanks Mom!) I'm so looking forward to reading it. 105. Running into friends while doing errands 106. A pink-streaked sunset 107. Getting to go out for coffee with a neighbor 108. Losing track of time 109. Getting to go on my first ever women's retreat 110. My husband getting off work early so I can leave on time 111. Getting a much needed break 112. Sweet good-bye hugs from my boys (all three of them!) 113. Making dirt volcanoes with my sons before I left 114. Meeting new people on the drive to the retreat 115. Not having to be the driver 116. Having uninterrupted woman conversation 117. The majesty of Mt. Index 118. A "sunrise" walk 119. Seeing four yellow goslings 120. Admiring five wild mule deer 121. Enjoying the sunshine 122. Visiting Leavenworth 123. Ma...

I love carting around my little leather journal around with me so that I can record my gifts as I go.  Then, I get the enjoy them all over again when I type them out every week.  It's such a blessing to see how faithful God has been in the last week. 68. A precious 45 minutes alone  in the house to straighten up 69. Having a clean house, 70. Reading for pleasure, 71. And still  getting to bed early 72. Getting a book in the mail 73. Lipstick lips on Button's cheek 74. Little Buddy learning to express his emotions in a positive way 75. A successful potty trip 76. Ghiradelli chocolate 77. My husband's 2-year anniversary at his job 78. Waking up to the birds singing 79. Button singing in his crib when he wakes up for the day 80. Reading poetry 81. And actually enjoying it 82. Little Buddy finally showing readiness for potty-training 83. The Good Friday service at church 84. Little Buddy's face lighting up when they played Nothing But the Blood of Jesus...

Still working on my 1,000 gifts! 49. Taking my MOPS kids on the playground because the weather was nice. 50.  Watching Button run to the window shouting "Dada" as Phil comes home. 51. Having a husband whose love for his kids is extremely evident. 52. Getting to go on a date with said husband 53. Library book sales 54. Buying "too many" books 55. A surprise bald eagle sighting 56. Short stroll along Lake Washington 57. A great babysitter 58. Naps for mommy 59. A husband who does the dishes 60. Wearing my favorite fleece that I got at a garage sale last summer 61. Clean sheets 62. Planting sunflowers 63. Watching my tomatoes grow 64. Organizing my recipes 65. A steak dinner prepared by my husband 66. Playing in the dandelions at Discovery Park 67. Yellow toes!

I'm jumping on the bandwagon.  I've been reading lists on some blogs that I read of their One Thousand Gifts.  Based off the book , these people have been sharing 1,000 things that they are thankful for.  While I haven't yet(!) read the book, I love the thought behind this discipline and thought it would be fun to join in. So here goes... Morning hugs from Little Buddy Good-bye kisses from my husband as he leaves for work The twinkle in Little Buddy's eyes when he's excited about something Button playing with his belly button Hummingbirds Comfy Couches New opportunities to use my spiritual gifts at church Button's sweet "yeah"s Sleeping through the night regularly for the first time in over three years Dinosaur pajamas Long phone conversations with my mom Fresh haircuts for all my boys A cuddly three-year old Button singing the tune to "Twinkle, Twinkle" Painted toenails Sore muscles the day after a good workout Forty Days...