A little over a year ago I started this journey with the Gratitude Community.   A year of diaper laundry. A year of nursing.  A year of battling strong will. A year of conviction of selfishness. A year of growth.

Most every week I recorded tiny gifts of grace given to me by the Father.  I captured moments that otherwise would have been lost.  But most of all I found joy.  Joy in the here and now.  Joy in the good gifts from a heavenly father.

It’s hard to express the shift in my heart.  Hard to tell you that I look at each thing differently.  How wonderful it feels to savor sweetness over and over reading all my multiple blessings.

And I’m learning (slowly) that the right questions do have the perfect answers.  Yes, He is Good. Yes, He gives good gifts.  And those gifts, those graces, are unmeasured, vast, and free for me to open each day.

942. Waking up to Sun after 2 dreary days
943. my Good Morning Girls
944. Moving bookshelves
945. Bronwyn chewing on my Thanks notebook
946. Family Breakfast date at Chick-fil-a
947. Aeralind walking inside of the play area tunnels
948. Both girls going down the giant twisty slide
949. Having bathtubs/showers (even if I hate cleaning them)
950. Bronwyn walking around chewing on a dinner plate
951. Aeralind having the plate shared with her to do the same
952. The smell of ham frying
953. A squirrel eating out of a drawer on my porch
954. New PJ’s trailing behind little girls as they chew in their tags
955. Goind down big slides backward all by themselves at the park

956. Playing with Mia (another 14 month old we met) at the park
957. Sitting and eating crackers with Mia at the park
958. Couponing sites
959. Feeding little girls Pie Crust “cookies”
960. Measuring cup “toys”
961. Little girls playing in dirt at the farm

962. Bronwyn sitting on guitar cases facinated by the muscians

963. Aeralind shaking grass by it’s roots in joy

964. Other people keeping an eye out on the girls as they try to escape or jump off chairs
965. Going to the farm for Thanksgiving
966. Being invited 3 years ago
967. The girls snuggling with Peter and playing with him
968. Voices lifted in thanksgiving songs
969. Exhausted snuggly babies
970. Talking to Dad, Monica and Mom all on the same day– longing for them to be at the farm.
971. Trusting my gut and taking girls who are having trouble sleeping at night to the doctor where they were diagnosed with ear infections
972. Waking to a child screaming and my first thought being “I haven’t thanked Him for 5 consecutive nights of sleep!”
973. 5 Consecutive night of sleep after the start of antibiotics
974. Aeralind snuggles in the middle of the night
975. Bronwyn finally wearing herself out
976. Borrowing photo equipment from Rachel
977. Taking photos of little Gabriel
978. Learning to use photoshop elements
979. Snuggling with Derek watching NCIS
980. Praise and Gratitude Spreading like a Wildfire
981. A brief conversation with Mandy about an issue on my heart
982. Moleskin journals to write thanks
983. My toaster oven from college still working
984. Toddler girls in their first pigtails

985. Pie returned with my thanksgiving dishes
986. God working tiny threads together to make something beautiful
987. A dream coming true
988. Diapers-their constant drone in the washer saving me money
989. Christmas tree put up and lovingly petted (like the kitty) by the girls
990. The distinctive smell of winter finally arriving in the cool air
991. Little girls sharing food at the dinner table
992. Little girls who are not picky eaters
993. Chasing squealing toddlers
994. $5.95 giant Long Island Cheese pumpkin on sale to cook and freeze for more pumpkin treats
995. My sweet husband. I am so spoiled.
996. Little girls using forks and spoons correctly (sometimes)
997. Free trial of photoshop elements and the money earned to purchase it on sale
998. Beginning to understand their little words: book, ‘itty, ba (ll)
999. Ann Voskamp sharing her humble journey–daring us to join a community of gratitude
1000. Grace Unmeasured: a song to remind me of my own journey of gratitude.