God's gifts from painted toast

Back again, with my long list.  We've been adjusting to watching our sweet baby friend two mornings and two afternoons a week.  It is just the right amount of time to have a baby come hang out with us; it just requires me to be more creative finding the right moment to upload pictures.  God has been sweet in the adjustment, and Adrianna and Abel have been my helpers with baby Matthew.

And now for two weeks' worth of photos...  And by the way, I understand if you don't want to take the time to look at my enormous amount of photos every posting.  I post them mostly for me -- to help me remember these  fleeting moments with my ever-changing children and to keep focused on these moments as God's gifts of grace.  It's too easy for me to get caught in the routine, the chores, the to-do list.  Taking the brief second to capture the gifts on film has helped me reclaim gratitude each day.

- Another sky painted by the Artist's hand

 - Abel helping me vacuum

- Waiting with Abel while Scott ordered our food at the brand new restaurant, with the line curling around the building
... And Abel and me pointing out all of the trucks, trailers, other wheeled beauties that passed

- Scott keeping Abel with him in the thrift store so that I could have free reign to shop as I pleased

- Laughing at spending my Friday night making gluten-free tortillas

- Cleaning out my freezer
... And creating a new list on the wipe off board of everything in it

 - Finding more footed pajamas for Adrianna at the thrift store

- Finding a cloud that looked like a comb

- Scott and Steve putting up Scott's Christmas present: a weather station

- Adrianna discovering our tracing board

- Making mini French toast

- Adrianna goofing: "C is for biscuit... it's good enough for me!"

- Another shot of the peaceful, sleeping one

- Adrianna making a craft in her newly-cleaned desk

- Adrianna making a holiday flag for our flag post

- Cracking Abel up by teaching him the old song: "Big John"

- Abel doing scissor practice and finding that he made triangles

- Dropping the recipe I finished half of into the dish washer by accident

- Beading with my boy

- Finding another book by Laura Ingalls that we didn't know about at the thrift store

 - Coming to pick up my boy, and finding him like this

 - Making the most of that touchy hour before dinner time with a very fun store time

- Receiving fun treats from Aunt Ally

- Finding Adrianna making a "love note" to Abel instead of getting ready for bed

- Abel finally learning colors
... And telling me, "Mommy, I spy a black chair.... and peanut butter!"  (I agreed; peanut butter was a perfect color descriptor.)

 - Abel playing in the back yard on his tractor while all the rest of us finished things inside

 - Adrianna learning to use a sewing machine
... And making a pillow case for Abel and a table cloth for her little table

- Adrianna setting up her new table cloth with a tea party, and inviting a friend to join her

- Getting past my fear of cooking a whole chicken

- Scott helping Adrianna with a craft idea from Club House, Jr.

- Starting a new hobby: making slippers :)

- Taking Abel on a walk (okay, I walked, he tractored)

- Making the strangest hemp seed butter cookies
... And of course, Abel loving them (all of the rest of us think they are a wee bit strange)

- Ten lovely minutes of animal togetherness

- Coming to pick up my boy again... and finding him like this

- Abel singing the theme song for Little House on the Prairie into his milk

 - The moon halo
... And finding Scott in the dark on the back patio trying to capture it

- Abel making me a bath tub drink: "Want some more?"

- Abel's response to tickling, wrestling: "More, please!"

- Our car not needing extra repairs
... And Abel thanking God that our car didn't need to be repaired any more

- Abel asking me: "Mommy, can you go up in the sky -- up there?"  (About going in the attic)

- The dripping of snow melting from our awning

- Piggy back rides to kids' beds

- The ever-hectic, ever-fleeting drives to school and home again