monday gifts

Thankful for… 

a safe trip across the state and back for graduations. Every so often I reach a point where I need to get out of town and it was wonderful to be on the plains, see the stars, & watch the horizon.

150ish cupcakes, mostly made by Val. She’s amazing!

extra family, I don’t think you can have too many of these.

a sickly car.

Kalyn’s hair flower, disco ball edition.

not getting to see my own fam, I wanted to this weekend but it didn’t work out.

small town graduations. Young men I’m proud of, who live their lives for the Lord and aren’t ashamed of it.

orange and pink class colors, for Katie & Michael.

longtime friends, family, camp people I got to see.

small-town steadiness.

edible multicolored lava (exhausting imagination-fueled play with 4 yr old Caiden).

san pedro’s on the drive back.

hot glue. butter. flour in a cloth bag. butter. aprons. butter. cream cheese. butter.

mutant dandelion.

hollering father, bellowing cows.

a jar of the grape jelly and a jar of salsa.

Skip, Val, Brett, the Duke, & me: friends for the journey.

monday gifts

thankful for… 

moments with quiet in them.

crazy grad season, yet again. But I am thankful, I love celebrating these friends & cheering them on!

a handmade card for my red-house-roommate Hanner, the super nurse!

running into my old professor and adviser, sharing a lemon bar with them, getting multiple hugs & catching up.

the words “no” and “I can’t”… I majorly dislike these words! But I have been very aware of the sacrifice of saying “yes” to things.. they mean I must say no to others and miss out on good things. It has been hard on me even though I know it’s necessary and worth it.

things that are overwhelming.

days I don’t looove being a caregiver. I have them sometimes.

a long phone call with Joe. He is a God-given brother and we are on each other’s team.

Eli the lion-dog.

cranberry apple cake.. I think I finally found the perfectly balanced ingredients magic.

late night chat with 2 friends of Val’s and mine from high school. We were all Bible quiz teammates, as well as did camp and other things. They were in town for one night only so we yawned and just kept talking! Also in attendance: Brett the blanket & John Wayne the blanket. (No yawning from them, they have issues with showing weakness.)

 

monday gifts {JTREAT}

Thankful for… 

a very inspiring, encouraging weekend at the Jump Tandem Retreat!

this awesome Omaha sister & friend.

amazing women who gave from their hearts.

messing around with paint and glue and old magazines.

God’s timing. He is so kind to me.

the people He uses to remind me that I’m not alone.

that God is our refuge & strength, an ever-present help in trouble. I was remembering that a lot last week. And thinking of my favorite peaceful camp home.

keeping track of BQ nationals from far away.

monday gifts

thankful for… 

a break. I needed one!

more fun cousin adventures. I don’t think you can ever have too many of those.

an out-of-nowhere hug from a 4 year old boy in my class at church.

kitchen chaos. And the good food that somehow resulted from that! Under the circumstances we should have been slumped on the couch feeling worried, but instead we ended up having a hilariously fun night and making great memories. I love my cousins!

a grandparent’s health situation ending up not being too serious this time.

two books read over the weekend.

cheering for “the old guys” at the Masters via texts with Dad.

more brown, more grey.. I do love those colors but seriously.

hope.

a fun evening celebrating a good friend and eating mostly bread and chicken in various forms.

the random things I find on the board in the student lounge.

monday gifts

Today I’m thankful for the funny parts of my weekend: 

The part where my little old lady stopped in the middle of Panera, slowly and carefully bent over, picked up a penny, looked at it, then put it in her shoe. Cute.

The part where Joe relayed the funny illustration Dad used during his talk at Joe’s ordination. It was one of those that until the punch line, you’re sitting there awkwardly wondering “where is this going??” Oh my word.. Father! You are funny. 

The part when Hanna was telling a story, and Val from her angle thought that Hanner’s hand was my hand, gesturing along with the story, touching her face, messing with her hair, etc. We laughed profusely over that one!

The part where we were listening to music in the van and watching my uncle’s face react to the lyrics. (We were stuck behind a tractor at this point which made me miss life on the plains! Yes it did.)

The part where Caleb sang, “wasting away in old-lady-ville” to the tune of the Jimmy Buffet song. I can’t even remember what we were all talking about but that made me laugh!

The part where I kept replaying the same 10 seconds of a video I found that Eli had made on my phone.. let’s just say he yawns, out of nowhere J sings a line from The Prince of Egypt, and Eli’s face as he reacts… so very them.

I’m also thankful for oatmeal waffles, qdoba, donuts before church, being able to help, finishing a book that had me totally confused (in a good way) as to how it would play out, 1 Samuel, an attack of the allergies, music & kitchens. 

 

monday gifts

Thankful for… 

quiet spots.

grateful thoughts.

loud laughter.

countless games of uno spin with my youngest cousin while the boring adults talked.

helpless van laughter. yes we have been doing a lot of laughing lately. and why not?

pink tulips from my mom.

watching muskrats swim in the lake on our nighttime walk.

forgiveness.

a beautiful morning at the joslyn.

glimpses of the Lord’s goodness, here and now.

some rice & peas, a beef patty, and some Ting… not quite as delicious as what you’d find on the island, but still very comforting.

fun creations with the boys when I showed them shells and other Jamaica stuff.

how i smile whenever i see my sister at 2:17 in this video.

monday gifts

Thankful for…

cousins.

family.

love.

late night nerts/snert which is a genetic compulsion in my overcompetitive family; also, it’s a card game. (“Game” sounds too casual and fun to describe such a serious matter.)

twirling.

conversations in a bookstore with a cute guy in overalls.

an awesome day watching Bible Quiz regionals in Missouri with my friends.

students I’m proud of.

using all the dishes.

monday gifts

Thankful for… 
food & friends & St. Patrick’s Day.


the fact that Dad has apparently been snacking on Bakery Irish Blarney Stones all these years. 

books. 

lots of driving here and there, story of my life. It’s worth it though! I am having so much fun with my current batch of people to care for. We go to Hyvee, Walgreens, Runza, Village Inn, and the hair salon.

Bible Quizzing. We were talking about it yesterday. It was just one of the best things to ever happen to me! I love still being involved with it in Jamaica and at camp. The great and fun and awesome parts of high school were mostly due to quizzing. So thankful:

monday gifts

Thankful for… 

crepes, specifically crepes with nutella and bananas.

snow day staples: hot glue gun, butter, movies, a ridiculous roommate, a very good book.

hope that spring is coming and actual colors besides white, grey & brown will exist in nature.

perfect driving-in-the-rain-at-night music on kvno. 

cousins.

a handful of candy from a dear elderly man. i’m back in the stage of being with clients who are able to get around, have long conversations, go out to eat at village inn, stuff like that. And it is good but I keep having vivid memories of doing those very things with several of my clients who died this spring. This isn’t the first time I’ve received handfuls of restaurant mints or answered the same questions, over and over and over again.     

ephesians.

a much-needed friends + food + fun night.

looking ahead to camp and summer.. even though the wrangling of dates and logistics is being tricky for me this year, it’s home and it’s joy and it’s worth it.

emails from my dad.

monday gifts

Thankful for…
chocolate cake on a snowed-in night.
chuckles when I find this photo in my Bible:

making things & being creative.
people in church asking about my Jamaica trip.
clean water.
that my siblings & I were all watching duck dynasty at the same time, miles apart, unplanned, this made me laugh.
new books.
new people to care for.
favorite sandwiches.
extra families, chocolate + raspberry macaroons, browsing through fancy cooking stores, gigantic cinnamon rolls, cute babies.