"No gift unrecognized as coming from God is at its own best...when in all gifts we find Him, then in Him we shall find all things."

- George MacDonald

300. A quiet night at work

301. and my patient (finally) sleeping.

(just thought I'd start out with those since that sets up what may or may not be a long-winded list)

302. Sunshine long enough for the yard to dry out so Loki does not bring in mud each time he goes out.

303. My husband's explanation of this: "He is like a carpet that you drag outside through the grass and dirt and mud and then you bring him into your house and drag it all around.

304. That Loki is getting a doggy hair cut this week.

305. Lunch with a dear, dear friend

can I shout my husband's greatness from the rooftops? okay, how about from this page?

no objections? ... okay, sappy alert ahead:

306. Lunch with my sweetheart, during a day shift, at McDonald's, where we only buy fries 'cuz he bought lunch for us to eat.

307. Time spent as he patiently lets me collect my thoughts and feelings and then the discussion we had as I talked and he listened

308. Watching him play with Loki

309. He cooks. and bakes. and makes me coffee.

310. Cuddling with him after night shifts - possibly my favorite thing about being married.

311. Playing board games with him.

312. Time spent with him during a busy work weekend.

313. and the excitement of time spent with him this week, painting, playing and worshiping.

314. His strong arms

315. He makes the bed 'cuz he knows I like it

316. Yesterday afternoon he made me breakfast of my favorite things: grapefruit juice, hashbrowns, apples and bread.

317. Forgiveness and grace he shows me.

318. His sense of humor

okay, i love my husband and am thankful for him, we all get it, moving on ...

319. the generosity of my in-laws

320. worship

321. talking about faith during a coffee run with a co-worker.

322. watching the amazement of AWANA girls as they watch each others pupils get smaller when we shine light into their eyes (aka Cranial Nerve III)

323. lotion

324. writing down my statement of faith

325. giggles

326. BIG hugs. I mean the kind when you jump up and down together, in a circle and laugh. just because.

327. A day spent visiting people who are important to us.

328. Smiles from a sweet little boy

329. A fantastic dinner made for us by a friend

330. Bunnies

331. Spring air coming through a screen door

332. Stars in the night sky.

333. Knowing that I am a visitor of this world, determined to soak it all in.

334. Palm Sunday

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!"

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"[b]

"Blessed is the King of Israel!"

John 12:13

(I learned today that Hosanna means "save now")

I joined the gratitude community http://www.aholyexperience.com/

Milwaukee

Milwaukee:

- The 22nd largest city in the US with over 1.5 million people.

- 277 miles from Rochester, 330 from Hastings and 6,500 from Beijing.

- Packer land, where movement stops for a couple of hours on Sundays during football season and Farve makes headlines daily.

- A short drive to a little cottage on a crooked lake in Northern WI.

- Home to the headquarters of Harley Davidson, Roundy's and Kohls.

- And Marquette University, a Catholic, Jesuit university where Chris recently got accepted to school for the fall.

It does seem a little strange that after months of waiting and praying and talking and planning we actually know where we will call home for the next several years. The day we found out was anti-climatic as Chris has injured his fingers earlier that morning, crushing them between two railroad ties and resulting in bruising and a very tiny fracture, a trip to the ER and a tetanus shot. So, I read him the acceptance letter as he laid on the couch with his hand elevated with ice and some strong pain medication pumping through his body. And later, when I climbed into bed, he mumbled "so ... what do you think of Marquette." A few days later, it was official: we are moving to Milwaukee, a decision which made many people happy (as the other possibly cities were Washington D.C and Toronto) and is a clear answer to prayer.

So, our house became a little work in progress as we (and by "we" I mean Chris, his dad and a friend of ours, with some assistance from our Bosnian neighbor) began panting our entryway and living room cream and continue to work on our retaining wall out front. And we are talking about taking advantage of that small amount of time before he starts school and when I am in between jobs - China, the Boundary Waters, Crooked Lake, hmmmm ... what else? ...

oh yeah, moving.

And I look at our half painted walls and am thankful for friends and family, willing to give their time and energy to help us make our home appealing to potential buyers. I drive into work and am thankful for my job at the WFMC. I look around the room at church and am thankful for the awesome people who we have been doing life with the last several years. I go out and speak words of encouragement to the small stalks growing up towards the sun in our backyard and am thankful for the house where friendships grew and love blossomed.

And for a girl who doesn't like change, I am finding comfort in being thankful for the blessings of today and excited in the hope of tomorrow.

tour ...

Linds (and a few others who may be interested), here is your "tour" of our place with Chris all moved in - and before we begin to de-clutter in order to show it.












































































Where Loki sleeps and *sometimes* sits.
When Chris is working, Loki can be found under the desk.
But when Chris is gone, he sits at the top of the stairs, waiting for him.
And recently, in the mornings, he has been sitting under the kitchen table in a patch of sun.
When we are both gone, we think he may sit on the couch, looking out the big windows and I think he uses that time to taste some of my plants on the ledge.


























There is now 5 bookcases in our bedroom. Chris moved in some clothes and lots of books.

God whispering "I love you"

273. smells of bread baking

274. heartfelt conversations

275. A weekend with time spent with both of our parents

276. Being called "sister" at work, here in America, bringing back memories of Africa.

277. the warmth of sunlight

278. Green buds poking up through the earth
















279. listening to my husband tell me of the money he saved at the grocery store

280. knowing an exciting secret

281. working together towards making our budget and savings goals

282. popcorn















283. being still

284. my hand in his

285. notes left for me

286. finding strength and peace in His promises

287. being excited about the future

288. and hopefully visiting China this summer!!!!


289. using a purse my aunt made me long ago.









290. a car to drive

291. an abundant amount of food in the fridge and pantry.

292. ridiculously clean floors (in order to be ridiculously clean, it had to have been pretty dirty to begin with ... )

293. our dog keeping my feet warm

294. long, multi-colored e-mails to and from a dear friend

295. A girl at AWANA with lime green sun glasses and an off kilter ponytail

These are from last week and need some pictures =)

So far today:

296. My husband is okay after injuring his fingers while working on our retaining wall

297. A father-in-law willing to help

298. calmness after a busy weekend

299. learning lessons (again): Matt 16:26

loving the little things

261. a good night's rest, sleeping next to my love

262. coffee brought to me at work

263. a steaming bath after a long day

264. strawberry mango smoothie

265. the sound of rain on the roof

266. dawn breaking through the fog

267. quiet moments in the morning

268. coming home

269. being vulnerable

270. a pancake breakfast around lunch time

271. laundry, clean and folded

272. striving to love extravagantly (wise words from one of my aunts)

Spring is coming.

228. praying with my husband
229. snow melting
230. Game night with friends, the first "married" thing we have done with another married couple
231. cuddling fresh babies
232. giving things away
233. and selling things too
234. Day shifts!!!
235. Getting up early enough to eat breakfast before said day shifts. (I haven't done that in years ... )
236. Feeling prepared for the week ahead
237. getting rides home from work
238. celebrating birthdays
239. breakfast made by my husband and friends, ready for me when I got up (it was so pretty, I should have taken a picture)
239a. and the kitchen being spotless
240. goals
241. routine
242. my husband making up words just for me
243. a full house with the sights (lots of shoes by the front door), sounds (laughter) and smells (smoked pork) of dinner cooking.
244. good wine
245. a quiet night spent reading
246. water
247. Looking for and finding balance.
248. Learning from patient education pamphlets
249. Reading stories of my husband as a young boy courtesy of his (our) sister overseas
250. Reading through Jesus' life and miracles
251. searching the files in my mind for biology knowledge hidden - or maybe lost (mitosis and meiosis)
252. no alarm clock mornings
253. watching Loki slide on the re-frozen ice on top of the side walks. his booties have no traction and it is soooooo funny
254. walking with co-workers during lunch
255. birds singing
256. evergreens
257. a conversation at work:

my co-worker: "what kind of soup is that?"
me: "my roommate made it -- it's vegetable/bean/potato soup."
my co-worker: " ... you guys have a roommate?"
um ... oh yeah ... newsflash: she is now in Africa and I am married with a husband-roommate
thanks, Linds, the soup was yummy and reminded me of you =)

258. finding peace from our realtor's website ("people should remember that they are selling a home and not the memories")
259. and words spoken to my husband from a place deep with in me: "leaving will be sad because our time here has been so good."
260. lists here and there of things that I am thankful for 'cuz my week has been full of fun, satisfying and rewarding things.