#8 - "Sitting" Sailor

Today I've been teaching my puppy (that has had quite a rambunctious morning) her first skill. "Sit." I probably said it 100 times. Maybe 200. But in the end, SHE SAT!

#7 - Birthday Celebrations

A surprise puppy from Corey. The one I wanted so much. The cutest little Old English Sheepdog ball of fur. Sailor.

I am thankful.

Breakfast with my sisters. The ones that drove me crazy when we were kids but that now, between our 3 busy lives and 9 wonderful kids, I can't seem to ever spend enough time with. But that morning we did. Between carpooling kids and a meeting and car repairs and other endless responsibilities, we shared one meal and thousands of words.

And I am thankful.

The day before my birthday. A weekend day. A day where my family gives me all that they can think of that I might want. More hugs than usual. Sweet words. Breakfast by the fire. A day in my bed to read. And nap. And read some more. A day filled with ordinary things that feel luxurious when they are much desired. My husband made it happen. He is training our kids how to love.

I am thankful.

My "real birthday". A Monday. A real life day. Gifts. Homemade cards. Homeschooling the boys by the fire. Dealing with the things that only the mom can deal with. Phone calls from far away family. Each one including the birthday song. That's what we do. Dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. With my 4 favorite people. Artichoke basil soup. A beautiful cake. More messages of birthday wishes from friends and family than my heart could contain.

My heart is overflowing. And I am thankful.

A message the next morning from Corey & Allie singing Happy Birthday to me as they drove to school because they realized that they forgot to on my birthday. A 30 minute phone call with my mom because we had played phone tag the day before. This is the woman than made my life possible.

And I am thankful.

Dinner with a few of my friends. Laughs. Conversation. More laughs. A prayer from a friend that brought me to tears. Delicious pink vodka sauce on pasta. A little wine. More laughs. Sweet gifts. Bath salts, a monogrammed candle, and a gift certificate to a spa. These girls know me. Beyond gifts that I am sure to like, they really know me.

And to great depths, I am thankful.

A December birthday. That's what I have. The kind of birthdate that can get swallowed up by the month it belongs to. But mine, because of those that love me, was set apart. I was celebrated. A midst the busyness, I was shown love. And I feel loved.

I am thankful.

#6 - New Beginnings

New beginnings. Second chances. Sometimes third and fourth chances. And sometimes more. We're wrapping up a chapter. Turning a page. Ending a tough time. A very rough time. In many ways, the hardest time that I've had as a parent. I've learned to trust God with my most precious belongings at a deeper level than ever before. My child. My children. But we have kept moving. We are leaving behind the bad and moving on with the good that we have learned from it all. And we are preparing for a new experience. A good experience. Hopefully, a great experience. That's what we are doing. We are learning from the place that we've been. Hoping that we've learned lessons that we'll never have to learn again. Moving on to a place that will be much better for our family. We hope. And what else do we have, beyond hope.

#5 - Time With Her

Time with Allie is some of my best time spent. Always has been. Since she was a baby girl, big bow on her head, strolling through the mall with me. Today, we have worked to solve a problem. Worked hard. All the while asking God to teach us through this hard time. Don't let this struggle be a waste. And I know it won't be. He is faithful. Always. And we have laughed. And we ate soup. And laughed some more. And while every picture I took of her today involved her stubborn little hand up in front of her face, she snapped this one of me. And we thought it was cool. Like her.

#4 - Morning Carpool

Beautiful sky.  Coffee.  More importantly, coffee creamer.  Seat warmers.  A dependable car.  Happy kids.  The jokes they tell.  The questions they ask.  The conversations I overhear.  The sounds of studying.  And laughing.  The teachable moments.  The scenic drive.  The ponds, and horses, and golf course, and bridges.  The school that is our destination.  The ones that work there that love my children.  The Christian environment in which they get to learn.  The friends that they have there.  Visiting with long time friends.  And new friends.  The quiet that awaits me when I return to my car after drop off.  The peace that I have in knowing that I have left them in good hands.

What Is In A Name

The last few years the importance of naming things - giving things a name - has become something that I am more attentive to than ever.  I am sure there will be more on that to come... For now, I will talk about my blog.  Naming it.  Why I named it what I did.  I explained earlier the reason why I wanted to start a new blog.  This is the way I came up with it's name.

If you look simply at the names of my 2 primary blogs, I think that it is easy to see the tone of the names of them is different.  For What It's Worth was written at a time in my life when that was my attitude.  "Here's what I think.  Here's who I am.  Take me or leave me.  This is me.  For what it's worth." I kinda needed to assert myself, I guess.  And I am not saying that that was all bad.  There are many reasons that I needed to speak my mind.  The fact is, sadly, that many of those posts were written in an effort to make someone - anyone - understand me.  I wasn't finding my identity and acceptance in Christ.  I was looking for someone to relate to me.  Empathize with me.  Accept me.  Just the way I am.  Even though my heart was not always right in my writing, the Lord used that sweet blog in my healing.  In spite of me.  He brought me heart-friends through my blog... despite my selfish motives.  And I am so thankful.  He is good to me.  Always.

So, today when I felt inspired to start blogging again, I didn't want it to be for any self-serving reasons.  I questioned myself.  Asked the Lord to search my heart and let me know if there was a reason to not do what I was thinking of doing.  And I feel good about writing a blog again.  I didn't have to really think of a name for my new blog.  It popped (literally) into my mind as I was driving along.  Much of why I wanted to write again was to record the things that I am thankful for.  My one thousand things.  The fact is, there are so many more than one thousand things that I am thankful for.  And the family that God has given me is at the top of that list.  When I think of my family I think of us as a family of five in some contexts and a family of seven in others.  Five kids.  That is how many I have.  3 on Earth, 2 in Heaven.  There is nothing that I am more sure of.  So, with all of that thinking combined, in a blink of an eye, I came up with the title One Thousand Five Gifts.  I just love that name.

And I love writing.

I feel like someone gave me an early Christmas gift today (or a late birthday gift, since my special day was just 2 days ago) when I figured out how to blog from my phone.  I was giddy.  Am giddy.  That might be evident, as this is my 5th post today.  I am sure that there will be days in the future that I don't post one single solitary thing that I am thankful for... I might, literally, not have a thankful thought in my head for a day or two.  I know myself, people.  Just being honest.  But there will be days that I will feel like I am overflowing with thankfulness, and on those days I will unapologetically blog away.

I hope that in writing here that I can record God's goodness to me and my family for us, primarily, to look back on and remember His faithfulness.  I hope that by writing it down, it will solidify it in our memories. I hope that by sharing the joy that I have found in being thankful, I can point others to the One that has brought me any little bitty ounce of joy that I have ever felt.  I hope that the things about my life that are dark and sometimes sad can be used as a way to connect me to someone that is experiencing the same feelings. Something that makes me relatable and real.  And in that, I earnestly pray that I can bring glory to the One that has given me hope to make it through hard those times.  The One that will help me through the hard times that are inevitably to come.

If you are reading through this blog, I'd love to know it.  I'd love to connect with you, if even only in thought.  I am thankful for you.

#3 - The Aubreys

Cooper Aubrey & Aubrey Joy. Cousins. 3rd babies. Named after their great-grandfather. Glennon Aubrey Selke. Our Pap. One of the most kind, loving, calm men I've ever known. He left for Heaven when Cooper was on his way to me. I wonder, Did they cross paths? Can he see his namesakes and all their siblings and cousins? Does he know how we love him and honored him by naming our babies after him? I've missed him more this month than usual. Maybe because of anniversaries. His wedding anniversary. The anniversary of his death. Maybe because of our little Aubreys. So much I wish he and my Granny could see. So many I wish they could know. I can't wait to see him again someday and introduce him to my Aubrey. Cooper Aubrey. His namesake. My boy.