91. Sooooooooo thankful for the way Monday morning began. Jacob was snuggled up close to me and said “Mama, I am going to try to save up my money to buy you a gift at the end of second semester. I want to give you a thank you gift for being such a great teacher.” To hear those sweet words of thanksgiving from his mouth at 6am, before our full homeschool day had even begun, was a sweet treasure to my soul. I could tell he was thrilled beyond measure that this second semester was beginning; he was happy to be at home full-time with his mama as his teacher. I had wondered if he’d be sad on the start of this new semester knowing he wouldn’t be returning to DVIA along with other kids from his school. Nope. No remorse from him. A gift to me. He was saying thanks for hearing him; he asked us to please remove him and allow him to be home-schooled full time. What a gift to be thanked for hearing his voice and responding to it. Especially on this morning when I felt exhausted from having gone to bed at 1:30am, planning an exciting new unit on Transportation for him.

92. Soooooooooo thankful for the way Monday evening wrapped up. I was tucking Jacob into bed and he pulled me close into a hug and said “Mama, thank you. Thank you for being my homeschool teacher.” He was so snuggly and in such a cuddle-bug mood. I realized more fully at the end of this day that his heart’s yearning to be home schooled full-time was huger than I had even imagined. He had verbalized his desire. But there must have been something even deeper that he had never been able to put into words. He began this day with thanks and ended this day with thanks. Thank you Lord for today’s final-seal of confirmation that our family made the right decision.

93. Tuesday was a GREAT day from beginning to end. So thankful for a whole, full, great day! With no hiccups of yucky anywhere in between. I want to be super duper thankful for these kinds of days especially!

94. Thankful for the smell of almond extract. Yum.

95. Thankful for kiddos who love to play together……hearing their imaginary play as they join their legos and Geotrax into elaborate stories…..the sounds of their sweet voices carrying down the hallway as I sit here and spend time giving thanks to God.

96. Thankful to Jennifer Naraki who shared with me the treasure of her homeschool mommy group that goes on adventures every Tuesday.

97. Thankful to see the sweetness of children playing together, adventuring together, reveling in nature together, looking at their field guides and identifying particular species of birds, calling many birds by names without even looking at the guides. The beauty of children at play in nature.

98. Thankful that we could spend hours soaking up the beauty of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Thankful for sunny spots, shady spots, windy spots…..kids’ shoes on dusty trails…..mommies thrilled to bring their kids into creation to point to their Creator.

99. Thankful for that moment on the bridge when we just stood and gazed at the beauty of the flock of teeny tiny birds that flew sooooooo quickly together, swerving together in the air in the most beautiful rhythmic patterns……the white of their backs gleaming in the sunlight and then suddenly with the turn of every one of them, the silver of hundreds of bellies catching the light. Oh it was just breathtaking. That moment alone I could be thankful for a million times over. That show. That display of God’s beauty for us, right there in that moment.

100. And on the other side of that bridge we all stood there watching and studying one bird all by its lonesome. A solitary bird in the water. And all of us taking notice that its legs were connected to its body all the way at the back where the tail feathers would be. How odd, or perhaps I should say- how different. I’m used to seeing birds with legs that come out the middle section of its body. Not all the way at the back end. And yet perhaps that’s exactly how God designed it- to help it swim, with its feet kicking like little paddles.  And there we all stood watching and studying that single bird with red eyes. What a beautiful moment of attending to the specific details of God’s creation.

101. Thankful that as the kids snoozed in their beds, exhausted from nearly 4 hours of play in nature…..that I too could take a nap.

102. Thankful for the fun feeling of tip-toeing to the kitchen and unrolling Pillsbury crescent rolls and boiling broth to make a fideo soup, for a fun surprise snack for the kids. To imagine their noses waking up to the smell of soup and warm bread. The delight of being that mama giving them that treat; so thankful.

103. Thankful to have the pool all to myself in the evening. Thankful for the sweet serenity of the calmness of all the lanes, just my kicking and moving down the length of the gym’s pool.

104. Thankful what a reminder it always is to me when I swim…..as I look up for just a moment to bring my head up for air….everything along the sidelines is seen as a blur….but then I put my face head-down back in the water and make most of my strides with my eyes focused on the straight line of tiles leading me ahead. It always makes me think about my relationship with God. I should keep my eyes focused on Him. I can’t see all the way down the length of the pool, but I know that by focusing on this straight path I will get where He is taking me. I just need to stay focused on those tiles, on His Word. The rest is a blur. This is what I should concentrate on…..and breathing….and back to this constant, steady, straight line.

105. Thankful for deep sleep after a day of lots of walking exercise, a heart overflowing with joy for having found a super friendly, welcoming group of adventuring moms, having watched my kiddos enjoy throwing rocks from a bridge into water below, bouncing on a fallen tree, and time to exercise in a pool, praying with each lane’s length and ending with a soak in a hot jacuzzi. A blessed day. Thankful.