July 31st: "Three Gifts Difficult"

#604  Being thankful for *ONLY* six days over the 100 degree mark this year

#605  Consoling a boy whose finger was caught in a door

#606  Trying something new...and difficult...

July 30th: "Three Gifts Heard"

#601  Tante's Chickens

#602  Playing with friends

#603  Sounds of the pool

July 29th: "Three Gifts Together"

#598  Sunday morning breakfast....

#599  My church family....

#600  Twins playing...

July 28th: "Three Gifts of Beginnings"

#595  Long over-due toy clean-out day....just the beginning

#596  Life-jacket-free pool time...

#597  2012 Summer Olympics...

July 27th: "A Gift On Vacation, At Home, In Relaxation"

#592  On Vacation:  New Scenery

#593  At Home:  Familiar Comfort

#594  In Relaxation:  Ease and Rest

July 26th: "Three Gifts Fresh"

#590  Fresh flowers.....

#591  Fresh air.....

#592  Fresh waffle fries.....

July 25th: Three Gifts of Endings"

#587  End of a long search....birds to buy.

#588  End of a special "Solo" day with the Eldest...memories made.

#589  End of a pretty great snack...satisfied.

July 24th: "Three Gifts of Sand"

Happy 13th Birthday to my sweet niece, Alyssa!!!  So glad we've been together this weekend.  What a lady you are.....

#584  Lake-side castle

#585  Dusty roads traveled safely

#586  Home.

July 23rd: "A Gift High, Low, Far Away"

#581  An above-the-door welcome

#582  Garden Art

#583  Canadian Geese far away from home

July 22nd: "Three Gifts Understated"

Happy Birthday to my sweet Sister-in-Love, Sara!  Thanks for introducing me to your brother 17 years ago today....

Back to the Dare....

#578  Family "Church" Time....on the front porch.....mostly barefoot....with birds singing

#579  Brothers.

#560  A simple birthday party for a spectacular 13 year old niece....

July 21st: "Three Gifts of Story"

#575  Stories on the boat and in the water

#576  Stories on the dock (or off, as the case may be)

#577  Stories by the fire

July 20th: "A Gift in Light, Dark, Shadow"

Author's Note:  Apologies for the lack of posts, but we have experienced a true family retreat this past weekend.  I sought the joys listed, and discovered plenty more....May we all find retreat and rest in Him, but also with those people that love us.

#572  Light:  Rain in the afternoon sun

#573  Dark:  Hand-made lanterns hung from a tree

#574  Shadow:  Silhouette of a heron in flight

July 19th: "Three Gifts Baked"

#569  Hootie Creek Cookies for our family retreat

#570  Pizza for dinner

#571  Belvita crackers....No, I didn't bake them, but someone did somewhere, and I am thankful.

July 18th: "Three Gifts Musical"

#566  Pandora and the productivity it brings

#567  Dad's tunes and singing to Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline

#568  Ella humming and snapping to songs she's never heard before

                       "I like this music."

July 17th: "Three Gifts Learned"

 All of these, life-long pursuits.....

#563  Learning to trust....

#564  Learning to grow....

(Here, Eldest demonstrates that she can spell "Go" with her hands.  

She was very excited about this discovery.)

#565  Learning to sew....

July 16th: "Three Gifts Hanging Down"

#560  The "I Love Mom" ornaments the girls made for me....hanging from the light in the kitchen

#561  Swimsuits....hanging up to dry

#562  Little Feet....hanging off the couch during movie time

July 15th: "Three Gifts of Stone"

#587  Granite and Joel's day job....

#588  My church and how we work together to hold up the Cross

#589  Variations of beauty from inside of ordinary places