simply gratitude

I just joined the Gratitude Community, a body of believers who share in the gifts the Lord has granted us. The goal is to reach 1000 gifts we are thankful for in any given period of time. The purpose: Giving thanks for a thousand graces will turn my focus to glorify Him in all things, and hopefully I will begin to feel more JOY, less stress, better health, more connected in my relationships, and more DELIGHT in my everyday life. And so my journey begins to find the smallest of gifts to the most miraculous of gifts my Father has showered upon me.

~ the crisp air ~

~ the skip in Jessi's step ~

~ Gracie's spontaneous kisses ~

~ Grant being a snuggler ~

~ a happy marriage ~

~ Jessi not crying at lunch ~

~ God moving in me ~

~ the leaves changing ~

~ my house, my shelter, God given ~

~ new friendship ~

"Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show GRATITUDE, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe."
Hebrews 12:28

summer recap....

Before I welcome autumn I find it necessary to say so long to summer and all the great memories we as a family were able to share together. I'm finally getting use to the routines that the school year brings, but find it awfully sad to put behind us all the fun we had that was captured in these pictures........

camping Holland State Park with the Spaniolo Family

4th of July weekend at the Beld cottage (look at the good boy....I miss him)
Jessi and her daddy tackled fishing....she was so proud of the one she caught.
Nothing makes this mama happier than to see daddy and the kids bonding!

Just one of many campfires we had in our backyard this year, courtesy of Kirk Beld's fine fire pit installation. We usually would start the night out with ball tag, red light, green light, freeze tag, or just swingin on the swingset. Followed it with some gooey smores and good stories!

Annual camping trip to Brower Park......consists of fishing in the channel, tubing on the river, boat watching, playground playing, ice cream trips, hot showers, the all new candy shack, not enough beach sand, and too much WIND! Yes, the wind claimed the life of our awning this year, constantly had us in bikini tops (ha!!!) one minute and bundled under blankets the next, and brought in some good storms.....leaving us no choice but to pack up in the rain and leave the Grand River that swallowed up our site behind. All in all another fun year of memories made!

The harvest from our very first garden......still have made no salsa....I am such a SLACKER!

Our annual trip to the zoo....seriously John Ball needs to get some new animal exhibits!

Jessi's favorite was the lions....ROAR! Gracie's fav. were the monkeys, go figure, she is one! And my fav. was the bear pounding on the door. It actually was quite scary, and I was planning my escape route!



......and last but not least, I loved spending time with this little guy. He is so easy going and has been so much fun to see him start crawling, bugging his sisters, and being curious about EVERYTHING!

Simply blessed to have enjoyed such a special and memorable summer with those I love most!

Good-bye summer, hello autumn. Now for the best of fall......pumpkin pies, apple orchards, walks in the woods, mulled cider candles, Post family farm donuts, making homemade applesauce, the crisp air, colored leaves, jeans and sweatshirts, football games, deer shining, leaf raking, God honoring in all we do! Enjoy the season.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."
Ecclesiastes 3:1

31:27

Sunday, September 20, ended our weekend alone without the kiddos. It was a great and relaxing weekend, until we woke up Sunday. 6:30 a.m. and my alarm is sounding.......can someone please tell me why my alarm is going off this early when I have NO kids! Race day it is! Are we nuts? Have I lost my mind? Why am I not sleeping in? Okay, so I have a goal, an accomplishment to achieve, something to check off my "I did it list." Very stupid to schedule kids away weekend when we have a race......oh well, too late, get your butt out of bed, and put on your gear.......




Kirk and I decided some time ago to sign up for this race, The Gazelle 2009 Bridge Run. Kirk is a natural runner, and myself......umm, not so much! But we both are very excited to be doing this and doing it together.

We get down to Rosa Park Circle in G.R. and the crowd is a little overwhelming. Yah, all these people look like runners minus me! They announce the race and the two of us head for the start line. I drop Kirk off at the front of the pack and I head to the VERY back of the pack, heaven forbid I hold anyone up. Oh my goodness we are moving, we are running, crap I have to finish now. Almost instantly I feel like I am the last person in the race but I refuse to turn around and look to see how many trail behind. I keep reminding myself, "Courtney, you are doing this for you....it's your own personal goal that matters." FYI, my own personal goal is to finish without walking!

Well, I did it. I finished, and I finished way better than I thought I would. 31 minutes and 27 seconds.....yahooey! I feel really good about it, maybe I didn't finish 13th OVERALL like MY hubby (yah, he makes me sick too :)) but I am happy. Kirk and I have decided to make this an annual event for us. Jon and Ash want the kids next year...ha :)

#709 & #708! (Kirk says it looks like we are posing for prom) :)

No Seatbelts, No Mom, No Fear........

Jessi is gearing up for the first day of school, only a few days away. She is extremely excited. She gets to ride on the school bus and you don't even have to wear seatbelts! She gets to get away from her mom, pesky sister, and loud brother & instead play with Asa, Anthony, and Aiva (tongue twister) on the playground.......too cool! If you were one of the many to ask her about her first day fast approaching you would have seen the excitement and absolutely not a trace of fear in her eyes.

Okay, so now let me bring you to our conversation the night before her first day. She was still excited as she climbed her ladder to the top bunk, crawled underneath her blankets, said her prayer, and then the screaching holt of excitement turned to 101 questions of pure FEAR! "Mom, will you ride the bus with me, I'm nervous about not wearing seatbelts," "mom, why does the bus driver get a seatbelt and not me?" (good question) "mom, what if I don't have anyone to play with on the playground?" to which I reply, "well than you ask someone to play with you." "What if they say no?" "than you ask someone else to play." "What if they say no?" "Jessi, they won't all say no!" "mom, what if the kids laugh at me because I have a Dora backpack.....5 year olds don't watch Dora." "Jess, the kids won't laugh at you." (note in my mind I cannot comprehend how a 5 year old gets the whole mocking thing, and I will do everything to make sure my peanut is confident with what is on her back.) "mom, I'm going to miss you!"

Our conversation went on way too long. This girl thinks and worries too much, lot like her mamma. So I rubbed her back until she was almost asleep, and then yes made the dreadful 9:00 p.m. run to Target to buy my daughter a new backpack free of any cartoon characters. While I was there I also bought her a new lunch sack, heaven forbid she be worried about that too. So as she walks into school tomorrow least she won't be worried that Dora is at her back.

She woke up the next morning with a sparkle in her eye.....the excitement was still lingering! She was geeked that mom had made one of her favorites....blueberry pancakes in the shape of hearts! She ate breakfast with daddy and had a devotion about "Shining Like Stars," which is a lot like the motto her and I adopted for this school year, "Let your little light shine!"




.........as she was taking a break from breakfast to use the ladies room, she spotted the backpack hanging on the hook. She stopped dead in her tracks, looked back at Kirk and I, and said, "is this mine?" Her face was beaming!

First day paparazzi......mom behind camera!

so proud!

....being bashful! or silly!

walking to the bus (like 1/4 mile away)

The bus stop is quite a trek down our street to the end of the subdivision. This will make getting to the bus on snowy days interesting, especially with no 4 wheel drive, and usually no plows! There is only like half the school at our bus stop, you think they could come in the subdivision!

the troops.....
....Shawna, Shari, Jessi, Asa, Anthony, Tyler, Jadon, and Shawn. (missing Aiva...too shy)

Bus #28 pulls ahead, flashers on, I grab a kiss, and off she runs, backpack as big as her, and a smile on her face. I have huge lump in my throat, I wanna puke, my eyes are screaming tears, but I compose myself long enough for the bus to pull away, and of course I lost it! I think Kirk had tears in his eyes too. Please Lord just take me back to July 30, 2004. So, yah, no I do really think I just went home? Of course not I went to her school to watch her get off the bus, get in her pre-K line and single file walk into the school, doors closing behind! AAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!

Ms. Chirco (her teacher) putting on her name tag.


I watched the clock all day long, waiting to go get her off the bus, longing to hear her stories of her very first day!