Counting My Blessings...

Great birthday celebration with family.

It was so nice to share a birthday with my family. And then it was an extra bonus that the kids had a sleepover with grandma & grandpa for the night and Jon & I got an extended date.

My grade one classes.
The kids in my lunch supervision classes are so adorable. They can be so exhausting at times...and they certainly don't listen to me all that great a lot of the time...but they are so cute and I really do love them so much :-) I hope and pray that the relationship I have started with these kids will be remembered over the years, as this is my youngest daughter's grade. (She's not in my grade one classrooms...as I have the other two out of the three grade 1 classrooms to supervise). I expect to have continued contact with these students over the years as many of them will be her friends and I'm sure I'll volunteer in her classroom with many of these kids in future years.

Good health.
I will NOT take this for granted! I just learned that an acquaintance of mine, mid-30's with two young children age 3 & 6, was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. This was a shock to me. It DEFINITELY made me thankful for each breath of life I have. Please join me in praying for Odette. I really don't know where she is at spiritually. She and her family definitely need prayer though.

Kid's creativity.

My eldest daughter made a really cool game called "Hugs & Kisses." She actually made it at christmas but has been working on getting it on the computer so it would look really "nice." So we played that tonight and had a great family time, sharing lots of hugs and kisses. (I told them they aren't allowed to play this game with any boyfriend...LOL!)

Another fantastic bible study & spiritual growth of my friend.

I can't begin to say how much I am learning through this study. I'm learning lots about what is taught about the Holy Spirit in scripture. It's great preparing for the study as well. Gets me thinking a bit deeper. And the ladies are great:-) It's just incredible to see the spiritual growth of one of my best friends. I've seen her move from a newborn babe in the faith, with questions about EVERYTHING and only able to handle milk....growing into maturity, now able to actually answer questions, witness to her husband, understand scripture, dig deeper, and able to handle actual spiritual meat! What a blessing it is! I praise God for answered prayers in that regard.

God's Word.

It's amazing. I can't even begin to put into words how much His words have began to mean to me. I'm extremely thankful for His Word.

Sacrificial Love.

This past Sunday we had a lady, Marie Ens, come speak at our church. She is 74 years old and is continuing to minister in Cambodia. She started up a ministry called "Place of Rescue" in Cambodia for aids patients which extended into a home for abandoned single mothers & their babies, orphans, and also orphanned grannies. What an inspiration her story is! I bought her autobiography "Journey to Joy" and can hardly put the book down! The courage and love of people like her and her husband are inspirational.

"W," one of my piano students.

He has such a passion for music. When his younger sister asked to start lessons back two years ago he BEGGED to also take lessons. I'm so glad to have him as a piano student. He inspires ME! He tackles just about ANY music with so much gusto and determination. The latest is a Star Wars song that is far above his level but he is determined to play it and master it. Since he's my neighbour, I invited him over to learn more of the song this evening... And he came with such excitement and we unpacked the song a little further. What a joy he is to teach. As I write this, it makes me think about my relationship with God... It must make Him so joyful when He sees His children pressing on and not giving up. What a joy it must be when He sees His children passionate for Him, earnestly seeking Him, soaking up His word.

Valentine Cookies.

Mmmm... These are a rare treat as I only make this recipe at christmas and valentines (no particular reason except that cut-out/iced cookies take more time to make). Granted I ate a few too many, but they are yummy:-) I'm thankful for this treat:-)

854. Safety.
We've had some pretty icy conditions out lately. I'm thankful that God has kept us safe through this crazy weather. In particular I'm thankful for God's hand of protection on friends who were travelling across the provinces this past week and who made it back home safe and sound.

Summer Plans.
Our tickets are booked, as of January 31st, to fly back down to Mexico for a family mission trip. Last year's trip was amazing as we experienced God in new and deeper ways. We are truly looking forward to deepening the relationships we started last year. Here's a youtube video that gives a glimpse of where we're headed once again...

Praise God, ticket prices were incredibly low, even lower then last year. All four of us can fly round trip to Cancun, Mexico (from Minneapolis) for under $1500! I think that is an incredible GOD THING since a road trip holiday across our own country (using our van and camping) would likely be similar cost! To give this some perspective, it costs about $1200 PER PERSON to fly from here (Winnipeg) down to Cancun during spring break! So we're talking basically the same price for all four of us to got down!

Now it is time to get some planning started. I'm still having a tough time getting to studying spanish, but I got past the intentions stage and withdrew some really good books from the library :-) We have some ideas for fundraisers as well which we're excited to plan further.

Daughter's affection (or my "ice penguins" in the picture above:-).

Every lunchhour lately, my 6 year old daughter has run over to me when we're outside on the playground and walked with me hand in hand as I supervise the kids outdoors. It is so special to have these moments with her. And everytime I see my 9 year old at school she comes up to me and greets me and gives me a hug or kiss. I'm very thankful for my daughter's open display of affection towards me:-) Makes a mommy happy:-) These girls are an incredible gift from God.

Thank you Lord for each and every one of these blessings from above! In Jesus name, amen.