Gifts 991+

I am only 10 gifts away from finishing my posted blog list of 1000 gifts, inspired by Ann Voskamp's blog. It has taken me weeks, however, to actually sit and type these final few. For some reason, I feel like they should be really, really good to finish well. And yet, I'm not really finishing anything. This exercise of noting gifts is still working in me and I'll keep noting gifts now that I am in the practice of looking for them. There are so many! Sometimes I use that as my excuse not to actually write them. I tell myself I'll just think about them. But I don't. So, I need to keep writing, noticing gifts and calling them out and lingering over them and thanking the Lord for all of these.

991) First family vacation. A lovely week in the Smokey Mountains with friends.
992) Friends that go back 12 years. Sweet to share memories and history and to still journey together.
993) Boys climbing mountains, sitting on huge boulders, tubing down rivers, digging in dirt.
994) Fireflies lighting up outside our window.
995) Mountains unveiled as mists trail away.
996) Sunsets all purple and pink and gold and blue over the mountains- simply breathtaking.
997) Peppermint tea with ice cubes on a hot day.
998) M falling asleep in my arms.
999) Bigger boys adoring younger ones. L the only girl princess. Laughter and teasing and forgiveness.
1000) Brakes that didn't give out on the mountain! Safety through it all (mostly!) and countless reasons to praise Him for His faithfulness!
1001) Sweet, amazing surprises.