Multitude Monday #3408 - #3434...

"Thank God for the past and you can trust Him for the future.  Trust is a bridge from past to future built with planks of thanks."

Ann Voskamp

Giving thanks with the Gratitude Community for His unending gifts...

...my helpers... 

...witnessing the morning sunrise...a beautiful collage of colors...

...a life well lived (Kat...a friend that sang on the worship team with Wes for years lost her battle with Stage 4 Lung Cancer and left this earth to run to the arms of Jesus...as her husband and three little ones continue on)

...how Kat's death brought back the same feelings of distrust from 8 years ago and how quickly the Lord reminded me that "trust is built with planks of thanks."

...a morning run...

...a group of birds singing a beautiful chorus...

...an afternoon enjoying the theatre with Josh and Eli...Josh posing with the "silly" pirate from How I Became a Pirate...

...catching up with a friend that has moved away...

...safety for a friend and her baby in a car accident...

...small group girls that meet me on my side of town...

...an afternoon walk...

...pumpkins and acorns and all things fall...

...finding him asleep in the sun room with pages of the book Venomous Animals all around him... 

...the smell of fall in the air...

...singing these words and sensing the Spirit prompting me to believe them...

And as He stands in victory
Sins curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand

Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

In Christ Alone  

...Wes' pursuing love...

...a rainy evening dance party with our favorite drummer...

...another Orioles win!...

...all the boys in their Orioles shirts...

 ...taking pictures with my SLR after weeks of taking iPhone pictures (for convenience sake)...

...how one picture can capture each child's personalities...

...how Will says..."I go give a kiss to Daddy."  and he crawls up into his lap and kisses him...

...Mom Mom and two of her boys...

...God continuing to teach me about His love for me...may I allow it to change me...

...an afternoon and evening with my husband...

...morning worship while I watch Eli treasure having his Daddy all to himself...

...Trader Joe's Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Cake Mix...

  

A Decade...

Micaiah is 10!  

This one hit me a little harder than the other birthdays...he is growing up way too fast.  At the top of his 10th birthday gift list was a cross necklace.  He chose going to an O's game against the Rays with his Daddy over a big party.  

They left early enough to watch batting practice where he got a ball.

and he was able to get a picture near the new statue of Cal Ripken unveiled just days before the game. 

 

 They stayed the whole game.  It was tied 2-2 in the top of the 9th inning when the 3rd baseman Manny Machado made an incredible defensive play to get a runner on 3rd out and end the inning.  In the bottom of the 9th inning Nate McClouth hit a walk off run to win the game for the O's and keep their playoff hopes alive.  

What a birthday treat.

Multitude Monday #3383 - #3407...

Giving thanks with the Gratitude Community for His unending gifts...

...driving with the windows down "rockin out" (as Eli likes to say) to Me Without You by Toby Mac...

...carrying Eli through the mall as he showers me with kisses for all my hard work (because he forgot his shoes)...

...Joshua climbing all over me giving me kisses as he reads his book for school...

...early morning ride on the swing as the sunrises... 

...brothers...

...Wes' hard work in the laundry area...

...conviction that prompts me to make things right...

...new beginnings...

...reading this..."If we ground ourselves in the reality that we trust God, we can face circumstances that are out of our control without acting out of control.  We can't always fix our circumstances but we can fix our minds on God." 
Unglued by Lysa Terkeurst

...trusting that God will give him what he needs...

...an early morning masterpiece...

...night out with neighborhood girls...

...Joshua pulling his own tooth...

...this sight as I come in from my early morning run...

...Eli's goal...

...family supporting each other...

...a van full of boys... 

...Micaiah saying "Mom you look great."
 

...glorious weather...

...breeze coming in through the windows...

...hearing him singing in my ear as I hold him during worship...

...the evening sky...

 

...dinner with extended family...

...the boys enjoying "gourmet" Ravens M+M's from their new dispenser...

 

...this little guys new favorite line..."You are so beautiful!"

  

Eli's First Soccer Game...

He started a little reserved...

...but then he took the ball and headed toward the goal...

...GOAL!...

...a little congratulations from his biggest brother...

...one happy little guy...

Second Grade...

...minus a tooth...

First Day of 4th Grade...

and he just loved the photo session before school as you'll see in the photos below!

..."seriously mom?"...

Multitude Monday #3368 - #3382...

"Give me faith to trust what you say That you're good and your love is great."
"Give Me Faith" by Elevation Worship

                                     

Giving thanks with the Gratitude Community for His unending gifts because they "give me faith to trust what He says"...

...celebrating his 5th birthday...

...a familiar speech therapist...

...God's confirmation of decisions made...

...an afternoon at the park with friends...

...the stream filled with boys excited about God's creation...

...the words from this song..."Give Me Faith"...

"I may be weak, but your Spirit's strong in me.  My flesh may fail, my God you never will."

...a coach that encourages and praises a job well done...

...this curly headed boy...

...a couple of weeks of home schooling under our belts...

...Rio...Josh's new best friend...

...his first riding lesson...

...that I had 3 lollipops and an old bag of gummy bunnies in the bottom of my purse to stop/keep Will from screaming (and scaring Rio) during Josh's riding lesson...

...his brother's encouraging words...

...conversations that bring healing and clarification...

...how he was just as excited as me to watch the neighbors little one for a few hours (disclaimer for family members reading this:  Don't worry...I thoroughly enjoyed the time we had with him but I was just as happy to return him to his Mommy)