Multitude Monday #18

Today I'm most thankful for the end of tax season (#300 in my list!). I don't know if that's a gift from God, but I sure am thankful for it. Combine tax season with development season, and that's about seven months of long work hours and time away from my little girl. I'm ready for a more flexible few months.

Dan had to work all weekend, but Anne and I still managed to have a wonderful couple of days together. Our exciting activities included a birthday party for a three-year old, and trips to the gear store, the health food store, the bakery, and the dollar store. (I think everyone in the dollar store knew Anne's name by the time we left; I must have said things like, "Anne, come back here," "Not in the mouth, Anne," "Anne, take Mommy's hand now," "Anne, put that back up," etc., the entire time I was there.)

Here are a few other things I'm thankful for these days:

301. dogwoods blooming

302. azaleas blooming

303. irises blooming

304. spring, spring, spring!

305. "Wild Geese," by Mary Oliver--a poem that has been on my mind a lot lately

306. Ella Monk--my sweet niece with the jazzy name and the beautiful smile

307. Sunday afternoons at the playground with Anne, Ella, and my sister, Megan

308. smiling so much my face hurts at the end of the day

309. the way Anne wants to carry her new Camelbak water bottle everywhere--just like Mommy

310. little girls in party hats

Anne at the birthday party

Making friends

311. profiles

No, she didn't keep the party hat on for long

312. the privilege of being Anne's mommy

313. healing

314. dancing

315. Schumann's "The Happy Farmer"--never one of my favorites, but Anne loves it, so I've dug out my old sheet music and am dusting this one off.

316. Anne's "funny face"--and how much it looks like my trademark funny face

I'll try to find a picture of my funny face for comparison ...

317. the brave American soldiers who fought in WWII (I'm reading a book about it now and am wide-eyed at how much I've taken for granted for most of my life.)

I know I ended that on a serious note, but hey ... I write these as they come to mind. For more gratitude thoughts around the blogosphere, check out Ann Voskamp's blog.

Hope everyone has a good week!