Gratitude Community and Vegan Kringles: Yum-O

(There are many things going on in my heart and life right now...not sure how to explain all of it yet, but one thing I'm going to be doing, in an effort to glorify Him in all things, is beginning my list of 1,000 (yes, 1,000!) things I'm thankful for - not sure how long it will take me - months, years? - as a part of the Gratitude Community at A Holy Experience. Ann writes that it's "not about the gifts she wants but about the gifts she already has." In one of her posts she shared a quote by John Milton:

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world."

You can read what else she wrote here.

We enjoyed very merry days at our house over the holidays. (I'll back up and write about my family's Christmas and Christmas Eve another day.)

So here goes: 1) I am grateful for a simple, casual day at home with my children and husband.

2) I am grateful that my parents also ventured out that afternoon to see us because they love us.

Okay, our new FAVORITE thing to order online: Kringles. It's been a long, long time (like about 20 years!) since I've had anything similar. We get them from Vegan Essentials. This is what we ate while we opened presents.
They didn't have any of the apple, cherry, or raspberry flavors this time, but we like the almond and pecan, too. Normally, I don't choose the fruity option - I'd go for the nutty choice, but the fruity ones, I think, are even better. These are very dangerous. Last time we ordered them I found myself hoping my kids would forget about them in the fridge so there would be more for me...terrible.

Baby Sophie (organic cotton, fair trade, etc. and comes with a purse and change of clothes - and I found her on ebay for less than that price)...she named her after one of her favorite friends from school.

3) I am grateful that not only was I first blessed with two boys, I also got a girl who shares my love of pink, dolls, kitchen sets, and clothes. I would have been happy with all boys and would love to have five more boys, but having a girl was a huge desire of my heart.

We looked over at one point that afternoon, and Dash had already chomped half of his vegan dark chocolate Santa before we even realized he'd opened it. Fortunately, it was hollow. Poor, poor Santa.

4) I am truly grateful that there are vegan, healthi-er, FUN treat options that exist in the world. Like Kringles and chocolate Santas. Seriously.

This year we let the boys pick out gifts for each other. They were responsible for wrapping them, and of course, they loved this. Dash picked out the Joke Master 1000 for Tornado, which was PERFECT for him. It was $5, you push the buttons and a joke appears across the screen. Then push Enter again, and the answer appears, along with electronic laughter. Tornado, lover of all jokes, greatly approved. And since Dash asked Santa for a "car," Tornado's gift to him was a cool bamboo racing car. I loved how much tape and love went into their wrapping jobs.


5) I'm grateful that my kids love one another. Even though they fight a lot, I think they hug more often than that.

The Comic Book Bible...Tornado: lover of jokes AND comics

6) I'm so glad my kids love to read. And that they love to receive books as gifts. I would be mighty disappointed if they didn't.

Even though they were kind of naughty puppies this year, Santa chose forgiveness and gifted Roni and Ghetti with new sweaters, Santa's Little Helper shirts, and sweet potato/carrot chewies (a big healthy hit!).

7) I'm so appreciative of the fact my husband gets up every work morning to take out the puppies first thing and feeds them their breakfast. And he's the one that takes them outside after dark, too. This is HUGE to me.

We always ask people to get "experience" gifts for the kids, rather than objects for which we have no room. I think people are always afraid that doesn't seem like a fun thing to open...lest you had any doubts, I think Tornado's favorite gift of the day was this little piece of paper wrapped up in a tiny box. It promised him a trip to the comic book store, where he could pick out 3 Tom & Jerry comic books of his choice. He was SOOO excited. The next day, when we went to watch the Alvin & the Chipmunks movie (LOVED IT! Had a big smile on my face the entire movie.), we also made the trip to the comic book store, which has a whole shelf of kid comics, plus tons of back issue comics for kids, like Tom & Jerry.
Award for the most creatively wrapped gift goes to...Daddy! Poor guy waited until the last day to wrap his gifts, and there were only scraps left. He gets mucho points for being inventive.

8) I'm grateful that my husband recognizes that I get a little bored at times, being a housewife...and that he found the perfect remedy...inside this box.
9) I'm so grateful that my children are GRATEFUL people. They oohed and aahed over everything. When Dash got a nice shirt, he gasped and said something like, "Look what I got!" And when he opened this Bug book in his stocking, he said so sweetly, "It's just what I wished for."

We got the kids these "dig it up" dinosaur fossil kits from MindWare. The boys loved them. We only got Sissy one, in case she felt left out. She has picked at it a little bit, but it's a lot of work. The boys have made great progress. Great lesson about patience and how tedious a paleontologist's work really is. It comes with a sponge, hammer, chisel, and brush.

"...oh...you got me a dinosaur dig kit, too?...but, wow, look at my nails."
...and the heavens parted and presented a, gasp, pink and purple dollhouse!



That's all I've got for now...and hey, if you call, and I don't answer, I'll just be...