Quick update

Irby family still busy and doing fine! Josh is trying hard to finish his book on Miss Irby's life in the next couple of weeks. The kids are still enjoying vrtic although sometimes they ask to go back to their old vrtic and often they ask if they can just stay home with a sitter! But the vrtic is really good for them and they are already making friends.
Sarajevo is once again covered in snow and it's just really beautiful. The snow is powdery so there is not much ice, which is a good thing. Not a lot of slipping around!

Has anyone started a gift list? I got to 100 the other day. Here are some things from my list yesterday:
...Josh made dinner last night
...My mom read a book to the kids that her mom read to her when she was little over skype (gotta love technology)
...the way the snow falls so delicately from the sky
...a city covered in a blanket of snow

Life is more colorful and you live more awake when counting the gifts God has given. I always remember my Nannie (who is now 100 and still fully alive and well!) "Count your blessings count them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done!"

1000 Gifts...

Hey all,
Just wanted to recommend a book I'm listening to and hoping to have a hard copy soon. It's called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I just listened to the 3rd chapter yesterday in a crowded cafe. The challenge excited me. She challenged me to keep a running list of gifts God has given to you. The small things. Basically the small things add up to become one giant miracle in your life. They are seeds that are planted in your soul that grow over time into a beautiful great tree. So I will periodically post some gifts that I will write in my "gift journal". (you can do this too...you don't have to have a pretty journal...a scrap of paper or a spiral bound notebook will do just fine) Remember, it's the small things. Ann Voskamp found joy in grated cheese. Grated cheese!
The goal is to get to 1,000 gifts. She said after she got to 1,000 she hasn't stopped. It has changed her life and brought joy. So here I go...

#1. Finding peace and joy in a crowded cafe in Sarajevo
#2. Family movie night "Despicable Me" and esp. watching Israel's fear turn to laughter
#3. First day of school and the excitement that goes with that
#4. Early Sarajevo Mornings
#5. The way the light perfectly shines on the red cathedral

Will you make a list with me of the thousand gifts God has given you? Let me know if you do!