Pink paint and fake cookies

Here's a picture of what we've been up to, since the last blog. The nursery is coming along and looks just as I hoped it would. Olivier did such a good job in figuring out how to accomplish what was in my head! As we were painting I was really hoping that we are truly having a girl--if not, the boy will really have a unique personality because we're not doing this again!

Last weekend I hosted another craft group with the girls in the neighborhood. It was a bit more mellow than the past meetings have been. We made bracelets with cool beads and experimented with patterns. The girls seemed to really enjoy it. What they didn't enjoy were the fake oreo cookies I got them from Trader Joes. They were appalled that I would get them such a disgusting snack. The cookies were peppermint "oreos". At first their hatred was cute, but then I started to wonder why I do this?

This was a small incident that sparked a lot of thought for me. At the end of the day, I felt like I needed to be more grateful in my life. The process of gratitude is a battle at times. The process begins in denying your flesh so that you can inwardly praise and express to the living God gratitude for who He is and what He is capable of. The longer I delay gratitude, the harder it is to turn to God. I also realized how much joy it must give God to hear praises of gratitude from us. I know that I would have liked to hear a few, for the measley oreos I offered the girls. :) So the reason I "do this" group, is probably for me to experience negative feedback, to enjoy the laughter and to wrestle with it all day long. Usually I end up praising God for his incredible love--and that is the best ministry I could ever think of.