32 gifts

Have you ever had someone come to your home and say, "Give me a list of EVERY project you want accomplished.. big or small.. and I will do it for you." ??? Well, I just experienced that, folks. I literally had my own personal Genie at my side for five whole days. Only, I got more than three wishes. and it was heavenly.

My sister flew out this morning. She went back to her husband and seven kids. I know it was such a sacrifice for her to spend almost a week with me.. not only for her, but for the family she left behind. But we had SUCH a great time together. We thought the baby might make her appearance while she was visiting, but honestly I am so thankful to still be pregnant. The longer I cook her, the healthier she will be. And had she arrived sometime during the trip, my sister and I wouldn't have been able to do ALL that we did. My closets and cupboards are organized. My halloween costumes are in the works. Curtains are hung everywhere. My freezer or fridge cannot hold an ounce more of food... we've got dinners prepared, frozen cookie dough to bake, and everything else in between. She did everything except write my baby shower thank you notes for me. Now I need to add her to the list of people to THANK. How do you repay someone who serves you in such a way? The wonderful thing about sisters is that you don't have to.

I planned on writing a post about a project I took on last month, inspired by a book called 29 Gifts by Cami Walker. I picked up this book sometime in July. I read it and although I didn't care much for the author's style, I really loved the idea of picking one person to serve each day for a consecutive amount of time. I decided to start 32 days before my birthday and give away a gift each day for 32 days. Most of my gifts were ones that couldn't be wrapped up and tied with a bow, but I accomplished my goal and feel so wonderful about the experiences I've had the past month. I hope to pull out my notebook soon and write about some of the things I learned, but the kids are awake and we have a full week ahead of us, so I must keep it short. All I wanted to say today is that over the past month, while I have been trying to focus on serving others, I have been completely OVERWHELMED by the amount of service that has been given on my behalf. The minute I did something small for another person, I would be served by someone else in a much greater capacity. I had way too many coincidences to know they weren't coincidences at all. I have so much gratitude in my heart this morning. I feel so blessed to know the people I do and to run into perfect strangers who are like me in so many ways. All we need is love. Love is all we need... more to come on this subject later.

Happy new week. Can you believe October is just around the corner?????