1000 gifts in the rainstorm

So in just a few short hours my day went from a GREAT morning to an afternoon full of bickering, brotherly insults, tiny cut up paper scraps, permanent marker on light colored furniture, and a living room with every surface covered in toys.

#44 delicate flowers still hanging on in the rain

And I was ready to pull out my hair and start yelling.  

Oh how I wanted to YELL!

And I probably did a little.

Because life here is far from perfect.

I don't know how to hold myself together and I lose it.

So I decided to get outside, in the backyard, and count the gifts...

In a downpour.

And I'm still wet.

And I still have boys who don't know how to get along.

But just for a moment I enjoyed the beauty in the rainstorm.

#45 drippy gray days to appreciate the warm sun

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#46 A sliver of hope to hold to that prays boys won't grow up to hate each other

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#47 Hope of a future of closer relationships, fun, and enjoyment of each other

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#48 The fact that I KNOW I am not alone in this messy, loud, ruckus of a life

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#49 God's promise to grant wisdom to all who fervently seek it

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#50 Hope of a new tomorrow, new day, week, month, season...

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#51 Evidence of play and enjoyment, and hope for more