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My Start to One Thousand Gifts

A friend told me about One Thousand Gifts. She said she thought of me and my photos and thought I would like the book and Ann Voskamp’s writing. I looked up the book when I got home and started to read the first few pages online.

My friend was right. I was hooked. I wanted to read more.

I found Ann Voskamp’s blog. And I did read more and more. That’s when I found her JOY DARE: One thousand gifts in 2012, snap a photo or record 3 gifts a day. Simple enough I think. But not just simple, it’s something I am truly excited to try.

I was on the phone with my father in law last week telling him about my day at the beach with the kids. He asked if I took any pictures. I heard my mother in law in the background, “Is the Pope Catholic?”

Yep, I take about 1000 photos every couple of  months. I stop in parking lots, I take photos of my kids walking into school, playing, photos of their toys left out, sunsets, clouds, seagulls, flowers, and leaves on the ground. I photograph it all. I’m ready to jump into Ann’s Joy Dare, but as I read her book I realize her challenge is more than the beauty I think I see so easily every day. Maybe it isn’t so simple.

I started on the 23rd. Before I picked up her book. I bought the book the next day.

Her Dare to Joy is a Dare of Thanksgiving.

Her Dare is my Kickstart.

23. a gift of tin, of glass, of wood

Peppermint tea from my mom. I’m a coffee drinker, but I do love tea. I think I especially like it because it reminds me of her and makes me smile.

The glass in my camera and lens. They are both old and I dream of new equipment. But I am thankful for these tools and all of the photos and moments God has allowed me to capture. I’ll keep taking photos and taking in all the beauty I see with my camera until I can’t.

Hiking sticks. One found on the trail of Dark Hallow Falls in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. One picked out special from our aunt in New York and saved till we arrived all the way from Florida. Given as a gift to our son for our first family camping trip. One picked up for our little girl as we hiked along the Niagara River to Canada and had her passport stamped for the first time. Carved with the letter “A” with the help of our son’s Swiss Army Knife. And colored pink. Tree branches turned treasured memories.

24. 3 gifts before 11 am

Enough Gas left to get the kids to school. I didn’t see the needle hovering over the orange empty line till I was already half way there.

Cranberry muffins for Grandparents Day.

Pink Hibiscus. Beautiful flowers in bloom while I wait. The colors remind me of grapefruit.

25. a gift nearly worn out, a gift new, a gift made-do

 

My 9-year-old boy’s favorite shoes. I told him I couldn’t believe he was still wearing them with his socks showing right through. He told me kids in Haiti wear shoes like that.

Old Barbies become new again. A gift to our little girl.

A best friend’s soccer game. We made it just in time for the last few plays. I got to capture a few great shots for his mom. His team won the game.

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