Thanksgiving 2011

Day Twelve Help

We had a yard sale and my family pitched in so well and between the 5 of us made the day so much more successful. I could not have done it alone. In fact, I would not want to be alone anymore.

There was time when I was OK alone. I knew nothing else. I can't imagine going back to that and to be quite honest, I am a little anxious about the empty nest thing.

It seems life is one adjustment after another and after 50 years of it, it looks as if I would be prepared for that.

Whatever comes, my family helps me get through it and I love and appreciate them beyond words.

Day Eleven Veterans

Today, I am thankful for souls that are courageous, generous, honorable, selfless, and sacrificing. I am thankful for our veterans.

The disruption of not only their lives but the lives of their families is a very large sacrifice and they do it willingly because they live their values.

I am forever grateful for their love of country and their protection of the freedom I enjoy.

God Bless America and God Bless Our Troops!

Day Ten Grace

Today my baby is going to become a teenager. In fact, she has been a teenager for about thirty minutes now. Wow, my baby is a teenager.

I remember so well when that wonderful creature entered our lives. She has added such laughter, joy, and drama to our world. Her grandmama says God broke the mold when he made her. Her antics, phrases, jokes, replies, retorts and dramatic theatrics have entertained and sustained us through the years.

She is such a blessing and I can't imagine how dull life would be without Gracie.

We had our boy and our girl and we almost stopped at two. I am so very thankful we decided three would not be so bad. On the contrary, it has been one of the best decisions we ever made.

I love you, Gracie. You are my favorite 13 year old in all the world!

Day Nine New Tires

Before...

After!


This may seem petty to some, but when you drive a set of tires over 15,000 miles beyond what they are expected to tolerate and the tread is so thin that you can push on the tire with your fingers and it moves, when you ask God every time you enter the vehicle to please get you to your destination without a tire exploding and causing loss of control of the vehicle, when you have everybody under the sun telling you how badly you need new tires, when you avoid any unnecessary trips and most certainly avoid any bad highway no matter how far out of your way you have to travel, then you finally have the ability to obtain new ones...it is so very awesome!

I thank God for my new tires just as often as I asked Him to protect me with the old ones, so I thought it only fitting that I add that to my list of Thanksgiving.

Day Eight Happiness

Today, I am functioning on very little sleep so my giddiness could well be attributed to a lack of rest. Whatever the reason, I am as light as a feather today. I feel good and I feel happy. I am trying to enjoy it as deeply and thoroughly as possible. I don't get many of these kinds of days lately, so I drink it in, for as long as I am able.

Today, I am thankful for happiness that ignited in my belly, spread to my heart, infiltrated my head, and consumed my life for a whole, entire day. It felt great!

Here's an afterthought...what if the happy mood can be attributed to eight days of gratitude? Hmmmmm.....

Day Seven Organization

I have been working to develope my organization skills. Mind you, I have never even considered myself as one having such skills, much less being able to develope them.

Getting back into the workforce has helped me discover and hone those skills dramatically. Keeping an organized work space has significantly enhanced my desire to attain that level of organization at home. So I have begun to work on it. I hope to have it spread and travel into every facet of my life. It is a process that I am finding very rewarding.

I have been steadily cleaning out clutter and unused items. I organize items that I am putting back into storage and the best part is when I look into my closet and all my clothing is separated not only by item category, but by color as well, I get this overwhelming sense of accomplishment and yes, joy! It makes for simplicity in the hustle-bustle of the morning routine. I was ready to leave the house a full twenty minutes early this morning, so for that reason I am very thankful that old dogs really are able to learn new tricks.

Sit back and just watch me go!!!!