i hadn't thought to be thankful for this...

I found the following poem on www.dennydavis.net. I'd never thought to be thankful for dirty dishes before, but now I am!

God is Good

Thank God for dirty dishes;
They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
We're eating very well.
With home, health, and happiness,
I shouldn't want to fuss;
By the stack of evidence,
God's been very good to us.

How true!

still thankful...

I'm still here... :)... and I'm still thankful! Some of the things that have made me smile and feel grateful this past week include fun family times playing board games together, lots of Thanksgiving leftovers (yum!), getting all of our Christmas decorations (other than our main tree) set up, a working furnace on these c-c-c-cold days, receiving my first Christmas card of the season (from my friend Hammy!), and being able to attend Emmalie's band concert last night!

I can't believe November is almost over already. I still have SO much to get done in the next few weeks! I'm hoping to take time to enjoy the holidays, though, and not get too stressed out....

happy thanksgiving!

Feeling very thankful (and very full in general!) tonight... thankful for a special day with my family, for lots of yummy food, for talking with loved ones on the phone, for a warm house on a cold day, for laughs and fun and happy memories... :)

Other things I've been thankful for this week:

• Spending time with my friend Mimi and her kids
• Emmalie and Nick, helping me make pies and more yesterday
• Our first snow! (Not enough to cover the ground, but the big flakes sure were pretty coming down....)
• Silly games of charades with the kids
• Un-prompted kisses and hugs from Benjamin

And so much more!

Hope everyone out there has had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

more blessings

I don't know why it's so hard for me to remember to post here! Here are some of the things I've been thankful for over the past week:

• the Internet, for keeping me connected to my friends
• all my friends, who've been there for me through thick and thin!
• Mom and Dad, for giving me a happy childhood and for being there whenever I've needed them!
• Fran and Harold, who treat me as though I were their daughter, not "just" a daughter-in-law
• an ice cold can of Pepsi Lime, yum!
• lots of scrapping time over the weekend!

It looks like it may just be the five of us here on Thanksgiving Day. I sure wish we could spend the day with our families, but I know we can still have a good day. I'm planning on making a great big feast anyway ~ can you say "leftovers"? :)

i am so thankful

I went to my monthly Circle meeting at church this morning, and I was in charge of devotions. I knew that I wanted to share something with a Thanksgiving kind of theme, and when I came across the following last week (on www.dennydavis.net), I knew I wanted to use it for part of my devotions. It gives you a new perspective on things to be thankful for:

I Am So Thankful
For the teenager who is not doing dishes but is watching TV,
Because that means he is at home and not on the streets.
For the taxes that I pay,
Because it means that I am employed.
For the mess to clean after a party,
Because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.
For the clothes that fit a little too snug,
Because it means I have enough to eat.
For my shadow that watches me work,
Because it means I am out in the sunshine.
For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing,
Because it means I have a home.
For all the complaining I hear about the government,
Because it means that we have freedom of speech.
For the parking spot I find at the far endof the parking lot,
Because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation.
For my huge heating bill,
Because it means I am warm.
For the lady behind me in church that sings off key,
Because it means that I can hear.
For the pile of laundry and ironing,
Because it means I have clothes to wear.
For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,
Because it means I have been capable of working hard.
For the alarm that goes of in the early morning hours,
Because it means that I am alive and have a reason to get up.
And finally...For too much e-mail,
Because it means I have friends who are thinking of me. :)

I am thankful for all of these today, and also for all the wonderful women in my Circle group. They are fun and so sweet, and have really helped me along in my faith journey....

a week of blessings...

I haven't blogged for awhile, so I decided I'd better catch up! Here's what I've been thankful for the past week:

• Tuesday - Warm and yummy soup on a cold day! :)
• Wednesday - Christmas music. They've been playing it on my radio station ever since the first of November. It just makes me feel happy!
• Thursday - My arm feeling better, finally! I've had tennis elbow for several weeks and it was bothering me A LOT earlier in the week. On Thursday, I realized all of a sudden that it wasn't hurting much at all. (It got a little more painful over the weekend, but not nearly as bad as it had been.)
• Friday - Our dishwasher. I *hate* washing dishes by hand!
• Saturday - Giggling girls. :) Em had her best friend here for a sleepover, and they just had the best time together!
• Sunday - Good books! I've been reading Eat, Pray, Love lately, and am really enjoying it!! I love getting whisked away into a good story....
• Today, Monday - A sort-of-quiet day at home. Em and Nick don't have school today, but they are actually getting along so far, and having fun playing together.

10 words or less...

I scrap faster than KatieJ. :o)

walk like an egyptian

I'm finally getting a chance to post these photos from Halloween. I got them back on Friday, but wasn't able to come online over the weekend. These first few are of the pumpkins the kids created on the 30th. Em decided to paint hers in patriotic colors, to celebrate our country ("but not the president, Mom!" LOL):
Nick carved his big pumpkin into a ghost saying "Boo!", and he asked me to carve his smaller one to look like one of our Halloween decorations, seen in the background of the photo:

Here, Ben is about to kiss his kitty pumpkin that Mommy carved and he painted: And now onto the pictures I know you've all been waiting for! :) My very talented and artistic sister Christine made the kids' costumes once again. Em and Nick had decided that they wanted to go with a theme this year, an Egyptian theme. They knew their aunt would be happy about that ~ she loves pretty much anything Egyptian! :) Emmalie decided to go as Cleopatra, and Christine came up with this beautiful dress and cape (I would've given ANYTHING to have a costume like this when I was Em's age!!):

This isn't the best photo of Em (shhh... don't tell her I posted it on the internet, LOL), but I wanted to show all the detail that went into this costume. Christine made the necklace and bead work on the dress (there is also bead work on Em's belt):
Nick wanted to be Anubis, a god with the head of a jackal and the body of a man. Christine made him a necklace and arm bands, as well:

Christine decided to include Benjamin in the Egyptian theme, as well, and created a scarab beetle costume for him. He wasn't too sure about the whole costume thing, but after Mommy bribed him with lollipops, he decided he could wear it for awhile. :) The hat piece didn't stay on real long, but once he started trick-or-treating, I think he forgot about the rest of it!
Here he still has his bribe in his mouth, LOL:
Here's a shot of Ben's back ~ these photos just don't do the costumes justice. The blue back is velvety with blue sequins sewn on to add some sparkle, and the gold and reddish fabrics are very shimmery:

To complete the Egyptian theme, I went as Mummy Dearest! :) I had kind of a hard time with my costume, thanks to gravity (my bandages kept sliding down), but it was fun, anyway!
And here are the four of us, back from trick-or-treating, and ready to dig into that candy! :) Thank you, Christine, for helping to make our Halloween simply spooktacular!

One more thing before I go... I need to list what I've been thankful for lately:

• On Saturday I was thankful for time spent with my friend Karen, shopping and visiting and eating out. :)
• Yesterday I was thankful for quiet time spent by myself at the book store while Em was at Confirmation, just sipping tea and reading.
• Today I am thankful for Christine, for being the best sister and aunt EVER!! Love you, C!!
  
  
  

counting my blessings

I had fun with this last year, so decided to do it again. :) I plan to record at least one thing every day this month that I am thankful for. (I may not post them on my blog every single day... notice I forgot yesterday, LOL... but when I do post, I'll count one blessing for each day.)

Yesterday I was thankful for a day at home ~ no running errands, no taxi service for George, no trips to the gym. It's amazing how much more time I have to get other things done when I don't have to go anywhere!

Today I am thankful that I have a toddler. Yes, you heard me right. :) Sure, some parts of toddlerhood are NOT fun to deal with, but other parts are, and I'm glad that I get to experience them all over again with Benjamin. He and I played outside for awhile this morning ~ he was so enthralled by the leaves and "helicopter" seeds that he found on the ground. I love to see the wonder and amazement in his eyes! Everything is still so new to him. Later on, Ben noticed his shadow and giggled as he waved to it and it waved back. :)

I'm also thankful that we have fun plans for tonight ~ we're going to the circus! It will be Ben's first time, so that will make it even more fun for the rest of us, I think.