Tuesday's Quote

Reflect on your present blessings of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

~Charles Dickens~

Family~less to Blessed!

My heart is overflowing with gratitude and praise as I am still aglow from Thanksgivings warm embrace!

From the fragrant aromas of pies, fresh bread and turkey to the sound of chatter and laughter,
 I am eternally grateful.

Our time seems so fleeting and I am compelled to step away and survey at a distance. Each year seems to steal away faster than the last.

This year as I absorbed every sensation, I quietly thanked my Heavenly Father who has saw fit to bless me beyond my wildest dreams.

My prayer as a 'family-less' child was for F A M I L Y and here I am.


On the brink of a last Thanksgiving with my Father in Law who's battle with Parkinson's is nearing it's course and a daughter who will be 18 in a blink and moving forward in her dreams, I am reflective.

Life is precious and fleeting.

My father's heart is at rest with a woman God carefully placed.

This Thanksgiving more that anyother gives me pause.



His laughter fill us with joy!

Her smooches fill me up.




Early snow

 



Winter walks



Aggravation

Grace filled home



My heart



Here continues my list of endless grattitude....

#49 My precious mother and father in law whom God has seen fit to place in

our hands. May we serve them well


#50 Winter walks

#51 SNOW before Turkey

#52 Board games (though I struggle paying attention)

#53 Sitting quitely by the fire with my husband as we read.

#54 Lots and lots and lots of laughter.


#55 Embraces.

#56 The warmth of my sons hand.

#57 God's Word read aloud.

#57 Hearing my childrens prayer fill the room.

#59 Watching with the expectaion of a child as
my Christmas lights come on for the first time of the season.

#60 The ring of the Salvation Army bell.

Funny Friday

                *Pregnant Turkey*

 

One year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister's house for the traditional feast.
Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick.

She told my sister that she needed something from the store. When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of the oven, removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, and inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back in the oven.

When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the
turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird.
With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed, "Patricia, you've cooked a pregnant bird!"
At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry.
It took the family two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs! Yep..................SHE'S BLONDE!

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1,000 Word Thursday

Wednesday's Word

Tuesday's Quote

When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.
~Helen Keller~

Multitude Monday

     

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THANKFUL!

#28. Movie night

#29. Music that plays constantly in our home. Especially when the kids are sitting at their instrument

#30. My loyal little Neti Pot that faithfully waits for me this time every year.

#31. Road trips where I get lost.

#32. Sitting to dinner and talking about the day with Reece, Rebecca and Russell, the other R's.

#33. When my husband surprises me with a nice neck rub.

#34. Silently watching as my kids enjoy their grandma and grandpa

#35.  Watching my children reach for their dreams

#36. Stillness

#37. His blessing on our life and that we are doing better than we deserve.


#38. This kitty we call Lola, cat, LoLo, and NO. She loves us so much she brings us all kind of offerings that make us squirm.

#39. Sunday morning church

#40. Bike paths along the river

# 41. Jeans that are getting looser

# 42. Cranberry sauce that comes out in the exact shape of a can.


# 43. Stuffing, lots of stuffing


#44 Turkey, the bigger the better. If you’re going to cook a bird, might as well make it a 42 pounder.


#45. spell check
 
#46. Fall Fashion

#47. Watching my daughter shop! It's a competitive sport!

#48. Adventure with friends!

Funny Friday

NUDITY

I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat,'Mom, that lady isn't wearing a seat belt!'

A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room.
When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels
and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked,

'What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before?'

ELDERLY

While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs... One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass.
As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, 'The tooth fairy will never believe this!'

SCHOOL

A little girl had just finished her first week of school. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her mother. 'I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!'

BIBLE

A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages.
Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it..

What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.

'Mama, look what I found,' the boy called out... 'What have you got there, dear?'

With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, 'I think it's Adam's underwear!'

1,000 WORD THURSDAY

Wednesday's Word

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Tuesday's quotes

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Multitude Monday

 

He turns my mourning into dancing.

As I ponder all that I am grateful for in the small piece of time I have occupied in eternity, I can't help but meander through the archives of dark times mine eyes have seen and the pain etched into my character as only a masterful Architect could do.

Only He could turn these ashes into a thing of beauty. The ever patient Silversmith who patiently refines me as gold.
I am not only thankful for all the seeming glory He has instilled into my life but the pain as well.

We need not fear the fiery trial of afflictions and temptations, by which the Savior refines his gold.

He will take care it is not more intense or longer than is needful for HIS good. Malachi 3:3

THANKFUL, GRATEFUL, SATISFIED, CONTENT, GLAD, AND APPRECIATIVE!

14. For the people that have made things painful in life, for it pushed me to attempt, accomplish and push hard.

15. The negative forces that come in and out of seasons, they turnout to be hidden blessings, worthy of gratitude.

                    Hard times make good times sweeter

  

16. Challenges that bring progress strength and understanding.

17. The abrasions of love

"I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love."

Mother Teresa

Psalm 63:3

18. We can be rich even when we are poor, for "the blessing of the Lord, it makes one rich"

Proverbs 10:22

19. Pain and sorrow without which I would never really know happiness and peace.

These are not thermometers but thermostats if I allow my heart to be joyful.

Philippians 4:11

20. Loss that has changed the road-map of life out of which came better understanding, empathy, freedom and wisdom.

21. Unanswered prayers, because its wisdom holds better dividends.

22. The lower moments in life can teach that....patience is accompanied with trials; without it there would be no discovered values.

23. Money woes, because they are a vehicle that drives us to God

24. Loss of control because it reminds me of Who it ultimately belongs to!

25. Grateful that the heartbreaks of this life that are too heavy for me to bear alone. They thrust me boldly to the throne of grace, that

I may obtain mercy, and grace. He is able to bind up the broken-hearted, to heal the most painful wounds, and to give hope and joy amidst the heaviest sorrows.

26. Sickness that has brought me to the place of praise and victory before my Lord.... that kind of suffering silences satan. It reminds me of my dependance on my Heavenly daddy. I wrestle with self sufficiency day and night.

27. My thorn of anxiety alone in the dark as it motivates me to press into His still waters, propels me to lie in His green pastures and leads me to the Only One who can freshen my soul.

Trials, by faith we may know God loves us, and we can then rejoice even in tribulation.

Paul said,

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  

 Romans 5:3-5

 

 

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