Monthly Archives: July 2013

a baker’s dozen?

Gratitude
  • Family from Oregon are here :)
  • Were able to gather 12 of us together (oh, and Cookie, too!) for a great lunch and very enjoyable visit :)
  • Carol’s new puppy, a Lab who avoids the water…imagine that! :)
  • Amanda has everything ready for her senior year of college.
  • Wonderful stories in the pics of our Grandson who traveled on his motorcycle from Montana to Nova Scotia and back, crossing into Canada 3 times…
  • …among others, Minnesota, Michigan, Vermont, NH, Maine (his first Maine lobster)…
  • …Eastport, ME, the easternmost city in the U.S.!
  • He said it’s been such a wonderful feeling of appreciation that all of the people he met along the way were very friendly and so kind!!
  • GSon kept a journal of his more than 8,000 mi. journey :)
  • Okay……one more :)……   The Mama Cow said to the Baby Cow……It’s pasture bedtime……….. :):)

Birthday taquitos or is it taquitoes?

Gratitude

Very Grateful for~

God’s birthdays

working on my birthday- it hasn’t been my practice to do this but it isn’t so bad!

Amelia bringing in a “surprise” lunch that I ordered. (she knows how I like to know about my surprises)

M.W. back in the office

hitting the treadmill this morning…despite my mind’s best efforts to coax me back to bed

Birthday taquitos for dinner

memories of other birthdays

hearing from friends

the hilarity of auto-correct: I received a text message which read “Happy Birthday to my favorite fiend”  :D

Memory is God’s gift to us ~ Dad

People, pictures and pie!

Gratitude

The excitement of seeing three former students and their wonderful mother.  Nothing could have been better than an entire evening visiting with them.

A delicious, still warm, homemade peach pie from my friend, Patty!

Fresh blueberries, honeydew melon, and other goodies from Szalay’s Farm, brought by my friend, Kim.

The anticipation of seeing my daughter, Kari, today.  She’s getting her braces off, and I’m so excited to see how great she looks with that wonderful no-braces smile!

Also, looking forward to seeing my daughter, Kylia, today!  She usually works at a store about 30 miles away from us, but today, she is working in a store only 3 miles away, and she’s coming to our house this afternoon!

Enjoying the ribbons of photographs on my wall.  So many pictures of family and friends, some from a long time ago, and some that are more recent.  The photos grab everyone’s attention when they visit, and I always enjoy telling visitors the stories behind some of the pictures.  If you have photo albums filled with photos that no one sees, take some of them out of the albums, tape them to ribbons, and tack the ribbons to the wall, where everyone can enjoy them.

So grateful for the text messages, facebook messages and phone calls from my nieces and nephews.  They’re so caring and loving!

Realizing this morning, that I am a great, great Aunt…  I guess that’s what I am since 3 of my great nieces have had children.  I’ve been researching the correct titles online, but haven’t had any luck so far.  All I’ve learned is that it’s proper to call my great nieces either “great” nieces or “grand” nieces.  No one seems to care what the next generation is called.

Looking forward to a belated birthday celebration tonight with three close friends and my two daughters!  It will be a wild and crazy night of laughter!

I am grateful to everyone who reads my gratitude lists or my blog posts, and especially grateful to those who decide to post their own gratitude lists, either on welovegratitude.com or Facebook or anywhere else!

Gratitude changes your life in a positive way… always.  All you have to do is pay attention!

Monday

Gratitude

1. My All-American pressure canner…We canned our first green beans!

2. Making the best of a bad situation…Logan and I got rained out of the farmers market, but with the help of local businesses he was able to sell his cookies.

3. It is so nice to experience the good that people do, after experiencing the not so good.

4. Lessons learned…It is painful to see Logan learning how icky grown adults can be, but it strengthens our relationship and gives me a chance to set a good example. Having him watch so closely puts the brakes on my urge to be ugly, even though I really want to!

5. Finding realistic solutions and waiting for the universe to give the green light

6. Acceptance

7. Cooler temperatures and less humidity…What a relief!

8. My cousin messaging and asking for Grandma’s cookie recipe :)

9. Healthy communication

10. Laughing

The love of a good man

Gratitude

I may have mentioned these things on past lists, but every day I am grateful for the continued love and kindness of my husband.  He makes it possible for me to get through this with a positive attitude.

The tenderness in my husband’s eyes when he looks at me

The way he held my hand as we drove home from New York, and told me that he plans to hold on tightly for as long as we have

His willingness to do laundry and clean up around the house, never complaining

His loving relationship with my daughters

His kindness to my friends

The way he makes all my everyday tasks easier

His whispered “I love you”

His patience

His compassion

His gentleness

Gratitude

1. God

2. Trading vegetables with Clotilda across the fence

3. Stories

4. Not the same sun

5. Stopping to help two young women with their car and then another person helping me

6. Walking a young person to his destination rather than just pointing and saying

7. Nicoel listening intently and offering solutions

8. Michael’s generally good humor, also he has a great voice for videos

9. Quiet moments

10. Prioritizing gratitude