• Road Trip with our daughter and son-in-law…
• Appreciating and enjoying them!
• Grandson’s high school graduation
• 13 Valedictorians speaking briefly
• Becoming misty during the processional… “Pomp & Circumstance”…
• …and with hand over heart, “Star Spangled Banner”
• Thinking about all of the graduates throughout the United States who will be making vital decisions for our country
• The generous and lovely reception and celebration prepared by our son and daughter-in-law
• Warm hugs :)
• “We grow neither better nor worse but more like ourselves.” – Motto of Graduating Class

• Grateful for no injuries after our neighbor did a summersault backwards at the edge of his garden while rototilling
• Grateful for another’s safety after traveling through Wyoming in 80 mph winds and sheets of rain
• Cookie (shuh tsu) loving her bath
• Gson’s high school graduation announcement
• The cute gal with red hair and freckles
• Found my camera!…
• …was more concerned with the “kangaroo case” around it that granddaughter brought from Australia!
• The motorized sounds of lawn mowers…
• …and the click click click sounds of the hand push mowers from many years ago
• Kindness

• Looking at the familiar stars in the night sky…big and little dippers
• Little mounds of black soil all over our lawn…nitecrawlers coming out after the night rain
• Changing the smoke alarms
• Changing light bulbs
• Misplacing my camera..haven’t found it yet
• GPa’s western movies
• Costco’s key lime pie…and as they might say in one of those western movies, “..if ya have a hankerin’ for somethin’ sweet, this’ll fix it up..” :):)
• The beautiful lush azalea plant from my daughter
• The yellow in dandelions
• “..to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow..”

• Fun Mothers Day with family
• Picnic
• Food prepared/set up by our sil..great guy!
• Warm hugs from gson :)
• Many acres of land
• Vision of home to be built
• Ponderosa Ranch Road
• Ponderosa pines
• Mega pine cones
• Beautiful wildflowers!
• Higher altitude..ears popping
• Where the deer and the elk play :)

• A lovely cool day for walking
• We Love Gratitude
• Routines
• Birds of Paradise
• Carmelized onions
• Indian Paintbrush
• Annual Vigilante Day Parade…since 1924…high school students make and participate in 117 floats
• Kentucky Derby
• Phil vacuuming our lawn…yep :)
• Brenda…the many things she does for people in need.

This is an excerpt from a book by Rev. Eric Butterworth that I want to share with you.

“Why not pick out the most difficult thing facing you right now and say:  I know that this is the best thing that could happen to me, for I know that in the happening there is revealed a new lesson to learn and some new growth to experience.  I know that within me is an unborn possibility of limitless potentialities, and this is my opportunity to begin to give birth to new ideas, new strength, and new vision.  I accept the reality of the difficulty but not its permanence.  I am not at the end of anything.  I am simply between opportunities, between jobs.  I know that in the movement of ‘it has come to pass,’ something wonderful is on its  way to me far surpassing anything I have ever known before.“

Abundant Blessings to each of you.

• Each year thousands of Christmas trees are dropped into a nearby lake to enhance the perch habitat
• Professional Women’s event speaker Pepper Schwartz…
• …a New York Times best selling author
• Gift certificates from school bus students…
• …IHop..Applebees..Murdocks
• Red Lobster biscuits
• Those who volunteer at the Humane Society
• Our mini-schnauzer’s clay paw impression from the animal clinic
• The 3 Principles of health and wellbeing by Michael Neill
• 3principlesmovies.com

• Beautiful lake
• Mirrored water reflecting the mountains
• FWP grounds person…
• …cleaning everything so nicely
• Quiet reflection
• Memories of family fun days
• People fishing from shore…
• …others putting their boat in the water
• Everyone smiling and waving
• Peace

• Boston
• Prayer
• Paramedics, doctors, medical personnel
• Individuals forgetting self and helping
• Abolishing fear
• Everyone coming together
• More strength
• Peace
• Love
• God Bless the UNITED States of America

• Remembering: walking home from school on top of the snowbanks…
• …my grandmother sweeping the snow from our coats
• The familiar sound of a screen door
• My grandfather putting his boat motor in a huge barrel to try it out…
• …going to our summer cottage at the lake.
• Truly appreciating our five senses
• Greeting cards that are precious and perfect to frame
• The childrens’ area at the V.A. medical center with a neat table and its top all crayoned with fun sketches :)
• The man in the wheelchair actually zipping around the waiting area :)
• Annual Poetry on Fire competition for young poets, grades 6 thru 12…nice!