Give Me Five!

I have to say, I'm really enjoying counting my blessings! It certainly accents the positive and helps adjust the attitude.
Today, day five, I am thankful for an amazing woman named Danielle, for her dedicated team of helpers, and for what they are doing to help the Love 146 campaign. Please go to www.love146.org to learn more about how to END child sex slavery and exploitation! Today, Danielle and her team organized a fabulous day for crafty ladies..."Craft4Love" started at 9:30 with a delicious spread of breakfast. We were shown exquisite samples of gorgeous crafts. Then Danielle described a craft, we were given supplies, and we sat 6 to a round table and worked on the given craft. We started by wrapping a wreath with yarn and making felt flowers to decorate the wreaths. Next, we used book pages to make Christmas trees. Before we knew it, it was time for a very tasty lunch, catered by Carrabba's. After lunch, a guest speaker from the Love 146 group shared a video and some practical ways we could help do our part to end sex slavery and exploitation. When he was finished, Danielle explained our next crafts...fabric flower pins, rosette earrings, a rosette necklace, several very pretty ornaments, and a beautiful bunting. By 4pm, it was time to head home, with our arms full of beautiful crafts, along with some very special treats.
It was very satisfying to make the crafts...
relaxing to visit with friends...
and mind-blowing to think that the Craft4Love day had raised $1740 to help end sex slavery and exploitation!
I am thankful for Danielle and her team, for Love 146, and for the safety and security I have had and continue to have in my life.

Day Four - Being Thankful

I waited until the end of the day to write this one...I've counted so many blessings all day, but today, it's my health. After praying at MOPS this morning for several young moms with cancer, another young lady with kidney failure, and a kind and giving woman recently diagnosed with cancer and then having a stroke, I can't help but be overwhelmed with sadness for them and for their families, while feeling very thankful for my own health. I started with either a cold or bad allergies this afternoon and spent about two minutes feeling sorry for myself, that I had to go upstairs to get the motrin, the allergy medicine and the air-borne. I quickly snapped out of it and was thankful it was just a runny nose and sneezing! I have also watched close friends lose their precious children due to cancer and other terrible diseases. Each night as I tuck my children into bed, I thank God for keeping my children and my family healthy. This is something I never want to take for granted.

Thankfulness, Day Three

Today I am incredibly thankful for my bed! I know, kind of silly, but really...I love my bed! I am thankful for my warm house, for my cozy bedroom and bed, which I share with my strong, snuggly husband. I am thankful for the beautiful comforter my parents gave us as a wedding gift. I am thankful for the cherry sleigh bed and matching pieces, which hubby and I shopped for and picked out together years ago, as we planned our wedding. I am thankful for my squishy (flat!) pillow, which is gentle on my tweaky neck. I am thankful that I can sleep in safety, that when I close my eyes at night, I can truly rest peacefully. I am not outdoors on the ground. I do not have to worry that malaria-carrying mosquitoes will bite and infect me. I do not have to fear that snakes, scorpions or tarantulas will crawl into my bed. I do not sleep with a pager next to my bed, waiting for a middle-of-the-night call of duty. I do not have to stay awake all night, guarding my family. I can sleep with my feet warming against my husband's toasty legs, knowing that God is in control, and that I am incredibly blessed.

Counting My Blessings, Day Two

Today I am thankful for food!!! We have so much more than we NEED and isn't it amazing to walk into the local grocery store and see all the color and variety in the produce section alone?!! I'm thankful for herbs and spices, for recipes, for the friends (real and cyber) who share delicious ideas. I'm thankful for the family members I have who (usually) happily eat whatever I set before them. I'm thankful for the Giver of this bounty, for the farmers and all who work to get the food from its origin to my local stores. I LOVE to eat and I'm thankful I can do so. Here are some of my favorites:
chocolate
chocolate + peanut butter
coffee
peppermint mocha creamer
lobster
Pancho's salsa
Olive Garden's black tie mousse cake
mexican food
italian food
that nasty i'm-not-really-cheese sauce stuff in a jar that you pour on nachos
nacho chips (the kind that turn your fingers orange) with french onion dip
fresh fruit (berries!!)
I could go on and on, but guess what...I need to go check on tonight's dinner (taco soup) simmering away on the stove!

Attitude of Gratitude Challenge

It's November 1st and I've noticed many "I'm thankful for..." posts on facebook today. That's wonderful! I love reading about blessings! So I've decided to challenge myself to update my blog every day (gulp, every day?!) for the month of November. There is no maximum or minimum on post length, but I want to be conscious of the many blessings in my life.
So here we go:
day 1 - I am thankful for each person who has helped provide my family with clothing. Over the past nine years, we have received many, many bins of hand-me-downs from friends and neighbors, and I truly do not know what we would do without these "mini Christmases"! My parents and in-laws, as well as my sisters, have been generous giving my children new clothing...and they've been thoughtful in asking us what the kids NEED (snowpants, coats, shoes, etc.) Although I admit to being overwhelmed when changing over the clothes from season to season (hauling bags, boxes and bins out of the attic), it's been a joy to not have to spend money on new clothing!! We have much more than we "NEED" and I am very grateful.
* On a related note, I am extremely happy to have a washer and dryer, which get daily workouts!

She Wrote

My little girl sat next to me in church today and completed her children's bulletin. When she was done, she opened a notebook and began to write...
here's what she wrote:

"Acrostik Powam" (acrostic poem)
Cat Lover.
A good friend.
Supr star.
Supr swimmer.
A good socker player.
Not a bad kid.
Daring girl.
Rely good at clening.
Amarecan girl doll lover.

Horse lover.
Ittle girl.
Loveing poneys.
Loves everething.

I had to leave her spelling...too cute!

Summer 2011 Reading List

I spent my summer with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Percy, Annabeth, Father Tim, Cynthia, Katniss, Peeta, Gregor and Boots...
I started the summer with a challenge from my 9 year old son: read all the Harry Potter books! So I did!! I spent about a month immensely enjoying all 7 books. We’re also making our way through the movies, with just 3 left to watch.
I recently read The Hunger Games triology…LOVED these book and literally could not put them down!!!!
I started the Mitford Series, books one and two were terrific. I’m about to start the 3rd.
I started the Gregor Series by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games author) and really liked book one. I just got book 2 out of the library today. This was a fast read, likely targeted for 8-11 yr olds. I hope my son reads the series – I think he’ll enjoy it.
I also started the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series…so far, I’ve read books 1 and 2. Another fast read. My son and I are sharing the books and we’ve had fun “comparing” them to the Harry Potter series.
I read a Kristen Hannah book, not the best. Pretty predictable with an unnecessary amount of swearing. I have to be careful with 2 young readers in the house now!
So what next? Finish the Mitford series, the Gregor series and the Percy series. I also requested “The Help” from the library a month ago…looks like a popular one, as I’m still waiting to borrow it. I put a “book suggestion” plea out on facebook at the beginning of the summer and it generated a nice long list…I’m chipping away at it here and there.
It’s been wonderful to escape into the world of books…I noticed that I watched very little TV this summer. Sure, we had “kid” movies and shows on here and there, but I loved the feeling of looking forward to jumping into a book and “meeting up” with the characters before I drifted off to sleep.