.jpg)
Time for another installment of my "Ten Things" to be thankful for, always varied, always random bits in positively NO particular order.
Thank you for so many wonderful emails recently, filled with warm friendly thoughts, suggestions, ideas, shared interests and kindred spirits aplenty. AND, thank you to all who informed me about already following my blog on Google RSS.
It was a sweet and huge surprise to see almost forty email responses from family and friends in just one day! Bless you all, but pretty please, it's going to take some time for me to offer replies to everyone. I'm behind on email replies since I took ill, trying to catch up here. Please be patient with me?
I've been snapping photos again, not that I don't already right? :)
It sure has been wonderful to have sunshine and finer weather to greet us upon rising in the early hours of the morning. And it becomes beneficial when grabbing my camera for taking photos while playing with the light in various parts of the house, beating the sun as it rounds the house from dawn to dusk.
A photographer's dream abounds for me with sunshine, shade, a chance shot among the many. So happy someone invented digital cameras!
Without further ado, let me present my "Ten Thankful Things", just sparks of thankfulness appearing in my days this past week.
Please know for certain that my own personal thoughts on true thankfulness can obviously never be offered, nor delivered in true completeness within one simple post. And in case you just might find it interesting and want even more today, you can always skip along to view other "thankful" posts by clicking onto the archives located - right HERE.
- 1 - I'm thankful for continued baking enthusiasts, our young chefs in training can be found in the kitchen, blessing the family with their baked goods. It's just the clean-up that needs some polishing and extra tutorials from mommy here.
- 2 - I'm thankful for people who agree with me and produce fine products like these wee chairs for "Little Blessings".
Yes, that's a positive twist on the naughty stool isn't it? How better to turn our mindsets all around and remember what our little ones really are - blessings all the way!
- 3 - I'm thankful for continued budding artists around here who are coy and quite humbly proud to display their works of art from our recent bird study for all to see.
Yes, we delved into the wonderful world of art, and they learned how to "flick" their brushes to make something of an impressionistic nature (on the left) and a realism nature (on the right). I love these birds, but my hubby has decided to teach them one last step, contouring their subjects.
- 4 - I'm thankful for this special etched slate rock gift I was able to secretly bring home from our recent trip to Vancouver. Remember during my last "Ten Things I'm Thankful For", when I mentioned a special gift I was excited about that would be for my husband, this was it!
How many times have I reminded everyone here over the past year about this exact saying. When I saw it displayed at my favorite Christian book store in the Lower Fraser Valley, happy misty tears visited my eyes and I just KNEW I have to HAVE this!
It now graces our dining room table and makes my Value Village seven dollar silver candle holder look even more amazing (wink), however upon occasion, it makes an appearance in our bathroom, right near where my husband performs his morning shaves. I LOVE IT!
- 5 - I'm thankful for morning strolls in our back property forest where sweet little spring florals tend to greet me in abundance the past few days and I am reminded once more about all the seasonal gifts about to unfold.
I noticed just today how many buds are beginning to sprout on our trees, and other assorted lovelies are coming along just fine. We are later here with our spring than in the west, a bit of a snow belt to say the least, so with gratitude, I am so thankful and so happy to see spring finally approaching, weather and nature all.
- 6 - I'm thankful for (I think!) another round of these things; Sea Monkeys!
How many of our children hatched these same eggs with eager anticipation of the wee darlings to come visit. Likened to a whole world of mini-people, they are thoroughly intrigued by the whole exciting adventure before them.
We gifted so many of our one daughter's friends with these, seemingly the theme of the year for a time with all the young gals she wanted to gift on their birthdays. I only have one question; how to change the water or keep it from smelling? And would you consider this a part of your nature study? :)
- 7 - I'm thankful for sun, heat, and finally the absence of ice on our "architecturally flawed roof line design". At long last, the garage where the water leaked so terribly is now (at last!) finally dry and awaiting a mammoth repair.....again this year.
Soon, the entire wall will come down, and part of the ceiling because the gyproc wallboard was so wet, a huge part of the drywall tape literally rolled off on the bottom half of this wall in the photo. The flawed design will see the builder adding heating coils up the roofing valleys, along with a commercial product resting against the bottom 18 inches, prior to the gutters along the roof line with the flashing placed over top of all. This will be necessary to ensure the ice from building and consequently damaging the same area....again.
I can already foresee another summer with scaffolding presence and men about to infringe on my days, like last year. Third time is lucky I suppose, so as long as they repair it for good, I'm happy. If not, well - our thoughts are in progress for what we might have to do.
- 8 - I'm thankful for this little scene, the area where our children played when they were younger, the huge memory heart of so many sweet and tender recollected childhood times together, with their imaginations only limited by what they could not perceive in their little innocent minds within their wonderful world of pretend.
Actually, shh, don't tell anyone but our two younger ones here still enjoy playing here when other little ones come to visit.
Many restaurants have been mimicked and many comforting foods served. Diners never dash from this location, just the opposite as there's always a crowd to feast on the temptations offered here.
- 9 - I'm thankful for favorite meals produced by our resident chef - my husband. Many Friday evenings he presents our family with his latest ideas for a simple, green and fishy sort of meal.
This one was so yummy wonderful, I often beg for a repeat! A spinach and scallop cold salad on a bed of warm rice and a piece of toasted french bread on the side.
- 10 - I'm thankful for NHL hockey playoffs on the horizon!
Here we go folks, it's almost here and of course very soon to come;
- New Don Cheery colorful outfits
- best hockey plays ever
- raspy voices from all that cheering
- gathering round to watch hockey games as a family
- Facebook profile updates taking over my mini feed
- and... many Pacific Northwest diehards joining forces with us, all in sync cheering on those Vancouver
Canucks! Go Canucks Go!
And there you have it, yet one more edition of "Ten Things I'm Thankful For". As always, some thankful things will always remain a standard for me; Faith, Family and Friends - in that order.
May God grant us the wisdom
to discover the right,
the will to choose it
and the strength to make it endure.
~ King Arthur (from the movie "The First Knight")
Oh, and...
P.S. Happy Birthday to our Son
It's YOUR birthday TODAY!
Feast of St. George
