Walking in a winter wonderland....

I don't have much time for journaling this week as my research paper is due on Friday and will need to be presented (along with PowerPoint presentation) on Monday and I have a test this week as well....BUT I just could not pass up posting one of my favorite winter photos. This isn't my house now, as we have been having 70 degree days here but was taken at my last house. Hopefully this will get you in the holiday spirit!

In all things give Thanks...

Cultivating a thankful heart is one of my main goals in life. It doesn't come naturally for me, though I know how blessed I am. I know that the blessings in my life are from God’s Grace and Mercy and not of my own doing. I find myself, often, overwhelmed by that very concept. It is beyond my earthly ability to understand. I don’t spend time struggling to understand as much as I take time to just accept and be glad in it.

Thanksgiving is a once a year holiday but a daily requirement for me to keep my life in perspective and balance. Though, this year, our Thanksgiving won’t be a day like we usually have I am still Thanks filled!

I am thankful for my God, first and foremost. I am thankful that He loves me. I am set aside by God…I am a Saint! How could I not be thanks filled?

I have been blessed by a husband that loves and seeks God daily. He is a servant leader of our family and loves us through sacrificial love daily. I could not design a better Father than he is. My children are so blessed to have a Father that makes his life choices based on them and what he feels is best for their future. He cares for me and seeks to make me happy for the sake of making me happy. I am so blessed to have him in my life. Thank you, God.

My children are God’s amazing gifts to me. I find myself in complete wonder, sometimes, as I realize these 3 little people are really not mine but God’s…and He has allowed me to share them for just a while. What an honor to be entrusted with God’s creations. Thank you, God.

DD had some minor surgery this week (thus the reason we won’t be having the traditional Thanksgiving festivities) and I have thought so much on being thankful for access to healthcare and the ability to take my children to the doctor when they need it. I am also thankful for the professionals in the medical arts…they are indeed precious. I can’t imagine how painful it must be for parents to need to access care for their children and not have that. Thank you, God.

I am thankful for a home, and enough provisions for my family. Thank you, God.

I am thankful for a Church that boldly proclaims the name of God and strives to spread light in this world. Thank you, God.

I am thankful that my children are able to attend a school that teaches God’s precious Word. I am thankful for teachers that help my DH and I build strong Christian leaders for the future. Thank you, God.

I am thankful for my Country and the brave men and women who have fought for my freedom. Thank you, God.

I am thankful for friends, both old and new, that have taught me so much. Thank you, God.

This list could go on and on but mostly I hope we can step back from day to day stresses and drink in all the blessings that God bestows.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful…singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God…giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Colossians 3:15-17

Boo Mama's at it again!

Boo Mama, blogger of note, is at it again and planning a rip, roaring Christmas home tour http://boomama.blogspot.com/2006/11/christmas-music-in-walmart-reminded-me.html Her original Bloggy Home Tour was really fun so this one should be a blast! I hope you will all join in the fun.

Christmas can't wait!

I have to admit, I am starting to decorate this weekend. My DD is having some minor surgery that will put her out of commission (thanks to some pain medication) for a few days next week so she is going to put up her tree tomorrow. She is afraid she won't feel up to it next week when we traditionally attempt to get up a tree a day at our house. She no longer desires for me to put her tree up and prefers to do it herself. She does a lovely job. The challenge for her this year is to get the tree positioned correctly as she has rearranged her bedroom furniture and the spot for the tree has shifted a bit. I will also atempt to get my oldest DS's tree this weekend as well....IF he gets his room cleaned up.

I decorate through the entire house. We will have 7 trees this year...which is not many compared with DH's Aunt. We went to a party at her house last weekend and she had 15 trees already up and decorated. She loves to entertain and will continue to decorate until the 1st of December or so.

Long, lost friends!

Last Saturday I had the greatest treat!

I was able to spend a 3-hour breakfast (literally 3 hours!) with a long, lost friend. My dear friend, Laura, and I went to high school together, were on the Cheerleading squad, waited tables together, and doubled dated, not to mention spent lots of nights up late talking over the ups and downs of our teen lives. Some how, though, 20 years ago we just lost touch and drifted apart. You can’t imagine how excited I was to get an email from her via Classmates.com. It was even more amazing to realize that even though I have moved all over in the course of the last 20 years, she and I live on ½ hour apart. She has 3 children – I have 3 children…both of us with 2 boys and 1 girl. Our girls are the same age and they are both Cheerleaders (at different schools). Her husband works about a mile from where mine works. It feels like a parallel universe in so many ways.

I was blessed by the time that she and I spent and hope it is just the 1st of many wonderful times and I can’t wait for our families to meet. She knows my dear husband as he was the boyfriend I had back in high school but I am excited to meet her husband soon!

Oh, and she looks just like she did in high school --- THAT just isn’t fair! LOL

I hope you VOTED!

Today is Election Day in the United States of America!

What a glorious Blessing and privilege to be able to do that freely, without fear. I was accompanied to the poll by my 3 precious children. They definitely see the excitement and paid quite a lot of attention to the whole process. I could tell my daughter (who is 15) paid more attention this time, as I think she is thinking ahead when she will be allowed to participate in three short years. We talked about how there are people in this world that can’t really even understand the concept of being able to Vote and have a say in who their leaders are. Can you imagine? I honestly can’t.

So many Thanks and prayers go up for the brave men and women who fought and those who died doing so, just so that I could have that privilege.

Make sure you vote…it is not a gift given lightly.

Does Santa only visit good boys and girls?

I usually try to wait until November before I pull out the Christmas music, but yesterday – October 31st – I gave in. On the way to dropping children off at school I pulled out the Burl Ives Christmas CD and popped it in. It was just what I needed! http://www.amazon.com/Very-Best-Burl-Ives-Christmas/dp/B00000JQMD (you can go to this site and listen to individual tracks if you are so inclined). I love Christmas and Christmas music.

Listening to “Santa Claus is coming to Town”, though, brought out some questions from DS#2 (who is 5). He asked about Santa bringing cold. It took me just a minute to determine he was asking about coal not cold. So, in my Motherly Authority I gave him the low down on Santa and his tendency to bring presents to good boys and girls.

DS#2 then asked about what pouting meant (remember he is listening the song as we are talking) and then clarified what I had told him about good boys and girls and the whole you “better not cry, you better not pout, etc.” I explained pouting and confirmed his understanding of our deep philosophical discussion. Silence from the backseat….which generally means something in the form of a grand question or proclamation is forth coming…DS#2 states, “Well, he brought me stuff last year”.

Now, where is my November/December leverage?????