These and much~much MORE!

30{30}

"MORE" means that I have been blessed MORE than I deserve. On this 30th and final day of sharing my gratitudes; I am thankful for all these and MORE…much much MORE. It is impossible to totally share everything one could possibly be grateful for. So my space for #30 is wide open…it holds all the other many things I’m so grateful for…..all my blessings! My cup over floweth……with MORE and MORE each day!

"Whatever we are waiting for - peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance - it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart."

Sarah Ban Breathnach

My Gratitudes
Thank you allowing me to share 30 days of Gratitude with you.

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others."
Cicero

Life is Good and I am grateful for this and MORE!
************************************
Please stay tuned in for my GIVE~AWAY!
I want to share something with someone…as a way of saying a special THANK~YOU for supporting me through these last 30 days. I am slowly putting it together….something old, something new, maybe something blue and certainly something
Heartfelt and Homemade!

Have a blessed week…I look forward to each day with you!

The 29th Day...

29{30}

I am grateful for my camera. As I look back over my last 28 days of gratitude, I see that only a couple of them are for material possessions. Now don’t get me wrong….I do so appreciate all the things I have, but more important are those intangible traits and qualities that we cannot purchase at the store. I’m grateful that I have the skills and some knowledge of using a camera and having a good quality one so I can be creative with a passion that I love. Throughout this whole month of sharing my gratitudes with you; it has been a challenge…and having to pair that gratitude with a photo has been even more so. But I am also grateful to have been put to this challenge because it has opened my heart and mind to the realization of true appreciation.

So……I am grateful for my camera...to be able to share, to be creative, and preserve the present when it is also making me observe more.

This is my beautiful daughter Holly~a gift from God!

I am truly thankful for her!

**********************************

Tomorrow will be the last and final day of the

30 day challenge of sharing my gratitudes.

No one can possibly begin to share everything they are grateful for in just 30 days….but if we continue to open our hearts and be ever so mindful of what we are blessed with…it will continue on through our lives.

I hope everyone is having a blessed and wonderful Sunday!

Holiday Happenings and Still Thankful

Countdown of My 30 Days of Gratitude

27{30}

I am grateful for warmth…..

Warmth can be found here:

Family

Friends

A cozy blanket

A tight hug

A friendly smile

Fuzzy socks

Bumping up the heat

Buffalo wings

A candle’s glow

The sun’s rays

An open oven door

A hot bath

An inviting fire

A homecoming

And hot cappuccinos with whipped topping!

28{30}

I am grateful for this holiday season. Holidays give us the opportunity to slow down and reflect on some important aspects in our lives. We celebrate freedoms, births, our blessings, our sweethearts, the seasons, our veterans, and our Savior. We set aside special days to commemorate, honor, and remember; but sometimes we get caught up in the commercial side of holidays and we must remember that this is not what it is truly all about. I am thankful for the holidays because it gives us a sense of placement and belonging. I hope you are enjoying your holidays and reflecting on their true meaning.

~all my gratitudes~

______________________________

Baby it’s cold outside!...so warmth comes at a good time… and the cold just makes the holiday season even better. Holidays are great as we gathered together the family at the in-laws and at our home for our Thanksgiving time. Lots of good food to be had by all. Smiles, laughter and memories were shared. Food was shared when it was time to clean up and go home. Photos were taken, new memories were made.
Bellies were full and taste buds were satisfied.
Plans were made for Christmas which is just around the corner.
“See ya in a few weeks” were the goodbyes….. Boy aren’t we blessed?

Even the Kitties had a good feast!

****************************************

Holly and I rose at 3:15 Friday a.m. for a little Black Friday shopping! I would not have gone if she had not wanted to go. But it was fun. We started at Wal-Mart…..oh my! It was very well organized and calm. People were very nice and polite! At 6:00 we grabbed some breakfast and set out to Kohl’s…then back home we were before the deer hunters! Our afternoon was spent with good friends and some

Alabama~Auburn

football and more good food…..Hot wings, dips, chips, homemade cookies, and raw & baked oysters…Again bellies were full and taste buds were satisfied.

More left satisfied with the final ballgame score…

Becky, Ricky, Jason, Miranda, Katie, Baby Evan,

Richard & Holly, and Josh all say a BIG… “ROLL TIDE!”

And Jackie says “WAR EAGLE~good game!”

Me…I could care less….I just enjoy the fellowship but its growing on me!

 ~Happy Holidays Everyone~

I'm Grateful On This ThanksGiving Day

26{30}

I am grateful that we can gather….gather together in Thanksgiving.....together with thanks and love. We gather our families together to celebrate the joy of being able to give thanks to God for all of the many blessing that He has given us. If you were to stop and count all those blessings I bet you would be like me…..unable to count that high! As we bring our families together and before we fill that empty plate with all the food we are so blessed to have and enjoy, we need to thank the good Lord above for it all! How blessed we are to be able to gather together with so much…….

I’m grateful that my families can gather together this holiday season on this
Thanksgiving Day 2009.

26 of 30 Days of Gratitude

May your plate be full of peace, happiness, and many blessings!

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

Colossians 4:2 NIV

Happy ThanksGiving!

I will catch up with everyone later in the day...Blessings to all!

Beautiful Wonders of the World

25{30}

I am grateful for all the wonders of the world….big beautiful ones and the little small ones too. I stand in awe at God’s great beauty, which He masterfully created….from vast beautiful mountains covered in snow to tiny little newborn babies. I wonder in my own mind how all of this was created so perfect and wonderful…then I realize that it could only be done by the great master artist Himself.

“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I am in, therein to be content.” ~Helen Keller

Standing in awe behind a camera enjoying the miraculous wonders of life on this 25th day of 30 days of Gratitude.

“I'm overcome and broken At the wonders of your hand.” ~Caedmon's Call

_____________________________

Christmas is only a month away! And tomorrow is Thanksgiving!! YaY!

What am I doing today? Well I’ve already made another trip to Wally World……or should I say Wild and Wacky World ……OMGosh…I can’t believe that I forgot so much!! Crazy! But I’ve gotten it over with because I was up early this morning. I was startled by a phone call at 3:13 am this morning. “Hey mama…what you doing?” Now, may I remind you that it was 3:13 A. M…..morning!……So I answered in that dumb answer way…..”Sleeping…what did you think I was doing? Holly what’s wrong, where are you?” And she replied with a giggle, “At the back door, come let us in!” “What?”

They had driven all the way through the night *without telling us* from Louisiana! Surprise!! And what a great one it was! We were not expecting them until later in the afternoon. After a full cooked breakfast by Jackie they crawled into bed and slept. I lay back down for a little while with a smile on my face…..

More cooking for us today…putting on the final touches and last minute details. Jackie and Richard will go deer hunting for a while this afternoon. Holly and I…well who knows!

Have a happy day everyone!

I like this one too:

“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.” ~Helen Keller

24/30 of Gratitudes~Country Living

24{30}

I grateful for country living. Wide open spaces where the heart can roam and run. Fresh air to fill your soul. The country maintains a calm quietness with the exception of cows mooing, dogs barking, children laughing and playing, and my neighbor’s miniature donkeys braying their way to their shelter. Listen…do you hear it? It’s a good way to live….away from the hustle and bustle. A walk in the woods lends to a relaxing, soul searching experience. Swinging on the porch allows for reflecting on the days events.

It’s a place to grow and grow your own….and a place you always want to come back to.

Ahhhh…country living is easy living…….

*unless you’re a farmer*

Day 24 of my 30 day series of Gratitudes.

_______________________________

  Busy busy…..The smells are rising in my

kitchen again today. I boiled a whole chicken while mixing up my egg bread ingredients for my dressing.

 I’ve sautéed green onions, onions, a tad of celery and the roasted chestnuts. The smell of the bread baking and the aroma of the onions and chestnuts…..wow. I’ve got the turkey in the refrigerator…thawing….got the dressing all ready to bake Thursday.

Now on to the pies….and dash away dash away dash away all!

I’m grateful that I’m able to do all this and more.

What are you grateful for today?

I hope everyone is doing well and expecting the best.

Many blessings to you and yours!

Gobble Gobble!

Hope~Faith~Peace

23{30}

Hope~Faith~Peace

Hope~ looking forward with desire, confidence and belief.

Faith~ Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.

Peace~ tranquility and serenity

"A glimmer of hope grounded in faith grows peace."

I am grateful for hope…even if it is only a glimmer.

I am grateful for my faith…though sometimes gone astray.

I am grateful for peace…in my life and in my heart.

Day 23 of 30 Days of Gratitude~ See them all here.

Saying my ABC’s ~ Peace is for “P”

…………………………………………………………

Updates

 1~ Holly and Richard will be home Wednesday for a week of

Thanksgiving/holiday fun. We’ll enjoy cooking, eating,

laughing, resting, Black Friday shopping, football,

visits, PJ parties, Christmas card shooting,

and just being together……YaY! :)

2~ I’m still going to share some of my crafts from the craft show.

I have not forgotten, but this 30 days gratitude has taken

top priority in my postings and I’m on the down hill slide of the month.

Only 7 more days to go!

3~ I’m working on a give-away……Yep! A give-away……

just in time for Christmas~the month of giving.

I have not put it all together yet but it will be

something I think you will like….could be a vintage hankie,

an old card of buttons, homemade Christmas tags…

or all of the above and some more!

I’ll let you know soon…..keep in touch!

Oooo I’m so excited!

For now my friends may you find hope, have faith and be at peace!

Psssst….I’m making apple butter…wish you could smell my kitchen! ahhh!

Having an ATTITUDE of GRATITUDE

22{30}

Putting your eggs all in one basket is like not taking opportunities when they present themselves. If they are all in one basket they seem safe and sound…so to speak. Not really…Spread things around a bit, take a risk, go through that open door, take a chance and explore other areas and interests. Opportunities arise right before our very eyes; we just have to be able to see them for what they are. At one point in my own life I tried to keep “my eggs” in one basket….it seemed the easiest thing to me…it felt safe…I was comfortable. But I could not control everything that was going on around me. Things changed, things were turned upside down and around. It was out of my control. My eggs were spilled out in many directions. Little did I know at the time; it was for the best. New opportunities were opened up to me; all I had to do was take that first step through that open door.
When opportunity knocks…open up and let it in;

but just make sure your eggs don’t get broken!

I’m thankful for the opportunities that I have come across in my life…some bad, some ok; some were great and still are…

Either way my basket is still full even though

I have spread out my eggs.

Our message this morning at church was presented
by our children’s choir singing a musical called

“Attitude of Gratitude”.

They sang of having Thanksgiving everyday instead of once a year. They reminded us that every good and perfect gift is from God
and that we truly do have so much…..

so in return we should have an attitude of gratitude.

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of

God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

 ~1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV

I love having this “Attitude of Gratitude” this month.

Yes it has been rather challenging and hard to do some days,

but it has been worth it to me.

"Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again.
That's the way life is." ~Bob Feller

Saying My ABC's

Opportunity is for "O"

 

see all my Attitudes of Gratitudes

Sharing My Gratitudes

21{30}

"The miracle is this: the more we share the more we have."

 ~ Leonard Nimoy
Let’s think a minute about sharing. Growing up we were taught to share. Sharing is a good thing. Each time we donate our time, money, knowledge, and gifts we are sharing.

We share recipes, and craft projects, love, and

kindness through our thoughts, words and prayers.

Jackie shared his lunch this week. I shared some photo how-to’s and where-to’s with a couple of friends. Operation Christmas Child is a sharing program of shoe boxes of gifts for hurting children across the world. A simple act of kindness is sharing! We share with the less fortunate from the abundance we have been blessed with. Thanksgiving this year will be shared with family and friends and with people we don’t even know through
our donations of food and T-shirts for Turkeys programs.

What we receive from our sharing is sheer joy, satisfaction, and love. It gives us a warm fuzzy….it spreads smiles for miles…To know that you helped someone through sharing is a great gift to ourselves and is what we are expected to do for others.
So in this month of being thankful we should also be sharing through giving.
Thanks + Giving!

I am thankful for sharing, caring people.

This photo is an old one of my niece Cassidy; sharing her boiled p-nuts with our dog Rocky…he eats the hulls and all. You can see the delight in her happy face as she ate some and he ate some!

my gratitudes

Saying My ABC's

Sharing is for "S"

20/30 days of Gratitude and I'm a Winner!

20{30}

I am grateful for electricity. I know, I know….everyone is grateful for this. It’s a common everyday thing. Most of the time we do not even think about it much less what we would do without it! But….its a special thing at my house….you see my husband Jackie works for the rural electric co-op which provides our electricity. It’s not only our source of comfort, heat, convenience, and necessity…it’s our source of income and has been for 30 years now! From a lineman to a foreman, Jackie has provided our family with everything we have ever needed or wanted. We have been blessed because of his job, the benefits, and the luxury of having electricity…can you even imagine being without it?

I would have to start using these old clothes pins again… :)

So on this 20th day of 30 days of gratitude

I am very thankful for Jackie and my electricity; in more ways than one.

“Electricity is like God. You can't see Him….but you can see the light.”

Saying My ABC’s

Necessity for N
Because Electricity is a necessity in our home!

I’m also thankful for Christina @ Soul Aperture….I was a winner in her Pink Love drawing!! YAY! I got a nice little package in the mail *and who doesn’t love a surprise in the mail* and this is what she shared with me….a bit of her pink love or as I say...

a bit of her pink loveliness. A photograph taken by Christina herself.

Isn’t it just beautiful?

She also sent me a little pink ticket for a free WISH!

I wish…I wish…I wish…………

I wish you would please pay her a visit, you will not be disappointed!

Wow…..I just covered another day of gratitude, the letter “N” for my ABC’s series and have sung praises about Christina @ Soul Aperture! Whew……………!

see all the things I am grateful for

19/30 Days of Gratitude

19{30}

I am grateful for choices….. We all have choices in our lives and make them daily. It is a privilege and a freedom to be able to choose for ourselves. When we mark a ballot…..it’s our choice! We can choose where we live, eat, worship and have fun. We can make our choice for this or that, bad or good, black or white.

We can choose from a menu, choose a color, to love or to hate, to smile or to frown. Each day we make choices and we are responsible for the choices we make…if we choose to drink and drive then we are putting someone else at risk…if we do not set a good example for our children then we are accountable for their actions too.

Everyday choices matter….we can choose to stay or go, to follow or to lead. To live happily or sad. To help or turn our back and walk away. Choices are our freedom, our privilege…….make them wisely. Today and everyday I am thankful that I can make my own choices and hopefully they will be the right ones.

Grateful that we have Choices

all my gratitudes

Fabulous SUGAR DOLL and 18/30 Days of Gratitude

My little friend Lindsay is a true Southern Cinderella. I met her through one of Holly’s friends and have known her for several years now. She is young and vivacious and full of life; which is so refreshingly good these days. While chatting with her and her Mom in Wally World one day I found out that she reads my blog…I told her she needed to start a blog since she loved reading them….so long story short…. please visit with her at Southern Cinderella and read her fun list.

She has nominated me for this Fabulous SUGAR DOLL award:

I have to list 10 interesting/fun facts about myself then pass along the award to 10 other bloggers! So here are my 10 fun facts about me:

1. I love pie

2. I’m short

3. I color my hair

4. I love Reba reruns

5. I like turnips and collards

6. I collect scrapbook papers

7. I love junky and vintage stuff

8. I like to paint my toes but not my fingers

9. I love my box of multi-colored Sharpie markers

10. I’m a sucker for the smell of Tide Mountain Spring

Now here’s who I am passing this wonderful cute award to and asking you to play along:

1. J @ My Daily Discovery 
2. Cinner @ THINGS ABOUT WHO,WHAT,WHEN, WHERE AND WHY 
3. char @ ramblins 
4. Mary @ Neat and Tidy 
5. Amelia @ Notes From The Edge 
6. Christina @ Soul Aperture 
7. Sares @ Loveleigh Treasures 
8. Sandra @ My Inspired Heart 
9. Angie @ Ramblings from a Grateful Heart 
10. Joy @ A Joyful Day      
11. and anyone else who would like to play….grab the award and lets go!

Lindsay the Southern Cinderella came to visit me at the craft show last Saturday!

Thank you Lindsay for thinking of me and being such a doll yourself! It’s so nice to have friends…..friends you know and love, friends without faces, and friends with unheard voices. I find my way inside their hearts and souls through their kindness and generosity, their words and thoughts in their writings, their photographs, and friendship in their comments when they leave little love notes. My friends that I spend physical time with are awesome and so are my world wide web friends…..and for this I am grateful on this 18th day of 30 days of gratitude. I’m grateful for their comments, their notes, their kindness, their inspiration and the knowledge I have gained through them.
Thanks for being my friend.

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." ~ Anaïs Nin

The road to a friend’s house is never long……….

 

30 days of gratitude

17/30 Days of Gratitude

17{30}

I am grateful for the past and the present. The past has to happen before the present or the past would not be the past it would be the present. I love capturing old buildings, churches, and abandonments. They are a thing of our past. Without the past we do not have the present and shall have no future. But gosh it seems time sure has a way of running so fast these days…so I’ll linger in the past and the bygones of things and move on into the present and see how it goes. Wherever I stand I am grateful for both!

Dr. Seuss says it so well:

"They say I'm old-fashioned, and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast!”

30 days of gratitude

 

 

Note: I'm also grateful today for doctors and nurses.

My 86 year old Mother-n-law had some minor surgery today and is doing well.

My Simple Things and 16/30 Days of Gratitude

~My Simple Things~

Making someone smile

The space in-between

The smell of baby’s breath

Purring 

My cupcake printed PJ’s

Holly driving down our drive way

Warm toes/fuzzy socks

...with nuts

Mittens and scarves

Strolling to the mailbox

Old Polaroids 

A fresh clean home

Snow in the south

Holly sleeping in her bed at my house

Tickles and giggles

Homemade

Pixie elves

Hay in a manger

Lemonade on the porch  

600 thread count

Thrifty finds

Children singing

Laughing Cow Cheese

Losing a pound

Shutter clicks

Today

Candles

Seeds sprouting

Vintage Christmas ornaments

Giving of myself

Cotton candy clouds in raspberry blue skies

No cavities

Carrot noses

A warm bath 

The smell of crayons

Jingle bells

Pink

Believing

Paper chain garland

Flannel

The words I love you

My simple things are just that…simple. They are the things that I cherish, thoughts that make me smile; things that make me giddy, things that make me jump for joy at the mere sight of them.
They are often so simple that people over look them or not even notice them at all.

My simple pleasures make me happy. And also these are things that

I am simply grateful for too on this 16/30 Days of Gratitude.

You will find the originator of My Simple Things over at

Christina’s blog~Soul Aperture.  Please go over and visit with her...

you will not be disappointed, I promise!

And here's a list of others like me who are sharing their own Simple Things.

I am truly grateful for My Simple List of Things

 

Side note: I am thankful today that Holly made it back home safely to Louisiana...Praise the Lord!

30 Days of Gratitude

15/30 Days of Gratitude ...and trying to catch up....

15{30}

I am grateful for my home! Home is where the heart is…..you betcha! As you turn in our drive way you are greeted by a stand of dogwoods and just beyond that is this bench where you are welcomed to sit a spell. Sunday afternoons are spectacular at home with family! In my home there is the right amount of warm and cool, comfort and coziness, and all things good to eat. We spent the day with Holly, our daughter, at home for the weekend. What more could you ask for? A home is where you can be yourself, relax, nap, cozy up, and just feel blessed in every way! We popped in the DVD of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and watched with appreciation of an old classic. Holly wrapped early Christmas gifts and her kitties played and romped through the paper and wrappings! Our home has its own smell, its own character, and its own way of settling with sounds. We have made it what it is with our personal touches, colors, and memories. Above our front entrance of the porch you will find the words “Joshua 24:15” and above the front door you will find a shabby “Welcome” sign. These are also things that make a house a home! I am very grateful for my home which we have built, nurtured, and are blessed to have because so many cannot say this.

I have better than what I deserve………….

“……..as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

my gratitudes

14/30 Days of Gratitude

14 {30}

Apples to Apples

Like apples, people come in a wide variety of flavors, colors, tastes, brands, and sweetness…..some are delicious some are bitter. Some apples are pretty in their fancy colors but lack the sweet taste that makes them so good. Some are not so lovely in their looks but carry the sweetness of a cute kitten…from Red delicious to Fuji to McIntosh and Gala. And then again there are apples that are just plain, knotty, and sour. Just like apples…so are people……there are all kinds. I was grateful for the kind people that I met this weekend during my craft show exhibit. The coordinators of the show were excellent in their preparations and their organization of the event. I met the kindest volunteers (army people and families) who were ready and willing to help us setup, tear down, and deliver our lunch to us! The other crafters and vendors were very nice too…as we all had something in common…the love of our trade! The shoppers at the craft extravaganza were great too…with their kind comments, oooo and ahhhs, and purchases. The ladies in the booth next door to me were super friendly, nice, and loving. We even traded out our goods with each other! At the end of the long day, we parted with money in our pockets, new friends, hugs and well wishes and very tired feet. That night as I reflected on the day’s experience….I was/am grateful for kind and generous people including my own husband who so willingly helped us set up and take down our displays as well as stay around with us all day. 
Kind people are the "apples" that are sweet in taste no
matter their outside appearances or their fancy names.
Granny Smith would be so proud! 

my gratitudes

More from the craft show later my golden delicious friends!