Thankful Thursday

Good morning~
I ran across this quote and thought it was great: "The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings." ~Eric Hoffer

Hmmm...I've never been very good at math. In fact, I am beyond AWFUL at it. I am never going to learn calculus, grasp geometry, or anything of the like, but I wouldn't mind trying to master the arithmetic of being able to count my blessings. Trying to tackle that "problem" assures me of something to do for the rest of my life...

Here are some things to count:
1. I am thankful for Ruby Mei who celebrates her second birthday today. Happy birthday, Ruby Mei!!!

2. I am thankful for the Barnabases in my life. Barnabases? What? In the Bible, Barnabas (which means son of encouragement) is known for being a great encourager. In fact, his name really was Joseph but he was called Barnabas because of his great reputation of providing encouragement. I think that's so cool. I am thankful for those people who provide ongoing encouragement in one form or fashion.

3. I am thankful for a love package that came in the mail from Jeff & Danielle yesterday. Pottery Barn, here I come.

4. I am thankful for fresh blueberries that were on sale at the grocery store. Love that superfood!

5. I am thankful for the public library. I am on a total library kick and am loving it! I've loaded up on books for Lindy, books for me, DVDs, CDs--such fun. I read Make Way for Ducklings to Lindy for the first time this week. It's still as great as when I was a kid!

What are you thankful for today?

Thankful Thursday

Good morning~

It is Thursday and today I am thankful for:

• A beautiful sunset last night. Okay, it wasn't as amazing as the one in the picture above but it was pretty.
• Our a/c which is working again. Our a/c--in annual to semi-annual tradition--gave out on Friday evening. The technician came late Monday afternoon and thankfully had the necessary part to make it a one-visit repair. It is much nicer to go to bed with it at 78 degrees in the house and not 87 (or higher).
• Lindy. Read one of the reasons why here.
• An overdue Starbucks date with Jaime.
• Tiny bits of rain we're getting from Hurricane Dolly.
• A referral for a former co-worker, mentor, and friend.
• Lucy Joy who will soon meet her family.

I am thankful for many other things and strive to look for the blessings--both big and small--each hour...

"The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!" ~Henry Ward Beecher

What are you thankful for today?

Pearls

If you are a living, breathing human you've no doubt said something you regret or something hurtful once or twice in your lifetime. I know I have MANY times. I once heard words are like toothpaste. Once toothpaste has been squeezed out of the tube, you just can't put it back in the tube. It just doesn't work that way.

I recently learned of, fellow blogger friend and adoptive mother, Kim's decision to close her very popular and widely read blog 3 Peanuts. Kim--known for her pearls--admitted many times this was her family's scrapbook but to her surprise it evolved into something much bigger. Kim's decision to close her blog was a result of someone else's choice to read her blog and subsequently harass her with very strong, hurtful words.

While I don't know what was written to her or why, nor do I claim to be perfect, I am reminded of some of Jesus' very strong words and pearls of wisdom found in Matthew 12: 33-37:

"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."


I, like others, miss reading Kim's blog and am sorry for the hurt someone else's careless words have caused Kim and her family. I hope this incident will cause people to be more mindful of the words they choose and remember, "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all..."

Thankful Thursday

"If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get." Frank A. Clark

I've been a little bit behind on blogging but thought I'd get back in the saddle today. Today I am thankful for:

• A lovely visit and beach trip with my brother and sister-in-law and their boys. No sunburn, no sickness, and for the most part smooth sailing.
• Almost all the vacation laundry is done. Oh my word, I think there were nine or ten loads and I have two more left.
• A referral for this sweet family. I better get hopping on those quilt squares for Karleigh Mei.
• Some incredibly powerful and encouraging words from my sweet friend, Tamra. Thank you, Tams!
• Hearing Lindy saying memory verses and tackling the word Deuteronomy! It overjoys me to see Lindy learning about God and knowing she is thinking about Him. A couple weeks ago she was scared because of a thunderstorm which rolled through during her nap. I told her to remember the Lord is always with her. A few days later when I was upset about something, she came and consoled me by saying, "Mommy, remember the Lord is always with you."
• Costco's Gourmet Chocolate Chunk cookies. Yum! I usually prefer homemade but these are pretty good...
• A mother who understands.
• The new outlook an eyebrow waxing brings. Sounds shallow, I know, but I am trying to take pleasure in the small stuff.
• The recent rains. They caused the crape myrtles to magnificently bloom which brought another color besides brown to our drought-stricken area.
• Recent talks with Megan, Ginny, Heather, Shari, Stacey, Debbie, Lynn, and my dear but basically defunct Monday Night Prayer Group. See post about catching up with friends.

Very random list, I know. It just proves I have so many things to be thankful for on a daily basis. So, what are you thankful for today?

Beach bloopers

One of my hopes while we were at the coast was to capture some casual family photos of us by the beach. Easy, breezy, right??? Mind you, the photography manual my husband got me years ago hasn't been cracked open and has a layer of dust on it, I'm sure. Also, I'm not really sure where the owner's manual is for the little, now outdated, Canon digi camera that I use. So, I am not sure what all the buttons and settings are for. Figuring that out is on my to-do list! Procrastinators of the world unite, tomorrow...

So this was the plan: Let's get dressed for dinner, snap some quick pictures of each family because after dinner the kids will be tired, who knows what food and drink will be on whom, lipstick will be gone, pits will be sweaty, and hair will be either flat or frizzy.

We tried very quickly to get some pictures. We went first. First, Don looked at me like I was crazy when I told him to sit in the sand. Then he was not at all thrilled to take off his shades. Danielle couldn't even see to take the pictures. It is ALWAYS windy at the coast, so I'm not sure why I worked extra hard to straighten my hair. In the attempt to be fair, I snapped one picture of my brother's family, just in case.

Photography lesson #1: Do NOT take pictures at 6:00 in the evening in the middle of July when it is in the 90s and your subjects are facing west.

Here's what happens when you do...

Since it seemed like our mission was futile we packed it up after five minutes and decided to execute plan B--go to dinner and do the photoshoot later. We hopped back into the minivan rental and to add insult to injury, it would not start. Jeff couldn't get it out of gear and it wouldn't budge. To make a long story short, we didn't get the photoshoot and we didn't get the fish and shrimp dinner. We had to hoof it back to the condo, feed the kids odds and ends, order delivery pizza, and wait up until nearly midnight for the tow truck to deliver a new car and take the other one away.

Mark my word, I'm going to get those beach shots if it kills me!

Good times...good times...

Thankful Thursday

"The sea, Once it casts its spell holds one in its net of wonder forever."

Jacques Cousteau

I am thankful because today we are leaving for the coast (that's what they say here in TX) for a little fun in the sun with my brother, sister-in-law, and two nephews.

What are you thankful for today?

This was supposed to run LAST Thursday but our internet access and connectivity was gone...So, I'm publishing it today, July 16th...

Silver and gold

“Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold.” Author Unknown

I love that quote and the sentiment behind it. I wonder who the author thought was gold and who he/she thought was silver. In my life, I have found that it really varies. It seems friendships carry so many labels beyond the old and new friends referenced in this quote. Here are some of mine: High school friends, college friends, Navy friends, local friends, work friends, church friends, Mommy friends, blog friends, adoption friends, etc...

The past few weeks I have been on a mission to find and catch up with some of my old (NOT age-ha) friends. It all stemmed from an exciting Friday night at the Osborn residence where I went into the depths of a cabinet filled with old directories and address books and started purging. If you know me very well, you know I couldn't complete the task without taking some excursions down memory lane. As I paged through the address books, I waxed nostalgic and wondered how and why people lose touch. Where are these people today? I even had to dig deep to remember who some of them were and contemplate why they were in my address book. As I looked at pictures in directories, I noticed how I had "forgotten" people I had once known and felt close to. I feel like I have tried to keep in touch with people to preserve relationships but realize it takes much more effort from both sides to keep a friendship strong and long-lasting.

As a result of my purging project I found my two missing bridesmaids (I only had four and one of them is my sister-in-law) and had the chance to talk to them several days ago. I am hopeful to not lose track now. Gotta love the internet!!! Ironically, one of them only lives about four hours away. I also talked to the high school friend pictured with me in the photo above. It had been a year but it really only felt like a week.

Not only have I been on a mission to resurrect some older relationships, I have also been trying to strengthen some newer relationships. This quest poses some challenges because some of them are friends whom I have never met or spoken to and many live far away. However strange that may sound, they are a source of tremendous support and special closeness. I am thankful for these newer friends and hope through the power of technology and a bit of self-discipline to maintain healthy relationships with them.

Life gives us lots of balls to juggle and sometimes it can be challenging to successfully keep them all up in the air. I am hopeful I can get better at my juggling routine by keeping up with my old friends, getting to know my newer friends better, and all the while hold onto the other friends God has blessed me with.