Seasons.....

I am so very thankful that I live somewhere that has a full array of SEASONS!!  How wonderful it is to anticipate each change during the year.  I must admit that Fall is my favorite but they all have wonderful things to enjoy!  How blessed we are to be able to watch the show!

My Boys......

Today I am so very thankful for my Kids and their happiness.  We all know life is messy and things aren't always good and don't always go as planned.  I am so very thankful for the lives that my boys have made and the happiness they have made for themselves through good and bad.  They are mature, smart, kind and just plain good people.  For that I am so very Grateful!!  So true is the saying that we can only be as happy as our least happy child!! 

So Thankful for Puppies....

Today I am so very Thankful for my sweet puppy Lucy!!!  I love all three of my doggies and I am very thankful for them.  Lucy is still a puppy and through her all things are new.  She chases butterflies, floating leaves, bugs and gets excited about the most simple things in life.  She loves everyone she meets and she thinks all dogs love her too.  She also thinks the cat is her best friend - even when she swipes her on the head.  She loves naps and snuggles as well as toys and treats.

Puppies, like children, help us to focus on the little things and realize that there is so much wonder in our world and so very much to be Thankful for!!

Day 160 of Thanksgiving....

160/205
Today I am so very Thankful for the Inspiration from Others!
I so love the beautiful inspirations and ideas that I receive daily from blogs and sites that I follow.  One of my very favorites is this one - Dodinsky!  This artist makes me laugh, smile and most importantly Think!  I cannot wait until the book comes out next month - I will relish every page!!! 

Day 159 of Thanksgiving.......

159/206

Today I am so very Thankful for my Warm Comfy Bed!  We are having a cold snap here and I am so very thankful that I have a warm soft old bed to sleep in.  When the weather gets like this I am always reminded of how many people are without a safe warm and comfortable place to lie their heads at night.  How awful it must be to spend your days wandering the streets only to end the day by trying to find warmth in an old box or newspapers for cover.  The only thing wrong with my bed is that it makes it really hard to get up in the morning.  How very fortunate we are to have the things we take for granted.

Day 158 of Thanksgiving....

158/207

Today I am so very Thankful for Neighbors!  We have been so very fortunate in the wonderful people that we share a street with!  For years we lived in a little house in a good sized neighborhood and that was awesome - always lots of people around and we all grew up together with our kids.  Then we moved here 8 years ago last month and it is a very small old neighborhood and we weren't sure how we would fit in because we were sort of the new kids on the block.  Well no need to worry - we have wonderful people all around us and I am so very thankful every day.  Back a few years ago, my sweet nurse neighbor Cheryl came to my rescue and stayed with me while I waited on an ambulance during a scary heart arrhythmia - she made me feel so at ease and I will always be so thankful that she was there.  Her hubby Sid helped my youngest jump off his battery just this morning so that he could get to work on time.  On the other side is Jack and he helps with any number of things - if something breaks down or you need a tool of any kind, he is there and he also makes a killer spaghetti sauce!  Down the street is Kim who opens her house for football games and holiday parties and more.  The young lady who lives with her Mom down the hill in front of us welcomes our wayward dog who jumps the fence and eats her cat's food and treats him like one of her own.  There is Leah and her hubby who live on the corner and she went to school with one of our boys and is always ready with a smile and a wave.  When one of our boys got married in our backyard this year, not one of them complained about the deluge of cars on our street - it was awesome!  We are so very fortunate to have the wonderful people all around us and there is just nothing like a good neighbor!!

Day 157 of Thanksgiving.....

157/208

Today I am so very Thankful for our Home!  Many times it is bursting with laughter and people we love and we are so grateful for it.  So many people in the world don't have a warm safe place to call home and so many have lost their homes during the last few years.  Now, Hurricane Sandy has brought this all to mind again and each of us who is fortunate enough to have a place to call our own where we live with those we love, are so very blessed.  It's so amazing, a home can be big or small, one story or more, but when you walk through that door there is no better feeling.  Ours is old and not so big, but it is bursting at the seams with Thanksgiving and Love!

Day 156 of Thanksgiving.....

156/209

Today I am so very Thankful again for Friends!  There are so many types of friends - close ones, online friends, lifelong ones, neighbors and more.  I have been so very blessed to meet some wonderful women during the last few years that support the Binky Patrol SC.  They give freely and for no reason other than to share from the heart without anything in return.  Through the process of trying to find people to get involved and do the work, I received a message from a wonderful absolute angel and her name is Anita Black.  Without her there would be no Binky Patrol Chapter in South Carolina.  Look in the dictionary under Angel and you will find her pictured there.  She is our quilter extraordinaire and just when I want to give up and think that just the few of us cannot do this, she comes up with a new idea or project and......she makes it happen.  She is talented, thrifty, creative and she just oozes love and positivity!  You absolutely cannot not know Anita and not love her - it is impossible. If you know her then you will know this little Angel is so her - not just floating about but running to be of service to those in need with a beautiful smile!!  Nita...my dear friend and fellow soldier I love you dearly and am so very Thankful for you today!!

Day 155 of Thanksgiving....

155/210

Today I am so very Thankful for Community!!  Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to see a part of our community at it's best when we attended the annual Festival of Trees.  This is a fundraising event put on by a local group, The Palmetto Health Foundation.  What an awesome collaboration of talent this was.  The convention center was beautifully decorated by Christmas Trees and other decorations created and donated by the community.  All of these items are auctioned off to raise money for health care in our community.  During the event pictures of beautiful children who have been saved through treatment at Palmetto Health Children's Hospital flashed on giant screens.  What better way to begin the holiday celebration and what a joy to see the inspiring stories of these miracles!  Community is truly an awesome thing when it works!!

Day 154 of Thanksgiving....

154/211

Today I am so very Thankful for Generous Hearts!  I have mentioned before that I volunteer with the Binky Patrol SC and I so love this - it gives me purpose and allows me to give back a little.  Since I have been unable to work, this group allows me to meet wonderful people and do small things to help.  Today I found the most wonderful surprise waiting on my front porch - bags full of beautiful handmade blankets to be sent up to New York and New Jersey!  This has just made my day and filled me once again with the believe that if you have a need and let others know, they will provide.  I am beyond thankful and humbled by generous and loving hearts today!!!  Thank you so much Kim, Jo Ann and Taylor Rae!! - you give me faith!

Day 153 of Thanksgiving...

153/212

Today I am again so very Thankful for my Hubby!  This morning he had a car accident and we are so blessed that it wasn't bad and both he and the other driver walked away just a little sore and achy.  I keep thinking about the phone call I could have gotten telling a much different story.  He works very hard and he works lots of hours and then he works really hard around our house.  I worry about him driving tired or weary and when he called me this morning to tell me he had had an accident, all I could think about is how very blessed we are because he is fine.  The car - not so much but that can be fixed.  Thank heavens for my Hubby!

Day 152 of Thanksgiving.....

152/213

Today I am so very Thankful for my Daughters-In-Law!  I now have three and as the mother of all boys, I really appreciate them so much.  They bring joy, beauty and so much love to our lives every day.  Shopping for girly things and hair doodads are among the other benefits.  We are very fortunate indeed to have three beautiful young women as a part of our family now.  Go Pink!!