Giving Thanks: Still Got My Home
When we came home this evening, we noticed that the folks behind us were burning. As we got stuff out of truck and got the mail, Cody remarked that cool- the neighbor would have burned his stuff before we burned our Ike debris. Jack and Lisa were planning to come up but now aren’t. . . leaving Cody’s honey-do weekend free. I noted that if Jack had come up, they still could have burned CAREFULLY.
We came in the house, I changed, and came into the kitchen for a cup of hot chocolate and to figure out dinner.
“Oh my goodness” I yelled as I looked at the back door. Half of my back yard was black! Our neighbor fire had gotten out of control sometime today, burned much of what we needed to burn, and half the yard. I yelled for Cody, who was in the back bedroom to look outside.
You know those strange thoughts that come to mind. . . Well, I now knew what my pick for my 365 project picture would be. We noted that we should have some better grass. Cody just might be able to mow the back yard with our poor sad riding lawnmower on it’s last legs when spring rolls around- The tall stuff that Cody hadn’t been able to mow is gone.
Who do you call when your yard’s charred. . . your “little bro” who works for the forestry service of course. . . And then we called the sherriff’s office just to make sure the incident was documented. Strangely, the neighbor still hasn’t come by even though we’ve been home for several hours now.
This kind of thing makes you appreciate having a house and no damage beyond the yard was done. God was looking after us. Bring on tomorrow’s rain!!!!
Saying Goodbye to 2009
When I look back on 2009, I cannot help but be glad it’s over and hope that 2010 brings more happiness. Despite all the negative of this past year, I’d rather dwell on the many good things from 2009- the many things I give thanks for. . . . Here’s just a random list (though I alphabetized them using the computer) of some of the things. . . I know there’s a lot more. . . . I bet I could list 2,009 things or more if I had the time.
(If you read my blog many of these may sound familiar. . . others I’ve yet to write about.)
365 Days of Life with Cody
50 mm lenses!
A family Christmas
A Home
A House
A Husband who makes me smile and laugh every day
A Job that gives me variety and freedom
A portable water heater
A Royals Win in Houston!
A trailer at the deer lease
Ability to listen to great music
Acoustic Jason Boland, Cory Morrow, and Roger Creager Concert
Adam Carroll in Concert
Air Conditioning
Amy Lynn
Answers
Backroads
Banana Cake
Baseball Autographs
Beautiful Sunrises
Bed
Blogging
Breakfast and Shakes at Jimmy’s
Cell Phones that do more
Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Fondue at the Melting Pot
Chrismons
Church Friends
Climbing around at Turner Falls
Coca-Cola
Cody and Jack playing catch at the ballpark
Cody getting together with Billy and Terry
Cody’s Blue Eyes
Coke Cans being gone from the house
Computer Skills
Confirming my middle name
Creating
Cutting a Christmas Tree from the Farm
Dance
Decorating
Deer Meat in the Freezer
Exercise
Facebook
Faith
Family
Finding Inspiration Online
Flexible Work Hours
Food on the Table
Football kicks into the brush at the deer lease
Fred Eaglesmith in Concert
Freezer Cooking
Friends
Fudge at Crowne Center
Fun at Nine Flags
Fun Shoes
Getting Cody a camera
Getting Packages in the Mail
Getting through tough times with Cody
Getting to go to the Park for work
God
God’s Saving Grace
Good Food
Good Health
Great spots to take pictures
Having my Uncle and Aunt around
Health
Hearing the History of the Round Barn
Heated Mattress Pads
Heaters
Help from Friends
High Speed Internet at home
Impromptu Trip to See KC play in Arlington
Improving my photography skills
Internet on our phones
Jack “graduating” to the 243
Jack getting to hunt
Jason Boland in Concert
Kelby Training
Laptops
Learning from Frank White
Living in a town with so many memories
Living Small Town life
Love
Macaroni and Cheese
Meeting Debby
Melting Pot
Milk
Morning Fog Paint
My kitchen
My Marriage
National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum
NCIS
Netflix
New Opportunities
New Speakerphone at work
No Hurricane!
Online Friends
Online Shopping
Organized Moments
Photography Class Scholarship
Pictures
Prayer
Rain
Reading Good Books
Redeemer Lutheran
Renting Camera Lenses
Route 66 Trip
Royals Hat with the Fleece Flap
Ryan Bingham in Concert
Scrapbooking
Seeing a Drive-In Movie
Seeing Chris Knight in Nacogdoches
Seeing the Negro League Hall of Fame
Seeing the Plaza in Lights
Seeing The Proposal with Cody
Seeing the Renovations at Kaufman Stadium
Seeing the Royals Play in Kansas City
Seeing the Sabres Play Hockey
Seeing wildlife
Skipping rocks in Turner Falls
Smiles
Soaking in anything I can learn about photography
Spending time with Family
Spending time with Lisa and Jack
Spending Time working to make the trailer ours with DH
Sports packages on the Satellite
Sunshine
Surprising Friends when in Need
Surviving the Year
Sweaters
Taking Candice Strigham’s Portrait Photography Class
Taking Cody to Nelson Atkins and him watching the guy break the ice
Taking Jack through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri
Taking Karen Russell’s Photography Class
Tears
Texas State Aquarium Membership
Texting
That Cody and I didn’t get arrested when he touched the Shuttlecocks
That Kaufman’s was renovated instead of replaced
The Baseball Diversion on TV
The Field Goal at Smith’s Restaurant
The Joy Cody has gotten out of shooting a buck
The Old Front Porch
The Open Road
Time Spent at Deer Camp and Lease
Trips to Bass Pro, Boardwalk, Saltgrass
Tuesday Date Nights
Turkey Hunting
Two running vehicles
Vacation Time
Walmart Finished Renovating
Warm Clothes
Watching Jack and Cody feed the fish at the Blue Whale
Watching Jack grow up
Watching Mitch Maeir hit a home Run
Watching the Bears and Seals at the OKC Zoo
Water
Wii
Work
Writing
Zack Grienke’s Year
God Is Great. . . People are Crazy
My husband opened his big fat mouth yesterday and created quite a stir in our household yesterday. You see Monday we were talking about my enrollment into Karen Russell‘s Snapshots of a Good Life Photography Class and how much it cost. You see, he’d had selective hearing in our previous converations about the cost.
Well yesterday, he was telling a dear friend of ours about his selective hearing. Next thing he knows, he get’s a card with my name on it. It was a Photography Scholarship for me. (And it’s not the first time she’s done something like this for us either!) This friend is crazy but oh so Good. Too Good. Too Good to be True.
She loves giraffe’s and so I made her a little thank-you- using none other than my photographs.
I can’t wait to take Karen’s class. And, I’m in awe of the people that God has put in our lives and how crazy good they can be. And, Cody is going to have to learn to keep his mouth shut around a certain someone we both know and love.
January 1 Gratitude
Today I’m thankful for
1) A new cell phone holder (I made it)
2) DH’s safe return from Corpus
3) A Second Vechicle
4) Getting the 365 Kit ordered
5) A New Year
Gratitude Project
So, the other day I was feeling pretty blue, when the idea for a Gratitude Project hit me.
My album consists of 30 things. Here’s what I chose:
Prayer
Faith
Love
DH
Family
Friends
My Nephew
Job
Smiles
The Bright Side
Music
Silence
Time
Adventure
Sunrises and Sunsets
Backroads
NCIS nights
Fires
A warm bed
comfort food
chocolate
trees
flowers
small town living
inspiration and ideas
hobbies
creativity
living life
family treasures
memories
I hope to share some of the pictures and finished pages as I have a chance to take pictures of these items, print, and include them in my album. You can read about how I created my album here.
Blessed
About a month ago, a wise old man shared with the rest of our congregation a really need way to share our faith. I just love that man and I hang on his every word. . Though he’s in his 80′s his mind is still sharp as a tack. He has a wonderful way of putting things in perspective often using his 80 years of history.
What do you say when you are asked “How are You?” His answer, “Blessed”
It serves as a reminder that he is blessed (of course, he would tell you that he feels blessed for each minute he’s given.) It’s a reminder to those who hear it that they are blessed as well. It’s also an opening to evangelize to others.
I really want to start answer the usual question, “How are You?” with the “blessed” response. Instead of. . . alright, good (which often is kinda a lie), or tired, etc. . . Because in truth, I can always answer “blessed” no matter how I’m feeling.
2/21/2006 Gratitude
Dear Lord, thank you for
1) DH’s help with the dishes
2) Water to drink and that tastes good
3) Chocolate
4) A work day with a good pace
5) Prayer and Peace
2/20/2006 Gratitude
Dear Lord, I praise you for
1) Being able to help out our friends
2) My Baking Talents
3) Muddy Dirt Roads
4) Finishing reading Leviticus and Numbers
5) A Delicious Juicy (Fatty) Cheeseburger
6) A DH that thinks of me in big and small ways- he turned the space heater on for me before I took my bath
2/17-2/19/06 Gratitude
Easy prep for a training session
Spending time with “little bro” and his wife
Olive Garden Bread Sticks
Postive News for Roomy
Getting to help out Near Family
Training Session went well, No Rain for the Walk
Seeing “Little Bro’” house in the works
Spending time in Etoile
Making it home before the ice
A safe trip to church even in the ice
A chance to discuss concerns with someone who feels the same way
Getting to watch part of the Daytona 500
That Roomy was doing well enough to be sent home
Cuddling with DH on the couch
A massage
2/16/06 Gratitude
Praise the Lord for:
1) A state job that allows me to take off to watch tv
2) Answered Prayers for Bennie
3) Storage containers for books that need to go in the attic and the way God provided the funds
4) A Nice Dinner with DH
5) DH’s kisses