Ten Things of Thankful - Week 13, 2017

 

We are down to the final hours of this week's TToT link-up, and because I am on vacation and only spending a little time blogging, I'm going to make this short and sweet.  I know I could have just opted out this week, but I made a promise to myself that I'd show up every week this year if  possible, and possible it is....

I am thankful for the A to Z Blogging Challenge that takes place in April each year.  Although I'm having to scramble a bit to get my posts done during this first week while we are on vacation, I am enjoying the theme I've chosen and the kind responses to my stories; and I am looking forward to more time in the days and weeks ahead to get around and read what my friends are sharing for the Challenge, and to meet some new blogging friends too!

I am thankful for eye glasses that enable me to see beautiful things and places, and even tiny bugs, and make it possible for me to read and use my iPhone and tablet.  Without glasses I would be unable to read anything but jumbo print, and even that would probably be fuzzy.

I am thankful for high-tech hearing aids that enable me to hear birds singing and my kitties meowing, Papa Bear's words, phone calls, the television, and group conversations.  Without them I would live in a very muffled and isolated world.

I am thankful for the ability to speak, to express myself, to make my wants, needs known, to take charge of situations when required, to offer encouragement, and to speak out against things and situations I perceive as wrong.  Although I love written communication most, there are still things I really want to say out loud, and conversations I want to have with people who are dear to me.

I am thankful for hands and fingers that, despite being old and sometimes a bit stiff and sore, enable me to prepare food for us, to sew, crochet and cross-stitch; and to spend time at the keyboard blogging and connecting with people I care about via email and social media. 

I am thankful for my creaky knees and ankles that still enable me to drive, to shop for groceries, and to get where I need to go, including up and down stairs if there are handrails and I go very slowly and carefully.  Mobility is a priceless gift and I do not take it lightly.

I am thankful for my sometimes forgetful mind that still enables me to compose written pieces, to organize our household and keep track of needs and finances, to think and to ponder, and to focus on the things that are important to my heart and soul.

I am thankful for my heart, that has been beating for more than sixty-three years without fail, and continues to provide my body and brain with a life-maintaining supply of blood. To me, our hearts are the most miraculous part of our bodies, their endurance defies mere scientific explanation.

I am thankful for the gift of restful sleep, and being able to sleep a little longer in the mornings than I did when I was working. Sleep is so restorative to body and mind, and it feels great to wake up ready to begin a new day and see what it holds, or to take a short nap and awake refreshed.  I realize that I am blessed to be able to sleep soundly most nights.

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband who agrees with my concept of what a fun vacation would be.  We find pleasure in experiencing new places together as well as returning to places we love. We both enjoy road trips. We make a point of scheduling in plenty of time for relaxation, because for us a vacation isn't supposed to be go, go, go! 

I'll be back next week to share some photos and highlights of our Louisiana trip.  I'm going to spend the next couple days enjoying the smell of salt air, the sound of the ocean in my ears, and burying my toes in soft beach sand.

Blessings to you in the remaining days of this week. Keep your eye out for reasons to be thankful, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!

JOIN US!

Tuesday Coffee Chat - 3/28/17

Today I'm joining Less at Ink Interrupted for her Tuesday Coffee Chat, where the topic of the day is "What is your Go To Confidence Booster?"

About the only thing I felt confident in growing up was my intellectual ability. Learning came easy to me and I enjoyed it.  But that didn't translate to popularity, where other factors were more important.  I certainly didn't have confidence in my appearance or my ability to handle social situations.  My parents weren't skilled in instilling self-confidence either, rather promoting fear of not being good enough or failing to meet their expectations. 

Fast forward to adult life, that sense of insecurity translated into introversion and making choices which in many ways affirmed their beliefs in my inability to handle my own life well.  Three long-term abusive failed marriages came with spouses who pounded all my perceived shortcomings and general worthlessness into my head.  Sadly, I reached the point of almost believing them. 

Almost is the key word, because a part of me fought back in silence.  Somewhere deep down I knew they were wrong, that I was ok, I was better than ok, there were things I was good at and things that were good about me, despite what they said.  At the end of the final thirteen year horror story, I realized that if I was going to survive at all I had to get out, to break free and discover myself again. 

Living on my own after so long was an eye-opening experience.  I realized that I had supressed my own likes and beliefs about myself to the point of not even being sure who I was anymore. I called the blog I began at that time "Picking up Pieces", and in my mind I was rebuilding the puzzle of my life, creating a new image of who I was and what I wanted to be.

A year later I met my present husband online, and that changed everything.  For once someone other than my children saw worth and value in me, someone thought I was worthy of being loved and cared for. I left my job of nineteen years, and moved to Texas to marry him when I was over 50 years old.

The changes in my beliefs about myself didn't happen overnight, it took a long time to regain a sense of self-esteem.  I certainly didn't enter that marriage with confidence, in fact I fully expected that at any point everything would change and the relationship would crumble.  It took me more than a year to began to see it as real, and some days I am still amazed that I am so blessed! 

In a nurturing environment, I began to see myself in a different light.  Even in work situations that were less than  ideal to say the least, I found my own voice and way to proceed, and I did those jobs well.  In fact, I've done all my jobs well, and I am confident in my ability to perform above expectations when it comes to working.

Aging has a lot to do with it too, the older you get the less you listen to negative input from others and the more you listen to your own heart, and I found things in me to like and even love. I know now that I am worthy, that I am of value and I was put on this earth for a purpose.  I know that I am capable of loving and being loved despite my imperfections.

In addition to my marriage, one of the biggest confidence boosters for me has been the wonderful and amazing relationships I've developed over time through blogging.  At long last I discovered that I wasn't a freak of nature, there were others who responded to life in a manner similar to me!   I found a place where I could be 100% real without fear of ridicule or condemnation, where I was free to explore thoughts and feelings, and even myself. 

I've changed a lot since I began blogging over ten years ago, the blog friends I've made have grown and changed too, and I think we are all better for our lives shared.  The blogsphere is generally a very encouraging environment, except for one or two crazies (but that's another story).   I have made friends here who know me far better than anyone in the real world including my family.  I feel safe here, free to be myself.

I have also learned through my blogging experience that, despite what anyone else has said or told me, I am capable of making friends, and of being a good, supportive, loving friend to others.  That is the biggest blessing in my life!  Friends and acquaintances here make me smile.  When emails or texts or notes pop in from any one of you, I feel so much happiness in the connection of caring and sharing.  That's a HUGE confidence booster!  When I need to feel good about myself, all I have to do is sign in and blog, and an emotional lift in the form of self-expression and feedback will come.  I am certainly not the most skilled or accomplished writer in the world, but if the friends I have here think I'm ok, then I really can't be all that bad! :-)

Ten Things of Thankful - Week 12, 2017

I used to grumble and complain a LOT, but I've learned over time that if you're always focusing on things that are going wrong or you wish were different, your perspective narrows and you overlook the good things and blessings in your life.  I am thankful that I've learned to value the life I've been given, and I'm working to keep my mind in the realm of thankful.  Writing my Ten Things of Thankful list each week helps with that.  If you're having one of those weeks when it feels like nothing went right, try writing a TToT list... it's amazing how many blessings and reasons to smile you'll discover were there all along.

 Saturday mornings are a sweet time when the kids are grown and the house is quiet, a time to reflect on the week and think about the one coming up.  A week from now we will be on the road and headed off on an adventure, with new sights to see and time spent together relaxing.  I am so thankful a vacation is possible this year, next year it might not be.  I am always mindful that we need to spend time with our loved ones now, we never know how long we'll have them.

I am thankful that I finished crocheting my Spring wreath this week.  I actually completed a project that I started... yay me! :-)  For the most part I am happy with how it turned out...

I am thankful for a wonderful phone conversation with a friend, there is nothing more uplifting that sharing with a kindred spirit.  I don't usually do phone calls, feeling more comfortable communicating in writing, but she caught me off guard, and I'm so glad she did!

I am thankful that the yarn I needed for the lap afghan Papa Bear has requested went on sale this week at Hobby Lobby, since it requires 18 skeins.  I love sale prices, and I love the variegated color of the yarn I am using...

I am thankful that the high winds we experienced a couple times this week didn't do any damage to our little box house.  I am thankful for the metal roof we put on a few years ago that prevented a yard full of shingles.  Springtime in West Texas is a windy, very dusty affair, but I love Spring anyway!

I am thankful for the adorable little cord holders my daughter sent us.  Our charger cords for phones, tablets, laptops, etc, are always a tangle or falling on the floor when not in use.  These have adhesive backs and can be stuck anywhere (the nightstands and end tables by our sofa), and keep the cords handy...

I am thankful for the prayers of friends with a scary situation my niece experienced this week.  It is a blessing to have people to turn to when you are worried. 

I am thankful for the example of my friend Nancy, who instead of giving up something for Lent this year is performing an act of kindness or service each day.  That's inspiring... something we should all try to do every day!

As always, I am thankful for my beloved Papa Bear.  Yesterday evening when he came home from work he collected a handful of wildflowers among the weeds in our yard and brought them in for me, hiding the behind his back as a surprise.  He is full of sweetness and light.  I truly wish that everyone could experience this kind of love in their lifetime. most days I feel so undeserving.
 

Blessings to you in the week ahead! Keep your eye out for reasons to be thankful, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!

JOIN US!

Ten Things of Thankful - Week 11, 2017

A nice quiet Saturday morning here, the sun is shining brightly through the window, and I'm ready to get my thankful on... 

I am thankful that my mind and body are adjusting to the time change, it takes a few days.  At first I had trouble falling asleep and woke up groggy, but this morning I was awake when my husband got up to get ready for work, and I didn't fall back to sleep.  I've noticed that my furkid's internal clocks adjusted more quickly than mine, and within three days they knew when it was suppertime and were giving me that telepathic stare that says "Step away from the keyboard and feed us!" :-) Their ability to sense time without the concept of a clock, amazes me.  How do they do that?

I am thankful that Spring officially begins on Monday!  Spring is my favorite season and I need to get some flowers for the flower box to celebrate!  It is already hot here, 88 yesterday and more of that is promised for today.  I will not be thankful for the stifling heat of summer, no I will not, but I will be thankful that we have AC and I can stay inside  during the heat of day. :-)

I am thankful for all the positive feedback I've received for my first attempt at serial story writing on my other blog, and that I was able to draw it to a cofortable conclusion.  This coming week will be Part XX - an epilogue, to bring it full circle.  Writing a story with just six sentences a week and a prompt to fit in, is a challenge, but I discovered that I liked doing  it and will probably start another after the A-Z Challenge.

I am thankful for the new shoes my daughter sent me.  Those who know me also know that I rarely buy shoes, only replacing a pair when they wear out.  It's just not something that I am drawn to. I have two feet, I need two shoes for walking and another pair for casual wear around the house, period.  I also have very wide feet and I love GoWalks, but they are difficult to find in WW sizes in anything but boring colors like gray.  She found a new pair my size on eBay in a beautiful seafoam green, and they fit perfectly.  They make me smile! :-)

I am thankful that I am almost done with my crocheted Spring wreath and will assemble it today. I bought the yarn for it a year ago with good intention.  I always have good intentions to start a new craft project and finish it but rarely do, so I finally began working on it and found it went quickly.  I haven't actively crocheted in years, and I am happy to set my keyboard aside and do something creative. Papa Bear is wanting a lap afghan, I found some beautiful yarn for it, and will begin working on it in the evenings, when I can relax with the repetition of stitches and visit and watch tv with him.  My furkids find wiggly yarn much more fun to "help" with than my Surface tablet! Their "help" with that mainly consists in running across the keyboard as if it's a bridge from the end table to my husband's lap. :-)

I am thankful that my daughter and son-in-law returned safely from their wedding/honeymoon in Hawaii and are busy looking for an apartment or house in Dallas, once she gets her home in Nashville on the market and sold, prayers appreciated!  She had a wonderful time in Hawaii and got to experience snorkeling for the first time; she loves fish, so she was in total awe!

I am thankful that my relationships with both of my sisters are vastly improved over what they used to be.  We have each learned not to push each other's buttons, and to tread more lightly with our comments.  I have also learned to tone down my opinionated preaching and just listen.  That's a challenge for me, and I am thankful that I am beginning to make a little progress.

I am thankful for my husband's laughter and sense of humor.  I tend to take life too seriously, and he has retained his childlike playfulness, that never fails to draw me in and have me laughing too. When he laughs, or does silly voices, or makes a goofy joke, his Irish eyes truly smile, and it's so contagious!  I have lived with spouses who were grumpy 90% of the time, and to have this joy in my life and home now is such a blessing!

I am thankful for the kind-hearted man my son has grown up to be.  He is taking his girlfriend and her son to visit her father in another state this weekend, since it is Spring Break for her son.  My son has planned activities and places to stay which will surely delight a seven year old, and I've noted that on the weekends they are together he also makes sure that they do kid-friendly activities. I am so very proud of him, he is a good and caring man.

I am both thankful and excited that two weeks from today we will be on our road trip, and I managed to find a nice house to rent right on the beach and within our budget for three days, so I will have my toes in sand, fresh seafood to eat, saltwater to breathe, sunrise and sunset over the ocean to watch from the 3rd story deck, and the sound of waves lulling me to sleep at night.  I can't wait!

Bonus thankful... for a relatively peaceful life... quiet days, positive relationships, time to breathe, and wonderful connections to people around the world via the Internet. I am truly grateful for the life I've been given! :-)

Blessings to you in the week ahead! Keep your eye out for reasons to be thankful, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!

JOIN US!

Ten Things of Thankful - Week 10, 2017

 

What an anxious and exciting week this has been....

Last evening at sunset my daughter and her finance were married on the beach in Hawaii!  She flew from Nashville to Dallas where he lives, on Tuesday, and on Thursday they flew to LAX and then on to Hawaii.  Though there were lengthy flight delays, it all went fine, and her packed wedding dress arrived amazingly wrinkle free.  Needless to say, it is beautiful there!  Their elopement wedding went perfectly as planned,  just the two of them and the officiant, and many congratulations from everyone they encountered on their way to and from the beach.  It will be a few days before they get their photographs from the photographer, but I do have a picture of the little wedding cake we ordered for them from The Cake Shop there in Honolulu.  It turned out beautifully and both of them declared it delicious!

 

I am so thankful they are now married and will be making a life together in Dallas once she gets her house on the market and sold (prayers appreciated).  No mother wants to see her child alone, as she has been these past five years.  She and I are both happy for the last name change too, it is not fun to carry the name of someone who left you.  She is going to be living so much closer to us, yay!!

I am thankful for my son, her brother, who also lives in Nashville and is stopping by daily to do kitty care for her two cats in her absence.  She has security cams in her house and was happy to see him on the floor playing with them this morning! 

Another big thankful this week... storms with high winds and tornadoes moved through the Midwest this week, and my niece's house sustained $30,000 in damage to her siding and roof, but thank God, it held together in the storms, and kept her and her five furids safe, though there wasn't much sleep for a couple nights.  Some houses in the area were hit much worse.  I am thankful for insurance too.

I am thankful that I was able to help my older sister get her Facebook page back on track.  She'd gotten some bad advice from well meaning friends and had created two new ones in recent months, but ended up locked out of one and having technical issues with the other.  I was able to help her get back to her original page and get everyone notified, so she is a happy camper.  Tech savy she is not (nor am I), and Facebook is her way of keeping in touch with friends, as it is mine.

I am thankful for the jar of delicious Maple Cream a dear friend sent us this week.  I'd never heard of it or tasted it, and she was telling me about it.  So she sent some for us to try, and my husband quickly proclaimed it wonderful stuff.  I agree! I have the most thoughtful friends!!!

I am thankful for the wonderful time my younger sister and her husband had in Florida last week.  It is a real treat for them to get to enjoy some warm sand and sunshine during the long South Dakota winter. They relaxed and had fun, and took my nephew who also needed a break from his job. Sometimes having time alone with just one child or the other is awesome, more sharing!

I am thankful for people who help furkids by fostering or finding them good homes. Our wonderful Zoe helped find a new home for a gorgeous little kitty now named Mitzi, and transported her for a spay, so there won't be more uncared for kittens in the world.  Anyone who loves animals holds a place in my heart.  My daughter is feeding the birds in Hawaii!  I always tease her that wherever she lives the birds become so heavy they can barely fly!  She carries bird food and pet food in her car, and dishes to fill with bottled water.  :-)  My niece is a foster mom for adoptable pit bulls, and always has an extra furkid at her house learning socialization skills and manners. 

As always, I am thankful for my beloved husband because he takes an interest in the things I do, whether it's what I'm writing or crocheting, something a friend shared on Facebook, or a new recipe to try.  I am blessed that we are best friends, and not just living in the same house as I've experienced in the past.  I am thankful he loves furkids too!  He had a cat before I met him that lived to be 20 years old, and it was an inside/outside cat, so that's really incredible.  He puts up with all the cat fur floating in the house since all of ours have long fur, and at least one of them is parked on his lap in the evenings, and one is hanging over his shoulder from the back of the loveseat.

I am thankful and very excited that three weeks from today we will be headed out for a week long road trip.  Not going too far, but to some place we haven't been so that will be fun!  Will keep you posted on the journey. :-)

I am thankful for having enough.  We don't have a lot, we don't have too little... we get by ok, and that is such an incredible blessing, not to have to worry every day.  How I wish everyone could have just enough... if those who had way too much shared more, they would!

Blessings to you in the week ahead! Keep your eye out for reasons to be thankful, and remember to be a blessing to someone else!

JOIN US!

Happy Birthday Mom

How ironic that the question Leslie at Ink Interrupted asks us today at Tuesday Coffee Chat is "Are You Missing Someone?"   Why is it ironic?  Because today is my mother's 90th birthday. She departed for the spirit world when she was 67 after many years of struggling with crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis and in the end, COPD.  That was 23 years ago, and it feels like it's been forever. Now that I have just turned 63, being 67 doesn't seem so very old. 

Birthdays at our house were always celebrated events, though not with huge parties and lots of cash expended like is done now.  But there was always cake and balloons and gifts from each family member,  and parties with our friends when we were kids.  As we got up in grade school we began orchestrating birthdays for Mom, making her a cake, and smuggling flowers and gifts into the house, and we always knew she loved our efforts.  I always liked that her birthday was exactly one month after mine. 

My mother excelled at all things domestic, she was a good cook, an excellent baker, and kept a white-glove spotless house.  She saw that we had nice things to wear and pretty bedrooms. I remember her spending almost all day on Monday of every week washing laundry, and all day Tuesday ironing it, and I marvel at that now.  There is no way I would dedicate two days of my life each week to doing that, and yet that's the was it was done back then, everything had to be ironed.

Sadly, my memories of my mother are bittersweet, because we didn't have the kind of close relationship I have with my daughter.  My older sister was her favorite, and my younger sister was Dad's, and I was lost somewhere in the middle, a misfit who didn't really have a place no matter how hard I tried, always being her helper with projects, and Dad's too. 

As I moved into the teen years and began to develop my own way of seeing and thinking about things, we clashed at many points, though in reality I was a very well behaved teen, never partying or doing anything that would have been considered out of line.  But I did things like wear my hair straight down and parted in the middle and long maxi dresses, opposing the VietNam war, and even questioning the religion I was raised in.  She didn't understand, and I'm sure I was an embarrassment  to her in our small town  where maintaining middle class status was so very important. After all, my Dad was a prominent business man in the community and a member of the City Council!

I left home shortly after graduation, as in ran away, escaped, and didn't return to begin college in the fall as was originally part of the plan.  My life from there spiraled into directions unfathomable to them, and the distance between us grew.  However, my daughter, born when I was 21, brought joy to their lives, and we did go home to visit from time to time.

Shortly after my daughter turned one my husband decided we would move to Denver, and then shortly after that he joined the Army and was eventually sent to Germany, with us following him there.  I was never to reside in my home state again.

Over the years Mom and Dad came to visit a few times and we returned home for Christmas a few, but communication was different back then.  Long distance calls were expensive and Dad imposed a 7 minutes, once a week call limit on Mom.  She was a wonderful letter writer and I wish I had those letters now.  She also sent a Christmas care package each year filled with her baking and I miss those boxes more than you can imagine. 

I wasn't able to go home when Mom spent her last days in the hospital, there was no money for gas to drive that far, and my father refused to help me, telling me to wait and he would pay for my ticket home for her funeral, which he did.  But I didn't get to say goodbye, which hurts my heart to this day.

Twenty some years later, I miss her ever so much more. I think about how she would have loved unlimited phone calls, and quick message texting and sharing photos so easily.  I think about her view of the world, and how she saw mine, and some of the things she tried to tell me that I didn't understand then... but I do now.  I understand so much more, and although we were two very different people from different times, in some ways we are the same. She loved her children fiercely, she loved to bake, she loved to visit with people wherever we went, and she loved to write... I think she would have made a wonderful blogger!

The heart-shaped plate you see above is Franciscan's Desert Rose pattern.  Mom loved it and collected it piece by piece as we grew up, with us adding pieces to her collection for Christmas and birthdays.  We used those Desert Rose dishes every day, and I never thought I liked them all that much. But when she passed they became mine, because my sister intended to sell them and I disagreed, and now they grace a china cabinet all their own at my house, and I look at them and realize why she loved them so much.  They really are very beautiful... and in her own way so was she.  I miss her.

Ten Things of Thankful - Week 9, 2017

Despite the usual bumps in the road, it's been a good week and my life is overflowing with reasons to be thankful....

At the beginning of the week it hit me how much I love Mondays now!  When I worked in an office, Sunday night and Monday morning were most often times of dread, wondering what the coming week would bring.  Now Monday morning is an easy, quiet time full of promise, and I am so very thankful.  I worked many years, so I don't feel the least bit guilty about finally being free of it, I am grateful that I can be, it is a very precious gift that I used to long for... prayers answered!

I am thankful for my four furkids, always!  I love the way Toby loves to nuzzle me, wrapping his large body over my shoulder and purring into my neck, or leaning against my back to play with my hair. He has such a deep rumbling purr!   Yesterday was Tiggy and Gracie's sixth birthday, their mom was a rescue kitty and they were born here.  I hope they'll be with us for many years to come! They had tuna and a little ice cream for a birthday treat! :-)

I am thankful for the politeness of our new neighbors.  They bought the acres adjoining ours and are living in a camper at the present time.  Yesterday he came to the door to ask permission to drive his truck along our side of the property line so that he could work on the fence they are building.  Of course I said yes, and I was pleased that he asked, it was a good sign for our future relationship!

I am thankful being able to sleep long enough to wake up feeling rested!  We never get to bed quite as early as we hope, and I don't fall asleep right away.  When I worked I always felt physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.  Now I wake up a little later, feeling rested and ready to begin the day, it's wonderful!  It has also made me more aware of how much stress affects our bodies.

I am thankful for our security alarm system, even if it did wake us up at 4:30 one morning when the wind set off the sensor on our shop door!  Although that was bit unnerving, the repairman came the next day to fix it, and all is well now.  My husband will be out of town overnight tomorrow, so I feel more safe knowing that we have it.  There was a time I didn't ever want one in my house, too much of an inconvenience I thought, then the farm I was living at with my ex was broken into... twice... in the middle of the day, glass broken, the house rummaged through, and things stolen.  It was a horrible feeling.  It taught me that it is okay to be proactive to protect your home and even more importantly, yourselves.  That alarm wailing is most likely going to send any would-be thieves running and the sheriff will be on his way!

I am thankful for the greatly reduced prices for refills of my husband's medications after switching from CVS to our grocery store pharmacy.  We were told that their prices are higher than most, and it turned out to be true.  We are now paying far less without insurance than we were at CVS with insurance.  Shop around, it might be worth it, and don't forget to inquire about discounts!

I am thankful for the amazing clouds in the sky here yesterday afternoon that looked like long flowing streaks of white... just beautiful!  I posted photos on Facebook.  They didn't last long, so I was glad that I was out driving at the time and got to see them!

I am thankful that I am finally making time to read again.  It's another one of those things I love that I stopped doing.  I am reexamining how I spend my time and what activities I most value, then finding ways to fit them in.  I have loved books and reading since I was very, very young. They have given me an understanding of life that I never would have learned in school or at home.

One the subject of books, I am both thankful and delighted with the book from Zoe that I found in my mailbox yesterday.  It's called "If It Fits, I Sits... Cats is Awkward Places" and it's filled with delightful photographs of beautiful kitties relaxing in the most unlikely places!  Much to our surprise, it even has a photo of Sophie's doppelganger, identical to her in every way!  Such a treasured gift, thank you Zoe! <3

I am deeply thankful for the old and new connections God has brought into my life in recent weeks. It seems the more time I make for others in my life, the more people He wants me to share my time and prayers with, and I do so gladly.  Nothing is more uplifting than encouraging someone else a little bit!

May your weekend be relaxing and re-energizing, may you make time for the people you love and things you enjoy doing, and may the coming week be one in which blessings abound!  Thank you for sharing your gratitude list at TToT, together we are stronger!

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