. . . thankful #10 . . .

. . . our home . . .

. . . inside and out . . .

. . . we've raised four great kids here . . .

{yay for stability!}

. . . we love our neighbors . . .

[1983]

. . . we were mere children

when we built her . . .

. . . and we feel

so incredibly blessed

to be here still . . .

. . . especially with

the winds of bad economy

swirling all around . . .

[2010]

. . . she's getting a little creaky

and could use a facelift

here and there . . .

{hey! just like me!}

. . . tomorrow's our 27th anniversary . . .

. . . us and our casa . . .

. . . here's to many more years . . .

. . . thankful #9 . . .

. . . good things come in threes . . .

. . . today, it's:

1: open windows {again ~ finally!}

2: a yummy smelling candle

and

3: vacuum lines in the carpet

. . . i'm so thankful for

the one day every couple of weeks

when our house is clean

all at once . . .

. . . it's a blessing i don't take for granted . . .

{steph's a much happier girl when there's calm and order}

. . . thankful #8 . . .

. . . flora . . .

. . . and my dad

for instilling the love of planting

and watering

and weeding

and feeding

and pruning

and growing . . .

. . . and doing it all again the next year . . .

. . . he loved my flowers . . .

. . . i loved him . . .

. . . thanks, dad! . . .

. . . thankful #7 . . .

. . . music . . .

. . . today ~ hymns in particular . . .

background: a few weeks ago, i attended a broadcast of the general relief society meeting. i was lucky enough to have my daughter, amanda, sitting next to me. the meeting began and as i started to join in singing the opening hymn, {as i am wont to do!} tears flooded my eyes, making singing impossible. {why is that? my eyes were crying, but my voice wouldn't work. so confusing . . .} anyway, that set the precedent for the rest of the meeting and my feelings/emotions were right on the surface {mostly overflowing}. i must have been experiencing an extra dose of "tempest tossed"/"all is lost"-ness that day. it happens! after the meeting, another daughter, amelia, was wondering what in the world was wrong with mother. i told her it all started with the opening hymn. she asked what we had been singing. i couldn't even tell her the title without the floodgates reopening. amanda stepped in and answered {slightly inappropriately} for me, "it was Count Your Freakin' Blessings!"

listen here

. . . this hymn's lyrics sum up

exactly what i need to do

if i want to be happy . . .

. . . i must concentrate on how truly blessed i am . . .

. . . and when i do ~ i am surprised

by how much the lord has done for me! . . .

. . . i learn so much from music . . .

. . . it touches me in a way

that the spoken word

sometimes can't . . .

. . . i love playing hymns

on the piano or organ . . .

. . . i love singing them . . .

. . . and i love listening to them . . .

. . . my life is definitely enriched

through sacred music . . .

. . . thankful #6 . . .

. . . creativity . . .

. . . i'm really thankful for it . . .

. . . "an inherent wish to create something

that did not exist before" . . .

. . . where you start with

random five-inch fabric squares . . .

. . . stitch them together nine at a time . . .

. . . and then ~ for no good reason . . .

. . . cut them apart . . .

. . . creating something completely different . . .

. . . then rotating them . . .

. . . this way . . .

. . . or that . . .

. . . here a twist . . .

. . . there a turn . . .

. . . deciding finally on a diagonal setting . . .

{not surprising ~ since i usually like to make things

more complicated than necessary!}

. . . ending up . . .

. . . with something lovely, of good report, or

{perhaps} praiseworthy {even} . . .

. . . i'm also in touch enough to realize that

this desire {i need an outlet},

ability {i can do it},

and opportunity {truly a blessing to have a space, some time, and the means}

to create comes from my father in heaven . . .

. . . and i'm truly grateful . . .

{quilt details ~ name: love it or leaf it;

created: fall 2009;

fabric: pumpkin spice by deb strain;

pattern: disappearing nine patch;

quilting: kerry mcbride}

. . . thankful #5 . . .

. . . today, it's the temple . . .

. . . for one thing ~ i live so close . . .

. . . i'm glad i went early this beautiful morning . . .

. . . and i'm so thankful for the

eternal nature of its teachings

. . . and my testimony of them . . .

. . . and the quiet, calm, peaceful,

away-from-the-cares-of-the-world feeling

i have when i'm there . . . . . .

. . . thankful #4 . . .

. . . ibuprofen . . .

. . . firstly, that someone invented it . . .

. . . because i've been quite dependent on it

for the last three days . . .

{fever/achy/flu-like symptoms/fun/blahblahblah}

. . . but mostly, the fact that

i haven't needed any today . . .

. . . thankful #3 . . .

. . . today i'm thankful for a comfy bed . . .

. . . a place to lay my tired head

at the end of each day . . .

. . . and even though

it's a little lumpy and bumpy . . .

. . . let's hear it for

4" memory foam mattress toppers . . .

. . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . .

. . . thankful #2 . . .

. . . freedom to vote . . .

. . . i'm crossing my fingers

and hoping lots of people

want to be heard

the way

i do! . . .

. . . thankful #2.5 . . .

. . . early mail-in ballots . . .

{if you didn't vote early ~ PLEASE vote today!}

. . . thankful #1 . . .

. . . today, i'm grateful for facebook . . .

. . . time waster extraordinaire . . .

. . . which has been extremely helpful

in locating addresses which are missing

from our wedding announcement list . . .

. . . and by the way . . .

. . . if you think i might not have yours . . .

. . . just go ahead and message me . . .