I'm Still Grateful....Honest I Am!

Lest anyone think that I stopped being grateful, let me give you an update:

Last weekend we had the WONDERFUL priveledge of going to Phoenix to the NASCAR race with our dear friends! It was a BLAST! We ate wonderfully (even though I got an entire glass of water knocked into my lap! BRRRR....), we shopped, we lounged, we had a blast! And we didn't get a single photo of all of us together! What the heck?! We are both avid photograghers and yet, not one! LOL Add it to the list of things to do next year!

Tuesday I woke up with the beginnings of a nasty cold/sore throat/earache. But I kept telling myself, "not yet, wait 'til Friday". I had my sweet stampin' buddies coming for Stamp night on Thursday & I did not want to be sick or get them sick. So it waited (and I was grateful!) until Saturday!

So here's my gratitude list in random order: (and let me warn you, it's not deep & thoughtful!)

1:Werthers Originals! I love that smooth carmel-y taste that doesn't taste at all like medicine, which is my reason for eating so many: "It medicates my sore throat & the swallowing helps my ears!" LOL I know, big stretch!

2: My bed with soft white sheets & LOTS of big fluffy pillows!

3:My South-facing window in my room! Gotta love that warm sunshine coming through to warm my whole self right up! So Cozy!

4: Good friends! Every day I look forward to talking to my newest sweet friend on the phone! We've lived by each other for years now & we've just connected. So fun! (Love that she called me to reprimand me for my "extended blog hiatus" this morning!)

5 "Young at Heart"Friends. There is a lady in my ward that is a widow. She's been alone for approximately 10 years now. The other night when she told me: "I love getting older, it means I'm getting closer to being on the other side with my sweetheart!" And honestly, she just TWINKLED and SPARKLED and GLOWED! I loved it! We have a lot of giggly grandmas in our ward & I just love their energy! I think that it'd be so fun to gather them all together & listen to their stories and partake of their wisdom & enthusiasm, take their pictures (of them laughing!) and just let them be their sweet little selves!

6: Stephens Wassill! Ok, just go try it! *SLURP* (oops! I mean *SIP!* since it's hot! lolol)

7: The fact that Thanksgiving is only 10 days away! Which means my moms SCRUMPIOUS homemade rolls! (And carmels!)

8: Health: This morning my heart and mind are with a sweet friend who is having surgery this morning after finding out last week that she has breast cancer. It puts my little earaches & sore throat into perspective when those will be part of her journey through chemo. I do hope & pray that she will feel the healing power of prayer & hope that our Savior offers us.

9: A quiet home & a noisy home: I love the peace & quiet that I have here during the day, but I also love it when the kids come home. For years I wasn't sure if children would ever be a part of my life, so even on the bad days I have to remind myself that they are an answer to my prayers. I quite love their spirited little selves!

10: My sweet husband/best friend/"lovah"/roomie....you get the idea!: We had so much fun together last week. It was a 10 hr. drive each way. While I napped a lot more than he did, I loved that we could just talk and giggle and laugh like when we were dating. I appreciate the opportunity to go off by ourselves and just be "US"......

which brings me to:
11: I'm so grateful to those friends that take care of our children when Darren & I "run away". They are so gracious and wonderful! I appreciate them so much! Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!

There, that should catch me up! LOL I'll be back! I promise!