It turned out OK!

Today I am thankful that my bread loaves turned out OK. I haven't made bread except for once since last spring, and I have gotten out of practice. I also made some white loaves today, for Julia (we ate one tho!), and they came out OK too. Yum! I love that I know how to do this! I also am thankful for the little finger prints in the loaves, that Julia made when the bread was rising. Little finger prints. So cute.

Curls

Today (everyday!) I am thankful for the cute head of golden brown curls that Julia has. These are not likely to last, I'm afraid. I think they are just baby curls that she will eventually outgrow. So, for today, I make sure to savor them, run my fingers through them, brush them (but not too vigorously!), and smell the sweet baby-hair smell. This is one thing I really feel compelled to be thankful for, since I know it is fleeting and won't be back to enjoy again next year, like other things will. LOVE THESE CURLS!

Emma and her cookies

I am thankful that Emma likes to bake cookies. Since we ALL love to eat them, everyone wins! Thank you, Emma!

Clear windshields...

Today I am thankful for my son Adam and that I taught him to turn on the car and the defroster and the heater so that when we run out the door to drive to school, the car is not only toasty warm, but the ice on the windshield is gone, and I can drive right on past all those folks scraping their windshields in the cold freezing morning! Thanks, Adam! (Sorry there is no picture. I can wait two more weeks to remember to take a picture, but then I'd be the absentee blogger I swore I'd never be, so, there ya have it for today.)

More apple goodness

I think I mentioned that there would be more yummy apple bounty later on, after I made juice a few weeks ago. Well, here is some more: apple pie, apple cake, and bottled apple juice to enjoy later this fall. Details on the story of the juice will be "a whole 'nother post."

Focaccia!

I wanted some yummy bread to go with tonight's soup. I am thankful I found this fast and easy recipe online.
It turned out great!

Wherewithal

I am thankful I had the wherewithal last night to put half my huge salad in a to-go box before pouring the dressing on it, so then I could bring it home and enjoy it again today! Yum!

Staying Home

Today is am thankful for my good husband, who has always been such a good provider for our family and made it possible for me to be a stay-at-home mom to our kids. I have never had to work, our whole marriage. Life is good. I am able to stay home and love the kids, and be here for them, and create a HOME, and watch them eat chicken nuggets for lunch:

Abundance!

Today I am thankful for the 50 lbs. of apples Amber picked for me from the trees that grow at her house, where she lives while away at college.


And also thankful for some skills and equipment I have, in order to make that box of apples turn into this:

4 quarts of applesauce, 1 gallon plus 1 pint f fresh juice, and still some left to make pies with (more posts about that later).
Hooray for fall and apples!

No words needed

My daughter

I am thankful for Amber who went out to the trees that grow behind her house, and picked me this:

So now I can make some yummy stuff to eat later this year. I'll post some pics of the goods once they are finished.

Bounty from the Garden

I am thankful for weather forecasting, so I can harvest my veggies before they freeze, so I can make yummy stuff for us to enjoy during the winter, like this salsa:

Simple Kindness

Today I am grateful that my daughter is so sweet to fill up the sugar canister when it is empty. A simple act, but so very appreciated! Thank you, Bridget!

Convection Oven

Today I am thankful for my convection oven, that can hold two sheets of cookies at once. One sheet of cookies does not feed my family, we need two sheets. This oven can do it! Thanks Lila T. for choosing this oven way back when it was your kitchen!

Sunflowers

Today I am grateful that my sunflowers have grown. I have never planted them before, and as I poked those little seeds in the ground, I was a bit doubtful they would really grow to be the size it said on the package. But, the miracle of life, seeds, plus water and sunshine, ...... WOW! It works!

Here is James showing the seedlings that have just sprouted:

Here he is a month later. The stems are up to his chest.

Here are the sunflowers with James, 2 months after the last picture.

I've loved watching this process!

Good Deeds

Today I am thankful that the Boy Scouts program teaches my son to do a good deed every day.  I am even more thankful that he is the kind of boy who will actually do it, like when he saw this trash can blown over in the storm and about to lose its contents all over the street.  Atta boy!

Modern Medicine

I am usually not one to tout the wonders of modern medicine; I prefer to let my body do the healing on its own and not interfere with something that someone thought up that they think is superior to nature's way.  HOWEVER!  Today, after fighting a headache all yesterday afternoon, hoping to sleep it away last night, and waking up STILL WITH IT this morning, I am super thankful for good ol' Excedrin, which can kick an almost-migraine in 30 minutes.  My day was doable, thanks to Excedrin.  

Tomato Sandwiches

Today I had my first tomato sandwich with vine-ripe tomatoes from our garden.  I am so thankful for the difference between store-bought tomatoes and home-grown tomatoes.  I would never ever make a tomato sandwich with a store-bought tomato.  These ones are so good, I doubled up on the tomatoes in the sandwich.  It was a mess to eat, however, it was worth every drippy, finger-lickin' bite!

Cheating

I am thankful that sometimes it is OK to cheat at Scrabble.  

Sunday Dinner

I am thankful for Sunday dinners with the family.  Great food, both for the body, and for the soul. Good times, talking, laughing, eating, and lingering around the table.  Sometimes we get lucky and have Grandpa or other relatives or friends join us.  Sometimes it is "just us," and that's 10! Sometimes we are around the table, and sometimes we eat outside if the weather is lovely.  Sunday dinners cannot be beat!

Friends

I am thankful for the sweetness and enduring quality of THIS friendship.  Do you remember your first childhood friend?  Did you share all kinds of secrets, stay up late just talking, and feel like there would never be a friend as perfect as this one?  Did the friendship last into grade school and then junior high?  If it did, you have an idea of how sweet and precious this friendship is.  I am so grateful.

My Bed

I am thankful for my bed.  I am thankful for my nice mattress, my memory foam topper, my down comforter, my cool clean sheets, my romantic canopy, and the way it looks so crisp when I put all white sheets and pillowcases on it.  In the winter I am thankful for flannel sheets and the extra down comforter we stuff into the duvet cover.  And in the summer, I am thankful for the way the pillows are cool on the backside.  

Organization

Today I am grateful for my organized baking cupboard.  Not only am I grateful for the items in it, and the cupboard itself, but even more so, I am grateful for my daughter who made it this way.  She can really kick some clutter butt when she puts her mind to it.  I love that she tackled this project for me.  Baking treats for the kids, or having the kids bake their own treats, is so much easier when you can see and reach what you need.  Thank you, Amber!!

(I should have taken a "before" picture.  It was bad, I tell ya.  Next time I will.)

My backyard

Maybe I have posted about my backyard before, but I really am thankful for it.  There are a lot of elements that I am thankful for, and you can see many of them in this picture.  My hammock, for instance, and me in it!  The tree fort that the kids love to play in, and the pool.  The garden, and my hubby working in it (you can see his white shirt beyond the pool, camouflaged in the strings of the hammock), the swing with Bridget on it, and the hummingbird feeder (hanging in the tree).  Lots of things to love here.  Lots to be grateful for!

Lookie here!

Do you see what I see?  Red tomatoes hiding in my plant!  I am grateful they are ripening, because I really do love me a good tomato sandwich, or a lovely and delicious caprese salad.  Coming soon!

Fabric Softener

Today I am thankful for fabric softener.  My sister helped me fold laundry once and remarked that my towels weren't very soft.  She asked if I used fabric softener and when I said no, she told me I ought to try it.  Uh, YEAH!  Big difference!  Now I have big piles of soft fluffy white towels!  I love their smell, too: clean, and a little bit bleach-y.  Makes me want to take a bath and wrap up in one of these!  Even my cleaning rags are soft.  Gotta love it.

My baby

Today I am thankful for the amazing year I have had as the mother of this oh-so-sweet baby girl.  Yesterday was her first birthday, and I took this picture of the two of us.  I am thankful to have a photo of us together, since we are always together, yet I always seem to be only behind the camera.  I held my arm out and snapped this pic of us both.  I'll remember this day forever: Julia played in the yard, discovering the hose trickling, and she spent a nice hour eating a leisurely lunch and learning to say the word "cracker."  She likes her crackers with hummus!  What a treasure the day was, and what a treasure this sweet baby girl is.  Bye bye, infancy.  Here's to growing up!

The Pool

Today I am thankful for the pool.  It can keep a whole slew of kids happy for hours.  Plain and simple. 

Sweet peas

All this cool rainy June weather has been a boon to our pea crop.  The plants are so happy, enjoying perfect pea-producing weather!  They are growing like crazy!  I love that we can stroll around the garden and munch pea pods as we pull a weed here or there, observe the growth of the plants, and chat.  And the kids like to hop out of the pool and be right near the garden, to pick some peas for a little snack while they swim!

My capable husband

This is only one example of my capable husband's capabilities:  Last Saturday he made new screens for our windows.  Now we can open the windows to cool off, and enjoy the soul-reviving delights of a cool breeze, without worrying about bugs coming in!  I am certain there will be more posts in the future about my capable husbands abilities!  He's awesome!

Blueberries

Today I am thankful for blueberries.  They take boring frozen waffles to a whole new level.  A little all-fruit jam and a big handful of blueberries .....  Mmmmm, I'll be satisfied all morning!  Satisfied 2 ways: nutritionally, and visually!

The Hammock

Today I am thankful for my hammock.  It was my Mothers Day gift from my husband.  I am thankful it is there waiting for me when I have 5 minutes to escape.  I like to lay and look up into the trees and let my mind clear out.  It's almost as if the breeze can blow my cares away, or at least blow them into an orderly pile I can deal with, the way it blows old leaves into little piles that are easily swept up.  

Peonies

My sister brought me some peonies today.  She sure has a way with words when it comes to describing peonies, this is what she said:

"Loving the peony for me is trusting in the disorderly order of nature.  They are beautifully messy and at the same time perfectly put together.  It's a calm crazy."

Good, huh?  The other good thing is that I get to enjoy them on my kitchen counter for a few days.  Believe me, I am super thankful!

Not what it seems...

Today I am thankful for something unseen.  It is my own growth and progress as a mom, that makes it so I don't freak out when I see things like this:  

A lemon, stabbed thru with a bunch of jumbo push-pins.  A decade ago, I would've been mad at the waste of the lemon, and the sticky push-pins.  Today I am able to smile about the creativity and joy of my 3 year old boy, and celebrate the "space ship" with him!

I am thankful I can grow and learn and change for the better.  I hope my kids can forgive me for the naive and uneducated parent I started out as.  

Sharing

Today I am thankful that my son has learned that joy of sharing.  When there were 4 kids and only 3 popsicles, he chose the kindest response.  I love you, Joey.

Creative Kids

Today I am thankful that my kids like to dress up in costumes and put on plays for me.  They stay busy for hours while they prepare everything, and entertain me and make me proud!  I am thankful they do not need a TV or a Playstation to keep them occupied on long summer days.  

Do you see what I see?

I call this "Mom's Summer Survival Kit."  Can you see what is hiding on the top shelf?  When I saw the great price WalMart had on big boxes of my favorite treat, it was easy to justify buying some.  (It's especially low compared to movie theater prices, which I just paid on Tuesday night!)  So, today I am thankful for yummy treats and low prices.  Oh, and a freezer to hide them in!  Shhhhh......

Sleeping Beauty

'Nuff said.  

Making a Difference

Today I am grateful for this kid who is making a difference.  June 1 is the 2-year anniversary of the beginning of "The No Cussing Club," which is why I chose to share this with you today.  The video was taken a couple weeks ago at an event I attended to honor mothers just before Mothers Day.  It is of McKay Hatch from California who started the No Cussing Club.  McKay talks in the video about his experience starting the club, and how his mother helped him and inspired him.  To learn more about the No Cussing Club, click here.  McKay is making a difference.  I am thankful for people like him who reach outside their comfort zones to make the world a better place.  

A Little Miracle

Today I am thankful that for the first time in about 3 months, my 3-year old son James was well-behaved in church and did not have to be taken out to the hallway on account of his being very disruptive and loud.  He sat and looked quietly at books with his older brother, and then drew some pictures with a pencil and paper.  He only had to go out once, and that was to use the bathroom.  I owe a big debt of gratitude to my son Adam as well, for being the extra pair of helping hands I needed to keep James happy and quiet.  Adam had been helping James by being his special buddy all morning, and they were happy to sit together during the meeting and be quiet and nice to each other.  If any of you have seen the 3-ring circus James and I have been putting on down on the front row of the chapel each week, then you know what a nice little miracle today was for me.  

Learning to Read

Today I am thankful that Joey is learning to read.  He can read to himself at bedtime.  He can read to his little brother at bedtime.  And at other times, too!  He can read!  My dad taught me to read at a very young age, then he took me to the library and told me, "Anything you want to learn, you can find out about in a book."  And my thirst remains unquenched.  

Siblings

Today, I am thankful for siblings.  Especially sweet older siblings who take time to play with and teach younger siblings.  Here is Am teaching James some ABC's and his name.  I love moments like these.

Happy Sunny Kiddos

Today I am thankful for the first day of kids in the wading pool and eating otter pops.  I love that the weather is perfect, not too cool and not too warm.  I love that the grass is green and soft under bare feet, and I love that the otter pops are ready in the freezer.  There are some things about this afternoon that I am not thankful for, but I am keeping myself focused on the positive.  

Deliciously Delightful Roses

Today I am grateful for my next-door neighbor's blooming roses.  I do not have roses in my yard, so I make up excuses to walk past her yard and bury my nose in her deliciously fragrant roses.  There is no scent on earth to compare with roses--I cannot describe it.  If you have smelled roses, you know just what I mean.  If you, for some reason, have never smelled roses, go find some QUICK, and inhale deeply.  

The first post.  Minimalist.

I am grateful for modern technology that makes things like this possible.

The end, for now.