Thankful Thursday

It has been a busy week.  The kids are both involved in VBS, which puts our family in the highly unusual situation of having to be up, fed, and ready to go by 8:25 every morning!  It is going well for them though.  Belle is a group leader this year, and Boo is enjoying being in a group with friends.

I opted to forgo a very quick walk this morning to get out a very quick blog post.

I am thankful for:

1. The ability I've had to wake up at 5:30 am, or before that, all week.  It gives me time to have my quiet time, exercise, and my morning routine before the early breakfasts of this week.  And I'm enjoying the singing of the birds!
2. The fact that the kids are enjoying VBS.
3. The daily visits I have had with a friend from church and her little girl each morning.  Her kids are in VBS this year for the first time.  She is staying with me each day so she doesn't have to make two thirty minute trips to town each morning.  We are having a great time, visiting and being entertained by her smallest child.
4. My latest completed cross-stitch is framed and hanging.  This is the first time in recent years we've had to move a picture to make place for a new one.  Boo said, "Mom, if we ever get a new house, you need a gallery!"  It is just as well that I only get one done about every three years!
5. Summer break from school.  Although I miss the times we spend together reading--we were doing that last week, but haven't had much time this week.

I am sure I could think of more things to be thankful for, but I am out of time.

I am linking up with The Army Chap's Wife for this post.  Please feel free to join us.

Thankful Thursday (on Friday again)

It has been kind of a tough week in many ways.  I started out the week thinking I was relapsing into the illness I had last month.  I had three days of sore throat again, and then it mostly disappeared.  Was it residual stuff or allergies?  I don't know.  Other things were tough, and made it kind of an emotional week--health concerns for family members, feeling like I was barely keeping my head above water with lessons for the kids, meals that didn't turn out well, and relationships in tough spots.

But there were other things that were good: (in no particular order)

•  A visit to a 90 year old lady with my Pastor husband.  She was so very happy, content, and while a bit forgetful, very aware that she is not alone, that the Lord is always with her.  It was an encouragement to me.
• Reading one of the school books to the children, and the time we have spent laughing over the story.
• Playing "Lazy Batter" outside with the kids.  A game in which a person sits on the deck steps with a bat.  One child stands a couple of yards away on either side, and pitches a tennis ball.  The Batter tries to bat the ball either right or left-handed.  Needless to say there were a lot of misses, some hits, and a lot of laughter.  (The children made up the game.)
• My new dishwasher, installed on Tuesday.  It is so quiet, and I'm hoping much more energy efficient than the other one, bought (at a higher price) nine years ago.  Right now it is running on the overnight cycle--takes up to six hours, but supposedly saves lots of energy.
• The many verses that have popped into my mind, at times when I was really struggling.  I remember asking the Lord for a verse one evening, thinking that the verses from Lamentations 3 were good for mornings, and I needed one for the evening.  Before I even had thought it all out, Isaiah 40:31 was there, in my mind.  He is faithful.
• Listening to a Red Sox game on MLB and hearing of their 17-5 win over the Rangers.  It was a fun game to listen to--if you were supporting the Sox.
• Finding that I have an iris in the yard that has buds on it--I have never had one bloom since we moved here.
• Planting my petunias.  Hope they do well this year.

Funny, that when I was thinking of trying to do a Thankful post, I was having a hard time finding the good things this week to be thankful for.  It is a good exercise to work on.

I am linking up with The Army Chap's Wife for this post.  Please feel free to join us.