Journey to a thankful heart...Cinderella

Day 26...I am thankful for a house full of daughters!

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There's no ugly step-sister here. Just a mom who is throwing out orders faster than a drill Sergent. I have a list so long...yes that list of expectations...it would make My hubby a grown man cry! I guess my girls might think they have been transported to a time of mean step-mothers and ugly step-sisters...praying their dad  prince charming would rescue them.

Today I bribed my girls to get some chores done...and it worked like a charm! I knew they could clean and get the job done. I guess it sounds really bad to bribe my children to clean our house. But I look at it like this...They are learning basic house keeping skills. So prince charming wherever you are you can thank me later! Now I'm off to the ATM...I have a bribe to pay!

Although we didn't get everything I wanted to get done, I discovered they can clean and do a great job!

Thank you girls...You did a great job!

Journey to a thankful heart...Take 1 and Take 2

Day 25....I'm full!

My day started bright and early to allow time for the bread to rise. I felt like the Dunkin Doughnuts Man... I've got to make the doughnuts bread ... I've got to make the doughnuts bread. I was so busy I didn't even have time to drink my coffee!

Because both our families live locally we always eat Thanksgiving twice within a 3 hour span! Yes I am full! I may never eat again...except I have a ton of left overs in our fridge...Maybe another Thanksgiving meal?

Below are a few pictures from today. I'll post more tomorrow...right now sleep is calling my name!

My man....

Grandaughters being silly....

Grandaughters looking through old photos...

My mama and youngest daughter...

Skyping with cousins in Honduras....

Today I am thankful for being able to share another Fabulous Thanksgiving with my great big family....Twice!

Journey to a thankful heart...The aromas of memories

Day 24...Reflections of Thanksgivings past.


As I read my sister's blog...Click here... this evening about a memory of our grandmother and her love of cooking for our family. I began to think back on what a wonderful grandmother she was and the
yummy food she always prepared. Her cakes were always the very best! I miss her so much! I thank God she was a part of my life!

I wish we had digital cameras when I was a kid. I would love to be able to sit and reminisce of family dinners and awful favorite recipes. Fun times with our cousins and so much food we thought we wouldn't eat for a year. As the years fade so do my memories. Even family traditions have been replaced with the business of the season. Again filling our days with long list of self inflicted expectations.

This evening I found myself baking in the kitchen with a few of our daughters. Some were baking...some were having spitball fights. The one at the helm of the fight...Kenzie the 3 year old! She was laughing so hard and loving shooting those wads of paper at her sisters. Tonight we were making memories and filling our home with the aromas of Thanksgiving present. Tomorrow...oops! I mean Today...We were too busy making spitballs memories to get this posted on time...So today we will enjoy the fruits of all our efforts. We will eat till we can't eat anymore...Our family has two places to go within a 4 hour time span!

As our family grows and our traditions change...I am very thankful for the technology of the digital camera!
Man...I forget to get that spitball fight!

To the women...and men.... who are staying up late and getting up early...Thank you! May you all have a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Journey to a thankful heart...A day of admiration!

Day 23...I love the change!

We all love to get away...even if it's only for a few hours. Today we made a trip up to the lake to retrieve our boat from the marina and tow it home. For a fan of the fall I sure am going to miss the summer! Spending time admiring all the hard work the boys did last weekend is how we spent the afternoon. I must say I am impressed and look forward to enjoying the changes they have made.


The very best part of going to the lake is............

 The worst part is the leaving...........but I am thankful the summer season is only 5 months away!

 Until the summer.....We will be back!

Journey to a thankful heart....Time to sew!

Day  22...Is there a time to sew?

Sewing is a passion I have. My outlet...the place where I can think...sometimes! You see...I have a 3 year old who seems to think the world revolves around her. She can be playing two rooms away and the moment I sit down at my machine she is right behind me standing in my chair. It's really hard to sew a straight seam when I have a little girl dancing in my chair. So much for thinking...but she really is cute! The funny thing is...I did the same thing to my mom!

Today I am thankful for the brief moment I had to start my latest project and the little girl for whom this project is for...If I get beyond the first seam! Thankful that there is a time to sew because God says so!

Ecclesiastes 3

Everything Has Its Time

 ¹ To everything there is a season,

      A time for every purpose under heaven:
       ² A time to be born,
And a time to die;
      A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
       ³ A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
      A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
       ⁴ A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
      A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
       ⁵ A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
      A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
       ⁶ A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
      A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
       ⁷ A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
      A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
       ⁸ A time to love,
And a time to hate;
      A time of war,
And a time of peace.

Yes...this is why she is rotten! No she didn't get coffee...it contains our nail salon!

 

Journey to a thankful heart...I in charge!

  Day 21....Oh to be a child again!


"I in charge...I in charge" she so proudly proclaimed  as she walked with her big brother to go play with the other children. I think she must have told it to everyone she passed. This was an idea her dad came up with to keep her near her brother for her own safety. If she was in charge of him then hopefully she would see that he was always near her. As children we dream of the day when we are grown and "In charge" of our own lives. Boy were we in for a rude awakening! There are days when I would love to pass on the responsibility. For a first born child this is a huge statement. I feel I have been "In charge" my whole life!

Megan had no idea that by placing her with the responsibility of watching her big brother was in fact an idea to keep her safe. Before I became a Christian I was "In Charge " of my own life. I had the freedom to pick and choose it all. Being "In Charge" comes with a price. If we had let Megan wander alone around that camp ground ...don't most parents of 3 year olds? ...She had the potential of becoming hurt or lost. The same goes for me....until I wasn't the one "In Charge" anymore... I too had the potential of becoming hurt or lost. God sent His son Jesus to be "In Charge" so that we could have someone who would see that our best interest was at heart. Unlike Megan we have to ask Him to be "In Charge" over our lives. I am thankful that Jesus Christ is "In Charge " of my life. Even though He gives me the freedom to choose...I'm always watching to make sure He is near. Just like Jordan watching his "In Charge" little sister...God is watching us, searching with His eyes and waiting for our eyes to meet His.

I am thankful for my children and how God is always using them to teach me....Thankful that I am no longer "In Charge!"